Panasonic cameras have a truly great ability to define 3 sets of custom settings. Let's share our custom settings with the world I use all 3 settings banks. The first one is used for general photography. It is set to A mode, RAW, 4:3 ratio, Auto ISO up to ISO 800 and matrix metering. The second one is used for B&W shots. It is set to A mode, RAW + Large JPEG, 4:3 ratio, Dynamic B&W with -2 NR, Auto ISO up to ISO 1600 and matrix metering. The third one requires some explanations. I find dynamic range of Micro 4/3 cameras to be somewhat tight in highlights. On Olympus E-P1 I had previously I often used Highlight Spot metering on the brightest object in the frame to squeeze as much of a scene into DR of the camera as possible. However, Panasonic G2 has no such metering mode. My C3 setting is set to use spot metering with +1.67 EV exposure compensation to simulate Oly's Highlight Spot mode. Also I set AEL Hold to On - it allows me to find the brightest object, meter, lock exposure and recompose without straining my thumb by holding AEL button pressed. Hope it might be useful
Just be aware that this mode requires some lifting of shadows in PP, so it's better to reserve it for landscape shots at lower ISOs.
Since I switched to micro4/3 with my GF1, I always envied a little jpeg files that come out from Olympus cameras for both sharpness and colors, without the need of having to post production. So, starting from the stratokaster settings, I tried these ones: profile: standard contrast +1 sharpness +1 saturation +1 NR -2 I also set high ISO NR off in order to have the maximum sharpness and now I can say to be very satisfied: the images are crisp and sharp as I wanted and even the reds are full and rich in detail, in short, very very close to the olympus settings.
C1 - General shooting with native and legacy glass: A-priority - RAW - Auto ISO to 1600 - matrix metering - 4:3 - Fn 1/2/3 assigned to Aspect Ratio/Metering/Focus point respectively. C2 - Tripod work: Manual - RAW - 160ISO - Long Shutter Noise Reduction (dark-frame subtraction) - same as above otherwise... C3 - Video - never really use it and can't remember what it's set to :smile:
The G3 has 4 custom settings to fill up. Can't remember the exact settings I use for each but have them set up for: 1) Tripod shooting 2) 100-300mm lens shooting 3) B&W shooting 4) Extended Tele Conversion shooting
I have the GF1 I was using dynamic and vibrant but recently I have changed to standard and put my white balance to Kelvin 5700k works for me outdoor and indoor as well:smile:
Maybe I'm missing something somewhere in the 'Owners Manual for Advanced Features' (sic) - but wouldn't it be nice if..........you could also set in your custom settings (C1, C2 etc) the ability to include Aperture or Shutter priority.
I'm having 'fun' sorting and trying all the available settings on my G3. The first 4/3 camera that allows saving custom settings to the memory card for backup and sharing gets my vote and, possibly, my money.
Appreciate the word that Aperture Priority could be set amongst the custom settings - C1, C2 etc. and I got there eventually. Hooever......I'm looking to combine bracketing along with AP and other settings and I'm finding that bracketing doesn't 'stick' permanently. If I leave the Custom setting to take a single 'Program' shot, then return back to the previous Custom setting, the bracketing setting has gone, and Custom has picked up the single shot setting. If that's the way it is, then that's the way it is............ but it would be nice to be able to get the AP & Bracketing combo in one step, by dialing in Custom. Has anyone achieved that - maybe by another route?
