Camera menus

As we've learned to expect from Canon, the menu system on its top-end DSLRs is essentially the same as that on their entry-level camera, only containing a great many more options and settings. It's also no surprise that a camera at this, the most-demanding extreme of the market, has a lot of customization options. Most of these are kept in the Custom Function menus - with 62 options split into four categories. The appearance of the Custom Function menus is more consistent than ever with the rest of the menus, so it doesn't feel quite so much like having to venture down into a dark basement where the inner-workings of the camera can be tampered with.

In a recent interview with us, Canon stressed the need to make the camera immediately accessible to users of the 1D Mark II and III, while also stating that this need for consistency didn't limit the camera's development. The Custom Function menu would appear to contradict the that assertion, with settings that are contingent on one another appearing as seemingly unconnected options and illogically separated, simply because that's how they were used on older variants of the 1D. Overall, though, the menus are kept very simple, considering the degree to which the camera's behavior can be tailored and re-programmed.

	The Mark IV's menu system will be immediately familiar to anyone who has spent time shooting with a Canon EOS DSLR. It shares its appearance with all post-50D EOS models and categorizes its options sensibly, making it easy to find your way around. The helpful, user-configured 'My Menu' tab is there to play host to whichever options you think you change most often.

Shooting section (red)

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
White Balance [clip]	• Auto  • Daylight  • Shade  • Cloudy  • Tungsten light  • White fluorescent light  • Flash  • Custom 1,2,3,4,5  • Color temp. (Kelvin)
Custom WB regist.	• Choose custom preset number   • Register an image on card  • Record & register image  • Edit caption	Select from the 9 preset positions Take custom WB from existing image Take a picture for custom WB
WB Shift / BKT [clip]	• Shift: B9-A9, M9-G9  • Bracket: BA+/-3, MG+/-3	Configures WB shift and WB bracketing.
Color space	• sRGB  • Adobe RGB
Picture Style	• Standard  • Portrait  • Landscape  • Neutral  • Faithful  • Monochrome  • User Def. 1  • User Def. 2  • USer Def. 3
Peripheral illum. correct.	• Enable  • Disable	Corrects vignetting depending on the attached lens.
JPEG quality	• L 1-10  • M1 1-10  • M2 1-10  • S 1-10	Set JPEG quality (compression level) for each of the four size options.
Image size[clip]	RAW – RAW MRAW SRAW JPEG – L M1 M2 S	Use the two dials to select RAW and JPEG file sizes
Review time	• Off  • 2 sec  • 4 sec  • 8 sec  • Hold
Beep	• On  • Off	Enables auto focus confirmation beep. Also used for self timer.
Release shutter without card	• On  • Off	Allow shot to be taken without CF card inserted.
Dust Delete Data	• OK	- Obtains dust data for mapping out using Canon software
External Speedlite control	• Flash function setting Flash mode: E-TTL II Shutter sync 1st curtain 2nd curtain Flash exp. bracketing -3 to +3 EV Flash exp. comp -3 to +3 EV E-TTL II Evaluative Average Flash firing Enable Disable  • Flash C.Fn setting  • Clear external flash C.Fn setting

Picture Style

Now standard across Canon's DSLR range the Picture Styles are a range of pre-programmed image parameter sets intended to deliver the best results in different situations. Each Picture Style has its own preset mapping for tone and color response as well as providing the ability to tune sharpness, contrast, saturation and color tone for each. For instance the default sharpening for the Standard Picture Style is level 3, if you prefer less strong you can just adjust it downwards. Sharpness has 8 levels, contrast, saturation and color tone all have have 9 levels.

Playback Section (Blue)

Option	Notes
Protect images [clip]	Protect mode, allows you to browse images either in a single image or thumbnail view and mark each image as protected (or un-protect). This simply sets the read-only flag on the card file system.
Rotate	Rotate mode, again, this can be performed in either single image or thumbnail index view. This option allows you to rotate an image on-screen by 90 or 270 degrees. Doesn't actually rotate the JPEG file, but marks its orientation.
Erase images [clip]	• Select and erase images  • All images in folder  • All images on card
Print order	Allows you to create a DPOF print order file, for use with compatible printers or photo finishers.  • Select images  • By Folder  • All images  • Set up Print type Standard Index Both Date On Off File no. On Off
Image Copy	Allows you to copy images from the SD card to the CF card and vice versa  • Copy Source  • Free space (on other card)  • Select Images  • Select folder  • All Images
Highlight alert	• Disable  • Enable
AF point disp.	• Disable  • Enable
Histogram	• Brightness  • RGB
Enlarge Display	• Enlarge from image center  • Enlarge from selected AF point
Image jump w/ control dial	• Select number of images 1 image 10 images 100 images  • Select files Date Folder Movies Stills
Slide show	• Select files All images Folder Date Movies Stills  • Set up Play time 1 sec 2 sec 3 sec 5 sec Repeat On Off

Setup Section (Yellow)

Option	Values / Actions	Notes
Auto power off	• 1 min  • 2 min  • 4 min  • 8 min  • 15 min  • 30 min  • Off	Sets camera power off time, this is the amount of "idle time" before the camera powers itself off. In the power off state the camera can be woken by half or fully depressing the shutter release (or turning the power switch to Off and back to On).
Record func + media / folder sel.	• Record func. Standard Auto switch media Rec separately Rec. to multiple	Defines how the EOS-1Ds works when you have two cards inserted. - switch to other card when full - split raw and jpeg files - record to both cards
File numbering	• Continuous  • Auto reset  • Manual reset	Controls the numbering method used for filenames.
File name setting
Auto rotate	• On (play mode and EXIF)  • On (EXIF)  • Off	Chooses whether orientation information is recorded and if the camera should rotate in play mode.
Format	• SD or CF card  • Cancel  • OK	Format the card(s)
LCD Brightness	• 1 to 7
Date/Time	• Set Date & Time  • Set Date format
Language	• English  • German  • French  • Dutch  • Danish  • Portuguese  • Finnish  • Italian  • Norwegian  • Swedish  • Spanish  • Greek  • Russian  • Polish  • Simplified Chinese  • Traditional Chinese  • Korean  • Japanese	Select menu language.
Video system	• NTSC  • PAL	Select video system for video out connector.
Battery info. [clip]		Displays power source, remaining capacity (%), shutter count and recharge performance.
Live View function settings	• Live View shooting Enable Disable  • Grid display Off On	Defines parameters for Live View.
Save / Load settings on media	• Save  • Load
Register / Apply basic settings	• Register  • Apply
Clear all camera settings	• Cancel  • OK
Copyright information
Sensor cleaning	• Auto cleaning Enable Disable  • Clean now Cancel OK  • Clean manually Cancel OK	Defines the settings for the built-in cleaning system, by default the system is enabled and cleans at startup and shutdown (although can be interrupted). The 'clean manually' option locks the mirror and shutter up.
Firmware	Select to load new firmware from CF card	Also shows current version, on our camera; 1.0.4