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A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Started Jun 11, 2016 | Discussions
larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
A few G7x ii setup and LR tips
5

I've had my G9 replacement for a couple days, now, and I'm mostly loving it.  Here's some tips on setup that I've started using.  These are by no means well-researched and lived-with-for-decades, locked-down commandments, but I hope they help some of you get the best out of this cam.

Press the Q/Set button.  In the Q menu, touch the Picture Style Icon.  Select Fine Detail default, or in your chosen preset, set sharpening settings to 3,1,1.  Canon has many of these presets sharpening at a high 'radius', which makes fine details look bloated.

In the menu, Camera, tab 5, set ISO Speed ISO Auto Settings, Rate of change to Slow.  This will keep ISO lower, and shutter speed longer.  You might need to go to Standard if you have shaky hands.  You can alternatively use M manual mode to force the Aperture and Shutter speed to minimise noise.

Using f/1.8 might degrade lens performance.  I like shooting wide-open, but have not been thrilled with sharpness.  f/2 might be significantly better...

In Camera menu, tab 2, set Touch Shutter to Enable.  This is a great feature for getting focus on non-centered subjects.

In Camera menu tab 3, set AF Frame Size to Small if you use Center AF on your DSLR.  It's still too big, but...

Press the Info button till you get the level indicator.  It's easy to use, and gets those horizons straight.

Shoot RAW!  If you have an older version of Adobe PS, or Lightroom, you can use the latest (free) DNG converter to create .dng's that your version will open.  Lightroom 6.6 stand-alone will process the RAW's natively, without the hassle.  You can still upgrade to LR 6.6 standalone, google for details.

In LR, here's some suggestions.

Set Highlights to -10.

Sharpening | NR at ISO:

125:
60 1.0 50 20 | 20 90 0 | 25 90 0

250:
50 1.0 75 5 | 35 80 0 | 25 90 0

1250:
60 1 25 20 | 35 80 0 | 20 90 20

3200:
60 1 10 5 | 47 100 0 | 15 90 20

6400:
30 1 30 0 | 60 95 0 | 20 80 40

12,800:
30 .7 30 0 | 55 89 0 | 15 30 40

These settings are preliminary.  I prefer some grain, and some sharpening, over smashing all luminance noise into mush.  You might prefer different settings if you resize down, or print.

I'm experimenting with exposing 1/3 stop brighter than default.  The sensor seems able to handle this.  I drop it down in LR.  In fact, I'm dropping EV down 1 stop.  The G7x seems much brighter than my 5D3.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Canon G7 X II Canon PowerShot G7 X Canon PowerShot G9
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OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

I forgot the most important tip!

Turn off image review, or you will think it takes 2 seconds for the camera to be ready to shoot the next shot!

OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips
2

My rating for f-stops, for a subjecct (landscape) where focus was 50 feet away.

1.8 - 1 star, with veiling flare.

2.0 - 2 stars

2.5 - 4 stars

2.8 - 5 stars

3.2 - 4 stars

3.5 - 3 stars

4-11  2 stars

f/7.1 had the sharpest far corners, but f/2.8 wasn't far behind.  I'll be using f/2.5 to f/3.2 for the majority of my shooting, and will try to limit use of f/1.8, even though I really like narrow DOF shots.

emailsucks98
emailsucks98 Regular Member • Posts: 339
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

It doesnn't look like there's a lens correction setting for either G7x (or the G5x) in LR yet...

Alastair Norcross
Alastair Norcross Veteran Member • Posts: 9,874
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

emailsucks98 wrote:

It doesnn't look like there's a lens correction setting for either G7x (or the G5x) in LR yet...

There is for the G7XII in LR. You don't select it. It's automatically applied. I don't think you can choose not to apply it.

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OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Alastair Norcross wrote:

There is for the G7XII in LR. You don't select it. It's automatically applied. I don't think you can choose not to apply it.

I'm not thrilled with not being able to turn this off.  I wanted to see what the cam actually captured, and 'fixing' it myself...

John TF Senior Member • Posts: 1,363
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

larry wrote:

My rating for f-stops, for a subjecct (landscape) where focus was 50 feet away.

1.8 - 1 star, with veiling flare.

2.0 - 2 stars

2.5 - 4 stars

2.8 - 5 stars

3.2 - 4 stars

3.5 - 3 stars

4-11 2 stars

f/7.1 had the sharpest far corners, but f/2.8 wasn't far behind. I'll be using f/2.5 to f/3.2 for the majority of my shooting, and will try to limit use of f/1.8, even though I really like narrow DOF shots.

That is a bit surprising. I thought from other reports that f/4 was the sweet spot. Different criteria perhaps? What were your criteria, and how did you prioritize them?

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John TF

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OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

John TF wrote:

That is a bit surprising. I thought from other reports that f/4 was the sweet spot. Different criteria perhaps? What were your criteria, and how did you prioritize them?

I was shooting landscape, focused about 50 feet away.  I compared two images (two f-stops) in LR's Compare view.  I judged center sharpness and contrast.  Then I looked at the left and right edges.  I want these to be fairly close in IQ to the center.  Then I check the bottom left and right corners.  I don't place a lot of weight on these, but the corners, at all apertures, looked fairly good compared to how OOF they are on an FF DSLR.

Given the softness of the lens at macro ranges, close portraits might change these ratings...

I ran this test because, up to that point, I had shot everything at f/1.8, and was surprised by the softness.  I'm spoiled by the wide-open clarity of the 24-70ii and 100-400ii.

OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

John TF wrote:

That is a bit surprising. I thought from other reports that f/4 was the sweet spot. Different criteria perhaps? What were your criteria, and how did you prioritize them?

Took the G7xii out for a ride, took a shot of distant scenery at f/2.8.  The outer 1/3 of the frame was unsharp due to limited DOF.  The field of focus curved inward at the near corners.  This wasn't a problem at 50 feet...

So you definitely are on to something.  My research continues.

Ryanide
Ryanide Contributing Member • Posts: 854
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Thanks for the setup tips. Good information here, especially the ISO "Slow Change" as that does make a big difference in the choices the camera makes in the Auto setting.

Seems like there are many great features built-in to this camera. So far it's everything I always wanted my Sony RX cameras to be. It feels so solid and I love that it actually operates like a traditional DSLR in many ways.

Love the touch operation - wish the 1DXII worked like this.

Any idea how to turn off the AF confirmation sound, without a complete mute? I would still like to hear the shutter... Maybe I'll just have to get used to the AF noise.

Thanks again.

 Ryanide's gear list:Ryanide's gear list
Sony a7R IV Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM Sony RX10 IV Sony a7C +7 more
OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Ryanide wrote:

Any idea how to turn off the AF confirmation sound, without a complete mute? I would still like to hear the shutter... Maybe I'll just have to get used to the AF noise.

The shutter mechanism still clicks, easy to hear even after many motorcycles.  

Ryanide
Ryanide Contributing Member • Posts: 854
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

larry wrote:

Ryanide wrote:

Any idea how to turn off the AF confirmation sound, without a complete mute? I would still like to hear the shutter... Maybe I'll just have to get used to the AF noise.

The shutter mechanism still clicks, easy to hear even after many motorcycles.

Yes, I know the shutter clicks, I'm wondering how to silence the AF beep when the AF indicators turn green? I know all the sound can be muted, but I just want to turn off the AF confirmation sound and still hear the Shutter sound.

??

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Sony a7R IV Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM Sony RX10 IV Sony a7C +7 more
Widdldo Forum Member • Posts: 64
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Any idea how to turn off the AF confirmation sound, without a complete mute? I would still like to hear the shutter... Maybe I'll just have to get used to the AF noise.

I could not find a way either to silence the annoying AF confirmation sound. Complete mute seems the only way. This is one of the very few glitches in the excellent user interface this camera provides.

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Olympus Stylus 1s Panasonic ZS200 Sony RX100 VA Olympus E-M1 Olympus E-M1 II
Ryanide
Ryanide Contributing Member • Posts: 854
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Widdldo wrote:

Any idea how to turn off the AF confirmation sound, without a complete mute? I would still like to hear the shutter... Maybe I'll just have to get used to the AF noise.

I could not find a way either to silence the annoying AF confirmation sound. Complete mute seems the only way. This is one of the very few glitches in the excellent user interface this camera provides.

That's what I thought. Maybe it can be changed in a firmware update, but unlikely.

If that's my only gripe, I'll still be happy with this little champ.

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Sony a7R IV Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM Sony RX10 IV Sony a7C +7 more
OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

I've been playing with Lightroom, and found that I prefer the G1X lens corrections over the Adobe-default G7X corrections.  You get more pixels (less cropping of the image) and the extreme corners seem slightly sharper to me.

OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

John TF wrote:

larry wrote:

My rating for f-stops, for a subjecct (landscape) where focus was 50 feet away.

1.8 - 1 star, with veiling flare.

2.0 - 2 stars

2.5 - 4 stars

2.8 - 5 stars

3.2 - 4 stars

3.5 - 3 stars

4-11 2 stars

f/7.1 had the sharpest far corners, but f/2.8 wasn't far behind. I'll be using f/2.5 to f/3.2 for the majority of my shooting, and will try to limit use of f/1.8, even though I really like narrow DOF shots.

That is a bit surprising. I thought from other reports that f/4 was the sweet spot. Different criteria perhaps? What were your criteria, and how did you prioritize them?

OK, I've done some testing, filling the frame with the back of my house.  At the plane of focus, I agree that f/4 is near the sweet spot for detail sharpness at the left and right edges of the frame.  Larger apertures seem to produce sharper bottom corners (ie, foreground).

24mm and 28mm edges aren't that pretty, at any aperture.  Circular objects are turned oblong.

I have now set my default f-stop to f4 in-camera.

rpm40
rpm40 Senior Member • Posts: 2,411
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Good tips! I will need to check out the picture styles menu, and switch the auto ISO on mine when I get home.

RazzmatazzBE Forum Member • Posts: 64
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

Hello, thanks for the tips, I'll try them as soon as I can.

I just got my G7xII a few hours ago, but only found time to use it for a few minutes.

I wanted to show you some sooc jpegs, after reading some comments above about sweet spots. The images below are shot at aperture priority, auto iso, -1/3EV. I did recall setting NR to the lowest. Note, I haven't read the manual yet, and I just started learning.

I'm pretty impressed by the tele shots at f4, while at wide angle, the optic doesn't convince me at all thus far. No sweet spot or raw can fix those border sharpness.

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RazzmatazzBE Forum Member • Posts: 64
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

larry wrote:

Press the Q/Set button. In the Q menu, touch the Picture Style Icon. Select Fine Detail default, or in your chosen preset, set sharpening settings to 3,1,1. Canon has many of these presets sharpening at a high 'radius', which makes fine details look bloated.

Shoot RAW!

Hi Larry, are you saying thag changing the sharpening setting affects RAW photo?

Thanks for clarifying.

 RazzmatazzBE's gear list:RazzmatazzBE's gear list
Canon G7 X II Panasonic G90 Panasonic Leica 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 ASPH
OP larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
Re: A few G7x ii setup and LR tips

RazzmatazzBE wrote:

larry wrote:

Press the Q/Set button. In the Q menu, touch the Picture Style Icon. Select Fine Detail default, or in your chosen preset, set sharpening settings to 3,1,1. Canon has many of these presets sharpening at a high 'radius', which makes fine details look bloated.

Shoot RAW!

Hi Larry, are you saying thag changing the sharpening setting affects RAW photo?

Thanks for clarifying.

The sharpening settings affect the look of the image on the camera's LCD, when you review a shot, but those settings are not carried to Adobe LR 6.6, if you process RAW.

Canon's default sharpening radius is SO LARGE that it makes images look horrible.  Dropping those two parameters to 1 really makes the images shine at 100% view.

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