40D custom modes and why they are brilliant.

I was sitting contemplating whether or not to drop the dough on the 40D.
After adding up the pros and cons, one feature stuck out that helped push my decision to go ahead and buy it.

Custom Modes on the dial. Perfect. Wonderful.

I was thinking of the possible applications of this feature and a flood of situations came to me. These are mostly specific to photojournalism but can be applied elsewhere.

-You are shooting a sport event outside. You have three basic situations: subject in full sun, subject in object shadow, and when a cloud passes in front of the sun. You can customise these three settings when you arrive at the event and switch between them with one twist of the dial. Any changes in these settings can be easily adjusted on the fly with shutter speed (assuming you shoot in Manual mode like most working photographers do). So simple, so easy.

-You are following a subject or subjects that are going from inside a building to outside a building, or you are shooting an event that takes place both inside and out. White balances and shutter speeds could be easily set when you get there and quickly swtiched between.

-You are shooting a few posed portraits of people at their homes or outside or office or wherever. You want to get shots that use the shoe flash and some that don't. The custom modes could be set very easily with a few test shots to with or without flash. You could even have a dial settings to use the flash and not use the flash outside and one for with flash inside. Having your camera ready for flash (including WB, metering, flash settings, sync speed) is as easy as a turn of the dial.

I believe that this feature has been widely overlooked as everyone coos about the screen and jump in resolution. I think what makes the 40D a good camera is the jump in usuability. It will certainly feel more professional.

Now if only I could get it without having to buy the kit at BestBuy...

I have been looking at this feature and it is great !

The custom dial settings are awesome... from what I can tell so far, it remembers EVERYTHING... including focus points

I noticed this because I'd set up the user dial positions before I set some custom functions and those settings remembered the last custom functions...

so... you can kinda set up those 3 as 3 different cameras

That is great news, unferth! I was wondering if perhaps it reverted some settings upon return- but I'm glad to know that it doesn't.

Is there anyone else that works as a photographer who has implemented the custom settings?

this is a great feature ! it will be very useful ... once i scrape together the cash .

I may not be a working photographer but I find the custom dial settings invaluable as well. I have yet to find a setting that it doesn't remember. This combined with MyMenu are awesome!

I think its the best addition to the 40D, of all its improvments over the 30D.

I used them a lot on my old A80, a camera which predates the 30D, it was released about the same time the 20D came out.

Now does anyone want to buy a slightly used 30D, for about the same price as a new 40D?

As someone said in another thread:
It looks like the DSLR's are finaly catching up with the compacts.
All we need now is a pretty range of different coloured bodies........

I have a Konika/Minolta A2 that has 5 custom settings very similar to this. One more step, you select the custom setting on the dial and then select which one you want from a small menu. Very easy and fast. It remembers everything too and When I used that camera, I used this feature all the time.

BTW, it is for sale now. A nice second camera.