The RP is the second RF mount full frame mirrorless interchangeable
lens model, released in 2019. Three
years into the model cycle is a bit late to be posting a “setting up” guide,
but better late than never I guess.
In fact I often see that readers access my “setting
up” posts several years into the life cycle of
some cameras.
The RP can be viewed as a mirrorless version of the
popular EOS 6D.2 which at the time of
writing is still available new. Both cameras use the same 26 Mpx sensor and
offer similar performance.
However Canon’s strategy places the RP at a
significantly lower price point than the 6D.2, making it more attractive to
many buyers. The ability of the RP to mount all the new RF lenses is an added
bonus.
Buying options Body only or kit ?
The RP is priced well but generally the body plus RF
24-105mm STM lens as a kit is even more attractively priced and one of the best
ways to get both the body and lens.
Battery
The LP-E17 battery is very small so at least one and
preferably two spare batteries would be a good investment.
Memory cards
The RP will accept UHS-2 SD cards but I find UHS-1
cards adequately fast for most purposes.
Grip extender
The Canon EG-E1 extension grip is not necessary but is
nice to have. It transforms handling from good to excellent. Memory card and
battery can be changed with it in place.
Neck strap
I leave this in the box and fit a cheap generic wrist
strap instead. This is much nicer for handling.
Hot shoe cover
I slip an aftermarket hotshoe cover into place to
protect the contacts from damage during use.
Canon connect App
Install this on your smartphone so you can control the
camera from the phone when required. For instance with the camera on tripod you
sometimes want to fire the shutter without touching the camera. I use this for
some landscapes, evening/night shots and close-ups.
Lenses
For a one-lens-does-everything kit the RF 24-105mm STM
is a compact, capable standard zoom which pairs very well with the RP. The RF
24-240mm has over twice the zoom range and turns in a very good performance
although it is considerably larger and more expensive.
The RF 24-105mm STM and RF 100-400mm together make a
very versatile and capable two lens kit. Add the little RF 16mm f2.8 to cover
the ultrawide end of the focal length range.
For those who prefer primes either the RF 35mm f1.8 or
the RF 50mm f1.7 can give excellent results in a compact package.
Update firmware on body and lenses
At of 19 May 2022 the latest camera firmware is 1.6.0.
Guiding principles
My goal when setting up a camera is always to keep the
user experience as straightforward and enjoyable as possible. I aim to have it
configured so I do not have to look at the controls when operating the camera.
All the buttons, dials and other controls should be accessible using muscle
memory so I can use my brain to think about the photographic process not so
much the kinesthetic movements required.
Dial and button function (Custom Function Menu, orange, C.FnIII:
Operation/Others, Screens 5 and 6)
What happens when you press a button or turn a dial is
critically important to camera operation so it does seem a bit odd to me that the menu for this
is four levels down. Anyway that’s where it is so let’s go there. By the way [C.FnIII: Operation/Others] can be
assigned to My Menu if desired.
Note that on screen 5 [Customize buttons] we have
button function for stills in two columns of pictograms on the left and two
columns for video on the right. They can be different.
There are almost endless numbers of permutations and
combinations possible. I will describe my function selections with reasons.
This can be a starting point for further experiment.
If you get in a muddle the next two items down [Clear all Custom Func. And Clear customized
settings] can be used to restore all settings to default.
* Shutter button: Default which is half press metering
and AF start. This is the universally expected behaviour of a shutter button on
any camera.
* Movie button: Default which is movies. This enables
me to quickly start a movie clip when desired.
By the way, the RP makes pretty good 1080P movies straight out of the
box. Many vloggers have used the RP to good effect for their productions with
no complaint from viewers.
* Multi-function button [Mfn]: [Dial function settings].
The Mfn button is handily located between the shutter button and front control
dial so is easy to reach and operate. [Dial function settings] is a quick
access mini menu which includes ISO, drive mode, AF operation (one shot/servo),
white balance and exposure compensation. Use the rear top dial to scroll from one item
to the next. I use this for quick
access to ISO which I can change to any setting including Auto even when the
metering timer is running.
* AF-On button: I have this disabled. The reason is
that on the RP (and the R) the button is simply in the wrong place. Look at the
back of the R5 or R6 to see the button in the correct place. This is not a
matter of preference or opinion. A properly located and designed button should
have three functional characteristics:
1. Is
easy to locate by feel when required.
2. Will
not be pressed inadvertently
3. Has
desirable haptics which means is the optimal size, surface elevation and
texture and when pressed gives
tactile/kinesthetic feedback to the user.
The AF-On button on the RP fails on all three
criteria. It is awkwardly located so pressing the button is not as easy as it
could be when desired. It is located where I inadvertently press the button
almost every time I pick up the camera and repeatedly when I am holding the
camera in use. This is because the thumb wants to press against the left side
of the thumb support elevation to stabilise the holding position. Lastly the
button is small and gives no effective haptic feedback as to press/release
status.
So I just disable the AF-On button.
* AE Lock [*] button: Expo.comp. (hold button, turn
front top dial). When I am using Av or
Tv auto exposure I have the top rear dial set
exposure compensation directly. But when I am using the M setting on the
Mode Dial I have the top front dial control shutter speed and the top rear dial
changes aperture. So I have to find another way to set exposure compensation.
One way could be the control dial on Canon RF mount lenses, but I don’t like
that approach as the lens control dial is far too easily nudged inadvertently.
So I use the AE Lock button.
* AF Point button: [Magnify/reduce]. By default this
button is set up to initiate AF Point selection with the cursor buttons on the
4-Way controller. But I prefer to have direct AF point selection on the cursor
buttons so this frees up the AF Point button for other uses.
I want to magnify the EVF or monitor view in two
situations. First when focussing manually, second to check sharpness in
playback.
Magnify in manual focus is a three stage process,
toggle for 5x>10x>nil. The RP
lacks the swinging arms MF guide which is so useful on higher spec RF mount
cameras and I don’t like peaking which just spreads a mess of color all over
the place. But 5x or 10x magnify permits very accurate MF.
In playback pressing the AF point button initiates
magnify which can be increased with the front control dial. In practice this is
efficient and works well.
* Lens AF stop button: Only available on certain L
lenses.
* Cursor buttons, Up, Left, Down, Right: Direct AF
point selection. On smaller cameras like the EOS-M series or Powershot G1X.3,
the right thumb can easily reach across to move the active AF area on the touch
screen. That is also possible on the RP but is a bit more of a stretch so I
enable both direct AF point selection on the cursor keys and also AF point
selection on the touch screen.
* Q/Set button: Q menu. This is the default which
works just fine.
The rest of the buttons have set functions.
Screen 6 [Customize dials]
* Main dial (top front): Shutter speed setting in M
Mode.
* Quick Control dial (top rear): Aperture setting in M
mode.
* Lens Control Ring: Off (disabled). I find that the
control ring on many of the lenses is easily nudged inadvertently so I disable
it.
Camera (red) menu
* Note: If I do not refer to a menu item that means I
leave it at the default setting.
* Image quality: I use and recommend CRAW. This is Canons proprietary lossy Raw
compression file. Some people object to CRAW on the grounds that it is lossy.
However I have and many other users have run tests comparing actual image
quality of uncompressed and compressed raw and found for all practical purposes
no difference. As the reduction in file size is considerable I think the case
for CRAW is very strong.
* Image review: Off. Having automatic image review On
just slows the camera down to no useful purpose.
* Release shutter without card: I set this On just in
case I want to do that.
* Lens aberration correction. What happens here depends on the lens
mounted. The camera will recognise a compatible Canon lens and automatically
apply some corrections to the saved image file. I have [Peripheral illum corr]
and [Digital lens optimiser] On. This is especially desirable with the RF
24-105mm STM and RF 24-240mm lenses likely to find their way onto an RP as both
these lenses require considerable post capture corrections to achieve good
output quality.
* Expo.comp./AEB:
This is the place to set up auto exposure bracketing together with any
exposure compensation if required. There are fewer options available that you find on higher
spec models but what we have on the RP is perfectly adequate for most
situations. I allocate this item to My Menu for quicker access. Note that the
shutter must be activated for each of the three bracketed shots. I find the
Canon Connect App on a smartphone good for this.
* Stills ISO speed settings: As explained above, I
assign ISO to the Multi function button. However there are other things here. I
set the ISO speed range and auto range to 100-25600. In Auto the slowest
shutter speed is focal length dependent although the camera will over-ride this
if necessary to prevent incorrect exposure.
* Auto lighting optimiser and Highlight tone priority:
I shoot Raw so I set both of these off. JPG shooters will need to experiment
with the options to discover which setting best suits their usual subject
matter.
* Metering timer: The exposure meter will time out 8 seconds
after releasing a half shutter press. (default). It can be set from 4 seconds
to 30 minutes, the longer time being presumably for time lapse photography.
* Expo. Simulation: Enable. With this setting the EVF
or monitor appearance seen pre-capture will closely mimic the appearance of the
output picture. This is something that a DSLR in optical view can never
achieve. This allows the effect of exposure compensation to be previewed with a
workable level of accuracy before making the shot without the need for zebras
or histogram.
* White balance: I always use Auto white balance (AWB)
and make corrections in post processing if required. However a custom or scene
specific white balance can be set.
* Color space: I use sRGB. There are great debates on
user forums about the merits of sRGB vs Adobe RGB for capture.
* Picture style: This is for JPGs only. JPG shooters
will need to experiment with the many options. I set [Fine detail] for best
resolution in the JPG which the camera delivers to the EVF and monitor for
image preview and playback.
* Long exp. Noise reduction: I have this off because
when the feature is on, the effective exposure time is doubled. This can make
it tedious to shoot fireworks for instance.
* High ISO speed Noise reduction: I set this off,
preferring to deal with noise in post processing where I have more control and
can alter settings later if desired.
* Touch shutter: With this on, the shutter fires when
the AF point is identified by touching the screen. I Have it off.
* Multiple exposure, HDR Mode, Focus bracketing, Interval timer and
Anti-flicker shooting are specialised
features which merit separate
discussion.
* High speed display: On. This only becomes active
with AF Servo and High+ Drive Mode.
* AF Operation (One-shot/servo) and AF Method (tracking/spot/1
point etc) will be set via the Q Menu or one of the Custom shooting modes.
* Eye detection AF:
Set this ON. It only becomes active if AF Method is set to Face
detect/tracking.
* Continuous AF.
Always set this off. Note Canon’s
confusing nomenclature here. In Continuous AF the camera tries to focus on
something constantly when powered on. This will flatten the battery but achieve
little else. In Canon-speak the one you want for tracking focus on a moving
subject is AF Servo.
* Touch and drag AF settings. This item refers to the
ability to move the AF point using the touch screen while looking through the
viewfinder. I set
Touch & drag AF: Enable
Positioning method: Relative.
Active touch area: Top right.
* Focus mode: Set this in the Q Menu.
* AF-assist beam firing: This can irritate subjects
and is not necessary except in very dark situations. I have it off.
* MF peaking settings: Some people say they like
peaking but I find it just splashes color all over the place so I switch
peaking off and magnify the image with the AF point button.
* The next set are movie items which I leave at
default.
Playback (blue) menu
I leave most items in this menu at default.
* Highlight alert: This is the “blinkies” which
indicate in playback if highlights have been overexposed. It is useful so I
leave it on.
* AF point disp. I have this on to see where the
camera focussed.
Wrench (yellow) menu
I leave most of these items at default. I turn off
things which will clutter up the screen.
* Auto rotate for stills and movie: On.
* Format card: I allocate this to My Menu for quick
access.
* Mode guide,
Feature guide and Eco mode: Off.
* Sensor cleaning: Auto cleaning at power off.
* Shooting info.disp: There are several submenus with
many options under this heading. My guiding principle is always to have the
viewfinder and screen as clutter-free as is consistent with being able to properly
control the device.
Beyond that setting up the displays is a matter of
preference. Just work through the submenus following the on screen prompts.
* VF Vertical display: Off. Having this On re-locates camera data info to
the bottom of the VF area when the camera is held in portrait orientation but
it then overlays the image which renders both that part of the image and the
data difficult to read.
* VF performance: Smooth ( faster refresh rate). This
uses more power than the lower refresh rate of the power saving setting but
does deliver a nicer VF experience.
* Multi function lock: True to my principle of keeping
things as simple as possible I never touch this lever. You can select which
function is locked by the lever. But then you have to remember what you
selected and in the moment of picture taking this is all too easily forgotten.
Custom shooting modes (C1, C2, C3 on mode
dial)
There are three Custom shooting modes. These
are very useful as they enable a group of many settings to be changed all
together. I allocate this menu to My Menu for quick access.
I always disable [Auto update set.] I want the settings group to be the same
every time I switch to it. That
way I always know my settings starting point. If Auto update set. Is [On] the
camera will remember any changes made during a usage session and transfer them
to the next session.
Any group of settings (with a few exceptions) can be
saved to a Custom shooting mode. Some settings which are adjusted with a hard
control (such as Stabiliser on most lenses) cannot be saved. But some lenses
lack the Stabiliser on/off slider so if one of these is mounted stabiliser
status must be set in a menu.
For the record I have
* C1: Tripod, [stabiliser off]
* C2: Street/documentary, [Manual exposure, manual
focus]
* C3: Moving subject, [Tv, Drive mode high continuous]
Custom function (orange) menu
C.Fn1: Exposure
* Exposure level increments: 1/3 stop
* ISO setting increments: 1 stop. With aperture and
shutter speed in 1/3 stop increments there is no need to have ISO also in 1/3
stop increments.
* Bracketing auto cancel: Enable.
* Bracketing sequence: Minus/normal/plus.
* Number of bracketed shots: 3.
* Safety shift: ISO speed.
* AE Lock meter. Mode after focus: Evaluative.
C.FnII: Autofocus
* Tracking sensitivity: Zero.
* Accel./decel tracking: Zero
* AF pt auto switching: Zero.
* Lens drive when AF impossible: Continue focus
search.
* Limit AF methods: I check numbers 1,2,3 and 6.
* Orientation linked AF point: Separate AF points
* Initial Servo AF pt set for [face detect/tracking]:
I set number 1: Initial AF pt set for [face detect/tracking].
C.FnIII: Operation/Others
I dealt with screens 5 and 6 under this menu item
above. The rest I leave at default. It is possible to reverse direction on
several dials but that can get very confusing.
My menu (green)
On My Menu I have
* IS Mode for lenses without a separate stabiliser
switch. These are the RF 16mm f2.8 and RF 50mm f1.8.
* Expo.comp/AEB
* Picture Style
* Eye detection AF
* Focus mode. This is for RF lenses without an AF/MF
switch on the barrel. These are the 16mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8.
* Format card.
* Custom shooting mode
* Wireless communication settings.
And that’s all there is for this post.
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