This section is all self explanatory and there’s little we need to dive deep into.

Custom Modes are dealt with in the relevant section. Picture Mode is best set at Natural. Colour settings for Picture Modes do not affect Raw images, only the Jpegs, however exposure settings do affect Raw, so stick with Natural. If you want to use Jpegs feel free to experiment but remember to change it back, or use one of your Custom Modes when they are set, it will default back to natural when you switch off.

I always have Image Quality set to Large Super Fine + Raw, just in case I do want the Jpeg, which usually get deleted but digital film is cheap. See Menu H1 and notes because you may have to revisit this section depending how you set your cards up.

Most of these are Off for obvious reasons, we are not using them yet.

For Anti-Shock set 0 which sets a delay to prevent any shutter shock. 0 is actually a fraction of a second so it’s worth setting.

Silent Mode Settings set all to Not Allow. This disables the focus ‘Beep’ confirmation, AF Illuminator and flash mode so Silent is completely unobtrusive.

High Res set 1/4th second delay which is enough to let the camera settle when using a tripod and shutter release, but not enough to impede hand holding. Max is 30 seconds, useful if you want to use High Res and forgot a release cable. The phone App can be used too.

Leave all at Default – Video is not something I ever use. 

Set Rotate to Off, it’s super annoying. This is the option which rotates portrait orientation images to fit landscape orientation. Far better to be able to rotate the camera for a larger image.

All other settings in this menu can be ignored, there’s nothing that needs to be set.

Set basic AF settings, SingleAF+MF, which will be changed later to suit Custom Modes. AF+MF allows the lens focus ring to be used.

AEL/AFL determine how the AEL interacts with focus modes and is needed for Back Button Focus. Set as shown and see Buttons Section for more detail on BBF. CAF Sensitivity set to 0, it can be changed to suit in a Custom Mode, plus or minus. Centre Start and Priority can be enabled and changed later as needed.

Target means the focus point, whether 1, 3×3 etc, that is the target. Target Mode settings allows which different sets of AF Target Points can be recalled. When switching between a small, medium, cross, 5×5 etc, this setting dictates which are available to select including the 4 custom targets that can be created. There are 9 in total. Some feel it is too much choice so deselect some. I enable the default first 4, and one custom with a smaller step size. See below.

Area Pointer On1 which displays a momentary green focus point when focus is achieved. On2 shows all focus points when a grid is selected which can jump around and can be confusing. On1 is simpler.

Set Home determines if the focus point is returned to a home position when the centre jog button is pressed. Set all and set the point to the centre.

Select Screen Settings looks confusing but it is quite simple. It dictates what function the front/rear wheels and the Direction Pad arrows perform when the focus target is active. Nudge the Joystick and the target is active. We will customise buttons so that the left D-Pad will also active the target. There are two Sets that can be created. Choose between selecting the target size options, and moving the position. I set Set 1 with wheels altering Target size, and arrow buttons moving the position. The Joystick still moves focus position too.

Loop, target mode will move off the screen on one side and appear on the opposite side. Off because its annoying.

Target Mode Settings can be used to create Custom Target Groups (which is what it should be called). You can set any you like. Personally I don’t use any, the default small single target suffices for me.

Orientation Linked sets different target modes for portrait or landscape. I leave off, I have no need for it.

AF Target Pad allows the focus position to be set by touch on the rear screen. I leave Off because it can be enabled on the rear screen when needed. It is useful sometime although I never enable the shutter too.

AF Illumination Off although it can be useful in some situations such as low light and macro. Remember the AF Illuminator will shine a red light on the subject from the front of the camera, so if you want to be in stealth mode for candid portraits with silent shutter also switch off the illuminator.

AF Focus Adjust allows fine tuning of the focus. I would not mess with this, focus is factory set and you risk messing the settings up.

Other settings are off because we do not need them and we will enable them in Custom Modes when needed.

I set Starry Sky AF to Accuracy because it is obviously more important than speed. Add it to My Menu if you want to switch between the two. Starry Sky is a good option to set as a default AF for an Astro Custom Mode.

Preset MF allows the distance to be set, we do not need it for general settings. See Custom Modes for setting it to a button in a Wildlife CM.

Setting MF Assist Magnify and Peaking On is very useful. You can change the colour of Peaking in Menu D3. Magnify is best but can be annoying when you don’t see the full frame. Adding Peaking to a button is a hack to get around this, see Buttons, but for now enable it.

Reset Lens, when On the lens is reset to infinity which could be useful when you want the lens to be at infinity, for astro for example. But it is approx, so I set it off, forcing me to find something to focus on for accuracy, I would not rely this.

We will look at customising buttons in detail in the Buttons Section. Have a look at the settings and how they are applied but there’s no need to change anything now.

Set Joystick centre to AF Home, then when moving the focus point it can be returned to the centre (or anywhere you like) quickly with a press.

Make sure the Rear D Pad is set to [AF], we will further customise it in Buttons Section.

Dial Function/Direction leave default unless you want to change them. If you use more than one body make sure any changes are the same on both or you create a headache for yourself.

*FN Lever Mode 2-This appears quite complicated at first. Setting this allows additional options:

1/Changes the front and rear dial to access WB/ISO

2/ Changes Auto Focus Target Modes

3/ Swaps between the mode set on the top mode dial (eg PASM) or video mode.

1/ is redundant because we will set buttons to do this and there is an ISO button we won’t change. 3/ is redundant because there is a Video Mode on the dial. Select Mode 2 because it is more useful to set different focus modes and we will need it in Custom Menus and Buttons.

Nothing to be concerned with here. Elec Zoom Speed only applies to power zoom lenses like the Olympus Pancake Zoom. Playback Tick allows multiple options to be selected in playback, eg protect or delete. PBH (Power Battery Holder, or the external grip) and Buttons lock allows functions to be locked against accidental pressing.

Release Priority dictates whether the shutter has priority over focus, meaning if focus has not been achieved the shot can still be taken. To avoid out of focus shots leave off.

Continuous Drive Low and High define how many frames are captured in all modes including standard, anti-shock, silent and Pro-Capture, for instance 10 frames in Low and 20 in High. We can leave these for now because we will address them in a Custom Mode for Wildlife. None need to be address for functions such as Bracketing

Set Anti Flicker to Auto to reduce the effects of flicker in artificial light. Leave Anti-flicker shooting off to ensure there is no lag, there is little difference.

This is an item which confuses many.

S-IS Auto is fine and will detect what stabilisation is required, whether utilising the full 5-axis, or just partial. IS1 forces all, however in my experience Auto works fine. IS2 and 3 is for panning and invokes stabilisation up/down or left/right. It is effective but you are best with IS off and using a good panning technique, although do your owns tests. Lenses with Dual IS such as the 12-100 and 300 which have lens IS built in will also sync with the body IS for improved stabilisation, using the lens switch to switch it off switches both body and lens IS off. Do longer lenses need to have IS off on a tripod? My experience is yes. I have tended to leave IS Auto enabled using the 12-100 and 40-150 on a tripod successfully, but on a very few occasions have noticed some images not being sharp, the only factor was IS, so I now switch it off. Other lenses (12-40, 7-14, 8-25) do not need IS Off on a tripod.

Cont. IS I set to Fps Priority, which gives priority to the number of frames. Stabilisation is achieved for the first image but will not reset the sensor to centre to reanalyse stabilisation required for each shot so it will not impact frame rate, and it seems to be the most effective setting for me.

Lens IS Priority is another setting which confuses many. It only really affects third party lenses and lenses with built in stabilisation but no lens switch. It has no effect on lenses with an IS switch. The Olympus 100-400 will use the body roll axis IS and the lens pitch and yaw axis together. For now leave On, and see the Wildlife Section for more information using longer lenses.

Info Settings are user defined and will need some consideration.

Info Settings – defines what screens and info will be presenter when Info is pressed when viewing recorded images on the card (Playback). Each press of Info cycles through each screen. I enable Image Only, Overall, Histogram, Hightlights & Shadows. Lightbox I don’t need.

Playback Magnify Info – All are selected.

LV Info – defines what screens and info are selected when info is pressed during live view on the screen, it is a great way to set different options.

Image Only > On. Screen is cleared for an uncluttered view. Exposure info only is displayed when the shutter is pressed.

Custom 1> Histogram. Main Screen with all info is shown together with Histogram.

Custom 2> Levels and Shadows/Highlights. Main screen is shown with all info together with the Levels (electronic spirit level) and shadows/highlights warning.

Setting these up gives information you can cycle through with a press of the Info button, worth paying attention to, if you set these and then set Custom Modes, then decide to change them you’ll need to change the Custom Modes too.

LV Off – Enable Shooting Info. When pressing the monitor button to display only the Super Control Panel shooting info (shutter speed, aperture) will still be displayed.

Grid Settings – For Playback, defines the thumbnails displayed or ‘zoomed out’ in Playback when the front wheel is turned, I use 4, 25 and calendar. To scroll though different images on the memory card I can ‘zoom out’ to a grid of 4, 25 or see different days.

Drive/Timer Settings – Defines which drive and self timer options are displayed when the Drive (Continuous) Button is selected. It’s tempting just to set all, but then you have many to scroll through.

Diamond Symbol = Anti Shock which we have already set

Heart Symbol = Silent Shooting.

Enable all on the first screen. On the second and third screen I enable 2 and 12s Timer for Anti Shock and Silent and omit the standard modes (non Anti-Shock/Silent). MAKE SURE YOU ENABLE PRO RES AND HIGH RES OR THEY WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FROM THE DRIVE BUTTON.

Live View Boost is off. It boosts the image and therefore doesn’t reflect real exposure settings such as exposure compensation so leave off. We will set up a button to help when we need it. The exception is Bulb/Time where On1 is best.

Art LV set to Mode 2 for a better frame rate.

LV Close Up Mode similarly is best on Mode 2 for improved frame rate. Leave Live Boost Off.

Leave DoF Settings at default because we will not be using it. Peaking can be used instead.

Grid Settings I use Preset 2 which I change to R-180, G-0, B-0, Transparency 75% to give a red colour which is not bright or obtrusive. Set any colour you like. Preset 1 is grey. Grid pattern 3 is the closest to a Thirds Grid. See Custom menus because you can change these to suit your CMs more as a visual reminder that you are in a different Mode. I use the Cross Hair Grid for Wildlife. Apply Settings to EVF is ON.

Peaking is White, Normal intensity with no image brightness. I find white easier to see. Histogram can be left default there is no need to change it.

Selfie Assist? On, but I’ve never used it, I want the scene in front of me.

I prefer an Audible Beep when focus is achieved although in some situations like Wildlife I set off for stealth. See Custom Settings and the Wildlife Section.

USB has various settings such as PC Connection and External Power Delivery. Auto is fine for now.

EV and ISO should be 1/3EV for better control.

ISO Auto Set allows the upper limit and default to be set. Set Upper to 6400 which is the maximum, to go any higher it will need to be manually selected. Default 200 which is the native ISO. Lowest Shutter can be left at Auto.

ISO Auto enable All to make it available in all settings.

Noise Filter is Standard by Default and only affects Jpeg images so there is no need to be concerned about it unless you use Jpeg, or want the image you see in camera to be clean (the preview in camera is a jpeg, not a Raw).

Noise Reduction is different and does affect Raw’s, so I leave it set at Auto. Noise Reduction will start with images over 5 seconds Exposure and for images in this kind of range it is worth having that little extra help. For long Exposures of 60 seconds or more it can be frustrating having to wait, add it to My Menu so it can be turned off. I set a CM specifically for this, see Custom Modes Section.

Low ISO settings set Detail Priority. Low ISO’s are not native, they are computational and lead to lower Dynamic Range. I avoid ISO Low unless I have no choice and use Detail Priority just to help.

Set Bulb/Time Timer to max 30min, the longest. Similarly Set Live Comp Timer to 3h Default. This can be changed to 6hr but is set to the max possible Olympus think can be achieved with a full battery. Longer and an external power source will be needed. See Live Comp Section.

All other are indicated as N/A because settings will only be used when using the feature, eg Live Time.

Bulb Time Monitor is set -7 brightness by default meaning the screen is so dark you cannot see it, but it is to reduce power consumption for crazy long exposures. Change to 0 (Zero).

Flicker scan is off and only accessible in M or S. It scans the scene under artificial light and tries to set the best shutter speed to avoid flicker. Ignore it unless you shoot under flickering artificial light.

Metering is best set to ESP which measures the whole scene and averages it. Using Exposure Compensation and the Histogram to make your own judgements means there is little relevance using other modes. However Spot or Centre Weighted may still be preferable in some situations, eg portraits, wildlife.

AEL Auto, if Auto Exposure Lock is used it will base the exposure on the Metering Mode selected.

[AF] Spot allows the metering to be tied to the focus point. It can be useful if the focus point is also where you want to meter, but be aware it can be a hinderance too. A portrait for eg focus would be on the eye, but a metering from the eye may give too under or over exposed readings.

Exposure Shift allows exposure to be dialled up or down for each metering mode. It’s simpler and faster just to use the histogram and control exposure yourself.

Flash is something I never use so Default settings are fine. However if using a flash for macro for example check the Sync Speed and Slow Limit match with your flash.

Quality Settings allows 4 sets of Jpeg size and quality to be created by setting each parameter. I use the settings as shown and then set Raw+LSF for the images I record. You should be shooting Raw, if you are not yet at that stage you could still shoot Raw and archive some for when you start learning Processing. You might get a stunning shot! Some people set a medium or even a low quality just for sharing online, or just Raw, it is entirely your decision. I set LSF for Jpeg on the small chance there is an image I want to use. Mostly I record them just as a backup and delete once the Raws are imported to my Hard Drive. See also card settings for backup.

Pixel Count allows the size of M and S Jpegs to be set from available choices. L is already set at 5184 and cannot be changed.

Shading Comp OFF removes any corner vignetting. However it is irrelevant because lens correction does this anyway. The issue is it can be a little over aggressive and it will affect Raws, plus your Raw processor may not apply the auto correction as best as it should. Leave it off to avoid issues.

WB Auto is best for Raw, it can be changed in Post Processing, although I do change it in camera when the light fools it, eg at Twilight. Jpeg cannot be changed in post, only by editing colour balance, so WB needs to be set accurately. We will set up a button for easy access, see Buttons Section.

I turn off Keep Warm colour for a more neutral image, I always use Raw so it is slightly irrelevant.

sRGB v AdobeRGB-These are two different colour spaces and you will find many conflicting opinions about them, not to be confused with Color Profiles, Vivid, Natural etc. AdobeRGB has a wider gamut of colours and some prefer to use this, however sRGB is the standard used by nearly all print labs. The internet doesn’t have a colour space as such although many websites now use sRGB as do mobile devices. Processing an image in one colour space and then outputting to a different colour space can lead to colour shift. As there is so little difference between the two you will actually see, I always use sRGB.

The big issue here is the in-camera colour space actually only affects Jpeg, not Raw. A tag may be saved to the Raw but it is largely ignored by Raw Processors, Adobe will use aRGB. What matters here is the colour space you save your exported processed images as. As said, using anything other than sRGB for online images, and these days online print bureaus will lead to colour shifting. It is a minefield and a complicated one, just search Colour Calibration and be prepared for a long read. You can save a lot of trouble with very little loss by just using sRGB. Printing at home, calibrating your printer is essential.

Card Slot Settings allow you to define how images are recorded to each card. Options are Standard, saving to selected card only, Auto Switch, when the first card becomes full it will switch to the next card, Dual Independent has two options, protecting the saved images and not auto switching, or allowing auto switching, and Dual Same which saves files to both cards as a backup.

If Dual Independent is selected you can also define whether to save Raw to one card and Jpeg to another but, confusingly, the option is not in this menu, you will need to revisit Shooting Menu1>Quality where the options are now available.

There are a few things to consider before making your choice:

Bear in mind the card slots do not accept the same speed of card. Slot 1 is UHSII compatible where Slot 2 is only UHSI compatible and they are very much different in terms of speed. This means if you use both slots set as a backup (Dual Same) writing to slot 2 will be slower and will have an impact if shooting in a high bust mode or Pro Capture. Do you need to set as a backup? That’s a question only you can answer, if doing a wedding then absolutely, or a trip of a lifetime yes. Bear in mind if you have saved Custom Settings and you decide to change Card Slot settings you will need to update the CM too. DO NOT SET DIFFERENT SETTINGS ON DIFFERENT CM’s, YOU ARE JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE AND RISK OVERWRITING IMAGES.

If using Dual Independent you could use Slot 1 for Raw and Slot 2 for Jpeg which being smaller will not impact saving speeds quite as much. It also means you do not need to buy ultra fast UHSII cards for slot 2.

In general I use Auto Switch and have never had a card fail, but never say never. I will change them to Backup if going on a very important trip, or one I cannot easily revisit.

Editing Filename can be useful if you have multiple bodies, my EM1-MK3 is set to MK3, EM5-Mk2 to 5MK2, OM5, OM1 etc. It’s useful to know which body was used without looking at Exif just from the filename.

Copyright Info absolutely should be set so you name is baked into the Exit. Using a watermark on images does give limited protection, they can be easily removed, but your Copyright in the Exif is absolute proof an image is yours should you ever need to prove it.

Lens Info settings only applies to lenses that cannot be recognised by the camera such as manual lenses with no electronic contacts, where Lens Name, focal length and aperture will not show in Exif. Input the information to allow the data to be recorded.

Set Quick Erase Off meaning the OK confirmation is required before images are deleted from the card or you risk deleting too easily. Best practice is to never delete images from the card in camera, it is the biggest cause of card corruption. Reformat once all your images are safely transferred. 

EVF Auto Switch allows the EVF sensor to auto switch from the screen to the eyepiece, I prefer ON1. EVF Adjust can be set to Auto or Off for manual adjustment of brightness. After years with Olympus cameras I prefer to have auto off because it can dim too much in bright conditions, but I leave the setting at Zero, increasing brightness can lead to a false sense of exposure settings. EVF Style is user defined, I prefer Style 3.

Info Settings are parameters that can switch the info displayed when the Info button is pressed. Set these to the same settings as the rear monitor to avoid confusion.

S-OVF attempts to replicate an Optical Viewfinder. DSLR’s use Optical Viewfinders, the scene you see in the viewfinder is through the lens using a prism and mirrors and is just the same as viewing a scene with the naked eye. 
EVF’s use an electronic screen obviously. It truth an EVF cannot replicate an OVF, it doesn’t do a bad job, exposure alterations will not show live. I have little use for it so I leave it off.

You may on occasion notice red spots on the screen which are dead pixels. It can happen, running this utility usually removes them.

Level Adjust resets the in camera Spirit Level, which can on occasion need recalibrating. If Adjusting make sure the camera is level first. I tend to use the grid more than the level, although it is useful when there is no horizon in the scene.

Menu Recall sets the position to the last place you where when Menu is pressed. Very useful for My Sets if you make sure it was your last position.

Fisheye Com is useful when using the Fisheye lens, otherwise it is greyed out.

Battery settings only apply if you use the external battery grip, in which case set to PBH so the grip battery is used first before the body battery.

Power settings are set to suit you, I use 3min sleep and 1hr auto off. Quick Sleep should be Off, it is super super annoying.

All settings are self explanatory and need no mention other than one:

Rec View defines how long, or not, that a shot shows on the rear screen or viewfinder once taken. It can be set to 0-20 seconds and it is very much personal preference. I set to the max 20 because when I take a shot I can see it without having to press playback and it gives me chance to inspect it before deciding if I need to make adjustments. A half press of the shutter dismisses it. It does not interfere with Sequential shooting modes. You may prefer less, or nothing, 20 suits my needs.

Wifi/Bluetooth only require visiting of you are connecting an external device such as your mobile for the IO Share App, or a Bluetooth accessory, in which case follow instructions for the device.

A custom menu that is user created. For more information see the previous section Menus.

You should treat this as a place to save most frequently used items, items you do not use frequently but have difficulty locating, and as a way to supplement Custom Modes.