TX1 101: Making the print button more useful

Answer truthfully, how many of you have actually used the complex DPOF functions on your camera that allow you to print directly from the camera to a compatible printer? Not me. Mine go straight into Aperture, get tweaked, cropped and generally fiddled with before they are ready for prime time. So if you're like me and not going to bother with it, then what could you possibly use that pointless print button on the top of the camera for?

By the way, I'm not trying to alienate any dedicated DPOF lovers out there, so please don't come back with any strongly worded comments if you fall into that group of dedicated direct-to-print enthusiasts ;-)

Right. Wass it for then??? Think of it as a convenient and configurable one-touch button for accessing certain camera features that will otherwise mean a trip into the menu tree to select, most likely just as the Abominable Snowman ducks behind a tree and you miss the shot.

The button can be easily assigned to any of the following functions:

1. Nothing (the default setting)
   
2. Exposure compensation
• Normally accessed via the function button and one click down, this allows direct access in one touch without any fiddling around (or messing up) with the 4-way function controller
• Very useful if you are shooting in low or very bright light
  
3. White balance
• Normally accessed in 3 clicks, this is a feature any intermediate or above level photographer will be interested in accessing quickly
4. Custom white balance
• Taking the previous point one step further, you could access the custom white balance settings in one touch, allowing you to set and reset custom white balance with just a touch of the button each time
  
5. Digital tele-converter
• The subject of an upcoming TX1 101 post, this feature allows you to improve the already lengthy 10x zoom of the camera using some digital jiggery-pokery
• Normally accessed via the Menu in 3 clicks, this could be a real winner if you want to quickly give your camera an extra dose of digital zoom at short notice
6. Image/display guides
• This has 2 parts, the first being the capability to the show the well known rule-of-thirds composition grid overlay on the LCD screen. I had this on an earlier point-and-shooter and as someone who had become interested in better composition of my photos, found it to be fantastically helpful in remembering to put the main subject of a photo on or near one of the lines or intersects
  
• The second guide allows you to see what a 4:3 photo might look cropped onto 3:2 aspect paper (think a printed 6x4)
7. Display off
• If you're an owner of the TX1 you may by now have noticed that the battery life isn't stellar. This option allows you to assign the 'Display off' function to the button to immediately turn off the LCD rather than wait for the auto-shutoff or flip the LCD closed (which is what I tend to do)
8. Play sound effect
• This final option allows you to assign a sound effect to be played when you press the button. Personally I think this is an odd choice, but the manual states it might be handy for getting people's attention just before you hit the shutter button. I've always found 'say cheeeeeeeese' is quite effective

To assign one of the above functions to the Print button, press Menu in any of the camera (not playback) modes. Make sure you're on the 'Camera' tab and either scroll down to the bottom, or just hit up once on the 4-way to get to the last item in the menu list, 'Set Print Button'. Select the item and then pick the chosen option from the list of icons available. You will then be able to press the Print button whilst in Camera mode and it will access the chosen feature in one-touch.

Those are some genuinely helpful options (save the last one I reckon), but what I'd like to see is some of the other functions of the camera able to be assigned to this button, like...

• Switch between 4:3 and 16:9. I like taking 4:3 photos and 16:9 HD movies. Being able to flick between the two without accessing the menus would be just brilliant (please, please, please Canon!)
• To be able to cycle through movie modes (640-30, 640-LP, 320-6-, 320-30, 1280-HD, 1280-LP)
  
• Access super-macro mode

Despite missing these wanted options, I think Canon deserves praise for including a custom button that allows you to choose a function to access quickly. Some other cameras of theirs have this option and it's good to see them including it on the TX1, even if it's not obvious at first glance what's possible with this custom button.

For those of you who just must get it all from the horses mouth, you can find more details on page 67 of the Advanced Camera User Guide for the TX1.