@eosnetwork on Twitter
EOS Network on Facebook
Email us!
Screen brightness adjustment on the EOS-1D Mark IV – quick access tip
Categories: Tips and Advice, Training - Tags: CameraIn the last couple of years the rear LCD screen on digital cameras has become more and more important. Notwithstanding the fact that clearly it’s where we’ve always (in digital terms) had a quick check of the image to make sure it looks good, now it’s used for Live View and movie recording as well. And this means getting the screen brightness correct for the given light conditions absolutely essential. If you don’t there’s no way you can use the screen to judge the exposure of your images… a lot like having an uncalibrated monitor back at home for processing.
Setting screen brightness is a pretty easy affair, you just go into the menu (usually the second yellow tab) and choose screen brightness. However, in the heat of the moment, hunting through the menus is a slow way of getting there.
For most EOS cameras, the quickest access is to save the screen brightness setting in the “My Menu” tab where it can be easily accessed by just a press of the menu button. However, the EOS-1D Mark IV offers an even faster method.
On the top panel you’ll find a button you’ve probably never really pushed before – the LCD panel illumination button. Most commonly this is used to provide a cool blue or yellow illumination to the top LCD panel on the camera. However, it hides a secret on the EOS-1D Mark IV. In playback mode, i.e. after you’ve pushed play to review your images, the LCD panel illumination button will take you directly to the screen brightness setting. No menu, no scrolling, nothing but direct access goodness 
The eagle-eyed will notice it is a fractionally different menu than normal – the bar along the top is grey rather than yellow. Whoop, big deal! It still allows you to adjust your screen brightness settings and ensure you’re seeing the screen brightness as accurately as possible for the given light conditions.
For those curious – you should adjust the brightness setting so that there is a good definition between each of the patches on the right hand side of that screen – the black should not be blocked up and the white should not be glowing. The general rule will be in brighter light the screen needs to be brighter, in darker light the screen can be darker too.
