Canon Picture Style Files Though Canon SLRs have become some of the most popular tools for film-makers, the company is a little late to the party when it comes to dedicated video profiles.

Upon being handed a Canon EOS RP to evaluate, I immediately set up the camera for use. Following are the 42 steps I took to make an out-of-the-box EOS RP ready for use.

• Here, you can create your own style by adjusting the sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone parameters on the camera (via the Picture Style menu option), or alternatively you may want to visit Canon’s dedicated Picture Style website where a selection of other styles are made available ready to download onto your DSLR.
• Unlike Nikon, Canon shooters don’t have a gift-wrapped little corner on the web where multitudes of film types have been simulated and prepared for users to download and install on their cameras, but they can install custom Picture Styles downloaded from the internet or make their own. Sadly the search for pre-made film emulation Picture.

1. Open the box, find the battery, place it in the charger and plug it in.
2. While the battery is charging, unpack the other items you want from the box.
3. Download and install the Canon Solution Disk software on your computer, gaining support for the latest camera(s). Canon Digital Photo Pro (DPP) and EOS Utility are the options I manually include in the install.
4. Attach the neck strap.
5. Insert the battery (after charging completes) and power the camera on.
6. The date, time and timezone setup screen will show at the first startup. Use the rear cross keys and set button to update this information.
7. Insert a memory card (don't forget to format the card via the tools menu option before taking pictures).
8. Set the camera's mode to Av, Tv or M (some modes provide only a small subset of available menu options).
9. Scroll through all of the menu tabs to configure the camera as follows:
10. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Image quality: Use top dial to set RAW to 'RAW' and Cross Keys to set JPEG to '-' (RAW image files provide the highest quality and are especially valuable for post processing work)
11. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Image review: 4 sec. (or sometimes off to increase shooting speed in the field)
12. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Release shutter without card: Disable (only in a retail store do you want to press the shutter release without saving the image file)
13. Shooting Menu, Tab 2: Lens Aberration Correction: All options 'OFF' (though Chromatic Aberration correction is a good option to leave enabled for most)
14. Shooting Menu, Tab 3: Photo ISO speed settings: ISO speed range: L(50) – H2(102400) (settings used for testing, adjust to your tolerance)
15. Shooting Menu, Tab 4: White balance: AWB W (White) (I seldom use another white balance setting while shooting, though I often adjust modestly during post processing)
16. Shooting Menu, Tab 4: Picture Style: Neutral with Strength = 1 (Note: the low contrast 'Neutral' picture style provides a histogram on the back of the camera that most-accurately shows me blown highlights and blocked shadows on the camera LCD. I usually change the Picture Style to 'Standard' in DPP after capture.)
17. Shooting Menu, Tab 5: Long exp. noise reduction: Auto (when active, LENR captures a dark image that is used to correct the long exposure noise in the primary image)
18. Shooting Menu, Tab 5: High ISO speed NR: Off (or Low) (noise reduction is destructive to images details – I prefer to add noise reduction sparingly during post processing)
19. Shooting Menu, Tab 6: High speed display: ON (note that the camera must be set to Servo AF and high speed continuous frame rate to enable this option)
20. Shooting Menu, Tab 7: Touch & drag AF settings: Touch & drag AF: Enable (allows a thumb drag across the rear LCD to quickly move the AF point while looking through the electronic viewfinder)
21. Playback Menu, Tab 4: Playback information display: 1 and 3 enabled (avoids too many playback information options)
22. Playback Menu, Tab 4: Highlight Alert: Enable (causes overexposed pixels to blink)
23. Playback Menu, Tab 4: Playback grid: 3x3 (sometimes helps with checking alignment)
24. Playback Menu, Tab 4: Magnificatn (apx): Actual size (from selected pt) (allows one button press during playback to zoom deeply into the image)
25. Tools Menu, Tab 1: Auto Rotate: On computer (only) (images are properly rotated when viewed on a computer, but are always oriented to fill the LCD when viewed on the camera)
26. Tools Menu, Tab 1: Mode guide: Disable (useful for beginners)
27. Tools Menu, Tab 1: Feature guide: Disable (useful for beginners)
28. Tools Menu, Tab 3: Beep: Disable (probably no one wants to hear you beeping camera setting changes or focus confirmation)
29. Tools Menu, Tab 4: Shooting info. display: Screen info. settings: Enable 1 (press Info, disable basic shooting info and enable Electronic level), 3 and 4
30. Tools Menu, Tab 4: Shooting info. display: VF info/toggle setting: Enable 1, (press Info, disable Detailed shooting info and Histogram disp, enable Electronic level) and 3 (press Info, disable Detailed shooting info, enable Histogram disp and Electronic level)
31. Tools Menu, Tab 4: Shooting info. display: Grid display: 3x3 (sometimes helpful for alignment checking)
32. Tools Menu, Tab 4: Shooting info. display: Histogram disp: Brightness/RGB: RGB, Display size: Small (I want to see the brightness levels of each channel separately and don't want the graph to take up much space in the display)
33. Tools Menu, Tab 6: Custom shooting mode (C1 - C3): Auto update set: Enable (see Configuring Custom Shooting Modes)
34. Tools Menu, Tab 6: Copyright information: enter as desired
35. Custom Functions Menu, C.Fn I: Exposure: 3: Bracketing auto cancel: OFF (I want to control when AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) is enabled and disabled)
36. Custom Functions Menu, C.Fn I: Exposure: 4: Bracketing sequence: -0+ (if images are captured in brightness sequence, they are easier to work with during post processing. Capturing the darkest image first means that I quickly get at least the first frame)
37. Custom Functions Menu, C.Fn II: Autofocus: 6: Orientation linked AF point: 1:Separate AF pts: Pt only (instructs camera to individually save the selected AF points for vertical and horizontal orientation)
38. Custom Functions Menu, C.Fn III: Operation/Others: 4: RF lens MF focus ring sensitivity: Linked to rotation degree (I do not like most variable speed AF rings)
39. Custom Functions Menu, C.Fn III: Operation/Others: Customize buttons: Up, Down, Left and Right buttons: Direct AF point selection
40. Custom Functions Menu, C.Fn III: Retract lens on power off: OFF (avoids having a carefully-selected focus distance resetting when camera auto powers off)
41. My Menu: Add the first tab; Register the following options for Tab 1: Format card, Image review (disable when speed is needed), Expo. simulation, Long exposure noise reduction, Date/Time/Zone (great for monitoring what time it is), Expo.comp./AEB (found back up near the top of the list) (nothing in my My Menu is found on the Quick Control display as those functions are already quickly accessed)
42. With a lens mounted and a subject focused on, adjust the viewfinder diopter until the scene is sharp

Many other menu and other setting changes are made based on the current shooting scenario, but this list covers my initial camera setup process.
To copy this configuration would mean that you intend to shoot similar to how I shoot – including shooting in RAW-only format. While my setup works great for me, your best use of this list may be for tweaking your own setup.
If you can't remember your own menu setup parameters, keeping an up-to-date list such as this one is a good idea. Anytime your camera is reset-to-factory state for some reason, such as when being serviced, you will be ready to restore your setup quickly while ensuring that you do not miss an important setting. If you purchase another same or similar camera, you will be able to quickly set it up.
More Information
Canon EOS RP
Get the Canon EOS RP at B&H | Amazon | Adorama | WEX

Japanese Picture Style

With film cameras, the look of the photo depends on the film you select. For example, Fuji Velvia (recently discontinued) was favoured by landscape photographers to create high contrast, saturated colour slides. Kodak Portra is a colour negative film designed to give flattering skin tones. And if you want to shoot in black and white, you have to use black and white film.

With digital cameras, you achieve the same effect using Canon Picture Styles (other manufacturers have different names for the same thing). Your camera, assuming it’s not an older model that predates Picture Styles, has six built-in. Of these, you would probably use three the most – Standard (for general shooting), Landscape and Portrait. Neutral and Faithful are designed to deliver low contrast JPEG files for processing in Photoshop. The last, Monochrome, is for black and white photos.

There are two ways to use Picture Styles:

1. If you use the JPEG format, your images are processed according to the parameters of the selected Picture Style. You can’t change Picture Style afterwards.

2. If you use the Raw format, and process the file in DPP, you can apply a Picture Style at the processing stage. This gives you the option of selecting the Picture Style that suits the image best after you have taken it.

Canon Custom Picture Styles Photos

If you use Raw and process the file in the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, the software gives you the option of using Canon’s Standard, Landscape, Portrait, Faithful and Neutral Picture Styles, but no others.

Romantic Picture Style

You are not limited to the Picture Styles included with your camera. Canon has created seven more Picture Styles that you can download here. Once downloaded, you can transfer them to your camera or use them with Digital Photo Professional. The instructions are on the Canon website at the above link.

Kevin Wang is a photographer who has created his own Picture Styles using the Picture Style Editor, software supplied on the CD that comes with EOS cameras. You can see some of the photos that he’s created with his Picture Styles on his Flickr photostream here. If you would like to use any of his Picture Styles yourself, you can buy them for $US9.99 each. The details are at the above link.

You can also download three of Kevin’s Picture Styles for free by going to this interview with the photographer on the Canon Hong Kong website (there is also some advice on creating your own Picture Styles in the Picture Style Editor). I downloaded these Picture Styles and used them to process the portraits accompanying this article.

Yamato Picture Style

Canon Picture Style Editor Manual

If you upload Kevin’s Picture Styles to your camera, you can use them as is or you can adjust them by going into the Detail settings. Here you can alter the sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone of the Picture Style, and save them as a new User Defined Picture Style if you wish. You can also do this with the built-in or additional Canon Picture Styles.

If you process your Raw files in DPP you can adjust the image brightness, white balance, contrast, sharpness, colour saturation and colour tone to suit the image. This method gives you the most flexibility, and also allows you to use new Picture Styles with old files (this is covered in detail in my ebook Understanding DPP).

Photographer Bruce Dorn has created a series of video tutorials about Picture Styles and the Picture Style Editor software for Canon. The tutorials explain the points I’ve touched on in this article in detail. They also show you how to use the Picture Style Editor to create your own Picture Styles. You can view the tutorials here.

Here are some more photos processed with the Kevin Wang Picture Styles:

Japanese Picture Style

Romantic Picture Style

Yamato Picture Style

Japanese Picture Style

Romantic Picture Style

Canon Custom Picture Styles Font

Yamato Picture Style