OM5 custom settings explained

Custom settings are a very powerful feature of the OM1 and OM5 cameras. However, there are significant differences between the two cameras in their use. It has taken me a while to understand the differences, and how to use the OM5 custom settings to their best advantage.

OM1 custom settings compared to OM5

The OM5 is basically a smaller version of the EM1 mk iii, with some additional enhancements. But it doesn’t work exactly like the EM1 iii, largely because it uses much of the EM5 mk iii control firmware. So in the way it works it’s a bit of a hybrid mashup. Nothing wrong with that, but it needs understanding first, not least if it’s being used as a companion camera to the OM1. This is particularly true for the OM5 custom settings.

On the OM1, there are four “hard” settings C1-C4 available from the mode dial. However, there is only one hard custom setting available on the OM5, which is identified by the C setting on the mode dial. Another three “soft” custom settings, C2-C4 can also be stored in memory. There are two different methods of recalling these settings on the OM5, which behave in quite different ways.

This was very confusing to me initially. I think I have it figured out now, so here is what I have learned.

OM5 custom settings

• On the OM5, custom setting C1 is assigned to C on the PASM dial, and works like the OM1 and EMxx.
• Custom settings C2, C3, C4 don’t have a dial assignment but can be assigned to custom buttons, or recalled from the custom settings menu.
• These custom buttons can include the top two buttons on the left-hand side of the camera, which is a considerable plus for the OM5.
• You can therefore recall either the C2, C3 and C4 settings by pressing their assigned button. However, as soon as the Menu button is pressed, the setting disappears, and the camera reverts to the basic setting. This is not the case for the C custom setting, where you retain the settings when pressing the menu.
• Because you lose the Custom setting as soon as you press “menu”, it is impossible to save changes to the C2, C3 and C4 custom settings if activated from a button.
• You can only save changes if the custom settings are recalled from the “custom settings” menu item.
• If you do this, you overwrite the basic or latest settings.  
• For landscape and LE seascape work, I have found convenient to use the M manual/basic setting rather than the custom C setting.  This is because the aperture setting is preserved when you switch from M to B, but changes when you switch from C to B.  
• However, if one of the other custom settings C2, C3, C4 has been recalled so that it can be altered, the basic settings have been lost. 
• As a result, I have assigned basic/landscape settings to C so that it can be recalled back into the basic settings.
• My startup process is therefore always to recall the C setting into memory before continuing.

Final thoughts

Although I love the camera, I was baffled by how the OM5 custom settings worked, or didn’t work. Now I have it figured out, I am quite happy, and can run a parallel set of C1-C4 settings on the little one, to match the same setup on the big one.

Being able to regularly update and save the settings on both cameras is quite important, as I change C1-C4 all the time. The process of using OI share to update settings is almost as baffling as the OM5 settings themselves. if you want help on that topic, have a look at this post.