Loading custom presets from card -- how??
 

I downloaded the presets and put them on the SD card that came with the camera, put it in the camera, turn it on, go in the Menu to:

Customize
Custom Preset

Then there's no option for

Card -> Camera

like the manual says there should be. If I scroll down I can see it and it's grayed out. So no way to access the card. It's as if the camera isn't reading the card. Was I supposed to format the card before loading the presets onto it? Or...? Any ideas? Thanks.

Did you make sure that the preset files are actually in the PRESET folder on the card, Jeff?

There's supposed to be a PRESET folder on the disc? No, just copied it from the hard drive to the card. Should I create a PRESET folder and put them in that? Or something else? Thanks, Chris.

Yup, folder must be named PRESET in all caps -- the .CPF files go in there -- try it, should work.

BINGO! You da man, Chris! Thanks! (How did you know that, by the way??)

Now, what is the limit to the number of presets you can have? I thought I could install all 18, but is there a limit of 9? When I "select position" to put a present in, looks like there are only 9 slots to choose from. Do I have that right?

Thanks Jeff, this is my idea of having fun on a Friday night. Pretty lame, eh?

Don't bother with moving the presets from the card to the camera... you don't need to do that. Leave the presets on the card, and press the CP Select button on the side of the camera. Each press will advance you through all nine of the internal presets on the camera, and then it'll jump to the ones on the card automatically. Try it and see.

You can have 20 presets on the card, plus nine in the camera, and you have access to all of them at any given time. To make it easier to go back and forth between all those presets, assign "CP Select Backward" to Custom Key #2. That gives you a back button in addition to the forward button, on either side of the CP On / Off button.

Yow, this is fantastic. Here I was loading in a few and now I get it! Thanks, as always, Chris. Hey, this is a fun Friday night, lemme tell you!

Also look in your manual for a Custom Function called "Still Image Record plus CP Data," or search for some of my posts about it both here and in the XL H1 forum. It's a way to write a Custom Preset file along with a still photo to the memory card, which will let you save an unlimited number of presets, more than you can possibly use.

Okay, will look at that, thanks. One more question (note I didn't say one LAST question!): when scrolling through custom presets by pushing the buttons, it only shows the # and not the name of the preset, correct? I'm only seeing the number, but then I have your spreadsheet with all the info on it by #...

correct.

Chris i have a question for you. Is it possible to take pictures simultaneously while recording video?

Hi Kalulu, yes it is possible. You must first enable Simultaneous Image Recording from within the Custom Function menu (it's option #8). If you set it to On + CP Data, then any Custom Preset which is active at the time you pressed the photo button will be recorded to the SD card as a separate .CPF file, sharing the same name as the still image .JPG. Hope this helps,

hmm, it keeps blinking "Off" with a red camera icon on the right bottom! i dont think its taking the shot.

i can only take shots during playback not while i record mode. Its set to On+CP Data

Kalulu, you have set the Custom Function, but I don't think you have actually applied it yet... see page 110 of the manual, "Recording a Still Image on a Memory Card While Recording Movies on a Tape." The little Off icon you're referring to appears if you press the Photo button while Sim. Img. Rec is set to Off, which leads me to believe that you set the Custom Function but did not apply it. Hope this helps,

Chris, actually I don't think this method will increase the number of possible presets. In order to save a preset being active while taking a still (during filming), one of the previosuly defined presets (9 in camera or 20 on the card) must have been chosen beforehand, so saving it along a still picture merely serves the purpose of recalling which preset was used at the given time (see here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....99&postcount=4). Suppose you're examining your footage and like the result, but don't remember which preset was used to get it (and it can NOT be displayed as camera data!) - but hey! you took a still while filming, so the preset is stored for easy reference. Now, whenever you need this same look of you video, you simply load it from the card - but it's still one of the presets already defined within the 20+9 limit.

- please correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: I'm correcting myself; effectively it does increase the number of presets you can have defined at any given time. Once you define a preset in-camera or save it to card, you can replace it with another one after saving it along a still on your card. I was hallucinating because of the long Saturday night I had. Sorry:)