Your camera, your way with custom controls

How do you set custom controls?

To access custom controls, press the menu button to bring up your camera’s menu. Then navigate to the pencil icon in the left-hand sidebar. That’s your custom settings menu. 

With the pencil highlighted, you’ll see a set of options. Navigate to the one that says ‘controls’, then press the right arrow on your directional pad. Go to the option that says ‘custom controls’ and press the right arrow again. That will bring up a graphic of your camera body with all the function buttons you can assign controls to. 

As you navigate through those options, you’ll see them highlighted in yellow on the graphic, telling you exactly where on your camera body they are. They will already have functions assigned to them by default, which you can keep or change. 

The Fn buttons are the most obvious option for setting custom controls, but other buttons such as the AF-on and video recording button can also be assigned a control. Click wheels, lens rings and battery grips can also be customised.

To change their function, select the button you want to modify with the OK button or tap the touchscreen. That will bring up a menu of all the controls you can assign to that button. Choose one by pressing OK or tapping. 

Once you have everything set up how you want it, exit the menu and test it out. You can always switch controls out if they don’t work for your photography style.

When and why to use custom controls

The reasons for custom controls vary according to the photographer. If you’re tracking fast-moving subjects such as football players, animals or running kids, you can customise your controls to help you focus faster or recall your focus point to a set position.

Setting up unique controls also saves time. If you have a configuration of settings that you know will work well for a specific type of photography, recalling them with a single button is extremely useful. 

The ‘recall shooting functions’ control does exactly that – you can programme in everything from the camera mode you’re using, from shutter speed to aperture, then recall all of those settings at once. 

How does that help you in the real world? Creating a ‘sports mode’ with fast, continuous shooting, continuous focus tracking and auto ISO is one example. Those settings combined let you pick up your camera and get to work without changing settings on the fly or missing opportunities.

Other advantages of custom controls include: 

• Saved time 
• Improved workflow
• Customising camera functions to your style

These examples barely scratch the surface. To get a better idea of just how many custom controls and configurations are possible with your Nikon camera, check out this list and get to tinkering. 

Another tool for your kit

If drilling into your camera menu seems intimidating, don’t worry. You don’t have to use every single custom control or configure every button and click wheel on your camera. To be 100% honest, I’ve left the Fn buttons on my Z6II alone since I bought it almost two years ago! 

Try starting with just the two Fn buttons. Assign them a function for a month and see how it feels. Or set up back-button focus with AF-on and test it out. 

As with so many aspects of photography, custom controls are trial and error. Think of them as just another tool you have at your disposal to raise your photography game. The better you know your camera, the more skilfully you can use it, so take it at your own pace.