A Guide To The Olympus MYSET Function

[DekHog]

I noticed Wee Man saying he never had any idea how to set up the MYSET function, so.....

There is some (understandable) confusion about the Olympus MYSET function which is available in every PEN and some E series Olympus bodies - hopefully this will help clear things up regarding it and help some people to use this very useful and versatile function.

IMPORTANT: First things first - you must take the Olympus user manual and put it somewhere safe; so safe that you'll never find it again should you ever think about needing it - now that's out of the way, down to business.

What is MYSET?
MYSET is the ability to save frequently (or infrequently) used settings in the camera in a bank of SETS - invoking the numbered MYSET will bring all the settings you saved back instantly. My own E-PL2 has four MYSETS; other bodies may have more or less.

How to start using MYSET?
The best and easiest way is as follows - set the camera to your normal shooting settings; whatever you most commonly use, and this will be saved as MYSET1.....assuming you have now set your normal settings, follow the screenshots and text below:

Press the Menu button > Use the arrow/dial and OK button to enter the RESET/MYSET menu as shown below.







Now navigate to MYSET1



Now arrow/button RIGHT and you will see the screen below



Now press the OK button - your normal shooting settings are now saved as MYSET1.

It's very good practice to always go into the menu and activate MYSET1 each time you turn the camera on - this can save a bit of a disaster as you could have changed settings previously that you have forgotten about and still be shooting with them. With a bit of practice it takes about three seconds to do this.

How to add further MYSETS?
Set your camera to your now saved MYSET1 (see below for how to do this); now change whatever you like; Bracketing; Auto ISO; Flash settings; anything. Now follow the steps above to enter the MYSET menu once more. Now navigate to MYSET2 > Arrow/Button right > Press OK button. Done. You now have a totally different set of camera settings in MYSET2. Any further MYSETS are set in the same way.

How to apply previously saved MYSETS?
Highlight the MYSET you wish to invoke and press the OK button. You will see the screenshot below: Arrow up to 'Yes', then press OK again, and the MYSET is now invoked and active.



There seems to be some confusion regarding the difference between saving settings as MYSETS and invoking previously saved MYSETS. If you are in the main MYSET menu shown below, the easy way to remember what does what is this.



Pressing 'OK' on any of the four mysets will invoke this previously saved MYSET; makes the saved settings active. If you arrow/button right in this menu, it means you are going to save the current camera settings as the highlighted MYSET number. DON'T arrow right if you don't want to save. If you save three MYSETS as shown above and are happy with them, you NEVER need to arrow/button right again unless you want to save a change in settings.

A Few Points To Note:

• MYSETS only apply to PASM modes
  
  
• Stating the obvious: If you set your MYSET in 'A' mode, and are not in 'A' mode when you invoke it, the camera obviously can't physically change the mode dial on your camera, but..... if you assign a MYSET to a custom function button, the camera can/will override the dial PASM setting while the Fn (or other custom assigned) button is depressed.
  
  
• If you change settings while in a MYSET and turn the camera off, the changed settings will be retained upon switching it on again - get in the habit of invoking MYSET1 on turning the camera on and you won't be caught out with this.
  
  
• You can save virtually any settings in a MYSET - very few settings are global, and really none that will effect you for photography (there are a list of these settings in your user manual; the same one you now can't find as you followed the first part of this tutorial very carefully).

A few things that would be very useful but aren't available:

The ability to rename the MYSETS.
The currently in use MYSET number to be shown on screen somewhere.
The ability to export MYSETS to your memory card or computer and import them again.

I'm sure a lot of you know all the above anyway, but spare a thought for those who are unsure or new to Olympus cameras.

P.S. Sorry about the rubbish screenshots..... (Nikon Coolpix).

[Wee man]

Now thats what I call service. Thanks . Now I know what tomorrow brings.

[Graham_of_Rainham]

If only they would let you "NAME" them

Come on Oly, pick up on these really good little ideas

[benvendetta]

I have only just picked up on this thread. I have been trying to understand my EPL5 manual where this is discussed (or not) and gave up. A quick Google brought me home, so to speak and now I know how to set the MySets. Why on earth isn't the manual clearer on this?

[DekHog]

Glad to be of service, Sir.....

[Swordfish]

A very useful summary - much clearer than the manual!

I do make limited use of Myset, but as I understand it (at least with OMD) it is not possible to set exposure bracketing as a Myset. I may have got this wrong, so is anyone able to confirm this or not?

Martin

[DekHog]

Yes, you can also do exposure bracketing - just set what you want in the 'bracketing' section of the menu, and when you save the MYSET the bracketing will be saved along with all the other settings; remember and hold the shutter button down until it's finished the bracket though, and also set the FPS setting to 'High'..... if you think you'll use it a lot, you can assign the MYSET that uses it to the Fn1 button....

[Swordfish]

Ah - thanks for that; I have tried it once and it didn't work - that was clearly down to my incompetence.

Martin

[Jim Ford]

I've got an E3 and E5 and can never remember what 'special' settings I've set them to, so I've ended up ignoring them. I've recently bought an E1 and am wondering whether the relativity few options for setting the camera is really enough for me!

Jim

[benvendetta]

I must admit that I rarely used the presets on my E-3. However, as the EPL5 seems to have more 'stuff' I might just try it out. I have an idea to write down what they are and stick a small piece of paper with this on behind the articulated screen

ok. if I have set Myset, but now I want to assign it to the dial ... how do I do tht?

[DekHog]

Originally Posted by Lubarb

ok. if I have set Myset, but now I want to assign it to the dial ... how do I do tht?

Which dial? Which Olympus body are we talking about?

[byegad]

One point. If you have a function button you don't need for something else, then assign it in each Myset as the next Myset. So in Myset 1 if you press it you go to Myset 2, in 2 you go to 3 etc. It means I can set one of the Mysets to landscape settings, another to portrait and another to action settings and jump between them at will.

I read that if you assign these Mysets to the Mode dial - say the functions you don't use, this is better than the buttons. I'm not sure how to do this.
I have the em1

[pvasc]

When the Mysets are assigned to the mode dial, the SCP tells you what Myset right above the indicator for what mode you are in.