Key release function

[Rui Guerra]

Hi all,

As you probably know, RED cameras have almost all of its keys user programmable.
And most of them can be programmable as a "key press function" or a "key release function". Although the first one does the obvious thing, assigning a "key release" function is not that intuitive, since for you to have a "release" you must first press it!

So what would be the type of shortcuts/behaviour that you would assign to a "key release"? In what scenarios is this useful or better than the regular "key press"?

Thanks!

 

[Les Hillis]

It's an interesting question, that's got me re-thinking some of my custom button settings.

I think the 'Key Press/Key Release' function is best suited to highly repetitive and/or temporary actions, but can also be used as a kind of fail-safe procedure.

For example, if you were shooting frame grabs or very short shots all day, it would be easier to just press the record button to start recording and then release it to stop recording, rather than having to press the button twice and make sure it actually engaged both times. I think we've all had times when we thought we were or weren't recording only to find out it was the opposite, which can be especially easy to do if your monitor isn't set up to show the record icon.

Likewise, if you're temporarily toggling between two focus or exposure tools a lot, but not leaving them engaged all the time, it would be easier to make them toggle with press and release than pressing twice for each. Just the other day I was unaware I had one of the edge focus tools left on (one that needs a certain level of illumination of the subject in order to be seen) and wondered for a minute why the screen was black when I changed to a slower (darker) lens that gave a different reading. That wouldn't have happened if the tool had been set to press on/release off instead of having been inadvertently left on.

Switching to information you have on custom overlays, or even to a clean feed, could also be good to have set up to just come on while you're holding the button and looking at it, then reverting to your normal view when releasing the button.

A lot of that is dependent on the speed with which the camera can change between the settings though. If it takes too long then it might be better to just hit the button and wait than wait for the change while having to keep your finger on the button.

Interested to hear what other uses people have for the 'key release function' feature. It could even be set up to switch between different functions, not necessarily only on/off, eg. press to check exposure or focus, then release to start recording.

 

[Rui Guerra]

Very valid thoughts, @Les Hillis specially about the ability to switch between different functions, because for my type of use I'm after a way to increase the number of assignable buttons (in this case will be a virtual increase, since the same button could perform two functions). One needs to find the combinations that can make sense to map together in the same key.

Regarding the faster/temporary function approach is something that can indeed be very useful, as you said.

I second that, it would be very interesting to hear about specific situations / functions that other people make use of the release function key.

Thanks.

 

[Les Hillis]

If the aim is to increase the amount of functions you can assign to a limited amount of buttons, the best option imo is to switch between entire presets.

It can get complicated very quickly and it's a bit of a chore to set up, but you basically assign a bunch of different functions to the same buttons, which you access by pressing one button that changes between entire presets.

Doing that can give you basically unlimited options depending how many different overall presets you want to use. Theoretically you could set up more functions per button than you could possible even remember.

One crucial thing to remember when setting it up is that with every preset, you always want to leave one button to serve the function of going back to (reloading) the previous or another preset.

For example, I have a Playback preset assigned to one button, so when I press that, all the other buttons change from Record assist functions to playback controls. Which means I never have to use the touchscreen controls or the menu selections to select or control playback.

The only downside of switching between entire presets that change all or most of your button functions, is the slight delay when the camera changes between one preset and another (and the time-consuming chore of setting it all up in the first place).

 

[Rui Guerra]

That's also a great idea!
No doubt that the combination of the fast changing preset and some change function mapped key will solve my problem.

Nevertheless, I'm still interested in other possible uses of a mapped release key function, if there are others. Maybe some RED user has found another useful utility for this.

Thanks!