The X-M5 has few physical controls, so the Q menu and the function buttons are your camera’s interface. Spend twenty minutes editing them once and you will never dig through the menu mid-shoot again.
Q button on the top plate 3 rear Fn buttons 4 touch flicks
Build your Q menu first
Edit it at BUTTON/DIAL SETTING > EDIT/SAVE QUICK MENU, or simply press and hold the Q button when the Q menu is not showing. Here is a sixteen-slot layout built for a learning photographer on this specific body:
| Slot group | Items | Why these |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | FOCUS MODE, AF MODE, FACE DETECTION ON/OFF, FOCUS AREA | There is no focus-mode switch on this camera, so this is the fix |
| Exposure | ISO, PHOTOMETRY, SHUTTER TYPE, DYNAMIC RANGE | No ISO button either |
| Look | FILM SIMULATION, WHITE BALANCE, GRAIN EFFECT, CLARITY | Remember: FILM SIMULATION here only works with the dial on C |
| Housekeeping | IMAGE QUALITY, SELF-TIMER, IS MODE, LARGE INDICATORS MODE | The four you otherwise hunt for |
One small setting, big payoff
Set SCREEN SET-UP > Q MENU BACKGROUND to BLACK. The transparent background looks nicer in reviews and is unreadable against a busy or bright scene — which is exactly when you are reaching for the Q menu.
The three assignable buttons
The manual counts three back-of-camera function buttons: the movie record button, the Q button and AEL/AFL. Everything else on the body is fixed. Reach the assignment screen the fast way: press and hold DISP/BACK, which jumps straight to the Bluetooth and FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING screen.
| Control | Default | Suggested | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movie record (red dot) | MOVIE RECORDING RELEASE | Keep it, or assign HISTOGRAM | If you never shoot video from stills modes, a histogram toggle is worth more |
| Q button | QUICK MENU | Keep | It is the most valuable control on the camera |
| AEL/AFL | AE LOCK | AF-ON, or AE LOCK ONLY | AF-ON gives you back-button focus; AE LOCK ONLY keeps exposure fixed while you recompose |
| Touch flick up / down / left / right | Various, including LARGE INDICATORS MODE | RAW, FILM SIMULATION, ISO, HISTOGRAM | Four extra buttons you did not know you had |
Custom banks: C1 to C4
The mode dial’s C1 to C4 positions recall complete stored setups. Save them at IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING — or press and hold Q to jump there. A sensible starting set:
- C1 — Daylight walkaround. A mode, AUTO1 ISO, PROVIA, DR AUTO, AF-S single point.
- C2 — People moving. A mode, AUTO2 ISO with 1/500 s floor, AF-C zone, face and eye detection on.
- C3 — Indoors and evening. A mode wide open, AUTO3 ISO, DR100, HIGH ISO NR -2, CLASSIC CHROME.
- C4 — Black and white. ACROS with a yellow filter, DR AUTO, grain off.
Traps worth knowing
- Delete has no confirmation. In playback, the DRIVE button becomes the delete button, and once you choose FRAME there is no “are you sure”. Cull on a computer.
- SET-UP RESET wipes your customisation — buttons, Q menu, screen, sound, power and network settings — while keeping the clock and copyright text. STILL MENU RESET leaves your buttons alone.
- A film simulation stored in a custom bank is ignored unless the film simulation dial is on C.
- The Q button is small. One reviewer calls it hard to reach with bare fingers and impossible with gloves. In winter, use touch flicks instead.
Assignment: set it up, then prove it
Build the Q menu above, assign the four touch flicks, and save C1 to C4. Then stand in a room and give yourself five commands in a row — “AF-C”, “ISO 3200”, “black and white”, “self-timer 2 s”, “back to C1” — timing yourself. Under ten seconds for all five means your camera is now set up for you rather than for a shop shelf.