Okay, so this whole thing started because I kept messing up my shots. Every time I handed my Canon camera to someone to take a picture of me or grabbed it back quickly, my clumsy fingers kept hitting buttons I didn’t mean to touch. So annoying! Basically, the camera thought I was actually trying to change settings when I just wanted to avoid dropping the thing.
The Annoying Problem
One minute I’d be shooting perfectly, the next minute the screen would show something like “((AF))” with this weird sign popping up next to it. My focus would be all over the place, or some setting would suddenly jump to a value I didn’t want. Total chaos. It mostly happened when my thumb naturally rested near the back buttons or if I gripped it tightly one-handed. Felt like the camera was fighting me!
Figuring Out What Was Happening
I knew it was something to do with my hands touching multiple buttons at once. On my camera, the shutter button is surrounded by other controls. Turns out, if you accidentally press certain buttons together – like maybe the shutter button half-press and the AF-ON button, or the Exposure Lock button – the camera thinks you’re giving it a special command. That’s when those double parentheses (( )) and the plus sign pop up on the display.
What Does “(( )) +” Even Mean?
Digging through my camera’s menu, I figured out this “(( ))” display indicates you’re doing a Custom Function Button setting. The “” sign shows you’re pressing that custom button while another button is also active – usually the shutter button at the half-press position. So, I wasn’t crazy; the camera really was trying to do some complicated custom function combo every time I fumbled the grip!
My Attempts to Fix This Nonsense
- Tried changing my grip: Honestly, easier said than done! Especially when moving fast or wearing gloves. Didn’t feel natural.
- Turned off specific custom buttons: For the buttons I accidentally pressed the most, I went into the menu and set their “Custom Function” to “Disable”. No more random commands from those!
- Changed the AF-ON button behavior: For the AF-ON button, I set it to “Metering and AF start” only when pressed alone, making it less likely to cause a combo conflict.
- Sticky tape? (briefly): Yep, I even put tiny bits of tape over some buttons as a physical reminder. Looked dumb and wasn’t practical for actual shooting.
What Actually Worked For Me
The disabling trick was the winner. Disabling the functions on the buttons my thumb loved to mash accidentally stopped most of those unexpected “(( )) +” moments. My camera stopped thinking I was some kind of button combo ninja when I was just trying not to drop it!
I still see it very occasionally if I’m really careless, but it’s night and day better now. Less frustration, fewer ruined shots. It made me realize how important it is to actually configure those custom buttons properly for your own holding style, not just leave them at defaults. Anyway, hope this saves someone else from yelling at their Canon display!
