[O pigiocearuy Beginner's . Handbook / Master your Canon EOS SLR with c= our step-by-step guides Get to grips with aperture, shutter speed and ISO Improve your pictures Exposure made easy Comprehensive SLR College course Learn key menus and controlsrrVrrrrrrrre AAAAAAAAAMAAA, AAMAMAMAMAAMAMAMMA A A PrrFrrrrrrrrrrrrrr re Asda addahsdaddasdaadaaadada, AAMAAMAAMMAAAMAMAMAAMAMAMDA VrVrVrrrrrrrrrrrrrre rrr rrrrrrrrrrrer re Ad MAAAAAAdadAAdaddsaAAAaadad, VVrrrrrrrrrPrrrrrrrrrrrrerre VrVrrrrrrPrrrrrrrrryPrrrrrrre A444 dss dsddssdssdaddddddssdaadad. AAMAMAMAAMAAAAAAABAAAAAAADA, AAMAMAAMAMAAMAMAMAMAAMAAMMDMM DA, rrrrrrrrvrrrrrrryrrvrrrrryr? ~Ah RRA DR RRR RO i i ~AA Ra A RA RAD pha aR RRR RO ii i ah DR fins [i a, J De V4 aN ab N49 be ah 1Canon Beginner's Handbook Welcome... Welcome to the new Canon Beginner's Handbook, your 212-page guide to using your Canon EOS DSLR. It doesn’t matter if you're an absolute beginner who's just bought a new Canon camera, or you're a seasoned enthusiast who needs a refresher course, inside you'l find all you need to know to really get to grips with your DSLR. With so many seemingly complex controls, menu settings and dials, where do you begin? Over the following pages you'll discover all the vital camera techniques you need to master, from holding your DSLR correctly to using the viewfinder and Live View, from shooting in fully automatic mode, progressing all the way to using semi-automatic and manual shooting modes, when you're able to take control of your camera's settings. There are aiso ten free video guides which you'll find on FileSilo, see page 210 for details. Once you've learned the basics, in the final chapter of this book you'll find our comprehensive 13-part Course, full of essential photography SLR College: techniques, all explained in easy-to-follow lessons. We hope you enjoy reading this Canon Beginner's Haridbook and it helps you to start improving your ‘Canon DSLR setup and techniques today. roe4 L FUTURE 4 rCanon Beginner's Handbook| Canon Beginner’s Handbook CONTENTS,‘et your camera reno shoot 2 Anovervew of yur camel contos 4 ‘Sattalng cond of our camer, a ‘Dicover tow io naigate the stings mens. 8 Setteincamerafleoptions 2 LEARN ESSENTIAL CAMERA TECHNIQUES. Howtohald your camera Introduce view’ an ve View mode ‘sce ets ay. [EXPOSURE MODES EXPLAINED... rogram mode exined utter porty ose ‘Apere print mode Manan moe explains 8 56 FOCUSING & LENSE ‘Your gue camera ers Saori mates ‘naofocs mode Sale fas pont rarely choose te oc mote LIVE VIEW & IMAGE REVIEW snr Introducing ie View made Shootandeview your mages heck te shapes of yourmages chock exposr ung teistogram. [MANUAL MODE MADE EASY. ‘xpesurecompenston [ADVANCED SLR FEATURES.. Shot video on your anon DLR. Improve your images wth Pte Ses Tale beter pte ith i sh Sacer yur expesures apurelong exposes. Te Ato iting Opti. Update your D SUR femare Isospeeds Flefrmats and memory cade stg DISCOVER HOW TO ACCESS FILESILO ener 210 Find out how to access jer ten ee video ies aaa onFisio| Canon Beginner’s Handbook Pree rerend, teas ed Oe ort oe DateTime PLYTATELE no ty TS Cd Poe) a eee) Ca a.)Epis alaa i ete) Sera Cr ee aC) Set up your new Canon cigital SLR, and discover how to use all the main dials, buttons, and menus LORS sr” 1638 taking control fof your camera 1gRe how to navigate the settings menu URS bull menu stem 2Ofet the in-camera file options format your memory card set the correct time and Beep cr ee oS Peers a) LeneGet your camera ready to shoot You've just got your SLR out of the box — here's what to do next... < Insert the battery Without power your D-SLR useless So step Se in getting started sto inset fully charged battery Your Canon D-SLR comes provided witha Lithium-ion Battery and charger. When the ight stops ashing your Dautry charged: A spare battery can come in hand ify want a backup cher the battery type Find the code writen on the battery Do artng with the eters LE. Get the right memory card Next we nee fo inset the correct memory car. Canon D-SLR take eter an SD-type ca SD, SDHC, SDXC) or 4 CompactFlash card. Some model such asthe SD Mi I, take both. CompactFlash cards are biger than SD cards You sould also consider the capciy ofthe memory card andthe writing ‘eed. For beginners we recorumend an 8GB or 16GB card that Can write ts epeed of 25mbA or fase. Insert the memory card The memory ca kot wil either be onthe side ofthe camera body crn the main battery compartment ‘To insert the ear, push it ut t clicks into place To remove it either press the Adlacent Eject button of for an SD ear, push runt eprings from the eltAttach a lens Finally, we ned to attach aTens: Remove the back cap mv the lens and the protective body cap from the camera. They ‘oth twist off. Line up the white ‘oF rel colored dat with the same ‘coloured dot on the lens, Twist iin 2 clockwise direction until clicks into place. To remove it, press the Tens release button and rotate i Lens changing tips Changing the lens easy but there aes couple of important poins to take on boa First, keep your camera switched of then changing the lens. Yu also need to void getting your camers’s sensor diy by having your Tens ready to hand when sping over Find a protected spot ou ofthe tend to doin, Your camera bag Ceubls up asa handy place for performing this taskControls overview Understand each of your new DSLR's dials, buttons and settingseee ay i bore) LENS RELEASE SHUTTER RELEASE LENS SENSOR MODE DIAL HOTSHOE COMMAND DIALRound the back...LOD SCREEN VIEWFINDER CONNECTION POINTS FLASHStart taking control — >=.» | Discover how to use the main controls that alter your DSLR's settings. Once you get your head around these, you'll find it easier to go out and capture better images! MENU AND. SHUTTER INFO BUTTON RELEASEMAIN COMMAND DIAL MULTI. CONTROLLER Advanced Ae models Some of the models from the enthusiast and professional ranges use a slightly different back-panel multi-controller setup. MULT. SET BUTTON CONTROLLER evan DSLRNavi igate the menus Find what you're looking for fast using your DSLR's menu system Menu button and controls, the Buttons on the camera, but we won’ find them al, To see ‘rerything, we need to head in may sem abt overwaling eet theo fons. To access highlighted festre, press Set to cess and adjust N) Citi orn ee Pee E-) ck ee ed [Protect images cy Err Rotate image Release shutter without card ON ee ead 2sec. Print order ere cy eee Pee tiers Flash control oo The red section The blue section The first section i labelled with ae eamera fon, This In the blue section you'l find all he settings for section contains all the shoating letutes. So for instance reviewing images. This includes the options to protect, if you want to set the image quay, the ofthe most useful tols here isthe ‘white alan the Live View op rasta aesCanon Beginner's Handbook ogdacci ¢My¢ ) y . . = 4 = renee S @a (1593)’s Handbook Canon Beginner’ 2 3 3 — 3 3 z 5 E 5 2 & & 2 3 3 Live View mode: a Match the appropriate lens with your wa) creative needs to ensure great results, 4 nomatter what the setting G22 Your guide to camera lenses 72 peletmanualy®Canon Beginner’s Handbook Ta a hall Your guide to came lenses Discover how to choose the most appropriate lens for any given scene with our introduction to digital camera optics hete will come a time when you decide to buy an adltional lens for your camera to increase your creative options, For the beginner itcan seem daunting when you start shopping around for anew lens, But is nota tricky a8 ‘yo may fist think, There are oly realy few considerations you need to take into account when purchasing lens. These are the cost (asa general rule, you should spend asmuch as you can afford, the focal lenge (ow wide or how 2o0med you need it tobe), and the minimum and maximum aperture "ange (how sharp or blurted you wart your pictures to be! ‘Canon produces two types of lenses, which re EF and EF-S. EF lenses are matked with feel dot, and EF-S with a white. We'll explain ‘what these mean ina few pages bu for now Just cheek what dot or dots your Canon DSLR bas. Ifyou have both the red and white dots, your camera can use either lens bu if you jst havea red dot, you'll need an EF lens the EF-S won't fit your camera mount) The foal length of lens is measured in rillimyetees (ml. Your lens wil have either a ‘ariable focal length (for example, 24-70mm) for it willbe a fixed length for example SSmm). If you need something versatile, then variable length isthe better choice, but fed focal length lenses generally produce higher ‘quality results. When it comes to focal length, just remember thatthe lower the number,the wider the view and the bigger the hnumaer, the more zoomed in youl be "The next consideration onthe list is the aperture range. On the kit lens appeats lke this, 135-56, Thi the minimam and maximam apertar range will vary depending on where the focal length of your lens i set to. For ‘example, on your kit lens if yous were Sect I8inm, then your aperture can ‘open up t01/3.5 But if you zoomed inta 55mm, then your aperture setting can ‘only go as wide as £/56. Some lenses Ihave fixed minimum and maxirmum apertures, for example, on the Cann EF 24-7omm 1/28, the aperture wil open {up 0.02.8 regardless of wit focal Teng ‘of lenses tend to be more expensive fo they may be ait out ofthe price range of a hobbyis ith samanylenses onthe market. canbe alte overahelming Try tomate your shooting ‘Aid ange lens can px duce stunning resus i you get down ow focal lengths produce hgh quay ests, 2rd kitslonsic a good starting pint for beginners You useltto shoot avarty of subject matter Popular lenses You can shoot almost anything atallwith these three basic ‘types oflens in your kit bag, Kit lens ‘The standard kt lens isa good placeto sar Ts foal ange ts 18-SSimm. With the lens tthe widest setting (8mm), thisis good for shooting landscapes, cityscapes or large soups of people. If you ‘art moving the focal length forwards you'll notice the vew zooms into the Scene. Atthe other end ofthe see st 'SSmm, you can shoot portals or close up stl fe Zoom lens [you need to get in close tothe action, youll need to purchase a telephoto 2oom lens. These vary between having 2 variable focal range to having a Fixed focal length, When shooting with long telephoto lenses, you need to Increase Sour shutter speed setting fa compensate for thelong length. Also, telephoto Tenses dn’ come cheap, because they are complex in construction. They are well wort it though, if you're keen to Capture wildlife or sports up close Standard zoom standard zoom sich asa Om lens is an extemelyusefl lens to have to hn Not only can you shoots varlety of subject mater with this ens, from portraiture to architecture, bt this ‘ne from Canon produces high-quality results. youve tl unsure about what direction you want to take your photography, and you have the funds to purchases new les, tisCanon Beginner’s Handbook FOCUSING AND LENSES How to select the right lens Explore your lens options once you've decided the type of subject matter you're keen to capturerange include image Sablistion technology ‘Ona Canon lens its marked with an IS switch. This stands for Image Stabilization, This essential helps you to produce sharper shots when shooting with your camera by hand. To engage the feature, switch IS ‘on. The only time you should switch this offi when your camera is mounted to tripod, ‘What lens or lenses be determined by your interests. So iflandscape photography isa pririty, thera wide-angle lens isa mist, "They typeally range from 035mm in Tength, Wide-angle lenses may cause distortion, for example, they won't be fay good for portraits because they ca sd the face, making the nose eok bigs They can also make balding look distorted if shooting from aloe angle However, in some cicumatances you can use this flaw to your advantage to create fun, dynam plture If shooting sport or wildlife is more ‘your thing, then a telephoto lens will be a wiser investment. These start at around 70mm and go all the way to ‘800mm, Some lenses in the telephoto range come with avaiable focal length, whereas others are fixed, Telephot Tenses tend tobe quite heavy soit may also be worth investing in a monopod for exta support. You should mount the monopod tothe lens, which wil ined a mount for this reason, ‘or shooting portraiture, there are few different types of lenses that are good for this gonre. For example, the 170-200mm telephoto lens is gest for Now try this. ‘What on your lens does what? ia Zoom in and out ‘To adjust the foal length of your lens, twist the sain barrel of the lens with your left hand. If youre cheotng with a long telephoto len, you ‘ay want to mount it on a monoped of 3 tripod for cata stablity. Some of the bigger lenses ‘weigh tonne! producing flatering results. It also blurs the background behind your subjects making them stand out. A fixed focal Tength lens such asa SOmm i also ed for portatire. You can open the Sperture to wide setting on this type att you wantto tiseaset of mounted a you ketenes ‘of ens, again producing tht nice, Tackground effect. "you're still unsure, then for now get used to handling your kits lens sehen you start to fee! more confident. In the medium, invest in another. One last word of advice ~ Ifyou purchase 2 thicd-pary brand, such as 2 Sigma or miron, make sare i hs the correct Canon fiting Titand-sit lenses sre usually used to photograh | from other lnses because they have shits the ple of wwemed tat hey For photographing wif, a2o0m lens is 2 ‘lose to your subject matter Achieve focus Tall you need t0 focus. You ean use the tomatic focusing feature marked AF on your lens. f you want to ake conte ofthe focoing yourself however, then switch the setting to MF (mans foes) and tet the front ring of your Jens until the image is sharp. ("hs ‘Stabilise the image Newt you need to decide if you wast to engage the 1S feature, You should switch ton when shooting handheld but you don't realy need it when shooting at shutter speed setting of 1/1000 sec te fsx Torn i off if your camer is mounted on a pod,Discover how your choice of lens is affected by the size of your Canon DSLR's sensor he sensor in your camerais where | Allthe DSLRs in the current Canon Profes- 7D (APS-C crop sensor) on the same spot, c sonal ange and the EOS 6D from the ‘both with a 50mm lens attached. As you can tethasiat rnge have a full-frame sensor, clearly sce, the image from the SD MK Il has finally stored on your memory Everything ele has an APS-C. t'simportant produced a wider view that the image taken card It's a vitally important part of your tounderstand the difference between the two withthe 7D. But why? Is because the sensor ‘camera, and sensors from compact cameras because it affects the field fon the 7D isnot as bg as the full-frame Fight the way to DSLRs come nll diferent of view and the focal length of your lens. But __ sensor soit cuts into the view ofthe len. ‘sizes. Canon produces two types of camera ow, you may ask? ‘This means that a SOmm lens will not show 3 sensors in thelr DSLR range, These are APS-C "In our example (onthe right-hand side of 50mm view on a cop-factor senso. Instead, and fll fame. Full fame, as you expect, isthe pagel we've set up a Canon EOS SDMK the SOmmlens becomes the equivalent ofan larger in size compared tothe APS-C sensor, Il ith 2 fullsframe sensor) and a Canon EOS 0mm lensQualit considerations ‘Some further information on the Canon camera sensors Here we've st up two camerasinthe same spot to show youthe ‘itferance non the sensors work, i : With» ulrame sensor anda SOmm lens youcan see the fl view ofthe scene Full frame A fall Fame sensor messures36x24mm fn le. full-frame sensor ou have the same resolution (measured in rmeqapitels| as an APS-C sensor, but the image quality will be higher on the fll feame. This because the aeface ae ofthe sensor is ager soit can capture tore detail asthe light iti APS-C sensor The eop-factor sensor on the Canon EOS 7D measures 22 Smaneld Sm, sgniicanly smaller han a full-frame Sensor. When using an E-S lens, i's — Ieper toot wie ‘Tower this out there avery singe eae Hen eaten eine Bel AS (Beetarthe lem rte ia ‘ Spam and ty bye Why Terie the cp ro ow ch i tur hee es eames ena isto the ful frame, So 50 times Lo is valent 80 ~ and there we have the the current ange come with an 31.6 crop-factor sensor ‘Canon also produces two types of view. All the Canon APS-C lenses. These are EF and EF-S. EF are ‘marked with are dot and EF-S with a ‘white dot, The EF-S lenses are designed ‘only for the APS-C sensor, and they EOSM ‘The compact Canon EOS M also has 22,3mmeld 9mm sensor. Unfortunately, thi model won't tthe regular EF and EF-S lenses without an adaptor mount. Canon alto has 3 range of EF-M lenses twill not ft on a fll-frame eamers. EP camera body. Turn on of the difference Tenses can go an any the page fora diag Tis image's taken atthe same spot wth thes sulting images 2bove butts tne wit cropacter sensor for this modeCanon Beginner’s HandbookCanon Beginner's Handbook oo 01 THE BIGGER PICTURE 02 FULL FRAME 03 APS-C SENSOR 04 MICRO FOUR THIRDS 05 COMPACT CAMERACanon Beginner’s Handbook Autofocus Let your camera take control of the focusing for youSelect a point oie inthe Man ekection sud then back tothe Auton o Alternatively. you can use the back-pane salt portraits 1 whenChoose the focus mode Learn how to select the correct focus mode to get the best possible results ‘our Canon DSLR has thre focus settings: One Shot, Al Servo and AI Focus. Each comes in handy for shooting alternative gentes. For example, if you were trying to shoot a stunt bike fn action, youd need a different AF setting than if | you were framing up wide angled shot ofa building.) "Your Canon camera is able to track moving subjects ‘withthe ATServo setting. Adjusting the settings a the. tight time will make the difference between taking \”-7A ‘noteworthy images or average snaps. ‘Turn the page to find out more(eT) afta ee Le1eLe§P (EEPerrs] we EEL (colitis BB tiene iy =* Ea Tr Eo} Use your DSLR's Live View and Image Review features to check your shots before and after you take them 3G Shootand review your images 2BLive View mode We reveal all the dos and don'ts of using Live View to get the most from the feature sing the Live View feature to compose an image will work better in some shooting scenarios than others, In this lesson we're going to run through the dos and dants of when to engage Live View and when its best te ‘Tobring Live Vi 2 you first need to ress the button. Ths should be on the back ‘pane of your camera, Once engaged you have the ‘option to alter the display setup. Press the Info ton todo this. ‘option to adjust the Live View ‘camera's main mena. Under the red camera settings tb lst inthe red section) ‘you'll notice the icon looks slightly different Gt Shows the back ofthe camera). These ae al of {your options for the Live View featureMore dos and don'ts... We continue our guide to Live View mode shooting by revealing more of our top tips shoot fror ward anglesCanon Beginner's Handbook ea EN Pe ast a A io POP ere: .| Canon Beginner’s Handbook Live view in action Isola aol COMe SAMIR Loy mode in six simple steps...(eT) =1 ta ea lel eseLe§ AND IMAGE REVIEW OL ENGAGE LIVE VIEW (02 COMPOSE THE IMAGE (03 MAIN IMAGE (06 FOCUS BOXCanon Beginner’s HandbookCanon Beginner's Handbook EN ay EAN RAC ag A Shoot & Keats ANG See the results instantly by hitting the playback button FILESILO Meas es Sree eta Si)| Canon Beginner’s Handbook Playing images back Ia Kens =, roe rasta Use the LCD screen to quickly sooo ON a tecnaaNe)}Canon Beginner's Handbook eT elas aa aCanon Beginner’s Handboo! |Check the exposure Use the in-camera histogram and highlight warnings to check the exposure of an image es eanbetricky to Inthe pines inthe Te bing up pres appear next tthe graph a) 100 Sc ce) Sic} PLDbe 101-0005 7 Ve) 100 Eg 3 a @M+4L 22.0MB its) 73/126 20/02/2014 09:50:01 SA cd i) wr PPE to: cera)Canon Beginner's Handbook Take full control with manual mode Learn how to take full control of your Canon digital SLR, and capture the perfect shot every time 98 mete Epiained 1O28Reerins Metering mode oe ooCanon Beginner’s Handbook Exposure compensation \ Ar irrChoose a shooting mode oe inane ofthe semi-automatic shooting Totes. These are program, aperture priority and shutter Priority. The exposure compencation fsture wont work in the fully automatic mode or any ofthe scene modes. fa this advanced cevample wet pting yy ner into program mode tse the ba The camera has guessed pretty accurately wht it hts Make a normal exposure Over-expose the scene Lat’ look at a real-world example Set up your shot so tha you're happy with the composition, We've imply crested ell-lie scene using buckle flowers Kt by 1 ‘household lamp with ome ol wap ‘When sou take 3 photo with th think the exposure settings shouldbe, bu there's for improvement, In this example we've going to pus abackdeop. the exposure compensation one stp to the right to make sre meter inthe the image appear ghter We o centre the restlt looks Ie this posure by ust ractons of ast 5 Sooecee Ire (re) Under-expose the scene Keep up to speed Nie aatues ous gual ences camera settings change, For example if you're shoating Yur camera will keep the aperture atthe same reiting, but wil adjust the shutter speed accordingly Take ting st from the exposure by moving rn shooting with the camera handheld ~ ithe shuter The needle farther tothe left speed drops too low you can produce eamers shakeNY atawiere modes aoc eee kyo ene N28) Fleece ogre tania n oaaNo16Canon Beginner's HandbookMetering explained Learn how to assist your camera's metering system by choosing the appropriate mode for a given sceneeee we em whole eae, but i bs the main focus pot on the ares in the middle af the fee, approximately nine This gives you nee of geting a cozectly exposed ff percent of the viewfinder a tings useful when subject and background. Spot Center weighted average tering only measure salt th Cee we ra hh ref the fame I ke the il wen you wa in the frame, Again, use light if you're concerned Here comes the science bi Discover which parts ofthe scene each metering mode concentrates on to determine exposure Evaluative Partial Spot Center weighted we look at this dlgram ofthe Inthe Partial metering mode the With Spot metering the average ie__As you can ae from the ar tea Evaluative mode, youcan see how average is calculated by measuring _calcalated by measuringjust 2-84 in the centre, Center welghted itcoverr the wholeframe, Note only 8-13% of the picture, That's” ofthe pieure Spot metering can be average ismore biased towards that the main focus pont inthis. not much soit'sbest used when useful when you want to take quick the mile ofthe scene. I's best, meter reading from diferent parts to.tic to Evaluative i shooting cerample ison the right-hand side, you need just the main subject moving subject matter hence the Blas n that aes, the image corectiy expose. ofthe sceneTake a single shot, a burst of shots, or set the self-timer Turn the page to Find out moreCanon Beginner's HandbookaWhite balance Capture perfect colours using a custom white balance setting ow may think that the colors yo The colour temperature chart Shade 7000K _ Cloudy 6000K Daylight s200K Flash 4500K Fluorescent 4200K ‘Tungsten 3200K,Canon Beginner's ISO sensitivity Adjust the ISO to get better exposures in any lighting conditions setting. I you're shooting with your Camera attached to tripod, and a slow shutter speed setting isnt an issue, keep Understand to take better photographs, "Turn the page to find out more.How to choose the ISO Take better pictures using the appropriate ISO settingOptimise your Canon DSLR with custornised presets, settings, menu items and more 11GB | 14 OB capture HD vdeo lights and 122¢emrmsesvagee | AZ BEER are 14 8eustanev Putallys swith the MiShoot video Use your Canon DSLR to capture aay video and get amazing resultsStart rolling Set the video mode to the correct quality settings and start shooting footageUse Picture Styles | Customise a photo's saturation, contrast and more with a camera Picture Style effect in-cameraCanon Beginner’s Handbook Picture Style options Discover how to apply Picture Style special effects to your images Access the camera's Picture Styles Bug Cote ttaie The Landscape Picture Style “Te Landscape Pitre Syl boosts the sharpness in scent enn the Sage sharp fom front ob ‘The blues and greens inthe image ae also enhanced to enrich the ial resi. When shooting inthe Landscape scene mode find it onthe mode da, this Plture Style seitng is astomatialy appliedFill-in flash Enhance your portraits by eliminating harsh shadows using your DSLR's built-in flash unit « = here willbe times when the ambient ih isn't strong enough to light your subject, and when this —s However It asthe tendency tol the Stinarphere an in ll honesty itis’ a miracle worker! | Professional photogaphers une exteralNashguns ve studio Tights to luminate their subjects, because the pop-up Mash fs limited in what it can do and how fse it can fie However, there ae times when it will come to the escuc and you'll be surprised atthe few tricks its hidden away! ‘Turn the page to see ‘our top Mash tips so souiknow when to use WF ic anc wnen i's best F toawid it| Canon Beginner’s Handbook Let there be light We reveal.all our top shooting tips for using your builtin pop-up flash unitfern ae Using an. external flash (Control Built-in fas fun and hen change the Wireless fe! to ‘ne of the shooting ions. 30 ster the Flash Mode to Manus) sh setting, you can then conta isausefl Built-in flash settings Your Canon camera hat a few handy options in the oo vShcontol men, Yur ad sting ine ain(er Tito) ata ea eeeCanon Beginner's Handbook1° k the right subject ‘then sheng sis You'tana tad sth high-contrast ight and you want alte deta inthe highlights through tothe shad Set up your camera Cee ry Darker Dd 76$432101224567 ous ‘Adjust the stops Use a tripod sorcome to eit your images they wll math sp. very Rod ‘custom White Balance ros Ory cd Pd ot oD eC) Activate bracketing > find the AEB setting, press the Mens button, nd bres ean nce sale wl ape Yu ca ow dln Press the shutter-rlease ton thre times to take the thee photos withthe diferent settings. ARerBeginner’s HandbookCanon Beginner's Handbook the duration of an exp hen shooting inthe manual exposure ‘mode you can only keep the eamera's shutter open fora maximum of 30 Seconds, For this reason your camera Includes Bulb med feature, which enables you tomannally control the shutter opening and closing, This means that’s postbe in the ‘middle of the night to keep the camera's shutter ‘pen for hours on end! You set the aperture pictured here, yoa can open the shutter t0 Capture the clouds moving across the sky and ‘movement of the sea, To get the clouds in sky to blur as much as they have, we had an exposute time of 74 seconds, We Shooting inthe day so we had touse throng Weald the 80 aperture at the smallest setting at £/22._ Tot th Bub ede your ye lag need vo mount your cameron a pod and (el faa ce eae torn out more. eCanon Beginner's Handbook et so : — a Use a remote release° . . ° Auto Lighting Optimizer Capture both the highlights and the shadows in a high-contrast scene, but only if you use the JPEG shooting option: ier coniiaas ies, ‘The problem with shooting in high-contrast light is that i's between the readings ofthe highlights and shadows, your camera may capture dark heavy shadows with ite or no deal and overexposed highlights. A Feature that can help you out of this problem isthe Auto Lighting Optimizes but i's limited in the lengths it can goto IF the entrada the acene la 00 vast then you're better off bracket. ered High ae) Ceo ts Tad ‘The Standard setting The High setting You find the Auto Lighting Optizr feature fn ther the Ifthe ALO Standard etn proving inefficient you can tm tain camera mena under Aut Lighting theack LCD screen ty peti the Q button sod selecting the small) sting tha ou icon that inches a peten, The four options inthe ALO mena ae ike effec tha reduces deta nthe image Te nse wl be mae Diab Low Standard and High Your Canon DSLR willbe st noticeable inthe shadows and rer pats ofthe mage, nd hen ou the Standard setting by def and wl pp amedium ameunt | start o zoom in Only arn the sting upto igh the it nthe conection ots teeve ls yr eg a entig beayy aos ter, or on it up to High, The biggest problem you'll encounter with thisPrema eed Low a) Dino epee) The Low setting “oe the est quality eu, witch the ALO setting to Low or Diss. There's actualy very itl diference nthe reas conta to setings 0 bet fo wich of aliogether, Uc thie Sctingon days where the it st over bt tick othe JPEG and raw ‘The effect ofthe Auto Lighting Optimizer feature will nly be pplied tothe [PEC file If you'e shooting in aw you can sll eve the effect in-camera, but ance uploaded ta computer it won't bbe recognised unless opened in Canon's free Digital Photo Professional software This is because JPEG files are compressed image files wheres av ile ace sncompressd, Raw files appear ft in pearance when you frst open them on your computer and you need toproces them in raw editor to get the best qual errr eee 2 ae pa trate oa mn) ornare prop een aes pometeraaarnnnCanon Beginner’s Handbook Update your DSLR’s firmware Keep your camera up to date by updating it with the latest firmware downloadfirmware fle that you need to copy a ‘onto your memory etd ot Sala) = Dera i eI eg (Oech cL PA 70000205. FIR = Reed EX:) Ok Cancel Canon Format your memory card Transfer the firmware Past Ole erat el Sha appears when ee eee eee rf you place twin he DIM folderInstall the firmware Complete the firmware update by copying it to your camera and installing it G raeanse program mode Insert your memory card milsilsiis:|si| 3 ls Ae OM Neem aes File name Ce Cwm) Cee au) OTE ETN8 Start installation Depending on your eamerait he camera or lens firma Select the camera inthis case. Keep pressing Set and following the on Starts updating ftw ub Dee ethe process aS tN (TTT TA Cancel ut 08 tor Begs £06 erthuaats 08 or rfeionats od | BERT] 17.0 MB used PrI-:) a a Format your memory card again 1 Aword of warning. Once complete, your camera wil et yo know the ob However, format you memory cad memory cad, Go t9 Men ‘An that's i, You've upd ne wo of warning, Hower Before you ben make sre sou'e fully charged your battery, IM damage your DS res, I's worth checking the Canon new firmware is valleWi-Fi, GPS and HDR Discover five of the most exciting new features of the latest Canon DSLRs HDR < . HDR stands for high dynamiceange.andisa Popular technique with landscape photographers. The feature work by taking three images in fuccesion ofthe same scene Tes exposing forthe highlights, midtones and shadows. The amera then processes these three images into one inal result. I's grat when Faced eth shigh-conteast scene. The Canon cameras that have an HDR. ‘mode ineide the Canon SD MK {land éD. The 6S0D and the 7000 includes HDR Backlight Control festure I's also worth noting that you can crest the HDR effect in Canon’ free DPP sofware I hes to use tripod when shooting tue different ‘exposures ofthe same scene so thatthe images match up. DSER festures tobe announced Js Wie. Currently. the Canon 0S 6D and 70D include it. Once you've enabled it in the menus, you can connect toa network, set Up remote shooting from your phone using the EOS Remote pp and transfer images fom the ‘camer wirlesy,3S Global ps Screen color 1 Feature guide Enable Touch control i ( Sensor cleaning 4 Creative Filters ‘Touchscreen shutter i ‘The° Customise your camera Put all your favourite settings in one place with the My Menu feature My here nee you start to fel more DSLR inane ofthe creative shooting races (Py, Tv ot M0, Set up My Menu up My Men, pr Ld Gorse Aa lid Dee Pe Cu DR A [VENUESCanon Beginner's Handbook Select features x deup to cl nthe ran green section. Reed cum Sc er ea Eom Le) (os -(9-} aR Td mule Da] SortMy Menu ; Ta euecas ure lied lS eo ACU) GSR) ig Eick ca 7 ‘ PSone wc Coney ae PSSCe oud ACU og DEN ALU Dae venues) Delete features 5 wan Yo re 3¢ more of the features fom 7 Men for an alternativeCustom Functions Discover how to customise your DSLR further to suit your shooting style very photographer likes to use different if you're a landscape photographer then you're Camere seting anc control their going towant to set Your emer up ers ere ede creased | teeny ta vor opp crete I Youcanadhatmany ofthepresct photogapher Over the next ew pages wee gong default options that your DSLR has set foryou. to show you some ofthe more popular cutom Itsbest fot to grips with he bsi layout and Settings andthe necessary step you need oak | ee eee heteneet doth | teria aeeabereae Were bogie | ‘That way you'll already be familiar with your show you how to set your camera back to the the style of shooting you want default factory settings, just incase you want sandertake For example, to start aesh, Where to start?a aa Pray od OS EyMore functions Five more camera-customisation tips to improve your Canon DSLR Image review ‘Auto power offCanon Beginner’s Handbook SLR COLLEGE SLR College Master your EOS in 13 easy-to-follow lessons! Page 178Focal length Focusing. Depth of field Aperture Shutter speeds Exposure modes Metering modes. White balance. Digital processing Flash ISO speeds. File formats and memory cards. Histograms. Page 170 156 160 166 170 1144 178 182 186 190 194 198 202 206What is focal length all = about? elcome tothe Canon SLR College ~ complete 13-part series that over the folowing pages, buds ntoa ‘comprehensive beginners’ gue thaw your attal SLR works, andhow togetthe most fromit. nour frstlesson were gong to eclain everything youneed to know about focallength. Amajor benefitofusing aDSLR is that youcan choose rom a variety of lenses suited to particular photographic situations, ‘and the main determining factorinpickinga Certainlensis its focal length. Focallength is measiced inmilimetres with 35-5Omm roughly equaling your fel of vision. Lenses ‘with focal ents ofless than 35mm are knowns wie-anglelenses andenableyouto fitmoreinto your scene. so are good for landscape shots. Lenses with larger focal leneths, around 7Omm andl upwards, re telephoto lenses and willmagnty your subjects and ae good for close upprtrats, sports and wide photography i eekenaired en pear a Trot sechl basta atmosphere. Ideal Preece reach to minimise the Poe es eer cel oon eva Pe Button, use your right hand to turn Cee trnes eto Ce ee ee oe BearerFocal length The focaliengthyeuire carrentyusingis Focus ring Turnto manual cust the focus used when yourlensis switched to indestedby the MF (Manual Focus). number on the zoom The intemal elements ring that ines upwth move together to focus ‘3 the central mark theters Pa Pe Bayonet Tre tern ee oe pening) contoishow Atachesthelens to ‘uch ightsletin a DSi comets supply power from your camera ta drvethe Front element ‘The widestofallthe lens ‘autofocus andi, and ‘allows the camera and clements, andthe one that oon iseasiest to serateh Zoom ring Lens motor Image Stabilizer (Is) By turning the zoom AllGanon EOS tenses have builtin motors to move Canon's Image Stabizer(S) technology ring the internal groups of {heelerentssothe autofocus systemcan focus uses gyroscopic sensors anda miro lens lementsmove to the mage. Some lenseshave an Utrasonic Motor ‘computer to detect and correct sightlens change the focal enath (USM) whichis desgnedto be quieter ad taster ‘rations caused byhane shake Do I need to buy lenses? With the vast choice of Canon lenses avallabl, you may well get confused vihenitcomes to upgrading lenses. Should you buy EF or EFS lenses? Well uniess youre pro photographer. own ful-rare (or APS-H) DSLR. (60ers or 1 ranges) orhave deep pockets, you don'thavetoinvestin EF Canon lenses. Instead, concentrateon Canon's EFS lenses as theyre designed for smaler-sensor EOS DSLRs like the 700D and 70D, are often ‘moreatfordabl,andyoulistil capture top results. Measuredinmilimetres the focallenaths the aistance from thelens's optical centre toyour EOS cameras sensor, What you actualy se through the viewfinder. Te longer the focallenath ea 300m, the smal the angle of ve. Conversely the shorter he focallenath ea IB, the ‘greater the angle af view ‘lens that nas arange of focal lengths = eg18-55ren.A, oomlensdoesntmeanit'sa telephoto ens! ‘Alen that sata zoom, with usta singe focal length ees Most Canon DSLRshiaves erence «crop factor|When we tak about the facallengthof lenses, what we're realy talking bout s the ‘angle of \vew you can see through your Canon DSLR's viewfinder. In simple terms, thelonger your focal lenath (such as telephoto lens ata focal erath ‘of200mmr, the smaller your angle ot view and larger your subject appearsin te frame. The shorter your focallength (auch as a wide-angle lens with focal length of 8mm). the greater your angle view, This angle of ew can bereduced further dependlingon the Canon DSLR you use. The ‘small the sensor the narrower the angle f view thelens provides asthe smaller sensor sees a ‘smaller section ofthe view seenby the ens). This jhenomenan is krown asthe ‘crop factor. With popular EOS models, suchas the Rebel, 4000, ‘450D, 12000, 70D and 7D. there'e cropfactor (of 1.6: this effectively magnifies focallength by 16. Withtelephoto focallengths, thishas the ‘advantage of bringing you even claser tote action '2200mmlenshas anetfectve focallenath (EFL) of 320mm 200416) - whichshepfulfor ‘uli or sports photography. Conversely. crop factoris seen asa disadvantage on wide-angle focalleneths, asit nereasesan I8mmilens to an EFL of 29mm (8x16), reducing how much you can fitinyour rame-—net so good when shooting indoors where paces ited Lenses with fied focal length are known 23 prime lenses ~ suchas the Canon EF SOmm (/1.8 lens, whereas lenses offering arangeo focal length areknownas zooms; an EF $55:250mm 20m offersallthe focal lengths from 55mm to 250mm inclusive. Some people contuse telephoto with’zo0m yetyoucan havea zoom ens that is telephoto for example the Canon EF $10-22mm1/3.5-45 tsan tra wide angle 200m The Canon EFS18-55mm1/35-56 ‘standarc'200m lens s also known as tens. as its often supplied with popular EOS DSLRs. The 18.55mm eters tothe focal length range: 18mm isthe wide-angle end, while the 55mm endisa mid-range focal length, The 1/3 51/5 6retersto the maximum aperture range; at I&mmit willbe atits widest aperture of /3.5, while at SSmmit Wille reduced to/5.6. However, narrower apertures are avaiable at alits focal lengths Higher spec lenses, such as the EF-$17.58mmm 172815 USMlens, have constant wide apertures ‘throughout their focallength range, inthis case {/2Bat every focal length rom 17 to 85mm. Pere E Calsada Rel 4 eee Se eae eter Cd eevee slp you practise your nenly eee tras cord eres Deo ee oe. eel en eats oe ents etree that determines how much of your ore Reet) ero) jgrment seehow Setar: Cee ete Se ees Sey Pela bars et ceo) Sere BP Soecirenentieerio Bee ee ee ee ees Se eau ecu! eesCanon Beginner's Handbook ent] Etre amen OF VIEWWhat’s focu all about? ctureswhere the mainsubject Aout focus pictur is worthless, but isntsharpareoften completely your Ganon’ packed withadvanced ‘worthless —andforthisreason _eirultrytohelp you get your subject focusing is one of the most crucial remains pinsharp controls on your dgtal SLR. Alenscan ‘only focus precisely atone distance at a time, soit needs to lock onto the correct partof the frame or your ‘subject may appear blurred. Fortunately, thanks todepth of fee (aphenomencn that we willookatin greater detallnext lesson, beginning on page 164),arangeof dstancesin your image can often actully appear tobe in focus. Althe same, your EOS provides arangeof different systems that allow to get the main part of your image ‘sharp aswell as a numberof checks for youto ensure that key areas of the photograph are not out of focus. Canon introduced autofocus (AF) nits SLRS27 years ago ~and the ‘technology hasimprovedimmensely ‘over this ime, Essentially, special ‘sensorin the camera body assesses the contrastin the image, then adjusts clementsin the lens to bring the image into focus, Unfortunately, there are Rd) oe Ulett mec teed ee ert =, oa Se J heckyouare Cee ea eet eee ty romat reat cea) et eee ee Cree td See a) Caan cy aFocusing screen Theimageyouseeinthe Minne is projected by treleseetotnetocushg Focus preview Thefocusingsreen as anetchedsuriae, wien alps you identity which Darts ofthe magearein Sharp ocus~andufich arene asviththe churchher) tasoaves aroughguidetohow much depthof elsyou valigtityouset tne vast avaiableaperture ‘Multiple AF points Current Canon DSLR oer between? and 45 points, where the autofocus pintcan measure subject cistnce Central AF point Ofallthe autofocus points, the onein the centres the most sensitive. Itis therefore the best AF point touse when shootinginlow ight, or when precise focusing isciical, You can use this central AF point evenifyou Con't want the subject to bein themidd of your photo How does autofocus really work? Seton Peet ee ers end shotis infocus by using the Sees hasahigher contrast than an re oer than actively measuring the Pee eee) subject itusesa sensors that ee es eect ee reread earn) eee eed eel [Pawn enna Pe ereerenen es Reed ees pe) used the system assumes erence iy ered omer ois res Pee ree eee oe ee rie teen Se eet cee Red alert The AF pointsinuse wil briefly fash redas you ‘squeeze the shutter release, Look outfor these, as they confirm thatthe camerahas locked ontatherieht subect. Herethree points flash, showing thepersonand the two near trees are infocus, Notshown in Al Servo AF mode, Focus confirmation ‘Agreen circular LED wal lightup when the ‘autofocus has locked fontoa subject uiven using One-Shot AF ‘rode).Itwillblinki the AF cannot lock onto the subject or youaretoo close. The LED does not lghtifusing Al Servo AF Ameasure of howmuch ofa picture isin focus, rom the nearest point nthe seeneto the camera hatlooks sharp, tothefurthermostpoint that looks sharp, The amount of depth of feds dependenton the aperture, the stance thatthe lensis focused at, and the focallength ofthe ns Tre surface upen which the viewfinder mage of dtl SlRisprojected. A textured surface desgnedto accentuate the degree by Which theimageissharpor not ~ thereby roving assistance when focusing.Canon Beginner’s Handbook CAMERA SETUP Cerro mem eaters Leen eee ekm eae ae em eg Lore ea eter position as soon asitis happy that ithas ee irc LED in the viewfinder provides confirmation that the focus an ees ui AISERVO AF Teese aro sees ee ee ee ee tone ee Pee et eee! See eee ce eee! a stg ry Papen 2 or eet ee een Sent er ee eee peeanennaraenes oy, Pea r\a re Ce RS ea ‘ neg ae piereieeenter tits ce eee es Ce eee eens) eet ec us 4 ren Press the AFPoint Selection | Lookinthe viewfinder, or Cece nay Decay Pee Penn comerofthecamera,thenuse __cyclethrough the AF Point Sete CO i oe eno cea Cees ere beTi tet numberof reasons why the system still no fool First our camera cannot know which part ofthe frame you want to focus on. Anumber of sensors are used the subject, butthe AF system vant to focus on this by manually selecting an AF point ‘thatlines up withthe subject orby ‘moving the camera so that an AF pe ‘ocuseson your subjec 1ckandreco omplicated bythefactthat nota subjects are stationary, In the default autotoc s the subject rig thepont the shutter Tne autotocus: affair Uniform, low-contrast subjects such: plain white wal, oropensky)itean find ne cont : operation seene, Lenses with wider maximun) ees Cala dietd pees Peter eesFocusing screen Hidden below the pentaprsmor pentameroe the focusing sereeniswhat yousee when youlookttrough the viewfinder. Some top models, suchas the EOS 800, alow a choice of optional focus screens (above). whichimprove accuracy when focusing manual on subjects Manual focusing Tocontrol hefoaing youre rater than using the motorised ‘Fasten, youtumaringon he cuted of helene. Butyou need tose the lens toMF ist Lens elements Toadiustthe focus, sroupsotens elements axephysically moved within thelens. ‘ves a visual guide to whatsin focus, ane indicates when ardon what the AFis focusing Sub mirror Themainmiroris semisivered, allowing, somelight to pass throughittoahinged secondary sub-mierr. ‘Thisrefiects ight owrwards, towards the AF medul, Mirror ‘Themain mirror reflects the image createdby the lens so that t appears onthe focusing sereen fps out of the way. then the shutteristired Autofocus module dedicated sensors used toassess the contrast andfocusin small areas ofthe mage Adjustments are then communicated tothelens, Inorder to see the AF points clearly inthe viewtinder, and so youcan use the focusing sereen io see whats sharp, you may haveto acustthelens inthe viewfinder to suit your eyesint. ‘emallhnurled whee by the toprcight corner ofthe eye ‘ves this 'dloptriccorection’ Presstheshutter release button hatlway down, then tum this eee Ce ae er Seed Ce eae eta) fies eaten get) Se eat eee ees res peer te ees soptre correction wheel Unt the icons and numbersinthe viewfinder display look s rsp aspossbble,apertures provide beter autofocus, {they alon more ighttoreachthe autofocus sensor. infact. many SLRS Tricks for better manual focusing hhave one or more autofocus points that sare designed to performbest when Ce Smee CO aoe eer Tod ‘used with lens with an aperture of 1728. This settings crucial, whatever Cea Uae ‘aperture you ae using fr the shot — ‘When focusing on subjects that are just centimetres from asthe ens always focuses wth the the lens, adusting the focus ring on the lens accurately aperture at its widest seting (only ee ae eee a cerca ‘loses downas the shots taken), eee ey instead. When the shot is roughly focused, rock forward and ere meet eee es ‘The amount of depth of field avalableis crucial ~the wider the aperture you actually take te picture with the LIVE VIEW smaller the depth of field and so the ete eer ‘more precisely you nust focus. focusing manually. The video picture on the back screenis ‘Simla the claser youre tothe ee eee subject, andthe longer the lens focal ee ea lengthyouuse, theless leeway you so that any focusing inaccuracy is obvious, Remember to hhave with focusing accuracy. scrollto the area that you want to precisely focus on before Use the tricks and techniques on cagias ‘these pagesto learnto increase your focusing accuracy Andremember,to ‘make sure youhavea sharp shot. oa Weel toe Ni review the image youhave just taken Just because you are using manual focus does not mean and thenuse the magnity teal tozoom ares ee ee ery into the partofthe image youre nent eer interestedin. and make sure it appears lighting upas the corresponding areas come into focus. perfectly in focus onthe LCD. ee et etn ee ee terete eT eeee eeetg conor ts Focus control course work \With every lesson in the Canon SLR College you get some homework todo = tohelp you put into practice everything you have eart! To check you now have complete control over focus find two subjects (two people, say, or two cans fromyour kitchen cupboard) and place thematcfferent distances fromyou. Setup a shot that frames both subjects tightly ‘and has a wide aperture (use Av mode, and use the Main Dial toset aperture to 1/4 or /5.6). Use ‘manual AF point solectionto take two shots ~ first with the nearest subject in focus, then with the furthest subject in focus. Repeat the exercise, but this time take the pair of. pictures using manual focus. Check all four pictures on your computer, so you can zoomin and check that the subjects that you wanted to be in focus really do look sharp!The only magazine for Canon DSLR photographersCanon Beginner’s Handbook LR COLLEG What is depth of field all Dp about? he abllty to control which part of your Pictures ae sharpisone of the main advantages of owning an SLR camera, Lookat scene ith your own eyes, and everything fromyourfeet tote horizon is usually in focus. But your pietures do natneed tolooktiketvs, Youcan set up your EDS so thant certain partsof the shot are in sharp focus, anothers are artisticaly bared This allows youto create emphasis where youwant it~andto hie elements that would otherwise I prove distracting 4 ‘As we explainedinthe previous lesson yourlens can oly focus sharply at one dastance, However, due to an optical property knownas depthof Feld arangeofcistances 1 \wilactualy appear shar. This zone of ‘arpnessillvary enormous, Focusin close onaladybird witha macrolens and - =F Sept id may ony stretch for couple ‘of millimetres behind andin rontof the spot » Changing aperture is one way to alter how much of ashotis sharp isd) eee ea lm] \ a | Ce tee ey eee as eee eee Re es Gren ee ented Uusngyourlens'swidestaperture. _releasebutton) while looking viewfinder may darken depending have with your current settings Sowhatyouseeistheminimum _throughthe viewfinder andthe ontheaperturesset) howeveryou. simply shoot atest picture, press Pee eter eet eer toa ‘canseewhichpartsoftheimage _thePlaybackbutton, and zoom in oc oer ioe ee eeeCanon Beginner's Handbook DEPTH OF FIELD Three ways to affect depth of field How aperture, focus distance and focal length affect what will appear sharp Changing the aperture “The vider the aperture yu use. theless depthaffld that youcapue. Tass talaysadsadantags. st allows youttvow dstractinglemens out os sin, Pen stocadon site atm pecentestpeteas e Changing the focus distance “The claseryouaretothe abject focusrgon theless opthotedyov wi captureoncamera Changing the focal length The zorsatng res hatyouseafetsrowmuch Uheeraesbat chap The weer ets eshte befecalengt emer dgah ote yucartre FSeeistioem — eemedStoneth—~ {single pointonthe subjects only repsteredonthe pointifthelensie Precsely focused at {herent stance. Otherwise the points Porton recorded as a circle. ‘subject ™ tone ans censor Chelesotcontusion _—_—Pointot focus ces of ontsion eee ceee outot focus Depth ote Outot focus “The further away the point inthe pictures from the point of focus the bigger the circle (known as a‘icl of confusion). the crcl is small enough, i wil stil lookslike point on thepieture and this crates the ‘acceptably sharp’ range knowns the depth off Degrees of sharpness AT) pes ne se Dene ee ce remember isthat dept ee tee Seed ete een hingsthat are fee eae en) ey eeentenens eee ee) eee cy cueeee ie eee ete eet Cee eet Bere ere con Rieu roe ere Cee eee er ete Pelee ete a eats youhavefocusedon, Switchto shooting a sweeping ‘panorama and everything from the flowers by your ‘bootste the mountains inthe far distance on the horizon can be made to appear pin sharp, Formost subjects, depth of fed extends noticeably further behing the subject than infront, but the exact split varies depending onthe subject. “Thereare three key factors for controling the exact ‘amountof depth of fel that you get for any gwen picture. Thebbest known ofthese aperture (the size ofthe rs-ike opening inthe lens). Thenarrower the aperture becomes (thesmaller the /number) the ‘moredepthot field youcan capture. There are several OS modes that allow yout set the aperture, andthus change depth offi -we'llookat these in more detail inalater lesson. However, the best onetouseis the AV ‘mode (or Aperture Prion). Sette tp calon your DSLR to Ay then youcanrotate the wheel behind the shutter button to change the aperture setting while your camera automaticaly adjusts the shutter speed ~tocapture an accurate exposure. Useawide aperture such as /4)ityouwantto restrict the zone of focus and capture a shallow depth offild Orit you want to make sure as mucho the shot sas sharp as possible, close down the aperture toanarrower setting (suchas /22) tocapturea greater depth of fil. Thehandy thing about using aperture to control depth offieldisthatit canbe altered without changing your camera setup. However, for utimate control,youneed toharness the other twokey factors that cictatethe ‘amount of depth of field that youcapture The fists the focallength ofthe lens youre using, |Asyou zoom intoyour subject, the amount of depth offied that you get reduces, Wide-angle lenses, by definition, offer much greater depth of field than telephoto ones. So for keeping everythingin the frame sharp, a composition wth awide lens setting of 18mm. lor wider. is agood start, Similarly you want to blur the backgroundas muchas possible, switchtoalong telephoto lens witha focal length, say, 200m, ‘Thefinalpiece inthe jigsaw isthe astance from youtto your subject - orto putt more accurately the clistance thatthe lens i focused.on, The closer your lens is focused, theless depth of fel youl capture. Inevitably to becomea master of depth of fil you ‘eed tue al hree factors in unison “Tomaximise the amount of deptho fed, use 2 wide focal length setting, anarrow aperture, and don't focus on anything too closet the camera. ‘Andi you want to keep backgrounds artistically blurred, drawing attention tojusta single part of the scene, use the longest telephoto setting you can get away with, st the widest aperture the lens offers, and getas cose as possible to your subject. Because ofthe way that your viewfinder works. you won't able to see the effect of depth of field accurately as you frame up your picture. What you see roughiy's the amount of depth of field you would gti youweretouse the widest aperture availabieon the lens you are curently using. Tereisa Depth of Fld Preview facility but as this makes the viewfinder much darker inorder toshow you exactly what i sharper. it Isveryhardto interpret accurately. Inorderto ‘experiment with depth of fil it soften best to simply shoot picture ~thenreviewit on your LCD, zooming n and scroling arourd'so that youcan see ‘exactly which parts of yourimage ae shar. Ameasure ofhowmuch ota Picture isin focus, from the nearest pointinthe scene tothe ‘camera, to be urthermast poi thatlooks sharp. The amount of epthat eis cependent onthe aperture, the distancethat the lens'sfocusedat, andthe focal lergthotthelens. Try this depth of field exercise ‘Thislessor'shomeworkis designed improve your knowledge of depth of field ~ and howto maximise or minimise itinyour pictures ‘As depth of felis moce lnted with close-up subjects, we are going tousea table topsite for thissubject. We've used a chessboard laid out with alts pieces —but you could just as easly set out thebottlesandcans ‘rom your kitchen cupboard sea tripod if you have one as this wilhelp ‘eliminate camera shake rom the equation ~ so that the only blur you gtinyourimage is created by te mits of depth of fil. you don't have one, use abrghtly It room anda high $0 (og IS01000).to ensure you can use afullrange of apertures take a second shot with the same setup, but with the aperture at £/22. Zoom out to use the widest zoom, setting avilable (usually 18mm). Take Frame your objects using the most telephoto setting of your standard zoom (usually 55mm), and focus on the object nearest to you. Set the mode to Av, and turn the Main Dial anti-clockwise untt ‘the aperture s open as wide as possible (usually 1/4 or /5.6).Take apicture, Now ‘one shot a the wide aperture used in Step 1, ‘and one at /22. Don't wory if your subjects only occupy the central part of the frame. Look atall four images on your computer, zooming to see which ‘subjects look sharp, and noting the degree of bur in afferent parts of your pictures. ‘You should discover that even shooting at 1/22 youwon't get everything sharp, but zooming out gives much more depth of field