[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