2009
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Expert techniques and tips to help you get the best out of your Canon digital SLR all inside this second handy volume
The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook: Volume 2 is a brand new comprehensive course for how to master your Canon EOS camera. Inside you’ll find: Canon camera skills • Canon workshops • Canon software guides • Canon D-SLR and lens tests
Photoshop Handbook
Black & White Photography
Practical Photoshop
N-Photo
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The ultimate canon slr handbook: volume 2
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2 great ways to learn! Follow all our workshops with images and Video
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Learn how to master your Canon EOS D-SLR FREE VIDEO DISC INSIDE
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4 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2013
CHAPTER ONE
Camera skills
CHAPTER THREE
6 Canon software
Master your Canon D-SLR in 12 hours!...................8 Learn new Canon D-SLR techniques......................18 Master your Canon lenses......................................30 Canon D-SLR sports skills.......................................42 100 Canon SLR secrets............................................52 Perfect portraits made easy...................................64
CHAPTER TWO
Canon Workshop
72
What are Basic Zone modes?..................................74 What are Creative Zone exposure modes?............78 When’s it best to use Av mode?..............................82 When should I use Tv mode?................................. 86 When should I switch to Manual?......................... 90 How should I clean my Canon?.............................. 94 What is Live View?................................................... 98 How should I use my metering modes?..............102 How do I read a Histogram?..................................106 How do I use Custom Functions?..........................110 How do I get sharper pictures?..............................114 How do I use fill flash?............................................118 What is white balance all about?.......................... 122 What do I need to know about ISO?.................... 126 How do I select the right focus mode?................ 130 Should I shoot Raw or JPEG?................................. 134
140
Shoot remotely with Canon’s EOS Utility......... 142 Get organised with Image Browser EX.............146 Seamless panoramas in Canon’s PhotoStitch....148 The Digital Photo Professional guide................. 150 Use DPP to enhance a low-key shot.................. 158 Lighten up Raw images........................................160 Get organised with DPP........................................ 162 Correct a colour cast the easy way....................164 Remove raindrops for clearer skies....................166
CHAPTER FOUR
Essential kit
168
Budget telephoto zooms.......................................170 Remote releases......................................................179 Ultra-wide lenses.................................................... 180 The Big Canon EOS D-SLR Test!.......................... 190 Battery grips.............................................................201 Superzoom lenses.................................................. 202 Teleconverters...........................................................211 Macro lenses............................................................ 212
ON YOUR DISC
Using your Video Disc
224
How to get the most out of the disc that comes supplied with this bookazine… 2013 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 5
Camera skills
42 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2013
Camera skills
TAKE WINNING SHOTS
Canon D-SLR
sports skills Learn the best camera settings and techniques for capturing better sports and action photos now!
T
here are countless sporting events and opportunites on your doorstep these days, so what better time to improve your sports photography skills, and learn how to take winning shots of your own with your Canon D-SLR! We appreciate that only a select few have tickets to major sporting competitions, and fewer still have trackside access or coveted press photographer passes. So over the
following ten pages we’re providing 20 essential techniques you can use for any kind of action photography, whether it’s a 100 metres final or a school sports day; a Premiership soccer match or the kids having a kickaround in the local park. From track and field to cycling, motorsports to airplane aerobatics, we’ll cover all the camera settings and techniques that you’ll need to help you shoot for gold!
2013 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 43
Page 114 Page 94
Page 126 72 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2013
Page 98
Canon
Workshop Welcome to the Canon D-SLR photography service centre
Page 110
What are Basic Zone modes?............................ 74 What are Creative Zone exposure modes?..... 78 When’s it best to use Av mode?....................... 82 When should I use Tv mode?............................86 When should I switch to Manual?....................90 How should I clean my Canon?........................94 What is Live View?..............................................98 How should I use my metering modes?....... 102 How do I read a Histogram?...........................106 How do I use Custom Functions?....................110 How do I get sharper pictures?....................... 114 How do I use fill flash?...................................... 118 What is white balance all about?....................122 What do I need to know about ISO?..............126 How do I select the right focus mode?......... 130 Should I shoot Raw or JPEG?........................... 134 Page 118
Page 90 2013 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 73
Canon Live View options To activate Live View mode on your EOS, press the button with the white camera symbol on or next to it (it’s usually accompanied by a red dot). You’ll hear the mirror lift up, the viewfinder will turn black and the image will appear on the rear screen. You can make many adjustments to the way Live View is set up through the camera menu. Current EOS D-SLRs, such as the 60D, have a dedicated Live View section in the shooting (red) menu. However, for older EOS bodies, you’ll need to head ‘Live View function settings’ in the second set-up (yellow) menu.
it unbeatable for judging critical focus when shooting with a shallow depth of field. Because you’re viewing the image on a backlit screen, you can even do this when light levels drop to the point where you couldn’t normally see anything through the optical viewfinder.
Low life
There are some considerations to take into account when starting to use Live View. One of the fundamental problems with using the rear screen to frame pictures is that it’s not entirely comfortable to do so. Having to hold the camera at arms’ length as you take pictures, rather than having your eye pressed to the viewfinder, will increase the risk of camera shake. While this might not be a problem when you’re shooting a movie (for which Live View
is excellent, by the way), it can be a frustrating experience when you’re attempting to take pin-sharp stills. A flip-and-twist Vari-angle LCD screen, such as the type found on the EOS 60D and 600D/650D/700D cameras, goes some way to alleviating the problem. It certainly makes it easier to follow the action when you’re capturing video footage, or shooting at awkward angles, such as macro subjects close to the ground. But we’d still recommend Live View is reserved for those moments when your camera will be mounted on a tripod. Landscape photography, close-ups and still-life shots are perfectly suited to Live View’s features, particularly the ability to magnify the image for focusing and to check depth of field across the frame.
Focusing made easy Options are fairly limited in this earlier incarnation of Live View. However, it still includes useful features such as being able to change the duration of the metering system once the shutter is pressed halfway.
Canon EOS 60D & 600D
The 60D and 600D style of EOS bodies have the Live View button positioned nice and close to the viewfinder, within a thumb tip’s reach.
Canon EOS 1100D
The entry-level 1100D’s Live View button is located slightly more out of the way, between the Exposure Compensation and Q buttons.
Canon EOS 7D The latest high-end Canons, like the 7D and 5D Mark III, have this quick selection arrangement. Turn the dial to select stills or video, then hit the Start button to activate it.
100 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2013
There are many focusing configurations for Live View, but the basic three are phasedetection Quick mode (which flips the mirror down briefly to use the AF sensor), contrast-detection Live mode (a slower AF system based on data from the sensor) and Live Face Detection mode. But for precise, sharp focusing, you can’t beat manual focus. Simply move the magnification frame over the most important detail in the Live View preview, then press the ‘+’ zoom button – once for 5x magnification, twice for 10x magnification. Twist the focus ring to fine-tune focus, then press ‘+’ again to zoom
out to normal view. For additional sharpness, activate one of the ‘Silent’ Live View modes (in the 40D upwards), which reduces vibration caused by ‘mirror slap’ in normal Live View shooting.
Shooting movies
Get the big picture
To shoot HD movies with your EOS, you’ll first need to switch the camera into Movie mode. Simply turn the Mode dial to the movie film camera icon. You’ll hear the mirror lift up and the camera will be ready to shoot – just hit the red button to start recording (a red dot will appear on-screen to confirm this) and again to stop it. Press MENU to enter the movie mode’s dedicated menu section, where you can adjust such parameters as recording size (crop marks appear to help you frame easily), whether the camera autofocuses while shooting and whether Highlight Tone Priority is enabled or not.
Despite Live View autofocus having improved substantially in recent generations of EOS D-SLRs, it’s still no match for the viewfinder when it comes to action photography – focusing is noticeably sluggish, and panning to track a moving subject can be particularly irksome on a screen, as it just feels more natural to act like a sharp-shooter and have the camera glued to one eye. That said, pre-focusing on a spot and waiting for a moving subject to pass across it’s much less
The large, bright rear screen still not big enough for you? Then try shooting with the camera tethered by a USB cable to a computer. The EOS Utility software that came with your Canon enables you to see the Live View feed on your computer screen, complete with a set of controls that allow you to change the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and other settings on the camera, as well as firing the shutter. You can even choose to save images to both the memory card and the computer, thereby giving you an instant backup of your files.
hassle using Live View: just sit back, watch the screen and fire the shutter when ready! Finally, as you’d expect, keeping all the electronic circuitry live and a large LCD screen burning means Live View is a bit of a battery hog. Pack a charged backup if you’ll be doing an extensive amount of Live View photography. And you will be; for many situations, it makes taking pictures a whole lot easier. Once you get a taste for Live View, it can be hard to switch it off. n
5 great things about the...
Canon EOS 550D 1 2nd curtain sync
3 Display snapshot
5 Grid lines
By default, the 550D’s popup flash is set to 1st curtain sync. This means it will fire at the start of the exposure. When shooting action in low light, try setting it to 2nd curtain sync for more natural looking trails that follow your moving subject.
When you’re in the menu system and want a quick snapshot of how the camera is currently set up, simply press the DISP button to bring up a handy display that shows you which of the key functions are enabled or disabled.
To tie in with the rest of this Workshop, have you tried using a grid overlay when shooting movies? Its very useful when panning across a landscape as you can use the horizontal lines to ensure everything is level.
2 Centre AF To quickly reset the AF point, make sure Custom Function IV: 10 (Assign SET button) shows 0 (disabled). Then switch to Manual focus point selection. If you now move to a different active AF point, press SET to return to the centre one.
4 Diopter adjustment If everything looks a bit fuzzy through the viewfinder, it doesn’t always mean your focusing system’s on the blink. Have you tried adjusting the diopter wheel? Remove the rubber eyepiece by squeezing its sides first.
2013 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 101