2 great ways to learn! read our guides • watch the videos
Learn photography the easy way with our video guides!
Volume 1
2 2 2 pages
of pho adviceto !
Take better shots with your EOS D-SLR FREE VIDEO LESSONS!
Includes creative photography video guides for your Canon SLR
Welcome to your digital book Three easy ways to enjoy this digital edition‌
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Welcome
W
ith models suitable for beginners as well as the most demanding professional, Canon is the number one brand in digital SLRs. The beauty of these cameras is that they allow you to get really creative with your pictures, and end up with photographs that are far more than point-and-shoot snapshots. But getting great images from these sophisticated tools means far more than pressing the shutter and hoping for the best. An array of dials, menu options and information-packed displays have to be given proper attention. The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook Volume 1 is the instruction manual that should have come in the box. It doesn’t just tell you what the buttons do – it shows ckoed -pa jam r you how to use them to get great you ot for Ph ger Three: ck pate r Turn you kcli TutornthetobaChrap , as ss4ing mi ck is c d dis an you If 14 pictures! Our exhaustive 18-lesson page lp, or if your disc CD cts on ojeM! pr-RO on ks ail they caen’tVihe lin o’ ent. Ifch de newsag Th at Canon SLR College (see page 68) d, please em thiseph‘W ysically damalge tch the torenwa et.com and each tutoriautu provides a complete introduction es id us at support@f gu g vid inted send you to eo co’llmbepadenyligh acwe to photography with a Canon SLR a replacement – from how to change your lens, to how to master depth of field. Our tutorials (and the accompanying videos) show you how to put this theory into practice. As you learn more about photography, you will be tempted to invest in more lenses and other accessories – but make sure you read our fact-packed group tests (on page 166) before making a decision about what to buy! If you like this bookazine, don’t miss The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook Volumes 2 and 3 – on sale now!
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Chris George, Series editor
2015 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 3
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA www.digitalcameraworld.com
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4 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2015
CHAPTER ONE
Camera skills
6
Master your SLR!........................................8 Don’t be a D-SLR dunce...........................18 Exposure made easy................................28 Get creative with lenses..........................38 Sharpen up your shots!........................... 48 24 steps to better night photos..............58
CHAPTER TWO
Canon SLR College
68
Focal length..............................................70 Focusing....................................................74 Depth of field.......................................... 80 Aperture.................................................. 84 Shutter speeds........................................ 88 Exposure modes.......................................92 Metering modes explained..................... 96 White balance........................................ 100 Digital processing.................................. 104 Flash....................................................... 108 ISO speeds..............................................112 File formats and memory cards............116 Histograms.............................................120 Video.......................................................124 Battery power........................................128
Custom functions...................................132 Live View................................................136 Drive modes...........................................140
CHAPTER THREE
Photo projects
144
Take macro shots with an ordinary lens...146 Take stunning natural-light portraits........148 Soften flash lighting with a bounce card....152 Capture a seascape with a long exposure...154 Put things into perspective.......................158 Create spectacular panoramic images......162
CHAPTER FOUR
Essential kit
166
Budget telephoto zooms....................... 168 Teleconverters........................................ 177 Ultra-wide lenses................................... 178 Battery grips........................................... 189 Macro lenses..........................................190 Superzoom lenses..................................204 Remote releases..................................... 213 Flashguns................................................ 214
2015 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 5
Camera skills Page 18
Page 8
6 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2015
Page 28
Camera skills Page 58
Camera skills
1
Master your SLR!...............................................8 Don’t be a D-SLR dunce..................................18 Exposure made easy.......................................28 Get creative with lenses.................................38 Sharpen up your shots!...................................48 24 steps to better night photos....................58
Page 38 Page 48
2015 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 7
Camera skills
R E T S A M ! R L S R YOU Essential skills for beginners
uide g e c n re fe re y t ir -d d n -a Ultimate down
8 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2015
Chris George
Camera skills
Forgot the manual and the endless, conflicting advice, here’s your nononsense guide to everything you really need to know to take great shots with your Canon D-SLR
W
ith its EOS range of cameras, Canon is producing some of the most sophisticated D-SLRs available today, and each new camera that it launches is bristling with technology and equipped with an ever-growing range of features. This is great news for photographers because, no matter what you want to photograph, or how you want to photograph it, there’s bound to be a setting or a button that will help you achieve your goal. However, some of these options are really only going to be useful to a few
people on a few occasions, and with so much on offer it’s easy to become totally distracted and confused by all the choices! In this guide, we’re going to cut to the chase and get straight to the essentials, revealing the only settings you really need to use to take great pictures straight out of the box and, just as importantly, how you can make the most of them. So avoid the confusion over which buttons to press, ignore the hundreds of options nestling in the menus, and don’t get distracted by multiple exposure modes: just follow this guide to start taking stunning shots with your EOS in double-quick time.
2015 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 9
MASTER YOUR SLR! Essential skills for beginners
Get started
y reference guide Ultimate down-and-dirt
Before you set out… In general, it’s best to set your camera to shoot RAW, rather than JPEG. The files may be bigger, but the image quality will be better and you can optimise your pictures by adjusting the contrast, saturation, sharpening, and even the exposure when you convert them to TIFF or JPEG. However, if you want to shoot a burst of images in quick succession, switch from RAW to JPEG. Use the highest quality setting to avoid JPEG
White balance
auto WB
Your camera’s white balance makes sure that your colours are correct when you take a shot, so it’s important to get it right. If you’re shooting RAW, use your camera’s auto white balance (AWB) and fine-tune the result in Photoshop’s Camera Raw editor or Canon’s Digital Photo Professional if you need to when you convert your files. If you’re shooting JPEG files, then you need to get the white balance spot-on when you shoot to avoid any colour correction work. Use the camera’s preset white balance options to match the conditions you’re shooting in: Daylight if it’s sunny, Cloudy when it’s overcast, and Flash when you’re shooting with flash.
artefacts and remember that all of the processing will be done in-camera, so you may want to change the Picture Style if you’re after a specific look. Whenever you’re heading out on a shoot, format your memory card instead of deleting images by choosing the Format option from the Setup tab in your camera menu. This will make sure that any camera-specific data is written to the card before you begin, which reduces the risk of any data loss.
Your Canon D-SLR’s Auto White Balance is usually pretty accurate, but it’s better use the other white balance presets when you want to warm up your image’s colours and tones
Cloudy WB
If you’re shooting in mixed lighting conditions (both tungsten and daylight, for example) the camera’s AWB can be fooled into giving the wrong result, so set the white balance manually. Shoot a white piece of paper or card under the same lighting and use this shot to create a custom white balance for neutral results.
10 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2015
Exposure 1/90 sec at f/3.5; ISO1 00 Lens Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
Chris George and Peter Travers
Using a Cloudy white balance setting at sunset (or sunrise) will enhance the warmth of the sky and create more saturated colours for a dramatic look.
Camera skills
Picture Styles
Standard
Essential accessories
Picture Styles alter the contrast, saturation, in-camera sharpening and colour tone to tailor your shots to a specific type of subject. However, they only have an effect if you’re shooting JPEG images as the processing is done in-camera. If you’re shooting RAW files, you can choose a Picture Style when you process the image in the Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software that came with your camera. Note that only DPP recognises Picture Styles – Photoshop does not. The Landscape style is great for adding punch to an outdoor shot as it increases the vibrancy of greens and blues, while the Portrait style ensures smooth skin tones and vibrancy for pixel-perfect people pictures.
TOP TIPS Memory cards A selection of spare CompactFlash or SD flash memory cards are vital – especially if you won’t have access to a computer to download your images to for any length of time.
portrait
You don’t have to stick to the default Picture Styles – they can all be edited, allowing you to customise the sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone. You can save your custom styles as user-defined settings that you can quickly access from the Picture Styles menu.
Spare battery Having one battery in your camera and another on charge means you never have to take a break from your photography!
Controlling your drive modes
Protective filter Buy an affordable skylight or UV screw-in filter to protect your lenses without adversely affecting your images.
The drive mode tells your camera whether it should take a single shot when you press the shutter release, or fire a burst of frames while your finger’s on the ‘trigger’. Most of the time you can stick to Single shooting mode, which will give you time to review your images as you shoot and adjust the settings (if you need to) before shooting again. With a fast-moving subject you don’t want to miss a shot, so if you’re shooting sports or
wildlife, it’s best to switch to Continuous shooting mode and fire off a burst of frames to make sure you catch the best moment. You can shoot a longer burst at a faster rate if you set the camera to shoot JPEG instead of RAW. If your SLR’s on a tripod, use the self-timer to trigger the shutter so you don’t introduce any camera shake when you press the button. Later EOS SLRs have 2-sec and 10-sec self-timer settings.
Camera bag A padded camera bag’s not just for carrying your gear – it will also keep it safe and all together when it’s on a shelf at home. Tripod An absolute must for pin-sharp, shake-free images.
burst mode
Quick Control The Quick Control screen on the latest Canon EOS models is a great way of changing your camera settings without fumbling through menus or looking for buttons. Simply press the Quick Control button on the back of the camera, scroll to the option you want to adjust and use the control wheel to make any changes.
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MASTER YOUR SLR! Essential skills for beginners
f/2.8
y reference guide Ultimate down-and-dirt
f/5.6
Chris George and Peter Travers
f/8
The wider the aperture you use (such as f/2.8 or f/5.6) the more the background will be out-offocus behind your subject‌
Exposure explained
f/16
Exposure mode choices Program is a sure-fire way to successful, hassle-free shots. Your camera will choose a suitable aperture and shutter speed, but you can shift the pairing to control the aperture and shutter speed. If you know you want a very shallow depth of field, switch to Aperture Value (Av) mode to pick a wide aperture setting, such as f/2.8 or f/4. The camera will choose a shutter speed
12 The Ultimate Canon SLR Handbook 2015
to match. The same applies if you want a large depth of field: switch to Av, choose your aperture (f/16 or f/22), and let the camera do the rest. When shooting action you need to use a fast shutter speed to freeze movement, so Time Value (Tv) mode is the way to go. You choose the shutter speed you want to use and the camera chooses the aperture that will give you the perfect exposure.
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