DSLR Camera Basics

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Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera:What you need to know ISO • What does ISO stand for? It stands for International Standards Organization, which is the group that sets standards for products, machines, systems, etc. (they have a website if youʼre interested) • When talking digital cameras the ISO is a number that tells you how sensitive your cameraʼs sensor is to light. The sensor, like old fashioned film, is where a photographic image is formed.

• To set the ISO push the ISO Button on the top of the Canon Rebel XS camera, then use the arrows on the back of the camera to move the selection of ISO numbers on the LCD screen to the ISO number wanted.

ISO number choices on our Canon Rebel XS are as follows: AutoISO In Auto ISO the camera chooses what it “thinks” is an appropriate ISO for the lighting conditions

100

200

400

Lower ISO Numbers are good in bright light and when image will be enlarged to 11” x 14” or bigger

800

1600

Higher ISO Numbers are good in low light and when printing smaller, 8” x 10” or less

ISO 100 Shutter Speed 1/15th of a second F4

ISO 1600 Shutter Speed 1/125th of a second F4 These images are extreme magnifications to show digital noise. Extreme magnification results in image blurriness.

Lower/Slower ISOs mean longer exposures and/or bigger aperture openings because they require more light. However, they give you a less noisy and higher quality image.

Higher/Faster ISOs mean faster exposures and/or smaller aperture openings because they require less light. However, they give you a more noisy and lower quality image.

You might think of ISO this way: When you have sun screen on your skin, your skin is less sensitive to light. It will take longer for your skin to darken, but the tan will be high quality.

When you do not have sun screen on your skin, your skin is much more sensitive to light. You will get darker faster, but you the tan will not be as high quality.

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The Shutter and Shutter Speed • A shutter is, in essence, a door that when opened, allows light to come into the camera to expose the digital sensor.

• The shutter speed controls how long the door stays open to let light into the camera • Fast shutter speeds stop action and let less light into the camera • Slow shutter speeds blur action and let more light into the camera • At higher ISOs it is more likely that you can get a good exposure at a fast shutter speed • To change the shutter speed turn the dial between the ISO button and the shutter release button. When you turn the dial, the shutter speed number on the LCD screen will change (see next page for LCD Screen Illustration)

The Shutter Speeds on the Canon Rebel XS are as follows from the slowest to the fastest: ( ” = second(s)) BULB (keeps shutter open as long as you have your finger on the shutter release button Slowest --30” 25” 20” 15” 13” 10” 8” 6” 5” 4” 3.2” 2.5” 2” 1.6” 1.3” 1” .8” .6” .5” .4” .3” 1/4” 1/5” 1/6” 1/8” 1/10” 1/13” 1/15” 1/20” 1/25” 1/30” 1/40” 1/50” 1/60” 1/80” 1/100” 1/125” 1/160” 1/200” 1/250” 1/32” 1/400” 1/500” 1/640” 1/800” 1/1000” 1/1250” 1/1600” 1/2000” 1/2500” 1/3200” 1/4000”--Fastest

The Aperture and F-Stop • An aperture is a perfectly round hole in the camera lens that refracts light to form a photographic image on the digital image sensor • The size of the aperture controls the amount of light hitting the sensor • larger aperture openings let more light in and produce images with shallow depth of field • smaller apertures let less light in and produce shallower depth of field • F-Stops are the numbers that correspond to the size of the aperture • To change the F-Stop you must hold the AV button down while turning the dial between the ISO button and the shutter release button • The larger the F-Stop number the smaller the hole The F-Stops on the Canon Rebel XS 18-55mm zoom lens are as Follows starting with the smallest aperture hole: smallest apertureF36 F32 F29 F25 F22 F20 F18 F16 F14 F13 F11 F10 F9 F8 F7.1 F6.3 F5.6 largest aperture The following F-Stops are only available when the lens is zoomed out to itʼs 55mm position: F5 F4.5 F4 F3.5

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The Light Meter • The reflective light meter in DSLR cameras measures the intensity of the light reflecting off the subject.

• It helps the photographer figure out which F-Stop and Shutter Speed Combinations will yield a good exposure.

• The meter for the Canon Rebel XS is only accessible in what Canon calls the “Creative Modes” The creative modes include:M--Full Manual, AV-- Aperture Priority ( You choose the Aperture, the camera chooses the shutter speed), TV--Shutter Priority (you choose the shutter speed, the camera chooses the F-Stop or Aperture Setting) and P--Program Mode (You can choose the F-Stop, the camera chooses the shutter speed. We will use M--Full Manual Mode.

• The is activated by tapping on the shutter release button.

The light meter is a scale that tells you if the settings will be under, over or good exposure:

-2, -1, 0, +1, +2

When the bar lines up with 0 you have a good exposure. If the bar lines up with -2 or -1 your image will be under exposed or dark. If the bar lines up with +1 or +2 the image will be over exposed or too bright.

• One way of using the meter is to choose a shutter speed first. Use the dial between the shutter release Shutter Speed F-Stop button and the ISO button to change the shutter speed.

• If you are hand holding the camera, you must choose a shutter speed Light Meter above 1/30th of a second or higher.

• Next, tap on the shutter release Manual Mode button to activate the meter. When the meter is activated, a small bar will appear directly below the meter.

• Next press the AV button on the back of the camera and turn the same dial that you did to change the shutter speed. Turn the dial until the bar beneath the light meter is lined up with the 0. Keep in mind that the smaller the F-Stop number, the larger the aperture hole, so smaller numbers mean more light into the camera. The lager the F-Stop number the smaller the aperture hole, so larger numbers mean less light into the camera.

• You will see the light meter, shutter speed and F-Stop in the view finder as well as on the LCD screen. Looking at all these settings in the view finder will help you shoot faster.

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Light Meter Modes The Canon Rebel XS has three light meter modes. Spot metering is not available on the Canon Rebel XS Evaluative Mode--Is a good all around metering mode and the default mode on the camera. The camera divides the image into 35 zones and reads the exposure for each zone separately. Metering is concentrated on the active Auto Focus Point, even if it is off center. Tries to compensate for back lighting. Evaluative Metering is good for : • Tricky lighting • general picture taking • portraits • backlit subjects Center Weighted Metering--Weighted at the center and then averaged for the entire scene. Reads the entire picture area, but is always weighted from the center of the picture, regardless of where the Focus Points are. Does not compensate for back lighting.

• Center weighted metering is good for evenly lit subjects.

Partial Metering--Is very precise metering that measures only about 9% of the picture, near the center of the screen. Only the part that is measured will be properly exposed.

You can use the AE Lock Button(Auto Exposure Lock) when putting the subject off center. This setting is good for: • Neon Lights • stage performances • when the background is much brighter than the subject due to backlighting.

For most of our shooting Evaluative metering is the best and most versatile choice.

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Kelvin Temperature White Balance The White Balance (WB)setting on your camera, allows you to adjust your camera to accurately record color in different light sources.

• Different light sources have a different “color temperature” • Color temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale (K) • The color temperature of a light source can make colors appear more cool (blue) or warm (yellow) • Very cool light like that of blue sky, have a higher color temperature • Very warm light, like that of a candle, have a very low color temperature

We donʼt generally notice this difference in temperature because our eyes adjust automatically for it. So unless the temperature of the light is very extreme a white sheet of paper will generally look white to us. Our digital cameras need to be set for the correct White Balance in order to record color temperature accurately.

Blue Cool Light

Yellow Warm Light

For the Science Geeks in each of us: So, why do we measure the hue (color) of the light as a "temperature"? This was started in the late 1800s, when the British physicist William Kelvin heated a block of carbon. It glowed in the heat, producing a range of different colors at different temperatures. The black cube first produced a dim red light, increasing to a brighter yellow as the temperature went up, and eventually produced a bright blue-white glow at the highest temperatures. In his honor, Color Temperatures are measured in degrees Kelvin, which are a variation on Centigrade degrees. Instead of starting at the temperature water freezes, the Kelvin scale starts at "absolute zero," which is -273 Centigrade. (Subtract 273 from a Kelvin temperature, and you get the equivalent in Centigrade.) However, the color temperatures attributed to different types of lights are correlated based on visible colors matching a standard black body, and are not the actual temperature at which a filament burns.

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The Canon Rebel XS has the following White Balance Settings: 1. AWB--Auto White Balance--The camera does its best to guess the correct setting 2. Bright Sun 3. Shade 4. Cloudy Day 5. Incandescent Light Bulb 6. Flouresent Light Bulb 7. Flash on Camera 8. Custom White Balance--You set the white balance based on the actually lighting conditions you are shooting under.

White Balance Icons

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To set White Balance: • Press the WB Button on the back of the camera and the White Balance icons will appear • Use the left and right arrows below the WB button to scroll to the desired setting • Press the Set button To Set Custom White Balance: • Fill the viewfinder center with a piece of white paper or board.

• Meter to get the correct exposure • Focus and take a picture of the white paper or board • Press the Menu button • Go to the second Camera Settings Icon • Use the arrows to scroll down to Custom WB • The Set screen will appear • Select the image that was captured in step 1 • A dialog screen will appear, select OK and the image will be imported and white balance adjusted for that lighting situation • Unless you reset Custom White Balance, this will be your default Custom White Balance setting

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Focusing the Image The Canon Rebel XS can be set on Manual Focus or Auto Focus. It also has an Image Stabilizer that can be turned on or off.

Auto Focus (AF) Manual Focus (MF)

Image Stabilizer Image Stabilizer On/Off When switched on the Image Stabilizer helps you keep the camera steady during longer exposures, reducing camera shake which might result in image blurriness. It will not work well for very long exposures, only ones close to 1/30th of a second or so.

Manual Focus (MF) When in the Manual Focus Mode (MF) the photographer must manually focus by turning the outer most ring of the lens until the image appears focused in the viewfinder.

Auto Focus (AF) When in the Auto Focus Mode the camera focuses for you. Focus Modes help the camera choose the right thing to focus on. When in Auto Focus Mode, the camera does not always focus where you want it to Focus. Therefore, Focus points can be manually set as well.

The Canon Rebel XS has three Auto Focus Modes: • One-Shot AF-- Suitable for still subjects. When you press the shutter button halfway, the camera will focus only once. You can also recompose the shot.

• AI Focus AF-- Suitable when you cannot decide between One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF. Depending on the subjectʼs movement, the camera will switch automatically to One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF. * When focus is achieved in the AI SERVO AF mode, the beeper will sound softly. The focus confirmation light <o> in the viewfinder will not light.

--AI stands for Artificial Intelligence.

• AI Servo AF Suitable for moving subjects. While you hold down the shutter button halfway, the focus and exposure setting will be adjusted continuously.

--In this setting, even when focus is achieved, the beeper will not sound. Also, the focus confirmation light <o> in the viewfinder will not light.

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How to set the Auto Focus Modes:

1 Press the arrow button labeled AF and the AF mode window will appear.

2 Select the AF mode.

Press the arrow keys to select the desired AF mode, then press SET.

3 Focus the subject.

Aim the AF point over the subject and press the shutter button halfway. The camera will then autofocus in the selected AF mode.

Setting the AF Point Manually:

1 Press the Focus Point button.

The AF point selection indicator will appear on the LCD Screen and in the viewfinder.

2 Select the AF point.

Press the arrow keys to select the AF point or use the dial near the shutter release button to set the desired focus point. The point lights up when chosen.

3 Focus the subject.

Aim the selected AF point over the subject and press the shutter button halfway to focus.

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Focus Point Button