Olxx9 A Short Course in Canon Eos Digital Rebel Xsi450d Photography

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A S H O R T C O U R S E I N
CANON EOS
DIGITAL REBEL
XSI/450D PHOTOGRAPHY
D E N N I S P . C U R T I N
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PREFACE
A
great photograph begins when you recognize a great scene or
subject. But recognizing a great opportunity isnt enough to capture
it; you also have to be prepared. A large part of being prepared in-
volves understanding your camera well enough to capture what you see. Get-
ting you prepared to see and capture great photographs is what this book is
all about. It doesnt matter if you are taking pictures for business or pleasure,
theres a lot here to help you get better results and more satisfaction from
your photography.
To get better, and possibly even great photographs, you need to understand
both concepts and procedures; the whys and hows of photography.
Concepts of photography are the underlying principles that apply regardless
of the camera you are using. They include such things as how sharpness and
exposure affect your images and the way they are perceived by viewers. Un-
derstanding concepts answers the why kinds of questions you might have
about photography.
Procedures are those things specifc to one kind of camera, and explain
step-by-step how you set your cameras controls to capture an image just the
way you want to. Understanding procedures gives you the answers to the
how kinds of questions you might have.
This book is organized around the concepts of digital photography because
thats how photographers think. You think about scenes and subjects, high-
lights and shadows, softness and sharpness, color and tone. The procedures
you use with the Canon EOS Rebel XSi cameracalled the 450D in many
parts of the worldare integrated throughout the concepts, appearing in
those places where they apply. This integrated approach lets you frst under-
stand the concepts of photography and then see step by step how to use the
XSi in all kinds of photographic situations.
To get more effective, interesting, and creative photographs, you only need
to understand how and when to use a few simple features on your camera
such as focus, exposure controls, and fash. If youve previously avoided
understanding these features and the profound impact they can have on your
images, youll be pleased to know that you can learn them on a weekend.
You can then spend the rest of your life marveling at how the infnite variety
of combinations make it possible to convey your own personal view of the
world. Youll be ready to keep everything in a scene sharp for maximum de-
tail or to blur it all for an impressionistic portrayal. Youll be able to get dra-
matic close-ups, freeze fast action, create wonderful panoramas, and capture
the beauty and wonder of rainbows, sunsets, freworks, and nighttime scenes.
As you explore your camera, be sure to have fun. There are no rules or
best way to make a picture. Great photographs come from using what you
know to experiment and try new approaches. Digital cameras make this espe-
cially easy because there are no flm costs or delays. Every experiment is free
and you see the results immediately so you can learn step by step.
This book assumes youve mastered the mechanics of your camera. Its about
getting great pictures, not about connecting your camera to computers and
using your software. That information is well presented in the user guide that
came with your camera. Be sure to visit our Web site at www.shortcourses.
com for even more digital photography information.
PHOTOGRAPHY
ON-LINE
To learn more
about digital pho-
tography, visit our
ShortCourses Web
site at www.
shortcourses.com.
The Canon EOS Digital
Rebel XSi/450D is a
very high-quality 12.2
megapixel camera.
The XSi /450D accepts
the full line of Canon EF
and EF-S lenses.
PREFACE
IV
The XSi/450D can print
directly to a printer
without a computer.
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Cover...i
Short Courses Books and Web Site...ii
Preface...iv
Contents...v
CHAPTER 1
CAMERA CONTROLS AND CREATIVITY...7
The Digital Rebel XSi/450D Camera...8
Jump StartUsing Full Auto Mode...9
Good Things to Know...10
Using the Viewfnder...13
Diopter Adjustment...13
Focus Points ...13
Information Display...13
Metering Display...13
Anatomy of the Camera...14
Top and Front Views ...14
Rear View...14
Changing Settings with Buttons and Dial...16
Changing Settings with Menus...17
Playing Back & Managing Your Images...19
Image Review...19
Information Display...19
Image Playback...19
Jumping in Playback...20
Giving Slide Shows...20
Using the Playback Menu...21
Selecting Image Quality and Size...22
Number of Pixels...22
How an Image is Captured...24
The Exposure...24
Its All Black and White After All...24
Choosing Image Size and Quality...25
CHAPTER 2
CONTROLLING EXPOSURE...28
Understanding Exposure...29
The Shutter Controls Light and Motion...30
The Aperture Controls Light and Depth of Field...32
Using Shutter Speed and Aperture Together...34
ExposureFaucets & Buckets Analogy...35
ExposureSeesaw Analogy...36
Retaining Highlight and Shadow Details ...37
Choosing Shooting Modes...38
Using Image Zone Modes...39
Using Program AE (P) Mode and Program Shift...40
Using Shutter-Priority (Tv) Mode...41
Using Aperture-Priority (Av) Mode...42
Using Manual (M) Mode...43
How Your Exposure System Works...44
Meter Averaging and Middle Gray...44
Types of Metering...46
When Automatic Exposure Works Well...47
When to Override Automatic Exposure...48
Scenes Lighter than Middle Gray...48
Scenes Darker than Middle Gray...49
Subject Against Very Light Background...49
Subject Against Very Dark Background...50
Scenes with High Contrast...50
Hard to Meter Scenes...51
How Overriding Autoexposure Works...52
How to Override Automatic Exposure...53
Exposure Compensation...53
Autoexposure (AE) Lock...53
Autoexposure Bracketing (AEB)...55
Using Histograms...56
Displaying Histograms...56
Evaluating Histograms ...56
Clipped Pixels...58
Sample Histograms...59
CHAPTER 3
CONTROLLING SHARPNESS...60
Getting Sharper Pictures...61
Supporting the Camera...61
Using the Self-timer...61
Increasing Sensitivity (ISO)...62
Sharpness Isnt Everything...64
How to Photograph Motion Sharply...65
Speed of Subject...65
Direction of Movement...65
Distance to Subject and Focal Length of
Lens...66
Focus and Depth of Field...67
Focus...67
Depth of Field...67
Checking Depth of Field...68
Focusing Techniques...69
Autofocus Modes...69
Selectable Focusing Points...70
Using Focus Lock...71
Manual Focus...72
Controlling Depth of Field...73
Using Deep Depth of Field...74
Focusing on the Hyperfocal Distance...74
Auto Depth-of-feld AE (A-DEP)...75
Using Shallow Depth of Field...76
Conveying the Feeling of Motion...77
CHAPTER 4
CAPTURING LIGHT & COLOR...78
Where Does Color Come From?...79
White Balance and Color...80
Using Preset White Balance Settings...80
Creating and Using a Custom White Balance
Setting...81
Selecting a Color Space...82
Using White Balance Correction & Bracketing...83
Color and Time of Day...84
Sunsets and Sunrises...85
Weather...87
Photographing at Night...89
The Direction of Light...91
The Quality of Light...93
V
CONTENTS
VI
CHAPTER 5
UNDERSTANDING LENSES...94
Canon Lenses...95
Electronic Lens Mount...95
Focusing Technology...95
Ultrasonic Motors...96
Image Stabilization...96
Information on a Canon Lens...97
Focal Length...98
Zoom Lenses...99
Normal Lenses...100
Wide-Angle Lenses...101
Telephoto Lenses...103
Macro Lenses and Accessories...105
Tilt-Shift Lenses...107
Lens Accessories...108
Perspective in a Photograph...109
CHAPTER 6
USING FLASH AND STUDIO LIGHTING...110
How Flash Works...111
Using Autofash...112
Flash and Shutter Speeds...112
Flash in the Basic Zone...112
Flash in the Creative Zone...113
Portraits with Flash...114
Positioning the Flash and Subjects...114
Red-eye...115
Using Fill Flash...116
Using Slow Sync Flash...117
Using Available Light...119
Controlling Flash Exposures...120
Whats E-TTL II?...120
Flash Exposure Compensation...120
Flash Exposure (FE) Lock...121
Using the Flash Control Setting...122
Using an External Flash...123
The 580EX II Speedlite...123
High-speed Sync (FP)...123
Flash Exposure Bracketing (FEB)...124
Wireless Remote Flash...124
Stroboscopic Flash...124
Autozoom...124
Using Flash in Close-ups...125
Studio Lighting...126
Candidates for Studio Lighting...126
Lighting...126
Backgrounds...128
Risers...128
Special Bulbs...128
Portrait and Product PhotographyIntroduction...129
The Main Light...130
The Fill Light...131
The Background Light...132
The Rim Light...133
CHAPTER 7
OTHER FEATURES AND COMMANDS...134
Live View Shooting...135
General Tips in Live View...135
Manually Focusing in Live View...137
Autofocusing in Live View...137
Continuous Photography...139
Using Picture Styles...140
Selecting Picture Styles...140
Adjusting Picture Styles...141
Remote Control Photography...142
Using My Menu...143
Using the Set-up Menu...144
Auto power off...144
File numbering...145
Auto rotate...145
Format...145
LCD auto off...146
Screen color...146
LCD brightness...146
Date/Time...146
Language...146
Video system...146
Sensor cleaning...146
Live View function settings...146
Flash control...146
Custom Functions (C. Fn)...147
Clear settings...147
Firmware Ver...147
Using Custom Functions...148
Entering a Print Order...152
Caring for Your Camera...153
Cleaning the Image Sensor...153
Cleaning the Camera and Lens...155
Protecting your Camera from the Ele-
ments...155
Protecting when Traveling...156
Storing a Camera...156
Caring for Yourself...156
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Chapter 1
Camera Controls and Creativity
S
erious digital cameras give you creative control over your images. They
do so by allowing you to control the light and motion in photographs
as well as whats sharp and what isnt. Although most consumer digital
cameras are fully automatic, some allow you to make minor adjustments that
affect your images. The best ones such as the Rebel XSi offer interchangeable
lenses, external fash connections, and a wide range of controlsmany more
than youd fnd on point and shoot cameras. However, regardless of what
controls your camera has, the same basic principles are at work under the
hood. Your automatic exposure and focusing systems are having a profound
affect on your images. Even with your camera set to operate automatically,
you can indirectly control, or at least take advantage of the effects these sys-
tems have on your images.
In this chapter, well frst explore your camera and how you use it on Full
Auto mode. Youll also see how you use menus and buttons to operate the
camera, manage your images and control image quality. In the chapters that
follow, youll explore in greater depth how you take control of these settings,
and others, to get the effects that you want.
CONTENTS
The Digital Rebel
XSi/450D Camera
Jump StartUs-
ing Full Auto Mode
Good Things to Know
Using the Viewfnd-
er Anatomy of the
Camera Changing
Settings with Buttons
and Dials Chang-
ing Settings with
Menus Playing Back
& Managing Your
Images Selecting
Image Quality and
Size
CHAPTER 1. CAMERA CONTROLS AND CREATIVITY
8
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THE DIGITAL REBEL XSI/450D CAMERA
The Canon EOS XSi/450Ds compact and lightweight silver or black body
houses a 12.2 Megapixel CMOS image sensor. It can capture images up to
4,272 x 2,848 pixels in size, large enough for 21 x 14 inch, high-quality prints.
Its high-speed continuous mode captures up to 56 Large/Fine JPEGs or 6
RAW images at 3.5 frame-per-second (fps) making it ideal for photographing
wildlife, sports and other action subjects.
The camera has a large three-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD monitor on which
you can display menus, camera settings, and images you have captured. Us-
ing Live View, you can also use the monitor to compose and focus images,
magnifying them up to 10x for the precise focus required in macro photogra-
phy. You can even display a histogram on the monitor to ensure you have the
best possible exposure before taking the picture. Using Live View, along with
software and a cable supplied with the camera, you can use a much larger
computer screen as the monitor/viewfnder to compose and focus images and
use menu commands to change camera settings.
The camera has a fast 0.1-second initial start-up, a shutter rated up to
100,000 cycles, a top shutter speed of 1/4000 sec, and 1/200 maximum X-
sync fash shutter speed setting. ISO settings range from 1001600.
Because the cameras APS-C size image sensor is smaller than a frame of
35mm flm, the camera has a 1.6x focal length conversion factor and is com-
patible with the full line-up of Canon EF and EF-S lenses.
The cameras 14-bit Analog-to-Digital (A/D) conversion process recognizes
four times as many colors as its predecessor, capturing images with fner
and more accurate gradations of tones and colors. Highlight Tone Priority
is perfect for wedding and nature photographers trying to capture details in
wedding dresses, clouds, snow or other white subjects. When you dont plan
on editing your images on a computer, Picture Styles let you adjust them for
printing right in the camera as you capture them.
The camera captures images in the universal JPEG format but also offers the
higher-quality RAW format. You can also select RAW+L to capture identi-
cal RAW and JPEG images with the same fle name and different extensions
(CR2 and JPG). You can then use the JPEG without farther processing and
use the RAW image when you want to create the best possible image.
The focusing system offers nine focus points from which you or the camera
can select the one used to set focus. A 35-zone metering sensor, and evalua-
tive metering, are linked to all AF points. Also available are centerweighted
average metering, partial metering and spot meteringthe last two metering
approximately 9% or 4% in the center of the viewfnder.
The camera has E-TTL II autofash and 12 shooting modes. As an added
convenience you can adjust the fash settings of the Canon Speedlite 580EX
II directly from the camera.
The cameras integrated sensor cleaning offers a number of ways to prevent
dust from affecting your images, or remove it if it does.
Finally, the camera has customization features including 13 Custom Func-
tions, picture styles you can edit or defne from scratch, and the ability to
create your own menu listing only those settings you use most frequently.
The XSis image sensor
is smaller that a frame
of 35mm flm, but
has the same familiar
shapecalled the
aspect ratio.
Click this button to play
an animation that shows
how an SLR works when
you compose an image
and press the shutter
button.
Canon Selphy printers
like this S2 can print
4 x 6 or 4 x 8 inch
prints directly from the
camera.
IN THE BOX
Rebel XSi Body
(Black or Silver),
Eyecup Ef, Wide
Strap EW-100DBIII,
Video Cable VC-100,
USB Interface Cable
IFC-200U, Battery
Pack LP-E5, Battery
Charger LC-E5 or
LC-E5E, EOS Digital
Solution Disk and
Instruction Manuals,
Great Photography
is Easy Booklet
and Do More with
Macro Booklet.
JUMP STARTUSING FULL AUTO MODE
The XSis Full Auto mode sets everything for you. Just frame the image and
push the shutter button. This a good mode in most situations because it lets
you focus on the subject rather than the camera.
Selecting the mode. Turn the power switch on the top of the camera to
ON and set the Mode Dial to Full Auto (the green rectangle icon). The moni-
tor displays the current camera settings (page 19).
Framing the image. The viewfnder shows about 95% of the scene you
are going to capture. If the image in the viewfnder is fuzzy, turn the diop-
ter adjustment knob in the upperright corner of the viewfnder to adjust it.
When using a zoom lens, turn the zoom ring to zoom in and out.
Autofocus. Nine small rectangles called the AF points (AF stands for au-
tofocus) are displayed in the viewfnder. When the focus switch on the lens is
set to AF (page 69), the camera focuses on the closest subject covered by one
or more of these points (page 70). When you press the shutter button half-
way down and focus is achieved, a red dot fashes in the point or points being
used to set focus, the round focus confrmation light in the lower right corner
of the viewfnder glows green, and the camera beeps. How close you can get
to a subject depends on the lens you are using. If the subjects distance to the
camera changes after you have focused on it, AI servo AF mode (page 69)
keeps it in focus as long as its covered by one of the focus points.
Autoexposure. Evaluative metering divides the scene in the viewfnder
into 35 zones and meters each of them to determine the best exposure for the
scene (page 44). The shutter speed and aperture are displayed in the view-
fnder and on the monitor when you press the shutter button halfway down.
Autofash. When the light is too dim, or the subject is backlit, the built-in
fash automatically pops up when you press the shutter button halfway down
and fres when you press the shutter button the rest of the way down (page
111). When done, press the fash down to close it.
TAKING A PICTURE IN FULL AUTO MODE
1. With the power switch on the top of the camera set to ON, set the
Mode Dial to Full Auto (the green rectangle icon). Set the focus mode
switch on the lens to AF (page 69) and remove the lens cap.
2. Compose the image in the viewfnder, making sure the area that you
want sharpest is covered by one of the nine rectangular focus points.
3. Press the shutter button halfway down and pause so the camera can
automatically set focus and exposure. When the camera has done so
it beeps, the round green focus confrmation light in the viewfnder
glows, and a dot in the focusing point(s) being used to set focus
fashes red.
4. Press the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
The shutter sounds and the red access lamp on the back of the cam-
era lights as the image is stored onto the memory card.
The image is displayed on the monitor for 2 seconds so you can
review it, or press the Erase button to delete it.
5. When done shooting, turn the power switch to OFF.
Power switch, Mode
Dial, and shutter
button.
Full Auto icon.
JUMP STARTUSING FULL AUTO MODE
TIPS
If the camera
doesnt work as
described here, you
may need to clear
previous settings as
described on page
147.
If you dont use
any controls for 30
seconds, the camera
enters auto power
off mode (page 144).
To wake it up, press
the shutter button
halfway down and
release it.
The fash pops up
automatically, when
needed, in Basic
Zone modes other
than Sports, Land-
scape, and Flash Off
(page 39). It does
not do so in Creative
Zone modes (page
38).
The color cast in
a photograph is af-
fected by the color
of the light illuminat-
ing the scene. The
camera adjusts white
balance so white
objects in the scene
look white in the
photo (page 80).
10
To insert a memory card, turn off the camera, slide the card slot cover on
the right side of the camera toward the back, and swing it open. Insert the
card with its front label facing the rear of the camera and press it down until
it locks into place. Slide the cover closed so it snaps into place. To remove
a card, open the card slot cover and press the card down and release it so it
pops up to where you can grasp it. Never open the battery or card slot cover
when the red access lamp in the lower right corner of the camera back. Doing
so can cause you to lose images, or even damage your card.
If you turn off the camera while the red access lamp is lit and Recording
is displayed on the monitor, the camera fnishes saving all of the previously
captured images before it powers down.
The frst time you use the camera you should enter the correct date and time
(page 146) since youll use these later to organize and locate pictures.
When you turn the camera on or off, the image sensor is cleaned (page 153).
When on, the current camera settings are displayed on the monitor.
If you dont use any controls for 30 seconds, the camera enters auto power
off mode and the monitor turns off. To wake it up, press the shutter button
halfway down and release it. (You can also press Playback, DISP, SET or
MENU buttons.) To increase the auto power off time, see page 144.
No matter what you are doing, you can instantly return to shooting mode by
pressing the shutter button halfway down.
The shutter button has two stages. When you press it halfway down, the
camera sets exposure and focus. When set, the current aperture and shutter
speed are shown in the viewfnder and on the monitor. If you press the shut-
ter button down in one stroke without pausing halfway, the camera may take
GOOD THINGS TO KNOW
When you frst start taking photos with a new camera, it sometimes seems
that there is too much to learn all at once. To simplify your getting started,
here are some of the things you may want to know right off.
If your camera is right out of the box, you need to mount a lens (page 95),
insert a charged battery pack, and insert a memory card on which your imag-
es are saved. The camera uses Secure Digital (SD) memory cards which store
up to 4 GB, or newer SDHC cards that store 432 GB. No card is included
with the camera, and there may be no lens as part of the package. Be careful
because it is possible to take photos without a card in the camera! If you turn
this feature off, when you press the shutter button halfway down with no card
in the camera Card is displayed in the monitor and you cant take a picture.
The card and battery
compartments have
sliding covers.
Icons on the monitor
indicate the status of
the battery charge as
full (top), almost run
down (middle), and out
(bottom).
PREVENTING SHOOTING WITHOUT A CARD
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode, press MENU and display the
Shooting 1 menu tab (page 17).
2. Press the up () or down () cross key to highlight Shoot w/o card
and press SET to display choices.
3. Press the up () or down () cross key to highlight Off and press
SET to select it.
4. Press the MENU or shutter button to hide the menu.
Pressing the shutter
button halfway down
locks focus and
exposure and pressing it
all the way down takes
the picture.
The sensor cleaning
icon.
GOOD THINGS TO KNOW
Dioptric adjustment
knob.
TURNING THE BEEP ON AND OFF
1. With the Mode Dial set to any shooting mode, press MENU and
display the Shooting 1 menu tab (page 17).
2. Press the up () or down () cross key to highlight Beep and press
SET to display choices.
3. Press the up () or down () cross key to highlight On or Off and
press SET to select it.
a moment before taking a picture.
In Full Auto mode, the focus mode is set to AI focus AF (page 69). When
you press the shutter button halfway down in this mode:
If the camera doesnt beep, the round green focus confrmation light in
the viewfnder blinks, and you cant take a picture, the camera isnt able to
focus (page 69).
If the camera beeps softly and the focus confrmation light doesnt light,
the subject is moving and the camera has automatically switched from AI
focus AF to AI servo AF mode to keep it in focus (page 69).
When you press the shutter button halfway down you activate metering and
the shutter speed and aperture are displayed in the viewfnder and on the
monitor (page 14). Metering only remains active for 4 seconds unless you use
a control. You can turn it back on at any time by pressing the shutter button
halfway down.
Be aware of the number of shots remaining displayed in brackets in the
lowerright corner of the monitor when camera settings are displayed.
To take pictures, hold the camera in your right hand while supporting the
lens with your left. Brace the camera against your face as you look through
the viewfnder and brace your elbows against your body. Press the shutter
button slowly and smoothly as you hold your breath after breathing in deeply
and exhaling.
When you take a photo its displayed on the monitor for 2 seconds so you
can review it, press the Erase button to delete it or the DISP button to change
the display mode. You can change the review time, turn it off, or set it to Hold
so it remains displayed until auto power off takes effect (page 144).
If the focus confrmation
light in the viewfnder
blinks when you press
the shutter button
halfway down, the
camera is having
trouble focusing (page
69).
TIP
If you turn the
Mode Dial while
watching the camera
information display
on the monitor, youll
see the settings for
each mode. Those
that are grayed out
cant be changed in
the current shooting
mode.
CHANGING THE REVIEW TIME
1. With the Mode Dial set to any shooting mode, press MENU and dis-
play the Shooting 1 menu tab (page 17).
2. Press the up () or down () cross key to highlight Review time and
press SET to display choices.
3. Press the up () or down () cross key to highlight Off, 2 sec., 4 sec.,
8 sec. or Hold and press SET to select it.
The camera beeps when it focuses, and when you use the self-timer, but you
can turn this off if you fnd its drawing attention or affecting others.
The camera uses Secure
Digital (SD) cards to
store images. The white
switch on the left,
when slid down, write-
protects your image
fles and you cant take
new pictures or erase
existing ones.
12
You can adjust the monitors brightness to match the light in which youre
viewing it (page 146).
When you bring your eye to the viewfnder, a sensor just below it turns off
the monitor display so it doesnt distract you. When you stop looking through
the viewfnder, the monitor display comes back on.
You can reset most camera settings to their factory defaults using the Set-up
3 menu tabs Clear settings command (page 147). This is useful if you make
changes and cant remember how to undo them.
The XSi supports Design rule for Camera File System 2.0 and Exif 2.21 (also
called Exif Print). Exif Print is an industry standard that enhances compat-
ibility among digital cameras and printers. When you connect the camera to
a printer that also supports Exif Print, the shooting information is used to
optimize print quality.
One rechargeable battery pack LP-E5 will capture about 600 images in
warm weather when not using fash. Things that reduce battery life include
holding the shutter button halfway down, and using the LCD monitor, fash,
autofocus, image stabilization (on some lenses), and Live View.
Do not look through the viewfnder directly at the sun. Doing so may cause
loss of vision. Dont even point the camera toward the sun since it can scorch
and damage the shutter curtains inside the camera.
If the focusing ring on a lens rotates during autofocusing, do not touch it.
If more than one AF point fashes, the camera has focused on all of those
points so they must be almost equally distant from the camera.
If pressing the shutter button halfway down doesnt focus the camera, the
focus mode switch on the lens may be set to MF (Manual Focus). Switch it to
AF autofocus).
If the fash pops up in daylight, the camera is in a Basic Zone shooting mode
and the main subject is backlit. Flash will be used to reduce harsh shadows
on the subject.
If the fash fres a series of fashes when you press the shutter button half-
way down, its using its AF assist beam to help the camera focus. The beam is
effective up to about 13 feet (4 meters).
If you use fash and a picture comes out dark, you were too far away from
the main subject. Normally, you shouldnt be more than 16 feet (5 meters)
away.
If the fash is used and the bottom of the picture is in shadow, you were too
close and the fash was blocked by the lens or lens hood.
A LOOK AHEAD
The cameras 12 shooting modes are divided into two types, or zonesBasic
Zone and Creative Zone. Each zone has a number of modes you can select by
turning the Mode Dial on top of the camera. Basic Zone modes, including Full
Auto and six Image Zones, are indicated with picture-like icons and Creative
Zone modes with text (P, TV, Av, M, and A-DEP). These modes are described in
more detail starting on page 38.
METERING DISPLAY
The aperture and shutter speed are both displayed in the viewfnder and on
the monitor while the cameras exposure metering is on. Metering is on for
only four seconds after you press the shutter button halfway down, so if it
turns off, you have to press the shutter button halfway down to turn it back
on. When off, you cant change many settings and the information displayed
on the monitor isnt as complete as it could be. For example, when metering
is off:
The viewfnder display is also off so you cant use to as a guide to changing
settings.
The monitor display remains on (until auto power off takes effect) and you
can change the aperture in Av mode and shutter speed in Tv mode (pages
4142), but the corresponding shutter speed or aperture isnt displayed.
USING THE VIEWFINDER
When taking photos you normally compose them in the viewfnder. Since this
is your center of interest, the camera also displays focus, exposure and other
information to guide you.
DIOPTER ADJUSTMENT
You can adjust the viewfnder display so you can read it without glasses. To
do so, remove the lens cap and look through the viewfnder at a bright, evenly
lit surface such as a wall or sky (not the sun!). If the viewfnder display isnt
sharp, try to bring the AF points into focus by turning the dioptric adjust-
ment knob in the upperright corner of the viewfnder. If this doesnt work,
the camera also accepts accessory E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lenses in 10
types ranging from -4 to +3 diopters. These lenses slip into the viewfnders
eyepiece holder. (See your Canon dealer for information.)
FOCUS POINTS
The viewfnder displays nine small rectangles called AF points (AF stands
for autofocus). When the focus switch on the lens is set to AF (page 69), the
camera focuses on the closest subject covered by one or more of these focus
points. The one or ones being used to set focus can be selected manually or
automatically (page 70). When you press the shutter button halfway down,
dots in the focusing point or points being used for focus fash red.
INFORMATION DISPLAY
The viewfnder displays (from left to right below) the current shutter speed
and aperture, the exposure level indicator, the ISO, the shots remaining
in continuous mode, and the focus confrmation indicator. The exposure
level indicator, only displayed in Creative Zone modes, is used for exposure
compensation (page 53) and to guide you when setting the exposure in M
(manual) shooting mode (page 43). As you will see in the following chapters,
there are a number of other indicators that are displayed during various
procedures.
The viewfnder displays
information about
settings that affect the
current photograph.
When focus is achieved
a dot in the AF point
or points being used to
set focus fash red and
the green confrmation
light glows steady in the
viewfnder.
The diopter adjustment
knob.
TIP
To start metering
and display exposure
information on the
monitor and in the
viewfnder, press the
shutter button half-
way down.
USING THE VIEWFINDER
14
ANATOMY OF THE CAMERA
The XSi has buttons and dials that quickly change important settings. In
many cases you use buttons, cross keys and SET together or in sequence
(page 16). Here are the dials and buttons youll be using to control the cam-
era.
TOP AND FRONT VIEWS
1. Shutter button locks exposure and focus and turns on metering when
pressed halfway down, and takes a photo when pressed all the way.
2. Main Dial selects menu tabs (page 17), adjusts exposure when used with
the Av button (page 53), and changes shutter speeds and apertures (pages
4143). In playback mode, the dial jumps through pictures youve taken
(page 19).
3. ISO button displays ISO settings from which to choose (page 62).
4. Mode Dial selects one of the 12 shooting modes (page 38).
5. Power switch turns the camera on and off.
6. Flash button pops up the built-in fash when the Mode Dial is set to any
mode in the Creative Zone (page 112).
7. Lens release button lets you turn the lens to remove it (page 95).
8. Depth of Field preview button lets you preview depth of feld (page
68).
REAR VIEW
The built-in fash
pops-up on top of the
camera.
The shutter button
has two stages. When
pressed halfway down,
the camera locks focus
and exposure and
pressing it all the way
down takes the picture.
ANATOMY OF THE CAMERA
Cross keys move the
highlight while using
menus and scroll
images in playback
mode. In shooting
mode, pressing a
specifc cross key lets
you change metering,
autofocus, drive, and
picture style modes.
TIPS
Blue icons indicate
a buttons function
in playback mode.
White icons indicate
its function in shoot-
ing mode.
You can quickly
reset all camera set-
tings to their original
factory defaults
(page 147).
You can connect
the camera to a
computer and use
Live View (page 135)
so you and others
can immediately see
photos as you take
them. This is a great
way to take portraits
and close-ups.
9. DISP button displays or hides information on the monitor about camera
settings in shooting or menu mode, or about the currently displayed image in
playback or review mode.
10. MENU button displays and hides the menu on the monitor (page 17).
11. Dioptric adjustment knob sharpens the viewfnder image (page 13).
12. Index/Reduce button in playback mode (blue icon) reduces a magni-
fed image and switches to index view (page 19). In shooting mode AE/FE
Lock (*) locks exposure (page 53) and fash exposure (page 121).
13. Magnify button in playback mode (blue icon) enlarges an image up to
10x (page 19). In shooting mode AF point selection is used with the Main
Dial or cross keys to select focusing points used to set focus (page 70).
14. Aperture Value (Av)/Exposure compensation button is held down
while turning the Main Dial to set the aperture in manual (M) mode (page 43),
and exposure compensation in other Creative Zone modes (page 53).
15. Print/Share/WB button in playback mode prints and transfers images
when a printer or computer is attached. In shooting mode it displays white
balance settings from which to choose (page 80).
16. Erase button deletes images from the memory card (page 21).
17. Playback button lets you review the photos you have taken (page 19).
18. Metering mode button changes the metering mode (page 46) when
you press it repeatedly.
19. AF mode button changes the focusing mode (page 69) when you press
it repeatedly.
20. Drive mode selection button selects single-shot, continuous (page
139), and self-timer (page 61) modes when you press it repeatedly.
21. Picture styles button selects a picture style (page 139) when you press
it repeatedly.
22. SET button, in the middle of the cross keys, selects highlighted choices
or confrms settings.
16
CHANGING SETTINGS WITH BUTTONS AND DIAL
When you frst turn on the camera, or press the DISP button, the monitor
displays the current camera settings. Many of these settingstypically those
you are most likely to use when shooting photosare changed using buttons
and dials. (Those grayed out cant be changed in the current shooting mode,
and Drive is the only button that works in Basic Zone modes.) The sequence
varies depending on which button you press to begin:
Press the ISO or AF point selection button to display a menu on the monitor
and in the viewfnder, turn the Main Dial or press the cross keys to select the
setting you want to use.
Press the white balance button or one of the four cross key buttons to dis-
play a menu on the monitor. Press the same button repeatedly, or press the
cross keys to highlight one of the settings, then press SET to select it.
Hold down the Aperture Value AV/Exposure Compensation button (page
38) and turn the Main Dial to adjust the exposure level indicator in the view-
fnder and on the monitor.
Pressing the DISP button toggles the monitor display on and off. Even when
off, pressing one of the cross keys turns it back on. Custom Function 12 (page
148) can be set so the monitor remembers if it was on or off when you last
turned off the camera and returns to that state when you turn it back on. For
example, if you press DISP to turn off the display, then turn off the camera,
when you turn the camera back on the display will be off.
When the monitor display is on, moving your eye to the viewfnder turns it
off to reduce glare when taking pictures, and moving your eye away turns it
back on. If you are wearing sunglasses, it may not turn off automatically and
if there are fuorescent lights nearby you may not be able to keep it on. You
can turn off this feature using the Set-up 1 menus LCD auto off command
(page 144).
If pressing a shooting button doesnt display its settings on the monitor, the
setting cant be changed in the current shooting mode, or auto power off is
in effect. If the later, press the shutter button halfway down and release it to
activate the meters.
In shooting mode,
the monitor displays
information about the
current settings and
displays options when
you press one of the
shooting buttons on the
back of the camera used
to change settings.
TIPS
Many buttons wont
work when the cam-
era is in auto power
off mode. Press the
shutter button down
and release it to
wake up the cam-
era and activate the
viewfnder and moni-
tor displays.
You can quickly
reset camera settings
to their original fac-
tory defaults (page
147).
When you press many
buttons, their function
remains active for only
4 seconds. If you are
slow, just press the
button again for another
4 seconds.
TIP
When you press
one of the cross keys
to display a menu
on the monitor, you
can highlight one of
the menu choices by
pressing the button
repeatedly or press-
ing one of the cross
keys.
USING MENUS
To display the menu when the camera is on, press the MENU button
above the monitor to display the last tab you used, with the last com-
mand you used highlighted.
To select a different menu tab, turn the Main Dial or press the left ()
or right () cross key.
To highlight a setting on the selected menu tab, press the up () or
down () cross key to move the colored selection frame.
To display choices for the highlighted setting, press the SET button in
the center of the cross keys. The currently selected setting may be blue.
To select a choice (not all commands list choices), press the up () or
down () cross key to highlight it, then press SET.
To back up without changing a setting, press MENU or the shutter
button before pressing SET.
To return to the menu if pressing SET took you to a second screen,
press MENU. There is often a menu U-turn icon on the screen to re-
mind you that this is an option.
To hide the menu, press the MENU or shutter button.
TIPS
Following this sec-
tion when we say to
highlight a com-
mand or setting we
assume you know
how to do so using
the Main Dial and
cross keys.
When a menu is
displayed on the
screen, press the
shutter button
halfway down to
instantly return to
shooting mode.
You can quickly
reset all camera set-
tings to their original
factory defaults
(page 147).
When a menu is
displayed you can
press the DISP but-
ton once to display
some camera set-
tings and again to
return to the menu.
Icons and colors
indicate shooting,
playback, set-up and My
Menu menu tabs. The
dots indicate tabs 1, 2
and 3 of the menus.
CHANGING SETTINGS WITH MENUS
Menu Description Page
Shooting 1 (Red)
Quality Selects image size, quality and format 25
Red-eye On/Off Off / On 115
Beep On/Off 11
Shoot w/o card On / Off 10
Review time Off / 2 sec. / 4 sec. / 8 sec. / Hold 11
2 Shooting 2 (Red)
AEB 1/3-stop increments, 2 stops 55
Flash exp comp 1/3-stop increments, 2 stops 120
Custom WB Manual setting of white balance 81
WB SHIFT/BKT WB correction, White balance correction,
white balance bracketing
81
Color space sRGB / Adobe RGB 82
Picture Style Standard / Portrait / Landscape / Neutral
/Faithful / Monochrome / User Def. 1, 2, 3
140
Dust Delete Data Obtains data to be used to erase dust spots 154
The settings in gray
on this table are not
available when the
Mode Dial is set to one
of the modes in the
Basic zone.
CHANGING SETTINGS WITH MENUS
To change settings, you often use a tabbed menu that is displayed on the
monitor when you press the MENU button. You navigate the menus and
change settings using the Main Dial, cross keys, and the SET button.
Below are the shooting and playback settings youll see on menus, and the
numbers of the pages where they are discussed in this book. Which tabs and
settings you see depend on the shooting mode youve selected with the Mode
Dial. For example, the settings in gray in the table that follows are not avail-
able when the Mode Dial is set to a mode in the Basic Zone.
18
Menu Description Page
Playback (Blue)
Protect images Protect / Unprotect image 21
Rotate Rotate vertical image 21
Erase images Select and erase images / All images on
card
21
Print order Specifes images to be printed (DPOF) 152
Transfer order Select images to be transferred to a per-
sonal computer
Histogram Brightness / RGB 56

Auto play Auto playback of images 20
Set-up 1 (Yellow)
Auto power off 0 sec. / 1min. / 2 min. / 4 min. / 8 min. / 15
min. / Off
144
File numbering Continuous / Auto reset / Manual reset 145
Auto rotate On camera and computer / On computer
only / Off
145
Format Initialize and erase data in the card 145
LCD auto off Enabled / Disabled 145
Screen color Select the background color 146
Set-up 2 (Yellow)
LCD brightness Seven brightness levels provided 146
Date/Time Set the date (year, month, day) and time
(hour, min., sec.)
146
Language Select the interface language 146
Video system NTSC / PAL 146
Sensor cleaning Auto cleaning / Clean now / Clean manually 146
Live View function
settings
Live View shooting / Grid display /Metering
timer
146
Flash control Flash fring/Built-in fash function setting/
External fash function setting/External
fash C.Fn setting/Clear external fash C.Fn
setting
146
Set-up 3 (Yellow)
Custom Functions
(C.Fn)
Customize the camera as desired 147
Clear settings Clear all camera settings / Clear all Custom
Func. (C.Fn)
147
Firmware Ver. For updating the frmware 147
My Menu (Green)
My Menu settings Register frequently-used menu items and
Custom Functions
143
The settings in gray
on this table are not
available when the
Mode Dial is set to one
of the modes in the
Basic zone.
PLAYING BACK & MANAGING YOUR IMAGES
When taking photos, there are many times when you want to review the im-
ages youve taken, ideally before leaving the scene.
IMAGE REVIEW
When you take a photo, its displayed for 2 seconds although you can change
the duration with the Shooting 1 menu tabs Review time setting (page 11).
With an image displayed, press the Erase button to delete it, or the DISP
button to change the information display (see below). Pressing either button
also keeps the image on the screen until you press the shutter button halfway
down to take another photo, or auto power off takes effect (page 144).
INFORMATION DISPLAY
To display or hide information about images in review or playback, repeated-
ly press the DISP button to the left of the viewfnder. Each time you press it,
you cycle through various information displays including a histogram (page
56). Once information is displayed for one image you can press the left () or
right () cross key to scroll through other images with the same information
displayed.
IMAGE PLAYBACK
To review some or all of the images you have taken, press the Playback button
to display the last photo you took. You can then magnify it to examine details,
erase the image, scroll through other images, or display small thumbnails so
you can quickly locate a specifc image. Youll fnd that the images are easier
to see on the monitor when the light is dim so fnd a shady spot or dim room
for best results. In playback mode, you can press the shutter button halfway
down at any time to instantly return to shooting mode.
MANAGING YOUR IMAGESUSING BUTTONS
1. With the camera on, press the Playback button to display the most
recent photo on the memory card and use any of the following proce-
dures:
To display one image after another, press the left () or right ()
cross key.
To display 4 or 9 small thumbnails in index view, press the In-
dex/Reduce button once or twice. Turn the Main Dial to jump a page
at a time or press any of the cross keys to scroll the blue frame to
highlight a specifc image. To return to single-image view, press the
Magnify button.
To magnify an image up to 10x in 15 steps, press the Magnify but-
ton repeatedly or hold it down. When an image is magnifed, a small
square on the screen indicates which part of the image you are view-
ing as you press the cross keys to scroll around. You can also turn the
Main Dial or press the left () or right () cross key to scroll to other
images at the same magnifcation. To return to unmagnifed single-
image view, press or hold down the Index/Reduce button or press
the Playback button.
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ...
TIPS
After magnifying
an image or display-
ing information, you
can scroll through
other images using
the same settings.
To immediately
return to shooting
mode, press the
shutter button half-
way down.
The camera may
not be able to display
photos taken with
other cameras.
The Index/Reduce
icons.
The Playback icon.
The Erase icon.
The Magnify icon.
Pressing DISP in
playback mode displays
information about the
image.
20
JUMPING IN PLAYBACK
1. With the camera on, press the Playback button and display photos in
single-image view.
2. Press the up () cross key to display the current jump setting. The
default setting is Jump 10 images, but if you have changed the mode,
your selected mode is displayed.
To change the jump mode, press the up () or down () cross key
to select one of the choices.
To jump forward or back, turn the Main Dial, or press the left ()
or right () cross key to scroll image by image.
JUMPING IN PLAYBACK
In single image playback mode, it takes time to navigate through images
when there are many of them on a card. To speed things up you can select
one of the following jump modes so you jump as specifed when you turn the
Main Dial in single-image view. Your choices include 1, 10 (the default), and
100 images or forward or back to the frst picture taken on the next or previ-
ous date.
MANAGING YOUR IMAGESCONT.
To erase the image displayed in single-image view, or the one high-
lighted in index view, press the Erase button (a trash can icon). Press
the left () or right () cross key to highlight Erase and press SET.
2. To resume shooting, press the shutter button halfway down, or press
the Playback button to return to the camera settings screen.
GIVING SLIDE SHOWS
You can display your images as a slide show on the cameras monitor or on
a connected TV. To show your images on the TV, turn both the TV and the
camera off while you connect the supplied video cable to the VIDEO OUT
terminal on the camera and the VIDEO IN terminal on the TV. Turn on the
TV and set it for video input. Turn on the camera and set it to Auto play as
described on the next page. Auto power off does not operate in auto play
mode and the show loops over and over again. Be sure to end the show and
turn off the camera when fnished. When traveling you may need to switch
between NTSC and PAL video systems (page 146).
TIPS
Canons optional
AC adapter kit (ACK-
E5) lets you give
slide shows without
draining your battery
pack.
When giving a slide
show, due to differ-
ences in the aspect
ratio of the screen
and image, im-
ages may not fll the
screen, or if they do,
parts may be cut off.
Jumping in playback
mode lets you jumps 10
images, 100 images or
to the frst image with
the next or previous
shooting date.
IMAGE RECOVERY SOFTWARE
If you delete images by mistake, dont despair. There is software available that
can recover them if you dont frst save other photos on the same card. One such
program is PhotoRescue at (http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/) but you
can fnd others by Googling digital image recovery.
TIP
In playback mode
the Main Dial acts
differently as follows:
In single-image
view it jumps you
the way you have
specifed (the default
is 10 images).
In index view
it scrolls through
thumbnails a page at
a time.
If an image is mag-
nifed, it scrolls you
through other images
one at a time.
USING THE PLAYBACK MENU
The playback menu lists a variety of commands. Although only Protect im-
ages, Rotate, and Erase images are discussed here, and Auto play above, the
other commands are discussed elsewhere in this book. To see where, refer to
the table of menu commands on page 17.
TIP
The best way to de-
lete images depends
on how many you
are deleting.
When deleting
100% of the images,
use the All images on
card choice or format
the card (page 145).
When deleting less
than 50%, use the
Select and erase
choice.
When deleting
more than 50%, pro-
tect the images you
want to save, and
then use the All im-
ages on card choice
to delete the rest.
If you use the
RAW+JPEG format
(page 25), deleting
the displayed image
deletes both formats.
TIPS
When looking for
pictures to erase,
protect, or rotate,
its often faster if you
press the Index/Re-
duce button to switch
to index display.
You can rotate im-
ages automatically
with the Set-up 1
menus Auto rotate
command (page
145).
Print order is dis-
cussed on page 152.
Transfer Order
is used to select
which photos are
transferred to your
computer.
Histogram is dis-
cussed on page 56.
The protect icon.
MANAGING YOUR IMAGESUSING MENUS
1. Press MENU and display the Playback menu tab.
To protect selected images so they wont be inadvertently erased,
or to unprotect previously protected images, highlight Protect imag-
es, and press SET. Scroll through your saved images and press SET to
protect or unprotect any image. (Protected images are marked with
the protect icon at the top of the screen when the image is selected.)
To rotate selected images, highlight Rotate, and press SET. Scroll
through the images on your memory card and press SET one or more
times to rotate any image to where you want it, or back to its origi-
nal orientation. (To rotate images automatically, see the Auto rotate
command on page 145).
To erase selected images, highlight Erase images, and press SET,
then with Select and erase images highlighted, press SET again.
Scroll through images and press the up () or down () cross key
to check any to be deleted, or uncheck any you previously checked.
(Press Index/Reduce and Magnify to toggle between 1 or 3 images.)
When fnished selecting images, press the Erase button to delete
them and select OK when asked to confrm the deletions.
To erase all images, highlight Erase images, and press SET, then
highlight All images on card and press SET again. Select OK when
asked to confrm the deletion of all unprotected images.
2. Press the shutter button halfway down to return to shooting mode, or
press MENU once to return to the menu or twice to hide it.
GIVING SLIDE SHOWS
1. Press MENU, display the Playback menu tab, press the up () or
down () cross key to highlight Auto play, and press SET. Each pic-
ture on the memory card is displayed for 4 seconds.
To pause and restart the show, press SET. When paused, a pause
icon is displayed in the upperleft corner of the image.
To manually scroll through images turn the Main Dial or press the
left () or right () cross key.
To specify what information is displayed, press DISP.
2. To stop the show at any point, press the MENU or the shutter button.
22
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/resolution/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/dots/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/pixelzoom/
SELECTING IMAGE QUALITY AND SIZE
Digital photographs are made up of millions of tiny squares called picture el-
ementsor just pixels. Like the impressionists who painted wonderful scenes
with small dabs of paint, your computer and printer can use these tiny pixels
to display or print photographs. To do so, the computer divides the screen or
printed page into a grid of pixels. It then uses the values stored in the digital
photograph to specify the brightness and color of each pixel in this grida
form of painting by number.
An image that looks
sharp and has smooth
transitions in tones
(top) is actually made
up of millions of
individual square pixels
(bottom). Each pixel is
a solid, uniform color.
NUMBER OF PIXELS
The quality of a digital image depends in part on the number of pixels used to
create the image (sometimes referred to as resolution). At a given size, more
pixels add detail and sharpen edges. However, there are always size limits.
When you enlarge any digital image enough, the pixels begin to showan
effect called pixelization. This is not unlike traditional silver-based prints
where grain begins to show when prints are enlarged past a certain point.
TIP
The term resolu-
tion has two mean-
ings in photography.
Originally it referred
to the ability of a
camera system to
resolve pairs of fne
lines such as those
found on a test
chart. In this usage
its an indicator of
sharpness, not im-
age size. With the
introduction of digital
cameras it began be-
ing used to indicate
the number of pixels
a camera could cap-
ture.
Click to see the effects
of pixelization as an
image is enlarged.
Click to explore the
original meaning of
resolution.
Click to see how dots
are used in printing.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/imagesize/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/excel/math-imagesize.xls
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/pixelresolution/
When a digital image
is displayed or printed
at the correct size for
the number of pixels it
contains, it looks like
a normal photograph.
When enlarged too
much (as is the eye
here), its square pixels
begin to show. Each
pixel is a small square
made up of a single
color.
Image sizes are
expressed as
dimensions in pixels
(4272 2848) or
by the total number
of pixels (12.2
megapixels).
XSI IMAGE
SIZES
The XSi gives you
a choice of three
image sizes: 4272
2848 (large), 3088 x
2056 (medium), and
2256 1504 (small).
The size of a photograph is specifed in one of two waysby its dimensions
in pixels or by the total number of pixels it contains. For example, the same
image can be said to have 4272 2848 pixels (where is pronounced by
as in 4272 by 2848), or to contain 12.2 million pixels or megapixels (4272
multiplied by 2848).
Click to explore how
more pixels give
sharper images.
Click for an Excel
worksheet you use to
explore image sizes.
Click to see how
the output device
determines image sizes.
24
HOW AN IMAGE IS CAPTURED
Digital cameras are very much like the rapidly disappearing 35mm flm
cameras. Both types contain a lens, an aperture, and a shutter. The lens
brings light from the scene into focus inside the camera so it can expose an
image. The aperture is a hole that can be made smaller or larger to control
the amount of light entering the camera. The shutter is a device that can be
opened or closed to control the length of time the light is allowed to reach the
image sensor.
The big difference between traditional flm cameras and digital cameras is
how they capture the image. Instead of flm, digital cameras use a solid-state
device called an image sensor. The XSis image sensor is a CMOS chip. On
the surface of this fngernail-sized silicon chip is a grid containing over 12
million photosensitive diodes called photosites, photoelements, or pixels.
Each photosite captures a single pixel in the photograph to be.
THE EXPOSURE
When you press the shutter button of a digital camera, an exposure system
measures the light coming through the lens and sets the aperture and shutter
speed for the correct exposure. When the shutter opens briefy, each pixel on
the image sensor records the brightness of the light that falls on it by accu-
mulating an electrical charge. The more light that hits a pixel, the higher the
charge it records. Pixels capturing light from highlights in the scene will have
high charges. Those capturing light from shadows will have low charges.
When the shutter closes to end the exposure, the charge from each pixel is
measured and converted into a digital number. This series of numbers is then
used to reconstruct the image by setting the color and brightness of matching
pixels on the screen or printed page.
ITS ALL BLACK AND WHITE AFTER ALL
It may be surprising, but pixels on an image sensor can only capture bright-
ness, not color. They record only the gray scalea series of 256 increasingly
darker tones ranging from pure white to pure black. How the camera creates
a color image from the brightness recorded by each pixel is an interesting
story.
The gray scale contains
a range of tones from
pure white to pure
black.
An image sensor
against a background
enlargement of its
square pixels, each
capable of capturing
one pixel in the fnal
image.
When photography was frst invented, it could only record black and white
images. The search for color was a long and arduous process, and a lot of
hand coloring went on in the interim (causing one photographer to comment
so you have to know how to paint after all!). One major breakthrough was
James Clerk Maxwells 1860 discovery that color photographs could be cre-
ated using black and white flm and red, blue, and green flters. He had the
photographer Thomas Sutton photograph a tartan ribbon three times, each
time with a different color flter over the lens. The three black and white im-
ages were then projected onto a screen with three different projectors, each
equipped with the same color flter used to take the image being projected.
When brought into alignment, the three images formed a full-color photo-
graph. Over a century later, image sensors work much the same way.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/RAW/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/compression/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/CMYK/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/RGB/
RGB uses additive
colors. When all three
are mixed in equal
amounts they form
white. When red and
green overlap they form
yellow, and so on.
Colors in a photographic image are usually based on the three primary colors
red, green, and blue (RGB). This is called the additive color system because
when the three colors are combined or added in equal quantities, they form
white. This RGB system is used whenever light is projected to form colors as
it is on the display monitor (or in your eye).
Since daylight is made up of red, green, and blue light; placing red, green,
and blue flters over individual pixels on the image sensor can create color
images just as they did for Maxwell in 1860. Using a process called interpola-
tion, the camera computes the full color of each pixel by combining the color
it captured directly with the other two colors captured by the pixels around it.
How well it does this is affected in part by the image size, quality and format
you select.
The XSi allows you to have two different image size/quality/format settings
in use at the same time:
Basic Zone modes (page 38), including Auto, are treated as a group. A
change in any of these modes changes all of them. If you switch to any Cre-
ative Zone mode, the settings change to the new zones settings.
Creative Zone modes (page 38) are treated as a group. A change in any of
these modes affects all of them. If you switch to any Basic Zone mode, the set-
tings change to the new zones settings.
CHOOSING IMAGE SIZE AND QUALITY
The size of an image fle and the quality of the picture it contains depends
in part on the images size (the number of pixels), quality (the amount of
compression), and format (JPEG or RAW). The XSi lets you select any of the
combinations listed in the table below that describes each settings pixel di-
mensions, approximate fle size, and the number that will ft on a 2 Gigabyte
memory card. (You fle sizes will vary somewhat depending on the subject
matter and camera settings you use.)
Size Quality Pixels File Size (MB) Number
Large Fine 4,272 x 2,848 4.3 460
Large Normal 4,272 x 2,848 2.2 880
Medium Fine 3,088 x 2,056
2.5 770
Medium Normal 3,088 x 2,056 1.3 1470
Small Fine 2,256 x 1,504 1.6 1190
Small Normal 2,256 x 1,504 0.8 2290
RAW 4,272 x 2,848 15.3 120
RAW+JPEG 4,272 x 2,848 15.3+4.3 99
Since good prints can be made using 200 pixels per inch you can calculate
that a 4272 x 2848 pixel image will make a good 21 x 14 inch (53 x 36 cm)
print. Although you may not want to make many prints this large, large image
sizes also let you crop more while preserving image quality.
Images are normally stored in a format called JPEG after its developer, the
Joint Photographic Experts Group and pronounced jay-peg. This fle format
not only compresses images, it also allows you to specify how much they are
compressedFine mode uses less compression than Normal mode. This is a
useful feature because there is a trade-off between compression and image
quality. Less compression gives you better images so you can make larger
Click here to explore
the differences between
JPEG and RAW formats.
three colors are used to
create full-color images
on the screen.
Click here to see the
effects of compression.
three colors are used to
create full-color prints.
A high capacity card lets
you store the largest
possible images without
worrying as much about
running out of storage
space. Courtesy of
SanDisk.
26
Image sizes are
indicated by letters
L, M, and S (large,
medium, and small).
Compression modes are
indicated with pie-slice-
like icons. Fine mode
has a smooth edge and
Normal mode has a
rough stair-step edge.
prints. The only downside is that you cant store as many images because fle
sizes are larger.
In addition to JPEG images, the XSi also lets you use a RAW format in
Creative Zone modes. Images captured in this format are often better than
JPEGs because they are not processed in the camera, but on your more pow-
erful desktop computer. There big advantage is that RAW fles contain every
bit of the captured image data, unlike JPEGs which are processed in the cam-
era with some data being permanently discarded. RAW fles are 4272 x 2848
pixels in size and can be viewed, edited, and converted to other formats using
most photo-editing software such as Photoshop or Lightroom or Canons
own Digital Photo Professional program included on a CD that comes with
the camera. RAW images can be captured by themselves or with a compan-
ion Large/Fine JPEG fle. The later choice gives you an identical high quality
RAW fle and a smaller, more easily distributable fle with the same names
but different extensions.CR2 and .JPG.
SELECTING IMAGE SIZE & QUALITY
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode (or to any mode in the Creative
Zone if selecting RAW), press MENU and display the Shooting 1
menu tab.
2. Highlight Quality and press SET to display a list of quality choices.
3. Highlight one of the choices and press SET to select it. (RAW modes
are only displayed when the camera is set to one of the Creative Zone
modes.)
TIP
As you highlight
an image quality,
the images size in
megapixels, dimen-
sions in pixels, and
number of shots that
will ft on the card
are displayed above.
When choosing between JPEG and RAW formats, here are some things to
consider about each format.
There are a number of advantages to using the RAW format:
Images in this format used to require an extra processing step but since
the latest programs such as Aperture and Lightroom were designed from the
ground up after RAW formats were introduced they handle them as easily as
they handle JPEGs.
RAW lets you decide on most camera settings after youve taken the picture,
not before. For example, when you shoot a JPEG image under fuorescent
lights, the camera adjusts the image to remove the yellow-green tint. Any
changes you make later are on top of this initial change. If you shoot the im-
age in RAW format, the camera just captures the images as is and you decide
what white balance setting to use later. You can even create different versions
of an image, each with its own white balance. The only camera settings that
permanently affect the image are focus, the shutter speed and aperture, and
the ISO setting.
RAW images can be processed again at a later date when new and improved
applications become available. Your original image isnt permanently altered
by todays generation of photo-editing applications.
You can generate alternate versions of the same RAW image. For example,
you can adjust highlight and shadow areas and save these versions sepa-
rately. Using a photo-editing program, you can then combine the two images
as layers and by selectively erasing parts of the top image layer let areas of the
lower image layer show through so all areas have a perfect exposure.
Admittedly, there are drawbacks to using RAW images.
You cant print RAW images directly from the camera or add them to a digi-
tal print order form (page 152).
RAW fles are quite large. If you use this format a great deal you will need
more storage space in the camera and on the computer, and computer pro-
cessing times may be slightly longer.
When shooting images, you may have to wait longer between shots and you
cant shoot as many images in a continuous burst. The buffer gets flled more
quickly and the camera is tied up longer processing the images you take, and
moving them from the buffer to the memory card.
Since RAW images arent converted to a viewable format in the camera, you
have to process them on the computer and export them in a usable format
when you want to e-mail them, post them on a Web site, print them, or im-
port them into another program to create a slide show or publication. When
you are done shooting for the day, there is still work to do.
RAW images can only be viewed and edited on a computer using a program
such as Adobes Photoshop or Lightroom that supports the format. Since
each camera company has defned its own proprietary RAW format, many
operating systems and even photo-editing programs are unable to recognize
some or all of these fles. For this reason camera manufacturers always sup-
ply a program to process RAW images along with their camerasin the case
of the XSi its the Digital Photo Professional program.
TIP
Because you cant add pixels later without reducing image quality, or remove
the effects of compression after the fact, its usually best to use the RAW format
or at least the largest available JPEG size (L) with the highest quality (Fine).
This ensures your photos will have the highest quality the camera can produce.
If you have to reduce the size of an image later, perhaps to e-mail it or post it
on the Web, you can do so with a photo-editing program. Unfortunately its a
one-way street and you cant go the other wayenlarging a small flewithout a
loss of quality. If you shoot images with lower quality setting, you can never re-
ally improve them much or get larger, sharper prints if you want them. The only
problem with this approach is that higher quality images have larger fle sizes so
youre not able to store as many images on your memory card. Sometimes when
there is no storage space left, you can switch to a smaller size and lower quality
to squeeze a few more images onto the card.
28
CHAPTER 2. CONTROLLING EXPOSURE
A
utomatic exposure control is one of the most useful features of your
camera. Its great to have the camera automatically deal with the
exposure while you concentrate on the image. This is especially helpful
when photographing action scenes where there isnt time to evaluate the situ-
ation and set the controls manually.
You shouldnt, however, always leave the exposure to the automatic system.
At times the lighting can fool an automatic exposure system into producing
an underexposed (too dark) or overexposed (too light) image. Although you
can make adjustments to a poorly exposed image in a photo-editing program,
youve lost image information in the shadows or highlights that cant be
recovered. You will fnd it better in some situations to override the automatic
exposure system at the time you take the picture. Using the cameras his-
togram feature discussed in this chapter is the surest route to perfect expo-
sures.
Typical situations in which you might want to override automatic exposure
include scenes with interesting and unusual lighting. For example, you need
to take control when photographing a variety of scenes including a light
subject against a dark background, a dark subject against a light background,
into the sun, a colorful sunset, a snow-covered landscape, or a dark forest.
Chapter 2
Controlling Exposure
CONTENTS
Understanding
Exposure The
Shutter and Aperture
Choosing Shoot-
ing Modes Using
Image Zone Modes
Using Program AE
and Program Shift
Using Shutter-Prior-
ity (Tv) Mode Using
Aperture Priority
(Av) Mode Using
Manual (M) Mode
How Your Expo-
sure System Works
When Automatic
Exposure Works Well
When to Override
Automatic Exposure
How Overriding
Auto-exposure Works
How to Override
Automatic Exposure
Using Histograms
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/focalplane/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/exposure/
UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE
The most creative controls you have with any camera are the shutter speed
and aperture settings. Both affect the exposure, the total amount of light
reaching the image sensor, and thus control how light or dark a picture is.
The shutter opens to begin an exposure and closes to end it. The shutter
speed setting specifes how long the shutter is open and the image sensor is
exposed to light.
The aperture is the hole through which light enters the camera. The size of
the hole can be changed to control the brightness of the light that enters.
When you press the shutter button, a metering system measures the light
coming through the lens and sets the aperture and shutter speed for the cor-
rect exposure.
In the early days of photography, plates called waterhouse stops, were inserted into
a slot in the lens to control the amount of light entering the camera. These stops
had holes of various sizes drilled in them and they acted just like the adjustable iris
apertures used today. A lens cap was removed from the lens to begin the exposure
and replaced to end ita primitive version of a shutter. This old wooden camera
is surrounded by a number of waterhouse stops (apertures) and a lens cap (the
shutter) leans against it. Photo by Ake Borgstrom at www.photographica.nu.
UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE
how changes in the
exposure make pictures
lighter or darker.
The XSis focal plane
shutter uses two
curtainsone opens to
begin the exposure and
the second closes to end
it. At shutter speeds
faster than 1/200 the
two curtains form a slit
traveling across the
image sensor.
Click here to watch
a focal plane shutter
expose an image.
30
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/speedseries/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/G-shutters/
THE SHUTTER CONTROLS LIGHT AND MOTION
The shutter keeps light out of the camera except during an exposure, when it
opens to let light strike the image sensor. In respect to just exposure, faster
shutter speeds let less strike the image sensor so the image is darker. Slower
speeds let in more so its lighter.
In addition to controlling exposure, the shutter speed is the most important
control you have over how motion is captured in a photograph. The longer
the shutter is open, the more a moving subject will be blurred in the picture
Also, the longer its open the more likely you are to cause blur by moving the
camera slightly. Although you normally want to avoid blur in your images
there are times when you may want to use it creatively.
As the shutter speed
gets slower, the image
gets lighter. The reason
you dont usually see
this effect in your
images is because when
you or the camera
change the shutter
speed, the camera
changes the aperture
to keep the exposure
constant.
various types of
shutters used in digital
cameras.
effect of shutter speed
on exposure.
Katie turned a little just
as the shutter opened
causing unwanted blur
in the image.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/shutterspeed/
A fast shutter speed
(left) opens and closes
the shutter so quickly a
moving subject doesnt
move very far during
the exposure. A slow
speed (right) can allow
moving objects to move
suffciently to blur their
image on the image
sensor.
Although digital cameras can select any fraction of a second for an exposure,
there are a series of settings that have traditionally been used when you set it
yourself (which you cant do in many shooting modes). These shutter speed
settings, shown in bold to the left, are arranged in a sequence so that each
setting lets in half as much light as the next slowest setting and twice as much
as the next fastest. The XSi adds two stops between each of the traditional
onesshown in the table without boldfacing. This allows you to adjust expo-
sure in one-third stop increments for fner exposure control.
Speeds faster than 1 second are fractions of a second. On the monitor they
are displayed as fractions. However, the viewfnder displays only the denomi-
nator, sometimes with a quotation mark () indicating a decimal point. For
example 1/3 second is displayed as 03. At shutter speeds of 1/4 second and
higher no quote marks are used. For example, 1/4000 is shown as 4000.
Speeds of 1 second or slower are whole seconds and are shown on the moni-
tor and in the viewfnder as numbers with quotation marks (). For example,
2 seconds is displayed as 2.
Click to explore how the
shutter speed affects
the capture of moving
subjects.
THE SHUTTER CONTROLS LIGHT AND MOTION
THE WAY IT WAS: EARLY SHUTTER DESIGNS
The shutter, used to control the amount of time that light exposes the image
sensor, has changed considerably over the years. The earliest cameras, us-
ing imaging materials that might take minutes to be properly exposed, came
with a lens cap that the photographer removed to begin the exposure and then
replaced to end it. As flm became more sensitive to light and exposure times
became shorter, faster shutters were needed. One kind used a swinging plate
while another design used a guillotine-like blade. As the swinging plate or blade
moved past the lens opening, a hole allowed light to briefy reach the flm. The
speed at which it moved determined the shutter speed.
1/4000
1/3200
1/2500
1/2000
1/1600
1/1250
1/1000
1/800
1/640
1/500
1/400
1/320
1/250
1/200
1/160
1/125
1/100
1/80
1/60
1/50
1/40
1/30
1/25
1/20
1/15
1/13
1/10
1/8
1/6
1/5
1/4
03
04
05
06
08
1
13
16
2
25
32
4
5
6
8
10
13
15
20
25
30
SHUTTER SPEEDS
TIP
To get faster shut-
ter speeds, increase
the ISO (page 62).
To get slower shutter
speeds, use a neutral
density flter (page
108).
32
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/G-apertures/
THE APERTURE CONTROLS LIGHT AND DEPTH OF FIELD
The aperture adjusts the size of the opening through which light passes to the
image sensor. The aperture can be opened up to let in more light or closed
(stopped down) to let in less. In respect to just exposure, smaller apertures let
less light strike the image sensor so the image is darker. Larger apertures let
in more, so its lighter.
As with the shutter speed, the aperture also affects the sharpness of your
picture, but in a different way. Changing the aperture changes the depth of
feld, the depth in a scene from foreground to background that will be sharp
in a photograph. Smaller apertures increase depth of feld while larger ones
decrease it. For some picturesfor example, a landscapeyou may want a
smaller aperture for maximum depth of feld so that everything from near
foreground to distant background is sharp. But perhaps in a portrait you will
want a larger aperture to decrease the depth of feld so your subject is sharp
but the background is soft and out of focus.
As the aperture
number gets smaller
(for example, from f/8
to f/5.6) the aperture
opening gets larger and
the image gets lighter.
The reason you dont
usually see this effect in
your images is because
when you or the camera
change the aperture,
the camera changes the
shutter speed to keep
the exposure constant.
The aperture is a series
of overlapping leaves
located between the
glass elements in the
lens.
the standard series
of apertures and the
apertures effects on
exposure.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/DOF/
Aperture settings are called f/stops and indicate the size of the aperture
opening. From the largest possible opening to increasingly smaller ones, the
f/stops have traditionally been those shown in boldface to the left but the
range of stops varies from lens to lens. Each of these bold f/stops lets in half
as much light as the next larger opening and twice as much light as the next
smaller opening. Notice that as the f/stop number gets larger (f/4 to f/5.6, for
example), the aperture size gets smaller. This may be easier to remember if
you think of the f/number as a fraction: 1/8 is less than 1/4, just as the size of
the f/8 lens opening is smaller that the size of the f/4 opening. Many high-
end digital cameras like the XSi add two stops between each of the traditional
ones. This allows you to adjust exposure in one-third stop increments for
fner exposure control.
How wide you can open the aperture depends on the lens maximum aper-
tureits widest opening. The term fast lens applies to lenses that can be
opened to a wide maximum aperture. For example, a lens with a maximum
aperture of f/2.8 opens wider, and is faster, than a lens with a maximum
aperture of f/5.6. Faster lenses are better when photographing in dim light
or photographing fast moving subjects. With most, but not all, zoom lenses
the maximum aperture changes as you zoom the lens. It will be larger when
zoomed out to a wide angle, and smaller when zoomed in to enlarge a subject.
A small aperture
increases depth of
feld so foreground
and background are
sharp (top) and a large
aperture decreases
depth of feld so the
background is soft
(bottom).
how the aperture affects
depth of feld.
TIP
As you change the
aperture you dont
see the image get
lighter and darker
because in all
modes, other than
manual, the camera
offsets the change
by selecting a new
shutter speed to
keep the exposure
constant.
To get smaller
apertures, increase
the ISO (page 62).
To get larger aper-
tures, use a neutral
density flter (page
108).
THE APERTURE CONTROLS LIGHT AND DEPTH OF FIELD
f/1.4
f/1.6
f/1.8
f/2.0
f/2.2
f/2.6
f/2.8
f/3.2
f/3.6
f/4.0
f/4.5
f/5.0
f/5.6
f/6.3
f/7.0
f/8.0
f/9.0
f/10
F/STOPS
The EF 85mm f/1.2L II
USM lens is currently
one of Canons fastest
lenses.
f/11
f/13
f/14
f/16
f/18
f/20
f/22
34
USING SHUTTER SPEED AND APERTURE TOGETHER
When taking photos, one of the frst decisions you make is which shooting
mode to use. Your choice determines if you control the aperture or shutter
speed. If your shooting mode lets you select them, you can pair a fast shutter
speed (to let in light for a short time) with a large aperture (to let in bright
light) or a slow shutter speed (long time) with a small aperture (dim light).
Speaking of exposure only, it doesnt make any difference which combination
you use. But in other ways, it does, and it is just this difference that gives you
creative opportunities. Whether you know it or not, youre always balancing
camera or subject movement against depth of feld because a change in one
causes a change in the other. Lets see why.
As youve seen, shutter speeds and apertures each have a standard series of
settings called stops. The stops are arranged so that a change of 1 stop lets
in half or twice the light of the next setting.
With shutter speeds, each stop is a second or more, or a fraction of a second
indicating how long the shutter is open. A shutter speed of 1/60 second lets in
half the light that 1/30 second does, and twice the light of 1/125 second.
With apertures they are f/stops indicating the size of the opening through
which light enters. An aperture of f/5.6 lets in half the light that f/4 does, and
twice the light of f/8.
If you make the shutter speed 1 stop slower (letting in 1 stop more light),
and an aperture 1 full stop smaller (letting in 1 stop less light), the exposure
doesnt change. However, although the exposure is the same, the slower shut-
ter speed increases the possibility of blur from camera or subject movement
and the smaller aperture increases depth of feld slightly. A one-stop change
like this has only a small effect, but a 3 or 4 stop change can be dramatic. For
example with a three stop change the shutter speed might drop from 1/125 to
1/15 and the aperture might stop-down from f/2.8 to f/11. The effects of those
changes on blur and depth of feld would be very noticeable.
For fast-moving subjects you need a fast shutter speed such as 1/500 to
freeze the action, or a slow one such as 1/15 to seriously blur it (although the
focal length of the lens you are using, the closeness of the subject, and the
direction in which its moving also affect how motion is portrayed). When
photographing moving subjects shutter-priority (Tv) mode (page 41) is fa-
vored because it gives you direct control over the shutter speed.
For maximum depth of feld, with the entire scene sharp from near to far,
you need a small aperture, and for shallow depth of feld you need a large one
(although the focal length of the lens and the distance to the subject also af-
fects depth of feldpage 65). When photographing landscapes and portraits
aperture-priority (Av) mode (page 42) or A-Dep mode (page 75) are favored
because they give you direct control over the aperture and depth of feld.
In this book and the
animations, apertures
are represented by
these realistic icons with
a small aperture (left)
and a large one (right).
In this book and the
animations, shutter
speeds are represented
by these symbolic icons
with a fast shutter
speed (left) and a slow
one (right). The cut out
pie slice indicates how
far an imaginary second
hand would sweep.
When you press
the shutter button
halfway down, check
the readouts in the
viewfnder. If the
aperture or shutter
speed are blinking,
you have exceeded the
cameras ability to get a
good exposure. In low
light you may have to
pick a larger aperture,
slower shutter speed,
higher ISO or use fash.
In bright light, you may
have to use a smaller
aperture, faster shutter
speed or lower ISO.
EXPOSUREFAUCETS & BUCKETS ANALOGY
One way to think of how apertures and shutter speeds relate is to use the
analogy of a faucet for the aperture and a timer for the shutter speed.
When you open a faucet all the way, water gushes out so you fll a bucket in
a very short time. This is the same as pairing a large aperture and fast shutter
speed to let in bright light for a short time.
When you open a faucet just a little, water trickles out and so it takes a
much longer time to fll a bucket. This is the same as pairing a small aperture
and slow shutter speed to let in dim light for a longer time.
No matter which combination you choose, the bucket can be flled the same
amount. Likewise, an image in a camera can be exposed the same amount by
various aperture and shutter speed combinations while also controlling mo-
tion and depth of feld.
1. We start with the
aperture set to f/16 and
the shutter speed to
1/30.
2. When you open the
aperture one stop to f/11
the shutter speed has to
decrease to 1/60 to keep
the exposure the same.
This change decreases
depth of feld slightly and
freezes action better.
3. When you open the
aperture another stop to
f/8 the shutter speed has
to decrease another stop
to 1/125. This change
decreases depth of feld
even more and freezes
action even better.
USING SHUTTER SPEED AND APERTURE TOGETHER
THE WAY IT WAS: EARLY APERTURES
A variety of designs in the past century and a half have enabled photographers
to change the size of the lens opening. A form of the iris diaphragm, used in
todays cameras, was used as early as the 1820s by Joseph Nicephore Niepce,
one of the inventors of photography. Waterhouse stops, used in the 1850s were
a series of blackened metal plates with holes of different sizes cut in them. To
change apertures the photographer chose the appropriate plate and slid it into a
slot in the lens barrel. With wheel stops, different size apertures were cut into a
revolving plate. The photographer changed the size of the aperture by rotating
the plate to align the desired opening with the lens.
For larger apertures or
slower shutter speeds,
use a screw on neutral
density flter that cuts
the light entering the
lens (page 108).
For smaller apertures or
faster shutter speeds,
increase the ISO (page
62).
TIPS
To be sure you
are always using
the fastest pos-
sible shutter speed,
set the camera to
aperture-priority (Av)
mode and select the
aperture you need
for depth of feld.
The camera then
always selects the
fastest possible shut-
ter speed.
To be sure you are
always using the
largest possible aper-
ture, set the camera
to shutter-priority
(Tv) mode and pick
the shutter speed
you need to freeze
or blur motion. The
camera then always
selects the largest
possible aperture.
36
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/seesaw/ EXPOSURESEESAW ANALOGY
Another way to think of exposure is as a seesaw. As one child rises a given
distance, the other falls by the same amount but their average distance from
the ground is always the same. In photography, when you or the camera
changes the aperture or shutter speed to let in more or less light, you or the
camera must also change the other setting in the opposite direction to keep
the exposure constant.
The illustrations below show how a change in the aperture setting must be
matched by a change in the shutter speed and vice versa. As these offsetting
changes are made, the exposure stays constant but depth of feld changes
slightly and subjects are more or less likely to be frozen.
1. Here the aperture is
f/4 and the shutter
speed is 1/125.
2. If you reduce the
aperture one stop to
f/5.6 the shutter speed
has to decrease one
stop to 1/60 to keep
the exposure the same.
3. If you reduce the
aperture one more stop
to f/8 the shutter speed
has to decrease one
more stop to 1/30 to
keep the exposure the
same.
relationship between
the aperture and
shutter speed.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/exposure/
RETAINING HIGHLIGHT AND SHADOW DETAILS
Knowing how to control exposure is one of the most important aspects of
photography. When a scene has both very light and very dark areas, getting
the perfect exposure is a lot like parking a large car in a small garagethere
isnt a great deal of room for error. The goal is to hold details in both the
darkest and lightest areas so pure white is used only for spectral highlights
such as refections and pure black is used only for small areas of the scene
that are black with no details.
In this scene there
are details in all of the
whites that give them
texture and form. The
small white square has
been added to give you
a reference to what
pure white would look
like.
In this scene there are
details in the darkest
shadows. The small
black square has been
added to give you a
reference to what pure
black would look like.
One of the things that
makes an Ansel Adams
print so stunning was
his ability to hold details
in both the brightest
and darkest parts of
a scene. To do this
with flm he developed
the Zone System
that guided him in
adjusting exposure and
development times for
the best results. Today
the adjustments are
made with programs
such as Photoshop.
RETAINING HIGHLIGHT AND SHADOW DETAILS
how changes in the
exposure make pictures
lighter or darker.
38
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/modedial/
CHOOSING SHOOTING MODES
Your XSi offers thirteen shooting modes. All give equally good results in the
vast majority of photographic situations. However, when you photograph in a
specifc situation, one of the modes may have unique advantages.
The shooting modes are divided into two types, or zonesBasic Zone and
Creative Zone. Each zone has a number of modes you can select by turning
the Mode Dial on top of the camera. Basic Zone modes are indicated with pic-
ture-like icons and Creative Zone modes with text (P, TV, Av, M, and A-DEP).
Lets take a look at these two zones and the modes they include.
Basic Zone modes include Full Auto, which weve already discussed (page
9), and six Image Zone modes designed for specifc situations. These modes
including Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait and Flash Off
are discussed in detail on page 39. You cant change many settings in these
modes (see the table on pages 1718).
Creative Zone modes give you more control of shutter speed, aperture, and
other important color, ISO, and exposure settings for creative effects.
P (Program AE) is like Full Auto, but you can change many more settings
and use program shift to easily select different pairs of aperture/shutter
speed settings to control how depth of feld or motion is captured (page 40).
Tv (shutter-priority AE) lets you choose the shutter speed, while the camera
automatically sets the aperture to give you a good exposure. You select this
mode when the portrayal of motion is most important. It lets you set your
shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action or slow enough to blur it (page
41).
Av (aperture-priority AE) lets you select the aperture (lens opening) while
the camera automatically sets the shutter speed to give you a good exposure.
You select this mode whenever depth of feld is most important. To be sure
everything is sharp, as in a landscape, select a small aperture. To throw the
background out of focus so a main subject such as a portrait stands out, select
a large aperture (page 42).
M (manual) lets you choose both the shutter speed and aperture so you can
get just the setting you want. Most photographers select this mode only when
other modes wont give them the results they want (page 43).
A-DEP (Auto Depth-of-feld Priority) evaluates all of the active focus points
and selects an aperture that gives enough depth of feld to keep all of them in
focus (page 75).
Knowing how to use these various modes gives you amazing creative control
over your images. Because these are the most important controls in your cre-
ative arsenal, well look at them in depth in the pages that follow.
CHANGING SHOOTING MODES
Turn the Mode Dial so the setting you want to use aligns with the
small white marker.
TIPS
In some situations,
your pictures can
be too light or too
dark in any shoot-
ing mode. To darken
or lighten them, use
exposure compensa-
tion (page 53).
Check the shutter
speed and aperture
in the viewfnder
when you press
the shutter button
halfway down. If
either is blinking, the
camera doesnt have
the right exposure
setting. To see how
to adjust it, read the
sections that follow.
In Basic Zone
modes, the Auto
Lighting Optimizer
automatically adjusts
an images bright-
ness and contrast.
You can also turn
it on and off (the
default) in Creative
Zone modes using
Custom Function 06
(page 148). Even
when on, it doesnt
work in Manual Mode
or with the RAW im-
age format.
The Mode Dial indicates
Basic Zone modes with
icons and Creative Zone
modes with text.
Click to see why you
change exposure
modes.
USING IMAGE ZONE MODES
The Mode Dials six point-and-shoot Image Zone modes work just like Full
Auto, but each is set for a specifc situation. For example, in Portrait mode
the camera selects a large aperture for shallow depth of feld so the back-
ground is out of focus and softer. In Landscape mode, it does the opposite
and selects a small aperture to give you as much depth of feld as possible.
(For more on the concepts of depth of feld, see Chapter 3.)
In all Image Zone modes, the metering mode is set to evaluative (page 46).
ISO (page 62) is set to Auto so it varies between 100400 depending on how
bright the scene is. Portrait and Sports modes have drive set to continuous
(page 139) so you can take pictures one after another as long as you hold
down the shutter button. This makes is more likely youll capture a feeting
expression or action you might miss with a single shot. Also, Picture Styles
are set to boost color saturation, contrast, and sharpness for sharper, more
vivid images (page 140).
Portrait softens fesh tones and hair and sets the camera for continuous
shooting (page 139) and minimum depth of feld so portraits have a soft, and
less distracting, background. To maximize the soft background, zoom in or
use a long lens so the subject flls most of the viewfnder, and get as much
distance as possible between the main subject and the background.
Landscape sets the camera for maximum depth of feld so everything is
sharp from foreground to background and increases the saturation of blues
and greens. Since a slow shutter speed may be used in this mode, you may
need to support the camera (page 61). This mode works best with a short fo-
cal length (wide-angle) lens, and the built-in fash doesnt fre in this mode so
its a good mode for night scenes such as cityscapes.
Close-up is used to capture fowers and other small objects but isnt a
substitute for a macro lens (page 105). This mode works best when subjects
are at the lens minimum focusing distance and you are zoomed in or using a
long focal length lens.
Sports mode is ideal for action sports and other fast-moving subjects.
Autofocus is set to AI Servo AF (page 69) to keep a moving subject in focus as
long as its covered by one of the focus points. The built-in fash doesnt fre in
this mode. For best results zoom in on the subject or use a long focal length
lens (page 103).
Night Portrait is designed for photographing people or other nearby
subjects at twilight, night, or dawn. The fash illuminates foreground subjects
and the shutter speed is set slow enough to lighten the background. Since a
slow shutter speed may be used, you may need to support the camera (page
61). When taking a picture, be sure to hold the camera still until the shutter
closes; dont move it just because the fash fres because the shutter may still
be open. Also, if people are in the foreground, ask them to freeze until a few
seconds after the fash has fred.
Flash Off disables the built-in fash or any external Speedlite fash when
you dont want it to fre.
Turn the Mode Dial so the icon for the Image Zone mode you want to
use aligns with the small white marker.
TIPS
In Image Zone
modes, settings
you cant change
are grayed out on
the camera settings
screen.
In some situations,
your pictures can
be too light or too
dark in any shooting
mode. To darken or
lighten them, switch
to a mode in the Cre-
ative Zone and use
exposure compensa-
tion (page 53).
In Image Zone
modes, all of the
shooting buttons on
the back right side
of the camera, other
than the Drive but-
ton, are disabled.
Image Zone icons.
40
USING PROGRAM AE (P) MODE AND PROGRAM SHIFT
In Full Auto mode (page 9), your camera is automatically set to produce the
best possible exposure. Program AE (P) mode is also fully automatic, but it
lets you change more settings, including all of those available in other Cre-
ative Zone modes.
USING PROGRAM AE (P) MODE
Turn the Mode Dial so P (for Program AE) aligns with the small white
marker.
Program AE mode is so
fexible it gives you the
control you need for
creative images.
USING PROGRAM SHIFT
1. With the Mode Dial set to P (for Program AE), and the fash closed,
press the shutter button halfway down, and then release it to activate
metering so the aperture and shutter speed are displayed.
2. Turn the Main Dial to scroll through aperture/shutter speed combi-
nations displayed in the viewfnder and on the monitor until you fnd
the combination you want to use. Be sure the shutter speed isnt so
slow youll get blur from camera or subject movement.
3. Take the photo and the shifted program setting is cancelled if you re-
lease the shutter button and pause a few seconds. If you take another
picture before metering turns off, you reuse the shifted settings. You
can also hold the shutter button halfway down to keep the shifted
setting from changing. When ready, release the shutter button then
press it down again to focus and take the picture.
TIPS
If the 30 shutter
speed and largest
aperture are blink-
ing in the viewfnder,
the image will be too
dark. Use fash or a
higher ISO.
If the 4000 shutter
speed and smallest
aperture are blink-
ing, the image will be
too light. Decrease
the ISO or use a
neutral density flter
(page 108).
One unique feature of Program AE mode is called program shift. This feature
lets you cycle through pairs of aperture/shutter speed settings that have
equivalent exposures. By choosing the right pair you can emphasize depth
of feld (page 67) or motion capture (page 65, 67). If you are using fash, you
cannot shift the program.
One reason to use program shift is that it prevents you from choosing settings
that exceed your cameras exposure limits. In shutter-priority (Tv) and aper-
ture-priority (Av) mode its possible to select a setting that cant be matched.
For example, you may pick an aperture thats so large the camera doesnt
have a shutter speed thats fast enough to prevent overexposure. Although
aperture-priority and shutter-priority modes warn you when this happens
(page 4142), you may not notice the warning. Following are some of the
situations you avoid when using programmed shift.
When you select a... There may be... Result
Large aperture No shutter speed thats
fast enough
Overexposure
Small aperture No shutter speed thats
slow enough
Underexposure
Slow shutter speed No aperture thats small
enough
Overexposure
Fast shutter speed No aperture thats large
enough
Underexposure
USING SHUTTER-PRIORITY (Tv) MODE
1. With the Mode Dial set to Tv (time value) press the shutter button
halfway down and then release it to activate metering.
2. Turn the Main Dial to select a shutter speed as you watch the view-
fnder or monitor. If the aperture value isnt blinking, the exposure is
OK. However;
If the lens largest aperture (smallest f/number) blinks, the image
may be underexposed and too dark so turn the Main Dial to select a
slower shutter speed.
If the lens smallest aperture value (largest f/number) blinks, the
image may be overexposed and too light so turn the Main Dial to
select a faster shutter speed.
3. Take the picture.
USING SHUTTER-PRIORITY (TV) MODE
When controlling motion is the most important goal, you use shutter-prior-
ity, what Canon calls time-value (Tv) mode, so you can set the shutter speed
directly. Although digital cameras can select any fraction of a second for an
exposure, there are a series of settings that have traditionally been used when
you set it yourself (shown boldfaced in the table on page 31). The XSi has two
additional shutter speeds between each pair of traditional ones so you can
change the shutter speed in one-third stops.
When choosing a shutter speed, here are some things to be aware of:
Pressing the shutter button halfway down activates metering which then
remains activated as long as you are changing the shutter speed, and for four
seconds after you stop.
When metering is on, both the shutter speed and aperture are displayed
in the viewfnder and on the monitor and when you change the shutter
speed the matching aperture also changes on the display.
When metering is off, the aperture matching the shutter speed youve
selected isnt displayed on the monitor and you cant see either setting in
the viewfnder.
Shutter speeds are displayed as described on page 31.
The range of selectable shutter speeds is from a slow 30 seconds to a fast
1/4000 in one-third stop increments.
There is a bulb setting available in M (manual) mode that keeps the shutter
open as long as you hold down the shutter button (page 90).
If you cant get a fast enough shutter speed, increase the cameras ISO (page
62). If you cant get a slow enough one, use a neutral density flter (page 108).
Custom Function 01 (page 148) changes exposure increments from 1/3rd to
1/2 stops.
When using the built-in fash, the fastest shutter speed you can select is
1/200 (page 112).
Shooting down from
an upper level at the
Guggenheim Museum,
a very slow shutter
speed froze the people
who were standing, and
blurred those who were
walking.
A fast shutter speed
(top) opens and closes
the shutter so quickly a
moving subject doesnt
move very far during
the exposure, a slow
speed (bottom) can
allow moving objects
to move suffciently to
blur.
USING SHUTTER-PRIORITY (TV) MODE
Pointer icons on the
monitor indicate you
can turn the Main Dial
to adjust settings.
42
USING APERTURE-PRIORITY (AV) MODE
When controlling depth of feld is the most important goal, you use aperture-
priority (Av) mode, which Canon calls aperture value, so you can set the
aperture directly. Aperture settings, called f/stops, indicate the size of the
aperture opening inside the lens. In the traditional series of f/stops (shown
boldfaced in the table on page 33), each full stop lets in half as much light
as the next larger opening and twice as much light as the next smaller open-
ing. The camera has two additional apertures between the traditional f/stops
so you can adjust exposure in one-third stops. The range of apertures you
have to choose from, including the maximum aperture (the widest opening),
depends on the lens you are using. Lenses with large maximum apertures are
better when the light is dim, or you are photographing fast moving subjects
because they let you use faster shutter speeds. Their only disadvantages are
that they are generally heavier and cost more than slower lenses.
When choosing an aperture, here are some things to be aware of:
Pressing the shutter button halfway down activates metering which then
remains activated as long as you are changing the aperture, and for four sec-
onds after you stop.
When metering is on, both the aperture and shutter speed are displayed
in the viewfnder and on the monitor and when you change the aperture
the matching shutter speed also changes on the display.
When metering is off, the shutter speed matching the aperture youve
selected isnt displayed on the monitor and you cant see either setting in
the viewfnder.
To check depth-of-feld in the viewfnder when using a Creative Zone mode,
press the depth-of-feld preview button (page 68).
If you cant get a small enough aperture, increase the ISO (page 62). If you
cant get a large enough one, use a neutral density flter (page 108).
When using fash in Av mode, you can set Custom Function 02 (page 148)
to fx the shutter speed at 1/200 and prevent a slow shutter speed when
photographing in dim light. This will help you avoid blur caused by camera or
subject movement.
Custom Function 01 (page 148) changes exposure increments from 1/3rd to
1/2 stops.
A shallow depth of
feld can make part
of an image stand
out sharply against
a softer background.
This emphasizes the
sharpest part of the
image.
As the aperture number
gets smaller, the lens
opening gets larger.
f/2 f/3.5
Great depth of feld
keeps everything sharp
from the foreground to
the background.
USING APERTURE-PRIORITY (Av) MODE
1. With the Mode Dial set to Av (aperture value), press the shutter but-
ton halfway down and then release it to activate metering.
2. Turn the Main Dial to select an aperture as you watch the viewfnder
or monitor. If the shutter speed isnt blinking, the exposure is OK.
However;
If the 30 shutter speed blinks, the image may be underexposed
and too dark so turn the Main Dial to select a larger aperture.
If the 4000 shutter speed blinks, the image may be overexposed
and too light so turn the Main Dial to select a smaller aperture.
Pointer icons on the
monitor indicate you
can turn the Main Dial
to adjust settings.
USING MANUAL (M) MODE
When you want total and absolute control over exposures, you can switch to
manual shooting mode. In this mode, you manually select both the shutter
speed and aperture setting. Since automatic exposure combined with ex-
posure compensation (page 53) is so easy to use, most photographers only
resort to manual mode in those rare situations where other modes cant give
them the results they want. For example, you may use this mode when photo-
graphing a series of images for a panorama or animated GIF where you dont
want the exposure to change from one shot to the next.
Pressing the shutter button halfway down activates metering and it remains
activated as long as you are changing the aperture or shutter speed, and for
four seconds after you stop.
When metering is on, a bar under the exposure level indicator shows you
how much you are under (-) or over (+) exposed. If the bar under the indica-
tor fashes at the -2 or +2 end of the scale it means you are off by more than
two stops.
When metering is off, the exposure level indicator is also not active.
The exposure level
indicator.
Manual mode is often
used when doing
studio-like shots where
you want to rearrange
subjects without
affecting the exposure,
or you know the right
exposure for the main
subject, but want to try
variations in lighting on
the background.
TIPS
The exposure level
indicator doesnt
indicate how far
under or over the
recommended expo-
sure you are unless
metering is on. To
turn it on, press and
release the shutter
button.
In M (Manual
mode, the Auto
Lighting Optimizer
(page 148) doesnt
work.
You cant use ex-
posure compensation
in M mode, and dont
need to. Just change
the shutter speed or
aperture to increase
or decrease the
exposure from that
recommended by the
camera.
1. With the Mode Dial set to M (manual), press the shutter button
halfway down and then release it to activate metering so the exposure
level indicator shows how much you are over or under the recom-
mended exposure.
2. As you watch the viewfnder or monitor:
Turn the Main Dial by itself to select a shutter speed.
Hold down the Av/Exposure Compensation button as you turn the
Main Dial to select an aperture.
3. If the marker below the exposure level indicator is centered (0), your
settings are giving you the exposure recommended by the camera.
(You may have to press the shutter button halfway down to activate
metering.)
If the indicator is on the minus (-) side of the scale, you are un-
derexposing and darkening the image. To lighten it, select a slower
shutter speed or larger aperture.
If the indicator is on the plus side (+) you are overexposing and
lightening the image. To darken it, select a faster shutter speed or
smaller aperture.
The AV/Exposure
Compensation button.
44
HOW YOUR EXPOSURE SYSTEM WORKS
All exposure systems, including the one built into your XSi, operate on the
same general principles. A light-sensitive photocell regulates the amount of
electricity fowing in the exposure system. As the intensity of the light re-
fected from the subject changes, the amount of electricity fowing through
the photocells circuits changes. These changes are then used by the autoex-
posure system to calculate and set the shutter speed and aperture.
Your cameras meter measures light refecting from the part of the scene
shown in the viewfnder. The coverage of the meter (the amount of the scene
that it includes in its reading) changes, just as your viewfnder image chang-
es, when you change your distance relative to the scene or when you change
the focal length of the lens. Suppose you move close or zoom in and see in
your viewfnder only a detail in the scene, one that is darker or lighter than
other objects nearby. The suggested aperture and shutter speed settings will
be different for the detail than they are for the overall scene.
METER AVERAGING AND MIDDLE GRAY
Your exposure meter doesnt see a scene the same way you see it. Its view is
much like yours would be if you were looking through a piece of frosted glass.
Your meter sees scenes
as if it were looking at
them through a piece
of frosted glass. It
doesnt see details, just
averages.
Every scene you photograph contains a range of tones like the scene (top left).
Portions of it are pure black, pure white, and every possible tone in between.
The exposure system in your camera cant think about the scene or make
decisions about it. Regardless of the scenes subject matter, color, brightness,
or composition, the system just measures the overall brightnesshow light
or dark it is. It then sets the aperture and the shutter speed needed to render
this average level of brightness as middle gray in the photograph. Most of
the time this works very well because most scenes have an overall refectance
that averages out to middle gray. But some scenes and situations dont and
thats when autoexposure will lead you astray. So what is middle gray?
Where you see a
checkerboard-like
pattern (top), your
camera sees only an
average gray (bottom).
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/frostedglass/
Most scenes contain a continuous spectrum of tones, ranging from pure black
at one end to pure white at the other. In a photograph an approximation of
this continuous scale is made up of a series of discrete tonesthe gray scale.
When shooting JPEGs there are 256 tones in the scale (2
8
) and when shoot-
ing RAW images there are 16,384 (2
14
). The tone in the middle of these ranges
is middle gray and refects exactly 18% of the light falling on it.
When you photograph a subject, your cameras autoexposure system sets
an exposure so that the subject appears in the fnal image with an aver-
age brightness of middle gray regardless of its actual brightness. When you
photograph subjects that have an overall tone lighter or darker than middle
gray, they will be middle gray in the fnal image and therefore look too light
or dark. For example, if you photograph a white card, a gray card, and a black
card, and each completely flls the viewfnder when the exposure is calculat-
ed, each of the cards will be middle gray in the captured image.
White, gray, and black
cards will all photograph
as gray cards.
The gray scale captured
in an image is a range
of tones from pure black
to pure white.
HOW YOUR EXPOSURE SYSTEM WORKS
Click to see how your
exposure system sees a
scene.
When you fll the screen
with a gray card and
press the shutter button
halfway down, your
camera will indicate
the best exposure
regardless of how light
or dark the scene is.
46
CHANGING THE METERING MODE
With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, repeatedly
press the Metering button on the cross keys to highlight the icon for the
metering mode you want to use, then press SET.
To make scenes that dont average out to middle gray appear in an image the
way they appear in real life, you have to use exposure compensation (page 53)
or some other form of exposure control to lighten or darken the picture.
TYPES OF METERING
All parts of a scene are usually not equally important when determining
the best exposure to use. In a landscape, for instance, the exposure of the
foreground is usually more important than the exposure of the sky. For this
reason, the Creative Zone offers various metering methods.
Evaluative metering (the default) divides the scene into 35 zones that
the camera can link to any focus point. Each of the 35 zones is the same size
and they are laid out in a 7 x 5 matrix. When using autofocus, the metering
system gives special emphasis to the subject youre focused on at the active
AF point (page 70). This mode is the default because its ideal for general
shooting conditions and backlit scenes. This is the only mode available in the
Basic Zone. When used with manual focus (page 72), metering is based on
the center AF point.
This mode differs from the three that follow in one other respect. When us-
ing evaluative metering with One-Shot AF (the default), pressing the shutter
button halfway down locks both exposure and focus. When using AI Servo
AF, neither is locked and both are set when you take the picture. Any other
combination of metering and focus (page 69) modes locks just focus.
Center-weighted average metering meters the entire scene but assigns
the most importance to the center of the frame where the most important
subjects are usually located.
Partial metering meters the part of the scene falling within the circle of
AF points in the center of the viewfnder. This zone covers only 9% of view-
fnder area so you can meter a specifc part of the scene instead of relying on
an overall reading. This mode is ideal when photographing a subject against a
very dark or very light background. You can also meter any part of the scene
and use AE Lock (page 53) to use that reading for the overall photo.
Spot metering meters 4% of the viewfnder areathe area within the
viewfnders spot metering circle. This mode is similar to partial metering but
is better when you want to base your exposure on an even smaller part of the
scene.
Metering can cause problems if the camera isnt metering the main subject
or when the main subject is very dark or light. For instance, a dark object lo-
cated off center against a very light background may not be exposed properly
if it is not located in the area the meter is emphasizing. These occasions are
uncommon, but when they occur you can ensure accurate exposures us-
ing exposure compensation (page 53), AE Lock (page 53) and autoexposure
bracketing (page 55).
Metering mode
icons displayed on
the monitor include
(clockwise from upper
left) evaluative, center-
weighted, partial and
spot.
The areas metered
(from top to bottom)
include evaluative,
center-weighted, partial
and spot.
The metering button on
the cross keys.
WHEN AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE WORKS WELL
Most scenes that you photograph have an overall brightness of middle gray.
Some areas of the scene may refect 90% of the light and other parts may
refect 5%, but overall the average amount of light refecting from the scene
is 18%, the amount refected by a middle gray subject. Whenever you photo-
graph a normal scene with this average brightness, your automatic exposure
system exposes it correctly. Typical middle gray scenes include the following:
Scenes in bright sunlight where the subject is front-lit by a sun that is be-
hind you when you face the scene.
Scenes on overcast days or under diffused light, such as in the shade or in
evenly-lit scenes indoors.
This image has detail in
the lightest (highlight)
and darkest (shadow)
areas. If just a little
darker or a little lighter,
details would be lost
in the shadows or
highlights.
Portraits in indirect
light generally have the
tones needed to get
a good image without
additional exposure
adjustment.
WHEN AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE WORKS WELL
48
WHEN TO OVERRIDE AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE
Lets take a look at some of the most common situations where your automat-
ic exposure system will have problems. Its in these situations where youll
need to override the suggested exposure settings.
SCENES LIGHTER THAN MIDDLE GRAY
Scenes lighter than middle gray, such as beach scenes, or bright sand or
snow covered landscapes, refect more than 18% of the light falling on them.
The autoexposure system doesnt know the scene should look bright so it
calculates an exposure that produces an image that is too dark. To lighten
the image so it matches the original scene, you must override the cameras
automatic exposure system to add exposure.
The snow scene here
is typical of scenes
that are lighter than
middle gray. Most of the
important tones in the
scene are at the lighter
end of the gray scale.
The overall average
tone would be about
one stop brighter
than middle gray. For
a good picture you
have to increase the
exposure by one stop
(+1) to lighten it. If
you didnt do this (top),
the snow in the scene
would appear too gray
(bottom).
SCENES DARKER THAN MIDDLE GRAY
Scenes that are darker than middle gray, such as deep shadows, dark foliage,
and black cloth, refect less than 18% of the light falling on them. If you pho-
tograph such scenes using automatic exposure, they will appear too light. The
meter cannot tell if the scene is dark or just an ordinary scene with less light
falling on it. In either case it increases the exposure to make a photograph of
the scene lighter. To photograph a scene that has an overall tone darker than
middle gray, you need to override the autoexposure system to decrease the
exposure to make the picture darker.
The black cat is be-
tween one and two
stops darker than
middle gray. To darken
the scene so the cats
not middle gray, expo-
sure must be decreased
by one (-1) or two (-2)
stops.
Here the scenes were
underexposed to
silhouette the people
in the foreground.
To show detail in the
people, exposure would
have had to have been
increased two stops
(+2).
SUBJECT AGAINST VERY LIGHT BACKGROUND
Subjects against a very light background such as a portrait against a bright
sky or light sand or snow, can confuse an automatic exposure system, par-
ticularly if the subject occupies a relatively small part of the scene. The
brightness of the background is so predominant that the automatic exposure
system reduces the exposure to render the overall brightness as a middle
gray. The result is an underexposed and too-dark main subject.
TIP
In Basic Zone
modes other than
Landscape, Sports,
and Flash Off, the
built-in fash will pop
up and fre automati-
cally in backlit condi-
tions.
50
SUBJECT AGAINST VERY DARK BACKGROUND
When a small bright subject appears against a large dark background, your
autoexposure system increases the exposure to produce a middle gray tone.
The result is an overexposed and too light main subject.
SCENES WITH HIGH CONTRAST
Many scenes, especially those with brightly lit highlights and deep shadows,
have a brightness range that cannot be completely captured by an image
sensor. When confronted with such scenes, you have to decide whether the
highlight or shadow area is most important, then set the exposure so that
area is shown accurately in the fnal picture. In high contrast situations such
as these, use AE Lock (page 53) or exposure compensation to adjust the
exposure. Another way to deal with high contrast is to lighten the shadows.
A portrait, for example, lit from the back or side is often more effective and
interesting than one lit from the front. But when the light falls directly on
one side of a subject, the other side may be in dark shadow. In this case use
fll fash (page 116) or a white refector card to fll and lighten the shadows.
The rising sun
illuminated only one
boat in this harbor
scene. If the exposure
hadnt been reduced
by two stops (-2), the
background would be
too light and the white
boat would have been
burned out and too
white. A scene like this
is a great place to use
partial or spot metering
(page 46).
The archway was in
shadow while the
cathedral was brightly
lit by the sun. Both
couldnt be exposed
properly, so the
archway was left as a
solid black.
TIP
When photograph-
ing high contrast
scenes, you can
decrease contrast at
the time you take the
picture (page 140).
HARD TO METER SCENES
Occasionally its not convenient or even possible to meter a scene. Neon
street signs, spotlit circus acts, freworks, moonlit scenes, and many similar
situations are all diffcult and sometimes impossible to meter. In these cases,
its easiest simply to experiment using partial or spot metering (page 46),
exposure compensation (page 53), or autoexposure bracketing (page 55) so
you have more than one exposure to select from.
A relatively small
subject against a
wide expanse of sky
will almost always be
underexposed unless
you use exposure
compensation.
This scene has a bright
sky and one brightly
illuminated fsherman
against a dark
background. A scene
such as this is hard to
meter because of the
variety of lighting.
TIP
When photograph-
ing a TV or computer
monitor, use a shut-
ter speed of 1/30
second or slower.
52
HOW OVERRIDING AUTOEXPOSURE WORKS
When a scene is lighter or darker than middle gray you need to change the
exposure to capture it the way it looks in real life, or it will be too light or
dark. To lighten or darken an image many cameras let you increase or de-
crease exposure by two stops or more. Here are some typical situations where
youd make these changes:
+2 is used when the light is extremely contrasty and important shadow
areas are much darker than brightly lit areas.
+1 is best for sidelit or backlit scenes, beach or snow scenes, sunsets and
other scenes that include a bright light source, or very light objects, such as a
white china on a white tablecloth.
0 (the default) is best for scenes that are evenly lit and when important
shadow areas are not too much darker than brightly lit areas.
-1 is for scenes where the background is much darker than the subject, such
as a portrait in front of a very dark wall. Also good for very dark objects, such
as black china on a black tablecloth.
-2 is for scenes of unusual contrast, as when an extremely dark background
occupies a very large part of the image and you want to retain detail in the
brighter parts of the scene.
1. Here are three cards
that you photograph
with each flling the
metering area at the
time you take the
picture.
2. The cameras
exposure system
makes all three cards
appear gray in the
photographs. Only the
middle gray card in
the center is exposed
correctly.
3. Increasing the
exposure for the white
card and decreasing
it for the black card
captures them as they
appear in real life. Only
the middle gray card in
the center doesnt need
the exposure adjusted
manually.
+2 0 -2
This lighthouse in the
fog on Cape Cod would
have looked too dark if
exposure compensation
hadnt been used to
lighten it.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/expcomp/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/explock/
USING EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone except M
(manual), press the shutter button halfway down to turn on meter-
ing, then hold down the AV/Exposure Compensation button as you
turn the Main Dial to move the marker on the exposure level indica-
tor thats displayed in the viewfnder and on the monitor.
To darken the image, move the marker toward the minus (-) end of
the scale.
To lighten the image, move the marker toward the plus (+) end of
the scale.
2. When done, reset exposure compensation to 0 otherwise it will be
remembered even when you turn off the camera.
An exposure level
indicator shows you
how much you are
under (-) or over (+)
the recommended
exposure. If the
indicator fashes at the
-2 or +2 ends of the
scale it means you are
off by more than two
stops.
HOW TO OVERRIDE AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE
Most digital cameras, including the XSi, provide one or more ways to over-
ride the automatic exposure system to get the exposure you want.
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Exposure compensation lets you lighten or darken the photograph that the
camera would produce if autoexposure were used. To lighten a picture, you
increase the exposure; to darken one, you decrease the exposure. The amount
you increase or decrease the exposure is specifed in stops. For example, to
increase the exposure 1 stop, you specify +1 to open the aperture or slow the
shutter speed. Its easy to use exposure compensation because you can im-
mediately see the effects of your changes on the monitor.
TIPS
Use + exposure
compensation when
the subject is bright
and - when its dark.
You can specify
exposure compen-
sation in one-half
stop increments with
Custom Function 01
(page 148).
When you adjust exposure compensation you can do so in full stops and even fner
one-third stop increments. When you use the command an exposure level indicator
is displayed. The 0 indicates the exposure suggested by the camera. As you adjust
the exposure toward the plus (+) side of the scale the image gets lighter. As you
adjust it toward the minus (-) side it gets darker. Here you see the results as its
adjusted from +2 (left) to -2 (right). The effect of the changes on the image are
dramatic.
AUTOEXPOSURE (AE) LOCK
When you want to base your exposure on a specifc part of a scene, you can
do so in the Creative Zone.
When the autofocus mode is set to One-Shot AF (the default), its as easy as
pressing the shutter button halfway down to lock exposure and focus.
Click to explore
exposure lock.
Click to explore
exposure compensation.
The AV/Exposure
54
USING AUTOEXPOSURE (AE) LOCK
1. With the fash closed, the Mode Dial set to a mode in the Creative
Zone other than manual (M) and metering set to partial or spot,
select the AF point you want to use and focus on the part of the scene
on which you want to lock exposure.
2. Press the shutter button halfway down to lock exposure and focus,
then press the AE/FE Lock button. An asterisk to the left of the shut-
ter speed in the viewfnder indicates that exposure is locked as long
as metering is on, or until you release the shutter or AE/FE Lock but-
ton.
3. Release the shutter button and recompose the scene. Press the shut-
ter button halfway down to refocus and take your photo. AE lock
turns off automatically.
To cancel AE lock without taking a picture, release the shutter but-
ton and wait a few seconds for the * icon to disappear.
To keep it locked for other photos keep the shutter button pressed
halfway down, or continue holding down the AE/FE Lock button.
In any autofocus mode, focus the camera and press the AE/FE Lock button
(marked with an asterisk) to lock exposure but not focus. This allows you to
lock exposure and then move closer to or farther from the subject.
After locking focus recompose the image and take the picture.
AE Lock works best when you use spot metering and lock it on the part of
the scene thats most important.
When used with evaluative metering (page 46), exposure is based on the
automatically or manually selected AF point (page 70).
When used with center-weighted, partial or spot metering, or when manu-
ally focusing, exposure is based on the central focus point.
When using evaluative metering with One-shot AF, pressing the shutter
button halfway down to lock exposure also locks focus. When using AI Servo
AF neither is locked. Any other combination of metering (page 46) and focus
(page 69) modes locks just focus.
When using the built-in or external Speedlight, the AE/FE Lock button acts
as a FE Lock button (page 121).
Pressing the shutter
button halfway down
locks exposure and
pressing it all the way
down takes the picture.
Point the camera so you
are metering the area
on which you want to
base the exposure (top
left). Press the shutter
button halfway down to
lock exposure and press
the AE/FE Lock button.
Release the shutter
button, compose the
image the way you want
it (bottom right) and
press the shutter button
to lock focus and take
the photo.
If you took the picture
without frst locking
exposure, it would be
too dark because the
background infuenced
the exposure.
TIP
Custom Function
10 (page 148) speci-
fes how the AE/FE
Lock and shutter but-
tons work together.
The AE/FE Lock icon.
TIP
After locking expo-
sure in P, Tv, and Av
modes, you can turn
the Main Dial to use
program shift (page
40).
AUTOEXPOSURE BRACKETING (AEB)
Instead of using exposure compensation, or in conjunction with it, you can
use autoexposure bracketing (AEB) to run off a series of three images, each at
a slightly different exposurecorrectly exposed, underexposed, and overex-
posed. The difference from one shot to the next can be set at up to 2 stops in
1/3rd stop increments.
AEB stays in effect until you reset it to 0, turn the camera off, change lenses,
or turn on the fash. If you dont do one of these things, the camera remains
set to this mode so subsequent pictures are captured at different exposure
levels.
You cant use fash or bulb mode with AEB.
You can use exposure compensation with AEB to shift all three exposures
up or down the exposure level indicator.
AEB may not work as expected when Custom Function 06 Auto Lighting
Optimizer is enabled (page 148).
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/AEB/
USING AUTOEXPOSURE BRACKETING (AEB)
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, press the
MENU button and display the Shooting 2 menu tab.
2. Highlight AEB and press SET to activate the exposure level indicator.
3. Press the left () or right () cross key to expand or contract the
exposure increment between shots. Three small bars under the scale
indicate what the exposure will be for each of the three shots. The
middle bar is at the exposure recommended by the camera (or shifted
with exposure compensationpage 53) and the left and right bars
indicate by how many stops the other images will be underexposed
(-) and overexposed (+).
4. Press SET to confrm the settings and take each of the three photos
just as you normally would.
While AEB is in effect the three markers are displayed on the expo-
sure level indicator in the viewfnder and on the monitor.
After you take the frst shot, the markers and the AE/FE Lock icon
in the viewfnder fash. When you press the shutter button halfway
down, the marker on the exposure level indicator indicates which of
the three images is being captured. When the series is complete, the
fashing stops.
5. When fnished, repeat Steps 13 to reset AEB to 0.
Autoexposure
bracketing captures a
series of three shots
at different exposures.
Here the sequence is +1
(left), 0 (center), and -1
(right).
TIPS
If you use con-
tinuous mode (page
139) for autoexpo-
sure bracketing, the
series of three shots
is taken when you
hold the shutter but-
ton down.
If you use the
self-timer or remote
control in AEB mode,
all three photos are
taken automatically.
The exposure level
indicator used to specify
the exposure increment
between shots. Here the
small bars indicate its
one stop.
The AEB icon.
Click to explore
autoexposure
bracketing.
Exposure is locked
after the frst exposure
and the AE/FE Lock
icon fashes in the
viewfnder.
56
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/histogram/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/highlight/
The horizontal axis of a histogram represents the range of brightness from 0
(shadows) on the left to 255 (highlights) on the right. Think of it as a line with
256 spaces on which to stack pixels of the same brightness. Since these are
the only values that can be captured by the camera, the horizontal line also
represents the cameras maximum potential tonal range or contrast.
The vertical axis represents the number of pixels that have each of the 256
brightness values. The higher the line coming up from the horizontal axis, the
more pixels there are at that level of brightness.
To read the histogram, you look at the distribution of pixels. Here are some
things to look for.
Many photos look best when there are some pixels at every position because
these images are using the entire tonal range.
USING HISTOGRAMS
Most serious photo-editing programs such as Lightroom, Photoshop and
Photoshop Elements let you use a histogram as a guide when editing your
images. However, since exposure problems can be diagnosed by looking at a
histogram, it helps to look at it while still in a position to reshoot the image.
Its for this reason that histograms can be displayed on the XSis monitor.
As youve seen (page 24), each pixel in an image can be one of 256 levels of
brightness from pure black (0) to pure white (255) and a histogram graphs
the number of pixels at each level of brightness.
DISPLAYING HISTOGRAMS
You can check histograms in playback mode or while reviewing an image
you have just taken. Just press the DISP button until the histogram and a
small thumbnail are displayed. If the image has any overexposed and burned
out highlights without details, they blink in the small thumbnail. Once you
display a histogram for one image in playback mode, you can scroll through
other images to see their histograms.
The default histogram, called Brightness, graphs the overall brightness of the
composite image. However, you can use the Playback menus Histogram set-
ting to display the levels of brightness of each colorred, green and blue.
EVALUATING HISTOGRAMS
DISPLAYING HISTOGRAMS
In playback mode, with an image displayed in single image view, or
when reviewing an image you just shot, press the DISP button once or
twice to display the images histogram.
The Histogram is
accompanied by a
thumbnail that indicates
if any pixels are clipped.
SELECTING THE BRIGHTNESS OR RGB HISTO-
GRAM
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode, press the MENU button and
display the Playback menu tab.
2. Highlight Histogram and press SET to display the choices Bright-
ness (the default) and RGB.
3. Highlight your choice and press SET.
TIPS
When a histogram
is displayed, the
monitor also displays
a thumbnail image.
Areas in this image
that blink are so
overexposed they
lack detail (they are
clipped). To darken
these areas in sub-
sequent images, you
can use minus (-)
exposure compensa-
tion.
In Live View (page
135) you can display
a live histogram on
the monitor to guide
you when setting ex-
posure before taking
a photo.
overexposed highlights
blink.
Click to explore
histograms.
In most images, pixels are grouped together and occupy only a part of the
available tonal range. These images lack contrast because the difference
between the brightest and darkest areas isnt as great as it could be. However,
this can be fxed using a photo-editing programs commands that spread the
pixels over the entire available tonal range. These controls often allow you
to adjust the shadow, midtone, and highlight areas independently without
affecting the other areas of the image. This lets you lighten or darken selected
areas of your images without loosing detail. The only pixels that cant be fxed
in this way are those that have been clipped to pure white or black.
The original image (top)
is fat and its histogram
indicates only part of
the tonal range is being
used. Photoshops
Levels command was
then used to expand the
tonal range (bottom).
You can see the change
in both the image and in
the histogram.
EVALUATING
HISTOGRAMS
If the histogram
shows most pixels
toward the left
(darker) side of the
graph, use expo-
sure compensation
to add exposure
(page 53).
If the histogram
shows most pixels
toward the right
(lighter) side of the
graph, use expo-
sure compensation
to reduce exposure
(page 53).
USING HISTOGRAMS
58
This series of photos was taken one stop apart using exposure compensation. As
the exposure increased pixels on the histogram shifted right. You can tell from the
way the fan blades blur that the shutter speed was changed to adjust the exposure.
In the image where it was faster, the image is darker and the blades are frozen. As
slower speeds were used to increase the exposure, the images get lighter and the
blades more blurred.
In the top image
you can tell from the
histogram that some
of the highlight pixels
are pure white and
hence clipped. There is
nothing you can do later
to display details in the
area of these pixels.
However, if you reshoot
the scene at a different
exposure you can shift
the pixels to the left
and avoid the clipping
(bottom).
CLIPPED PIXELS
When a histogram shows pixels at the extreme ends of the range, in the 0
(left) and 255 (right) positions, it means details in those tones are being lost
or clipped in your image. These extremes should be reserved for small dark
shadows and specular highlights (refections). When large areas lack detail an
image suffers.
To avoid clipping and better place the tonal values in subsequent shots, you
use exposure compensation (page 53). Shifting the pixels in this way gives
you a chance to correct the image in a photo-editing program. Increasing ex-
posure shifts pixels to the highlight, or right end of the histogram. Decreasing
exposure shifts them the other way.
TIP
If highlights are
being clipped in wed-
ding dresses, clouds,
snow and other
bright subjects, you
can enable Custom
Function 05 to give
priority to highlight
tones (page 148).
This preserves de-
tails in these bright
areas of the image
and prevents them
from being clipped.
This low-key scene
has the majority of its
values in the shadow
area with another large
grouping around middle
gray. There are wide
levels of brightness that
have only a few pixels.
This brown moth on
a gray card has most
of its values in the
midrange. Thats why
there are a number
of high vertical lines
grouped in the middle of
the horizontal axis.
This high-key fog scene
has most of its values
toward the highlight end
of the scale. There are
no really dark values in
the image. The image
uses only a little more
than half the cameras
tonal range.
In this well exposed
portrait there is a
fairly even distribution
of values in both the
shadow and highlight
areas of the image.
There are no deep
blacks in the image as
shown by the gap at the
far left end of the scale.
The distinct vertical line to the left of
middle gray shows how many pixels
there are in the uniformly gray frame
border added in Photoshop.
SAMPLE HISTOGRAMS
The way a histogram looks depends on the scene youre shooting and how
you expose it. Theres no such thing as a good or bad histogram. Whether a
particular histogram is good or bad depends on what you are trying to ac-
complish. If fact, you may prefer to trust your visual reaction to the image
more than the very numeric image data provided by a histogram. However,
even if you never use a histogram, you can learn about digital images by
understanding what a histogram can tell you about an image. Following are
some histograms from good images along with a brief summary of what each
histogram reveals.
USING HISTOGRAMS
60
CHAPTER 3. CONTROLLING SHARPNESS
O
ne of the frst things you notice about a photograph is whether or
not it is sharp. Extremely sharp photographs reveal a richness of
detail, even more than you would normally notice in the original
scene. If the entire image isnt sharp, your eye is immediately drawn to the
part that is. When learning to control sharpness, the frst goal is to get pic-
tures sharp when you want them sharp. If your photos arent as sharp as you
want them to be, you can analyze them to see what went wrong.
Focus. If nothing in your image is sharp or if your central subject is not
sharp but other parts of the photograph are, your camera was improperly
focused.
Depth of Field. If your central subject is sharp but the background or
foreground is less so, you may not have used a small enough aperture to get
the depth of feld you wanted.
Camera Movement. If the image is blurred all over, with no part sharp,
the camera moved during the exposure. Some dots appear as lines and edges
are blurred because the image was painted onto the moving image sensor.
Subject Movement. When some of the picture is sharp but a moving sub-
ject appears blurred, your shutter speed was too slow.
Chapter 3
Controlling Sharpness
CONTENTS
Getting Sharper
Pictures Sharpness
Isnt Everything
How to Photograph
Motion Sharply
Focus and Depth of
Field Focusing Tech-
niques Controlling
Depth of Field Using
Deep Depth Of Field
Using Shallow depth
of Field Conveying
the Feeling of Motion
Monopods by Gitzo.
USING THE SELF-TIMER
Although often used to give you time to get into the picture, the cameras self-
timer is also a great way to reduce blur when photographing in dim light. Just
place the camera on a stable surface, or use a tripod, compose the image, and
use the self-timer to take the picture without any camera shake.
The self-timer can be set to 10 seconds (the setting also used with a remote
controlpage 142), 2 seconds, or continuous. In this later mode you can
specify that up to 10 photos be taken in a burst after a 10 second delay. In this
mode exposure and white balance for all photos are set when the frst picture
in the series is taken. The time between shots may lengthen if you use fash or
the cameras buffer flls.
GETTING SHARPER PICTURES
Unwanted camera movement when the shutter is open is one of the major
causes of unsharp photographs. You can reduce this problem in bright light
and when using fash simply by holding the camera steady and depressing the
shutter button smoothly. At slow shutter speeds, such as those you get in dim
light, especially with a long focal length lens, you need a camera support.
SUPPORTING THE CAMERA
As the focal length of your lens changes (page 98), so does the minimum
shutter speed you need to hand-hold the camera without getting any blur
from camera shake. The rule of thumb is never to hand-hold the camera at a
shutter speed lower than your lens focal length multiplied by 1.6 (page 98).
For example, you can handhold a 100mm lens at a shutter speed of 1/160 or
faster. (The camera displays the current shutter speed on the monitor, and in
the viewfnder when you press the shutter button halfway down.)
When the shutter speed is too slow to handhold the camera, for example
when photographing in dim light without fash, you need to support the
camera to prevent blur in your images. One way to do this is to lean against a
wall or tree and brace yourself with your elbows tight to your body. You can
also fnd a branch or railing to rest the camera on. For stability anywhere, any
time, you need a small tripod or an even easier to carry monopod.
To hand hold the camera as steady as possible, brace the camera against
your face and brace your elbows against your sides. Just before taking a shot,
inhale deeply, then exhale and hold your breath while smoothly depressing
the shutter button. When holding the camera for both horizontal and vertical
photographs use your right fnger to press the shutter button and your left
hand to support the camera.
The camera was steady
for the picture on the
left, and moved for the
one on the right.
TIPS
When using a tri-
pod or other support,
you can use a re-
mote control device
to trigger the shutter
so you dont move
the camera when
you press the shutter
button (page 142).
Custom Function 09
(page 148) lets you
lock up the mirror so
its movement doesnt
introduce image-
softening vibrations
when you take a
picture.
Canon makes im-
age stabilization (IS)
lenses that help you
get sharper pictures
(page 93).
In critical situations
you can use continu-
ous mode to run off
a series of photos
and select the sharp-
est later.
Placing the eyepiece
cover over the
viewfnder blocks light
from entering and
affecting the exposure
when using the self-
timer.
62
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/noise/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/ISO/
the effect of noise in an
image.
of increasing ISO.
TIPS
When using the
self-timer to photo-
graph yourself, use
focus lock (page 71)
to focus on some-
thing at the same
distance as where
youll be.
You can turn off
the self-timer beep if
its distracting (page
11).
Using Custom
Function 09 (page
148) to lock up the
mirror, with a two
second self-timer
delay is the perfect
combination to elimi-
nate blur caused by
camera movement.
If you enable
Custom Function
05 Highlight tone
priority (page 148),
the ISO range is
2001600.
USING THE SELF-TIMER
1. With the camera in any shooting mode, repeatedly press the Drive
button (clock icon) on the cross keys to select one of the three self-
timer icons. If you select the continuous self-timer icon, press the up
() or down () cross key to specify the number of images in the
sequence. Press SET to select the highlighted setting.
2. Press the shutter button halfway down to set focus and exposure,
then all the way down to start the timer. (To stop the timer without
taking a picture, press the self-timer button again.)
When set to a 10 second delay (the default), the timer starts and
the self-timer lamp blinks and timer sounds. Two seconds before the
picture is taken, the lamp and sound speed up.
When set to a 2 second delay (see below), the self-timer lamp and
sound are fast and the picture is taken 2 seconds later.
When set to continuous, the 10 second timer starts and the self-
timer lamp blinks and timer sounds. Two seconds before the picture
is taken, the lamp and sound speed up. After 10 seconds pass, the
camera starts taking the number of photos you specifed.
3. When fnished, repeat Step 1 but select the single frame icon, or turn
off the camera to cancel the mode.
Icons for 10-second, 2-
second, and continuous
self-timer modes.
INCREASING SENSITIVITY (ISO)
When photographing in dim light, you can increase the cameras ISO. ISO is
a term used to designate flm speeds, or how sensitive a flm is to light. There
is no equivalent standard for digital cameras but the sensitivity of a sensor
is given as an ISO equivalent. Increasing the sensitivity means less light is
needed for a picture and gives you important advantages.
A higher ISO lets you use a smaller aperture for greater depth of feld or a
faster shutter speed to reduce blur. It will also increase the range of the fash
(page 112), but also lets you shoot pictures without it in places such as con-
certs and museums where fash is prohibited.
In Basic Zone modes, the ISO is set to Auto which sets the ISO between
100800 depending on how dark the scene is, and you cant change it your-
self. The current shutter speed is always displayed on the monitor.
In Creative Zone modes, the ISO is also set to Auto but you can set it to a
fxed ISO of 100, 200, 400, 800 or 1600 in full stop increments. The only
exceptions are when using manual (M) mode or fash, when its fxed at 400.
The only down side to increasing the ISO is that it adds noise to images. This
is because increasing sensitivity amplifes the captured signal, but also ampli-
fes the background noise captured along with it. The noise then appears in
the image as randomly spaced bright pixels. Generally, the higher the ISO
the more noise youll get. To reduce noise caused by high ISO settings you
can turn on Custom Function 04 (page 00). When on, noise reduction is
performed at all ISO settings, but has the greatest effect on those shot at high
ISOs. At low ISOs, noise in shadow areas is reduced. When on, the frame
rate in continuous shooting (page 139) drops dramatically and white balance
bracketing (page 83) is disabled.
CHANGING THE ISO
ISO button to display a menu of ISO settings on the monitor.
2. Turn the Main Dial or press the up () or down () cross key to
select a setting.
The situations in which various ISO settings are best include those in the fol-
lowing table.
ISO Setting Good For
100200 Bright daylight outdoors
400800 Dark overcast, dawn and dusk
1600 Night or dark indoors, fast action
Noise appears in images
as random color pixels
especially when you use
long shutter speeds or
high ISO settings.
The ISO button on top
of the camera.
64
SHARPNESS ISNT EVERYTHING
Your photos dont have to be sharp to be effective. In many cases, its better
to have part of the scene sharper than the rest. Your pictures can be sharp or
unsharp in different ways. The frst way concerns motion. Several factors af-
fect the way motion is captured in images. These include your shutter speed,
lens focal length, and subject speed, direction, and distance. Another kind of
sharpness concerns depth of feld, how much of the scene will be sharp in the
image from foreground to background. Even if you are photographing a static
scene, your picture may not be sharp if you do not have enough depth of feld.
However, a shallow depth of feld can be used to make a busy background less
distracting by having it out of focus in the picture. Several factors affect depth
of feld, including lens aperture, lens focal length, and subject distance.
Motion in a scene can
be frozen or blurred
depending on the
shutter speed and other
factors. Blur can be
used creatively to evoke
a feeling of motion as in
this shot of a waterfall
in Yosemite National
Park.
Shallow depth of feld
can focus attention on
a foreground subject by
making the background
less sharp.
HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH MOTION SHARPLY
The sharpness of different parts of an image helps direct the viewer who
tends to look frst at the most sharply focused part of the picture. In addition,
sharpness itself can be part of the message of the photograph. The immobility
of a frozen fgure can be made more apparent by blurring people moving in
other parts of the scene.
Blur in an image is caused when all or part of a subject focused onto the im-
age sensor moves when the shutter is open. To show a moving subject sharp-
ly, the shutter needs to open and close before the image on the sensor moves
a signifcant amount. In other words, you need to use a fast shutter speed.
But just how fast is fast enough? The answer depends on several factors. Be-
cause several variables are involved, you cant always predict how motion will
be portrayed in the fnal photograph. So use different settings and take more
than one shot if possible. Try shooting from different angles or perhaps wait
for a pause in the action. You are much more likely to get a good shot if you
have several to choose from. Just be aware that sharpness and blur are hard
to evaluate on the cameras monitor.
SPEED OF SUBJECT
The faster a subject is moving, the faster the shutter speed you need for a
sharp image. However, its not the speed of the subject in the real world that
determines blur. Its how far the subject moves on the image sensor while the
exposure is being made. This depends not just on the subjects actual speed,
but also on the direction of its movement, its distance from the camera, and
the focal length of the lens.
The shutter speed froze
the central dancer but
was slow enough to blur
the others. This makes
the central dancer the
most important person
in the photograph.
DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT
When the shutter is open, a subject moving parallel to the image sensor
crosses more of the pixels on the sensor and is more blurred than a subject
moving directly toward or away from the camera. This is why you can use a
slower shutter speed to sharply photograph a subject moving toward, or away
from you, and not the same subject moving from one side of the scene to the
other.
TIP
To capture action,
point the camera
toward where you
expect the action
to occur and press
the shutter button
halfway down to set
and lock focus and
exposure. Hold the
button down until the
action happens and
youll be able to get
a shot off a lot faster.
HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH MOTION SHARPLY
66
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/shutterspeed/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/distance/
DISTANCE TO SUBJECT AND FOCAL LENGTH OF LENS
If a subject is close to the camera, even slight movement is enough to cause
blur. A subjector part of onefar from the camera can move a considerable
distance before its image on the image sensor moves very much. The focal
length of the lens can also affect the apparent distance to the subject. Increas-
ing the focal length of your lensfor example, zooming in on a subjecthas
the same effect as moving closer to your subject. The longer the focal length
of the lens, the less a subject has to move for its image to move on the image
sensor and become blurred.
On this speeding train,
the part closest to
the camera looks the
most blurred while
the farthest part looks
sharper. Since all parts
of the train are moving
at the same speed, this
shows how distance
affects blur.
INCREASING THE SHARPNESS OF MOVING OB-
JECTS
Photograph fast-moving subjects heading toward or away from you
and not from side to side.
Move farther away from the subject or use a shorter focal length lens.
Switch to Tv (shutter-priority) mode (page 41) or use program shift
(page 40) and select a fast shutter speed such as 1/500.
Increase the cameras ISO so you can use a faster shutter speed al-
though this adds some noise to the image (page 62).
The shutter speed
needed to control the
sharpness of a moving
object is determined
by the subjects speed,
direction of movement,
and distance.
camera-subject distance
affects shutter speeds.
shutter speed affects
sharpness.
SHUTTER
SPEED
NEEDED
FASTER
SLOWER
SPEED OF
SUBJECT
DIRECTION OF
MOVEMENT
AMOUNT OF
ZOOM AND
DISTANCE TO
SUBJECT
TIP
To visualize the
effects of distance
on blur, look out the
side window of a
speeding car (but not
when youre driv-
ing). The objects in
the foreground seem
to fy by while those
on the horizon dont
seem to move at all.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/criticalfocus/
FOCUS AND DEPTH OF FIELD
If you look around youthe book in your hand, the chair across the room,
the far walleverything seems to be sharp. That is because your eyes refocus
every time you look at an object at a different distance. But the sharpness you
see when you glance at a scene is not always what you get in a photograph of
that scene. To understand why not, you have to understand focus and depth
of feld.
FOCUS
A lens can only bring one part of a scene into the sharpest possible focus. This
part of the scene falls on what is called the plane of critical focus. Subjects
falling on this plane will be the sharpest part of the picture. You move this
plane toward and way from the camera as you focus. The plane of critical
focus in your image will be the area that falls on the AF point(s) containing a
dot that fashes red in the viewfnder.
DEPTH OF FIELD
If you look at photographs, you can see a considerable area of the scene from
near to far that appears sharp. Even though theoretically only one narrow
plane is critically sharp, other parts of the scene in front of and behind the
most sharply focused plane appear acceptably sharp. This area in which
everything looks acceptably sharp is called depth of feld. Objects within the
depth of feld become less and less sharp the farther they are from the plane
of critical focus. Eventually they become so out of focus that they no longer
appear sharp.
Often it doesnt matter so much exactly what you are focused on. What does
matter is whether or not all of the objects you want to be sharp are within the
Imagine the part of the scene on which you focus as a fat plane (much like a pane
of glass). It is superimposed from one side of a scene to the other, so that the plane
is parallel to the back of the camera or the image sensor. Objects falling exactly
on this imaginary plane are in critical focus, the sharpest part of your picture. This
plane of critical focus is a very shallow band and includes only those parts of the
scene located at identical distances from the camera. As you point an autofocus
camera at objects nearer or farther away in the scene, the plane of critical focus
moves closer to or farther away from the camera. As the plane moves, objects at
different distances from the camera come into or go out of critical focus.
TIP
To control depth
of feld, switch to Av
(aperture-priority)
mode and select a
small aperture for
great depth of feld,
or a large aperture
for shallow depth of
feld (page 76).
focusing shifts the plane
of critical focus.
A
The shutter button
has two stages. When
pressed halfway down,
the camera locks focus
and establishes the
plane of critical focus.
FOCUS AND DEPTH OF FIELD
68
depth of feld so they appear sharp. If you want a large part of the scene to be
sharp, you can increase the depth of feld. If you want less of the scene sharp,
you can decrease it. In some scenes, you can signifcantly increase or decrease
the depth of feld simply by shifting the point on which you are focused or by
changing the aperture setting.
This photo of a page
shows how shallow
depth of feld can be
when you get close to a
subject.
In both of these images
the plane of critical
focus has been placed
on the middle face. In
the left image a large
aperture was used to
give shallow depth of
feld. In the right image
a small aperture was
use to give great depth
of feld.
The near and far limits of depth of feld are shown here as two planes (B and C),
parallel to the plane of critical focus (A). Actually, they are usually not visible as
exactly defned boundaries. Nor can you usually fnd the plane of critical focus by
looking at a picture. Instead, sharp areas imperceptibly merge into unsharp ones.
In most situations depth of feld is not evenly divided. At normal shooting distances,
about one-third of the depth of feld is in front of the plane of critical focus (toward
the camera), and two-thirds is behind it (away from the camera). When the camera
is focused very close to an object, the depth of feld becomes more evenly divided.
A B C
CHECKING DEPTH OF FIELD
To check depth-of-feld in the viewfnder in a Creative Zone mode, press the
shutter button halfway down to focus the camera, then press the depth-of-
feld preview button on the lower left side of the lens mount. (In A-DEP mode
(page 75) you have to continue to hold down the shutter button as you press
the depth of feld button so an aperture is selected.) Pressing this button
locks exposure and closes the lens aperture down to the f/stop youve selected
so the viewfnder gives you an idea of whats sharp and what isnt. However,
when using small apertures, the viewfnder image is very dark. When the
maximum aperture is selected, as it often is in dim light, youll see no change
at all. To see how this works, select Av mode and while looking through the
viewfnder, focus on a nearby subject then hold down the depth-of-feld pre-
view button as you turn the Main Dial to change apertures.
To check depth-of-
feld in the viewfnder
press the depth-of-feld
preview button.
FOCUSING TECHNIQUES
When the lens switch is set to AF, the XSi focuses on the nearest subject
covered by one of the nine AF points displayed in the viewfnder. The dots in
the AF point or points used to set focus briefy fash red when you press the
shutter button halfway down and focus is achieved.
The plane of critical focus in your image will be the area that falls on the
active AF point in the viewfnderthe one that fashes red. As you point the
camera at various subjects and press the shutter button halfway down, youll
see them pop into focus.
To check depth-of-feld in the viewfnder when using Creative Zone modes,
press the depth-of-feld preview button (page 68).
The XSis autofocus system uses contrast to set the focus. In dim light, if the
fash pops up in any Basic Zone mode it may strobe an AF-assist beam when
you press the shutter button halfway down. (It doesnt do this in Creative
Zone modes unless you frst raise the fashpage 113.) The beam works out
to about 13 feet (4m). Using Custom Function 07 (page 148) you can turn the
assist beam on or off or choose to have it enabled on an external Speedlite.
As good as the autofocus system is, there are times when it has trouble focus-
ing. In these situations the focus confrmation light fashes in the viewfnder
instead of glowing a steady green. This happens with:
Subjects such as a blank wall or clear blue sky or other subjects with very
low contrast and evenly lit expanses of a single color.
Subjects that are backlit or have refective surfaces.
Subjects in very dark settings.
Overlapping subjects at different distances or with repetitive patterns.
In these situations you might want to try selecting the AF point manually, use
focus lock, or manually focus the lens. Lets see how these techniques work,
but frst, lets look at the autofocus modes you have to choose from.
AUTOFOCUS MODES
The XSi has two autofocus modesOne-Shot AF and AI Servo AF, and a
thirdAI Focus AFthat automatically switches between the frst two. (AI
stands for artifcial intelligence.) In Basic Zone modes, the camera speci-
fes one of these modes for you and you cant change it, but in Creative Zone
modes you can choose any of the three modes depending on whether a sub-
ject is moving or not.
One-Shot AF mode works best for still subjects including portraits and
landscapes. In this mode when you press the shutter button halfway down,
focus locks (page 71) on the part of the scene closest to the camera covered by
one of the AF points. Focus remains locked as long as you continue to hold
down the button. In this mode, the camera wont take a picture until focus is
locked and the focus confrmation glows a steady green. When using evalua-
tive metering (the default) when focus locks in this mode, so does exposure.
To change focus once its locked, you must release the shutter button and
then press it halfway down again. One-Shot AF is selected for you in Portrait,
Landscape, Close-up, and Night Portrait modes and is selectable in all Cre-
ative Zone modes.
TIP
When using an
USM (Ultrasonic
Motor) lens with a
distance scale in
One-Shot AF mode,
you can turn the
focusing ring on the
lens to fne tune
focus after focus is
achieved (called full-
time manual focus-
ing).
When using an
extender on a lens
with a maximum
aperture of f/5.6 or
smaller, you cant
use autofocus.
Zoom before focus-
ing since zooming
can throw off focus.
In Basic Zone
modes the AF mode,
AF point selection,
and drive mode are
set automatically.
One of the main
reasons the cam-
era wont focus is
because you are too
close.
When autofocus is
locked, the focus
confrmation light glows
a steady green, and a
point in the active AF
point fashes red in the
viewfnder.
Lens focus switch set to
autofocus (AF).
FOCUSING TECHNIQUES
70
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/servofocus/
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/focuszone/
SELECTABLE FOCUSING POINTS
The XSis nine AF points are all active and when using the default One-shot
AF mode, the camera focuses on the closest part of the scene covered by
one of the points. In Creative Zone modes other than A-DEP (page 75) you
can switch from automatic to manual selection. This lets you specify which
point is used to focus, and also lets you get shots off more quickly since the
camera doesnt have to take time calculating where to focus. The center point
is usually the most accurate and many photographers use it in combination
with focus lock (page 71) to take most of their photos. Also, with a fast lens
of f/1.0f/2.8 the center point uses high precision focusthe most accurate
kind. When manually selecting, the AF point currently being used, called the
active AF point, is indicated in blue on the monitor and displays a red dot in
the viewfnder when you press the shutter button halfway down.
When you press the AF
point selector button,
the selected AF point is
indicated with a red dot
in the viewfnder (left)
and is displayed in blue
on the monitor (right).
SELECTING AN AUTOFOCUS MODE
With the camera in any Creative Zone mode and the focus switch on
the lens set to AF, repeatedly press the AF button on the cross keys to
highlight ONE SHOT, AI FOCUS, or AI SERVO on the monitor and
press SET.
AI servo AF mode continually adjusts the focus (and exposure) as long as
you hold the shutter button halfway down. This mode is selected for you in
Sports mode and is one of your choices in all Creative Zone modes. Its de-
signed to help you keep a moving subject in focus and is great for sports and
nature photography, or any other situations where you are photographing
moving subjects. If the subject moves after you have focused on it, it remains
in focus as long as its covered by one of the nine AF points although the dot
in the one being used doesnt fash red. When focus is achieved in this mode
neither it or exposure is locked and the focus confrmation light doesnt glow
a steady green. However, if you have selected a specifc AF point (see below),
the red dot in that point fashes red when focus is acheived.
When the AF point is being selected automatically, as it always is in Full
Auto and Sports modes, the camera frst uses the center AF point to focus.
If the subject then moves away from this point, focus tracking continues as
long as it is covered by one of the other AF points.
If you have selected the AF point manually, the camera uses that point to
track focus until the subject moves so its covered by another AF point.
AI focus AF mode initially focuses on the subject using One-Shot AF
mode, but if the subjects distance from the camera changes, the camera
automatically switches to AI servo AF mode so it can keep it in focus. AI focus
AF mode is automatically selected for you in Full Auto and Flash Off modes
and is one of the three you can select in any Creative Zone mode.
The AF button.
Click to explore the way
focus zones work.
effects of servo focus.
TIPS
AI Servo AF and
automatic AF point
selection is a great
combination to use
with moving sub-
jects.
TIP
If the camera has
trouble focusing,
switch to manual
focus, or pop-up the
fash so it can strobe
to assist focus. (It
does this automati-
cally in most Basic
Zone modes.) To use
the fash to assist
focus but not fre
during the exposure,
use Custom Function
07 (page 148).
FOCUSING TECHNIQUES
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/focuslock/
USING FOCUS LOCK
1. With autofocus set to One-Shot AF (page 69), and in any mode other
than Sports, point the camera so the subject you want to lock focus
on is covered by one of the AF points in the viewfnder. (Its often
faster and more accurate to frst select just the center point.)
2. Press the shutter button halfway down and hold it there to lock focus.
The green focus confrmation light glows a steady green and a dot in
the AF point being used to set focus briefy fashes red in the view-
fnder.
3. Without releasing the shutter button, recompose the scene and press
the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
TIPS
You can lock focus
and exposure inde-
pendently using AE
Lock (page 53).
Custom Function
10 (page 148) lets
you change the way
you lock focus and
exposure.
SELECTING AF POINTS
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone other than
A-DEP, press the AF point selector button (fve dot icon) on the back
of the camera to display the active AF point(s) with a red dot in the
viewfnder and in blue on the monitor.
2. Select AF points as follows:
Turn the Main Dial to cycle through all possibilities including all
nine points at once. (When all nine points are selected, you are in
auto mode and the camera will pick the AF point for you.)
Press the cross keys to move directly to any point.
Press SET once to select the center point and again to select all nine
for auto mode.
3. Compose and photograph the scene using the selected point(s).
4. When fnished, repeat Steps 1 and 2 to reset AF point selection to
auto (all nine dots). If you dont do so, the current setting remains in
affect even when you turn the camera off.
The AF point button
Click to explore focus
lock.
USING FOCUS LOCK
To change the position of the plane of critical focus in One-Shot AF mode
(page 69), or AI focus AF mode and a static subject, you can use focus lock.
The XSi has a two-stage shutter button. When you press it halfway down,
the camera sets focus, and also exposure if you are using the default evalua-
tive metering (page 46). When the focus confrmation light in the viewfnder
glows a steady green, these readings are locked. If you dont release the
shutter button, you can then point the camera anywhere else and the settings
remain unchanged. This lets you set the focus at any distance from the cam-
era to control both focus and depth of feld. Focus lock doesnt work when
using AI Servo AF which is automatically selected in Sports mode and can be
manually selected in Creative Zone modes other than A-DEP. One of the most
common techniques photographers use is to select the center AF point to set
focus and then use focus lock to keep focus unchanged while they recompose
and capture the image.
TIPS
You can use AE
Lock (page 53) to
lock exposure on one
part of a scene and
use focus lock to lock
focus on another.
You can then take
the picture, or even
recompose the scene
frst.
The center AF point
is the best AF point
to use because its
more sensitive and
accurate. Also, with
a fast lens from f/1.0
to f/2.8, high-pre-
cision focusing is
based on the center
AF point.
When using evalu-
ative metering with
One-shot AF, press-
ing the shutter but-
ton halfway down to
lock focus also locks
exposure. When
using AI Servo AF
neither is locked. Any
other combination
of metering (page
46) and focus (page
69) modes locks just
focus.
72
MANUAL FOCUS
To manually focus, set the lens focus switch to M or MF (for Manual) and
focus by turning the lens focus ring. If you are using an USM (Ultrasonic
Motor) lens that has a distance scale in One-Shot AF mode, you can turn
the focusing ring on the lens to fne tune focus after focus is achieved (called
full-time manual focusing). Manual focus is extremely useful when autofocus
has problems, when you want to quickly focus on an off-center subject or a
subject that is in a busy setting where the camera has trouble isolating the
subject you want, or when you want focus fxed no matter how the subject
moves.
To see if the area covered by the center AF point is being used to set focus,
press the shutter button halfway down, or press the AF point selector button,
to see if its dot fashes red.
Hold the shutter button halfway down as you manually focus. When the
subject covered by the active AF point comes into focus, the red dot in the AF
point fashes red and the focus confrmation light glows a steady green.
After focusing, you can recompose the scene at will without focus changing
or having to use focus lock.
Manual focus is useful
when the main subject
doesnt fall on one of
the AF points, or when
you want to focus on
a very specifc spot
such as this monarch
butterfy.
The lens focus switch.
USING MANUAL FOCUS
1. Set the focus switch on the lens to M or MF.
2. Position one of the AF points over the part of the scene you want
critically sharp.
3. Hold the shutter button halfway down and focus by turning the focus
ring on the lens. When focus is achieved, the AF point used to set fo-
cus fashes red and the focus confrmation light glows a steady green.
TIP
In Live View you
can enlarge part
of the image up to
10x for very precise
manual focusing
(page 135).
CONTROLLING DEPTH OF FIELD
Here the cameras
depth of feld was just
deep enough to keep
the bird in focus. Parts
of the image closer
to the camera and
further away become
increasingly less sharp.
To check depth-of-
feld in the viewfnder
press the depth-of-feld
preview button (page
68).
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/DOF/
CONTROLLING DEPTH OF FIELD
Sharpnessor the lack of itis immediately noticeable when you look at
a photograph. If you are making a portrait, you want only the person to be
sharply focused, but not a distracting background. In a landscape, on the
other hand, often you will want everything sharp from close-up rock to far
away mountain. Once you understand how to control depth of feld, you will
feel much more confdent when you want to make sure something isor
isntsharp.
To control depth of feld, you have three factors to work with.
Aperture size. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of feld. The
larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of feld.
Camera-to-subject distance. As you move father from the subject you
are focused on, you increase depth of feld. As you move closer, you decrease
it.
Lens focal length. A shorter focal length lens increases depth of feld and
a longer one decreases it.
Each of these three factors affects depth of feld by itself, but even more so in
combination. You can get the shallowest depth of feld with a lens zoomed in
on a nearby subject using a large aperture. You get the greatest depth of feld
when you are far from a subject, with a wide-angle lens, using a small aper-
ture.
EFFECT
ON DEPTH
OF FIELD
DEEPER SHALLOWER
APERTURE
SIZE
CAMERA TO
SUBJECT
DISTANCE
AMOUNT AND
DIRECTION OF
ZOOM
This photo of a page
from a book shows how
shallow depth of feld
can be when you get
close to a subject.
aperture affects depth
of feld.
74
USING DEEP DEPTH OF FIELD
Often you will want to get as much depth of feld as possible because impor-
tant parts of a scene that you want sharp are both near to and far from the
camera. Maximum depth of feld seems particularly important for photo-
graphs of landscapes and other scenes where a distant horizon is a part of the
picture.
FOCUSING ON THE HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE
When a subject extends to the far distance, many photographers unthinkingly
focus on that part of the scene. When you are focused on that distant point,
everything beyond it will be sharp. But since one-third of the available depth
of feld falls in front of the point on which you are focused and two-thirds
behind it, you are wasting two-thirds of your depth of feld. That may mean
that some other part of the scene in the foreground will not be included in the
one-third remaining depth of feld and consequently will not be sharp.
Instead of focusing on infnity, if you focus on some object one-third of the
way between you and the horizon, you bring forward the point on which you
are focused and increase the depth of feld in the foreground of your picture.
This new point of focus is called the hyperfocal distance. You can use this
procedure not just for landscapes, but whenever you want to shift depth of
feld toward and away from the camera.
Zooming out and
using a small aperture
keeps everything in
the foreground and
background in focus.
The icon for landscape
mode.
When you focus on the
most distant part of
the scene, here its the
mountains, all available
depth of feld to the
right of that point is
wasted. As a result, the
middle and foreground
are not sharp because
they dont fall within the
range of available depth
of feld.
By focusing on the
hyperfocal distance,
the most distant part
of the scene remains in
focus but the near point
of depth of feld moves
closer to the camera.
The entire scene is
sharp.
Understanding hyperfocal distance has a side beneft. It lets you pick the
sharpest possible aperture while still getting the depth of feld you want. The
smallest apertures may give greater depth of feld, but they may also have
interference patterns that soften the image. For the sharpest possible images,
you should use a midrange aperture such as f/8 provided it will give you the
depth of feld you need.
USING DEEP DEPTH OF FIELD
USING AUTO DEPTH-OF-FIELD AE (A-DEP)
1. Set the lens focus switch to AF and the Mode Dial to A-DEP.
2. Compose the image so each element of the scene that you want in
focus is covered by one of the nine AF points in the viewfnder.
3. Press the shutter button halfway down and the dots in AF points
covering subjects that will be sharp fash red in the viewfnder.
If the aperture value blinks it means exposure is OK but the cam-
era cant get the desired depth of feld. Recompose the image, use a
wider focal length lens, or move farther away and try again.
If the 30 shutter speed blinks, the image may be underexposed
and too dark so turn the Main Dial to select a larger aperture.
If the 4000 shutter speed blinks, the image may be overexposed
and too light so turn the Main Dial to select a smaller aperture.
SETTING YOUR LENS TO THE HYPERFOCAL
DISTANCE
1. With the focus switch on the lens set to M or MF, set the Mode Dial
to M (manual) or Av (aperture-priority) mode so you can select the
aperture.
2. Turn the lens focus ring to align the infnity mark on the right side
of the lens depth of feld scale with the f-stop youre using (1 in illus-
tration left). Read the near limit of depth of feld by reading up from
the same aperture number on the left side of the scale (2 in illustra-
tion left).
ZONE FOCUSING
1. With the focus switch on the lens set to M or MF, set the Mode Dial
to M (manual) or Av (aperture-priority) mode so you can select the
aperture.
2. Turn the lens focus ring to align the far limit of depth of feld on the
lens depth of feld scale with the f-stop youre using on the right side
of the scale (1 in illustration left). Read up from the f-stop on the left
side of the depth of feld scale to see what the near limit of depth of
feld is (2 in illustration left).
Here 6 feet (2m) on the
distance scale has been
aligned with f/11 on the
right side of the scale.
On the left side of the
scale, read up from f/11
to see that everything
from about 1.75 feet
(0.6m) to 6 feet (2m) is
in focus.
Here the infnity symbol
on the distance scale
has been aligned with
f/11 (the selected
aperture) on the right
side of the scale. On the
left side of the scale,
read up from f/11 to see
that everything from
about 2.5 feet (0.7m) to
infnity is in focus.
For action photography, you can use a variation of this technique, called zone
focusing, to prefocus and set depth of feld so a specifc range is always in fo-
cus. If anything happens within that range you can quickly capture it without
focusing.
AUTO DEPTH-OF-FIELD AE (A-DEP)
The XSis auto depth of feld (A-DEP) mode is specially designed to help you
get the depth of feld you want. In this mode the camera evaluates all nine AF
points and selects an aperture that will give enough depth of feld to keep the
parts of the scene covered by all of them in focus. Since the aperture setting
is given priority, the shutter speed may be so low you need to use a tripod or
other support. This is an ideal mode when photographing groups and land-
scapes because it keeps everyone or everything in focus.
TIP
If you raise the
fash in A-DEP mode,
the camera acts as if
it were set to P mode
and doesnt try to
give you the neces-
sary depth of feld.
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USING SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD
Shallow depth of feld, sometimes called selective focus, is a great way to
isolate a subject from a distracting foreground or background. When every-
thing in a picture is equally sharp, the viewer gives equal attention to all parts
of the scene. But if some parts of an image are sharp and others are not, the
viewer is drawn to the sharpest part. You can selectively focus the camera and
your viewers attention on the most important part of the scene by limiting
depth of feld so the signifcant elements are sharp while the foreground and
background are less so.
DECREASING DEPTH OF FIELD
Zoom the lens in or move closer to enlarge the subject.
Use aperture-priority mode or program shift to select a large aper-
ture such as f/2.8.
Use a neutral density flter for a larger aperture.
Only the bubble
gum blower is sharp
while fgures in the
foreground and
background arent.
Here attention is drawn
to the sharp monarch
butterfy caterpillar.
The boys face is soft
and less distracting, but
sharp enough that you
can see the expression.
Click to explore
selective focus.
CONVEYING THE FEELING OF MOTION
CONVEYING THE FEELING OF MOTION
Although sharpness is a laudable goal, it isnt the only one. The creative use
of blur can lead to some interesting photosespecially when conveying the
feeling of motion. The shutter speed can be selected to blur some or all of an
image. Many times you dont do anything but beneft from a happy accident.
Anything that moves day or night is a candidate for creative blurring. Your
only limitation is getting a slow enough shutter speed in bright light.
Panning the camera in the same direction as a moving subject produces an
image where the subject is relatively sharp against a blurred background.
Your movement should be smooth and controlled to get a good pan, so begin
to pan the camera before the subject enters your viewfnder. Smoothly de-
press the shutter button as you follow the motion of the subject, keeping it in
the same position in the viewfnder. Follow through as you would in golf or
tennis. Panning takes practice so take as many images as you can. Results are
quite unpredictable because your body motion adds yet another variable to
the fnal picture.
Here a fast shutter
speed froze everything
but the ball.
CONVEYING MO-
TION
Try blurring
images in low-
light situations. In
bright light, the
shutter will open
and close too fast.
Use shutter-
priority mode or
program shift to
select a slow shut-
ter speed.
Use a neutral
density flter to get
a slower shutter
speed.
When panning
with a moving sub-
ject, use AI Servo
AF mode (page 69)
to keep the image
focused as long as
you hold the shut-
ter button halfway
down.
Panning with this
barred owl blurred the
background and created
an impressionistic
image.
78
CHAPTER 4. CAPTURING LIGHT & COLOR
Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color
I
mage sensors in digital cameras are designed to produce colors that
match those in the original scene. However, there is a lot of variation
among sensors and among the circuits and software that process raw
images into fnal photographs. The results you get depend, in part, on the ac-
curacy with which you expose the image and how the camera handles colors.
With flm cameras, photographers usually explored a wide variety of flms be-
fore settling on the one or two they liked best. This is because each flm type
had its own unique characteristics. In some the grain was small, in others it
was larger. A flm may have had colors that were warmer than other flms, or
slightly colder. These subtle variations among flms are what made photog-
raphers gravitate to one or the other. With digital cameras, you dont have
the same choice offered by flm cameras. The flm in the form of an image
sensor is built into your camera. Whatever its characteristics are, they are the
characteristics you have to live with until you buy another camera.
In this chapter, we explore the world of light and color and how you manage
it in your photos.
CONTENTS
Where Does Color
Come From? White
Balance and Color
Using White Balance
Correction & Bracket-
ing Color and Time
of Day Sunsets and
Sunrises Weather
Photographing at
Night The Direction
of Light The Quality
of Light
WHERE DOES COLOR COME FROM?
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/color/
WHERE DOES COLOR COME FROM?
Why do we see colors? Light from the sun or from a lamp seems to have no
particular color of its own. It appears simply to be white light. However, if
you pass the light through a prism, you can see that it actually contains all
colors, the same effect that occurs when water droplets in the atmosphere
separate light into a rainbow. A colorful object such as a leaf appears green
because when white light strikes it, the leaf refects only the green wave-
lengths of light and absorbs the others. A white object such as a white fower
appears white because it refects most of the wavelengths that strike it,
absorbing relatively few. Ink dyes or pigments in color prints also selectively
absorb and refect certain wavelengths of light and so produce the effect of
color.
Although light from the
sun appears colorless
or white, it actually
contains a range of
colors similar to a
rainbow. You can see
these colors using a
prism to separate them
out.
White objects
refect most of the
wavelengths of light
that strike them. When
all of these wavelengths
are combined, we see
white. When all of them
are absorbed, and none
refected, we see black.
A green object such
as a leaf refects only
those wavelengths that
create the visual effect
of green. Other colors in
the light are absorbed
by the leaf.
color and prisms.
White light actually
contains light of
different colors. The
overall color cast of the
light changes as the
proportions of the colors
change.
80
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/whitebalance/
WHITE BALANCE AND COLOR
Although light from the sun or from a light bulb looks white to us, it not only
contains a mixture of all colors, it contains these colors in varying propor-
tions. Light from the midday sun, for example, is much bluer than light from
a sunrise or a tungsten lamp. To produce what appears to us to be normal or
accurate color balance, the image we capture must contain the colors in the
original scene. One problem is that these colors are affected by the color of
the light source.
One way to describe the color of a light source is by its color temperature,
specifed in degrees Kelvin. This is similar to a thermometer that calibrates
heat temperatures in degrees centigrade. The color temperature scale ranges
from the lower color temperatures of reddish light to the higher color tem-
peratures of bluish light.
Daylight has a color temperature of about 5,0005,500 K and adds no color
cast to pictures. If white balance isnt adjusted, light sources with a lower
color temperature, such as incandescent or fuorescent, add a red or yellow
cast. Those with a higher color temperature, such as open shade, add a blue
cast. To adjust colors so photos have no color cast and look like they were
shot outdoors at midday, we use a system called white balance.
You can check white balance by looking at a captured image on the cameras
monitor. If you examine it closely, you may notice that white areas in particu-
lar have some color cast to them. If so, you may want to adjust white balance
for subsequent shots taken under the same light source.
USING PRESET WHITE BALANCE SETTINGS
The XSi offers a variety of white balance settings, each for a different light-
ing situation. When you select a mode in the Basic Zone, auto white balance
(AWB) is automatically selected. For modes in the Creative Zone you can
select auto, one of the six presets, or use the Custom setting for even greater
control.
Auto (AWB) automatically selects the white balance to match the current
light source. Select another mode if this mode doesnt give you the results you
want.
Daylight is best when photographing in cloudless sunlight.
Shade is best when photographing in open shade.
Cloudy is best when photographing outdoors in cloudy or overcast condi-
tions.
Tungsten is best when photographing indoors under incandescent lights.
White Fluorescent is best when photographing indoors under white
fuorescent lights.
Flash is best photographing with the built-in or external fash.
Custom (page 81) is best when other settings dont give you the results you
want.
Clockwise from top,
auto (AWB), daylight,
shade, cloudy,
tungsten, forescent,
fash, and custom icons.
TIPS
Color temperature
ranges from high
temperature blues
to low temperature
reds. As color tem-
perature increases it
moves through the
colors red, orange,
yellow, white, and
blue white in that
order.
If you shoot im-
ages in the RAW fle
format (page 25),
you can adjust white
balance on your
computer instead of
having the camera
do it.
how the white balance
setting affects the way
images are captured.
WHITE BALANCE AND COLOR
CREATING AND USING A CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE SETTING
If none of the preset white balance settings give you the results you want, you
can create your own. To do so, you frst photograph an evenly lit surface, such
as a sheet of white paper, with it flling the spot metering circle in the center
of the viewfnder. You then use the captured image to set and save a custom
white balance. Once saved you can access the custom setting at any time by
selecting the custom white balance icon just as you select any other white bal-
ance setting.
You may need to use manual focus to focus on a surface with a uniform
color.
If you take pictures of a standard white surface under various lighting
situations and keep them on your memory card, you can select one at any
time with the Custom WB menu command. This is a useful technique if you
regularly shoot under more than one type of light. Its like having a library of
custom settings.
A photo taken with the Picture Style set to Monochrome (page 140) cant be
used to set custom white balance.
SELECTING A WHITE BALANCE SETTING
1. With the camera on and the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Cre-
ative Zone, press the WB button on the back of the camera to display
a list of setting on the monitor.
2. Press the cross keys to highlight the icon for the white balance you
want to use (AWB is the default) and press SET to select it.
3. Take photos using the changed setting.
4. When fnished, repeat Steps 23 to reset white balance to AWB
(Auto) or the mode will be remembered even when you turn off the
camera.
TIP
If you like the
warm glow of in-
candescent lights or
candlelight, you can
capture it by setting
white balance to day-
light.
SETTING A CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, and white
balance set to any setting, photograph a white subject that flls the
spot metering circle in the center of the viewfnder.
2. Press MENU, display the Shooting 2 menu tab, highlight Custom
WB, and press SET to display the image you took in Step 1.
3. Press SET to use the image to set white balance, or scroll to any
other image and press SET.
4. When asked to confrm using the image for white balance, select OK.
If you arent already using the custom white balance setting, you
are asked if you want to Set WB to custom white balance. You can
select OK to switch to it, or select it later just as you select any other
white balance setting (see above).
5. When fnished, reset white balance to AWB (Auto) or custom white
balance will be used even when you turn the camera off and back on.
The custom white
balance icon.
The white subject
should fll at least the
spot metering circle in
the viewfnder.
Fluorescent light has
a variety of color
temperatures depending
on its type. Some bulbs
are daylight balanced.
82
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/colorspace/
The effects of color
balance are most
obvious in the early
morning and late
evening when the
sunrise or sunset often
changes the color of
everything you see.
SELECTING A COLOR SPACE
You can change the color space used to capture images from the default sRGB
to the wide gamut Adobe RGB color space. sRGB, which supports fewer
colors, is the color space used in Basic Zone modes and is suitable for images
that will be displayed on a monitor. However, if you plan on editing your im-
ages and making high-quality prints, Adobe RGB is a better choice. The only
drawback is that when displayed on a non-compatible screen, colors look
subdued. However, in a program, such as Photoshop, you can always convert
images from Adobe RGB to sRGB without any loss in quality.
SELECTING A COLOR SPACE
MENU button and display the Shooting 2 menu tab.
2. Highlight Color Space and press SET to display the choices sRGB
and Adobe RGB.
3. Highlight your choice and press SET.
TIP
All image flenames
begin with IMG_
except for those shot
using the Adobe RGB
color space which
begin with _MG_.
sRGB and Adobe RGB
color spaces compare
when it comes to the
number of colors they
can capture.
TIP
High temperatures,
high ISOs, and long
shutter speeds can
all have adverse af-
fects on the colors in
your images.
USING WHITE BALANCE CORRECTION & BRACKETING
White balance correction and bracketing are integrated on the XSi. You make
both settings on the WB correction/WB bracketing screen.
You can correct the color temperature used for white balance much as you
would on flm cameras with a color temperature conversion or color compen-
sating flter. To do so, you move a dot around the WB correction/WB bracket-
ing screen with the cross keys, selecting any one of nine levels.
You can bracket white balance by having a single image processed into three
pictures with different color tones using the Main Dial to specify the degree
of change between images. The image is bracketed with up to + or 3 levels
of a blue/amber (B/A) bias, or magenta/green (M/G) bias (but not both at
the same time). The frst version is captured at the set white balance and the
other two are made more blue/amber or magenta/green. You cannot bracket
white balance when using the RAW format, but there is no need to do so be-
cause you can change white balance later on your computer. You can combine
white balance bracketing with exposure bracketing (page 55), but you will get
9 images in each series. While an image is being processed into a series you
cannot take another picture so continuous mode (page 139) slows down.
USING WHITE BALANCE CORRECTION/BRACKET-
ING
MENU button, display the Shooting 2 menu tab, select WB SHIFT/
BKT and press SET to display the WB correction/WB bracketing
screen.
2. Do one or both of the following:
To make color corrections use the cross keys to move the dot to-
wards B (blue), G (green), A (amber), and M (magenta). On the right
side of the screen SHIFT shows the bias direction and correction
amount. When the shift is 0,0 there is no correction.
To set the bracketing direction and level turn the Main Dial. This
expands the single dot to tree dots that indicate what the white bal-
ance will be for each of the three shots. The middle dot is at the white
balance recommended by the camera or selected by you, and the left
and right dots indicate by how much white balance is adjusted. Turn-
ing the dial clockwise sets B/A bracketing and counterclockwise sets
M/G bracketing. The BKT indicator to the right of the grid shows the
bracketing direction and amount of adjustment.
3. Press SET to confrm the setting and MENU to hide the menu:
If you have made color corrections, a WB +/- icon is displayed in
the viewfnder and on the monitor.
If you have set bracketing, the white balance bracketing icon is
displayed on the monitor.
4. When fnished, repeat Steps 13 to reset BKT and SHIFT to 0. If you
dont every shot you take will be corrected or bracketed.
TIPS
When white bal-
ance bracketing is
in effect the remain-
ing pictures readout
shows only one-third
the number of imag-
es it would normally
show.
Much of what you
do to adjust white
balance at the time
of shooting is done
more easily after
taking pictures in the
RAW format (page
25).
Each level of blue/
amber is equivalent
to 5 Mireds of a color
conversion flter.
You cant bracket
white balance when
Custom Function 04
High ISO speed noise
reduction is on (page
148).
The white balance
correction (left) and
bracketing (right) icons
are displayed on the
monitor when they are
in effect.
The WB correction/
WB bracketing screen
showing white balance
bracketing in the Blue/
Amber (B/A) direction.
USING WHITE BALANCE CORRECTION & BRACKETING
84
COLOR AND TIME OF DAY
In photography, there is a color of light called daylight that occurs between
10 A.M. and 2 P.M on a clear day. During these hours, colors appear clear,
bright, and accurately rendered in a photo.
Before and after this period, the light can change from a warm red at sunrise
to a warm red or orange at sunset. This is because before and after midday,
light from the sun is modifed by the extra distance it travels through the
Earths atmosphere. Some of the blue light is fltered out, leaving the light
with a more reddish cast than at midday. This is easily seen very early or late
in the day when the light is often quite red-orange in tone. The change in
color has a signifcant affect on your pictures, but this reddish cast is a won-
derful light to photograph in.
When clouds cover the sky, the light also changes, this time to a more bluish
light, much like that found in open shade.
Early morning and late
afternoon light produce
a more reddish color
than you get at midday.
Just before dawn and
at dusk, colors often
appear muted or mono-
chromatic. During these
hours when light is
relatively dim, you often
have to use a longer
exposure time.
Midday light on a sunny
day produces colors
that appear natural and
accurately rendered.
SUNSETS AND SUNRISES
Sunsets and sunrises are relatively easy to photograph because the exposure
is not as critical as it is with some other scenes. If you underexpose the scene
slightly, the colors will simply be a bit richer and darker. Slight overexposure
will make the same scene slightly lighter.
The sun often takes on
a fattened appearance
as it rises above the
horizon. When partially
obscured and softened
by a haze, its warm,
red glow illuminates the
foreground.
The colors in the sky are often richest in the half hour before the sun rises
and the half hour after it sets. It pays to be patient as you watch the sky
change during these periods. For one thing, when the sun is below the
horizon and not in the image, exposure problems are greatly reduced. Also,
clouds in the sky often light up dramatically and in some cases, refect the
light to other clouds until you fnd yourself under a wonderful canopy of
refected color.
Every sunrise and sunset is unique and the variations can be truly amazing.
Its certainly not true that if youve seen one sunrise or sunset, youve seen
them all. If you want the sun in the photo, its best if it is softened and partly
obscured by a mist or haze. If it rises as a hot white or yellow ball, fnd an-
With the bright disk
of the sun included in
a sunset or sunrise,
your picture may
come out somewhat
underexposed and
darker than you expect
it to be. Add 1 or 2
stops of exposure to a
sunset or sunrise that
includes the disk of the
sun.
Sunrises and sunsets by
themselves arent very
interesting. Its objects
in the foreground, such
as a skyline, or unusual
atmospheric effects
such as this dark cloud
that give them some
punch.
WARNING!
Never look at
the bright sun
through the
viewfnder. You
can seriously
damage your
eyes.
SUNSETS AND SUNRISES
86
other subject or turn around and photograph the scene its illuminating. The
rich, warm light changes the colors of everything it hits. This is a magic time
to capture images that will really stand out. Colors take on a warm, soft glow
that cant be found at any other time of the day.
Here the camera was
positioned so the rising
sun was behind one
of the grain elevators
where it wouldnt burn
out the image with its
glare.
Instead of shooting into
the sun at sunrise or
sunset, shoot with it
behind you to capture
rich, warm colors of
scenes bathed in the
suns light.
A long-focal-length lens
enlarges the disk of the
sun so that it becomes a
more important part of
the picture. Foreground
objects silhouetted
against the bright sky,
can also add interest.
ANTICIPATING THE SUN AND MOON
When planning to integrate the sun or moon into an image it helps to know when
it rises or sets and what phase the moon is. This information is available in alma-
nacs and on the Web at the U.S. Naval Observatory (http://www.usno.navy.mil).
Rainbows always make good pictures. The problem is, you rarely fnd them
where you want them, when you want them. To get better at capturing them,
you should know how they form so you can anticipate them. Rainbows are
formed when sunlight is refracted by raindrops. Youll usually fnd the combi-
nation of rain and sun at the leading or trailing edge of a summer storm. You
A very light mist can
dim the sun enough
to include it in a
photograph. If it werent
partially obscured by
the fog, it would appear
as a white dot in an
otherwise dark scene.
Snow covered scenes
are not only beautiful
to look at, they make
great photographs.
A light fog subdues
colors and softens
objects in the
background.
WEATHER
Theres no need to leave your camera home just because the sun hasnt come
out. In fact, rain, snow, fog, and mist can add interest to your pictures. Ob-
jects at a distance often appear diffused and gray in such weather, with fore-
ground objects brighter than normal because they are seen against a muted
background. Remember to take a little extra care in bad weather to protect
your camera against excessive exposure to dampness.
TIP
Canon L series
lenses are sealed and
weather resistant
as is the 580EX II
Speedlight. Unfortu-
nately, the XSi isnt
as well protected.
WEATHER
88
From a plane you can
sometimes see all 360-
degrees of a rainbow.
Here you see a section
of one shot through an
airliner window. To the
right of the brighter
primary rainbow is a
dimmer secondary one.
CAMERA CARE
In the cold, batter-
ies run down much
faster. To prevent
this, keep the
camera or battery
under your coat or
in an inside pocket
so the battery stays
warmer.
Here a rainbow
dramatically appears
in a New England
If you stand with your back to the sun while looking at a rainbow, imagine a line
from the sun passing through your eye, through the Earth, and out into space.
(This is called the antisolar point.) The rainbow forms a complete circle around this
imaginary line, however from ground level part of it is always below the horizon. A
line drawn from your eye to the top of the rainbow forms a 42-degree angle with
the imaginary line from the sun through your eye. (If there is a secondary rainbow,
it forms an angle of 51-degrees.) Because these angles determine the position of
the rainbow in the sky, it will sink as the sun rises and rise as the sun sinks. At
some points, the entire rainbow, not just the bottom half, will be below the horizon
where you cant see it. Thats why you wont see a summer rainbow at midday when
the sun is directly overhead.
cant see rainbows at all times of the day. To understand why, visualize the
way the rainbow works.
PHOTOGRAPHING AT NIGHT
You can photograph many different things outdoors at night, so dont put
your camera away just because the sun is gone for the day. Light sources
(street lights, automobile lights, neon signs, or fres) or brightly lit areas (il-
luminated buildings or areas under street lights) will dominate pictures at
night because they stand out strongly against darker backgrounds. Plan to
use these bright areas as the dominant part of your picture. A tripod or solid
surface will support your camera during long exposures and prevent blur
caused by camera motion during the time the shutter is open.
To capture interesting images of freworks, put people or water in the fore-
ground. It also helps if there are identifable objects in the image such as
an illuminated building or monument to give the viewer a sense of place.
Get upwind from the show since freworks generate a lot of smoke that can
become a problem if you are downwind. If you are upwind, the smoke will
become part of the image, illuminated by the freworks. Set your exposure for
freworks by switching to Av (aperture-priority) or Tv (shutter-priority) mode
and try for a setting of f/2.8 at 1/30 second. Try a series of exposures of dif-
ferent bursts because there is a certain amount of luck involved. If there are
foreground fgures you might try fll fash (page 116) or Night Portrait mode
(page 39).
You can try increasing the ISO, use exposure compensation, and try differ-
ent combinations of aperture and shutter speed. Finally, for really interesting
effects, you might switch to manual exposure and use the bulb setting (page
90) and select a small aperture so you can keep the shutter open long enough
to capture multiple bursts. You might also explore using Program AE and
program shift to get the slowest possible shutter speed (page 40).
The moon, especially when full, adds a lot to an image. The best time to cap-
ture the moon is when its near the horizon. Because it is close to foreground
objects at that time, it looks much larger than when its higher in the sky.
At twilight you may
want to use the Night
Portrait setting (page
39).
This scene of Faneuil
Hall in Boston was
shot at night with just
illumination from street
lights.
TIP
If the camera has
trouble focusing,
switch to manual
focus, or use focus
lock. In some Basic
Zone modes, the
fash may pop up
and strobe to assist
focus on nearby
subjects. In Creative
Zone modes you
have to raise the
fash if you want it to
assist focus.
Fireworks can be
dramatic, but are
diffcult to capture. You
need to experiment
and a digital camera is
perfect for that because
you can instantly review
your results.
PHOTOGRAPHING AT NIGHT
90
USING BULB EXPOSURES
1. Set the Mode Dial to M (manual).
2. Turn the Main Dial counterclockwise all the way to display buLb in
the viewfnder and BULB on the monitor, then hold down the AV/
Exposure Compensation button as you turn the Main Dial to select
an aperture.
3. Press and hold down the shutter button for as long as you wish. A
minute and second timer is displayed on the monitor to guide you. (If
it isnt displayed, press DISP.)
Keep in mind that the moon is relatively dim and usually requires long ex-
posures. Since its moving relative to the Earth, longer exposures can actu-
ally blur it, giving it a slightly oblong shape. To reduce the chances of this
happening, shoot just before sunrise or just after sunset when there is still
some light in the atmosphere from the recently set sun. (It bends around the
Earths curvature due to refraction in the atmosphere.)
Try Night Portrait mode when photographing people at twilight, night, or
dawn. It illuminates foreground subjects with the fash and the shutter speed
is set slow enough to lighten the background. This mode is especially good for
outdoor shots with foreground subjects in front of an illuminated background
such as a cityscape. Since a slow shutter speed may be used in this mode, you
may need to support the camera (page 61).
To get exposures at night, you can use the bulb setting with or without fash.
Bulb makes it possible to capture light trails from moving cars and star trails
as the Earth rotates under a canopy of stars. When in this mode, the shutter
remains open as long as you hold the shutter button down, and while open,
moving lights paint lines in the image. To avoid blur from camera shake, you
must use a tripod or other secure support. It can be tiring to hold the shutter
button down, and hard to keep from moving the camera. It is much easier to
use the remote switch RS-60ES (page 142) to lock the shutter open for long
exposures. Keep in mind that when using bulb, you cant see through the
viewfnder while the exposure is being made. Also long exposures add noise
to an image but you can turn on Custom Function 03 to reduce it (page 148).
TIPS
You might want to
switch to Tv (shut-
ter-priority) mode so
you can use shutter
speeds as slow as 30
seconds (page 41)
or M (manual) mode
and use the bulb
setting.
Turn on Custom
Function 03 to re-
duce the effects of
noise on long expo-
sures (page 148).
If you combine
bulb exposures, the
self-timer, and mirror
lockup, hold down
the shutter button
during the entire
self-timer delay time
and bulb exposure
time). If you release
it prematurely, there
will be a shutter-re-
lease sound but no
picture is taken.
The AV/Exposure
The full moon taken
with a telephoto lens on
a digital camera.
THE DIRECTION OF LIGHT
The direction that light comes from relative to your cameras position is im-
portant because it determines where shadows will be visible in your picture.
It can also affect your exposure. Backlighting, for example, can silhouette
your subject against a background so bright that your automatic exposure
system underexposes the scene and makes the subject even darker. This is
fne, if you want a silhouette. If you dont, use exposure compensation to
lighten the image.
Four main types of lighting are illustrated here: front-lighting, side-lighting,
backlighting, and top-lighting. Notice the position of the shadows in these
photographs and how they affect the subjects.
Side-lighting, increases
the sense of texture
and volume because it
casts shadows visible
from the cameras
position. Landscape
photographers often
prefer to work early
in the morning or late
in the day because
the low sun sidelights
scenes and adds
interesting surface
textures.
Front-lighting decreases
visible shadows and
minimizes surface
details as well as the
apparent depth or
volume of the subject.
THE DIRECTION OF LIGHT
92
Top-lighting can occur
outdoors at midday or
indoors where ceiling
lights predominate. If
you are photographing
a person, you will notice
that top-lighting tends
to cast shadows in eye-
sockets and illuminates
the top of the nose. To
avoid this effect, you
might try moving the
person into the shade.
Top-lighting, such
as that found at
midday, can selectively
illuminate things, such
as this fag in the mans
back pocket, that would
be in shadow with light
coming from a lower
angle.
Backlighting puts the
side of the subject that
is facing the camera in
shade and automatic
exposure tends to make
these scenes too dark.
You can use exposure
compensation to lighten
the picture, especially
those parts that are in
shade.
TIP
In Basic Zone
modes other than
Landscape, Sports,
and Flash Off, the
built-in fash pops up
and fres automati-
cally in backlit condi-
tions.
THE QUALITY OF LIGHT
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THE QUALITY OF LIGHT
Light not only has direction, it can be direct or diffused. Direct light that
comes mainly from one direction produces relatively high contrast between
bright highlights and dark shadows. Diffused light bounces onto the sub-
ject from several directions, lowering contrast. Contrast, in turn, affects the
brilliance of colors, the amount of visible texture and detail, and other visual
characteristics.
In direct light you may have to choose whether you want highlights or shad-
ows to be correctly rendered because image sensors can accurately record
only a limited range of contrast between light and dark areas. If this creates a
problem because both highlights and shadowed areas are important, you can
sometimes add fll light to lighten shadows and decrease contrast or adjust
the cameras contrast setting (page 140). In diffused light, colors tend to be
softer than in direct light and textures are also softened because shadow
edges are indistinct.
Direct light comes from
a point source, such as
the sun on a clear day.
It produces dark, hard-
edged shadows that
crisply outline details.
Here the light and
shadows almost form an
abstraction.
Diffused light comes
from a light source that
is so large relative to
the subject that it il-
luminates from several
directions. On a hazy or
overcast day, illumina-
tion comes from the
entire dome of the sky,
not from the brighter,
but smaller, sun. In-
doors, light from a fash
bounced into an um-
brella refector or onto
a wall or ceiling creates
a broad source of light
that wraps around the
subject.
Click to explore hard
and soft light.
94
CHAPTER 5. UNDERSTANDING LENSES
T
he Canon XSi lets you draw from a vast array of interchangeable
lenses. These range from fsh-eye lenses for extreme wide-angle shots,
to lenses that will capture an athletes expression across the width of
a football feld. If youre new to photography, youll be amazed at the differ-
ence high-quality interchangeable lenses can make. If you are an experienced
digital photographer with a background in SLR cameras, youll enjoy being
able to use your old lenses on your new camera.
A favorite lens of many photographers is a high quality zoom lens that lets
you quickly zoom in or out to meet different photographic opportunities.
Zoom in on a subject and you can capture distant action at sporting events or
in the feld. Zoom out and you can capture a wide-angle view of a large group,
a roomy interior, or of an expansive landscape. The ability to change your
angle of view as you frame your image is one of your most powerful creative
controls. But there are many more lenses to choose from. They include macro
lenses, tilt-shift lenses, and even a soft focus lens for misty, romantic por-
traits and landscapes.
Chapter 5
Understanding Lenses
CONTENTS
Canon Lenses
Focal Length Zoom
Lenses Normal
Lenses Wide-Angle
Lenses Telephoto
Lenses Macro
Lenses and Acces-
sories Tilt-Shift
Lenses Lens Acces-
sories Perspective
in a Photograph
CANON LENSES
CANON LENSES
One of the best things about the XSi is that it can use any one of the 50 or so
lenses from the Canon line. Even better, if you have a 35mm EOS camera you
can switch your lenses between flm and digital cameras. Lets take a look at
some of the things that Canon lenses have in common.
ELECTRONIC LENS MOUNT
The Canon family of EF (Electronic Focus) lenses was introduced with the
frst EOS camera in 1987. Instead of mechanical linkages, all communications
between the lens and the camera pass through electrical contacts. These con-
nections provide the power needed by a small motor in the lens that controls
autofocus and the electromagnetic diaphragm (EMD) that controls aperture
settings. This electronic system is much more accurate, reliable, and fex-
ible than older mechanical linkages. Until recently all Canons lenses were
designed to work with all EOS flm and digital cameras. With the introduc-
tion of EF-S lenses (the S stands for short back focus), this has changed.
These lenses work only with EOS digital cameras having an APS-C sized
image sensor such as the XSi. They cant be used with cameras such as the
5D because their reduced image circle isnt large enough to cover a larger full
frame sensor and they use a different mount. These lenses have a white index
mark in addition to the traditional red marking, and a rear rubber ring that
prevents any damage should you try to mount the EF-S lens on a camera its
not designed for.
When you change lenses, be careful that dust or other debris doesnt enter
the camera through the lens opening. In fact, keep this opening covered with
a lens or the body cap as much as possible. Dont change lenses or remove the
body cap in a dusty or windy environment, and when you do remove the cap
or lens, keep the opening pointed down. Should foreign matter fnd its way
onto the image sensor it will show up as specks or blotches in your photo-
graphs. If you notice this in your images, see page 153.
MOUNTING AND UNMOUNTING A LENS
1. In a dust and wind free environment, twist the rear lens cap counter-
clockwise until it stops, then lift it up to remove it. Remove any body
cap from the camera the same way.
2. Align the red dot on the lens (EF lenses), or the white dot (EF-S
lenses), with the dot of the same color on the camera bodys lens
mount.
3. Insert the lens into the mount and turn it clockwise (as you face the
lens) until it clicks into place. Gently try to turn the lens in the other
direction to ensure that its securely locked in place.
4. To remove the lens, press the lens release button and turn the lens
counterclockwise so the red or white index mark is at the top, then
remove it.
If you have the money,
Canon has the lens.
FOCUSING TECHNOLOGY
Canon EF lenses have a focus switch that lets you select autofocus (AF) or
manual focus (M on older lenses and MF on newer ones). When set to M or
MF you focus by turning the focus ring on the lens. When using an USM (Ul-
trasonic Motor) lens with a distance scale in One-Shot AF mode, you can turn
The lens release button.
TIP
The mount on an
EF-S lens works with
the XSi and other
EOS digital camera
models that use the
APS-C sized sensor.
It wont work with
cameras using full-
frame sensors.
The lens focus switch.
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the focusing ring on the lens to fne tune focus after focus is achieved (called
full-time manual focusing). This lets you override the autofocus system to
fne-tune the focus without having to look up from the viewfnder to fnd the
focus switch to change modes. Full-time manual focus comes in two ver-
sions. Electronic manual focusing detects how much youve turned the focus
ring and then uses the focusing motor to focus the lens by the same amount.
Mechanical manual focusing adjusts the focus manually as you turn the focus
ring.
As the lens focuses, it uses one of fve different focusing methods that include
the following:
Overall extension where the entire optical system moves forward or back-
ward.
Front group extension where only the front-most lens group moves forward
or backward.
Front group rotation extension, used only in zoom lenses, where the front-
most lens group rotates as it moves forward or backward.
Inner focusing where only the lens group between the front lens and the
aperture diaphragm is moved.
Rear focusing when only the lens group behind the aperture diaphragm is
moved.
Some lenses have a focus preset feature so you can store the desired focusing
distance in memory. This lets you focus elsewhere and then instantly return
to the preset focus distance if necessary. This is ideal in sports and nature
photography where you are monitoring action at a specifc point such as a
nest or goal, but where you also want to capture other action.
A few lenses have an AF stop feature that prevents focus from shifting when
something passes between you and the subject youre focused on. You turn
this feature on by pressing an AF Stop button on the lens.
ULTRASONIC MOTORS
Since electronically coupled lenses need to move lens groups to focus the
image, Canon developed small, light, and powerful motors that ft inside the
lens. One of their most impressive is the Ultrasonic Motor (USM). Unlike
traditional motors that use a magnetic feld to rotate an armature, these
motors use ultrasonic vibrational forces to rotate a ring. The motor contains
two rings; one that is fxed and one that rotates. As electricity is applied to
piezoelectric ceramic elements on the fxed ring, the ring generates ultrasonic
vibrations that rotate the movable ring with signifcant force. The result is a
motor that is fast, reliable, accurate and almost silent.
IMAGE STABILIZATION
If youve ever photographed in dim light, or tried to hand-hold a long tele-
photo lens, you know how easy it is to get blur in your images from camera
shake. In most cases, we resort to tripods or other camera supports. Howev-
er, Canon has another way; image stabilization (IS). Lenses with this feature
contain gyro sensors that sense movement of the lens and micro-motors that
instantly shift a special image stabilization lens group to compensate for the
motion and keep the image steady on the sensor. These lenses break the old
rule that you should never hand hold a lens using a shutter speed slower than
the reciprocal of the lens focal length times 1.6. For example, when using a
On some zoom lenses,
setting the Distance
Limiter Switch to FULL
lets the lens try to focus
over its entire range.
When set to LIMIT, it
will only try a specifc
range of distances.
To turn image
stabilization on, you
set the switch to the
vertical line. To turn it
off you set the switch to
the o.
image stabilization
reduces but doesnt
eliminate blur caused by
camera movement.
Click for a PDF listing
Canon lenses.
CANON LENSES
100mm lens, you normally shouldnt use a shutter speed slower that 1/160.
Image stabilized lenses let you add two or three stops to that calculation so
you can handhold an image stabilized version of the same lens at 1/30 of a
second shutter speed.
Note that when using an image stabilized lens on a tripod, you should turn
off image stabilization. If you dont, you can actually add blur to the image.
(A few lenses have a mechanism that prevents this problem.) This is because
when image stabilization is on, the special image stabilization lens group is
free to move. If it moves or vibrates while everything else is perfectly stable,
blur results. When image stabilization is off, the image stabilization lens
group is locked in place so it cant move. Also, turn it off in B (bulb) mode to
avoid unpredictable results. Some Canon lenses have two IS modes. IS Mode-
1 works for normal shooting and IS Mode-2 stabilizes the image as you pan
the camera to follow a moving subject.
INFORMATION ON A CANON LENS
When you look at Canon lenses, or read about them, you may be confused at
frst by all of the information cryptically provided. Here is what each of the
terms or abbreviations refers to.
EFThe lens is one of the EF (electronic focus) family of lenses that works
with the XSi and with any EOS SLR, Advanced Photo System EOS SLR, and
any camcorder with a VL mount.
EF-SThese lenses work only with Canon digital cameras such as the XSi
using a smaller APS-C sized image sensor.
28105mmThe lenss focal length or zoom range in millimeters. Since the
XSis sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm flm, the effective focal length
of a lens is greater than it is on a flm camera (page 98).
f/2.8The maximum aperture of the lens (page 33). On many lenses its
listed on the lens as a ratio such as 1:2.4 or 1:3.55.6. On many zoom lenses,
two maximum apertures are given because the aperture changes as you zoom
the lens in and out. However, Canon makes a series of f/4L lenses that dont
change the aperture as you zoom the lens. This lets you set exposure and
zoom all the way through the lenss zoom range without the aperture chang-
ing.
0.25m/0.8ft, or something similar, indicates the lenss minimum focus
distance on some lenses.
LAn indication that the quality of the lens is especially high (or Luxury).
USMThe lens features an ultrasonic motor and the lens is marked UL-
TRASONIC.
IIThe Roman numeral indicates that the lens has been revised or im-
proved upon from an earlier version.
ISThe lens has image stabilization built in.
TE-SThe lens is a tilt-shift lens used for perspective and depth of feld
control.
MacroThe lens is designed for close-up photography.
DODiffractive Optical Element technology makes the lens smaller and
lighter than it would otherwise be.
Lenses with larger
maximum apertures let
you use faster shutter
speeds and are often
called fast lenses.
The EF 85mm f/1.2L II
USM lens.
The Canon EF 400mm
f/4 DO uses a
technology called Multi-
Layer Diffractive Optical
Element that makes it
smaller and lighter than
it would otherwise be.
The Canon Tripod
Collar B supplied with
some lenses provides
a tripod mount so you
can mount the lens,
rather than the camera,
to a tripod. With longer
lenses in particular, this
provides a much better
balance point for the
combined weight of the
camera body and lens.
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FOCAL LENGTH
A zoom lens lets you choose any focal length within the range the lens is de-
signed for. When you change focal lengths by zooming the lens, two impor-
tant effects are immediately obvious in the lens angle of view and its magni-
fying power.
Angle of view refers to how much of a scene the lens covers. A wide-angle
lens captures a wide expanse of a scene. A longer focal length narrows the
feld of view and you can isolate small portions of the scene without moving
closer to the subject.
Magnifcation is related to the lens angle of view. Since a wide-angle lens
includes a wide sweep of the scene, all of the objects in the scene are reduced
to ft into the image. A longer focal length lens, with its narrower angle of
view, makes objects in a scene appear larger.
Canon has a wide variety of zoom lenses covering various focal length ranges
between 10mm and 600mm.
The focal length of a lens determines its angle of view. The focal length is
based on its physical attributes so its an absolute value. However, a given fo-
cal length lens may have an effective focal length on different cameras. This
is because the effective focal length depends on the size of the flm or image
sensor being used. As these get smaller, a given focal length lens appears to
magnify more because its capturing a smaller area of the image circle.
Since the XSis image sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm flm, it essen-
tially captures only the central section of the focused image projected by the
lens. As a result, the effective focal length increases by a factor of 1.6 times
compared to the indicated focal length of the lens. For example, a 35 mm lens
is equivalent to 56mm on the XSi This multiple works across the entire range
of focal lengths, making wide-angle lens less so on the digital SLR than on a
flm or full-frame digital SLR, and making telephoto lenses more so.
The XSi penalizes you when used with shorter focal length lenses because
no wide angle lens is as wide as indicated.
The XSi with its smaller sensor gives you a bonus when used with long focal
length lenses or macro lenses because a lens focal length is always 1.6x more
than indicated.
A lens projects a circle
of light and the size
of the flm or image
sensor determines how
large an area of the
circle is captured. The
XSi (smaller frame)
captures a smaller area
than a camera using a
full-frame sensor (larger
frame).
Click to explore sensor
sizes.
size of an image sensor
determines the focal
length of a lens.
The longer a lens focal
length, the narrower its
angle of view.
how the focal length of
a lens determines its
angle of view.
ZOOM LENSES
A zoom lens lets you choose any focal length within the range the lens is
designed for.
Zooming a lens is like
walking toward or away
from the scene but
without changing the
perspective (page 109).
Here, a lighthouse in
Maine is photographed
a number of times from
the same spot. The
images vary from wide-
angle to telephoto.
ZOOMING A
LENS
To zoom a Canon
EF or EF-S lens,
turn the zoom ring
on the lens one way
to zoom in and the
other way to zoom
out.
TIP
Zoom before focus-
ing since zooming
can throw off focus.
The lens was zoomed
during a long exposure.
ZOOM LENSES
100
SEE FOR YOURSELF
A lens is called normal because it captures a scene just as the human eye does
even though the eyes angle of view is much wider than any normal lens. Howev-
er, you can demonstrate for yourself why a specifc focal length is normal for your
camera. When a passenger in a car, try zooming the lens or change focal lengths
as you watch the traffc ahead through the viewfnder. A longer focal length
makes distant cars appear right on top of you. A shorter focal length makes cars
look far ahead, even when relatively close. A normal focal-length makes the cars
appear in the same distance relationship as you perceive them ordinarily.
Another demonstration is to take two photographs of greatly different size and
tape them to a wall. Look at them one at a time through the viewfnder with the
lens zoomed to a normal focal-length. Move close enough so each flls the moni-
tor. Youll discover you are at the correct distance for viewing the prints. With
a longer focal-length you would feel too far away, and with a shorter one, too
close.
Canons EF 50mm
f/1.0L USM lens,
although not made
anymore, has a
maximum aperture of
f/1.0extremely fast!
NORMAL LENSES
A normal lens for a 35mm camera usually refers to a lens with a 50 mm fo-
cal length (35 mm equivalent). When you zoom your lens to this focal length
and look at the image on the screen, the scene looks about the same as it does
to the unaided eye. With the lens zoomed all the way out things appear closer
than they actually are. With it zoomed out to a wide-angle, everything looks
farther away.
A normal-focal-length zoom isnt necessarily the one photographers nor-
mally use. Many urban or street photographers prefer the wider angle of
view and greater depth of feld provided by a shorter focal length. Portrait,
event, sports and nature photographers often prefer a lens with a longer focal
length.
Its hard to look at a
photo and tell what
focal-length lens
was used to take it.
However, objects in
an image taken with
a normal lens look
normal in their spatial
relationships.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/panorama/
WIDE-ANGLE LENSES
Wide-angle (short focal length) lenses capture a wide expanse of a scene.
This wide angle of view is ideal for use in tight spaces, when photographing
landscapes, and in small rooms where you cant position the camera a great
distance from the subject.
If you dont get too
close to your subjects,
a wide-angle lens is
good for indoor portraits
where including the
setting is important.
Wide-angle lenses are
ideal when you need
great depth of feld
because part of the
scene is close to the
camera and part farther
away. These lenses
also make focusing
less critical so you can
capture those feeting
moments you might
otherwise miss.
A wide-angle lens also has great depth of feld that makes it ideal for street or
action photographs. When out to capture quickly unfolding scenes, you can
also use zone focusing (page 74) so youll have maximum depth of feld when
you respond quickly to a photo opportunity.
Click to see how
extreme wide-angle
lenses can be used
to create 360 degree
interactive panoramas.
WIDE-ANGLE LENSES
102
Short lenses also let you focus very close to your subject, and the effect this
can have on the perspective in your images can be dramatic. Objects very
close to the camera loom much larger than those farther away. This distor-
tion in the apparent size of objects can deliberately give emphasis and when
carried to an extreme will give an unrealistic appearance to a scene.
Canons 15mm fsheye
lens gives a circular
fsheye look to
images.
Canons 14mm
wide-angle lens is a
rectilinear lens so its
images dont have the
distorted look of some
fsheye lenses.
Wide-angle lenses have
tremendous depth of
feld. Here one was
used to shoot through
a toy space station and
make Quinlan look like
a giant.
TELEPHOTO LENSES
A telephoto (long focal length) lens acts somewhat like a telescopeIt magni-
fes the image of your subject. This is especially useful when you cant get
close to your subjector dont want to. These lenses are ideal for wildlife,
portrait, and candid photography, whenever getting close to a subject might
disturb or distort it.
As the focal length increases, depth of feld gets shallower so you must focus
more carefully. Also, a long lens visually compresses space, making objects in
the scene appear closer together than they actually are.
The primary drawback of longer lenses is that they often have smaller maxi-
mum apertures that require longer shutter speeds. Also, since a long lens
magnifes movement, just as it magnifes the subject, you may have to sup-
port the camera better to get maximum sharpness.
A long lens makes
the sun look larger in
relation to foreground
objects.
A long focal length
makes distant objects
appear compressed.
Here a long lens
has been used to
compress a street
scene at the foot of
the Rocky Mountains in
When the lineup of cement trucks (bottom) is shot head-on with a long lens (top)
they appear much closer together then they really are. This is actually due to the
distance from the subject, not the focal length of the lens, but the effect is easy to
get with a long lens.
Telephoto lenses come
in fxed focal lengths
and as zooms. This is a
10x 35350mm zoom.
TELEPHOTO LENSES
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A telephoto lens is an excellent portrait lens, especially for head-and-shoul-
ders portraits. It lets you keep your distance and still fll the viewfnder frame
with the subject. Keeping at a distance eliminates the exaggerated perspective
caused by working very close to a subject with a shorter focal length lens. It
also helps relax your subjects if they get uneasy, as many people do, when a
camera comes close.
You can extend the focal length of a fxed focal length lens (without affect-
ing the minimum focus distance) using an extender, an optical device that
mounts between the lens and camera body. With the XSi, you can use both
1.4x and 2x extenders. The 1.4x extender requires you to open up one stop
and the 2x requires 2 stops. If a lens maximum aperture is smaller than f/4
for the 1.4x extender or f/2.8 for the 2x, you have to use manual focus.
A long lens lets you
get portraits without
crowding in on the
subject. This lets you
capture more natural
expressions.
Using a wide-angle lens
close to the subject
adds some distortion to
the portrait by making
objects closer to the
camera larger.
Extenders ft between
the lens and camera
body to increase focal
lengths by 1.4x or 2x.
The II series works
with both EF and EF-S
lenses.
how a wide angle lens
can distort a subject.
This small, but very
colorful caterpillar was
captured with a macro
lens.
MACRO LENSES AND ACCESSORIES
When photographing small objects from coins to insects, your lens focal
length and minimum focusing distance affect how small objects are captured
in photos. For example, if youre photographing a small coin, you probably
dont want it to appear as a tiny coin surrounded by a large background.
More likely youd like a photo showing a large coin surrounded by a small
background. For many pictures, just zooming your lens in on the subject will
suffce. However, macro lenses allow you to get closer to the subject, making
smaller subjects much larger in the fnal image. If you cant get close enough
to an object to fll the image area, you can always crop out the unwanted
areas later. However, the more you crop, the smaller the pixel dimensions of
the image becomes.
Canon offers a wide range of macro lenses that are compatible with Canons
extension tubes and macro fash units (page 125).
The EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro focuses up to 9.1 inches (231mm) for
1:2 (half life-size) magnifcation. At 9.1 inches and f/11, depth of feld is 0.24
inches (6mm). The EF Life Size Converter for the lens extends its range to
between 1:4 and 1:1 magnifcation and also compensates for spherical aberra-
tions.
The EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens focuses over the full range from
infnity down to life size (1:1 reproduction ratio). The lens allows full-time
manual focusing so you can override autofocus to fne tune it. When shooting
at life size (1x) magnifcation, the minimum working distance between the
lens and the subject is approximately 6 inches (152mm), providing enough
room for a fash or other light source to illuminate the subject.
The EF 180mm f/3.5L MACRO USM Telephoto Lens shoots throughout the
focusing distance range from 1x to infnity. The lens has full-time mechanical
manual focusing and focuses as close as 1.5ft (0.48m).
The 180mm macro
lens gives you plenty
of working distance
when doing close-up
photography.
The 50mm macro lens.
This symbol on the
camera body indicates
the position of the
image plane. The lens
minimum focusing
distance is measured
from this mark.
TIP
For maximum
magnifcation, zoom
all the way in, set
the lens focus mode
to M or MF (manual),
turn the focus ring to
the minimum focus
distance and zoom
all the way in. Look
through the viewfnd-
er as you focus the
subject by moving in
and out.
MACRO LENSES AND ACCESSORIES
106
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/macromag/
The manual focus MP-E65mm f/2.8 Macro Photo Lens extends the capa-
bilities of conventional macro lenses and is designed exclusively for high-
magnifcation close-ups from 1x to 5x. Working distances (from the front of
the lens to the subject) range from 4 inches at 1x (life size) to 1.6 inches at 5x.
The lens is equipped with a detachable tripod collar.
Extension tubes EF 12 II and EF 25 II ft between the lens and the camera
body and allow the lens to focus much closer than normal, increasing magni-
fcation. The larger the amount of extension and the shorter the focal length
of the lens used, the greater the increase in magnifcation. (The newer series
II extension tubes work with both EF and EF-S lenses. Older extension tubes
work only with EF lenses.)
Canons Angle Finder C attaches to the viewfnder eyepiece so you can
photograph from a low angle without kneeling or lying down. Its also great
when doing copy work and macro photography. It features a rubber eyecup,
a built-in adjustable diopter, and a roof prism that keeps the image correctly
oriented. The viewfnder has switchable magnifcation (1.25x or 2.5x). The
1.25x setting shows the entire image area including exposure data outside the
picture area, while the 2.5x setting provides a magnifed view of the center of
the image areaexcellent for critical focusing with macro lenses and other
specialty optics.
The Canon Life-size
Converter EF is an
extension tube.
Angle Finder C.
A monarch butterfy
captured with a macro
lens.
The Canon MP-E65mm
f2.8 15x Macro lens.
INCREASING DEPTH OF FIELD IN CLOSE-UPS
Increase the illumination of the subject to stop down the aperture.
Dont get any closer to the subject than you have to.
Focus on the most important part of the subject keeping in mind that in
close-ups, depth of feld is half in front and half behind the plane of critical
focus.
Use aperture-priority (Av) or program shift to select a small aperture
(pages 40 and 42).
macro lens enlargement
factors.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/tiltshift/tiltshift.gif
TILT-SHIFT LENSES
Tilt-shift lenses serve two very important purposes. The tilt controls depth of
feld and the shift controls the way vertical lines appear in the image. Until
Canon developed these kinds of lenses, their effects could only be achieved
on a large format camera. The lenses charge a small penalty for all of their
fexibility. They can cause metering errors and require you to focus manually
and open up one or two stops.
Tilting the lens allows you to control depth of feld in an image without
changing the aperture. Normally, the glass elements in a lens are parallel to
the image sensor. To change the depth of feld for a given subject and camera
position you have to open or close the aperture. With a lens that tilts from
side to side or top to bottom, the plane of critical focus can be tilted one
way to dramatically increase depth of feld, or the other way to dramatically
decrease it. This makes it possible to use a large aperture and still get great
depth of feld. The larger aperture allows faster shutter speeds so you can
capture scenes you might have missed before, such as a feld with fowers
blowing in the wind.
Shifting the lens helps you correct for converging vertical lines that occur
when you tilt the camera to capture trees, buildings, or other tall subjects.
These lines converge in the image whenever the camera is tilted and the im-
age sensor is no longer parallel to the subject. Using the lens shift function,
the lens can be shifted upward to eliminate the foreground while keeping the
image sensor parallel to the subject.
You can create panoramic images, or even stereo pairs, by taking two pho-
tos with the lens shifted in opposite directions.
When photographing refective subjects, you can eliminate your refection
by moving the camera to a position where the refection doesnt show, and
then shifting the lens to center the subject in the picture area. The same tech-
nique can be used to eliminate unwanted subjects in the foreground.
Canon has three Tilt-Shift (TS-E) lens in different focal lengths. All three
can rotate 90 degrees, tilted +/-8 degrees, and shifted +/-11 mm. On the 24
mm lens, some of the shift and tilt ranges are marked in red because images
may be vignetted if shifted or tilted into these zones on a 35mm or full frame
digital camera. Vignetting occurs because the lens focuses a circle of light on
the image plane and as you tilt and shift, the image sensor captures different
parts of the circle. However, on the XSi the image sensor is smaller so the
lens can be shifted and tilted farther without vignetting.
A Canon TS-E lens.
A bubble level that
slips into the hot shoe
assures you that the
camera is perfectly
level when using the
cameras shift control.
This is the Bl2 from
Kaiden.
The house on the left,
shot by pointing the
camera up to get in
the entire house, has
converging vertical
lines and looks tilted.
In the photo on the
right taken with the
lens shifted, the house
looks rectangular and
all vertical lines are
parallel.
TILT-SHIFT LENSES
Click to see these
images animated.
108
LENS ACCESSORIES
All but the largest Canon lenses have threads into which you can screw flters
and other accessories. However, keep in mind that many of the effects cre-
ated by traditional screw on flters can now be done with software flters in
programs such as Adobe Photoshop. Applying the effects after capturing
an image not only lets you experiment with effects and see what they do in
real-time, it also allows you to have an unaffected version of the image. Also,
if you are using the Picture Styles Monochrome setting, there are a number
of software flters built into the camera (page 140). If you do want to use lens
attachments, here are some to consider.
Lens hoods protect the front element from bumps and keep stray light from
striking the front of the lens and causing fare or ghost images.
Caps protect the front and rear of the lens when its not in use. A body cap
prevents dust from entering the camera when no lens is attached.
Protect flters keep the front element of your lens from getting scratched or
dirty.
Circular polarizing flters remove refections from glass, water, and other
refective surfaces, darken blue skies, and improve color saturation. If you use
a linear polarizing flter, you cant use autofocus.
TIP
If you use more
than one flter at a
time you may get
vignetting (dark cor-
ners in your images).
A polarizing flter (top-
left) darkens the sky
and removes refections
from foliage so it has
more color. A shot
without a flter is shown
at the bottom-right.
Cases protect lenses
from shocks and other
abuse. Courtesy of
Kenesis.
Lens hoods protect
the front element and
reduce lens fare.
For larger apertures or
slower shutter speeds,
you can use a screw
on neutral density
flter that cuts the light
entering the lens.
Skylight flters reduce the blue casts you often get when photographing
subjects in the shade on sunny days.
UV flters absorb ultraviolet light and cut the haze when photographing
landscapes or from airplanes.
Neutral density flters cut the light entering the camera so you can use
slower shutter speeds or wider apertures in bright light.
Soft focus flters soften the focus to make portraits more fattering and to
make hazy, romantic landscapes.
Close-up lenses magnify the subject without affecting aperture settings.
Color conversion flters let you fne-tune the way you capture colors.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/perspective/
As the camera is moved
closer to the foreground
subject and zoomed
out to keep it the
same size (top), the
background diminishes
in size relative to the
foreground. When you
move back and zoom
in, the background
looms over the
foreground subject
(bottom). This changing
relationship between
the size of objects in
the foreground and
background creates
the difference in
perspective.
PERSPECTIVE IN A PHOTOGRAPH
A photograph can appear to compress space so that objects appear closer
together than you expect. Another photograph of the same scene can seem to
expand space so that objects appear farther apart than normal. These appar-
ent distortions in perspectivethe appearance of depth in a photographare
often attributed to the focal length of the lens being used but are actually
caused by your distance from the subject.
As you move closer and
select a focal length
that keeps the subject
the same size, the angle
of view widens and the
background diminishes
in size.
Click to explore
perspective.
PERSPECTIVE IN A PHOTOGRAPH
110
CHAPTER 6. USING FLASH AND STUDIO LIGHTING
A
utomatic electronic fash is so convenient and easy to use that you
are usually unaware it even fres. Its always ready when your autoex-
posure system decides its needed. But this on-camera fash lighting
has certain characteristics that can make a difference in the way your pictures
look. For example, the pictures will have a fat lighting typical of fash-on-
camera shooting. Alternative approaches, such as using an external fash
to bounce light off walls or ceilings, or even just turning off the fash may
produce more interesting results. In any event, you will be able to use fash to
better advantage as you become more familiar with its characteristics.
But fash isnt your only source of controlled lighting. You can also use the
camera in a home studio setting, perhaps taking formal portraits, or photo-
graphing smaller items for your records, insurance, sharing, or even selling
on eBay.
In this chapter we explore all of these forms of lighting, from the built-in
fash, to an external fash, to studio lighting. In the process youll learn what
makes lighting more effective and when, where, and how to use and control
it.
Chapter 6
Using Flash and Studio Lighting
CONTENTS
How Flash Works
Using Autofash
Portraits With Flash
Using Fill Flash Us-
ing Slow Sync Flash
Using Available Light
Controlling Flash
Exposures Using an
External Flash Using
Flash in Close-ups
Studio Lighting
Portrait and Product
PhotographyIntro-
duction The Main
Light The Fill Light
The Background Light
The Rim Light
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/excel/guidenumbers.xls
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/inverse/ When the fash fres, the beam of light expands as it moves father from the
camera so it becomes weaker the farther it travels. The rate at which the light
falls off is described by the inverse square law. If the distance between the
fash and subject is doubled, only one quarter the amount of light will reach
the subject because the same amount of light is spread over four times the
area. Conversely, when the distance is halved, four times as much light falls
on a given area.
When subjects in an image are located at different distances from the camera,
the fash exposure will only be correct for those at one distancenormally
those closest to the camera or in the middle of the area metered by the auto-
exposure system. Subjects located farther from the fash will be increasingly
darker the farther away they are.
You often see people at concerts and other events using fash in large spaces.
Since its range is so short they would get much better results by increasing
the ISO, using the widest possible aperture and the slowest possible shutter
speed.
HOW FLASH WORKS
The XSi has a built in pop-up fash and a hot shoe into which you can slip any
Canon EX-series fash when you want more power or features. Both options
give you access to Canons advanced fash technology.
Every fash has a maximum useful range. How bright the light from a fash
is when it reaches a subject depends on the fashs power and on how far the
light has to travel. The further the subject is from the fash, the less light will
reach it and so the less light will be refected from the subject back toward the
camera.
The built-in fash
pops-up on top of the
camera.
HOW FLASH WORKS
inverse square law.
The built-in fash has
a guide number of
43/13 (ft/m) at ISO
100. Click here for an
Excel worksheet you
can use to explore these
numbers and what they
mean about the power
of the fash.
The light from a fash
falls off with distance.
When you double the
distance, one-quarter as
much light illuminates
the subject. This
relationship is called the
inverse square law.
112
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/sync/
USING AUTOFLASH
The XSis built-in fash lets you get better photos in dim light or backlit situa-
tions. It has the following coverage and range:
The fash can cover the same area as a 17mm lens. Using a wider-angle lens
may leave image corners dark from light fall-off. Some lenses and lens hoods
may block part of the fash and cast a shadow on the scene. If this happens
remove the lens hood, try another lens, or use an external fash.
The range of the fash varies with the ISO (page 62) and the focal length of
the lens. For example, with the EF-S 1855mm lens, you can see in the chart
below that the range increases with a higher ISO and a shorter focal length
(in all cases, the minimum distance is 3.3 feet or 1 meter. Only the maximum
distances vary.
Maximum Flash RangeEF-S 1855mm f/3.55.6 IS Lens
ISO Wide angle (18mm) Telephoto (55mm)
100 12.1 (3.7m) 7.5 (2.3m)
200 17.4 (5.3m) 10.8 (3.3m)
400 24.3 (7.4m) 15.1 (4.6m)
800 34.4 (10.5m) 21.7 (6.6m)
1600 48.9 (14.9m) 30.5 (9.3m)
FLASH AND SHUTTER SPEEDS
When you take a picture, the shutter opens and closes to let light strike the
image sensor. The shutter contains two curtains and the exposure starts
when the frst curtain slides out of the way to uncover the sensor and ends
when the second curtain slides to cover it. As these curtains open and close
the shutter is fully open for a very short time. At fast shutter speeds the
second curtain has already started to cover the sensor before the frst has
fully uncovered itin effect creating a slit moving across the sensor. At these
speeds the very short burst of light from the fash wont fully expose all parts
of the image sensor. The fastest shutter speed you can use because the sensor
is fully uncovered at some point is called the fash synchronization speed. On
the XSi this is 1/200 second although some external fash units such as the
Canon 580EX let you use high-speed sync with faster shutter speeds (page
123).
FLASH IN THE BASIC ZONE
When the Mode Dial is set to any mode in the Basic Zone other than Sports,
Landscape, or Flash Off, the fash pops up automatically and fres when the
light is dim, or the subject is backlit. You cant pop it up yourself in these
modes, and you cant prevent it from fring if it wants to. If the camera has
trouble focusing when the fash is up in these modes, it strobes whats called
a focus assist beam to provide enough light for the camera to focus.
When taking pictures in areas where fash isnt permitted or wanted, you can
prevent the fash from fring by switching to Flash Off mode or selecting any
mode in the Creative Zone and closing the fash if its up.
Slow sync fash (page
117) lets you get
interesting effects.
Click here to explore the
fash sync speed.
TIPS
In all modes, fash
metering is linked to
the active AF point
(page 70).
To increase the
range of the fash
increase the ISO.
Using the Set-up 2
menus Flash control
setting (pages 122)
you can have the
fash fre as soon as
the shutter is fully
open (1st curtain
sync), or just before
the second curtain
closes (2nd-curtain
sync).
Some EX series
speedlites let you
use high-speed sync
so you can use shut-
ter speeds faster
than 1/200 with fash
(page 123).
If you are too close, the
lens or lens hood may
cast a shadow on the
subject as it has here
on the lower part of the
image.
FLASH IN THE CREATIVE ZONE
When the Mode Dial is set to any mode in the Creative Zone (P, Tv, Av, M,
or A-DEP), you raise the fash by pressing the Flash button. When the fash
is raised in A-DEP mode, the depth of feld feature is disabled (page 75) and
the camera acts as if it is in P mode. In other Creative Zone modes it works as
follows:
In P (Program AE) mode the fash is fully automatic so the shutter speed is
automatically set to between 1/200 and 1/60 and the aperture is set auto-
matically.
In Tv (shutter-priority) mode, you select a shutter speed of 1/200 second or
slower, and the camera selects the aperture. The exposure of the main subject
is determined by the fash and the exposure of the background is determined
by the shutter speed.
In Av (aperture-priority) you set the aperture and the shutter speed is auto-
matically set to 1/200 seconds or slower.
When used with a dark scene, Av mode fres the fash to expose the main
subject and uses a slow shutter speed to lighten the dark background. This
process, called slow-sync fash is described on page 117.
You can avoid blur from slow shutter speeds by changing Custom Func-
tion 02 (page 148) so the shutter speed remains fxed at 1/200 when using
fash in Av mode.
In M (manual) mode, you set the shutter speed to 1/200 or slower, and se-
lect a matching aperture. The exposure of the main subject is determined by
the fash and the exposure of the background is determined by the aperture
and shutter speed settings.
USING AUTO FLASH
1. With the camera on, do one of the following:
In Basic Zone modes, set the camera to any mode other than Land-
scape, Sports, or Flash Off since the fash wont fre in those modes.
In Creative Zone modes, press the Flash button (marked with a
lightening bolt icon on the left side of the lens mount) to raise the
fash.
2. While at least 3.3 feet (1m) from the subject, press the shutter button
halfway down. (In Basic Zone modes the fash pops up if needed.)
When the fash icon is lit in the viewfnder, the fash is charged and
ready to fre.
4. When fnished with the fash, press it down to close it.
The fash icon.
TIP
Remove the lens
hood if it blocks
the fash and casts
a shadow on the
subject. If the lens
does the same thing
you may need an
external fash.
USING AUTOFLASH
The fash button that
pops-up the fash in
Creative Zone modes.
When you press the
shutter button halfway
down and buSY is
displayed in the
viewfnder or BUSY on
the monitor, the fash is
recycling.
114
PORTRAITS WITH FLASH
Flash is a good source of light when you want to make portraits, particularly
of children. The light from the fash is so fast that you rarely have to worry
about your subject moving during the exposure and blurring the picture. For
the same reason you dont have to be quite as careful about camera motion
blurring the image; you can hand-hold the camera and shoot as rapidly as the
fash will recharge.
POSITIONING THE FLASH AND SUBJECTS
You may want to choose carefully the position of the fash. Light from a fash
built-into the camera often produces less attractive results than if you use
an external fash to bounce the light onto the subject off a wall, ceiling, or
umbrella refector.
When a subject is
placed close to a wall,
there will almost always
be a distracting shadow
in the image cast by
the light from the fash.
By moving the subject
away from a wall, these
shadows disappear.
When photographing
more than one subject,
each is given the same
importance when
lined up parallel to
the camera because
each receives the
same amount of
fash illumination. If
subjects are at different
distances from the
fash, they will be
illuminated differently.
This is a good way to
make one subject more
visually dominant than
others in the image.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/redeye/
RED-EYE
When photographing people, youll often see images with whats called red
eye. The light from a fash has entered through the subjects pupil, refected
off the back of the eye (the retina), and bounced back out to the camera. Since
the retina is full of thin blood vessels, the eyes take on a red color. To reduce
red-eye when using the built-in fash, the XSi has a red-eye reduction mode
that lights a bright red-eye reduction lamp that closes the subjects iris when
you press the shutter button halfway down.
The best way to eliminate red-eye is to use an external fash (page 123)
because its positioned farther away from the axis of the camera lens and
you can also use it to bounce fash off a wall or ceiling. If you have to use the
built-in fash, turn on red-eye reduction (see below), and tell the subject to
look directly at the camera. Red-eye reduction works best in brighter settings
with the camera relatively close to the subject. You can remove red-eye with
photo-editing software, but its a lot easier to avoid it to begin with.
TURNING RED-EYE MODE ON AND OFF
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode other than Sports, Landscape, or
Flash Off, press the MENU button and display the Shooting 1 menu
tab.
2. Highlight Red-eye On/Off and press SET to display choices.
3. Highlight On or Off and press SET to select it.
There is no way to
illustrate red-eye in
a book thats printed
in black and white.
However, for your
entertainment, Eric
shows one way it can be
avoided.
In black & white, red-
eye can look eerie. In
color its even more so.
With red-eye turned on, when you press the shutter button halfway down
and the camera focuses, the red-eye reduction lamp lights and its countdown
timer appears in the viewfnder. You can shoot anytime the indicator is dis-
played, but for the greatest effect press the shutter button all the way down to
take the picture just after this indicator goes out.
The red-eye countdown
timer in the viewfnder
fashes fewer and fewer
indicators and when the
last indicator goes out,
take the picture.
PORTRAITS WITH FLASH
red-eye.
116
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/fllfash/
USING FILL FLASH
When photographing people or other subjects in bright sun, shadow areas
can be so dark in the image that they show little or no detail. If the shadows
cover a large part of the subject, the effect can be distracting and unattractive.
You can lighten such shadows by using fash to fll the shadows to lighten
them. Using fll fash is also a good way to get accurate color balance under
unusual lighting. With the XSi, you do so by popping up the fash so it fres
even when there is enough available light to take the picture. It should pop-
up and fre automatically in some Basic Zone modes, but to be sure, switch to
a Creative Zone mode and press the fash button to pop it up.
USING FILL FLASH
With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, press the
Flash button (a lightening bolt icon) on the left side of the lens mount to
pop up the fash.
With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Basic Zone other than
Landscape, Sports, and Flash Off, the camera will recognize a backlit
situation and pop up and fre the fash automatically.
The fash button that
raises the fash in
Creative Zone modes.
Click here to explore fll
fash.
With no fll fash (left)
the bright background
has caused the
main subject to be
underexposed. Using fll
fash (right), the subject
is properly exposed.
Photo courtesy of Tim
Connor.
One reason to use fll
fash outdoors is to add
catch lights to eyeshot
spots that make the
eyes sparkle.
USING SLOW SYNC FLASH
In very dim light, fash pictures often show a well exposed foreground subject
against a black or almost black background. The slow sync mode is designed
to minimize this problem by leaving the shutter open longer than usual to
lighten the background. In many cases, the slow shutter speed used in this
mode allows blur from camera shake or moving subjects to appear as blur in
images. To avoid blur from camera shake, use a tripod and photograph static
subjects. Or use this effect creatively. A short fash burst combined with a
long shutter speed gives interesting effects. The fash freezes nearby objects
sharply, and the long shutter speed lets moving objects blur and moving
lights appear as streaks. There are a number of ways to use slow sync:
Show sync fash was
used to create this
photo showing both
sharpness and blur.
Normally, when you combine a slow shutter speed with fash, the fash fres at
the very beginning of the exposure when the frst shutter curtain is fully open
and the second hasnt started to close. This is known as 1st curtain sync. If
the scene you are photographing contains bright lights that are moving, such
as automobile head or tail lights, theyll create streaks in your image. These
can be interesting elements and used creatively.
To give you even more creative control, in Creative Zone modes you can use
2nd curtain sync. In this mode, the fash fres just before the second shutter
curtain closes rather than just after the frst has fully opened.
The differences between frst and second curtain sync can be quite signif-
cant, as when photographing a moving car or other moving lights at night:
If you photograph a moving car at night with a very slow shutter speed, frst
curtain sync captures it with the streaks from the head or tail lights stream-
ing out in front of the car, making the car appear to be moving backward.
(The fash fres to freeze the car, but the car then continues to move forward
with its lights painting trails in the image in front of the car until the shutter
closes.) Second curtain sync captures the streaks fowing behind the car. (The
shutter opens to capture the light trails in the image as the car moves for-
ward, then the fash fres to freeze the car with the trails behind it.)
When using a fast shutter speed, the effects of frst curtain and second
curtain sync are often identical and not much different from those taken
with slow sync off. However, as you slow shutter speeds, the effects get more
pronounced. Youll fnd that you have to experiment to fnd what works with
subjects at different distances and moving at different speeds. In general, the
closer you get to the main subject illuminated by the fash, the more pro-
nounced the effect. When too far away the fash and ambient light are more
balanced so the subject isnt frozen by the fash.
If you use an external fash, set it to 2nd-curtain sync instead of the camera.
TIPS
Night Portrait mode
(page 39) uses slow
sync fash and is a
good way to start ex-
ploring how it affects
your images.
When using slow
sync fash, long
exposure times may
create unwanted
blur in the image.
At times like this,
you may want to use
a camera support
(page 61).
When using a high
ISO with slow sync
the chances of over-
exposure increase as
you get closer to the
subject.
Combining fash with a
slow shutter speed can
give you unusual effects
in dim light.
To use frst curtain sync automatically, set the Mode Dial to Av or
Night Portrait mode.
To better control slow sync effects, set the Mode Dial to Tv mode and
control the amount of blur by varying the shutter speed. In a fairly dim
room try 1/20 or so to start.
118
Show sync fash lets
you use blur creatively
as shown here with
the streaked lights
highlighting the
champaign glass.
1st curtain sync (top)
fres the fash at
the beginning of the
exposure, then records
ambient light. As a
result, light streaks
from the moving
subject appear in front
of it. 2nd curtain sync
(bottom) fres the
fash at the end of the
exposure, after the
ambient light has been
recorded so the streaks
trail behind the subject.
frst and second curtain
sync.
Slow sync fash
outdoors at sunset
captured gulls in mid
fight with interesting
effects.
USING 2ND CURTAIN SYNC
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, press
MENU and select the Set-up 2 menu tab.
2. Highlight Flash control and press SET to display the fash control
menu.
3. Highlight Built-in fash func. setting and press SET.
4. Highlight Shutter sync and press SET.
5. Highlight 2nd-curtain (page 122) and press SET.
6. When fnished using 2nd Curtain sync, repeat Steps 15 but select
1st-curtain.
USING AVAILABLE LIGHT
There are times when the light is dim but you want to capture the unique
colors of the available light, or you want to photograph in places where
fash isnt allowed. In these circumstances you need to prevent the built-in
fash from fring and support the camera for a long exposure. If the fash
fres, foreground subjects will appear as if photographed in daylight and the
background is likely to be very dark. Using available light will often even out
the lighting, however if you dont support the camera you will likely have blur
from camera movement.
PREVENTING THE FLASH FROM FIRING
In the Basic Zone, set the Mode Dial to Sports, Landscape, or Flash
Off.
In the Creative Zone, close the built-in fash if its popped up.
Available light can add
beautiful colors to a
photograph.
When photographing in dim light there are things you can do to get better
results without using the fash. Try the following procedures described on
pages 6162:
Increase the cameras ISO although it will add noise to the image.
Use the cameras self-timer to trigger the shutter so you dont introduce blur
from camera shake when pressing it with your fnger.
Support the camera or use a tripod and a remote control.
TIP
When the Mode
Dial is set to any
mode in the Basic
Zone, other than
Sports, Landscape,
or Flash Off you cant
prevent the fash
from fring in dim
light.
You can also use
slow sync fash to
lighten the back-
ground (page 117).
USING AVAILABLE LIGHT
120
CONTROLLING FLASH EXPOSURES
When using fash there are times when the main subject is too dark or light.
In these situations, you can adjust the fash power to lighten or darken the
part of the scene illuminated by the fash. As youve seen, you can use expo-
sure compensation, exposure lock and autoexposure bracketing to control
daylight exposures (pages 5355). You have access to the same controls when
using fashalthough fash bracketing is only available on the fash, not the
camera.
WHATS E-TTL II?
The XSi features an E-TTL II (evaluative; through the lens) fash system that
gives outstanding natural-looking fash pictures. For example, when used for
fll fash outdoors, E-TTL II balances the light so well that it isnt even obvi-
ous that fash was used.
E-TTL II fash works by fring a prefash in the brief instant after you press
the shutter button and before the cameras refex mirror goes up. The camera
uses the prefash to set focus and exposure. The exposure of the main subject
to be illuminated by the fash is determined by evaluative metering based on
all AF points with special emphasis given to the one thats active. However,
if an object with an unusually strong refection, such as a mirror or window,
is detected in any of the other metering zones the reading from that zone is
factored out or adjusted to prevent incorrect exposure.
The camera also uses evaluative metering (page 46) to calculate the back-
ground exposure. It combines the two readings to calculate and set the fash
output required for optimum exposure of the main subject, while maintain-
ing a subtle balance between fash and natural lighting. Using this approach
the fash setting determines the exposure of the main subject on the active
AF points and the aperture and shutter speed determine the exposure of the
background.
FLASH EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Flash exposure compensation lets you manually adjust the amount of fash
illuminating the subject without changing the cameras aperture or shutter
speed. This is an ideal way to balance fash and natural light when using fll
fash and to correctly expose scenes or subjects that are darker or lighter than
normal (middle-gray). The XSis fash exposure compensation function lets
you vary fash exposures plus or minus 2 stops in one-third stop increments
on the camera, and more on an attached EX-series Speedlite. If you set fash
exposure compensation on both the camera and the external fash, the exter-
nal fash takes precedence.
You can use fash exposure compensation in conjunction with regular expo-
sure compensation. Doing so lets you use regular exposure compensation to
lighten or darken the background thats illuminated by natural light, and use
fash exposure compensation to lighten or darken the subject illuminated by
the fash. This is a powerful combination of exposure controls that lets you
capture images just the way you want them.
TIP
If the camera and
EX-series Speedlite
are both set for fash
exposure compensa-
tion, the EX-series
speedlight setting
takes precedence.
CONTROLLING FLASH EXPOSURES
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/fashcomp/
USING FLASH EXPOSURE (FE) LOCK
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, pop up the
fash or attach an EX-series Speedlite.
2. Place the center AF point over the part of the scene on which you
want to lock fash exposure. Press the shutter button halfway down
and hold it there to focus, then press the AE/FE Lock button (an
asterisk icon). A prefash fres, FEL is displayed briefy in the view-
fnder, and the AE/FE Lock icon is displayed in the viewfnder and
on the monitor to indicate fash exposure is locked. (If the fash icon
in the viewfnder blinks, move closer and repeat this step or the im-
age will be underexposed.)
3. Release the shutter button, recompose the scene and press the shut-
ter button halfway down to reset focus before taking the picture. To
cancel FE Lock, release the shutter button and wait for the * icon
to disappear. To keep it locked, continue to hold the shutter button
halfway down, or hold down the AE/FE Lock button.
The AE/FE Lock icon
marks the fash
exposure lock button
and is displayed in the
viewfnder when fash
exposure is locked.
USING FLASH EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, pop up the
fash or attach an EX-series Speedlite.
2. Press the MENU button, display the Shooting 2 menu tab, highlight
Flash exp comp and press SET to activate the exposure level indica-
tor.
3. Press the left () or right () cross key to move the marker on the
fash exposure level indicator on the monitor.
To darken the fash illuminated part of the image, move the marker
toward the minus (-) end of the scale and press SET.
To lighten the fash illuminated part of the image, move the
marker toward the plus (+) end of the scale and press SET.
When fash exposure compensation setting is anything but 0, the
fash exposure compensation icon is displayed in the viewfnder and
on the monitor.
4. Take your picture, and when fnished reset fash exposure compensa-
tion to 0 or it will be remembered even when you turn off the camera.
The fash exposure
compensation icon
is displayed on the
monitor and in the
viewfnder when fash
compensation is set to
anything but 0.
An exposure level
indicator shows you how
much you have adjusted
fash output in stops.
FLASH EXPOSURE (FE) LOCK
Flash exposure lock (FE lock) acts much like the more previously discussed
AE Lock (page 53) but works with the built-in or external fash in Creative
Zone modes. When you use this feature, a prefash is fred and the exposure
system reads the fash exposure at the center AF point. The captured read-
ing is stored for about 16 seconds so you have time to recompose the scene
or make exposure or focus adjustments without losing your fash exposure
information. (If you dont do anything for 16 seconds, FE Lock is cancelled.)
FE Lock is extremely useful when you wish to place the main subject in a
part of the picture area that is not covered by one of the AF points. It can also
eliminate potential exposure errors caused by unwanted refections from
highly refective surfaces such as windows or mirrors.
fash exposure
compensation.
TIP
If Custom Func-
tion 06 Auto Light-
ing Optimizer is
enabled (page 148),
exposure and fash
exposure compensa-
tion may not work as
expected.
122
USING THE FLASH CONTROL SETTING
You can control both the built-in and some external fash units such as the
580EX II using the Flash control setting on the Set-up 2 menus tab. (At the
time this is being written, the only Speedlite that is fully compatible with the
XSi is the 580EX II.) One big advantage of being able to change fash settings
from the camera is that you can set the fash when its connected to the cam-
era wirelessly. Here are the choices you have, although they vary depending
on the specifc EX-series fash you are using:
Flash fring is normally set to Enable, but you can set it to Disable when
you want to AF-assist beam to fre, but not the internal or external fash.
Built-in fash func, available only when an external fash isnt attached,
displays a submenu with the following settings:
Flash mode is grayed out and cant be selected.
Shutter sync. lets you select 1st curtain (the default) or 2nd curtain sync
(page 117). When you use 2nd curtain, the fash fres once when you press
the shutter button halfway down, then again when you press it all the way
down. The frst fash is for metering purposes. The second, which fres
just before the shutter closes to end the exposure, is the actual fash that
illuminates the scene.
Flash exp. comp lets you increase of decrease fash exposure (page 120)
E-TTL II is normally set to Evaluative but you can change it to Average
so the exposure is based on the entire scene. You may need to adjust the
exposure using fash exposure compensation (page 120).
External fash func setting, fully available only when a compatible external
fash is attached, displays a submenu you can use to change the Flash mode,
Shutter sync, FEB (fash exposure bracketing), Flash exp. comp, E-TTL II,
and Zoom. When Zoom is set to Auto the fashhead automatically zooms
the fash as you zoom the lens. As you zoom in on a subject, the fash beam
narrows, and when you zoom out, it widens. The result is that you have fash
coverage of the image area at all times. The 580EX II also zooms to adjust to
the size of the sensor on a digital camera.
External fash C.Fn setting, available only when an 580EX II Speedlite
is attached, lets you set or cancel the Speedlites Custom Function settings
(C.Fn-0 to 13) from the camera.
USING FLASH CONTROL
MENU and select the Set-up 2 menu tab.
2. Highlight Flash control and press SET to display the fash control
menu.
3. Make any of the choices described above.
The Flash control menu.
TIP
When using 2nd-
curtain fash, a pre-
fash is fred for fash
metering as soon as
you press the shutter
button. The main
fash fres just before
the shutter closes.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/tilthead/
USING AN EXTERNAL FLASH
The small automatic fash built into your camera is convenient, however its
range is short and it is so close to the lens that photos of people often capture
them with red eyes. It also emits a hard, direct light and cant be rotated to
bounce fash off a wall or ceiling to soften it.
For better fash photography you need Canon EX-series Speedlite such as the
580EX or earlier models mounted on the cameras hot shoe or attached by
an off-camera shoe cord for off-camera use. When using these fash units, the
camera controls the exposure just as it does with the built-in fash. One of the
biggest advantages of these units is that they let you swivel or rotate the fash
head so you can bounce light off walls and ceilings. This lets you get softer
light on the subject so contrast is reduced and hard shadows are minimized.
Lets take a look at some of the features youll have access to on the 580EX
Speedlite, and some other models.
THE 580EX II SPEEDLITE
The Speedlite 580EX II fash has a maximum guide number of 58/191 at ISO
100 in meters/feet (at 105mm focal length). Using the XSis E-TTL II (which
also works with other EX-series fash units) the camera uses subject distance
and other information to automatically modify fash power, so exposures
are better regardless of the subjects size, refectance, or photographic
composition. On the XSi the 580EX auto-compensates for the smaller size
of the CMOS sensor, and zooms the fash head automatically to match the
effective focal length of the lens (page 98). This maximizes the effciency of
light distribution and produces more fashes from a set of batteries. When
used with the EOS XSi, the fash and camera also communicate with each
other to adjust auto white balance based on the charge level of the batteries
and the duration of each fash burst, resulting in consistently accurate color
for every shot.
The Speedlite 580EX II Flash features an AF-assist beam, which is
matched to the different AF point arrangements of various EOS SLRs. The
unit includes a swiveling fash head that turns a full 180 degrees in both
directions, while a single release lock controls tilt and swivel adjustments.
A wide-angle diffuser covers focal lengths as short as 14mm. The fash also
features a new catchlight refector for optimal lighting quality during bounce-
fash photography. The Speedlite 580EX fash has 14 Custom Functions that
let you control fash functions such as recycling with external power and
auto-zooming to match sensor size.
Many settings for the 580EX II can be set from either the camera or the fash.
For example, fash exposure compensation can be set from either but the
range of adjustment is greater on the fash. Flash bracketing is set only on the
fash. FE lock is set only on the camera. Here are some of the features youll
fnd on the 580EX and some other EX-series fash units.
HIGH-SPEED SYNC (FP)
The shutter speed you use when shooting with fash is important. When you
take a fash photo, the frst shutter curtain opens to begin the exposure, then
the second curtain closes to end it. At shutter speeds above 1/200 the second
curtain starts to close before the frst curtain is fully open. As a result, a slit
formed by the two curtains moves across the image sensor and normally
TIPS
The built-in fash
doesnt support FP
high-speed sync op-
eration fash. To use
this feature you need
a compatible EX fash
such as the 580EX.
When using an
external fash in dim
light, it may strobe
before the exposure
to assist focusing.
If you have trouble
focusing, use the
center AF point.
The 580EX is compatible
with all flm and digital
EOS cameras as well
as G-series digital
cameras.
USING AN EXTERNAL FLASH
how a fash head can
pivot up and down and
rotate for bounce fash.
Canon off camera shoe
cord.
124
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/fpfash/
only a part of the image can be captured by the brief burst of fash. Light is
blocked from the rest of the sensor by one or both curtains.
To get a fully exposed image, the fash must fre when the shutter is fully
open. This timing between the fash and the shutter is called fash synchroni-
zation or X sync. On the XSi, the shutter is fully open only at shutter speeds
of 1/200 second and slower. Faster shutter speeds require whats known as
high-speed sync fash (also called FP or focal plane sync). High-speed sync
can capture a fully exposed image at fast shutter speeds because the fash
fres repeatedly as the shutters slit moves across the image sensor during
the exposure. The only drawback is that the fash power is reduced so you
cant be positioned as far from a subject. The higher the shutter speed you
use, the closer you have to be. There are at least three situations where you
might fnd it useful:
When using fll fash out of doors, you can use a fast shutter speed to freeze
action, or a wide aperture to throw the foreground or background out of
focus.
When doing a portrait you can capture catchlights in the subjects eyes.
When using fll fash outdoors you can lighten shadows.
FLASH EXPOSURE BRACKETING (FEB)
Flash exposure bracketing (FEB) takes a series of three consecutive pictures
exposed at slightly different settings up to three stops above or below the
frst exposure recommended by the autoexposure system in one-third stop
increments. The fash output changes with each image while the background
exposure level remains the same.
WIRELESS REMOTE FLASH
Wireless fash lets you mount a master fash such as the 580EX, or a trans-
mitter (ST-E2) on the cameras hot shoe and trigger other remote fash units.
This allows you to get lighting effects you couldnt possibly get with a single
fash unit. The on-camera fash or transmitter (the master unit) transmits
wireless signals to the units (the slaves) telling them when to fre. The master
fash on the camera can be set to fash or not as it transmits signals to the
remote units. When using wireless remote fash, you can use a modeling light
that illuminates the subject for a full second so you can preview fash effects
such as shadows and light balance before taking a picture. If you are using
more than one fash, the modeling light uses the fash ratios you have chosen.
STROBOSCOPIC FLASH
Stroboscopic fash fres the fash a number of times at high speed to capture
multiple images of the same subject in the same photograph. Youve probably
seen examples of this mode in sports photography where it can be used to
demonstrate or analyze the swing of a bat or club.
AUTOZOOM
Autozoom fash heads, found on many external fash units, automatically
zoom the fash as you zoom the lens. As you zoom in on a subject, the fash
beam narrows, and when you zoom out, it widens. The result is that you have
fash coverage of the image area at all times. The 580EX also zooms to adjust
to the size of the sensor on a digital camera.
The fash exposure
bracketing icon.
TIP
The Speedlite
580EX has an
optional external
power pack called
the Compact Battery
Pack CP-E4. It sig-
nifcantly improves
fash recycle times
and increases the
number of frings
before batteries need
to be replaced.
The high-speed sync
icon.
Click to explore high
speed sync.
USING FLASH IN CLOSE-UPS
There are two important reasons to use fash in close-up or tabletop photog-
raphy. With fash, you can use smaller apertures for greater depth of feld,
and extremely short bursts of light at close distances prevent camera or sub-
ject movement from causing blur.
Using electronic fash with predictable results takes a little effort and you
may need to practice and experiment. For example, direct on-camera fash
doesnt give a picture the feeling of texture and depth that you can get from
side-lighting. If you use an external fash (page 123), you can bounce the fash
off a refector, or use an off-camera fash cord to illuminate the subject from
an angle for a better lighting effect.
A special kind of fash is the ring fash. These units ft around the lens and fre
a circle of light on the subject. They are ideal for shadowless close-up photog-
raphy such as that used in medical, dental, and nature photography. Because
ring fash is so fat (shadowless), the unit can be set to fre just one side of the
ring, or one side of the ring can be fred with more intensity than the other so
the fash casts shadows that reveal surface modeling in the subject.
Canons Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX provides you with full E-TTL II fash
capability when used with the XSi. With a Guide Number of 46 (ISO 100/ft.),
the MR-14EX mounts directly to Canon macro lenses. It offers fash exposure
lock, FP high-speed sync, and a number of other features. The fash has two
fash tubes that can be used together or independently. When used together,
lighting ratios between the two tubes can be set in one-half stop increments
up to +/- 3 stops.
The Macro Ring Lite is also equipped with twin focusing lamps and a set of 7
Custom Functions that allow you to modify fash operation for specifc shoot-
ing conditions. The MR-14EX requires 4 AA-size batteries and is equipped
with a socket for optional external power supplies such as the Canon Com-
pact Battery Pack CP-E4 to reduce recycling time and increase the number of
fashes per set of batteries.
The Macro Twin Lite, designed for serious nature and other macro photogra-
phy, gives a directional quality of light, rather than the fat light characteristic
of the ring fash. Two separate fash heads can be independently swiveled
around the lens, independently aimed, and even removed from their holder
and mounted off-camera. Like the MR-14EX, the Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX
is fully E-TTL II compatible with all EOS bodies, including digital SLRs, and
even allows Wireless E-TTL II fash control with one or more EX-series slave
units. It also provides easy ratio control of each fash heads output, over a
six-stop range.
Flash was used to
freeze the katydid and
stinkbug.
The Macro Ring Lite
MR-14EX (top) and
the Macro Twin Lite
MT-24X (bottom) are
designed for close-up
photography.
You can use exposure
compensation to darken
the background without
affecting the foreground
object thats illuminated
by the fash. Here fash
was used to photograph
a spicebush swallowtail
larvae without (left) and
with (right) -2 exposure
compensation to darken
the background.
USING FLASH IN CLOSE-UPS
126
STUDIO LIGHTING
There are two important reasons to use artifcial lighting in studio photog-
raphy. First, increasing the level of light lets you use smaller apertures for
greater depth of feld, and faster shutter speeds to reduce blur from camera
or subject movement. Second, you can better control the illumination of the
subject, placing highlights and shadows to reduce or emphasize modeling.
CANDIDATES FOR STUDIO LIGHTING
There are a number of subjects that lend themselves to being photographed
under controlled lighting. Here are just some of them.
Portraits can be either candid or more formal. Candid portraits are usually
captured during the fow of action. Its the more formal ones that give you the
time needed to arrange lighting.
Small three-dimensional objects need to be illuminated properly to
bring out shapes, details and colors. You can light a subject in several ways,
depending on your objectives. For example, an object with low relief, such
as a coin needs to be cross-lit to bring out surface details. A translucent or
transparent object needs to be backlit to bring out colors. As youll see, many
of these subjects photograph better with the diffuse lighting provided by a
light tent.
Flat copy such as posters, stamps, prints, or pages from books require soft,
even light over their surface and the cameras image sensor must be exactly
parallel to it to prevent keystoning. Even then, most lenses will curve
otherwise straight lines at the periphery of the image because they are not
designed for copying and are not perfectly rectilinear. (This is called curvilin-
ear distortion.) There are other lens aberrations that make it diffcult to keep
the entire image in focus at the same time. One suggestion is to use a small
aperture that increases depth of feld and uses the center portion of the lens
where aberrations are least likely to affect the image.
LIGHTING
For good portraits or product shots, you need to improve on the cameras
built-in fash. Direct on-camera fash creates hard shadows and doesnt give
a picture the feeling of texture and depth that you can get from side-light-
ing. If you use an external fash, try using an off-camera fash cord so you can
handhold it to the side to light the subject from an angle.
Light tents bathe a subject in soft, even lighting and are particularly useful
for complex subjects such as wildfowers and bouquets, highly refective sub-
jects such as jewelry, and translucent subjects such as glassware. A subject
placed in the light tent is surrounded by a pure white translucent material
which is lit from the outside by two or more lights. The white fabric of the
tent diffuses the light so its the equivalent of surround-sound in the theater
realistic light strikes the object from all directions. The result is a very even,
soft lighting of the subject.
Studio lights use refectors mounted on adjustable stands. Keep in mind
that the color of the light you use to illuminate an object affects the colors in
the fnal image. For best results you need bulbs that are daylight balanced.
The best of these are daylight fuorescents because they dont give off any
heat and last a very long time. The quality of the stands and refectors is also
important because they should be easy to work with and lock in position.
When lighting fat
objects you want the
light even over the
entire surface. To do
this you need two lights
set at 45 degree angles
so there are no hot
spots or refections.
Lights courtesy of
tabletop studios
http://www.ezcube.
com.
5000k compact
fuorescent bulb highly
recommended for
product photography
http://www.ezcube.
com.
Light tent with red
goblet
http://www.ezcube.
Refectors. When the light illuminating a small subject casts hard, dark
shadows, you can lighten the shadows by arranging refectors around the
subject to bounce part of the light back onto the shadowed areas. You can use
almost any relatively large, fat refective object, including cardboard, cloth,
or aluminum foil (crumpling the foil to wrinkle it, then opening it out again
works best). Position the refector so light bounces toward the shadowed
side of the subject. As you adjust the angle of the refector, you will be able to
observe its effects on the shadows. Be sure to use a neutral-toned refector so
its color doesnt add a color cast to the image.
Light panels are an ideal source of light because they have so many uses.
When you place an object on the illuminated panel and shoot from above, the
area surrounding the object is captured as pure white. If you cut a hole in a
sheet of background paper and arrange it as a sweep above the panel, a glass
placed on the hole appears to glow from within as light streams through the
hole and through the glass. Finally, by tipping a panel on its side, it can be
used as a background or like any other light source.
A light tent can make
an amazing difference
in tabletop photos
http://www.ezcube.com
This very complex
subject was shot in a
lite tent. The soft diffuse
light reached every
part allowing it to be
captured without dark
shadows and burned
out highlights.
http://www.ezcube.
com.
A medallion placed on a
light box and shot from
above has a pure white
background. A small
lamp is used to side
light the coin to bring
out its relief.
http://www.ezcube.
com.
Flash. There is defnitely a role for on camera fash in studio photography.
It doesnt hurt to see what results you get from the built-in fash. You might
even want to try the Macro Twin Lite MT-24X because you can rotate the two
fash heads to bounce light off refectors or off the walls of a light tent.
STUDIO LIGHTING
128
There are times when you dont want a background in a photo so the subject
is silhouetted against a pure white background. Youll often see this tech-
nique used in catalog photos but its also a great way to make it easy to select
an object in a photo-editing program so you can cut it out and paste it into
another image. To get this effect you need to overexpose the background. In
some cases this is as easy as pointing lights at it. In the case of small objects,
a light panel makes it very easy.
RISERS
A white, black, colored or clear high gloss acrylic platform, called a riser,
provides a soft refection of the subject placed on top. The elevation of the
platform on a clear riser also eliminates any shadow beneath the subject
because raising it throws the background out of focus. This helps the back-
ground disappear. If you position the subject in the middle of the riser,
you can then crop out the edges with a photo-editing program so the subject
seems to foat in space.
SPECIAL BULBS
You can experiment with different kinds of lights. For example, TabletopStu-
dio.com introduced their Diamond Dazzler bulb with 18 daylight color LEDs
to bring out the brilliance in faceted gemstones.
BACKGROUNDS
Some thought should be given to the background you use. It should be one
that makes your subject jump out, and not overwhelm it. The safest back-
ground is a white or neutral curved sweep like the one that comes with an
EZcube light tent. It can be lit so it disappears in the photo or so it provides
a smooth gradation of light behind the subject. Its safe, because most things
photograph well against it. Other options include black, colored or graduated
backgrounds, and these should be selected to support and not clash with the
colors in the subject. The texture of the background is also a consideration.
For example, black velvet has no refections at all while black poster board
might show them.
Here a crystal glass
was shot in a light
cube against a black
background to set it off.
A hole was cut in a
piece of black paper
and placed on a light
panel. The glass was
then placed over the
hole and looks like its
illuminated from within.
The Diamond Dazzler
light brings out the
brilliance of diamonds.
Courtesy of tabletop
studios
http://www.ezcube.
com.
A riser creates
attractive refections
and softens the
background. Courtesy of
tabletop studios
http://www.ezcube.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/lightquality/
PORTRAIT AND PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHYINTRODUCTION
In the studio, you usually use more than one light to illuminate a portrait or
product. The goal is often to create light that looks like that found outdoors.
The lights can be forescent bulbs, strobes, slave fash unitsor even fll cards.
Sometimes you can get away with only one or two lights but the use of main,
fll, background and rim lights is a classic studio lighting setup for portraits
that can be adapted to other subjects.
The main light is positioned somewhat to one side of the subject and
somewhat above it.
A fll light is placed opposite the main light, but more nearly at the sub-
jects level.
A background light is used to control the lighting on the background
behind the main subject.
A rim light is placed quite high and behind the subject to highlight edges
and separate the subject from the background.
For most purposes you can get by with just the main light and a fll light. In
fact, you can often get along with just the main light by replacing the fll light
with refectors to bounce light into the shadows. The way you position a light
relative to the subject is very important.
As you move a light farther away from the subject you reduce the light fall-
ing on it. Because there is less light you may have to use a larger aperture
which gives less depth of feld.
Moving a light back hardens its light, while moving it closer softens it. By
moving a light farther away, you also reduce the light striking the subject. On
strobes, you do it by adjusting the lights intensity. On continuous lights you
can do the same with a dimmer switch. You can have one light illuminate the
subject with more intensity than another light. The difference between the
two lights is called the lighting ratio.
Positioning the light at an angle to the subject will make the light uneven
over the subject. The part of the subject closest to the light source will receive
more light. The exposure will only be correct at one distancenormally the
part metered by the autoexposure system. Parts of the setup located farther
from the light source will be increasingly darker the farther away they are.
Most photographers
without studios use
continuous lights
that usually have
three partsstands,
refectors, and bulbs.
PORTRAIT AND PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHYINTRODUCTION
Click to explore hard
and soft light.
130
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/main/
main light.
THE MAIN LIGHT
Outdoors the brightest source of light is usually the sun. In the studio, the
suns role is flled by the main light. Like the sun its the brightest source of
light and casts the darkest shadows.
Like the sun, the main
light is often positioned
in front of, above and
slightly to the side of
the subject. This setup
creates light on the
subject that is familiar,
as are the shadows it
creates.
Here the main light is
set to the right, above,
and left of the subject.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/fll/
Click to explore the fll
light.
THE FILL LIGHT
A fll light represents the light that falls on an outdoor subject from the broad
expanse of an open sky, or refecting from surfaces in the landscape. The fll
light is almost always less bright than the main light, in fact about half as
bright. Its relative brightness can be controlled in a number of ways. For ex-
ample, it can be placed farther away from the subject, you can add a diffuser,
or you can use a less powerful light.
The fll light, placed
opposite the main light,
opens shadows by
lighting the dark side of
the subject facing away
from the main light.
The fll light on the
right of the subject is
moved from close to
the subject (left) to
farther away (middle
and right). The closer it
is, the more it lightens
shadows created by the
main light.
THE FILL LIGHT
132
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/background/
background light.
THE BACKGROUND LIGHT
A background light controls how light or dark the background behind the
subject is. A lighter or darker background can help visually separate the sub-
ject from the background. It can also lighten shadows cast on the background
by other lights. In fact, if made bright enough, it can silhouette the subject.
The background light can be varied for different effects. When only spillover light
illuminates the background (far left) its a uniform gray. When not illuminated at all
(second from left) its black. When the background is lit by a spot it is graduated
(second from right). When illuminated with a bright light it is burned out to pure
white (far right).
The background light is
off to the side and lights
the background behind
the subject without
lighting the subject
itself.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/rim/
THE RIM LIGHT
A rim light positioned behind the subject and facing toward the camera il-
luminates the edges of the subject from behind so they glow and are visually
separated from the darker background. In portrait photography a rim light is
often used to back light the hair.
The fnal image is
beautifully lit and
well separated from
the background. Its
a visually interesting
image.
The rim light is often set
up behind the subject
and slightly higher
than the other lights.
Because this light is
facing the camera, its
important that it be
completely blocked by
the subject or out of the
feld of view. If not you
may get lens fare and
lowered contrast. One
way to block the light
is to position a piece
of cardboard (called a
gobo) between the light
and subject.
Click to explore the rim
light.
THE RIM LIGHT
134
CHAPTER 7. OTHER FEATURES AND COMMANDS
FOR INFORMATION ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM
T
he XSi has many settings that control how your camera operates. In
this chapter we discuss those features not covered elsewhere in the
book. Youll see how to compose images on the monitor using Live
View, shoot in continuous mode, select and edit picture styles, use remote
controls, create your own personal menu, use the Set-up set and Custom
Function menus, and enter a print order. You should fnd a great deal of
useful information here that youll be glad to know including caring for your
camera. Especially interesting is how Canons new EOS integrated cleaning
system uses every possible technology to reduce the problem caused by dust
on your cameras image sensor.
Chapter 7
Other Features and Commands
CONTENTS
Live View Shooting
Continuous Photog-
raphy Using Picture
Styles Remote
Control Photography
Using My Menu
Using the Set-up
Menu Using Custom
Functions Entering
a Print Order Caring
for Your Camera
135 FOR INFORMATION ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM
LIVE VIEW SHOOTING
You can use the monitor, or even a connected computer, to compose and
focus imagesa procedure called Live View. In most ways using Live View is
just like using the viewfnder. The difference is that in Live View the camera
lifts the mirror up and out of the way (the viewfnder blacks out) and opens
the shutter so the image sensor can capture the scene in real time and display
it on the monitor. Youll fnd this mode especially useful when using a tripod
and macro lens to capture close-ups requiring very precise focusing. Its also
useful in a studio setting because using the EOS Utility software and the USB
cable supplied with the camera you can use a computers screen to compose
and focus an image. Although its not designed specifcally for hand-held pho-
tography, theres no reason you shouldnt give it a try.
LIVE VIEW SHOOTING
USING LIVE VIEW
1. With the camera set to any mode in the Creative Zone, set the lens
focus mode switch to MF, press MENU and select the Set-up 2 menu
tab.
2. Highlight Live View function settings, and press SET.
3. Highlight Live View shoot, press SET, highlight Enable, and press
SET. Press MENU to hide the menu.
4. Press SET to raise the mirror and open the shutter so the scene is
displayed on the monitor and the viewfnder blacks out.
5. Focus the image manually, and if necessary, hold down the Av/Expo-
sure compensation button and turn the Main Dial to adjust exposure.
6. Take the picture and after image review ends, the camera automati-
cally returns to Live View shooting.
7. When done using Live View for the moment, press SET while Live
View is displaying the scene on the monitor. When fnished, repeat
Steps 13 but select Disable.
GENERAL TIPS IN LIVE VIEW
Live View works only in Creative Zone modesP, Av, Tv or M. In Live View
A-DEP mode works exactly the same as P mode. Changing the Mode Dial
to any mode in the Basic Zone ends Live View until you return to a Creative
Zone mode and press SET again.
Dont point the camera at the sun or you can damage the image sensor or
shutter curtains.
Live View shooting disables Custom Functions 9, 10 and 11 (page 148).
If a light source within the scene varies, the image on the screen may ficker.
If this happens, press SET once to end shooting, and then again to resume
Live View after adjusting the lighting.
If you recompose the scene, the image brightness on the monitor may
briefy change. Wait until it readjusts or your photos exposure may be off.
Extremely bright sources in the scene, such as a light bulb or the sun, are
blackened on the screen but will be captured correctly in the photo.
TIP
A side beneft of
Live View is that
it reduces vibra-
tion by lifting the
refex mirror out of
the way long before
the exposure takes
place. In this respect
it is much like mirror
lockup (page 148).
TIP
Live View has two
stages of activation.
Setting Live view
shoot to Enable acti-
vates Live View, but
pressing SET turns it
on or off.
136
The monitor displays 100% of the area that will be captured in the photo.
When LCD brightness on the Set-up 2 menu tab is set to a bright setting in
low light, the Live View image on the monitor may display chrominance noise
but the noise wont be in the captured image.
Live View consumes more power than normal camera operation. You can
shoot between 180200 pictures depending on the temperature and how
often you use the fash.
If you dont operate any camera controls, auto power off takes effect (page
144). If you set Auto power off to Off (page 144), Live View shooting ends
automatically after 30 minutes although the cameras power remains on.
If you use the provided video cable to connect the camera to a TV set, you
can view images on the TV as you take them.
In Live View you can set the ISO speed, white balance, and exposure com-
pensation. You cant change the Picture Style, drive mode, AF mode, and AF
point.
When you use Live View shooting for an extended period, the cameras
internal temperature may increase to the point where image quality is af-
fected. To prevent this, press SET to end Live View shooting when not actu-
ally taking photos. You may also want to turn Live View off before taking a
long exposure and wait several minutes before turning it back on to shoot the
picture.
High ambient temperatures, high ISO speeds, or long exposures may cause
noise or irregular colors in an image captured using Live View.
In Live View, using an Extension Tube or a TS-E lens may cause irregular or
unintended exposures.
FE Lock and modeling fash (with an external Speedlite) cannot be used.
You can use fash, and when it fres the mirror drops down briefy so the
camera can measure the prefash used to set the fash exposure. There are
two shutter sounds but only one photo is taken. A non-Canon fash will not
fre.
EXPOSURE IN LIVE VIEW
The camera adjusts the brightness of the image on the monitor to roughly
match the brightness of the image you will capture. You can press DISP to
display a live histogram (page 56) to guide you in getting the best possible
exposure because it refects the current exposure settings. If you use fash
or bulb mode (page 90) the histogram changes from yellow to gray but still
works. In extremely bright or dark situations, the brightness of the screen im-
age wont refect the exposure settings but the captured image will.
When Custom Function 06 Auto Lighting Optimizer is enabled (page 148),
an image made darker with exposure compensation may look brighter on the
monitor.
During Live View shooting, the metering mode is set to evaluative metering
regardless of the current metering mode setting.
You can use continuous shooting (page 139) in Live View and exposure is
locked with the frst image even if you recompose while shooting, so im-
ages may be under- or overexposed. The exposure isnt readjusted until you
release the shutter button and then press it down again.
The focusing frame can
be moved about the
screen.
Clicking this button on
EOS Utility displays
the scene the camera
sees on your computer
screen. You can then
remotely adjust white
balance and focus,
check histograms and
depth of feld, and take
pictures.
TIP
Using the Set-up
2 menus Live View
function settings
command you can
change Metering
timer (to specify
how long metering
remains on after
you press the shut-
ter button halfway
down) and Grid
display (to make it
easier to align hori-
zontals and verticals
in an image).
MANUALLY FOCUSING IN LIVE VIEW
In Live view, manual focusing is highly recommended because you can en-
large the image on the screen up to 10x for the most precise focusing avail-
able.
To manually focus the image, set the lens focus mode switch to MF and turn
the focus ring on the lens.
To magnify the image to check focus, press the cross keys to move the rect-
angular focusing frame over the area of the scene that you want sharpest, or
press the Erase button to center the frame on the monitor. Press the Magnify
button to magnify the area within the frame and turn the focusing ring on the
lens to focus. Each time you press it you cycle through full view > x5 > x10
and then back to full view.
When the scene is magnifed on the monitor, the camera enhances image
sharpness from what it will on the captured image to help you better evaluate
focus and sharpness. If you take a picture while the image is magnifed, you
capture the full view but the exposure may not be accurate. To be safe, return
to the full view before taking a picture. During the magnifed view, the shutter
speed and aperture are displayed in red.
To check depth of feld, press the depth of feld preview button (page 68).
You cant use the focus preset feature found on super telephoto lenses.
AUTOFOCUSING IN LIVE VIEW
Although not as precise as manual focusing, you can set the lens focus switch
to AF and set Custom Function 08 AF during Live View shooting (page 148)
to 1: Quick mode or 2: Live mode autofocus. (In either mode, pressing the
AE/FE Lock button lowers the refex mirror so the camera can autofocus.
Releasing the AE/FE Lock button then returns you to Live View so you can
take a picture.) These two modes use different autofocus methods, but these
points apply to both.
You cant use the Remote Switch RS-60E3 (sold separately) to initiate auto-
focus.
To move the focus frame, press the cross keys; and to magnify the area
within the frame, press the Magnify button.
If you want AF and AE lock to work separately, set Custom Function 10
Shutter/AE lock button to 1: AE lock/AF (page 148).
1: Quick mode lowers the refex mirror when you press the AE/FE Lock
button and the monitor goes black. It then uses the cameras dedicated AF
sensor to meter the scene. When you release the AE/FE Lock button after
focus is achieved, the mirror goes back up, the shutter opens and the scene
is again displayed on the monitor. Although this mode focuses quickly, the
Live View image is interrupted and the monitor goes black while the camera
autofocuses.
This mode focuses on the selected AF point, but you have to select the point
(page 70) before pressing SET to turn on Live View.
Although you can set the autofocus mode to AI Servo AF or AI Focus AF,
autofocus ends when the camera returns to the Live View image display, so
you cant keep a moving subject in focus.
LIVE VIEW SHOOTING
The AE/FE Lock button.
The EX.SIM icon on the
monitor indicates the
following:
Displayed in white,
the Live View images
brightness is close
to what the captured
image will look like.
When blinking, the
lighting is too dim
or bright the Live
View image doesnt
accurately refect
image brightness on
the monitor. However,
the captured image will
refect the exposure
setting.
When grayed out the
fash is raised or bulb
is set. The histogram
might not be properly
displayed in low light or
bright light conditions.
138
AUTOFOCUSING IN LIVE VIEWS QUICK MODE
1. Set Custom Function 08 AF during Live View shooting (page 148) to
Quick mode, the lens focus mode switch to AF, and the AF mode to
One-Shot.
2. Select the AF point you want the camera to use for focusing.
3. Press SET to display the Live View image on the LCD monitor along
with the selected AF point(s) and the larger focusing frame.
4. To focus, place the selected AF point over the part of the scene you
want to focus on, and hold down the AE/FE Lock button. The Live
View image turns off, the refex mirror goes back down, and the cam-
era autofocuses. When focus is achieved, the beeper sounds.
5. Release the AE/FE Lock button and the Live View image reappears
on the monitor.
6. Press the shutter button to take the picture.
AUTOFOCUSING IN LIVE VIEWS LIVE MODE
1. Set Custom Function 08 AF during Live View shooting (page 148) to
Live mode and the lens focus mode switch to AF.
2. Press SET to display the Live View image on the LCD monitor along
with a focusing frame (which the manual calls an AF point).
3. Press the cross keys to position the focusing frame over the part of
the scene you want to focus on and hold down the AE/FE Lock but-
ton to autofocus (it may take a few moments).
If focus is achieved, the focusing frame turns green and the beeper
sounds.
If focus is not achieved, the focusing frame turns orange.
4. Press the shutter button to take the picture.
2: Live mode uses the image sensor to focus and is less likely to achieve focus
quickly. Its only advantage is that the screen doesnt go black as the camera
autofocuses.
There are many things that affect the cameras ability to focus in this mode.
If you encounter problems, switch to Quick mode or use manual focusing.
If the image fickers to the extent it makes focusing diffcult, press SET to
end Live View, adjust the lighting, and press SET again to resume Live View.
Check that the fickering has stopped, then autofocus.
If you autofocus in full view, then magnify the image, the focus might be off.
The AF-assist beam is not emitted.
The image brightness may change during and after autofocusing.
The speed of autofocusing may be different during the full view and magni-
fed view.
TIP
You can magnify
the image and then
autofocus, but you
should return to full
view before taking
the picture.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/continuous/
CONTINUOUS PHOTOGRAPHY
To be sure you capture a feeting moment, you can use continuous mode to
capture up to 27 Large/Fine JPEGs, 10 RAW images, or 8 RAW + Large/Fine
JPEGs at a rate of up to 3.5 frames-per-second. You can then choose the best
image from the sequence or use all of them to create an animation on your
computer. One way to do this is to create an animated GIF using Photoshop
or shareware programs such as GIF Construction Set at http://www. mind-
workshop.com. When viewed with a Web browser, the images are quickly
displayed one after the other like frames in a movie.
When you hold down the shutter button in this mode images are frst stored
in a buffer because this is faster than storing them on a memory card. When
the buffer becomes full, the viewfnder displays buSY as it moves images
from the buffer to the memory card. When the message disappears, room is
again available in the buffer, and the camera captures another image. When
metering is on, a number (09) to the left of the viewfnders focus indicator
indicates how many more images will ft in the buffer. It only goes to 9 and
you may have to release the shutter button to see it.
Continuous is the only mode available in Portrait and Sports modes.
Single-frame is the only mode available in Full Auto, Landscape, Close-up,
Night Portrait, and Flash Off modes.
Both single-frame and continuous modes are available in all Creative Zone
modes.
When using continuous mode, set the focus mode to AI servo AF (page 69)
so the camera continues to focus for each photo in the sequence. In One-Shot
mode focus locks with the frst photo.
TURNING CONTINUOUS MODE ON AND OFF
1. With the camera on and in any shooting mode, repeatedly press the
Drive button on the cross keys to highlight the continuous icon on
the monitor and press SET.
2. To capture a series of photos, hold down the shutter button until
you or the camera decides enough is enough. When the buffer is
full, buSY is displayed in the viewfnder and you cant take any more
pictures until it goes away.
3. When fnished repeat Step 1 to select the single-frame icon.
The continuous (top)
and single-frame
(bottom) mode icons.
Continuous mode
can capture a series
of positions in sports
photography.
The drive mode button.
TIP
Continuous mode
works with the fash,
but pictures are
taken more slowly
because the camera
has to wait for the
fash to recycle.
CONTINUOUS PHOTOGRAPHY
creative uses of
continuous mode.
140
USING PICTURE STYLES
Picture Styles store settings, in some cases for specifc situations such as por-
traits and landscapes. The settings have been chosen by Canon, but you can
change them in Creative Zone modes to better suit your own tastes.
SELECTING PICTURE STYLES
The styles from which you can choose include the following:
Standard images are sharpened to look crisp, and the color tone and satura-
tion are set to render vivid colors.
Portrait images have color tone and saturation set to obtain natural skin
tones. Sharpness, one step weaker than in Standard, is kinder to skin.
Landscape has color tone and saturation set for deep, vivid blues and
greens for skies and foliage. Sharpness is set one step more than Standard so
that the outlines of mountains, trees and buildings look crisp.
Neutral captures natural color and no sharpness is applied. This is the set-
ting preferred by professionals who edit their images in a program such as
Photoshop because it has the least effect on the images.
Faithful applies no sharpening and renders colors as faithfully as it can
to the original subject. In Canons terms When the subject is photographed
under a color temperature of 5200K, the color is adjusted colorimetrically to
match the subjects color, even with JPEG images.
Monochrome lets you shoot in black and white, or another tone of your
choice. When you select this setting B/W is displayed in the viewfnder. For
best results in this mode, adjust white balance for the available lighting.
User defned 13 can be set to any settings you prefer (page 141). The initial
settings are the same as Standard.
SELECTING PICTURE STYLES
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode in the Creative Zone, repeatedly
press the Picture Style button to select the icon for the style you want
to use and press SET to select it.
2. Take your photos and when fnished repeat Steps 12 and select
Standard (the default).
TIPS
Picture styles, in-
cluding monochrome,
affect RAW image
thumbnails and pre-
views, but make no
changes to the actual
images.
The Neutral and
Faithful styles as-
sume you will adjust
the images using a
photo-editing pro-
gram. These settings
are not for images
you will print directly
from the camera.
Using Canons
Picture Style Editor
you can design the
look of your photo-
graphs by inputting
your own preferred
style, color and tone
curves.
For additional
Pictures Styles and
more information
visit Canon at:
web.canon.jp/imag-
ing/picturestyle/fle/
The Picture Style Editor
tool palette.
On Picture Style
screens, icons refer
to (from left to right)
sharpness, contrast,
saturation, and color
tone. When you select
the Monochrome style,
the last two icons are
replaced with ones for
flter effects and color
toning.
ADJUSTING PICTURE STYLES
MENU and display the Shooting 2 menu tab.
2. Highlight Picture style and press SET to display a list of styles.
3. Highlight a style and press SET to select it and return to the menu, or
DISP to display the Detail set screen for that style so you can edit it.
If you selected one of the three user defned settings, press SET, press
the up () or down () cross key to highlight the style you want to
base your user defnition on, and press SET again to return to the
Detail set screen
4. Highlight a setting you want to adjust, and press SET to activate its
scale or display a list of choices.
5. Press the cross keys to adjust the setting or select a choice from the
list, and press SET to return to the Detail set screen.
6. Adjust other settings or press MENU to return to the Picture Style
Screen. Any setting thats been changed is displayed in blue.
ADJUSTING PICTURE STYLES
You can adjust the settings for each of the predefned styles. You can also se-
lect one of the three user defned settings and select a style to use as the basis
for your adjustments. Changes you make to any style remain in effect until
you change them or use the Clear settings command (page 147).
For each of the styles, you can adjust sharpness, contrast, saturation and
color tone. In Monochrome the color saturation and tone choices in the other
styles are replaced by choices for flter and toning effects. Toning effects add
an overall tint to the image, and flters act like the glass flters that can be at-
tached to lenses.
Yellow makes clouds crisper while leaving the blue sky unaffected.
Orange darkens a blue sky and makes sunrises/sets more brilliant.
Red is like orange, only more so, and also brightens fall foliage.
Green improves skin tones in portraits and makes green foliage crisper and
brighter.
TIP
Sharpness can
be set from 0
(less sharp) to +7
(sharper).
Contrast can be set
from -4 (low) to +4
(high)
Saturation can be
set from -4 (low) to
+4 (high)
Color tone can be
set to -4 (reddish
skin tone) to +4
(yellowish skin tone)
Filter effect can be
set to None, Yel-
low, Orange, Red or
Green.
Toning effect can
be set to None, Se-
pia, Blue, Purple or
Green.
TIP
Initially the frst
three Picture Styles,
Standard, Portrait
and Landscape,
include sharpness
levels 3, 2 and 4,
respectively, settings
that are best for im-
ages that wont be
edited in a program
such as Photoshop.
USING PICTURE STYLES
142
REMOTE CONTROL PHOTOGRAPHY
To get the sharpest possible images, the camera has to be perfectly still and
free from even slight vibrations created when you press the shutter button or
the mirror swings up. This is especially true when working at high magnifca-
tions with macro or telephoto lenses. To prevent you from introducing vibra-
tions when you take a picture you can select the self-timer/remote control
drive mode (page 61) and use a cable release or wireless remote control to
trigger the shutter.
The wired remote switch RS-60E3 has a 2ft/60cm cable that connects to
the cameras remote control terminal and replicates all of the functions of the
cameras shutter button. You can press the shutter button halfway down, all
the way down, and even lock it down. Locking it down is ideal for extended
time exposures using bulb mode (page 90).
The wireless RC-1 uses an infrared transmitter and may be set for either in-
stant shutter release or 2-second delay. The RC-1 may also be used to activate
mirror-lockup and bulb exposures.
The Wireless Controller RC-5 doesnt take photos instantly, but instead
always introduces a 2-second delay.
The two wireless remotes are good up to about 16.4 feet (5m), although some
fuorescent lights can prevent the wireless remote from operating correctly.
When taking pictures with a remote control, light can leak in through the
viewfnder and affect the exposure. To prevent this, remove the eyecup from
the viewfnder and slip the eyepiece cover, carried on the camera strap, over
the eyepiece. To remove the eyecup cover, grasp both sides and slide it up
and away from the camera.
The XSi includes EOS Utility software you can use to remotely operate the
camera. Using this program you can change camera settings and specify a
start time and interval time for a series of photos. This lets you set up the
camera and get pictures like the one of the squirrel below.
A typical remote switch.
The drive mode button.
The EOS Utility
program.
Slipping the eyepiece
cover over the
viewfnder blocks light
from entering and
affecting the exposure.
USING MY MENU
USING MY MENU
You can store up to six frequently used menu commands or Custom Func-
tions on your own personal menu so you can access them more quickly.
Normally the commands you add to the menu are displayed when you press
MENU and select the My Menu tab. However, if you enable Display from
My Menu the My Menu tab is always displayed frst when you press MENU,
regardless of which menu tab was last displayed.
REGISTERING MY MENU SETTINGS
1. With the camera in any mode, press MENU and display the My Menu
tab listing any menu settings you have already registered.
2. Highlight My Menu settings and press SET to display a submenu.
3. Highlight any of the following commands and press SET:
Register displays a list of menu commands so you can highlight
one and press SET to add it to the menu. When asked to confrm the
addition, highlight OK and press SET.
Sort changes the order of the registered items on the menu.
Delete and Delete all items delete one or all of the previously listed
menu items.
Display from My Menu, when enabled, displays the My Menu tab
frst when you press the MENU button.
4. When fnished with any step, press the MENU or shutter button to
return to Step 3.
5. To hide the menu, press the shutter or MENU button.
The My Menu tabs icon.
144
USING THE SET-UP MENU
The XSi has a number of commands on the Set-up menu tabs that change the
basic settings of your camera. Set-up menu tab 3 is only available in Creative
Zone modes.
USING THE SET-UP MENUS
1. With the camera on, press MENU and display the Set-up 1, 2, or 3
menu tab.
2. Highlight any of the commands described in this section and change
them as discussed below.
AUTO POWER OFF
Normally the camera will go into auto power off mode if you dont take a pic-
ture or use any of the commands for 30 seconds. You can select a longer time
or even turn this feature off so the camera doesnt power off until you turn it
off. To adjust the auto power off setting, highlight Auto power off and press
SET. Highlight your choice and press SET.
TIP
If you turn off Auto
power off, to extend
your batterys life
turn the camera
off when not tak-
ing pictures or press
DISP to turn off the
monitor.
Set-up 1 (Yellow)
Auto power off 0 sec. / 1min. / 2 min. / 4 min. / 8 min. / 15
min. / Off
144
File numbering Continuous / Auto reset / Manual reset 145
Auto rotate On camera and computer / On computer only
/ Off
145
Format Initialize and erase data in the card 145
LCD auto off Enabled / Disabled 146
Screen color Select the background color 146
Set-up 2 (Yellow)
LCD brightness Seven brightness levels provided 146
Date/Time Set the date (year, month, day) and time (hour,
min., sec.)
146
Language Select the interface language 146
Video system NTSC / PAL 146
Sensor clean-
ing
Auto cleaning / Clean now / Clean manually 146
Live View func-
tion settings
Live View shooting / Grid display /Metering
timer
146
Flash control Flash fring / Built-in fash function setting /
External fash function setting / External fash
C.Fn setting / Clear external fash C.Fn setting
146
Set-up 3 (Yellow)
Custom Func-
tions (C.Fn)
Customize the camera as desired 147
Clear settings Clear all camera settings / Clear all Custom
Func. (C.Fn)
147
Firmware Ver. For updating the frmware 147
Set-up menu tab icons.
FILE NUMBERING
By default, each photo you take is given a unique sequential number from
0001 to 9999 and is stored in a folder numbered from 100 to 999. To change
the way fles are numbered, highlight File numbering, press SET then select
one of the following and press SET.
Continuous (the default) continues image numbering in sequence so you
dont have duplicate fle names.
Auto reset restarts numbering at an initial value of 0001 when you insert a
new memory card. This can cause problems if you copy images into the same
folder on the computer because there may be duplicate fle names.
Manual reset creates a new folder and stores all subsequent images in it
starting with the number 0001. The Continuous or Auto reset setting you
selected then resumes.
AUTO ROTATE
When you rotate the camera into a vertical (portrait) position to take pho-
tos and then play the photos back on the computer screen or TV, everyone
watching has to tilt their heads to see the images because they are rotated
90 degrees. To avoid this, the XSi has an orientation sensor that, when on,
senses the position of the camera when you take a picture and automatically
rotates pictures you took vertically so they are also displayed vertically when
played back. Images displayed for review right after you capture them are
not rotated and if you take a vertical image when the camera is pointed up or
down, orientation may be confused and not automatically rotate during play-
back. However, you can rotate these or other pictures manually (page 21).
To turn auto rotate on or off, highlight Auto rotate and press SET. Highlight
the choice to rotate them on both the camera and computer, just the com-
puter, or not at all, and then press SET.
FORMAT
When you get a new memory card, you often have to format it to work with
the camera. You may also need to reformat a card if it develops problems, or
when you want to be certain it works well with a new camera. Be careful with
this command because it erases all of the image fles on the card, including
those that you have protected (page 21). However, the image fles are not re-
ally permanently deleted until new fles are stored over them on the card. To
recover fles, see the Image Recovery Software tip box on page 20. Also, be
aware that if you loan or sell the card, the other person can also recover your
images. The only way to prevent this is to take enough new photos to fll the
card or use software designed to wipe the card clean.
To format a card highlight Format and press SET to display the prompt
Format card and the choices Cancel and OK. Highlight your choice and press
SET. You can also press the Erase button to turn low-level formatting on and
off. Low-level formatting may be helpful if your card has gotten slower when
saving or opening images. Since low-level formatting erases all recordable
sectors, it takes a little longer than regular formatting.
TIP
Eventually, you can
run through all of the
available folder and
fle numbers. If a
folder numbered 999
is created, the mes-
sage Folder number
full is displayed on
the monitor. Then if
a fle numbered 9999
is created, you are
prompted to replace
the memory card. Do
so, or move the fles
to your computer
and format the card.
In Continuous and
Auto reset modes, if
the new card already
has images on it,
numbering may
begin for the highest
number. The only
way to ensure the
frst image is 0001
is to format the card
before using it.
The Auto rotate menu
choices includeboth
camera and computer,
computer only, and off.
ALL IS NOT LOST
This might be a good
point to introduce
some good news. If
you ever delete fles
or format a memory
card by mistake, you
can recover your
images. The frst
step is to stop taking
pictures because new
ones can overwrite
the old and make
them impossible to
recover. Next, get a
program that recov-
ers the fles. To fnd
one Google the term
image recovery.
146
LCD AUTO OFF
Normally, when you bring your eye to the viewfnder, the monitor display au-
tomatically turns off. If you use this command and select Disable, the moni-
tor will remain on. The default setting is Enable.
SCREEN COLOR
You can change the background color of the shooting settings screen.
LCD BRIGHTNESS
You can adjust the brightness of the monitor so it better matches the lighting
conditions youre in at the moment. To do so, highlight LCD brightness and
press SET. Press the cross keys to select one of brightness levels, and press
SET again. One reason not to do this is because it makes it more diffcult to
evaluate exposures in Live View. However, histograms are a better way to do
that anyway (page 56).
DATE/TIME
When you frst use the camera, or when the batteries have been removed or
run down for some time, you should set the date and time so your image fles
are correctly dated. After highlighting the command, press SET and then do
the following:
To change the setting highlighted with the orange frame, press the up or
down cross key.
To move the orange frame to the next setting, press the left or right cross
key.
When fnished, press SET to return to the Set-up 1 menu.
LANGUAGE
You can choose a language for menus and prompts. To do so, highlight Lan-
guage and press SET. Highlight a language choice and press SET again.
VIDEO SYSTEM
At rare times you may need to specify a different video system (NTSC or PAL)
so you can connect the camera to a TV set to give a slide show. To change the
video system, highlight Video system and press SET. Highlight NTCS or PAL
and press SET again.
SENSOR CLEANING
If any dust or other debris enters the camera and adheres to the image sen-
sor, it may show up as a dark speck in the images. If this happens to you see
the section Caring for your Camera on page 153.
LIVE VIEW FUNCTION SETTINGS
(See page 135.)
FLASH CONTROL
(See page 122.)
BEEP, BEEP
If you dont want
the camera to
beep when focus is
achieved, you can
turn it off with the
Beep command on
the Shooting 1 menu
tab (page 11).
CUSTOM FUNCTIONS (C. FN)
(See page 148.)
CLEAR SETTINGS
As you make changes to settings, it is sometimes easy to forget what youve
done. At other times, youve changed so many settings, its time consuming
to reset them all to their original values. For this reason, there is a command
that resets all of the settings for you. To clear changes you have made to set-
tings, highlight Clear settings and press SET to display two choices. Select
one and press SET:
Clear all camera settings restores most camera settings other than Custom
Functions to their factory defaults listed in the table below.
Clear all Custom Func. (C. Fn) sets all Custom Functions (page 148) to 0,
their default settings.
Menu Default Page
AF mode One-Shot AF 69
AF point selection Automatic selection 70
Metering mode Evaluative metering 46
Drive mode (Single shooting) 61, 139
Exposure compensation 0 (Zero) 53
AEB Canceled 53
Flash exposure compensation 0 (Zero) 120
Live View shooting Disable 135
Quality Large/Fine 25
ISO speed Auto 62
File numbering Continuous 144
Color space sRGB 82
White balance Auto WB 80
WB correction Canceled 83
WB bracketing Canceled 83
Picture Style Standard 140
FIRMWARE VER
If Canon releases updated software for the camera you use this command to
install it after downloading it from their Web site. Follow the directions that
come with it. If you want to see what version is currently loaded, this com-
mand lists it.
148
USING CUSTOM FUNCTIONS
The XSi has 13 Custom Functions you change in Creative Zone modes to con-
trol camera operations. All default settings are 0.
CHANGING CUSTOM FUNCTIONS
MENU button and display the Set-up 3 menu tab.
2. Highlight Custom Functions (C. Fn) and press SET to display a table
of 13 Custom Functions at the bottom of the monitor. The current
setting for each function is listed below its number (all default set-
tings are 0). Current settings other than 0 are displayed in blue.
3. Press the left () or right () cross key to scroll through the func-
tions.
4. To change the function listed below the small bar, press SET to dis-
play choices, highlight the one you want to use, and press SET again
to select it.
The Set-up 3 menu tab
icon.
TIP
Custom functions
9, 10 and 11 are
disabled during Live
View shooting.
The Custom Functions
screen.
01 Exposure level increments selects 0: 1/3-stop or 1: 1/2-stop increments
for shutter speeds, apertures, exposure compensation, AEB and other expo-
sure settings.
02 Flash sync. speed in AV mode sets the shutter speed to 0: Auto or
1: 1/200sec. (fxed) when using fash in Av mode. Fixing the shutter speed
prevents a slow shutter speed when photographing in dim light, so back-
grounds will be darker and you will avoid blur caused by camera shake. When
set to Auto, slower shutter speeds are used to lighten the background just as
they are in slow sync fash photography (page 117) so you may get blur from
camera or subject movement.
NUMBER FUNCTION PAGE
C.Fn I: Exposure
1 Exposure level increments 148
2 Flash sync. speed in Av mode 148
C.Fn II: Image
3 Long exposure noise reduction 149
4 High ISO speed noise reduction 149
5 Highlight tone priority 149
6 Auto Lighting Optimizer 149
C.Fn III: Auto focus/Drive
7 AF-assist beam fring 149
8 AF during Live View shooting 149
9 Mirror lockup 150
C.Fn IV: Operation/Others
10 Shutter/AE lock button 150
11 SET button when shooting 150
12 LCD display when power ON 150
13 Add original decision data 150
03 Long exp. noise reduction is used to remove noise from images taken
with long exposures. The image processing time is the same as the exposure
time so longer exposures mean longer intervals between shots.
0: Off turns off noise reduction.
1: Auto reduces noise in images taken at exposures of 1 second or longer
if it detects noise.
2: On reduces noise in all images taken at exposures of 1 second or lon-
ger. This setting may be more effective in detecting and removing noise
than Auto. If you take a long exposure in Live View while this choice is ac-
tive, no image is displayed for review on the monitor while noise reduction
is being performed.
04 High ISO speed noise reduction is used to remove noise from images
shot at high ISO settings.
0: Off turns off noise reduction.
1: On performs noise reduction at all ISO settings, but has the most effect
at high ISOs. At low ISOs, noise in shadow areas is reduced. When On, the
frame rate in continuous shooting drops dramatically and white balance
bracketing is disabled.
05 Highlight tone priority can be set to 0: Disable or 1: Enable. When en-
abled, highlight details are improved although noise in shadow areas may be
increased. The dynamic range is expanded between 18% middle gray and the
brightest highlights. As a result, the gradation between the grays and high-
lights is smoother. This is a good setting for weddings and landscapes since it
captures more detail in white subjects such as wedding dresses, clouds, and
snow. Also, the ISO range is 2001600, and to remind you its on, zeros in
the ISO are displayed in small type on the monitor and in the viewfnder.
06 Auto Lighting Optimizer, when enabled, adjusts image brightness and
contrast automatically if an image would otherwise be too dark or have
contrast thats too low. (Depending on the shooting conditions, image noise
may increase.) This function doesnt work with manual exposures nor RAW
and RAW+Large/Fine JPEG images. In the Basic Zone modes, Auto Lighting
Optimizer operates automatically.
07 AF-assist beam specifes when and if the fashs AF assist beam fres
(page 69). You may want to turn it off in some circumstances since it draws
attention.
0: Enable enables the AF-assist beam.
1: Disable disables the AF-assist beam.
2: Only external fash emits enables the AF-assist beam on an external
fash and disables the one on the camera.
08 AF during Live View shooting offers three choices. When set to 1 or 2,
you can autofocus during Live View shooting (page 135).
0: Disable disables autofocus during Live View shooting.
1: Quick mode is the same as normal autofocus using the dedicated AF
sensor. Although you can focus quickly, the Live View image is interrupted
momentarily during the AF operation.
TIP
If you set Custom
Function 08 to 1 or
2 and want to use
AE lock set Custom
Function 10 to 1.
150
2: Live mode uses the image sensor to focus and the Live View image dis-
play is not interrupted. However, autofocus takes longer than with Quick
mode and achieving focus may be more diffcult.
09 Mirror lockup lets you 0: Disable or 1: Enable mirror lockup. When
enabled, the mirror is lifted just before the shutter opens and remains locked
up so when you then take a picture the swinging mirror doesnt create any
image-softening vibrations. This is a very useful feature when taking macro
close-ups, or using very long lenses. After tuning it on, here is how it works:
Pressing the shutter button all the way down raises the mirror, and
pressing it again takes the picture and lowers the mirror. If you dont press
the shutter button within 30 seconds, the mirror lowers automatically.
When using the self-timer (page 61), pressing the shutter button all the
way down raises the mirror and then takes the picture 2 seconds later. If
you dont have a remote control, this is a great way to avoid camera shake
caused by pressing the shutter button.
When using bulb and the self-timer, hold the shutter button down until
the exposure is complete. If you release it before the self timer ends, there
will be a shutter release sound but a picture isnt taken.
10 Shutter/AE lock button has four settings that specify how the shutter
and AE/FE Lock button work. These combinations determine how and when
focus (AF) and exposure (AE) are locked:
0: AF/AE lockPressing the shutter button halfway down locks focus
and exposure when using evaluative metering. Pressing the AE/FE Lock
button locks exposure and keeps it locked even when you release the shut-
ter button.
1: AE lock/AFPressing the shutter button halfway down locks expo-
sure. Pressing the AE/FE Lock button locks focus.
2: AF/AF lock, no AE lockIn AI Servo AF mode (page 69), pressing the
AE/FE Lock button locks focus so an object passing in front of the camera
doesnt affect focus. Exposure is set when the picture is taken.
3: AE/AF, no AE lockIn AI Servo AF mode (page 69), pressing the AE/
FE Lock button locks focus and releasing the button unlocks it. Exposure
is set when the picture is taken. This option is useful when photographing
a subject that repeatedly stops and starts.
11 SET button when shooting specifes which screen is displayed on the
monitor when you press the SET button. (When using Live View, these set-
tings are ignored and pressing SET displays the Live View image instead.)
0 Normal (disabled).
1 Change quality changes image quality (page 25).
2 Flash exposure comp displays the fash exposure compensation screen
(page 120).
3 LCD monitor On/Off performs the same function as the DISP button
(page 16).
4 Menu display performs the same function as the MENU button.
12 LCD display when power on specifes if the monitor displays informa-
tion when you turn on the camera.
The AE/FE Lock icon.
TIPS
When the mirror is
locked up, the view-
fnder goes dark.
In very bright light,
take the picture as
soon as possible
after locking up the
mirror.
When the mirror
is locked up, dont
point the camera
at the sun with
the shutter button
pressed halfway
down. Doing so can
damage the shutter
curtains.
In continuous
mode, only one
picture can be taken
at a time when using
mirror lockup.
CLEARING CUSTOM FUNCTIONS
MENU button, and display the Set-up 3 menu tab.
2. Highlight Clear settings and press SET.
3. Highlight Clear all Custom Func. (C. Fn) and press SET.
4. Highlight OK and press SET to clear the functions and return to the
menu.
0: Display turns on the monitor when you turn on the camera.
1: Retain power OFF status remembers if the monitor was on or off
when you last turned off the camera and returns to that state when you
turn it back on. For example, if you press DISP to turn off the display, then
turn off the camera, when you turn the camera back on the display will be
off.
13 Add original decision data, when on, appends data to the image fle that
lets you verify if an image is original or not. When played back a padlock icon
is displayed. To verify if the image is an original youll need the Original Data
Security Kit OSK-E3 (sold separately).
When you shooting
information for an
image with verifcation
data appended, this
icon is displayed.
152
ENTERING A PRINT ORDER
If you have a DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatible printer with a
memory card slot, or if your photofnisher has one, you can create a print
order right on the memory card storing your images. (You can use a similar
procedure to print on a printer connected to the camera. For information on
direct printing refer to the XSi manual and the manual that came with your
printer.) When creating a print order to be saved onto a memory card, there
are three basic steps:
Sel. Image selects the images to be printed and specifes how many copies
of each are to be made.
Set up specifes print types (Standard prints one image on each sheet, Index
prints a number of small thumbnail images on each sheet, or Both) and lets
you specify if the date an image was taken and its fle number are printed on
each photo.
All image is used to select all pictures for printing, or to clear all previously
specifed print quantities.
ENTERING A PRINT ORDER
1. With the camera on, press MENU and display the Playback menu
tab.
2. Highlight Print order and press SET to display the Print order menu.
3. Do one of the following:
To specify the print type, highlight Set up and press SET. Highlight
Print type, press SET, select Standard, Index, or Both and then press
SET again. (You can also specify if the date and fle number is printed
on the image by turning those features on.) When fnished, press
MENU to return to the Print Order menu.
To individually select images to be printed, highlight Sel. Image
and press SET to display the last image taken. Press the Index/Re-
duce and Magnify buttons to switch between displaying 3 images and
1. Scroll through the images and when you fnd one you want printed,
press the up () or down () cross key to specify the quantity, and
then resume scrolling. (If ordering just index prints, a check mark is
displayed instead of a number.) The number of copies of that im-
age, and the running total of all images to be printed are displayed in
the upperleft corner of the monitor. When fnished, press MENU to
return to the Print Order menu.
To select or unselect all images, highlight All image and press SET.
Highlight Mark all on card, or Clear all on card and press SET again
to return to the Print Order menu.
4. Press MENU to hide the menu and save the order to the memory
card.
TIPS
Images in the RAW
fle format (page 25)
cannot be marked
for printing nor can
some photos or mov-
ies captured by other
cameras.
If you specify that
both the Date and
the File Number be
printed on each im-
age, you may not
get both. You may
get only the date on
standard prints and
the fle number on
index prints.
When printing an
index, both Date
and File No. cant
be turned on at the
same time.
Print orders are
stored on the memo-
ry card so when im-
ages are transferred
to a computer the
settings are lost.
Some printers,
even if marked DPOF
compatible may not
print your order cor-
rectly.
http://www.photocourse.com/itext/dust/
CARING FOR YOUR CAMERA
Some of the best opportunities for interesting photographs occur during bad
weather or in hostile environments. You can take advantage of these opportu-
nities as long as you take a few precautions to protect your camera.
CLEANING THE IMAGE SENSOR
If you change lens a lot, or even once in a windy or dusty environment, dust
can enter the camera and stick to the low-pass flter covering the image
sensor. This dust creates dark spots on the images. One way to check if this
has happened is to take a few photos of a clear sky or white card. Open the
images in your photo-editing program and fip through them. (On a PC run-
ning Photoshop, zoom the pictures to the same size then Ctrl-Tab through
them quickly and the dust spots jump out at you.) If images have small, dark
spots in the same place, they are caused by dust on the sensor. The XSi uses
state-of-the-art technology, called the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, to
automatically eliminate this problem. It has the following stages:
Reduce. Canon minimizes the dust and particles created by the camera it-
self, by using materials in the body cap and shutter that dont create dust and
other particles during normal wear and tear.
Repel. Canon treats the cameras low pass flter with an anti-static charge to
prevent static-charged dust from adhering to it.
Remove. The low pass flter in front of the CMOS image sensor, designed to
eliminate moir patterns and give accurate color, is attached to an ultrasonic
vibrating unit that literally shakes the loose dust particles off of the flter.
The newly liberated dust is then captured by an adhesive material that keeps
the particles from becoming airborne again. The low-pass flter, normally a
single unit, is also divided into two components, a front and a rear. The front
component, where any dust would accumulate, is positioned far enough out
in front of the sensor that any dust on it is out of focus and less likely to show
in your images.
The sensor units ultrasonic anti-dust shake activates automatically for one
second whenever you turn the camera on or off, ensuring that the sensor is
relatively dust free. You can also activate cleaning at other times using the
Clean now choice listed under the Set-up 2 menu tabs Sensor cleaning set-
ting.
In addition to the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, the XSi lets you clean
the sensor with sensor swabs and cleaning fuid. NEVER used compressed
air, or other cleaning products, on the sensor. Cleaning supplies are available
from B&H and Calumet. The most popular products seem to be those from
Photographic Solutions (http://www.photosol.com). For more information
Google cleaning image sensor but proceed at your own risk. One of the best
Web sites Ive found on this topic is Cleaning Digital Cameras at http://
www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/howto.html.
To clean a sensor you use the cameras Clean manually choice listed under
the Set-up 2 menu tabs Sensor cleaning setting to lock the mirror up and
out of the way and hold open the shutter so you can get to the surface of the
image sensor. This is a high-risk procedure and we recommend extreme
caution. Its more prudent to have it done by you camera companys service
center.
of dust on your images.
The sensor cleaning icon
is displayed while auto
sensor cleaning is being
performed.
TIPS
Change lenses in
a dust free environ-
ment and out of the
wind.
Store the camera
with a lens or the
body cap attached.
Remove dust from
the body cap and
lens mounts before
attaching them.
154
In addition to removing dust from the sensor, the XSi also lets you remove
it from images. You just photograph a white wall or sheet of paper (or, in a
pinch, remove the lens from the camera) and the cameras Dust Delete Data
function maps the size and position of any dust particles remaining on the
low pass flter. Once the dust is mapped, that information is attached as
metadata to all newly captured imagesboth RAW and JPEG. When you
then transfer the images to a computer you can use the included Digital
Photo Professional software to subtract the dust from the images by selecting
the apply dust delete data option. You can update the Dust Delete Data at
any time using the Dust Delete Data choice on the Set-up 2 men tab.
OBTAINING DUST DELETE DATA
1. Get ready:
Find a solid white surface.
Set the lens focal length to 50mm or more.
Set the lens focus switch to MF and set focus to infnity. (If the lens
has no focus scale, turn the lens focus ring all the way counter-clock-
wise as viewed from the back of the camera.
MENU button, display the Shooting 2 menu tab, highlight Dust De-
lete Data and press SET to display a confrmation screen.
3. Highlight OK to display an instructional screen. Highlight OK and
press SET to clean the sensor.
4. At a distance of 0.71.0 feet (230cm) completely fll the viewfnder
with the white surface and press the shutter button all the way down.
If successful, you see the message Data obtained. (The image data
is stored internally and is not saved to the memory card.) OK is high-
lighted so press SET.
If unsuccessful, youll be asked if you want to try again. If so, repeat
Step 24.
Here are the fve steps
recommended by
Photographic Solutions
for cleaning your image
sensor with their sensor
swabs and Eclipse
cleaning fuid. http://
www.photosol.com.
CLEANING THE SENSOR
1. With the Mode Dial set to any mode, press the MENU button, display
the Set-up 2 menu tab, highlight Sensor cleaning and press SET to
display three choicesAuto cleaning, Clean now, and Clean manu-
ally.
To turn auto cleaning on (the default) or off, highlight Auto clean-
ing and press SET, then highlight Enable or Disable and press SET
again.
To clean the sensor at any time, highlight Clean now and press
SET. When asked to confrm, select OK.
To manually clean the sensor, highlight Clean manually and press
SET. Follow the instruction on the screen and on page 53.
TIPS
When cleaning
the sensor set the
camera down on a
fat surface. For best
results, dont tip it
forward or back.
You can take a
picture while sensor
cleaning is being
performed.
CLEANING THE CAMERA AND LENS
Clean the outside of the camera with a slightly damp, soft, lint-free cloth.
Open the faps to the memory and battery compartments occasionally and
use a soft brush or blower to remove dust. Clean the LCD monitor by brush-
ing or blowing off dirt and wiping with a soft cloth, but dont press hard and
be sure there is no grit on the cloth that can scratch the surface. Cleaning kits
are available at most offce supply stores.
The frst rule is to clean the lens only when absolutely necessary. A little dust
on the lens wont affect the image, so dont be compulsive. Keep the lens
covered when not in use to reduce the amount of cleaning required. When
cleaning is necessary, use a soft brush, such as a sable artists brush, and a
blower (an ear syringe makes a good one) to remove dust. Fingerprints can be
very harmful to the lens coating and should be removed as soon as possible.
Use a lens cleaning cloth (or roll up a piece of photographic lens cleaning tis-
sue and tear the end off to leave a brush like surface). Put a small drop of lens
cleaning fuid on the end of the tissue. (Your condensed breath on the lens
also works well.) Never put cleaning fuid directly on the lens; it might run
between the lens elements. Using a circular motion, clean the lens surface
with the cloth or tissue, then use the cloth or a tissue rolled and torn the same
way to dry it. Never reuse tissues and dont press hard when cleaning because
the front element of the lens is covered with a relatively delicate lens coating.
PROTECTING YOUR CAMERA FROM THE ELEMENTS
Your camera should never be exposed to excessively high temperatures. If at
all possible, dont leave the camera in a car on a hot day, especially if the sun
is shining on the car (or if it will do so later in the day). If the camera has to
be exposed to the sun, such as when you are at the beach, cover it with a light
colored and sand free towel or piece of tinfoil to shade it from the sun. Dark
materials will only absorb the heat and possibly make things worse. Indoors,
avoid storage near radiators, places likely to get hot or humid, or where direct
sunlight can hit it.
When its cold out, keep the camera as warm as possible by keeping it under
your coat. Always carry extra batteries. Those in your camera may weaken at
low temperatures just as a car battery weakens in the cold. Prevent condensa-
tion when taking the camera from a cold area to a warm one by wrapping the
camera in a plastic bag or newspaper until its temperature climbs to match
that of its environment. If some condensation does occur, do not use the
camera or take it back out in the cold with condensation still on it, or it can
freeze up camera operation. Remove the battery and memory card, and leave
the compartment covers open until everything dries out.
Never place the camera near electric motors or other devices that have strong
magnetic felds. These felds can corrupt the image data stored in the camera.
Always protect equipment from water, especially salt water, and from dust,
dirt, and sand. A camera case helps, but at the beach a plastic bag is even bet-
ter. When shooting in the mist, fog, or rain, cover the camera with a plastic
bag into which youve cut a hole for the lens to stick out. Use a rubber band
to seal the bag around the lens. You can reach through the normal opening in
the bag to operate the controls. Screwing a skylight flter over the lens allows
you to wipe off spray and condensation without damaging the delicate lens
surface.
156
PROTECTING WHEN TRAVELING
Use lens caps or covers to protect lenses. Store all small items and other ac-
cessories in cases and pack everything carefully so bangs and bumps wont
cause them to hit each other. Be careful packing photographic equipment
in soft luggage where it can be easily damaged. When fying, there are no
reports of damage caused by carry-on metal detectors, but those used to
examine checked baggage are much more powerful.
STORING A CAMERA
Store your camera in a cool, dry, well ventilated area, and remove its battery
if its to be stored for some time. A camera bag or case makes an excellent
storage container to protect it from dust.
Digital cameras have lots of components including batteries, chargers, cables,
lens cleaners, and what not. It helps if you have some kind of storage con-
tainer in which to keep them all together.
CARING FOR YOURSELF
When hiking outdoors, dont wear the camera strap around your neck, it
could strangle you. Dont aim the camera directly at the sun, it can burn your
eye.

Olxx9 A Short Course in Canon Eos Digital Rebel Xsi450d Photography

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