Using the EOS camera system is an excellent way to learn digital photography.
The Canon EOS system utilizes auto-focusing lenses and automatic camera settings to create a fast and professional photographic experience, for both amateur and professional photographers. The EOS system has evolved over time, and the line of digital EOS cameras takes digital imagery to a new level, allowing the photographer to incorporate film lenses with digital camera bodies and build a camera system that lasts for decades. Learning to shoot with an EOS camera allows you focus on one aspect of a camera setting while the camera automatically selects the remaining camera functions to create a properly exposed photograph.
Instructions
1. Gather your basic EOS system: a Canon SLR (single lens reflex camera), an EOS lens and a compact flash media card to record the images. An SLR camera body allows for the lenses to be removed and interchanged based on the type of photography you are shooting. The Canon Rebel is the basic digital SLR in the EOS family and the easiest to use. The Rebel is usually sold with a kit lens---a basic lens to suit most beginner's needs---and will work well for learning photography.
2. Insert the compact flash card into your camera to begin shooting. A compact flash card will vary in storage size, with the larger data sizes of 8 gigs holding hundreds of digital images. The camera will not take photos without this card.
3. Format the compact flash card once it is inserted into the camera. Go to "Menu," found on the back of your camera with the menu button. Go to "Tools" and select "Format." Use the arrow button on the back of your camera to scroll through the menu on the LCD screen. This step will vary slightly, as each Canon camera is designed slightly differently, but the functions within the menu will be the same. Be sure you download images from a previous shoot onto your computer before performing this step, as formatting will erase all the data on your card.
4. Select the proper ISO setting for your shooting situation. ISO is based on a film sensitivity setting from the 35mm era; a lower ISO number will allow less light into the camera for recording an image. For example, if you are shooting outside on a sunny day around noon, you would use a 100 ISO setting. In contrast, if you were shooting outside around dinner time, when the light is low, you would set the camera to an ISO of 400 to 1600 to allow a larger amount of light to be captured on the computer's sensor, which creates the image.
5. Set the "Av" setting on the top of the camera, usually found on the dial setting to the left-hand side of the lens, to your desired aperture. The aperture refers to the diaphragm opening of the lens and dictates the amount of light that will enter the camera. The aperture works in sync with the shutter speed to create, or expose, an image with balanced highlights and shadows. The aperture, also called the "f-stop," is noted on the camera with the letter "f," such as f2.8 or f/2.8. The camera will automatically set your shutter speed to match this setting. Most Canon EOS cameras use the large dial on the back of the camera to adjust the aperture, but refer to your user manual, as each camera will differ slightly. Shoot several images at different aperture settings to test the effects on your image.
6. Turn the dial to the "Tv" setting, which allows you to set the shutter speed, and repeat the process. The "Tv" setting adjusts the shutter speed and is the speed at which the shutter curtain, which also allows light to enter the camera and create the photograph, stays open while taking a picture. The shutter speed works together with the aperture and the ISO to create the image, so understanding the process of adjusting all three settings will allow you to understand your camera and take properly exposed images. The shutter speed is noted in fractions of a second and is indicated on the camera settings with numbers ranging from 30 (or 1/30th) to 8000 (or 1/8000th), depending on the camera model. A dial behind the shutter button to the right of the lens should adjust the shutter speed when turned in either direction.
7. Set the camera dial to "M," or manual, and adjust both the shutter speed and the aperture until your camera's light meter falls around the "0" setting. The light meter is located both on the LCD screen beside the shutter button and inside the viewfinder used to compose the image. The light meter is activated by pressing the shutter button halfway and will gather the existing light, check your camera settings and tell you whether the image is overexposed (or too bright) or underexposed (too dark) at the current settings. The ideal image will be properly exposed when the light meter reads "0" or when the meter's indicator stops at the center of the scale inside the viewfinder.
8. Shoot test images with all three variations of settings and import your images to a photo editing software program. Open each image, study the camera settings and compare the different settings to the various outcomes of each photograph. To check the camera settings, go to the "File" settings and select the "File Information" settings or something similar, depending on your editing program. Take notes on the positive and negative attributes of your photo and re-shoot the image with the proper adjustments based on your notes. For example, if an image is underexposed, or too dark to see the main subject, use a slower shutter speed when you re-shoot the image or a larger aperture setting, or both.
Tags: shutter speed, your camera, camera settings, compact flash, light meter