Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D For Dummies

Introduction 1 A Quick Look at What’s Ahead 2 Icons and Other Stuff to Note 3 Practice, Be Patient, and Have Fun! 3 Part 1: Fast Track to Super Snaps 5 Chapter 1: Getting Up and Running 7 Preparing the Camera for Initial Use 7 Exploring External Camera Features 12 Topside controls 12 Back-of-the-body controls 14 And the rest 20 Changing from Guided to Standard Display Mode 22 Ordering from Camera Menus 25 Mastering menu basics 25 Navigating Custom Functions 28 Customizing the Touchscreen 29 Viewing Camera Settings 31 Displaying the Quick Control screen 32 Decoding viewfinder data 33 Switching to Live View Mode 35 Customizing the Live View display 37 Live View safety tips 40 Using Quick Control Mode 40 Familiarizing Yourself with the Lens 44 Working with Memory Cards 47 Reviewing Basic Setup Options 49 Setup Menu 1 49 Setup Menu 2 51 Setup Menu 3 53 Setup Menu 4 54 Setup Menu 5 55 A few other critical menu options before you go 56 Chapter 2: Choosing Basic Picture Settings 59 Choosing an Exposure Mode 60 Basic Zone exposure modes 60 Creative Zone modes (P, Tv, Av, and M) 61 Changing the Drive Mode 62 Understanding the Image Quality Setting 67 Considering resolution: L, M, S1, or S2? 67 Understanding file type (JPEG or Raw) 71 Adjusting the Image Quality setting 76 Setting the Photo Aspect Ratio 79 Adding Flash 81 Setting the flash to fire (or not) 85 Adding Red-Eye Reduction 90 Reviewing Advanced Flash Options 91 Adjusting flash output with Flash Exposure Compensation 92 Locking the flash exposure 94 Investigating other flash options 96 Chapter 3: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically 101 Using Scene Intelligent Auto Mode 102 Viewfinder shooting 102 Live View photography in Scene Intelligent Auto mode 106 Exploring Creative Assist Adjustments 110 Discovering Selfie Mode 118 Taking Advantage of SCN (Scene) Modes 121 Accessing Scene modes 122 Reviewing the available scene modes 124 Adjusting camera settings in SCN mode 128 Part 2: Taking Creative Control 131 Chapter 4: Taking Charge of Exposure 133 Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 134 Aperture affects depth of field 136 Shutter speed affects motion blur 137 ISO affects image noise 139 Doing the exposure balancing act 140 Stepping Up to Advance Exposure Modes (P, Tv, Av, and M) 141 Monitoring Exposure Settings 143 Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode 146 Setting ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed 149 Controlling ISO 150 Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 154 Sorting Through Your Camera’s Exposure-Correction Tools 156 Overriding autoexposure results with Exposure Compensation 156 Improving high-contrast shots with Highlight Tone Priority 162 Experimenting with Auto Lighting Optimizer 165 Looking at a few other exposure solutions 169 Locking Autoexposure Settings 172 Bracketing Exposures Automatically 174 Chapter 5: Controlling Focus and Depth of Field 179 Setting the Lens to Automatic or Manual Focusing Mode 180 Discovering the AF ON button 182 Exploring Viewfinder Focusing Options 183 Adjusting autofocus performance 184 Considering a few other autofocus settings 194 Focusing in Live View and Movie Modes 196 AF Method: Setting the focusing area 196 AF Operation: One-Shot or Servo? 202 Manual focusing in Live View and Movie modes 205 Zooming in for a focus check 206 Manipulating Depth of Field 208 Chapter 6: Mastering Color Controls 213 Understanding White Balance 214 Changing the White Balance setting 215 Creating a custom White Balance setting 220 Fine-tuning color with White Balance Shift 222 Bracketing White Balance 226 Taking a Quick Look at Picture Styles 229 Changing the Color Space 233 Chapter 7: Putting It All Together 235 Recapping Basic Picture Settings 235 Shooting Still Portraits 237 Capturing Action 242 Capturing Scenic Vistas 246 Capturing Dynamic Close-Ups 249 Chapter 8: Shooting and Viewing Movies 251 Recording Movies Using Default Settings 252 Setting the Broadcast Standard (NTSC or PAL) 256 Understanding the Movie Recording Size Setting 257 Selecting Audio Options 261 Using Movie Digital Zoom 264 Recording Vertical Movies 267 Reviewing Other Movie Options 269 Autofocusing options 270 Movie Digital IS 271 Playing with exposure and color 272 Checking out a few final features 275 Playing Movies 277 Part 3: After the Shot 281 Chapter 9: Picture Playback 283 Adjusting Instant Image Review 283 Viewing Pictures in Playback Mode 284 Viewing multiple thumbnails at a time (Index mode) 287 Jumping through images 289 Rotating still pictures 291 Zooming in for a closer view 294 Showing focus points during playback 295 Viewing Picture Data 296 Basic Information display mode 297 Shooting Information display mode 299 Understanding histograms 304 Taking Advantage of Image Search 306 Chapter 10: Working with Picture and Movie Files 311 Deleting Files 312 Protecting Photos and Movies 316 Rating Photos and Movies 318 Fixing Red-Eye 321 Cropping Photos 322 Processing Raw Images in the Camera 326 Understanding the basic approach 327 Using the Raw Image Processing tool 329 Processing Raw images using Creative Assist 333 Sending Pictures to the Computer 336 Preparing Pictures for Online Sharing 340 Part 4: The Part of Tens 343 Chapter 11: Ten More Customization Options 345 Giving the Set Button an Extra Job 345 Customizing Four Other Buttons 347 Disabling the AF-Assist Beam 348 Creating a Custom Menu 348 Adding Custom Folders 349 Turning Off the Shooting Settings Screen 350 Embedding Copyright Notices 351 Adding Cleaning Instructions to Images 353 Stopping a Retractable Lens from Closing 353 Swapping the AF Point Selection and AE Lock Button Functions 354 Chapter 12: Ten Features to Explore on a Rainy Day 357 Shooting a Time-Lapse Movie 358 Enabling Mirror Lockup 360 Exploring a Few Obscure Printing Options 360 Adding Special Effects to Photos 362 Adding Effects During Shooting 364 Creating Video Snapshots 366 Trimming Movies 368 Setting Up for Smooth HDTV Playback 369 Presenting a Slide Show 370 Viewing Photos and Movies on a TV 372 Appendix: Exploring Wireless Connections 375 Index 389