Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D Digital Field Guide

Expand your creativity! Use all the features on your Canon T4i/650D

A new camera opens up exciting creative possibilities. In this valuable guide, professional photographer Rosh Sillars introduces you to every button, dial, and menu on the Rebel T4i/650D, showing you exactly how to use each fabulous feature. Calling on his 20–plus years of experience, he teaches you how to capture outstanding images and video in a variety of settings. You'll learn not only how to make the most of your camera, but how to become a better photographer.

• Learn how to set up your camera and master every mode and control
• Sharpen your knowledge of lenses, exposure, and lighting
• Take advantage of the HDR and low–light modes as well as the unique movie–servo feature that enhances video focus
• Get professional advice on shooting and editing portraits, sports, nature, travel scenes, and night views

Inside your free gray and color checker card to help you achieve accurate white balance and color

Introduction xx

Quick Tour 1

Getting Started  2

Camera Controls  3

The top of the camera  4

The back of the camera  5

Choosing Image Quality   6

Selecting a Focus Mode   6

Using a Flash    7

Reviewing Images or Video  8

Taking Better Photos      8

CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D 11

The Top of the Camera   12

The Bottom of the Camera               14

The Front of the Camera  14

The Back of the Camera  16

The Sides of the Camera  20

Lens Controls  21

The Viewfinder Display   22

The LCD Touch Screen and Live

View Mode  25

CHAPTER 2 Setting Up the Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D 29

The Shooting Menus     30

Shooting menu 1     30

Settings and corrective functions     30

Flash control       31

Shooting menu 2     33

Shooting menu 3     34

The Live View Shooting Menu            35

The Movie Shooting Menus              36

Movie shooting menu 1               36

Movie shooting menu 2               37

The Playback Menus     38

Playback menu 1      38

Playback menu 2      39

The Setup Menus       40

Setup menu 1        40

Setup menu 2        41

Setup menu 3        42

Setup menu 4        43

My Menu Settings       44

CHAPTER 3 Choosing the Right Settings for Your Camera 45

The Basic Zone Modes   46

The Creative Zone Modes  50

Focus Modes   52

Picture Styles   56

Drive Modes   59

White Balance Settings   60

Flash Modes   64

ISO Settings   68

Choosing File Quality and Format          69

Image size and file numbering          70

The RAW file format   71

The JPEG file format   71

Movie Modes  72

Exposing for video    72

Setting the file size and focus           73

CHAPTER 4 Using Lenses with the Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D 77

Choosing a Good Lens   78

Focal lengths  80

Autofocus   82

Aperture and depth of field             82

Image Stabilization    84

Vignetting   84

Types of Lenses        85

Prime versus Zoom Lenses               89

Understanding prime lenses            89

Understanding zoom lenses            89

Specialty Lenses        90

CHAPTER 5 Exploring Exposure and Composition 95

Choosing the Right Exposure             96

Setting the shutter speed              99

When to use fast shutter speeds     99

When to use slow shutter speeds    100

Night photography and painting with light              104

Setting the aperture  107

Setting the ISO      108

Using Exposure Compensation           110

High Dynamic Range Photography        111

Exposing for Video      113

Composition  113

Rule of Thirds       115

Fill the frame        116

Lines and shapes    116

Foreground and background      118

Keeping it simple    118

CHAPTER 6 Working with Lighting and Flash 121

The Importance of Light and Shadow      122

The Direction of Light   123

Frontlighting        123

Overhead lighting    124

Sidelighting  124

Backlighting        126

The Quality of Light     127

Hard lighting        128

Soft lighting  129

Types of Lighting       130

Natural light  130

Continuous light     132

Flash     132

Shutter speed and flash            133

Aperture and flash  134

Manual mode and flash            134

The Color of Light      136

White balance options               137

Using Picture Styles  137

Ambience Effects    138

Choosing a color space               138

Measuring Light        139

Choosing the proper exposure         139

Metering modes     141

Evaluative metering mode          141

Center–weighted metering mode     141

Spot metering mode              141

Partial metering mode             142

The Canon Flash System  142

The pop–up flash     143

Using an external flash               144

Using multiple fl ashes               145

CHAPTER 7 Shooting Photos 147

Portrait Photography    148

Equipment  148

Best practices       150

Tips       152

Shooting Action and Sports              155

Equipment  156

Best practices      157

Tips       159

Capturing Events       160

Equipment  160<

Rosh Sillars is a veteran photographer with a background in photojournalism. A digital photography instructor at the University of Detroit Mercy, he also teaches photojournalism at Wayne State University. Rosh writes, speaks, and consults on photography and marketing, and maintains his own studio, Octane Photography.