Julie Adair King is a veteran photography author and educator. Her books include several editions of Digital Photography For Dummies and Canon camera guides. Robert Correll is a guru in all things digital and author of Digital SLR Photography All-in-One For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 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 17

Changing from Standard to Guided Display Mode 19

Ordering from Camera Menus 21

Mastering menu basics 21

Navigating Custom Functions 23

Customizing the Touch Screen 25

Viewing Shooting Settings 27

Displaying the Quick Control screen 27

Decoding viewfinder data 28

Reading the LCD panel 30

Switching to Live View Mode 31

Customizing the Live View display 32

Staying safe with Live View 35

Using Quick Control Mode 36

Familiarizing Yourself with the Lens 38

Focusing 39

Zooming 40

Enabling Image Stabilization 40

Removing a lens 42

Decoding Canon lens terminology 42

Working with Memory Cards 42

Buying SD cards 43

Formatting a card 43

Removing a card 43

Handling cards 43

Locking cards 44

Using Eye-Fi memory cards 44

Reviewing Basic Setup Options 44

Setup Menu 1 45

Setup Menu 2 47

Setup Menu 3 48

Setup Menu 4 49

Setup Menu 5 51

Chapter 2: Choosing Basic Picture Settings 53

Choosing an Exposure Mode 54

Basic Zone exposure modes 54

Creative Zone modes (P, Tv, Av, and M) 55

Changing the Drive Mode 56

Understanding the Image Quality Setting 59

Adjusting the Image Quality setting 60

Considering resolution: L, M, S1, or S2? 62

Understanding file type (JPEG or Raw) 66

Setting the Photo Aspect Ratio 70

Adding Flash 71

Using flash in Basic Zone modes 74

Using flash in P, Tv, Av, and M modes 77

Chapter 3: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically 87

Using Scene Intelligent Auto Mode 88

Viewfinder shooting 88

Live View photography 92

Shooting in Flash Off Mode 95

Taking Advantage of Scene Modes 95

Looking at the primary scene modes 96

Accessing specialty scene modes 98

Adjusting a few settings 101

Gaining More Control with Creative Auto 103

Part 2: Taking Creative Control 109

Chapter 4: Taking Charge of Exposure 111

Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 112

Aperture affects depth of field 114

Shutter speed affects motion blur 115

ISO affects image noise 117

Doing the exposure balancing act 119

Stepping Up to Advance Exposure Modes (P, Tv, Av, and M) 120

Monitoring Exposure Settings 121

Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode 124

Setting ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed 127

Controlling ISO 128

Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 130

Sorting Through Your Camera's Exposure-Correction Tools 132

Overriding autoexposure results with Exposure Compensation 132

Improving high-contrast shots with Highlight Tone Priority 137

Experimenting with Auto Lighting Optimizer 139

Looking at a few other exposure solutions 143

Locking Autoexposure Settings 147

Bracketing Exposures Automatically 149

Chapter 5: Controlling Focus and Depth of Field 155

Setting the Lens to Automatic or Manual Focusing Mode 156

Exploring Viewfinder Focusing Options 158

Adjusting autofocus performance 159

Considering a few other autofocus settings 169

Focusing in Live View and Movie Modes 170

AF Method: Setting the focusing area 171

AF Operation: One-Shot or Servo? 173

Manual focusing in Live View and Movie modes 174

Zooming in for a focus check 176

Manipulating Depth of Field 178

Chapter 6: Mastering Color Controls 183

Understanding White Balance 184

Changing the White Balance setting 185

Creating a custom White Balance setting 189

Fine-tuning color with White Balance Shift 190

Bracketing White Balance 193

Taking a Quick Look at Picture Styles 197

Changing the Color Space 201

Chapter 7: Putting It All Together 203

Recapping Basic Picture Settings 203

Shooting Still Portraits 205

Capturing Action 210

Capturing Scenic Vistas 214

Capturing Dynamic Close-Ups 217

Chapter 8: Shooting and Viewing Movies 219

Recording Movies Using Default Settings 220

Choosing between NTSC and PAL 222

Customizing Recording Settings 222

Choosing a Movie Recording Size setting 223

Setting audio options 227

Using Movie Digital Zoom 230

Reviewing Other Movie Options 232

Autofocusing options 233

Movie Digital IS 234

Playing with exposure and color 235

Checking out a few final features 237

Playing Movies 239

Part 3: After the Shot 241

Chapter 9: Picture Playback 243

Adjusting Automatic Image Review 244

Viewing Pictures in Playback Mode 244

Viewing thumbnails (Index mode) 246

Jumping through images 248

Rotating pictures 251

Zooming in for a closer view 253

Showing focus points during playback 254

Viewing Picture Data 255

Basic Information display mode 256

Shooting Information display mode 257

Understanding histograms 262

Taking Advantage of Image Search 264

Viewing Photos and Movies on a TV 268

Chapter 10: Working with Picture and Movie Files 271

Deleting Files 272

Protecting Photos and Movies 275

Rating Photos and Movies 277

Cropping Photos 280

Installing the Canon Software 283

Sending Pictures to the Computer 284

Downloading via Wi-Fi or USB 285

Downloading from a card reader 289

Converting Raw Images in Digital Photo Professional 4 290

Preparing Pictures for Online Sharing 293

Part 4: The Part of Tens 297

Chapter 11: Ten More Customization Options 299

Changing the Furniture Around 299

Silencing the Camera 300

Disabling the AF-Assist Beam 300

Preventing Shutter Release without a Memory Card 301

Reducing the Number of Exposure Stops 301

Creating a Custom Menu 302

Adding Custom Folders 302

Turning Off the Shooting Settings Screen 303

Embedding Copyright Notices 304

Adding Cleaning Instructions to Images 306

Chapter 12: Ten Features to Explore on a Rainy Day 307

Shooting a Time-Lapse Movie 308

Enabling Mirror Lockup 309

Exploring DPOF Printing 309

Adding Special Effects to Photos 310

Adding Effects During Shooting 312

Tagging Pictures for a Photo Book 314

Creating Video Snapshots 315

Trimming Movies 316

Presenting a Slide Show 317

Exploring Interval Timer Shooting 318

Appendix: Exploring Wireless Connections 319

Preparing the Camera 320

Connecting to a Computer 322

Disconnecting and reconnecting 324

Reviewing EOS Utility functions 325

Connecting to a Smartphone or Tablet 326

Decoding the Wireless Symbols 328

Index 331