01_385371-ffirs.qxp 8/8/08 7:54 PM Page i Canon EOS ® Digital Rebel XSi/450D FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Julie Adair King 01_385371-ffirs.qxp 8/8/08 7:54 PM Page i Canon EOS ® Digital Rebel XSi/450D FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Julie Adair King http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield 01_385371-ffirs.qxp 8/8/08 7:54 PM Page ii Canon®EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2008933790 ISBN: 978-0-470-38537-1 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_385371-ffirs.qxp 8/8/08 7:54 PM Page iii About the Author Julie Adair Kingis the author of many books about digital photography and imaging, including the best-selling Digital Photography For Dummies.Her most recent titles include Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D For Dummies,Digital Photography Before & After Makeovers,Digital Photo Projects For Dummies, Julie King’s Everyday Photoshop For Photographers, Julie King’s Everyday Photoshop Elements, and Shoot Like a Pro!: Digital Photography Techniques. When not writing, King teaches digital photography at such locations as the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. A graduate of Purdue University, she resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Author’s Acknowledgments I am extremely grateful to the team of talented professionals at John Wiley and Sons for all their efforts in putting together this book. Special thanks go to my awesome project editor, Kim Darosett, who is the type of editor that all authors hope for but rarely experience: supportive, skilled, and amazingly calm in the face of any storm, including my not infrequent freakouts. I also owe much to the rest of the folks in both the editorial and art depart- ments, especially Heidi Unger, Rashell Smith, Shelley Lea, Steve Hayes, Andy Cummings, and Mary Bednarek. Thanks, too, to Jonathan Conrad for provid- ing the awesome nighttime shot for Chapter 7, and to agent extraordinaire, Margot Maley Hutchison, for her continuing help and encouragement. Last but oh, so not least, I am deeply indebted to Canon guru Chuck Westfall for always answering all my questions, even the silly ones; to Scott Heath at Synergy Communications for his help with this book and various other pro- jects; and to technical editor Chuck Pace, whose keen eye and vast experi- ence set me on the right track whenever I mistakenly thought I should go left. Thank you, thank you, for sharing your time and your expertise — the book would not have been the same without it. 01_385371-ffirs.qxp 8/8/08 7:54 PM Page iv Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions and Editorial Composition Services Project Editor:Kim Darosett Project Coordinator: Erin Smith Executive Editor:Steven Hayes Layout and Graphics: Reuben W. Davis, Andrea Hornberger Copy Editor:Heidi Unger Proofreaders: Jessica Kramer, Shannon Ramsey Technical Editor:Chuck Pace Indexer: Slivoskey Indexing Services Editorial Manager:Leah Cameron Editorial Assistant:Amanda Foxworth Sr. Editorial Assistant:Cherie Case Cartoons:Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley,Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek,Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder,Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele,Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services 02_385371-ftoc.qxp 8/8/08 7:55 PM Page v Contents at a Glance Introduction.................................................................1 Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps...................................7 Chapter 1:Getting the Lay of the Land............................................................................9 Chapter 2:Taking Great Pictures, Automatically.........................................................37 Chapter 3:Controlling Picture Quality..........................................................................55 Chapter 4:Monitor Matters: Picture Playback and Live View Shooting...................73 Part II: Taking Creative Control.................................107 Chapter 5:Getting Creative with Exposure and Lighting..........................................109 Chapter 6:Manipulating Focus and Color...................................................................157 Chapter 7:Putting It All Together.................................................................................201 Part III: Working with Picture Files ...........................223 Chapter 8:Downloading, Organizing, and Archiving Your Photos..........................225 Chapter 9:Printing and Sharing Your Photos.............................................................255 Part IV: The Part of Tens...........................................279 Chapter 10:Ten Fast Photo-Editing Tricks..................................................................281 Chapter 11:Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day....................311 Index.......................................................................327 02_385371-ftoc.qxp 8/8/08 7:55 PM Page vi 02_385371-ftoc.qxp 8/8/08 7:55 PM Page vii Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 A Quick Look at What’s Ahead.......................................................................1 Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps.........................................................2 Part II: Taking Creative Control.............................................................2 Part III: Working with Picture Files.......................................................3 Part IV: The Part of Tens........................................................................3 Icons and Other Stuff to Note.........................................................................3 About the Software Shown in This Book.......................................................5 Practice, Be Patient, and Have Fun!...............................................................5 Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps ...................................7 Chapter 1:Getting the Lay of the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Getting Comfortable with Your Lens...........................................................10 Attaching a lens....................................................................................10 Removing a lens....................................................................................13 Using an IS (image stabilizer) lens.....................................................13 Focusing and zooming the lens..........................................................14 Adjusting the Viewfinder Focus...................................................................15 Working with Memory Cards........................................................................17 Exploring External Camera Controls...........................................................18 Topside controls...................................................................................19 Back-of-the-body controls...................................................................20 Front-left buttons..................................................................................24 Ordering from Camera Menus......................................................................25 Monitoring Critical Camera Settings............................................................27 Decoding Viewfinder Data.............................................................................29 Reviewing Basic Setup Options....................................................................30 Setup Menu 1........................................................................................31 Setup Menu 2........................................................................................32 Setup Menu 3........................................................................................34 Three more customization options....................................................35 Chapter 2:Taking Great Pictures, Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Getting Good Point-and-Shoot Results........................................................38 Using Flash in Automatic Exposure Modes................................................43 Exploring Your Automatic Options..............................................................44 Full Auto mode......................................................................................45 Automatic scene modes (a.k.a. Image Zone modes).......................46 Changing the Drive Mode..............................................................................53 02_385371-ftoc.qxp 8/8/08 7:55 PM Page viii viii Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D For Dummies Chapter 3:Controlling Picture Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Diagnosing Quality Problems.......................................................................56 Decoding the Quality Options......................................................................58 Considering Resolution: Large, Medium, or Small?...................................60 Pixels and print quality........................................................................62 Pixels and screen display size............................................................62 Pixels and file size................................................................................64 Resolution recommendations.............................................................64 Understanding File Type (JPEG or Raw).....................................................66 JPEG: The imaging (and Web) standard ...........................................67 Raw (CR2): The purist’s choice..........................................................69 My take: Choose Fine or Raw..............................................................71 Chapter 4:Monitor Matters: Picture Playback and Live View Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Disabling and Adjusting Instant Review......................................................74 Viewing Images in Playback Mode...............................................................75 Jumping through images.....................................................................76 Viewing multiple images at a time......................................................77 Rotating vertical pictures....................................................................78 Zooming in for a closer view...............................................................80 Viewing Picture Data......................................................................................82 Basic information modes.....................................................................82 Shooting Information display.............................................................84 Understanding Histogram display mode...........................................88 Deleting Photos..............................................................................................91 Erasing single images...........................................................................91 Erasing all images on your memory card..........................................92 Erasing selected images......................................................................93 Protecting Photos..........................................................................................95 Using Your Monitor as a Viewfinder............................................................96 Enabling Live View...............................................................................99 Taking a shot in Live View mode......................................................100 Customizing the Live View display..................................................103 Part II: Taking Creative Control..................................107 Chapter 5:Getting Creative with Exposure and Lighting . . . . . . . . . .109 Kicking Your Camera into Advanced Gear................................................110 Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO........111 Understanding exposure-setting side effects.................................113 Doing the exposure balancing act....................................................118 Monitoring Exposure Settings....................................................................120 Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode.....................................................124 02_385371-ftoc.qxp 8/8/08 7:55 PM Page ix ix Table of Contents Setting ISO, f-stop, and Shutter Speed.......................................................127 Controlling ISO....................................................................................127 Adjusting aperture and shutter speed.............................................129 Overriding Autoexposure Results with Exposure Compensation.........133 Holding on to Highlights.............................................................................136 Disabling Auto Lighting Optimization.......................................................139 Locking Autoexposure Settings..................................................................140 Bracketing Exposures Automatically.........................................................142 Using Flash in Advanced Exposure Modes...............................................145 Understanding your camera’s approach to flash...........................145 Adjusting flash power with flash exposure compensation...........149 Locking the flash exposure...............................................................151 Exploring more flash options............................................................152 Using an external flash unit...............................................................154 Chapter 6:Manipulating Focus and Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157 Reviewing Focus Basics...............................................................................158 Adjusting Autofocus Performance.............................................................160 Selecting an autofocus point.............................................................160 Changing the AF (autofocus) mode.................................................163 Autofocusing in Live View Mode................................................................164 Enabling Live View autofocusing......................................................165 Live View autofocus option 1: Quick mode.....................................166 Live View autofocus option 2: Live mode.......................................168 Manipulating Depth of Field........................................................................169 Using A-DEP mode..............................................................................176 Checking depth of field......................................................................177 Controlling Color..........................................................................................178 Correcting colors with white balance..............................................178 Changing the white balance setting.................................................180 Creating a custom white balance setting........................................182 Fine-tuning white balance settings...................................................184 Bracketing shots with white balance...............................................187 Choosing a Color Space: sRGB vs. Adobe RGB........................................190 Exploring Picture Styles..............................................................................191 Assessing the Picture Styles.............................................................192 Setting the Picture Style....................................................................194 Customizing Picture Styles................................................................197 Creating your own Picture Style.......................................................199 Chapter 7:Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201 Recapping Basic Picture Settings...............................................................202 Setting Up for Specific Scenes....................................................................205 Shooting still portraits.......................................................................205 Capturing action.................................................................................210 Capturing scenic vistas.....................................................................214 Capturing dynamic close-ups...........................................................217 Coping with Special Situations...................................................................219