Canon 7D

[Harvey]

Ok...wife and I bought our Christmas present to one another on Sunday...a Canon 7D!

All the different settings and functions is overwhelming so we're faced with a learning process coming from the point-and-shoot world.

We have our first child due this month and we will be taking lots of photos of him. That alone influenced the investment. We've bought an auxilary LED light and it helps with indoor low light and portrait type images with complexion, brightness, etc.

My question for those of you experienced with Canon SDLR cameras is; what settings do you use for best outdoor and wildlife shots?

I've found by just playing around with it, the best setting has been AV both inside and outside. However, my "trial time" has been limited. Any advice will be valued. Thank you!

[Shane]

There's no one best setting for anything, because it all depends on the light at the time and the other things that you are trying to achieve with your picture. There are 3 things that affect the exposure of your image. "Exposure" is the amount of light that hits the camera's sensor during the shot. Too much light, and things get "blown out" - lots of just white areas where you can't see any detail. On the other hand, if you don't get enough light in your shot, then there will be lots of black areas where you can't see any detail. A proper exposure will look similar to what your eye sees - good balance of light from brights to darks showing accurate color and visible detail.

The 3 things that affect exposure are the size of the lens's aperture (similar to your eye's pupil that gets bigger or smaller, depending on how bright or dark it is), shutter speed (the length of time that the shutter is open to let light in to the camera's sensor), and ISO (determines how sensitive to light the camera is). Get this book or any similar book and read it to understand how these things work. It's not complicated, but you need to understand it in order to know how to set your camera. http://www.amazon.com/Exposure-Under...nding+exposure

If you want your 7D to function like a point and shoot and do all the thinking for you, you can set it to Automatic (green square) or Program (P). In Automatic, the camera pics all the settings for you. In Program mode, you must pick the ISO setting, and then the camera will decide the rest.

[Harvey]

...I have some studying to do!

[Shane]

...I have some studying to do!

It's really not as complicated as it seems at first. Read up on it a little, and then just pick up your camera, put it in Manual mode, mess with different settings and take some pictures. You'll see what happens when you change the settings. Once you see what they do, then you'll understand how to make the camera do what you want it to do.

[Michael]

With a little practice and patience, you'll really enjoy the 7D! Congrats on the new purchase!

[ballisticbudda]

There's no one best setting for anything, because it all depends on the light at the time and the other things that you are trying to achieve with your picture. There are 3 things that affect the exposure of your image. "Exposure" is the amount of light that hits the camera's sensor during the shot. Too much light, and things get "blown out" - lots of just white areas where you can't see any detail. On the other hand, if you don't get enough light in your shot, then there will be lots of black areas where you can't see any detail. A proper exposure will look similar to what your eye sees - good balance of light from brights to darks showing accurate color and visible detail.

The 3 things that affect exposure are the size of the lens's aperture (similar to your eye's pupil that gets bigger or smaller, depending on how bright or dark it is), shutter speed (the length of time that the shutter is open to let light in to the camera's sensor), and ISO (determines how sensitive to light the camera is). Get this book or any similar book and read it to understand how these things work. It's not complicated, but you need to understand it in order to know how to set your camera. http://www.amazon.com/Exposure-Under...nding+exposure

If you want your 7D to function like a point and shoot and do all the thinking for you, you can set it to Automatic (green square) or Program (P). In Automatic, the camera pics all the settings for you. In Program mode, you must pick the ISO setting, and then the camera will decide the rest.

Don't go too high with the ISO, the pic can be "grainy."

Other bit of advise, "it is all about the light." A backlit subject can be harder to shoot then one that has the light coming from the front or side.

Look up the "rule of thirds"

Just my .02, I just got into photography this semester for a fine arts credit. Best class I've ever taken.

Helpful link that was posted earlier in this forum.

http://digital-photography-school.com/divine-composition-with-fibonaccis-ratio-the-rule-of-thirds-on-steroids

[justhrowit]

Get Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-ebook/dp/B004FEFS5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354637045&sr=1-1&keywords=understanding+exposure

[Harvey]

Don't go too high with the ISO, the pic can be "grainy."

Other bit of advise, "it is all about the light." A backlit subject can be harder to shoot then one that has the light coming from the front or side.

Look up the "rule of thirds"

Just my .02, I just got into photography this semester for a fine arts credit. Best class I've ever taken.

Helpful link that was posted earlier in this forum.

http://digital-photography-school.co...ds-on-steroids

Been using the "rule of thirds" for awhile now with my point and shoots. It's a good technique.
Everybody is preaching exposure, so that's where I'll spend my research. Thanks for the tips everyone!

[TxTyler]

Harvey, Congrats on the Christmas present/gift! You'll love your 7D

I live out in Pflugerville and work in Round Rock so feel free to ping me if you ever have a question about your camera. You might head out one evening to Brushy Creek. There's somne great evening light right now and would be great for learning about your new camera.

Just to give a few very simple tips:

Early in the morning and late in the evening when light is dim, use a higher ISO, then throughout the day as it gets brighter out you can lower the ISO accordingly.

For wildlife photography, a higher shutter speed typically helps capture moving images as well.

I find that trial an error is your best crash course a lot of times. You'll get the hang of it pretty quick.

Good Luck!

[Harvey]

Since you mentioned Brushy Creek...here's something I've always wanted to know; how do you produce images of flowing water like this example:

Or is that produced in photoshop?

[Shane]

You need a long shutter speed to get motion blur. Moving water, running athlete, moving cars, etc.... When the camera's shutter is open for a longer length of time, it captures movement. When things move, it makes it look like a blur.

Long shutter speeds let in a lot of light, so you have to change your ISO and/or aperture to limit the amount of light getting through in order to keep a proper exposure. If you don't do that while you use a long shutter speed, then you'd just end up with a big white blob due to too much light. Sometimes you have to use a neutral density filter to act like sunglasses or a welding helmet in front of the lens if you want a long shutter speed during bright sunlight.

[Harvey]

You need a long shutter speed to get motion blur. Moving water, running athlete, moving cars, etc.... When the camera's shutter is open for a longer length of time, it captures movement. When things move, it makes it look like a blur.

Long shutter speeds let in a lot of light, so you have to change your ISO and/or aperture to limit the amount of light getting through in order to keep a proper exposure. If you don't do that while you use a long shutter speed, then you'd just end up with a big white blob due to too much light. Sometimes you have to use a neutral density filter to act like sunglasses or a welding helmet in front of the lens if you want a long shutter speed during bright sunlight.

Does a polarized filter serve the purpose of the "neutral density filter" or is a different filter required?

I do a lot of fly fishing out west, so these flowing water shots are intriguing. Saw a spring fed waterfall in the Tri-Basin divide of western Wyoming this summer where I would have loved to have had the right camera equipment to capture it.

[Shane]

A polarizer will cut down about 2 stops of light, so it can work in some situations. Sometimes, in really bright light, you might need to cut out 6-10 stops of light to get a motion blur shot. I have a variable density ND filter. It's two polarizers stack on top of each other, and when you turn the outside one the darkness increases or decreases. I think it goes between 2 and 8 stops.

What does "stop" mean? When you let in one more stop of light, you double the amount of light. When you cut back one stop of light, you cut the light in half.

If you do that by adjusting the lens aperture, you are changing the size of the aperture opening. One stop larger doubles the area of the aperture opening. One stop smaller cuts the aperture area in half.

If you change exposure only by changing shutter speed, then you double the shutter speed to cut the light in half (reduce light by one stop). You cut the shutter speed in half to double the amount of light captured (increase light by one stop).

If you change ISO only, then you double the ISO number to increase light by one stop. You cut the ISO number in half to decrease light by one stop.

[Sticks&Strings]

These guys know a lot more than I do, but I did the same thing you did a year ago. It has been a lot of fun and a big challenge. I bought it, went home, and read the manual and got online and read. Then, I picked up a couple things (Cowboy boots, Cowboy Hat, and a Shed Horn) and set them up and practiced. I also used a coke can and ball of paper. It allowed me to practice and get depth of field shots, etc.

THe Camera will do more than I ever will. But I shoot everything on M (Manual) mode for now. Probably not the best, but I haven't had time to learn more yet and I know it gives me some options. I change things like making it focus on one spot vs the 19 point auto selection and ISO, F-stop, and shutter speed.

BRight Light equals low ISO and and High Shutter speed. Low light equals High Iso, low shutter speed, and low F stop if possible.

At least this is rookie settings. These guys on here can give you better advice and take great pics. I am still working on it.

Good Luck, have fun, its addicting and expensive (New lens and accessory desire gets high)