Canon EOS Beginners' FAQ Introduction Will This Document Help
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http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/general.html#eos http://photonotes.org/ Canon EOS Beginners’ FAQ Copyright © 2002-2007 NK Guy Version 0.9.5. 6 January, 2007. http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/ Introduction Photography is a complex field, and it can be difficult getting started. There’s a lot of material out there aimed at beginners, but much of it is quite general and doesn’t get into a lot of the specifics of a given camera maker’s product lineup. For example, Photo.net and Photozone.de are two sites with some excellent beginner articles, but these articles are fairly general in scope so as to be useful to as broad a range of users as possible. Many of the books on the market were written during the heyday of amateur SLR photography in the 1970s and early 80s and so don’t even talk about autofocus cameras. There’s more specific material to be had, but a lot of it is quite advanced in nature. For example, Bob Atkins has an excellent Canon FAQ available, but it has little beginner material and has not been recently updated. So that’s the purpose of this document. It’s information on Canon EOS SLR cameras and related products, aimed at the beginner and packed with a lot of typical questions that beginners actually ask. And though it assumes you’re a Canon user or potential Canon user, much of the information here is still general enough to be of interest to users of other camera systems. Note that I wrote this document because it’s basically what I wish existed when I was starting out. I’m not affiliated with Canon or any other maker, nor do I endorse their stuff. I happen to use some of their products as they work well for me, but that’s it. Will this document help me take better pictures? I’d like to mention one other very important point. This FAQ will help you understand the basics of your camera equipment and give you some suggestions for building your gear collection, but it will not in and of itself help you take better photos. Why do I say this? Well, photography is both an artform and a technical craft. You can have the best and most expensive camera equipment that money can buy and still take incredibly boring photos. And you can use cheap disposable toy cameras and produce powerful and evocative images. Now obviously there’s a strong connection between equipment and results in photography. Writers, say, don’t have this problem. A writer can write as good a novel with a ballpoint pen as a word processor (albeit perhaps more slowly), whereas photographs are by definition the product of technology. But where good gear can help a good photographer produce great results, the reverse is not automatically true. So. In addition to reading stuff like this, I think that reading about photographic composition, learning about the crucial importance of lighting, taking art classes, looking at works of photographers you respect, developing your personal vision of photography and so on are critical if you have any interest at all in the artistic and creative aspect of photography. But most importantly, go out there and shoot! The only way to improve your photography is to take more pictures. Shoot a lot, go over what you’ve done and decide what worked and what didn’t. No amount of reading can make up for practical experience. And try not to get caught up on the equipment. Camera gear is obviously a critical tool for photography, but unless your goal is to collect cameras I think obsessing over it can be a real trap. As David Hemmings, star of the 1960s film Blow Up, remarked in a recent BBC interview: (Photographer) David Hamilton said that the difference between an amateur and a professional photographer is that the amateur thinks the camera does the work. And they treat the camera with a certain amount of reverence. It is all about the kind of lens you choose, the kind of film stock you use... exactly the sort of perfection of the camera. Whereas the professional - the real professional - treats the camera with unutterable disdain. They pick up the camera and sling it aside. Because they know it’s the eye and the brain that count, not the mechanism that gets between them and the subject that counts. Do I have to read this whole thing? Yeah, I know it’s kind of long. If you want to read the FAQ in its entirety, great! But I wrote it in sections with hyperlinked questions so it should be fairly easy to flip through quickly. Either way, be sure to check the links section and see what other people have to say about Canon EOS gear. This document is the work of one person - me. I’ve had corrections and suggestions from lots of other people (and please send me yours if you have them!) but nonetheless at the end of the day it’s all my writing. The facts listed here are correct to the best of my knowledge, but a lot of this material contains matters of opinion as well. So be to sure to check out other resources, particularly in person when you can. It would be foolish hubris of me to claim expert authority on all matters photographic. Part I - General Which is better? Canon or Nikon or Sony or Pentax, etc? What does “EOS” mean? What does “EF” mean? What does “SLR” mean? What is the history of EOS cameras? What is 35mm film? Should I get an APS camera? Should I buy a film camera or a digital camera? Why aren’t cameras and lenses from different manufacturers interchangeable? I have an EOS film camera and accessories. Can I use this stuff with an EOS digital camera? I have a non-EOS digital camera. Can I use its accessories with an EOS digital camera? Which is a better investment? A camera or a lens? Where can I get a manual for my camera? What is a third party product? What is a grey market product? Where should I buy my camera? What should I look out for when shopping for second-hand equipment? What does (some photography term) mean? Part II - Cameras Choosing a camera. Which Canon EOS camera should I buy? Don’t expensive cameras take better photos than cheap ones? Should I buy a used camera or lens? I’ve just bought (such and such camera). What do you think? Comparing camera models. What is meant by a “consumer” camera versus an “advanced amateur” or “professional” camera? What’s the difference between a Rebel, Elan or Kiss camera and an EOS number camera? Should I buy a consumer camera or an advanced amateur camera? How do the EOS A2/5, EOS Elan II/50 and EOS Elan 7/30 compare? How do the Rebel 2000/EOS 300/Kiss III and Rebel Ti/EOS 300V/Kiss 5 compare? How do the first generation EOS cameras like the 600 series or the 700/750/850 hold up today? How do the early 90s EOS cameras like the 100/Elan, 10/10s or A2/5 hold up today? How do early 90s Rebel/consumer cameras compare today? How do the EOS 1, 1N, 3 and 1V compare? General Canon EOS camera questions. I’ve heard that Canon bodies are easily broken, since they’re made of plastic and not metal. Does the lens mount material - plastic or metal - make a difference? How can I tell what market segment a camera is aimed at? I have an EOS film camera. Is there any way to turn it into a digital camera? Is it true that you can’t use Canon cameras with infrared film? Why do none of the low to mid range EOS cameras have a spotmeter? How old is my camera or lens? I’m left-handed, but EOS cameras are all designed for right-handers. Do I have any choices? Camera functions and controls. Is there any reason not to use the basic (picture icon) modes of my camera? What do the various letters (P, Tv, Av, M, C, etc) on the command dial mean? How can I find out what all the icons and acronyms on my camera mean? What is the difference between DEP and A-DEP modes? What is bulb (B) mode? What do the various metering modes and icons mean? Does the number of metering zones matter? What does Single versus Continuous wind mean? What are the One-Shot and AI Servo autofocus modes? What camera setting should I use for a wedding? Landscape? Birthday party? (etc) What is exposure compensation? What is a custom function? I set a custom function but it has no effect. What’s wrong? What is leader out? How can you change films in the middle of a roll? Camera features and accessories. What is mirror lockup? What is a pellicle mirror? What is meant by a bright or dim viewfinder? What is a pentaprism? A roof mirror? What is a viewfinder shutter or cover for? What is dioptric correction? What is depth of field preview? What is eye- control focus (ECF)? What is a cross sensor? Autofocus doesn’t work very well when it’s dark. What can I do? Which EOS cameras can use split circle viewfinder screens? How good are EOS cameras and lenses for manual focus work? What does it mean that Canon professional cameras are high-precision and optimized for fast lenses? What is the advantage of a rear command dial (QCD)? Why doesn’t mine work? What are add-on handgrips for? What is the advantage of a removable camera back? Should I pay extra for a date back camera? What types of remote controls are there? Should I get a wired or wireless shutter release? What is an intervalometer? Camera problems.