Canon T1i Modes & Menus

Canon Rebel T1i Modes and Menus

The mode dial on the right side of the Canon T1i's top panel lets you select various exposure modes, with the same range of options presented as on the preceding Rebel XSi, but with two additions, and borrowing the black-on-silver color scheme from the EOS-50D. Canon divides the dial into "Basic" and "Creative" zones, the Basic range encompassing the Full Auto setting and the six scene modes in what Canon refers to as the "Image" zone. The Canon T1i's Creative zone includes the new setting for Creative Auto, plus Programmed exposure, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, full Manual control, and the Automatic Depth of Field mode. The new Movie mode is at the "Basic" end of the mode dial's range, but we'll consider it to be an entirely separate mode, rather than part of the Canon T1i's Basic set.

Here's a description of each of the Canon T1i's shooting modes:

Movie Recording Mode: The first option on the Canon T1i's Mode dial is the new Movie mode. When Movie mode is selected, the camera's mirror and shutter open, as in Live View mode, but the Print/Share/LiveView/Movie button on the camera's back functions as the start/stop button for movie recording. Like other movie-capable SLR cameras on the market, the Canon T1i can't autofocus during movie operation, so you must use the AF/AE lock button on the rear panel to set focus before you begin recording. Movie recording capacity varies based on the size of memory card you're using, but is in all cases limited to a maximum of 29 minutes and 59 seconds. (That's thanks to European tax regulations, but as it turns out, the 4GB limit on video file sizes will in practice restrict you to shorter movie clips anyway.)

Flash Off Mode: Proceeding around the Mode Dial in a clockwise direction, Flash Off mode disables both the internal flash head and any external flash unit connected. Focus is set to AI Focus mode, drive mode is set to Single, and metering is set to Evaluative. The camera controls ISO and Auto white balance as well. In a nice touch, the ISO that the Canon T1i has chosen is displayed on the rear-panel display, something you don't always see in auto-ISO modes.

Night Portrait Mode: This mode is for taking pictures of people at sunset or at night, letting the flash illuminate the subject, while the longer exposure provides a brighter view of the surroundings. The Canon T1i's autofocus mode is automatically set to One Shot. Drive mode is set to Single Shot, and metering mode is set to Evaluative. Since slower shutter speeds will be used, a tripod is recommended to prevent movement from the camera. The Canon T1i's built-in flash is automatically enabled and synched with the slower shutter speed, so subjects will need to remain still for a few moments after the flash fires to avoid ghost-like after-images. ISO is automatically adjusted by the Canon T1i. (For night exposures without the flash, Canon recommends shooting in Landscape mode.)

Sports Mode: This mode uses a faster shutter speed to capture fast-moving subjects. The autofocus mode is automatically set to AI Servo. Drive mode is set to Continuous Shooting, ISO is set to Auto (and biased towards higher settings, to give faster shutter speeds), and metering mode is set to Evaluative. The Canon T1i's onboard flash isn't available in this mode because it can't cycle fast enough to keep up with the continuous exposure mode.

Close-up Mode (Macro Mode): Turning the Canon T1i's Mode dial to the macro flower symbol sets the camera for capturing smaller subjects such as flowers, jewelry, and other small details. The autofocus mode is automatically adjusted to One Shot, the drive mode is set to Single Shot, and the metering mode is set to Evaluative. ISO is set to Auto. Close-up mode takes advantage of the current lens's minimum focal distance. However, an EOS dedicated macro lens and the Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX are recommended for better close-up photography. Also, note that unlike the macro mode on most consumer digicams, Macro mode on the Canon T1i has no effect on lens focusing range, as that parameter is entirely determined by the lens being used.

Landscape Mode: Landscape mode combines slower shutter speeds with smaller aperture settings to increase the depth of field when shooting broad vistas and sweeping landscapes. This mode is also good for night scenes without people in them. The Canon T1i's built-in flash is automatically disabled, even if it's already raised. Because this mode uses slower shutter speeds, a tripod may be needed in less-bright lighting conditions. Metering is again set to Evaluative and ISO to Auto.

Portrait Mode: This mode uses a large aperture setting to decrease the depth of field, which blurs the background to emphasize the subject. The Canon T1i's ISO is set to Auto, metering to Evaluative, and AF mode to One Shot. Drive mode is set to Continuous Shooting.

Full Automatic Mode: The final mode in the Basic Zone, Full Automatic is indicated on the Canon T1i's Mode dial by a green rectangular outline. In this mode, the camera makes all exposure decisions with the exception of image quality. Autofocus mode is set to AI Focus. (AI Focus evaluates subject movement, sets either one-shot AF or AI Servo AF automatically.) Drive mode is set to Single Shot, ISO is set to Auto, and the metering mode is set to Evaluative.

Creative Auto Mode: For the first mode in the Creative Zone, Canon borrowed the Creative Auto (or "CA") we first saw on the 50D for the new Canon T1i. The CA mode is something of a cross between the green zone and program mode.

When set to CA mode, the Canon T1i allows the user to adjust the flash mode, picture style, motor drive, and exposure compensation, as well as to use the program shift function and select between RAW or JPEG file formats (including several image size/quality options for JPEGs), but the rest of the more complex features remain under automatic control. The Canon T1i's rear-panel LCD display offers text help for each setting while in CA mode, for example prompting the user as to whether they want to blur the background with program shift, or make the picture brighter / darker with exposure compensation, etc. The exposure steps shown on the rear-panel display appear to represent 1/3-stop increments/decrements.

Program AE: The second mode in the Creative Zone of the Mode Dial, Program AE works similarly to the Full Automatic and Creative Auto exposure modes, but allows more control over the exposure variables than does Auto mode. The Canon T1i's aperture and shutter speed are automatically selected by the camera, but you can bias the exposure to larger or smaller apertures by turning the Main dial, which will change the combination of aperture and shutter speed so as to maintain the same exposure value, but with a different combination of aperture/shutter speed. (Personally, I find this sort of vari-program mode more useful than the usual shutter- or aperture-priority modes when I'm wanting to adjust the aperture or shutter speed to control depth of field or subject motion blur. The camera won't let you select a combination of exposure parameters that doesn't work, but you retain all the flexibility of shutter- or aperture-priority exposure modes.)

Shutter-Priority AE: This mode allows you to manually set the shutter speed anywhere from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds, while the Canon T1i chooses the best corresponding aperture setting. You have control over all other exposure variables, including exposure compensation.

Aperture-Priority AE: The opposite of Shutter-Priority mode, Aperture-Priority AE allows you to set the lens aperture (with available apertures depending on the lens in use), while the Canon T1i selects the most appropriate shutter speed. Again, you have control over all other exposure variables, including exposure compensation.

Manual Exposure: This mode provides the same range of exposure control as the other Creative Zone exposure modes (except for exposure compensation), but lets you control both shutter speed and lens aperture independently. The shutter speed range is extended to include a Bulb setting, allowing long exposures for as long as you hold the Canon T1i's Shutter button down. (The rear display reports the elapsed time in minutes and seconds as the exposure progresses.) A display in the viewfinder reports whether the Canon T1i thinks your settings will result in under, over, or correctly exposed photos.

Automatic Depth of Field AE: This is the final mode in the Creative Zone, and is meant for taking pictures of large groups of people, landscapes with foreground detail, or any subject with elements of interest at varying distances from the camera. This mode puts the Canon T1i in control of both the shutter speed and aperture values, but you can adjust the other exposure variables. (Note that this mode cannot be used if the lens focus mode is set to manual.) When shooting in Automatic Depth of Field AE, the Canon T1i sets both the lens aperture and focus distance to achieve a sharp focus over a wide depth of field. It uses the autofocus system to measure the distance to the subjects covered by each of the nine autofocus zones, and then attempts to set the focusing distance and lens aperture so as to render all subject areas in sharp focus.

Playback Mode: Activated by pressing the Play button on the back panel. Playback mode lets you erase images, protect them, or set them up for printing on DPOF and PictBridge-compatible devices. You can also view images in an index display, enlarge images to 10x, view a slide show of all captured images, or rotate an image. The Canon T1i's DISP button activates an information display, which reports the exposure settings for the image; a second press graphs the exposure values on a small luminance histogram, and another press displays both the luminance and separate Red, Green, and Blue histograms.

Canon T1i Menu Layout

The Canon T1i's menus are quite similar to those of the XSi, but there are a few changes. Since many readers may already be familiar with the XSi's menu system, we'll take a quick look at the primary differences.

One thing that will be apparent here is that many menus on the Canon T1i have more items on them than we saw on the XSi. Despite the increased density, we found the menus of the Canon T1i to be wonderfully readable: The super-high resolution of its LCD makes even small menu text very crisp.

Canon Rebel T1i Menu Details

Record Menu 1:

Record Menu 2:

Playback Menu 1:

Playback Menu 2:

Setup Menu 1:

Setup Menu 2:

Setup Menu 3:

Custom Functions Sub-Menu:

My Menu: