Canon EOS 30DBy: Shawn Barnett and Dave EtchellsMyriad minor feature and interface tweaks make a great SLR even better. <<Operation & User Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Image Storage & Interface>> Page 10:Camera Modes & MenusReview First Posted: 04/14/2006 |
Camera Modes and Menus
Flash Off Mode: The first mode in the Easy Shooting Zone, Flash
Off mode disables both the internal flash unit 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.
Night Scene Mode: This mode is for taking pictures of people at
sunset or at night. The 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 built-in flash is automatically enabled
and synched with the slower shutter speed, so subjects need to remain
still after the flash fires to avoid ghostlike afterimages. ISO is automatically
adjusted by the camera. (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 metering mode is
set to Evaluative. The onboard flash isn't available in this mode (since
it can't cycle fast enough to keep up with the continuous exposure mode).
Close-up Mode (Macro Mode): Turning the 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' minimum focal distance. However, an EOS dedicated macro lens and the Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX are recommended for better close-up photography. (Unlike the macro mode on most consumer digicams, Macro mode on the 30D 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 built-in flash is automatically disabled,
even if it's already raised. Because this mode uses slower shutter speeds,
a tripod may be needed. 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.
ISO is set to Auto, metering to Evaluative, and AF mode to One Shot.
Full Automatic Mode: The final mode in the Easy Shooting Zone,
Full Automatic is indicated on the 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, automatically sets either one-shot AF or AI Servo AF
automatically.) Drive mode is set to Single Shot, and the metering mode
is set to Evaluative.
Program AE: This is the first mode in the Creative Zone of the
Mode Dial. Program AE works similarly to the Full Automatic exposure mode,
but allows more control over the exposure variables. 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 control dial, which
will change the combination of aperture and shutter speed so as to maintain
the same exposure value, but with a different choice of aperture/shutter
speed. Turning the Quick Control dial in this mode adjusts the exposure
compensation setting, to increase or decrease overall exposure.
Shutter-Priority AE: This mode allows you to manually set the shutter
speed anywhere from 1/8,000 to 30 seconds, while the camera 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 ranges depending
on the lens in use), while the camera 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. Displays in both the viewfinder and the top LCD panel report whether the camera 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 camera in control of both
the shutter speed and aperture values, but you can adjust the other exposure
variables. (This mode cannot be used if the lens focus mode is set to
manual.) When shooting in Automatic Depth of Field AE, the camera sets
both the exposure 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 three autofocus zones, and then attempts
to set the focusing distance and lens aperture so as to render all three
subject areas in sharp focus.
Playback Mode: This mode is entered 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/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 Info button
activates an information display, which reports the exposure settings
for the image and graphs the exposure values on a small histogram.
Operating Menu: This menu is available in all
of the camera modes, though a few of the capture-related options are only
available in the Creative Zone. Pressing the Menu button calls up the
Operating menu.
Quality: Sets the image size and the compression ratio. Options are Large/Fine (3,504 x 2,336 pixels), Large/Normal (3,504 x 2,336 pixels), Medium/Fine (2,544 x 1,696 pixels), Medium/Normal (2,544 x 1,696 pixels), Small/Fine (1,728 x 1,152 pixels), Small/Normal (1,728 x 1,152 pixels), RAW (3,504 x 2,336 pixels, with lossless compression by itself) and RAW plus each of the above (the camera saves a RAW image, plus of the above sizes of JPEG compressed format files). - Red Eye On/Off: Turns the Red Eye Reduction lamp mode on or off (when on, the Red Eye reduction lamp lights before every flash exposure, and a countdown timer displays in the viewfinder).
- Beep: Turns the camera's beep sounds on or off.
- Shoot w/o card: Allows firing of the shutter without a CF card in the camera.
- AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing): Sets the
bracketing range for Auto Exposure Bracketing in increments of 1/3 or
1/2 EV from -2 to +2 EV (Creative Zone only).
WB SHIFT/BKT (White Balance Shift/Bracketing):
Adjusts the white balance bracketing series, in arbitrary units from
-3 to +3 in full-stop increments, also allows sophisticated biasing
between Green/Magenta and Blue Amber. - Custom WB: Lets you manually establish the white value by referencing a shot of a white card (Creative Zone only). (This mode on the 30D is a little different from the implementation used by other camera makers, in that it makes use of a previously-shot image of a white card, allowing you to store several white-point references on the camera's memory card and switch between them. It also allows a white reference to be shared between multiple photographers shooting the same event, simply by putting the same white reference image on each of their memory cards. Very handy!)
- Color Temp.: Sets the color temperature in degrees Kelvin for the Kelvin white balance option. Choices range from 2,800 to 10,000 Kelvin in 100-Kelvin degree increments.
- Color Space: Switches between sRGB and
Adobe RGB capture. This is a nice addition, because it allows the user
to still modify parameters.
Picture Style: Lets you reference any of up to nine sets of image-processing parameters that you can set on the camera. These parameters can affect sharpness, contrast, color saturation, and color tone adjustments in the same way that the Canon's RAW Image Converter software does when processing RAW format images. Available modes are Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, and three User Defined 1, 2, and 3.
Protect:
Protects the currently displayed image against accidental deletion,
apart from card formatting. - Rotate: Rotates the currently displayed image 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.
- Print Order: Allows you to set up images for printing on any DPOF compatible device. Print options include setting the number of prints, and whether or not the date and/or file number is printed as well.
- Transfer Order: Sets images to be transferred to a computer.
- Auto Play: Automatically plays captured images in sequential order as a slide show.
- Review Time: When the Review function is set to On or On (Info), this setting controls the amount of time that images are displayed in the review, with options of two, four, or eight seconds, or Hold (which displays the image until the Set button is pressed, or the Shutter button is halfway pressed).
- AF Points: Selects whether the AF point selected at exposure is indicated when the image is displayed in Playback mode.
- Histogram: Selects between a Brightness histogram or an RGB histogram for display in the "Info" screen in Playback mode.
Auto
Power Off: Sets power down time to between 1 and 30 minutes or to
Off for no automatic shutoff. - Auto Rotate: Enhanced feature has three options: Off, Rotate image on the camera and the computer, and Rotate image on the computer only. (Rotating the image on the camera makes poor use of the full rectangular screen, so this is an excellent option).
- LCD Brightness: Adjusts the LCD brightness in five steps.
- Date/Time: Sets the camera's internal date and time.
- File Numbering: Extends consecutive file
numbering between media cards or resets numbering with each new card.
Language: Sets the menu language to one of 15 languages. - Video System: Selects either NTSC or PAL video timing formats
- Communication: Sets camera to work with a computer or printer (Print/PC) or with the WFT-E1 WiFi transmitter.
- Format: Reformats the CompactFlash card,
which erases all files (even protected ones).
Custom Functions: Sets a variety of custom
camera functions for individual camera users. - Clear Settings: Resets all custom settings to their defaults.
- Sensor Clean: Locks up the mirror and opens the shutter, allowing you to clean the sensor of any dust.
- Firmware Ver.: Reports the camera's current firmware and allows user to update.
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