Canon EOS 300D Digital RebelCanon knocks the bottom out of the Digital SLR market, with an amazingly affordable, full-featured model!<<Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests :(Previous) | (Next): Camera Modes & Menus>> Page 8:Operation & User InterfaceReview First Posted: 09/04/2003 |
User Interface
The 300D's user interface is similar to that of a traditional 35mm SLR film
camera, though slightly different from that of the 10D. Current users of Canon
EOS SLRs should immediately feel at home, however, as the 300D has the same
overall look and feel. I generally comment on whether or not a camera's controls
permit single-handed operation, but in the case of SLR cameras like the 300D,
this is much less of a consideration, since the cameras' bulk and typical shooting
scenarios generally demand the use of two hands anyway. I really appreciated
the fact that the basic exposure controls are adjustable through the external
camera control buttons and dials, greatly reducing your dependence on the rear-panel
LCD menu system. When you do venture into the menu system, all of the camera's
playback and setup options are available in all shooting modes, although the
erase, index display, image information, and playback zoom functions are only
available in Playback mode. Overall, I found the 300D's user interface straightforward
and efficient, although the number of options controlled by a relatively small
number of buttons does require some study to become familiar with.
Power Switch: Located beneath the Mode dial on top of the camera, this
switch turns the camera on or off.
Mode Dial: Positioned on the right side of the camera's top panel,
this dial sets the exposure mode. Exposure modes are divided into three zones,
the Image, Basic, and Creative zones. The Image Zone encompasses the Flash Off,
Night Portrait, Sports, Close-Up (macro), Landscape, and Portrait exposure modes,
while the Basic zone includes all of the same plus the Full Automatic mode.
Finally, the Creative Zone refers to the Program AE, Shutter Speed Priority
AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual, and Auto Depth of Field Priority AE exposure
modes.
Shutter Button: Located on top of the right hand grip, this button fires
the shutter when fully pressed, and sets focus and exposure when halfway pressed
in Automatic exposure mode.
Lens Release Button: Located on the front of the camera, this rectangular
button located just to the right (as viewed from the front) of the lens mount
unlocks the lens from the mount when pressed. The lens can then be removed by
rotating it about 45 degrees to disengage the bayonet mounting flanges.
Flash Button: Located on the left side of the prism housing, above the
lens release button and just below the pop-up flash compartment, this button
releases the pop-up flash into its operating position when the camera is on.
(The popup flash cannot be raised when the camera is turned off.)
Depth of Field Preview Button: Positioned on the side of the lens mount
housing, just beneath the lens release button, this button lets you preview
the depth of field by stopping down the lens aperture to the current setting
in any of the Creative Zone exposure modes. (Like most modern SLRs, the 300D
normally focuses and meters with the lens wide open, stopping down to the selected
aperture just as the picture is being taken.)
Main Dial: Resting on top of the camera on the right side (as viewed
from the back), this ridged wheel adjusts some of the camera's basic settings.
In Aperture-Priority and Shutter-Priority modes, this dial sets the lens aperture
or shutter speed. In Manual mode, the dial sets the shutter speed. In Program
AE mode, turning this dial selects between a range of equivalent exposure settings.
When turned while pressing a control button (such as the Drive Mode or Exposure
Compensation buttons), this dial adjusts the selected setting.
Drive Button: Located to the left of the Exposure Mode dial, this button
controls the camera's drive mode when pressed while turning the Main dial, cycling
through Single Shooting, Continuous Shooting, and Self-Timer drive modes.
Diopter Adjustment Dial: Located outside the top right corner of the
viewfinder eyepiece, this dial adjusts the optical viewfinder's focus to accommodate
eyeglass wearers, across an unusually wide range of -3 to +1 diopter.
AV/Exposure Compensation Button: Next to the top right corner of the status
display panel, this button lets you adjust the exposure compensation from -2
to +2 EV in one-third-step increments when pressed while turning the Main dial.
In Manual exposure mode, pressing this button and turning the Main dial adjusts
the aperture setting.
AE / FE / Index/ Reduce Button: In the top right corner of the rear panel,
marked with an asterisk, this button locks the exposure until the Shutter button
is pressed. When pressed while the flash is activated, this button locks the
flash exposure, which signals the camera to fire a small pre-flash to measure
the exposure before locking it. (This decoupling of exposure lock from autofocusing
is a very useful "pro" feature seldom seen on lower-end cameras.)
In Playback mode, this button calls up a nine-image index display of the captured
images on the memory card. If a captured image has been enlarged, this button
"zooms" back out from the enlarged view.
Focus Area Selector/Magnify Button: Just beside the AE / FE button, this
button allows you to choose the focus area manually or automatically in Program
AE, Shutter-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, or Manual Exposure modes. Pressing
the button and rotating the Main dial cycles through an automatic setting, or
your choice of seven manually-selected focus areas. The automatic setting selects
the active focus point(s) based on the position of the subject within the frame,
and its proximity to the seven focusing points (shown as seven small boxes arranged
in a cross pattern in the viewfinder).
In Playback mode, pressing this button magnifies the captured image from 1.5 to 10x.
LCD Status Panel Illuminator Button: Adjacent to the lower right corner
of the status display panel, this button illuminates the status display window
with an orange backlight for a few seconds.
Menu Button: Topping a column of buttons along the left side of the LCD
monitor, this button accesses the 300D's LCD-based operating menu in all modes.
Pressing the Menu button a second time cancels the menu display. (This button
also backs out of menu changes.)
Info Button: Just below the Menu button, this button displays the current
exposure settings on the LCD screen when pressed. In Playback mode, pressing
this button brings up an information screen that reports the exposure settings
that the picture was taken with, and also displays a small histogram, which
shows the number of pixels having each possible brightness value.
Jump Button: Directly below the Info button, this button allows you to
jump 10 frames forward or backward when viewing images in Playback mode. Once
pressed, a jump bar appears in the LCD screen, and jumping is controlled by
pressing the right or left arrow keys. The Jump button is active only in Playback
mode.
Play Button: Next in line beneath the Jump button, this button puts the
camera into Playback mode, regardless of the Mode dial setting. (Pressing the
right and left arrow keys in this mode scrolls through captured images.) Playback
mode can be canceled by hitting the Play button again, or by touching the Shutter
button. (The 300D is a "shooting priority" camera. It's always ready
to shoot a picture, regardless of its current mode. Simply pressing the Shutter
button returns it immediately to capture mode.)
Erase Button: The final button in the series lining the left side of
the LCD monitor, this button accesses the Erase menu, which allows you to erase
the current image or all images on the card (except for protected ones). There
is also an option to cancel. The Erase function works in Playback mode and the
quick review mode only.
Four-Way Arrow Pad: To the right of the LCD monitor on the camera's back
panel, this four-button keypad features arrows in each main direction. As the
camera's main navigational tool, the keypad selects various camera settings
and menu options while in an LCD menu screen.
In Record mode, the up arrow key adjusts the ISO setting (when pressed while turning the Main dial), while the down arrow key selects the white balance mode.
In Playback mode, the right and left arrow keys scroll through captured images
on the memory card. If an image has been enlarged, all four arrow keys pan the
view of the enlarged image.
Set Button: Located in the center of the Four-Way Arrow pad, this button
confirms menu selections and camera settings when using the LCD menu system.
(One thing I find a bit annoying about the Rebel's user interface was that you
can't enter a menu item by pressing the right-arrow key. Rather, have to press
the Set button to activate a menu item, then again to confirm your selection.
It seems to me that it would be much more efficient and make for faster navigation
if you could simply right-arrow over into a menu item once you'd scrolled down
to it.)
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