Canon Archives - Page 5 of 8

Little Known Digital Camera Tricks

The Canon 7D has menu tricks many people don't know about - by Canon

There’s a good reason for spending time with your camera’s instruction manual, because that’s where all the interesting tidbits of camera operation hide. A good 90% of people new to digital photography never take their cameras off the auto mode. Those people are missing out on a lot of interesting features.

Professional photographers are sometimes similarly unaware of features in their own cameras. Manufacturers get requests for features from users all over the world and accommodate those requests as often as they can.

Canon 7D

Many 7D users don’t realize their 7D has some interesting tricks buried in menu options and behind buttons.

If you push the Info button on the back three times, you’ll find a digital level with both pitch and yaw readings. You never need a spirit level with a 7D, it’s already built in.

While most people know the digital zoom button on the back zooms the LCD screen when focusing video, many don’t know the same button allows you to digitally zoom still pictures in playback mode and then use the menu control button to pan around still images in the camera.

Canon 5D

The 5D has a Camera Settings menu option that will record all your camera’s current settings and link those to the “C” mode on the menu dial. So, if you have a detailed camera setup for a specific type of shot, you can record all those options and call them back in an instant.

Nikon D7000

The D7000 has several interesting menu options. There’s the “Q” for quiet release mode that flips to the mirror up to get the shot, but leaves the mirror up until you release the shutter button to minimize noise.

Under the remote control settings there’s an option to raise the mirror before taking the shot for use with ultra-long zoom lenses where shutter mirror vibration might be an issue. In this setting the first step allows the mirror to flip up first, gives the camera time to stabilize, then fires the shutter.

The D7000 also has a 2nd IR receiver on the back when operating with the IR remote control.

Sony Alpha Nex 5

Several models of the Nex have a featured called Smile Shutter, which triggers the shutter when the face detection feature sees everyone smiling. While it sounds hokey, more often than not people have more fun aping for the camera, trying to get the smile shutter to work.

Those gems and more await in your camera’s user manual. Find it, read it, enjoy, and share the tricks that you find with us.

Picking a Beginner Camera

The question I get most often is, “What kind of camera should I buy?” That’s a big question and a lot depends on your budget and what kind of photography you’ll be pursuing and at what level. The word beginner comes in many contexts: are you a beginner to shooting for money or using a camera period. Different options apply.

Professional and Semi-Professional

You’re planning on making money with your camera or plan to do a lot of shooting as a semi-pro or amateur. You have $1,800 to $2,500 in your budget.

Cameras: Nikon D300s , Nikon D7000, Nikon D700, Canon 5D MKII, and Canon 7D.

If you’re shooting stills, go with Nikon. If you think you’ll be doing a lot of video go with Canon. Nikons have video recording capability, but most of the video accessories are made for Canons.

Advanced Hobbyist

You are really serious about taking pictures, but you have a day job in another field. Photography is a serious hobby. There’s an outside chance you’ll be taking a paying job, or filling in for friends who can’t afford a professional photographer. You have a budget from $800 to $1,500.

Cameras: Canon 60D, Canon T3i, Nikon D3100, Nikon D5100

It’s pretty much just which ever camera you like in this range.

You Just Want To Take Good Pictures

You want to take great pictures, but mainly of your family and friends. You want something better than a pocket camera and you might want to experiment with manual controls once in a while.

Your budget is $400 to $800.

Cameras: Sony NEX-5N, Canon S100, Nikon P7000, Samsung NX100

Remember you can always use Snapsort to get the latest and best camera recommendations, including beginner DSLRs, semi pro DSLRs and small high quality cameras. Our system will produce slightly different results from our editorial coverage as it allows you to define your exact personal criteria.

Major Product Announcement From Canon In November

I’ll admit to being somewhat jaded by corporate media relations but the announcement from Canon about a major product announcement on November 3rd caught my attention.

If you notice Canon is a little different about product announcements. For them, by the time they announce a product, it’s already on store shelves.

It’s rare that Canon ever makes this kind of production out of a product announcement, so photography and video professionals will be paying attention. The blog sphere is already alive with speculation.

Engadget speculated it could be an announcement of the new mirrorless camera lines hitting the shelves in time for the Christmas holidays, and the timing makes that a definite possibility.

WideOpenCamera thinks it’s an announcement about the rumored Canon 4K movie camera, and announcing that in Hollywood on the red carpet would make perfect sense.

DVFreelancer has a long-shot guess this is the long-awaited and oft-rumored 5D MKIII. Which would work from the holiday timing and Hollywood venue, but that would hardly qualify as “historic”, so I’m going with the 4K.

Whatever the product, Canon certainly has my attention. I’m just hope whatever it is lives up to the hype. What do you think it is?

Canon Springs S100

The Canon S100 is a marginal upgrade to the S95 - by Canon

Canon moved to upgrade the wildly successful S95 with the S100. It’s sometimes challenging to figure out just what manufacturers were thinking when reviewing new camera models, as this one seems to be something less than a generational improvement over the S95.

Canon swapped out the 10-megapixel CCD in the S95 for a 12-megapixel BSI CMOS chip in the S100. The BSI sensor should deliver stronger low light performance, with the ISO rating extended from 3,200 in the S95 to 6,400 in the S100.

Those are the biggest differences in the specs. The continuous shooting mode is slightly higher in the S100 (2.3 fps vs 1.9) and low light performance will be improved. Overall, fielding cameras like the S100 puts Canon in a poor competitive position with manufacturers like Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic which are fielding cameras with better specs at competitive prices.

Two worthwhile features in Canon’s S100 are the Digic 5 image processor and the fact the S100 is one of the few pocket cameras to record full 1080 video at 24 fps for timeline compatibility with its larger DSLR cousins. If you shoot a lot of video, that feature will be surprisingly compelling.

Another surprise was the addition of stereo microphones for sound and a lens control ring that enables control of many of the camera settings and built-in GPS.

It’s a fair conclusion to say the S100 is a decent camera, but not one likely to stem the loss of market share to Sony, Panasonic and Fujifilm in the consumer camera space.

Mirrorless Cameras Cut Into Canon, Nikon

Samsung NX100 — Mirrorless cameras take a bite out of Canon and Nikon markets - by Samsung

Figures from Bloomberg indicate that Sony, Panasonic and Samsung may be scoring market share gains from Canon and Nikon with their mirrorless camera models. The trend is most obvious in Japan where Canon and Nikon’s combined share of that market has fallen an eye-popping 35%.

The losses for Canon and Nikon have been a boom for Sony, as their market share has doubled. Panasonic and Samsung also scored gains, but not as significant.

Mirrorless cameras have a smaller physical frame and lower weight, while keeping the larger sensor sizes and interchangeable lenses. The big chips behind good glass are getting results comparable to larger DSLRs at closer to half the weight of their bigger DSLR cousins.

If you’re tempted to dismiss the trend as one confined to Japan, keep in mind that the smart phone and tablet trend also started there before spreading to more distant shores.

No surprise that rumors have surfaced that Canon is coming out with mirrorless models in 2012, it’s not much of a stretch to think Nikon is engaged in similar efforts.

It’s my opinion that Panasonic and Olympus stumbled with the 4/3 sensor format. I just don’t see professionals investing in that format when full size and APS-C sensors are superior and proven technologies. For consumer cams, it’s less of an issue because the average buyer doesn’t really understand the difference in chip sizes.

As the trend in SLRs moves to mirrorless, expect Canon and Nikon to claw back some of the market share lost to Sony. But I don’t expect to see any significant growth from Panasonic or Olympus until they abandon 4/3.