Exploring and Setting Up 1 the Digital · Setting Up the Digital Rebel XTi/400D P rofessional photographers know that the most impor-tant ﬁrst step in photography is learning the

11C H A P T E RExploring andSetting Upthe DigitalRebelXTi/400D

Professional photographers know that the most impor-tant first step in photography is learning the camera so

thoroughly that he or she can operate it blindfolded. Then,you can make camera adjustments instinctively and confi-dently without missing a shot.

Knowing your camera inside and out not only instills confi-dence, but it allows you to react quickly and to get thoseimportant brag-book shots that you might otherwise miss orwish had been better.

Because of its design, the EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D makesmastering the camera both easy and fun. Body controls trans-late into ease of use, while the full-function features offerexceptional creative control. Internally, Canon’s high-resolutionCMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensordependably delivers vivid, crisp images, especially at the high-est image-quality settings.

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In This Chapter

Camera and lenscontrols

Rear camera controls

The LCD

Viewfinder display

Setting up the DigitalRebel XTi/400D

About media cards

Setting the date and time

Choosing the file format and quality

Choosing a white-balance option

Choosing a PictureStyle

Setting monochromefilter and toning effects

Changing filenumbering

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COPYRIG

HTED M

ATERIAL

14 Part I ✦ Using the Digital Rebel XTi/400D

Camera and LensControlsThe better that you know the Digital RebelXTi/400D controls, the faster you are able to

change settings for specific images. The fol-lowing sections help you to explore andmaster these controls.

Remote control sensor

Red-eye reduction/Self-timer lamp

Shutter button Built-in flash

EF lens mount index

Flash pop-up button

Lens release button

Grip DC couplercord hole

Lens mountMirror

Depth-of-fieldpreview button

1.1 Digital Rebel XTi/400D front camera controls.

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Chapter 1 ✦ Exploring and Setting up the Digital Rebel XTi/400D 15

Shutter button

Main dialPower light

Power switch

Hot shoe1.2 Digital Rebel XTi/400D top camera controls.

Lens mount index

Zoom ring

58mm filter thread

Focus mode switch Focusing ring

1.3 Lens controls.

Rear CameraControlsYou use the rear camera controls most often.The Digital Rebel XTi/400D offers shortcut

buttons that are handy for making quickadjustments while you’re shooting. In par-ticular, the WB (white balance), ISO, Menu,and AF (Auto Focus) selectors are handy formaking quick changes.

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Dioptric adjustmet knob

AE/FE Lock button,Index/Reduce buttonAF Point Selection/Enlarge buttonAperture/Exposure Compensation buttonDrive Mode SelectionbuttonCross keysISO Speed Set buttonAF Mode buttonSet buttonPicture Style Selectionbutton/White BalancebuttonCF card slot cover

Viewfinder eyepiece

Display off sensor

Print/Share button

Camera Setting DisplayOn/Off, INFO/TrimmingOrientation button

Menu buttonJUMP button

Playback buttonErase buttonLCD monitor

Access Lamp

1.4 Digital Rebel XTi/400D rear camera controls.

Aperture

1/125

L

2. . 1. . . .1

ONE SHOT

. .2+-F5.6 ISO

AWB

AWB

B/W

RAW

WBWB

100

153

1+

+-

+-

C.FnWBWB+-

WBWB

<

AEB

ISO speedFlash exposure compensation

Drive mode Single shooting

Bulb exposure time

Monochrome shooting

AF point selection

Battery checkMetering mode

Large/Fine<

+

Large/Normal< Medium/Fine< Medium/Normal< Small/Fine<

>>>>>>

<<< >

>>

<<

>> RAW+Large/Fine

Small/NormalRAW

Evaluate

Image-recording quality

AF mode<ONESHOT> ONE-SHOT AF<AI SERVO> AI FOCUS AF<AI FOCUS> AI SERVO AF<MF> MANUAL FOCUS

Beeper

Red-eye reduction

Continuous shootingSelf-timer/Remote control

Self-timer countdown Shots remaining during WB-BKT Shots remaining

PartialCenter-weighted average

WB Correction/WB-BKT

Custom Function

White balanceAutoDaylightShadeCloudyTungsten lightWhite fluorescent lightFlashCustom

Shooting modeShutter speed

Exposure levelExposure compensation amountAEB level

1.5 Digital Rebel XTi/400D LCD display.

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The LCD One obvious advantage of digital photogra-phy is the ability to view an image on theLCD immediately after it is taken. When theLCD is not displaying the most recent image,it shows the exposure settings, remainingframes, battery status, and camera settingsso you can review them quickly beforeshooting.

Some information on the LCDpanel and in the viewfinder onlydisplays for about five seconds.You can restore it by lightly press-ing the Shutter button.

Viewfinder DisplayOn the Digital Rebel XTi/400D, the opticalviewfinder displays approximately 95 per-cent of the image that the sensor captures.In addition to displaying the scene thatyou’re shooting, the viewfinder displays theaperture, shutter speed, flash readinesslevel, and frames remaining during continu-ous shooting.

Note


Focusing screen

AE lockAEB in progress

Focus confirmation light

Maximum burst

CF card full warning ( )CF card error warning ( )No CF card warning ( )

Exposure level indicator Exposure compensation amount AEB levelRed-eye reduction lamp on

Flash-readyImproper FE lockwarning

High-speedsync (FP flash)

Aperture

Shutter speedFE lockBusyBuilt-in flash recycling

( )( )

( )

AF point display indicator(.)

AF points

White balance correction

Flash exposure compensation

+-

+-

WBWB+-

WBWB+-

1.6 Digital Rebel XTi/400D viewfinder display.

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Auto Focus (AF) points are etched in thefocusing screen. If you manually change AFpoints, the viewfinder highlights them as yourotate the Main dial. If the camera automat-ically selects an AF point, the selected pointdisplays in red on the focusing screen whenyou press the Shutter button halfway down.

To ensure that the viewfinder image andfocusing screen elements are adjusted foryour vision, you can adjust the diopter set-ting from -3 to +1 dpt. Simply move thediopter switch — located to the right of theviewfinder eyecup — up or down until theimage in the viewfinder is sharp.

Setting Up theDigital RebelXTi/400DSetting up the Digital Rebel XTi/400D is thefirst step in getting pictures from the camerathat you’ll treasure for years to come.Although this chapter offers important

pointers on setting up your camera, ulti-mately the best way to get great picturesfrom the Digital Rebel XTi/400D is to exper-iment with settings. Unlike paying for filmand prints, the pictures that you take withthe Digital Rebel XTi/400D are “free.” Thisgives you the freedom to explore differentcamera settings until you get pictures with acombination of color, saturation, and con-trast that’s pleasing to your eye and that cre-ates vibrant prints.

Many people are afraid that changing cam-era settings will “mess up” the pictures thatthey’re getting, and that they will forget howto reset the camera if they don’t like thechanges they’ve made. Canon provides areset option, which means that you canalways revert to the original settings on theDigital Rebel XTi/400D. Once you clear thesettings, you have a fresh start.

To reset the camera to the default settings,just press the Menu button, press the rightcross key to select the Tools 2 menu, andthen press the down cross key to selectClear settings. Then press the Set button.


Battery Basics

Before you can set up the Digital Rebel XTi, be sure that the NB-2LH lithium-ionBattery Pack is fully charged. A charging cycle for a fully depleted battery is approxi-mately 90 minutes. To complete the charging cycle, it’s important to leave the batteryin the charger for an hour or longer after the green light displays. For longer shootingdurations, you can purchase the optional Battery Grip BG-E3, which holds two NB-2LH Battery Packs. A date/time backup lithium battery is also included in the batterycompartment.

In normal operating temperatures (68 degrees F), a battery charge delivers 400 to600 shots. However, in freezing or colder temperatures, battery life decreases to 350to 450 shots per charge.

When shooting outdoors in cold weather, keep the camera under your coat whenyou’re not shooting. It’s also a good idea to carry a spare battery in an inside pocket,close to your body, to keep it warm.

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You may have already completed some ofthe setup tasks in this chapter. If you have,then you can skim through the chapter andlook for tips that you may have missed inyour initial setup.

Lithium-ion batteries have atwo- to three-year life span,regardless of use. It’s best to buynewly manufactured batteries.

About Media CardsThe Digital Rebel XTi/400D acceptsCompactFlash (CF) Type I and Type II mediacards, as well as microdrives. Also, becausethe camera supports the FAT32 file system,you can use media cards with capacities of2GB and larger.

Not all media cards are created equal, andthe type and speed of media that you useaffects the Digital Rebel XTi/400D’sresponse times. These include the ability towrite images to the media card and to con-tinue shooting during the image-writingprocess, the speed at which images displayon the LCD, and how quickly you can zoomimages on the LCD.

The type of file format that you choose alsoaffects the speed of certain tasks. For exam-ple, when writing images to the media card,JPEG image files write to the card faster thanRAW or RAW + Large JPEG files. JPEG andRAW file formats are discussed in detail laterin this chapter.

Media cards are rated by speed and use vari-ous designations such as High Speed, Ultra,Write Acceleration, and numeric speed ratingssuch as III or IV. However, the speed of thecard becomes a moot point when it exceedsthe camera’s speed in delivering data to thecard. As a result, although fast cards are agood investment, there is a point of diminish-ing returns. You can determine the best cardfor you based on speed, capacity, and price.However, with the burst speed of the DigitalRebel XTi/400D being 27 Large/Fine JPEGimages, it is important to have a fast card.

For performance results of vari-ous media cards and cameras,including the EOS Digital RebelXTi/400D, visit Rob Galbraith’sWeb site at www.robgabraith.com.

As you take pictures, the LCD on the DigitalRebel XTi/400D shows the approximatenumber of images that remain on the mediacard. The number is approximate becauseeach image varies slightly, depending on theISO setting, the file format and resolution,the parameters chosen on the camera, andthe image itself (different images compressdifferently).

You insert the card into the card slot on thecamera, with the front of the card facing theback of the camera. When you buy a newcard, always format it in the camera, andnever format it on your computer. However,be sure that you off-load all images to thecomputer before you format the cardbecause formatting erases images.Formatting a media card in the camera alsosets the data structure on the card for theDigital Rebel XTi/400D.

Tip

Tip


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To format a card in the camera, follow thesesteps:

1. Press the Menu button on theback of the camera.

2. Press the Jump button or the upand down cross keys to selectthe Tools 1 tab on the top row.

3. Press the down cross key toselect Format.

4. Press the Set button. The formatscreen appears asking you to con-firm that you want to format thecard.

5. Press the right cross key toselect OK.

6. Press the Set button. The DigitalRebel XTi/400D formats the card,and then displays the Tools 1menu.

It is generally a good idea to format mediacards every few weeks to keep them clean.If you’ve used a media card in another cam-era, be sure to format it in the Digital RebelXTi/400D to ensure that proper data struc-ture is set, and to clean up the card.

It is possible to take pictureswhen no memory card is in thecamera, although I can’t thinkof a reason why you wouldwant to do that. You can preventthis from happening by turningoff the option to shoot without acard. Just press the Menu but-ton, choose the Shooting 1menu, and press the down crosskey to select Shoot w/o card.Press the Set button, select Off,and press the Set button again.

Setting the Date andTimeSetting the date and time on the DigitalRebel XTi/400D ensures that the data thattravels with each image file has the correctdate and time stamp. This data is commonlyreferred to as metadata. Metadata is a col-lection of all of the information about animage, including the filename, date created,size, resolution, color mode, camera makeand model, exposure time, ISO, f-stop, shut-ter speed, lens data, and white-balance set-ting. EXIF, used interchangeably with theterm metadata, is a particular form of meta-data.

It is very helpful to have the date and timeinformation for the image when you want toorganize your image collection. In fact, theDigital Rebel XTi/400D’s Direct ImageTransfer function can store images in datedfolders on your computer’s hard drive.

For details on the Direct ImageTransfer function for the DigitalRebel XTi/400D, see Chapter 8.

To set the date and time on your DigitalRebel XTi/400D, follow these steps:


2. Press the Jump button, or theup or down cross keys, to selectthe Tools 1 tab.

3. Press the down cross key toselect Date/Time.

4. Press the Set button.

Note


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5. Press the up or down cross keysto change the Month field.

6. Press the right cross key tomove to the Day field.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for eachentry.

8. When all options are set, pressthe Set button. The Tools 1 menuappears.

9. To close the menu, press theMenu button.

Remember to reset the dateand time to adjust for daylightsavings time or when youchange time zones.

Choosing the FileFormat and QualityThe file format and quality level that you useto take your pictures is one of the mostimportant decisions that you make. Thesesettings determine not only the number ofimages that you can store on the mediacard, but also the sizes at which you can

later enlarge and print images from theDigital Rebel XTi/400D. Table 1.1 explainsthe options that you can choose from.

Because of the high-quality images that thiscamera delivers, you can make beautifulenlargements from these images. Even ifyou don’t foresee needing anything largerthan a 4 × 5-inch print from an image, youmay change your mind in the future anddecide to print it at a larger size. For this rea-son, and to take advantage of the DigitalRebel XTi/400D’s fine image detail and highresolution, it pays to choose a high-qualitysetting and to leave it there for all of yourshooting.

The JPEG quality options on the DigitalRebel XTi/400D indicate the compressionlevel of the files and the recording size.Compression discards some pixels from theimage to make the file size smaller. Thehigher the compression level, the smallerthe file and the more images that you canput on the media card. However, at thesame time, as compression increases, theimage quality diminishes, as does the size atwhich you can print the images, as shown inTable 1.1.

Note


Avoid Losing Images

When the camera’s red access light— located at the bottom of the back of the camera—is blinking, it means that the camera is recording or erasing image data. When theaccess light is blinking, do not open the CF card slot cover, do not attempt to removethe media card, and do not remove the camera battery. Any of these actions canresult in a loss of images and damage to the media card and camera. What’s more,if you open the CF slot cover, there is no audible warning to let you know that you’vejust lost the image being written as well as any images in the camera’s buffer. In short,don’t open the CF card slot cover if the access light is on.

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JPEG formatJPEG, which stands for Joint PhotographicExperts Group, is a lossy file format thatcompresses the image file size by discardingsome image data before storing it on yourmedia card. Because JPEG images are com-pressed, you can store more images on theCF card. However, as the compression ratioincreases, more of the original image data isdiscarded, and the image quality degrades.

Other important things to know aboutchoosing JPEG formats are that, unlike RAWimages that allow you to change many set-tings after pictures are captured, JPEGimages are processed by Canon’s internalsoftware before being stored on the mediacard. This means there is less editing leewayin making significant changes to the imageduring editing. Because JPEG is a commonfile format, you can open JPEG images inany image-editing program and print themdirectly from your computer.

If you choose the JPEG format, then you canchoose from among different image sizesand compression ratios that range from low(Fine settings) to high (Normal and Smallsettings) as shown in Table 1.1.

RAW format RAW stores data directly from the imagesensor to the media card with a minimumof in-camera processing. RAW data givesyou ultimate flexibility because you canchange camera settings after you take thepicture. For example, if you didn’t set thecorrect white balance or exposure, you canchange it in a RAW conversion program onthe computer. This gives you a secondchance to correct underexposed or overex-posed images, and to correct the color bal-ance after you take the picture.


Table 1.1 Digital Rebel XTi/400D File Format and Quality

Approximate Image Quality Recording Size Format File Size (MB) Print Size

L (Large Fine) 10.1 megapixels JPEG (.jpg) 3.8 /3888 × 2592 16.5” × 11.7”

L (Large Normal) 2.0/3888 × 2592

M (Medium Fine) 5.3 megapixels 2.3/2816 × 1880 11.7” × 8.3”

M (Medium Normal) 1.2/2816 × 1880

S (Small Fine) 2.5 megapixels 1.3/1936 × 1288 7” × 5” or smaller

S (Small Normal) 0.7/1936 × 1288

RAW + L 10.1 RAW + 9.8/3888 × 2592 16.5” × 11.7”megapixels JPEG

(.CR2 &JPEG)

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However, unlike JPEG images, which you canview in any image-editing program, youmust view RAW files using the Canon FileViewer Utility software or another RAW-com-patible program such as Adobe Bridge andCamera Raw. You must also convert themusing Canon’s Digital Photo Professionalprogram or a third-party RAW-conversionprogram that supports the Canon DigitalRebel XTi/400D RAW file format. You canchoose to shoot either RAW images orRAW+JPEG, which records the RAW file anda Large/Fine JPEG image. This is handy whenyou want a JPEG image for quick viewing onyour computer or a Web site, and you wantthe ability to convert and process the RAWfile at a later time for printing.

Because RAW is a lossless format (no loss ofimage data), image quality is not degradedby compression. However, you can storefewer RAW images on the media card thanJPEG images. Table 1.2 shows the file sizeand approximate number of images thatyou can store on 512MB media cards for theDigital Rebel XTi/400D.

To set the image quality, follow these steps:

1. Turn the Mode dial to a BasicZone mode. Basic Zone modes areindicated by icons such as a per-son’s head, mountains, or a flower.


3. On the Shooting 1 tab, press thedown cross key to select Quality.

4. Press the Set button. The Qualityscreen appears.

5. Press the down cross key toselect the size and quality thatyou want. In Basic Zone modes,you can choose only JPEG optionsat different levels of compression.


7. Turn the Mode dial to a CreativeZone mode. Creative Zone modesare indicated by P, Tv, Av, M, and A-DEP on the Mode dial.

8. Repeat steps 2 to 6 to set thequality for Creative Zone modes.In Creative Zone modes, you canalso choose RAW or RAW +JPEGfile formats.


Table 1.2 JPEG versus RAW

Digital Rebel XTi/400D: 512MB Card

Approximate File Size in MB Number of Pictures

Large JPEG; Fine or Normal 3.8 / 2.0 130 / 240

Medium JPEG; Fine or Normal 2.3 / 1.2 216 / 410

Small JPEG; Fine or Normal 1.3 / 0.7 376 / 719

RAW 9.8 50

RAW + Large/Fine 13.6 36

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Choosing a White-Balance OptionA white-balance setting tells the camera thetype of light that is in a scene so that thecamera can render white and other colorsaccurately in the image. Light temperaturevaries according to the source and time ofday. For example, the temperature, or color,of light at sunset is very different from thetemperature of light at noon, which is alsodifferent from the temperature of commonhousehold light.

While the human eye sees white as white,regardless of the temperature of light in thescene, a digital camera does not make thesame kind of automatic adjustments todetect differences in light temperatures. Asa result, you must choose a white-balanceoption to tell the camera the type of light in

which you’re taking the picture. The DigitalRebel offers eight white-balance settings fora variety of different light temperatures:AWB (Auto White Balance), Daylight, Shade,Cloudy/Twilight/Sunset, Tungsten, WhiteFluorescent, Flash, and Custom.

Chapter 4 provides more detailson light and color temperature.

Of course, the Digital Rebel XTi/400D, likeother digital cameras, includes an automaticwhite-balance setting (AWB). When you usethe AWB option, the camera looks at thecolors in the overall scene and makes a“best guess” of white balance. This strategyworks admirably in most cases; however, itdoes not work in scenes that are dominatedby one or two colors, or where no white ispresent. Consequently, you’ll get the bestimage color if you set the camera for thespecific type of light in your scene.


Adjusting the Color Temperature

The Digital Rebel XTi/400D takes white balance a step further by allowing you to cor-rect the standard white balance in a way that is very similar to using color-correctionfilters in film photography. In film photography, conversion filters allow you to usefilm in light that it isn’t balanced for. For example, with the correct color conversionfilter, you can use daylight film (balanced to 5500 degrees K) in tungsten light (bal-anced to 3200 degrees K). Without the filter, the pictures will have an orange tint. Butwith a cooling color-conversion filter, certain wavelengths of light are prevented frompassing through to the lens, thereby shifting colors so that they are more natural.

On the Digital Rebel XTi/400D, you can replicate the effect of a color-conversion fil-ter using the WB SHIFT/BKT function to shift the color bias. To adjust the white bal-ance, press the Menu button, move to the Shooting 2 tab, select WB SHIFT/BKT, andthen press the Set button. Then use the cross keys to shift the color balance towardBlue (B), Amber (A), Magenta (M), or Green (G). To cancel a bias correction, movethe cursor back to the center (0,0) point.

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To take pictures with accurate color, it isimportant to change the white balance; for-tunately, choosing the setting is easy. Tochange the white balance on the DigitalRebel XTi/400D, follow these steps:

1. Press the WB (White Balance)button on the back of the cam-era. The white-balance menuappears.


1.7 This image was made using a Daylight white-balance setting thatrenders the grays and whites accurately.

1.8 This image was made using a Shade white-balance setting thatdoes not match the light in the scene and adds a yellow hue to theoverall image.

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2. As you watch the LCD, press thedown or left cross key to selectthe setting that you want.

3. Lightly press the Shutter buttonto return to shooting. The white-balance setting displays on theLCD.

Cover your white-balancebasesIf you’re shooting JPEG images, you can usewhite-balance auto bracketing to ensurethat the nuances of color are accurate.White-balance bracketing captures threeimages, each with +/-3 one-stop differencesin color from the base current white-bal-ance setting. With white-balance auto brack-eting, the camera captures one image at thecurrent white-balance setting, a secondimage with a blue/amber bias, and a thirdimage with a magenta/green bias.

To set white-balance auto bracketing, followthese steps:

1. If you have the image qualityset to RAW in a Creative Zonemode, reset the image recordingto one of the JPEG recordingsettings, such as Large/Fine. Theimage Quality option is on theShooting 1 menu.

2. Press the Menu button on theback of the camera and selectthe Shooting 2 menu.

3. Press the down cross key toselect WB SHIFT/BKT.


5. Rotate the Main dial to selectthe bracketing level and direc-tion, either blue/amber ormagenta/green. As you rotate theMain dial, the cursor changes to

three squares, indicating the threepoints that will be used to bracketimages.

6. Rotate the Main dial to set thedirection and amount of white-balance bracketing. The BKT(Bracketing) on the right of thescreen indicates the direction andlevel of bracketing.


8. Lightly press the Shutter buttonto return to shooting.

The bracketed sequence begins with normalwhite balance, and then continues witheither blue-and-amber bias images, ormagenta-and-green bias images. When youcombine white-balance correction withauto-exposure bracketing, a total of nineimages are taken for each single shot. Youcan cancel white-balance bracketing byturning the camera off.

Mixed light? No problemMixed-light scenes, such as tungsten anddaylight, used to drive photographers crazy.Shooting film in these scenes meant thatyou had to hold your breath and hope forthe best. However, digital photography haschanged everything. With the Digital RebelXTi/400D, you can set a custom white bal-ance to get accurate color in mixed light, aswell as in other less-than-perfect lighting situations. By setting a custom white bal-ance, you tell the camera what shouldappear white in the specific light that you’reshooting in. As long as you are shooting inthat light, the custom white balance shouldrender whites accurately. Setting a customwhite balance saves time that you wouldotherwise spend color-correcting images onthe computer. For example, in figure 1.9,I set a custom white balance that neutral-ized skin tones and left only a hint of the


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overhead temperature and light color inareas of the subject’s hair because the leftside of the subject’s face was lit by diffuseddaylight, and the right side was lit by over-head fluorescent lights.

To set a custom white balance, ensure thatthe camera is not set to the black-and-whitePicture Style. Then, follow these steps:

1. Position the camera so that asheet of white paper fills thecenter of the viewfinder, andtake a picture of the paper.If the camera cannot focus, switchthe button on the side of the lensto MF (Manual Focusing), andfocus on the paper manually byturning the focusing ring. Alsoensure that the exposure is neitherunderexposed nor overexposed.

2. Press the Menu button.

3. On the Shooting 2 tab, press thedown cross key and selectCustom WB.

4. Press the Set button. The cameradisplays the most recent image. Ifthe image of the white paper is notselected, use the left or right crosskey to select it.

5. Press the Set button again. TheDigital Rebel imports the white-balance data from the selectedimage. A caution screen appearsbriefly to remind you to set the WBsetting to Custom WB. TheShooting 2 menu appears.

6. Lightly press the Shutter buttonto dismiss the menu, and thenpress the WB cross key. TheWhite Balance screen appears.

7. Press a cross key to selectCustom White Balance. TheCustom WB option is the lastoption on the menu.

8. Lightly press the Shutter buttonto return to shooting. As long asyou are shooting in the same lightthat you used to set the customwhite balance, the color will beaccurate. If you change to a differ-ent type of lighting, reset the whitebalance to match the type of lightin the scene or set a new customwhite balance.

Choosing a PictureStylePicture Styles on the Digital Rebel XTi/400Dare a set of camera instructions that adjustthe image for contrast, sharpness, saturation,and color tone, for different appearances or


1.9 Using a custom white balancecompensates for less-than-perfect lighting.

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“looks.” These styles simulate the differentlooks of different films that each offer char-acteristic looks that vary by color tone, colorsaturation, and contrast. On the DigitalRebel, you can use Picture Styles to simulatedifferent looks.

The Standard Picture Style on the DigitalRebel XTi/400D delivers visually pleasingcontrast, color tone, sharpness, and satura-tion for general shooting. However, if you’reshooting a portrait, you may want slightlyless contrast and more subdued color. Ifyou’re shooting landscapes, you may wantmore vivid greens and blues in the image. Inthese situations, Picture Styles offer a way toquickly adjust the image color, contrast, andsaturation, based on the scene or subject.

Your camera offers six preset Pictures Stylesthat you can choose from to change howyour images appear. In addition, you cancustomize preset Picture Styles and createyour own styles.

The Digital Rebel XTi/400D offers the fol-lowing Picture Styles:

✦ Standard. This Picture Style offersimages that have saturated colorand good sharpness. For mostscenes, Standard is a good PictureStyle to use. In Basic Zone modes,Standard Picture Style is automati-cally chosen in all modes exceptfor Portrait and Landscape.

✦ Portrait. This Picture Style deliverspleasing, healthy-looking skintones. Moderate sharpness pro-duces a soft look to minimizedetails such as skin pores andimperfections, which makes thisstyle appropriate for women, chil-dren, and babies. The PortraitPicture Style is automatically cho-sen in Portrait mode.

✦ Landscape. This Picture Styleoffers vivid blues and greens toenhance landscape images. Thisstyle also works well for sunset,twilight, sunrise, and night images.This Picture Style is automaticallychosen in Landscape mode.

✦ Neutral. This Picture Style pro-duces natural colors with subduedcontrast and saturation. These set-tings allow editing leeway for pho-tographers who prefer to manuallyadjust color and saturation in animage-editing program.

✦ Faithful. Like Neutral, this PictureStyle produces natural colors withsubdued contrast and saturation.This style is best for shooting underlight at 5200 K because the imagecolor is colorimetrically adjusted tomatch the subject color.

✦ Monochrome. Monochrome offersexcellent black-and-white imageswith the option to add a yellow,red, orange, or green filter. TheYellow filter increases overall con-trast and provides a sense of depthto the image. The Red filter pro-duces stronger contrast than theYellow filter; it also produces a gra-dient effect in a blue sky that goesto black, and brightens fall colors.The Orange filter darkens comple-mentary green and blue colors aswell as sunset colors, and itenhances contrast in landscapescenes. The Green filter intensifiescomplementary red tones and ren-ders greens and blues brightly. Inaddition, you can adjust theMonochrome Picture Style to applytoning effects that include Sepia,Blue, Purple, or Green.

The following series of images shows thedifferences in Canon’s Picture Styles usingthe same scene.


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1.10 This image was taken using theStandard Picture Style.

1.11 This image was taken using thePortrait Picture Style.

1.12 This image was taken using theLandscape Picture Style.

1.13 This image was taken using theNeutral Picture Style.

1.14 This image was taken using theFaithful Picture Style.

1.15 This image was taken using theMonochrome Picture Style.

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You can download additional Picture Stylesfrom the Picture Style File on the CanonWeb site at www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/picturestyle/file/. You can not onlyapply these styles in any EOS digital SLR thatsupports Picture Styles, you can also usethem in Canon’s Digital Photo Professionalsoftware and apply them after you capturean image. Instructions for downloadingadditional Picture Styles is provided on theWeb site.

You can create and save up to three user-defined Picture Styles using your own set-tings for contrast, sharpness, saturation, andcolor tone. However, I recommend tryingthe preset Picture Styles to see the results

they produce before you either create yourown user-defined styles or modify an exist-ing Picture Style. Evaluate the images foreach characteristic and determine whichcharacteristics you want to adjust. For exam-ple, unless you print directly from the cam-era, I recommend leaving extra sharpeningto the last stage of image editing on yourcomputer, after you size the image for print-ing or Web display. Conversely, you may findthat the contrast may be higher than you like,and that decreasing it can give you moreediting leeway on the computer.

Table 1.3 shows the default settings for eachPicture Style.


Table 1.3

EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D Picture Style

Color Default Picture Style Description Tonal Curve Saturation Settings

Standard Vivid, moderately Higher contrast High saturation 3,0,0,0sharp, crisp

Portrait Enhanced skin tones, Higher contrast Medium 2,0,0,0soft texture, lower saturationsharpness

Landscape Vivid blues and Higher contrast High saturation 4,0,0,0greens, high for greens/sharpness blues

Neutral Natural but subdued Medium, Low saturation 0,0,0,0color. No sharpness subdued applied. contrast

Faithful Colorimetrically Medium, Low saturation 0,0,0,0adjusted to match subdued 5200 degrees K. contrastNo sharpness applied.

Monochrome Black-and-white or Higher contrast Low saturation; 3,0toned images with yellow, orange, medium sharpness red, and green

filter effects available

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To choose a Picture Style, follow these steps:


2. Select the Shooting 2 tab.

3. Press the down cross key toselect Picture Style.

4. Press the Set button. The PictureStyle screen appears.

5. Press the down cross key toselect a Picture Style.

6. Press the Set button. TheShooting 2 menu appears.


SettingMonochrome Filterand Toning EffectsYou can set color filter and toning effects forthe Monochrome Picture Style. There arefour Monochrome color-filter options tochoose from. The Yellow filter makes skieslook natural with clear, white clouds. TheOrange filter darkens the sky and adds bril-liance to sunsets. The Red filter darkens ablue sky and makes fall leaves look brighterand crisper. The Green filter makes treeleaves look crisp and bright. When you setthe Monochrome Contrast to a positive set-ting, this increases the effect of the filter.You can choose to have a toning effectapplied in the camera when you are takingMonochrome images. The Toning-effectoptions include None, Sepia (S), Blue (B),Purple (P), and Green (G).

To set a Monochrome Picture Style filter ortoning effect, follow these steps:





5. Press the down cross key toselect Monochrome.

6. Press the Jump button.

7. Press the down cross key toselect Filter effect or Toningeffect.

8. Press the Set button. The optionsappear for the filter effects or ton-ing effects.

9. Press the down cross key toselect the filter or toning effectthat you want.

10. Press the Set key.

11. Press the Menu button twice.The Monochrome Picture Style andfilter effect remain until youchange them.


To create and save your own Picture Style ,follow these steps:





5. Press the down cross key toselect User Def. 1. The style thatyou create is based on theStandard Picture Style.


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6. Press the Jump button. TheDetail set for User Def. 1 appears.

7. Press the down cross key tomove to the Sharpness field,and then press the Set button toactivate the sharpness controladjustments.

8. Press the left or right cross keyto adjust the Sharpness setting,and then press the Set button.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 to move to the next fields and makeadjustments.

10. Press the Menu button. ThePicture Style menu appears.

11. Press the Set button. TheShooting 2 menu appears, display-ing User Def.1 as the selectedPicture Style. This style is used forshooting until you change toanother Picture Style.


If you want to apply a color filter or toningeffect to the Monochrome Picture Style, fol-low steps 1 to 4 in the previous set of steps,and then press the Jump button. Press thedown cross key to select Filter effect orToning effect, and then press the Set button.Press the down cross key to select the filteror toning effect that you want from the list,and then press the Set button. Press the Setbutton again to return to the Shooting 2menu.


Changing Color Space

A color space defines the range of colors that can be reproduced. Some color spacescontain more colors than others, and some color spaces are better for printing, whileothers are better for pictures that display on the Web.

The Digital Rebel XTi/400D offers two color spaces: Adobe RGB and sRGB. The AdobeRGB color space offers the widest color range. It is the choice for advanced and pro-fessional photographers who edit their images for custom or commercial printing.Images that you take with this color space have much more subdued color, satura-tion, and sharpness than images that you take with sRGB.

In the sRGB color space, the range of colors is not as wide, and colors appear brighterand more saturated than with the Adobe RGB color space. This is a good color spaceto use for images that you display on the Web or send in e-mail, and for images thatyou print directly from the CF card to a printer.

To change the color space, follow these steps:


2. Press the right cross key to select the Shooting 2 tab.

3. Press the down cross key to select Color space, and then press the Setbutton. The color space options appear.

4. Press a cross key to select sRGB or Adobe RGB, and then press the Setbutton. If you select Adobe RGB, image filenames begin with _MG_.

5. Lightly press the Shutter button to return to shooting.

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If you want to adjust the preset PictureStyles, you can select them and adjust thesettings by following the preceding steps. Ifyou don’t like the changes, you can select[Default set.] on the Picture Style screen toreturn to the original Picture Style settings.

Changing FileNumberingWith the Digital Rebel XTi/400D, you can setthe camera to number images using one ofthree different options: Continuous, Autoreset, and Manual reset. These optionsallow you to number your images sequen-tially, to restart numbering each time youchange the media card, or to choose tomanually reset numbering.

With the first option — Continuous file num-bering — images are numbered sequentiallyusing a unique, four-digit number from0001 to 9999. With unique filenames, man-aging and organizing images on the com-puter is easy because there is no chancethat images will have duplicate filenames.This option is also useful to track the totalnumber of images, or actuations, that are onyour camera. The Digital Rebel XTi/400D’sdefault setting is Continuous file numbering.

With the second option, Auto reset, you canreset the frame numbering so that it restartseach time you change the media card. If youlike to organize images by media card, thiscan be a useful option. However, if you usethis option, be aware that multiple imageswill have the same number or filename. This means that you should create separate

folders for each off-load and otherwise fol-low scrupulous folder organization to avoidfilename conflicts and potential overwritingof images.

If you use the third option, Manual reset,then a new folder is created, and imagesthat you save to the folder are numberedstarting at 0001. The Manual reset option ishandy if you want separate folders forimages that you take over a span of severaldays. After Manual reset, file numberingreturns to Continuous or Auto reset. On theDigital Rebel XTi/400D, you can create up to999 folders with up to 9,999 images storedin each folder. If you reach these capacities,a message appears telling you to change theCF card even if there is room remaining onthe card.

To change the file-numbering method onthe Digital Rebel, follow these steps:


2. Press the right cross key toselect the Tools 1 tab.

3. Press the down cross key toselect File numbering.


5. Press a cross key to selectContinuous, Auto reset, orManual reset. Manual reset cre-ates a new folder and resets thefile numbering at 0001 for imagesthat you save to the folder.




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Documents

Exploring and Setting Up 1 the Digital · Setting Up the Digital Rebel XTi/400D P rofessional photographers know that the most impor-tant ﬁrst step in photography is learning the