Yes, this is getting long, but learning how to use your camera takes time, knowledge, and most of all patience!
Last week, we began looking at the L E D screen (or L C D, I’m never certain which is which) on the back of your camera. We discussed the various settings that can be controlled via the icons you see and I gave examples of the ones I use. (This is in no way meant to say I am “right.” only that I use these settings because they work for me and are easy for me to remember) When we finished last week, we had touched upon the first three rows of icons, ending with the Flash Control icon.
On the bottom, the first icon on the left is the Auto-Focus mode In the example in the link, it says “one shot.” This is the setting one would use if taking single images, such as Portraits, or still Landscapes. Returning to last week’s discussion on Depth of Field, “One Shot” would allow a variety of possibilities providing the subject doesn't move. As I mentioned, Portrait models or landscapes don’t move so a single point of focus can be used and depending on the aperture setting, the rest of the image could be in sharp focus, soft focus (Slightly blurred) or Bokeh. (only the subject is in sharp focus)
Next to “One Shot,” is the “AI Focus” icon which I will leave to the end of this discussion for reasons you will understand better once I explain the rest. The final setting in this group is AI Servo; or Artificial Intelligence Servo Automatic Focusing. If you are shooting something that is in constant motion, such as people running, a race car speeding by, or a flock of birds in flight, this would be the setting to use. Even Landscape Photographers like to capture Wildlife and sometimes that Wildlife moves very quickly.
“AI Focus” is exactly what you think it is – Artificial Intelligence Focus. Unlike the AI in Science Fiction, this has a practical purpose. It allows the Photographer to combine the steadiness of “One Shot” for still images, with AI Servo, for moving subjects. Say you’re a soccer Mom. (humour me) and you want to capture images of your “star” on the field. This function will allow the camera to remain focused on your child as they move around the Soccer field. As a Landscape Photographer, this setting will allow me to focus on a single Loon on a lake, and that Loon will remain in focus no matter where it swims to. With the proper Depth of Field (controlled by the aperture) the rest of the scene will also remain in relative focus as well with the Loon being most sharp and dominant.
Next in the last row of icons is the Drive/Self-timer mode. In this setting one can choose between single shots, which means every time the shutter is pressed, a single image is captured. Continuous shooting, meaning the camera will continue capturing images as long as the shutter is pressed. (There are limitations of course, depending on your camera. Some cameras will capture up to a certain number of frames per second to a maximum; check your camera’s manual for specific details.) I’ll discuss the drawback to this in a moment.* Following Continuous is the ten-second timer. This setting allows you to press the shutter and then walk into the frame to be included in the image. This is especially useful when you have a group of friends and want to be included in the picture. It can also be useful for determining scale. Let’s say you have a vista with an outcropping of land overlooking a huge Sea Stack in the ocean. Taking a photograph of that alone might not convey the impressiveness of the size or grandeur of the scene without a person in the photo for comparison. The ten-second timer allows you to press the shutter and get situated in the photo so you can add scale to the image.
Next is the two-second timer. In this mode, the camera will wait for two seconds after the shutter is pressed before taking the Photo. I use this one a lot. The purpose is for still images where the camera is mounted on a Tripod. I know, I know… It seems counter-intuitive to use a tripod while preventing the camera from shooting right away, but consider this; When you touch the camera, you can introduce movement. Pressing the shutter button and removing your finger can cause the camera to shake, imperceptibly perhaps, but shake nonetheless. By using a two second timer, chances are very good that any shake caused by your hand will be finished by the time the shutter opens.
The final mode in the Drive/Self-timer setting is *Self-Timer: Continuous. This combines the two-second timer with continuous shooting. This setting is particularly useful when shooting something like impressive waves crashing on a rocky shore. Since timing a wave’s motion is difficult; it’s nearly impossible to get the shutter to function exactly when the wave's break is at it’s peak, I use this setting. I simply put the camera on the Tripod, aim and focus, watch the waves, and when a big one is about to hit the shore, I press the shutter. Two seconds later a series of images are captured, ensuring that at least one of them is the shot I’m looking for. This is preferable to holding the shutter open for an extended period of time because the risk of camera movement is reduced.
Moving on, we come to the metering mode. On my Canon, there are three modes; Evaluative metering, Partial metering, and Center-weighted metering. Metering is the process of how your camera chooses the correct shutter speed and aperture based on the amount of light the camera is able to pick up. I set my camera to “Evaluative” and left it there. Let the camera evaluate what it needs to do. That’s one less thing I have to be concerned with.
The final icon on the bottom row of settings is one that many people don’t pay enough attention to: Image Quality. Simply put, this setting determines the quality of the image as it is being stored to your camera’s SD card. Many people fail to grasp the importance of this setting and choose the setting that gives them more image space, meaning, they can take THOUSANDS of pictures before they fill their card. While this is tempting and financially less burdensome, it’s also unwise on a number of levels. I’ll explain that in more detail at the end of this description. In the image in the link above, you will notice at the top is a “wedge” that looks like a quarter of a circle with an “L” beside it. That means the Image quality will be a Large, high-quality JPEG. This is the sort of image you see most frequently and will reproduce well. Chances are if you've taken a flash drive to a photo reproduction booth such as the ones found at WalMart, this is what you’ve printed… If not, you’re robbing yourself of the best experience possible without learning to edit using an image editing software such as Photoshop or Affinity. (I use Affinity for reasons I will explain in a future Blog) Beside that is a series of numbers beginning with 18M meaning 18 Megapixels, the largest image my sensor will store. When you buy a Digital camera of any sort, the sensor’s size will be a selling point. Beside the 18M is 5185x3456 which is the image size in pixels. Lastly is [ 703] which is the number of images remaining that can be stored on that SD card. These numbers will change as the Image Quality is reduced. For example, should I choose to use the S3 setting, my sensor will capture 0.3 Megapixels with a size of 720x480 pixels and there would be space on the card for an additional 9999 images. This is where the mistake is often made. If I can get nearly 10, 000 images on my card, why wouldn’t I choose to do so? Well because the image QUALITY would be greatly reduced. If a Photographer chooses to store images at such a low quality and submit them to a competition for printing, the picture quality would be so poor the competition wouldn’t even consider allowing them. The last 2 choices for Image Quality are RAW+(quarter circle and L) and just RAW. Raw is a special file that really has no translation into common viewing media. You can’t store a RAW file and print it at WalMart, nor can you post it to Social Media. RAW files are just that; raw data, with one purpose only. They are meant to be edited using software designed for that specific purpose. I’m not going to get into the how of doing that, because, quite frankly, I don’t know a lot about it beyond the few things I do with my own photos, and it often feels like Rocket Science to me. Suffice to say that RAW files contain more data for the software to work with and that data will allow the finished images to be super-high resolution. These are the kind of images you see on billboards.
Remember earlier, I said saving thousands of images in low resolution JPEGs is unwise? The number one reason for this is simple: Card Failure! If you have all your images on a single card and that card fails, you’ve lost everything! Do yourself a favour and buy some extra cards. You’ve already invested hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars into your camera, additional lenses (if any) a tripod, and a good bag to carry it all in, another fifty to a hundred dollars is a small investment to make to keep your images safe. You don’t need to get large capacity cards; three or four 8 to 16 Gigabyte cards is usually sufficient. That way you can shoot away and fill a card or two without concerning yourself with whether or not you have enough storage. I remember when I first started out, I was letting shots go because I didn’t think they were important enough to use up storage space. Looking back, I let some really good ones go for that reason.
There are a few other tiny details that I will leave for next week. I know, this is VERY detailed and there is a lot to learn and retain. That’s one reason that I am considering publishing this in an e-book which will be available here on my website.
As for now, thank you for taking the time to drop by and read this. As always, I appreciate your thoughts and comments. Until next week, keep your shutter finger warm and always remember to pack extra batteries!