Part I
Fast Track to Super Snaps
Making sense of all the controls on your T3/1100D isnât a task you can complete in an afternoon â or, heck, in a week or maybe even a month. But that doesnât mean you canât take great-looking pictures today. By using your cameraâs point-and-shoot exposure modes, you can capture terrific images with very little effort. All you do is compose the scene, and the camera takes care of almost everything else.
This part shows you how to take best advantage of your cameraâs most-automatic photography modes and also addresses some basic setup steps, such as adjusting the viewfinder to your eyesight and getting familiar with the camera menus, buttons, and dials. In addition, chapters in this part explain a few picture-taking settings that come into play in any exposure mode and show you how to use your cameraâs Live View and movie-making features.
Chapter 1
Getting the Lay of the Land
In This Chapter
Attaching and using an SLR lens Adjusting the viewfinder focus Working with camera memory cards Getting acquainted with external camera controls Selecting options from menus Using the Shooting Settings and Quick Control displays Customizing basic camera operations For many people, getting your first serious camera means moving from a point and shoot to an SLR (single lens reflex) model. Like with any growth spurt, the excitement of the move is often tempered with a bit of anxiety. Sure, youâll be able to do lots of new things with your dSLR (digital SLR), but along with that newfound capability comes a barrage of new buttons, knobs, LCD menus, and mechanical knickknacks. Heck, this may be the first time youâve even changed a lens on a camera â a big step in itself.
If the Rebel T3/1100D is both your first SLR and your first digital camera, youâre getting something of a double-whammy in the New Stuff department. But fear not: With some practice and the help of this chapter, which introduces you to each external control, we explain in simple language how to adjust camera settings and offer advice on a few setup options. Youâll get comfortable with your new camera quickly.
Getting Comfortable with Your Lens
One of the biggest differences between a point-and-shoot camera and an SLR camera is the lens. With an SLR, you can swap lenses to suit different photographic needs, going from an extreme close-up lens to a super-long telephoto, for example. Additionally, an SLR lens has a movable focusing ring that allows you to focus manually instead of relying on the cameraâs autofocus mechanism. Even this basic difference extends your picture-making opportunities in big ways.
Of course, those added capabilities mean that you need a little background information to take full advantage of your lens. To that end, the next several sections explain the process of attaching, removing, and using this critical part of your camera.
Attaching a lens
Your camera accepts two categories of Canon lenses: those with an EF-S design and those with a plain-old EF design.
The EF stands for electro focus; the S, for short back focus. And that simply means the rear element of the lens is closer to the sensor than with an EF lens. And no, you donât need to remember what the abbreviation stands for. Just make sure that if you buy a Canon lens other than the one sold with the camera, it carries either the EF or EF-S specification. You get the best end of this deal because the T3/1100D is compatible with both new types of Canon lenses, whereas EF-compatible cameras can only fit the EF type lenses. If you want to buy a non-Canon lens, check the lens manufacturerâs website to find out which lenses work with the Rebel T3/1100D. Whatever lens you choose, follow these steps to attach it to the camera body:
1. If you donât already have a lens attached, remove the cap that covers the lens mount on the front of the camera.
Youâll be in this situation the first time you take the camera out of itâs box, and if you like putting the body cap back on when youâre done shooting. If thereâs already a lens attached, youâll have to remove it rather than this cap (see the next series of steps) to put another one one.
2. Remove the cap that covers the back of the lens.
3. Locate the proper lens mounting index on the camera body.
A mounting index is simply a marker that tells you where to align the lens with the camera body when connecting the two. Your camera has two of these markers â one red and ...
