2. First Things First

If you have been using a point-and-shoot camera, chances are you may already own an SD media card. Which brand of card you use is completely up to you, but here’s some advice about choosing your memory card:

• Size matters, at least in memory cards. At 18 megapixels, the T5i will require a lot of storage space, especially if you shoot in the RAW or RAW+JPEG mode (more on this later in the chapter) or shoot HD video. You should definitely consider using a card with a storage capacity of at least 4 GB to 8 GB.

• Consider buying High Capacity (SDHC) cards. These cards are generally much faster, both when writing images to the card as well as when transferring them to your computer. If you are planning on using the Continuous mode (see Chapter 5, “Moving Target”) for capturing fast action, you can gain a boost in performance just by using an SDHC card with a Class rating of at least 6. The higher the class rating, the faster the write speed. Having a fast card will also benefit your video capture by keeping the flow of video frames moving quickly to your card.

• Buy more than one card. If you have already purchased a memory card, consider getting another. It’s a bad day when your card is almost full and you have to either erase shots or choose a lower-quality image format so that you can keep on shooting. With the cost of memory cards what it is, keeping a spare just makes good sense.

• To get the fastest memory possible, you could consider purchasing an SDXC memory card. Although they appear to be the same as SD and SDHC cards, they are made to new specifications that allow memory capacities above 32 GB. Your camera is SDXC compliant, but you should be warned that if you plan on sharing SDXC cards between devices such as your T5i and a video camera, make sure the other device is SDXC compatible, too. SDXC cards will only work in SDXC devices. Also, you should only format your SDXC card in your camera.

Canon recommends a speed rating of at least Class 6 for shooting video. What you need to know is that all cards are not created equal. In the past, I have had issues with Class 6 cards that could not keep up with the demands of video recording and caused the camera to stop in the middle of a recording session. My recommendation is that, if you know you are going to be shooting video with your camera, you should use a Class 10 card to keep the pixels flowing.

As a general practice, I always format new cards or cards that have been used in different cameras. I also reformat cards after I have downloaded my images and want to start a new shooting session. Note that you should always format your card in the camera, not your computer. Using the computer could render the card useless in your camera. You should also pay attention to the manufacturer’s recommendations with respect to moisture, humidity, and proper handling procedures. It sounds a little cliché, but when it comes to protecting your images, every little bit helps.

Most people are under the impression that formatting the memory card is equivalent to erasing it. Not so. The truth is that when you format the card, all you are doing is changing the file management information on the card. Think of it as removing the table of contents from a book and replacing it with a blank page. All of the contents are still there, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the empty table of contents. The camera will see the card as completely empty so you won’t be losing any space, even if you have previously filled the card with images. Your camera will simply write the new image data over the previous data.

Formatting your Memory Card

1. Insert your memory card into the camera.

2. Press the Menu button and navigate to the first setup menu screen (the fifth from the right).

3. Press the down Cross key on the back of the camera to highlight the Format option and press Set (A).

4. The default selection for the Format screen is Cancel, just in case you didn’t want to format the card (B). Press the right Cross key to highlight OK. The screen will warn you that you will lose any data by formatting your card, so make sure that you have saved any images that you want onto your computer or elsewhere before formatting.

5. Press the Set button to finalize the formatting of the card.

Note that when you perform the card formatting, you can select something called Low Level Format, which performs a much more intensive formatting of the card. During the process, the camera will format all of the recordable sectors on the card. This process takes much longer than a normal formatting and does not need to be performed every time you format. You only need to do this if you see a slowdown in card performance. To enable the Low Level Format option, follow the directions above but press the Trash button before starting the formatting process. This will put a check mark next to the Low Level Format option (Figure 2.2).

Checking the Camera’s Current Firmware Version Number

1. Rotate the Mode dial to select P (or any of the other modes in the Creative zone).

2. Press the Menu button to display the menu.

3. Turn the Main dial to get to the fourth camera setup menu (the second one from the right) and press set (A).

4. Check the version numbers for the camera and lens (B). If these versions are not the latest ones listed on the Canon website, follow the steps in the next section to load the latest version.

As of this writing, the current version of the firmware for the T5i was 1.1.1 for the camera and 1.5.0 for the lens, and no updates were available. Be sure to check the Canon website often for updates, and then follow these directions for updating your camera.

Updating the Firmware Using the EOS Utility Program

1. Download the firmware update file from the Canon website (A). (You can find the file by going to the Download Library section of the EOS camera site and entering the information about your camera.)

2. Download the Firmware Update file that matches your computer operating system (Windows or Mac OS).

3. Extract the downloaded firmware file as per your operating system (B).

4. Attach your camera to the computer via USB and turn the camera on (C).

5. Open the EOS Utility program and select the Camera Settings/Remote Shooting option (D). (This program was included on the CD in your camera box. You will need to install it prior to performing this operation.)

6. When the panel opens, click the Set-up icon, and then click the Firmware button at the bottom of the panel.

7. Click OK, and then locate the extracted firmware file to begin the update (E).

8. Click Yes on the confirmation screen to begin the update. Note that the software will not allow you to continue the update unless the camera is plugged into the AC power adapter or the battery is fully charged.

There are three choices for cleaning in the camera setup menu: Auto Cleaning, Clean Now, and Clean Manually. By default, the camera is set to automatically clean the sensor every time you power on and off. You can disable this function, but it is best to leave it on.

The one cleaning function that you will need to use via this menu is the Clean Now feature. This should be done every time that you remove the lens from the camera body. That is because removing or changing a lens will leave the camera body open and susceptible to dust sneaking into the body. If you never change lenses, you shouldn’t have too many dust problems. But the more often you change lenses, the more chances you are giving dust to enter the body. It’s for this reason that I have the Clean Now function added to the custom My Menu list (see Chapter 10, “Advanced Techniques”).

Every now and then, there will be a dust spot that is impervious to the shaking of the Auto Cleaning feature. This will require manual cleaning of the sensor. When you activate this feature, it will raise the camera mirror and give you access to the sensor so that you can use a blower or other cleaning device to remove the stubborn dust speck. The camera will need to be turned off after cleaning to allow the mirror to reset.

If you choose to manually clean your sensor, please use a device that has been made to clean sensors (not a cotton swab from your medicine cabinet). There are dozens of commercially available devices such as brushes, swabs, and blowers that will clean the sensor without damaging it. To keep the sensor clean, always store the camera with a body cap or lens attached.

The camera sensor is an electrically charged device. This means that when the camera is turned on, there is a current running through the sensor. This electric current can create static electricity, which will attract small dust particles to the sensor area. For this reason, it is always a good idea to turn off the camera prior to removing a lens. You should also consider having the lens mount facing down during lens removal so that there is less opportunity for dust to fall into the inner workings of the camera.

Using the Clean Now Feature

1. Press the Menu button and use the Main dial to get to the third camera setup menu.

2. Use the down Cross key to highlight Sensor cleaning, and then press the Set button (A).

3. Use the Cross keys to select Clean now and press the Set button again (B).

4. Press Set one more time to start the cleaning function.

5. To return to shooting mode, lightly press the shutter release button.

Using the Manual Cleaning Feature

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above.

2. Use the right Cross key to select Clean Manually and press the Set button again (A).

3. Use the right Cross key to select OK and press the Set button again (B).

4. Remove your lens, carefully clean the sensor, and then replace the lens or put on the body cap.

5. Turn the camera off to reset.

There is nothing wrong with JPEG if you are taking casual shots. JPEG files are ready to use, right out of the camera. Why go through the process of adjusting RAW images of the kids opening presents when you are just going to email them to Grandma? Also, for journalists and sports photographers who are shooting 9 frames per second and who need to transmit their images across the wire, again, JPEG is just fine. So what is wrong with JPEG? Absolutely nothing—unless you care about having complete creative control over all of your image data (as opposed to what a compression algorithm thinks is important).

As I mentioned in Chapter 1, JPEG is not actually an image format. It is a compression standard, and compression is where things can go bad. When you have your camera set to JPEG—whether it is set to High or Low compression—you are telling the camera to process the image however it sees fit, and then throw away enough image data to make it shrink into a smaller space. In doing so, you give up subtle image details that you will never get back in postprocessing. That is an awfully simplified statement but still fairly accurate.

RAW images have a greater dynamic range than JPEG-processed images. This means that you can recover image detail in the highlights and shadows that just aren’t available in JPEG-processed images.

There is more color information in a RAW image because it is a 14-bit image. That means it contains more color information than a JPEG, which is almost always an 8-bit image. More color information means more to work with and smoother changes between tones—kind of like the difference between performing surgery with a scalpel as opposed to a butcher’s knife. They’ll both get the job done, but one will do less damage.

Regarding sharpening, a RAW image offers more control because you are the one who is applying the sharpening according to the effect you want to achieve. Once again, JPEG processing applies a standard amount of sharpening that you cannot change after the fact. Once it is done, it’s done.

Finally, and most important, a RAW file is your negative. No matter what you do to it, you won’t change it unless you save your file in a different format. This means you can come back to that RAW file later and try different processing settings to achieve differing results and never harm the original image. By comparison, if you make a change to your JPEG and accidentally save the file, guess what? You have a new original file, and you will never get back to that first image. That alone should make you sit up and take notice.

My recommendation is that you shoot in JPEG mode while you are using this book. This will allow you to quickly review your images and study the effects of future lessons. Once you have become comfortable with all of the camera features, you should switch to shooting in RAW mode so that you can start gaining more creative control over your image processing. After all, you took the photograph—shouldn’t you be the one to decide how it looks in the end?

Keep in mind that using both formats requires more space on the memory card. I recommend that you use only one format or the other unless you have a specific need to shoot both.

Selecting Your Image Quality Setting

1. Press the Menu button and use the Main dial to select the first shooting menu tab.

2. Use the Cross keys to highlight the Image Quality setting and press the Set button to enter the settings page (A).

3. Use the left/right Cross keys to change the quality setting (B).

4. Press the Set button to lock in your changes.

Lenses are composed of optical glass that is both concave and convex in shape. The alignment of the glass elements is designed to focus the light coming in from the front of the lens onto the camera sensor. The amount of light that enters the camera is also controlled by the lens, the size of the glass elements, and the aperture mechanism within the lens housing. The quality of the glass used in the lens will also have a direct effect on how well the lens can resolve details and the contrast of the scene (the ability to deliver great highlights and shadows). Most lenses now routinely include things like the autofocus motor and, in some cases, an image stabilization mechanism.

There is one other aspect of the camera lens that is often the first consideration of the photographer: lens focal length, which determines the angle of view delivered through the lens. Lenses are typically divided into three or four groups depending on the field of view they cover.

Wide-angle lenses cover a field of view from around 110 degrees to about 60 degrees (Figure 2.3). There is also a tendency to get some distortion in your image when using extremely wide-angle lenses. This will be apparent toward the outer edges of the frame. As for which lenses would be considered wide angle, anything 30mm or smaller could be considered as wide.

Wide-angle lenses can display a large depth of field, which allows you to keep the foreground and background in sharp focus. This feature makes them useful for landscape photography. They also work well in tight spaces, such as indoors, where there isn’t much elbow room available (Figure 2.4). They can also be handy for large group shots, but due to the amount of distortion, not so great for close-up portrait work.

A normal lens has a field of view that is about 45 degrees and delivers approximately the same view as the human eye (not in angle of view but in size and perspective of subjects). The perspective is very natural and there is little distortion in objects. The normal lens for full-frame and 35mm cameras is the 50mm lens, but for the T5i it is more in the neighborhood of a 35mm lens (Figure 2.5).

Normal focal-length lenses are useful for photographing people, architecture, and most other general photographic needs. They have very little distortion and offer a moderate range of depth of field (Figure 2.6).

Most longer focal-length lenses are referred to as telephoto lenses. They can range in length from 100mm up to 800mm or longer, and have a field of view that is about 35 degrees or smaller. These lenses have the ability to greatly magnify the scene, allowing you to capture details of distant objects, but the angle of view is greatly reduced (Figure 2.7). You will also find that you can achieve a much narrower depth of field. They also demonstrate something called distance compression, which means they make objects at different distances appear to be much closer together than they really are.

Telephoto lenses are most useful for sports photography or any application where you just need to get closer to your subject (Figure 2.8). They can have a compressing effect—making objects look closer together than they actually are—and a very narrow depth of field when shot at their widest apertures.

A zoom lens is a great compromise to carrying a bunch of single focal-length lenses (also referred to as “prime” lenses). They can cover a wide range of focal lengths because of the configuration of their optics. However, because it takes more optical elements to capture a scene at different focal lengths, the light must pass through more glass on its way to the image sensor. The more glass, the lower the quality of the image sharpness. The other sacrifice that is made is in aperture. Zoom lenses typically have smaller maximum apertures than prime lenses, which means they cannot achieve a narrow depth of field or work in lower light levels without the assistance of image stabilization, a tripod, or higher ISO settings. (We’ll discuss all this in more detail in later chapters.)

The T5i can be purchased with the body only, but many folks will purchase it with a kit lens. The most common kit lens is the 18–55mm IS f/3.5–5.6. Another great lens option for the T5i is the 18–200mm EF-S IS lens. It is a great all-around lens that provides a range of focal lengths from the very wide to the medium telephoto. Combine that with some great image stabilization and you have what I like to call the perfect vacation lens. Unfortunately, it is not available as a kit lens at the moment, but it should definitely be considered if you are thinking of adding a new lens to your camera bag.

So what is exposure? It is the process whereby the light reflecting off a subject reflects through an opening in the camera lens for a defined period of time onto the camera sensor. The combination of the lens opening, shutter speed, and sensor sensitivity is used to achieve a proper exposure value (EV) for the scene. The EV is the sum of these components necessary to properly expose a scene. A relationship exists between these factors that is sometimes referred to as the “Exposure Triangle.”

At each point of the triangle lies one of the factors of exposure:

• ISO: Determines the sensitivity of the camera sensor. ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, but the acronym is used as a term to describe the sensitivity of the camera sensor to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light is required for a good exposure. These values are a carryover from the days of traditional color and black-and-white films.

• Aperture: Also referred to as the f-stop, this determines how much light passes through the lens at once.

• Shutter Speed: Controls the length of time that light is allowed to hit the sensor.

So here’s how it works. The camera sensor has a level of sensitivity that is determined by the ISO setting. To get a proper exposure—not too much, not too little—the lens needs to adjust the aperture diaphragm (the size of the lens opening) to control the volume of light entering the camera. Then the shutter is opened for a relatively short period of time to allow the light to hit the sensor long enough for it to record on the sensor.

ISO numbers for the T5i start at 100, and then double in sensitivity as you double the number. So 200 is twice as sensitive as 100. The camera can be set to use 1/2- or 1/3-stop increments, but for ISO, just remember that the base numbers double: 100, 200, 400, 800, and so on. There is also a wide variety of shutter speeds that you can use in achieving a proper exposure. The speeds on the T5i range from as long as 30 seconds to as short as 1/4000 of a second. When using the camera, you will not see the 1 over the number while looking through the viewfinder, so you will need to remember that anything shorter than a second will be a fraction. However, the shutter speed is displayed as a fraction when looking at the rear LCD display. Typically, you will be working with a shutter speed range from around 1/30 of a second to about 1/2000, but these numbers will change depending on your circumstances and the effect that you are trying to achieve. The lens apertures will vary slightly depending on which lens you are using. This is because different lenses have different maximum apertures. The typical apertures that are at your disposal are f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22.

When it comes to exposure, a change to any one of these factors can require changing one or more of the other two. This is referred to as a reciprocal change. If you let more light in the lens by choosing a larger aperture opening, you will need to shorten the amount of time the shutter is open. If the shutter is allowed to stay open for a longer period of time, the aperture needs to be smaller to restrict the amount of light coming in.

When you point your camera at a scene, the light reflecting off your subject enters the lens and is allowed to pass through to the sensor for a period of time as dictated by the shutter speed. The amount and duration of the light needed for a proper exposure depends on how much light is being reflected and how sensitive the sensor is. To figure this out, your camera uses a built-in light meter that looks through the lens and measures the amount of light. That level is then calculated against the sensitivity of the ISO setting and an exposure value is rendered. Here’s the tricky part: there’s more than one way to achieve a perfect exposure, because the f-stop and shutter speed can be combined in various ways to allow the same amount of exposure. See, I told you it was tricky.

Here is a list of reciprocal settings that would all produce the same exposure result. Let’s use the “sunny 16” rule, which states that, when using f/16 on a sunny day, you can use a shutter speed that is roughly equal to the ISO setting to achieve a proper exposure. For simplification purposes, we will use an ISO of 100.

If you were to use any one of these combinations, each would have the same result in terms of the exposure (i.e., how much light hits the camera’s sensor). Also take note that every time we cut the f-stop in half, we reciprocated by doubling our shutter speed. For those of you wondering why f/8 is half of f/5.6, it’s because those numbers are actually fractions based on the opening of the lens in relation to its focal length. This means that a lot of math goes into figuring out just what the total area of a lens opening is, so you just have to take it on faith that f/8 is half of f/5.6 but twice as much as f/11. A good way to remember which opening is larger is to think of your camera lens as a pipe that controls the flow of water. If you have a pipe that is 1/2 inches in diameter (f/2) and one that was 1/8 of an inch (f/8), which would allow more water to flow through? It would be the 1/2-inch pipe. The same idea works here with the camera f-stops: f/2 is a larger opening than f/4 or f/8 or f/16.

Now that you know this, you can start using this information to make intelligent choices in terms of shutter speed and f-stop. Let’s bring the third element into this by changing our ISO by one stop, from 100 to 200.

Notice that, since we doubled the sensitivity of the sensor, we now require half as much exposure as before. We have also reduced our maximum aperture from f/2.8 to f/4 because the camera can’t use a shutter speed that is faster than 1/4000 of a second.

So why not just use the exposure setting of f/16 at 1/250 of a second? Why bother with all of these reciprocal values when this one setting will give us a properly exposed image? The answer is that the f-stop and shutter speed also control two other important aspects of our image: motion and depth of field.

The aperture controls the amount of light that comes through the lens but also determines what areas of the image will be in focus. This is referred to as depth of field, and it is an extremely valuable creative tool. The smaller the opening (the larger the number, such as f/22), the greater the sharpness of objects from near to far (Figure 2.11).

A large opening (or small number, like f/2.8) means more blurring of objects that are not at the same distance from the camera as the subject you are focusing on (Figure 2.12).

As we further explore the features of the camera, you will learn not only how to use the elements of exposure to capture properly exposed photographs, but also how you can make adjustments to emphasize your subject. It is the manipulation of these elements—motion and focus—that will take your images to the next level.

First, the video recording is a separate feature from the Live View capabilities of the camera. To shoot video, you will need to turn the power switch to the Movie shooting position.

Once Movie mode is active, you will need to focus the camera by placing the white focus box on the subject (Figure 2.13) and holding down the shutter button halfway until the focus operation is complete.

Once your subject is in focus, you can push the Live View/Movie shooting button to begin the recording process. When the camera begins recording, you will notice that the focus box disappears and a few new icons show up on the LCD. In the top right will be a red Record icon to let you know that the camera is in active record mode. In the bottom of the screen is an exposure compensation scale and the battery-level indicator. To stop the video recording, simply press the Live View/Record button a second time.

The other thing to consider when selecting a quality setting is the capture frame rate. At the 1920x1080 size, you have two frame rates to choose from: 30 frames per second or 24 frames per second (fps). The 30 fps setting is more of a TV standard and complies with the NTSC video standards used in the United States. This should be your choice for most of your video recording. If you are going to use the video for DVD or movies with a “Hollywood” look, you should go with the 24 fps option.

The 60 fps on the 1280x720 option should render smooth video sequences, but they might also look a little like slow motion. One reason for using this frame rate is that it helps with fast movement of the camera or the subject. Just as a fast shutter speed can help freeze motion, doubling up on the frames per second can give you some good options for a fast-moving subject, including smooth slow-motion effects when using video-editing software.

Setting the Movie Quality

1. To change the quality of your video recording, start by turning the power switch to the Movie shooting position.

2. Press the Menu button and navigate to the second Movie Shooting tab.

3. Select the Movie record size option and press the Set button (A).

4. Select the desired movie quality setting by pressing the left or right Cross key and press the Set button (B).

5. Press the Menu button to return to Movie shooting mode.

The next thing you need to know about the sound is that because the microphone is part of the camera, any noise that the camera makes, like focusing the lens, will be audible in your movies. If you find that the lens focus noise is distracting or you plan on using your own sound track to be added to the video at a later time, you can opt to turn the audio recording off.

Turning off the Sound

1. Turn the Power switch to the Movie shooting position.

2. Press the Menu button and navigate to the second movie-shooting tab; then press the Set button (A).

3. Select the Disable option and press Set to lock in the change (B). Press the Menu button to return to recording mode.

As previously stated, one of the benefits of using an external microphone is the elimination of camera noise in your videos. Another advantage is that you can use microphones that are designed to do a better job of recording directional audio such as that coming from subjects in front of the camera. Most of these are long and slender and are referred to as shotgun mics, such as the Rode mic that I use for my video work.

For more about focusing while shooting movies, be sure to check out the bonus chapter.

Activating Video Snapshots

1. Set the camera to Movie mode.

2. Press the Menu button and navigate to the second movie-shooting tab.

3. Use the down Cross key to select Video Snapshot and press Set (A).

4. Select Video Snapshot, press the Set button, and then select Enable (B).

5. Select Album Settings, press Set, and then select Create A New Album (C).

6. Once you have created a new album, you can select the clip length of 2, 4, or 8 seconds (D).

7. Exit the menu by pressing the Menu button.

8. Set up your movie shooting just like you normally would and press the Record button to begin the recording process. The video recording will cease once the time limit has been reached.

9. Now you can add the clip to your album, save as a new album, play back the video, or delete it without saving (E).

If you would like to get a larger look at things, you will need to either watch the video on your TV or move the video files to your computer. To watch on your TV, you can use the video cable that came with your camera and plug it into the small port on the side of the camera body (Figure 2.16). This will let you watch low-resolution video on your TV. To get the full effect from your HD videos, you will need to purchase an HDMI cable (your TV needs to support at least 720 HD and have an HDMI port to use this option). Make sure that you purchase a Mini-HDMI-to-HDMI cable since the camera does not use a standard-sized HDMI jack for outputting video. Once the cable is hooked up to your TV, use the same camera controls that you used for watching the video on the LCD screen.

If you want to watch or use the videos on your computer, you will need to download the images using the Canon software and a USB cable or by using an SD card reader attached to your computer. The video files will have the extension .mov at the end of the filename. These files should play on either a Mac or PC using software that came with your operating system, or you can download QuickTime for free (Apple’s QuickTime for Mac and Windows is available at www.apple.com/quicktime/download/). If you are using an SDXC card, make sure that you have a compatible card reader to attach to your computer.

For even more information about using video with your T5i, be sure to download the bonus chapters from Peachpit.com.

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