Introduction
The first Canon EOS R-series cameras and RF lenses were given a hearty welcome by Canon owners who were looking for compact state-of-the-art mirrorless cameras worthy of professionals, enthusiasts, and ambitious beginners. Even owners of other brands took a hard look at what Canon was bringing to the table. Since then, Canon has improved the R-series line, adding dual memory card slots and in-body image stabilization. The company has taken the next step by offering two new extra-compact APS-C mirrorless cameras, the entry-level R10, and the fully-featured EOS R7 that’s the subject of this book.
So, with the EOS R7, the R-system has blossomed into a full-fledged alternative to traditional digital SLRs for those who want either a full-frame camera (like the EOS R3, R5, or R6) or an APS-C model. As I write this, Canon offers several dozen different lenses and two tele-converters in your camera’s native RF-mount, with many more optics scheduled on the company’s “lens map” projections. If you add in the dozens of existing original EF-/EF-S-mount lenses that can be used on the camera with optional adapters, and full line of electronic flash units and accessories compatible with both EF-mount and RF-mount cameras, you’ll see the company has built a formidable (and comprehensive) system quite quickly.
Of course, despite what you might read elsewhere, the Canon R-series cameras are not the first mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras Canon has offered. That distinction belongs to the company’s Canon EOS M product line, a series of consumer-oriented cameras that were truly small in size, but limited in expandability. Those cameras, targeted at amateur snapshooters, allowed Canon to develop considerable expertise in mirrorless technology. Your camera builds on what the company learned in carefully designing a new platform that fully meets the needs of a much different group: dedicated photo enthusiasts, semi-professionals, and, even, professional photographers.
Still, you may be asking yourself—how do I use this thing? Canon’s manual is mind-numbingly dense, and online tutorials from ad-supported YouTube click-bait sites can’t cover all these features in depth. Who wants to learn how to use a camera by sitting in front of a television or computer screen? Do you want to watch a movie or click on HTML links, or do you want to go out and take photos with your camera?
The large advanced manuals Canon offers (available in PDF format) are thick and filled with information, but there’s really very little about why you should use particular settings or features. Its organization makes it difficult to find what you need. Multiple cross-references send you searching back and forth between two or three sections of the book to find what you want to know. The basic manual is also hobbled by black-and-white line drawings and tiny monochrome pictures that aren’t very good examples of what you can do.
I’ve tried to make David Busch’s Canon EOS R7 Guide to Digital Photography different from your other camera learn-up options. The roadmap sections use larger, color pictures to show you where all the buttons and dials are, and the explanations of what they do are longer and more comprehensive. I’ve tried to avoid overly general advice, including the two-page checklists on how to take a “sports picture” or a “portrait picture” or a “travel picture.” You won’t find half the content of this book taken up by generic chapters that tell you how to shoot landscapes, portraits, or product photographs. Instead, you’ll find tips and techniques for using all the features of your R7 to take any kind of picture you want. If you want to know where you should stand to take a picture of a quarterback dropping back to unleash a pass, there are plenty of books that will tell you that. This one concentrates on teaching you how to select the best autofocus mode, shutter speed, f/stop, or flash capability to take, say, a great sports picture under any conditions.
Some readers who visit my blog have told me that the EOS R7 camera is such an advanced model that few people really need the kind of basics that so many camera guides concentrate on. “Leave out all the basic photography information!” On the other hand, I’ve had many pleas from those who are trying to master digital photography as they learn to use their camera, and they’ve asked me to help them climb the steep learning curve.
Rather than write a book for just one of those two audiences, I’ve tried to meet the needs of both. You veterans will find plenty of information on getting the most from the camera’s features and may even learn something from an old hand’s photo secrets. I’ll bet there was a time when you needed a helping hand with some confusing photographic topic.
Family Resemblance
If you’ve owned previous models in the Canon digital camera line, and copies of my books for those cameras, you’re bound to notice a certain family resemblance. Canon has been very crafty in introducing upgraded cameras that share the best features of the models they replace, while adding new capabilities and options. You benefit in two ways. If you used a previous Canon camera prior to switching to this latest camera model, you’ll find that the parts that haven’t changed have a certain familiarity for you, making it easy to make the transition to the newest model. There are lots of features and menu choices of the camera that are exactly the same as those in the most recent models. This family resemblance will help level the learning curve for you.
Similarly, when writing books for each new model, I try to retain the easy-to-understand explanations that worked for previous books dedicated to earlier camera models, and concentrate on expanded descriptions of things readers have told me they want to know more about, a solid helping of fresh sample photos, and lots of details about the latest and greatest new features. Rest assured, this book was written expressly for you, and tailored especially for the camera.
Who Am I?
First, and foremost, I’m a photojournalist who made my living in the field until I began devoting most of my time to writing books. Although I love writing, I’m happiest when I’m out taking pictures, which is why I spend four to six weeks in Florida each winter as a base of operations for photographing the wildlife, wild natural settings, and wild people in the Sunshine State. In recent years, I’ve spent a lot of time overseas, too, photographing people and monuments. You’ll find photos of some of these visual treasures within the pages of this book. You may have seen my photography articles in the late, lamented Popular Photography magazine. I’ve also written about 2,000 articles for magazines like Rangefinder, Professional Photographer, and dozens of other photographic publications. Since the pandemic ebbed, I have resumed giving presentations and workshops, at least monthly, at camera clubs and for my fellow members of the Professional Photographers of America.
Like all my digital photography books, this one was written by a Canon devotee with an incurable photography bug who has used Canon cameras professionally for longer than I care to admit. Over the years, I’ve worked as a sports photographer for an Ohio newspaper and for an upstate New York college. I’ve operated my own commercial studio and photo lab, cranking out product shots on demand and then printing a few hundred glossy 8 × 10s on a tight deadline for a press kit. I’ve served as a photo-posing instructor for a modeling agency. People have actually paid me to shoot their weddings and immortalize them with portraits. I even prepared press kits and articles on photography as a PR consultant for a large Rochester, NY company, which older readers may recall as an industry giant. My trials and travails with imaging and computer technology have made their way into print in book form an alarming number of times, including a few dozen on scanners and photography.
Like you, I love photography for its own merits, and I view technology as just another tool to help me get the images I see in my mind’s eye. But, also like you, I had to master this technology before I could apply it to my work. This book is the result of what I’ve learned, and I hope it will help you master your Canon camera, too.
In closing, I’d like to ask a special favor: let me know what you think of this book. If you have any recommendations about how I can make it better, visit my website at www