please lend some quick and dirty tips for 20D

[mirrodie]

OK, as you know, jsut got the 20 D. I havent picked up my canon rebel film body in ages.


my last camera was the canon s500, a sweet little point n shoot and my first venture into the digital world. I was swallowed whole.

now, I have a habit of buying cameras too soon before trips. te canon rebel film was bought the day before australai 2001, the s500 the week prior to honey moon.


so the 20 D comes a week before London and prague. going to do lots of tourist stuff, so what advice can you give on settings to use early on?

go w/ automated settings? or P mode?
also, what do you guys typically use for shooting planes? do you mixit up?

[T-Bird76]

I generally use "A" mode 90% of the time and adjust for the amount of light I want and for the desired shutter speed. I've found with my camera and my 18-125 which I generally shoot "vacation shots" in if the sun is out I'm in F9 and F10. The 400mm works really well in F9 under daylight conditions, at least with my camera.

As the light goes down I'll drop the F stop or adjust the ISO up to 200 and then to 400 if its really dark and use the flash as needed. If you have a tripod and want some star-burst shots at night set the camera to a higher F stop and use the remote or self timer. I can just see picture some of the awesome night shots you can get over in Europe. I think the best rule of thumb is to go out and play with the camera and learn its sweet spots under different conditions. Also read the manual, I think I've read mine three times front to back. Knowing the features and operation of the camera is essential to getting good shots.

[mirrodie]

yes, I am reading the manual and will go through it fully later today. Only got through the first 30 pages thus far.

thing is I am trying to rush the learning curve a bit as we leave next week.



Good thing too, last time, I was literally reading the book on the flight over to Sydney!

I'll keep plaing later!

anyone else?

[mirrodie]

also, I realized I have a tendency to leave it on the ON position, even though it shuts off in a minute . is that terribly harsh?


also, what modes of compression/shooting size do you use? M or L? compressed or non? (I apologize if I am using the improper terms)

Im used to M sizes on the s500,

[Derf]

also, I realized I have a tendency to leave it on the ON
position, even though it shuts off in a minute . is that terribly harsh?

No, I usually leave mine on with the 1 min turnoff enabled if I plan on
taking a shot in the next 5 to 10 min. Airshows my camera never is off!
I do not want to flick the switch say 300 times at an airshow, worried
about the life of the on off switch. I press the shutter half way down and
I am ready to fire in notime flat. I have not had a problem with
batteries. One is fine so I got Two and only charge when one goes
completly dead. The only time I kill my battery is during very heavy
nightime usage....Then you will be really happy you have the second battery.

also, what modes of compression/shooting size do you use? M or L?
compressed or non? (I apologize if I am using the improper terms)

Im used to M sizes on the s500,

That depends on the type of shooting and the situations I am in. I shoot
8MP Compression and get about 600-800 pictures (MOST OF THE TIME)

Nightshots I use RAW because I am spending 1sec to 15min of shooting
time, I want to be able to screw with the white balance and want the
deepest colors for night. If I am doing a portraite, RAW.

If you think that some day it will make a nice poster or bilboard...shoot
raw!

[Derf]

........so the 20 D comes a week before London and prague. going to do lots of tourist stuff, so what advice can you give..........

DO NOT FORGET A TRIPOD!!!!! Even a cheap ass small $10 is better than nothing. And show me some cool night stuff when you return!

[mirrodie]

got my trusty tripod, folds down to about a foot in length

thanks guys

[mirrodie]

one issue I have



tried to install that Canon solutions disk and get the camera to upload pics. its stopping me and asking if the LCD is on. Its not but not letting me upload. Just gets stuck there.


So then I switched to that PTP way of transfering the photos and NO PROBLEM.


Is there a downside to uploadings those pics to the computer in that PTP setting? Otherwise, it was QUICK.

[SengaB]

Mario,
I switch between P mode and AV. I use AV when light isn't abundant and also when I am in a enviornment where you don't have time to compose a shot. When I got my 10D out of the box the first thing I did was switch the green square (Fully automatic to the P (Program) selection. Also I stay at 100 ISO at all costs unless I am forced to shoot at something higher. What lense set did you get?
Senga

[Derf]

one issue I have



tried to install that Canon solutions disk and get the camera to upload pics. its stopping me and asking if the LCD is on. Its not but not letting me upload. Just gets stuck there.


So then I switched to that PTP way of transfering the photos and NO PROBLEM.


Is there a downside to uploadings those pics to the computer in that
PTP setting? Otherwise, it was QUICK.

No problem at all, I use PC connetcion because I hook my camera up to
the laptop and make all setting changes to the camera via the laptop
(ISO, FStop, Shutter speed, quality, Etc.... I also use the laptop to fire
the shot....

As you can guess, I use this for Macro or studio type shots so I can see
the results instantly on the laptop screen in high resolution.....Fun software

[mirrodie]

thanks for the tips

Senga, I got the 100-400.

see you guys soon.
Mario

[SengaB]

No problem, Take force to take the force wth you :)
Another Canonnite is Born!

Senga