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WANTED: Camera-Specific Photography Tips for Canon & Nikon DSLR’s
Photo by Sarah Reed
When I look at the stats for my photography blog, I’m often surprised by some of the search terms people use. One of the most common keyword groups is “photography tips” paired with a camera model number. This got me really thinking about what kind of photography tips really exist for different models of DSLR’s.
However, I can’t afford to buy one of every digital SLR camera
Everyone who submits at least one reasonable tip before August 11th will have their name put in a hat for fabulous prizes. The winner gets their choice of a 1 Year Flickr Pro account or a $25 gift certificate for camera equipment at amazon
For an example of what I’m looking for, here are three tips for using the Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT:
- Practice Changing ISO’s, White Balance, and Metering Modes - There’s no fancy wheel like you get on higher-end Canon cameras, so changing these settings is a step more complicated than it should be. Practice changing the settings without looking at your LCD screen, so you can do it smoothly in the field. It can be the difference between a great shot and an underexposed orange blur.
- When Walking, Hold Your Camera by the Battery Grip - Seriously, if you have the grip your hands will thank you. I don’t have large hands, but I find the side grip of the Rebel XT to be far too small and hard. Holding the camera by the battery grip means your hands will hurt less and you’ll be more comfortable. Just remember than when you bring your camera up in a hurry, you’ll be shooting in portrait instead of landscape.
- Actual Photos will be Slightly Wider Than Seen in Viewfinder - When I download my photos, I always see stuff poking in the edges of the frame that I swear I’d cropped out. After a few tests, I discovered that the frame of the viewfinder is slightly narrower than that of the sensor. The effect is more obvious when using the EF-S lenses designed for CMOS sensors with the 1.6x conversion factor.
Whatcha got for me, team?
EDIT: The contest is now closed! Renée Clory has been declared the winner. Thanks to everyone who participated! Be the first to know about any future contests; Subscribe to my RSS Feed!
Brian Larter Said,
August 3, 2007 @ 7:07 pm
Where do we sbmit these tips? just here in comments?
Josh M Said,
August 3, 2007 @ 7:42 pm
For the Nikon D80:
Set BOTH Upper and Lower limits on Auto ISO: Auto ISO is a huge help and is actually quite accurate on the D80. However, if you just turn it on and fail to set the limits, you can get some really noisy images. To fix this, simply enter in the Upper Limit (i.e. 1600) when you turn on Auto ISO in the menus, then set the Lower Limit via the ISO button on the rear of the camera (as per normal).
Set the FUNC Button to lock flash settings: If you’re in an environment where your flash settings will be fairly much the same throughout, you can set your FUNC button to lock in one setting. Just go to “FUNC Button” under Custom Settings and choose “FV Lock.” Now, just fire this once via the FUNC button to lock in your settings and you’re all set! As an added bonus, you won’t get many (if any) eye-blinks in your shots, as this eliminates the double-flash.
I’ll try to think of more specific tips, though, as of right now, I can only think of more generic tips.
Cheers!
Andrew Ferguson Said,
August 4, 2007 @ 2:23 am
Yep, right here in the comments Brian! :)
Thanks for the tips, Josh! You’re in the draw!
steve Said,
August 5, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
Two tips for the Nikon D50:
1. In the menus, change the AE-L/AF-L button to AE-L. This lets you use that button to lock the meter exposure. It’s handy if you have a backlit subject and don’t want to change from matrix metering to spot metering. The default is both AE-L and AF-L which locks in both exposure and focus.
2. In the “manual” modes (P, A, S, M), you can adjust the intensity of the built-in flash, which is very helpful when you want to use fill-flash in close proximity to your subject and also want to expose the surrounding area properly. Use the flash button to activate the flash, then hold down that flash button and the exposure button near the shutter release at the same time. Now use the command dial to increase or decrease the flash intensity in one-third stops. I’ve had good results with setting -0.7.
Now combine the two on a backlit subject. Knock down your flash and use the exposure lock. Pull your meter off the overexposed background and use fill flash. You should get an evenly exposed foreground and background.
Aaron Said,
August 6, 2007 @ 6:39 pm
I guess I’m the only one with sweet Canon tips, eh?! My tips might be a matter of personal preference, but here goes:
1. Within your Custom Functions menu, set the first Custom Function, “Set button while shooting” to option 4, “Image Replay.” This allows you to press that big fat button in the middle of the scroll wheel to bring up the image playback. Simply tapping the shutter button halfway will turn the screen off again. This is *so* convenient for one-handed chimping; I use it constantly. (This option is likely to be the same on all Canon EOS DSLRs. I confirmed that it is the same on my 10D and 5D.)
2. Disable the ability to release the shutter without a CF card. I know it sounds obvious, but I once shot 15 or 20 casual photos without realizing I didn’t have a card in because the camera will act as though nothing is wrong. (I felt pretty foolish having carefully composed images that would never be saved.) On the 10D you want to change Custom Function 2 (”Shutter release w/o CF card”) to value 1: “Not possible.” On the 5D you want to set the “Shoot w/o card” option to Off. A little peace of mind goes a long way.
3. For you lucky 5D shooters out there, your mind probably reeled when you saw the multi-directional control stick they added alongside the classic Canon scroll wheel on the back. You can use the control stick to pan around an image when you’re zoomed in, but you can also set a Custom Function that lets you choose autofocus points with it. It’s Custom Function #13, value 1 (”multi-controller direct”). Once you get used to it, it really speeds up AF point selection.
4. This might not be Canon-specific (in fact, it probably isn’t), but if you travel with no lens attached to your camera body (which you probably should, by the way, to reduce potential stress on the lens mount), you will have both a camera body cap as well as a rear lens cap floating around when you arrive at your destination and strap on a lens. For convenience, I like to join the two together. Because they are oppositely threaded, they screw together just like a lens does onto the camera. One less object to lose!
I’m out of tips for now. Actually, here are some non-Canon ones just for the heck of it:
1. Get into the habit of putting your front lens cap in the same place when you’re walking around and shooting. I personally put it in my back left pocket (I’m left-handed). If you develop a habit, you won’t have to think twice about where you might have put it. This particular habit has saved me no small amount of time and frustration.
2. Turn on the histogram during image preview. The 5D has this, and I believe the Nikon D80 and higher models have it as well. Compose your frames thoughtfully and use the preview (with histogram) to check your *exposure* rather than just the composition. If you aren’t comfortable reading histograms to measure your success in achieving the intent of the image, read up on them. Seriously.
3. Buy the fastest memory card you can lay hands on. Don’t let a cheap memory card slow down your expensive camera; that would be like pouring olive oil into your Ferrari’s gas tank and then wondering why it doesn’t run so well. Don’t make a dollar wait on a dime (replace with regionally appropriate cliche, e.g. don’t make a toonie wait on a loonie).
4. Turn off your camera before you change lenses! The slightest charge running through the sensor chamber increases its static attraction of dust and particles (or so it’s said). Better safe than dusty.
Alright, that’s quite enough.
Brian Reischl Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 6:41 am
I’ll give it a shot, for Pentax K10D users
1) You’ve got in-camera shake reduction - use it! It’s the little knob on the bottom right corner of the LCD. With that on you can usually go down about two stops and still get a good shot (ie, down as far as 1/45th or 1/30th). But if you’re using older lenses (A or M mount) you’ll have to manually input the focal length when you power on the camera, which can be hard for zooms.
2) Use that rear e-dial. In the advanced setup menus you can specify what the rear wheel does in all the priority modes (Av, Tv, Sv, TAv). Usually it will set one of the other three exposure settings, letting you get not-quite-manual functionality from any of the modes.
3) Use that “Green Button.” It’s function changes depending on your mode. In the priority modes (Av, Tv, Sv, TAv) it will “unlock” whatever settings you put in with the rear e-dial. So if you’re in Av and you used the read e-dial to specify a shutter speed, the green button unlocks that shutter speed setting. In manual mode the green button will set the exposure values to the program line, which can give you a great starting point for further adjustments.
4) If you’re in a budget crunch and want some new glass consider going old school. Your camera can take pretty much any bayonet-mount Pentax lens (and older M42 screw mounts if you get an adapter) and EBay has tons of them. I’m literally using my grandmother’s glass from the 80’s, and many people use even older stuff. Many of those older lenses are excellent quality. The only thing is that you may lose autofocus, and even auto-aperture. Also they tend to show more chromatic aberrations when used wide open. But still, $10 zooms are tough to beat!
5) Sadly, the much vaunted dust reduction technology is basically worthless (http://pixinfo.com/en/articles/ccd-dust-removal/). Get a sensor cleaning kit.
Andrew Ferguson Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
Josh, Steve, Aaron, & Brian: Excellent tips guys! These are exactly the kind of useful tricks I’m looking for!
You’re all entered in the draw for your choice of a Flickr Pro account or a $25 Amazon gift certificate.
Renee Clory Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 7:03 pm
Here’s a few for the Nikon D40X:
1 - Make use of the built in editing features - they can save you time later, and give you a better preview on the LCD screen. Most people scoff at it, but it can at least give you an idea of what to expect from the image quality. I make good use of the editing zoom to get an idea of how clear my shot was, and to save time later editing. The D-Lighting could save you from an otherwise ‘wasted’ shot.
2- Remember that the D40x does not have built in body focus motor - make sure that the lenses you are getting for the camera are AF-S lenses.
That’s all I can think of right now.
Brian Larter Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 7:24 pm
On the Canon 30D the mos forgotten control is by far one of the most useful. Just above the great and amazing wheel of control is a tiny joy stick. With this joy stick you the photographer can do some pretty amazing things.
The main thing I have begun to use it for has been controlling the focus points in my viewfinder. After pressing the focus points button on the right you can control what focus point you are using with the joy stick instead of simply rotating the wheel for control which makes you select each point before reaching the point you want to use. The joy stick allows you to select point number 7 while on point number four with one click, unlike the wheel where it would easily be 3 clicks away.
This may now sound like a big deal but when you have a model under hot lights who is losing interest because of the heat, every second counts.
Anastas Nenov Said,
February 29, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
Nikon D3 tips:
1. Multi selector wheel supports diagonal moves - useful when choosing one of many focal points.
2. Custom programmed buttons such as the Fn button may be used to display horizontal level indicator in the viewfinder (virtual horizon).
3. No need to bracket WB or work with WB presets. The color rendition of choice is achieved by using auto WB and fine tuning WB (no need for color filter either, and that is without using Photoshop). You could change the color balance of a shot after it is taken (using the retouch menu).
4. Image overlay works with NEF and when combined with 9 fps shooting and exposure bracketing (1 EV) will allow you to forget your ND 0.3 and may be the ND 0.6 filter (again, in camera work, without using Photoshop). Allows shooting bright sky and dark foreground and night scenes with the moon in the frame (enhances camera’s dynamic range). Fast shooting speed helps avoid changes in scenery composition (camera movments).
5. I use active D-lighting (enhanced dynamic range) and saturated colors (check Ken Rockwell’s site).
6. Trim and adjust photos in camera but do not erase the originals which are unaltered in the process (learned this the hard way; erased the one good shot I had ever taken in my life; shot few thousand).
7. Use both CF slots.
8. Create a custom menu; I hate menus which is why I love Nikon (plenty one touch buttons). When I have to use a menu option more than once a month I place it in the custom menu in order of frequency of use.
There are many more
AN :) I shoot for fun and I use D3 for fitness :)