Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D For Dummies. Julie Adair King

Figure 1-1. Which marker you use depends on the lens type:Canon EF-S lens: The white square is the mounting index.Canon EF lens: The red dot is the mounting index.Your lens also has a mounting index; align that mark with the matching one on the camera body, as shown in Figure 1-1. Place the lens on the camera mount and rotate the lens toward the side of the camera that sports the red Rebel logo. You should feel a solid click as the lens locks into place.FIGURE 1-1: Align the mounting index on the lens with the one on the camera body.

      3 Install the battery.The battery compartment is on the bottom of the camera. When inserting the battery, hold it with the contacts down and the Canon imprint facing the right side of the camera grip (where the memory-card cover, shown in Figure 1-2, is located). Gently push the battery in until the gray lock clicks into place and then close the battery-cover door.

      4 Insert a memory card.Open the memory-card door and orient the card so that the label faces the back of the camera, as shown in Figure 1-2. (If you look closely at the silver panel on the inside of the card door, you see a diagram that indicates the proper card orientation.) Push the card gently into the slot and close the card door. The memory-card access lamp, labeled in Figure 1-2, blinks for few seconds to let you know that the camera recognizes the card. (The light appears even when the camera is turned off.)FIGURE 1-2: Insert the memory card with the label facing the back of the camera.

      5 Rotate the monitor to the desired viewing position.When you first take the camera out of its box, the monitor is positioned with the screen facing inward, protecting the screen from scratches and smudges. Gently lift the right side of the monitor up and away from the camera back. You can then rotate the monitor to move it into the traditional position on the camera back, as shown on the left in Figure 1-3, or swing the monitor out to get a different viewing angle, as shown on the right.FIGURE 1-3: Here are two possible monitor positions.

      6 Move the On/Off switch to the On position.Okay, that’s an odd way to say “turn on the camera,” right? Agreed, but there’s good reason for it: This particular On/Off switch, shown in Figure 1-4, has three positions. When you rotate the switch to On, the camera comes to life and is ready to take still photos. If you move the switch one step further, to the movie-camera symbol, the camera turns on and sets itself to Movie mode. You can’t take a still photograph in Movie mode; it’s good for recording video only.FIGURE 1-4: Rotate the switch to On to shoot photographs; move the switch one step further to set the camera to movie-recording mode.

      7 Set the language, time zone, and date.When you power up the camera for the first time, the monitor displays a screen asking you to set the date, time, and time zone. The easiest way to adjust these settings is to use the touchscreen, which is enabled by default. Just tap an option to select it. Small triangles appear above and below the option to let you know that it’s active, but you don’t tap those triangles the change the value. Instead, look for the up and down triangles in the lower-left corner of the screen, and tap those arrows to set the value. Lather, rinse, and repeat until you complete all the adjustments you want to make. Finally, tap OK to exit the screen.If you prefer not to use the touchscreen, you can adjust settings by using the Quick Control dial, which is the combination dial/toggle switch that surrounds the Set button. Rotate the dial or press the left or right edges of the dial to highlight the option you want to adjust; press the Set button to activate it. Again, triangles appear above and below the active option. Rotate the dial or press up or down on the top or bottom of the dial to change the value. Press Set again to lock in the new value. (I provide more information about using the Quick Control dial later in the chapter.) The date/time information is included as metadata (hidden data) in the picture file. You can view metadata in some playback display modes (see Chapter 9) and in certain photo programs, including Canon Digital Photo Professional 4. (Refer to Chapter 10.) Also note the sun symbol to the left of the Time Zone option. That symbol represents the option that automatically adjusts the camera’s clock when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends, if that’s a thing in your part of the globe. The option is turned on by default.

      8 Select an exposure mode by rotating the Mode dial, labeled in Figure 1-4.The exposure mode determines how much control you have over camera settings as well as whether any special effects are applied. Chapter 2 explains the various exposure modes. For easiest operation, set the dial to Scene Intelligent Auto, represented by the green A+, as shown in Figure 1-4. Be aware, though, that some features are available only in the advanced modes: P, Tv, Av, and M.

      9 Adjust the viewfinder to your eyesight.This step is critical; if you don’t set the viewfinder to your eyesight, subjects that appear out of focus in the viewfinder might actually be in focus, and vice versa. If you wear glasses while shooting, adjust the viewfinder with your glasses on. You control viewfinder focus through the dial labeled in Figure 1-5. (In official lingo, it’s called the diopter adjustment dial.) After taking off the lens cap, follow these steps:Look through the viewfinder, press the shutter button halfway and then release it.Concentrate on the lines that appear in the center of the frame and the row of data displayed at the bottom of the frame.Rotate the adjustment dial until the viewfinder markings and data appear sharpest.Ignore the scene you see through the lens; that won’t change because you’re not actually focusing the camera. If the markings turn off before you finish making your adjustment, give the shutter button another quick half-press and release to redisplay them.Can’t get the display sharp enough? You may need an adapter that enables further adjustment of the viewfinder. Look for an E-series dioptric adjustment lens adapter.

      FIGURE 1-5: Use this dial to adjust the viewfinder focus to your eyesight.

      That’s all there is to it — the camera is now ready to go. The rest of this chapter familiarizes you with other major camera features and explains such basics as how to navigate menus, use the touchscreen, and view and adjust camera settings.

Exploring External Camera Features

      Scattered across your camera’s exterior are features that you use to change picture-taking settings, review your photos, and perform other operations. Later chapters explain how and when to use these tools; the following sections provide a basic “what’s this thing do?” introduction to them. (Don’t worry about memorizing the button names; throughout the book, figures and margin symbols tell you exactly which button or switch to use.)

      

If you’re moving to the T8i/850D from an earlier version of this camera (such as the T7i/800D) or even other Rebel dSLR models, you probably noticed that certain buttons found on those models are nowhere to be found on this one — such as the button that’s been used for years to raise the built-in flash and the one that accessed the setting known as Exposure Compensation. The good news is that the functions that the now-gone buttons accessed are still there; you just get to them in a different way.

      Topside controls

      Your virtual tour begins on the top of the camera, shown in Figure 1-6. Here are the items of note:

       On/Off/Movie mode switch: As outlined in the preceding section, setting the switch to the movie-camera icon turns on the camera and sets it to movie-recording mode. Move the switch to On for still photography.Even when the switch is in the On position,