Here are the items of note:
Power switch: As outlined in the preceding section, this switch turns the camera on and off.Even when the switch is in the On position, the camera automatically goes to sleep after a period of inactivity to save battery power. To wake the camera up, press the shutter button halfway and release it. See the section “Setup Menu 2” for help adjusting the timing of the automatic shutoff.
Mode dial with lock-release button: Press and hold the lock-release button in the center of the Mode dial, and then rotate the dial to select an exposure mode, which determines whether the camera operates in fully automatic, semi-automatic, or manual exposure mode when you take still pictures.
Viewfinder adjustment dial: Use this dial to adjust the viewfinder focus to your eyesight, as outlined in the preceding section. On some camera screens, you see a symbol that resembles the top half of a dial that has notches around the edge. That’s designed to remind you that you use the Main dial to adjust the setting.FIGURE 1-6: Here’s a guide to controls found on top of the camera.
Red-Eye Reduction/Self-Timer/Remote Control Lamp: When you set your flash to Red-Eye Reduction mode, this little lamp emits a brief burst of light prior to the real flash — the idea being that your subjects’ pupils will constrict in response to the light, thus lessening the chances of red-eye. If you use the camera’s self-timer feature, the lamp lights during the countdown period before the shutter is released. The lamp also lights up when you take a picture with a remote. See Chapter 2 for more details about Red-Eye Reduction flash mode and the self-timer function.
AF Operation button: Press this button to select an AF Operation. These settings are related to autofocusing and determine whether the camera focuses once or continues to focus as long as you hold the shutter button halfway down (see Chapter 5).
Drive button: The Drive mode settings enable you to switch the camera from single-frame shooting to continuous capture or any of the other drive modes, including remote shooting. See Chapter 2 for details.
ISO button: True to its name, this button displays a screen where you can adjust the ISO setting, which determines how sensitive the camera is to light. Chapter 4 details this critical setting.
Metering mode button: Press the button to change metering modes, which alter how the camera evaluates the light in a scene in order to determine the best exposure. Chapter 4 has more information on the different metering modes.
LCD panel illumination button: This button illuminates the top LCD panel with an amber backlight.
Shutter button: You no doubt already understand the function of this button, but you may not realize that when you use autofocus and autoexposure, you need to use a two-stage process when taking a picture: Press the shutter button halfway, pause to let the camera set focus and exposure, and then press down the rest of the way to capture the image. You’d be surprised how many people mess up their pictures because they press that button with one quick jab, denying the camera the time it needs to set focus and exposure.
AF area/AF method button: This button enables you to control how the camera selects autofocus points when using the viewfinder (called AF area) and in Live View (AF method).
Main dial: As its name implies, this dial is central to many camera functions, from scrolling through menus to changing certain shooting and playback settings.
Flash hot shoe: This is the connection for attaching an external flash and other accessories such as flash adapters, bubble levels, flash brackets, off-camera flash cords, the GP-E2 GPS Receiver, and the CPH-16 cup holder. Just kidding about the cup holder.
Focal plane indicator: Should you need to know the exact distance between your subject and the camera, use the focal plane indicator. This mark indicates the plane at which light coming through the lens is focused onto the camera’s image sensor. Basing your measurement on this mark produces a more accurate camera-to-subject distance than using the end of the lens or some other point on the camera body as your reference point.
Back-of-the-body controls
Traveling over the top of the camera to its back, you encounter the smorgasbord of controls shown in Figure 1-7.
FIGURE 1-7: Having lots of external buttons makes accessing the camera’s functions easier.
Starting at the top-right corner of the camera back and working generally westward (well, assuming that your lens is pointing north, anyway), here’s an introduction to the buttons and other controls on this side of the camera:
AF Point Selection/Magnify button: In certain shooting modes, you press this button to specify which autofocus points or zones you want the camera to use when establishing focus. You can also use it in Live View or Movie mode to magnify the display to check focus (see Chapter 5). In Playback mode (see Chapter 9), you use this button to magnify the image display (thus, the plus sign in the button’s magnifying glass icon).
AE Lock/FE Lock/Index/Reduce button: During shooting, press this button to lock autoexposure (AE) settings (see Chapter 4) and to lock flash exposure (FE), a feature detailed in Chapter 2.This button also serves two image-viewing functions: It switches the display to Index mode, enabling you to see multiple image thumbnails at once. And if you magnify a photo, pressing the button reduces the magnification level.
AF-ON button: Just like pressing the shutter button halfway, pressing this button initiates autofocus. See Chapter 5 for more information on focusing.
Live View/Movie Shooting switch and Start/Stop button: The Live View/Movie switch changes the behavior of the center Start/Stop button. If the switch points to the camera icon (think still photography), the camera will enter Live View mode when you press the Start/Stop button. Live View enables you to compose your pictures using the monitor instead of the viewfinder. Press the button again to return to viewfinder shooting.Set the switch to the red movie icon to shoot movies. Press the Start/Stop button to start and stop recording.
Memory card access light: This light glows while the camera is recording data to the memory card. Don’t power off the camera while the light is lit, or you may damage the card or camera.
Joystick multi-controller: