In this lesson we will be covering the basic startup and a couple of features of the new Canon EOS 30D digital SLR camera. Lets get started!

Inserting the Battery

The Canon 30D comes with a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (figure 1). We always recommend having an extra battery for those unforeseen occasions, such as when you are shooting all day or you are traveling and away from AC power to recharge the battery. But even with one battery, you can expect to capture around 1,100 pictures per charge in average temperatures. Battery life will of course be reduced when using the LCD to review and edit your images.

To install the Li-Ion Battery Pack to the EOS 30D body, first make sure it is fully charged and then follow these steps.

Depress the locking latch to open the battery bay door (figure 2). Properly align the battery with the contacts on the battery facing the battery bay (figure 3). Insert the battery into the camera (figure 4). The battery will click into position.

To remove the battery you will need to release the white catch and the battery will pop back out.

Close the battery bay door and press the locking latch to secure.

Release the lens release button and remove the lens from the camera (figure 7). The lens is now ready to be stored with the appropriate lens caps.

To re-attach the lens, align the white dot on the side of the lens with the white dot on the camera body. When the lens feels evenly aligned on the lens mount plate, rotate the lens barrel clockwise until you hear the lens lock into place (figures 8 and 9).

Note: There are two dots on the camera body indicating different lenses that can be attached using the respective guides. The white dot applies only to EF-S lenses, such as the one demonstrated here. Be sure to use the correct guides for the right lenses.

Once the lens is attached, use the zoom ring to zoom in or out (figure 10).

Figure 12 demonstrates how to set the Auto-Focus mode.

A CompactFlash card is inserted with the pin receiver (edge with the holes) edge in and the label side facing out (figure 15). Press the card into the dock until seated securely. The card can be removed by pressing the gray button (figure 16).

If you prefer the added quality of shooting in either RAW or RAW + JPEG modes, we recommend purchasing CompactFlash cards or Microdrives of at least 1GB or larger. The largest CompactFlash card to date is 8GB, but this number is ever changing.

The following figures show the steps to select the resolution settings for the Canon EOS 30D, and the approximate number of images you can store on a 512 MB Compact Flash card at the selected setting.

To change the image quality settings, begin by pressing the menu key on the back of the camera. The menu will come up with Quality already highlighted at the top of the menu. Press the Set button in the center of the Quick Control Dial in order to access the Quality menu and make resolution changes (figure 17).

Figures 18 through 30 show the Image Quality menu with various resolution modes highlighted.

Note: When the image quality is set to RAW, it will not be possible to see captured images on the camera's LCD screen. (figure 30)

To set the ISO press the DRIVE-ISO button on top of the camera and the ISO number will be displayed. Use the Quick Control Dial to set the desired ISO (figure 31).

If you wish to use the ISO Expansion to be able to increase sensitivity to ISO 3200 please refer to page 170 in your maunal for how to set Custom Functions.

Follow these steps for setting the White Balance mode.

To set the White Balance mode press the AF-WB button and then use the Quick Control Dial to dial in the appropiate setting. Most of the icons are self explanatory, a sun for daylight, a bulb for indoors, clouds and so on. The two custom modes are represented by icons that do not relate to real world objects (figure 32).

To dial in the Color Temperature to a specific temperature, first set the White Balance mode to the Color Temperature mode. Then press the Menu button on the back and use the Quick Control Dial to highlight the Color temp. field. Pressing Set again will allow you to adjust the Color Temperature in incremenst of 100K using the Quick Control Dial (figures 33 & 34).

This is useful when you don't have time to take accurate readings for the situation you are in, but have an idea for the light source and how to correct it. You can quickly predict the color correction needed and dial it in.

To get the most accurate White Balance, you can use the Custom White Balance settings. First get your white or gray card and take a shot of it in the lighting scenario. Next set the White Balance mode to "K" on the top menu. Then press Menu on the back and scroll down to Custom White Balance. Press set again and the LCD will show images stored on your card, choose the image of your white/gray card and press set again. The camera will now use this setting as the basis for White Balance (figures 35-37).

You can use this mode when you have time to analyze your scene, as well as when correct color balance is imperative. For the most precise White Balance and color correction you will want to use this mode as the lighting of every scene changes or may be mixed.

Note: The Color Temperature and Custom White Balance settings are only available in the "Creative Modes" or the ones signified by letters on the Mode Dial.

Figures 38-42 are Creative Modes.

This mode is for obtaining a wide depth of field automatically between a near subject and a far subject. It is effective for group photos and landscapes (figure 38).

This mode allows you to set both the shutter speed and aperture as desired. Use either a hand held meter or the camera's internal meter to judge exposure (figure 39).

In this mode you set the desired aperture and the camera automatically sets the shutter speed based on subject exposure (figure 40).

In this mode you can set the desired shutter speed and the camera will automatically set the aperture based on subject exposure (figure 41).

In Program mode, the camera automatically sets the aperture and the shutter speed, but more capabilities are available than full auto (i.e. White Balance, ISO, bracketing, etc.) (figure 42).

Figures 43-49 are Basic Modes.

In Automatic mode, the camera makes all exposure decisions for you, setting the aperture and shutter speed (figure 43).

In Portrait mode, the background is blurred out to make the subject stand out (figure 44).

In Landscape, the depth of field is set to have all of the background and foreground in focus (figure 45).

Macro mode is for shooting close-up pictures of bugs, flowers, etc. (figure 46).

Sports mode is for freezing fast moving subjects to catch the action (figure 47).

Night Portrait is for shooting people outside at twilight or at night. The flash illuminates the subject and a slow sync speed captures a natural looking exposure of the background (figure 48).

This mode allows you to disable the flash when it is not desired (figure 49).

Setting Exposure in Manual Mode

In order to have maximum control for your depth of field and your exposure, you need to manually adjust your aperture and shutter speeds. To be able to manually adjust your aperture and shutter speed settings, first turn the Mode Dial to M (figure 50).

Now you can set the Shutter Speed and Aperture separately for maximum control of depth of field, motion blur, and high or low key exposure.

To set the Shutter Speed, simply rotate the Main Dial to the desired speed.

To set the Aperture or F-stop, you must engage the special functions of the Quick Control Dial. This setting is on the Power Switch, represented by a line that indicates the Dial. Once at this setting you can use the Quick Control Dial to adjust Aperture (figures 51 and 52).

Note: When using Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority modes the Main Dial can be used to adjust each. When in the Program mode you can use either the Quick Control Dial or the Main Dial to adjust each and the camera will maintain correct exposure.

After images are copied from the media card, they can be erased. It is best to do this with the camera. With the media card inserted in the camera, press the Menu button. Scroll to Format, press set, then select OK and press set again.

Here's the contrast we talked about. Notice how bright the model's forehead is compared to the sharp shadows cast from her nose and chin in this result shot. And since she had the sun in her eyes, she couldn't help but squint into the lens.

To reduce the contrast (and squinting), our assistant held a Photoflex 12" Translucent LiteDisc up to diffuse the sunlight falling on the model's head and shoulders. This eliminated the harsh shadows, but also decreased the overall light level by about 1 f/stop. To adjust for exposure, we simply opened the aperture a full stop from its original setting and took another shot (figures 57 and 58).

In the result shot, notice how much more we can see the model's eyes, and that the shadows have diminished drastically.

For a final touch, we had the model hold a 22" White LiteDisc just under her face to bounce sunlight up into the shadow areas. We took another shot and then viewed it on the playback mode of the camera (figures 59 and 60).

The shadows under the eyes and nose have been eliminated, and the bottom LiteDisc has created a nice "sparkle" in the model's eyes. For a full body shot using this technique, you would simply use larger LiteDisc reflectors.