Canon EOS 80D For Dummies. King Julie Adair

the lens toward the lens-release button, labeled in Figure 1-3.

       FIGURE 1-3: Place the lens in the lens mount with the mounting indexes aligned.

      To remove a lens, turn the camera off, press the lens-release button, grip the rear collar of the lens, and turn the lens toward the shutter button side of the camera. When you feel the lens release from the mount, lift the lens off the camera. Place the rear protective cap onto the back of the lens, and if you aren’t putting another lens on the camera, cover the lens mount with its protective cap, too.

       Always switch lenses in a clean environment to reduce the risk of getting dust and dirt inside the camera or lens. For added safety, point the camera slightly down when performing this maneuver to help prevent flotsam in the air from being drawn into the camera by gravity.

Zooming in and out

If you bought a zoom lens, it sports a zoom ring. Figure 1-4 shows you the location of the zoom ring on the 18–55mm kit lens; for other lenses, see your lens user guide. With the kit lens, rotate the zoom ring to zoom in and out. A few zoom lenses use a push-pull motion to zoom instead.

       FIGURE 1-4: Here’s a look at the 18–55mm kit lens.

      The numbers around the edge of the zoom ring, by the way, represent focal lengths. The number that’s aligned with the white focal-length indicator, labeled in Figure 1-4, represents the current focal length.

      Some lenses, including the alternate 18–135mm kit lens, also have a zoom ring lock switch. When the lens is set to the 18mm position, you can use the switch to lock the lens at that focal length. That way, when the camera is pointing downward, gravity can’t cause the lens to extend to a longer focal length (a problem known as lens creep).

Using an IS (image stabilizer) lens

      Both kit lenses sold with the 80D offer image stabilization, indicated by the initials IS in the lens name. Image stabilization attempts to compensate for small amounts of camera shake that are common when photographers handhold their cameras and use a slow shutter speed, a lens with a long focal length, or both. Camera shake can result in blurry images, even when your focus is dead-on. Although image stabilization can’t work miracles, it enables most people to capture sharp handheld shots in many situations that they otherwise couldn’t. The feature works regardless of whether you use autofocusing or manual focusing, and it works for both still photography and movie shooting.

       However, when you use a tripod, the system may try to adjust for movement that isn’t actually occurring. Although this problem shouldn't be an issue with most Canon IS lenses, if you do see blurry images while using a tripod, try setting the Image Stabilizer (IS) switch (shown in Figure 1-4) to Off. You also can save battery power by turning off image stabilization when you use a tripod. If you use a monopod, leave image stabilization turned on so it can help compensate for any accidental movement of the monopod. If you shoot in the B (Bulb) mode, Canon recommends that you disable stabilization.

      On non-Canon lenses, image stabilization may go by another name: anti-shake, vibration compensation, and so on. In some cases, the manufacturers recommend that you leave the system turned on or select a special setting when you use a tripod, so check the lens manual for information.

       Whatever lens you use, image stabilization isn’t meant to eliminate the blur that can occur when your subject moves during the exposure. That problem is related to shutter speed, a topic you can explore in Chapter 7.

Getting acquainted with focusing

      Your camera offers an excellent autofocusing system. With some subjects, however, autofocusing can be slow or impossible, which is why your camera also offers manual focusing. Chapter 8 fully explains automatic and manual focusing for viewfinder photography, and Chapter 4 explains how things work when you’re using the monitor to compose images (Live View mode) or are shooting movies. But here’s a primer to get you started:

      ❯❯ Choosing the focusing method: You set the focusing method via the AF/MF (autofocus/manual focus) switch on the lens. But be careful: If you’re in Live View or Movie mode, exit the live preview and return to viewfinder shooting before moving the lens switch from the AF to MF position. This step is needed to avoid damage that can occur if you switch to manual focusing while the continuous autofocusing system that's available for Movie and Live View modes engaged. (Chapter 4 explains this system and everything else about Live View and movie shooting.)

      ❯❯ Setting focus in MF mode: Just rotate the lens focusing ring. Figure 1-4 shows you where to find it on the 18–55mm kit lens.

      ❯❯ Setting focus in AF mode: Press the shutter button halfway to initiate autofocusing. After the scene comes into focus, press the button the rest of the way to take the picture. A couple pointers to remember:

      ● How the camera finds its focusing target and when it locks focus depend on autofocus settings that we detail in Chapters 4 and 8.

      ● If you’re using the 18–55mm kit lens (or any STM lens from Canon), turning the focus ring when in autofocus mode has no effect on the lens – it turns but does not focus and will never hit a physical stop. Both the 18–55mm and 18–135mm USM lens offer full-time manual focus when using one-shot AF. Simply press and hold the shutter button halfway, and then turn the focusing ring.

      ❯❯ Waking up a sleeping lens: With both kit lenses (as well as some other STM lenses), the focusing motor doesn’t operate if the camera has gone to sleep because of the Auto Power Off feature, which we explain in the section “Setup Menu 2,” later in this chapter. The lens itself goes to sleep if you don't perform any lens operations for a while. Either way, manual focus adjustments aren't possible when the lens is in this state, and automatic focusing during zooming may be delayed. You can wake the camera and lens up by pressing the shutter button halfway.

       Two final Focusing 101 tips:

      ❯❯ If you have trouble focusing, you may be too close to your subject; every lens has a minimum focusing distance.

      ❯❯ In order to properly asses focus, you need to adjust the viewfinder to accommodate your eyesight, as outlined next.

      Adjusting the Viewfinder

Near the upper right of the rubber eyepiece that surrounds the viewfinder is a dial (see Figure 1-5) that enables you to adjust the viewfinder focus to match your eyesight. The dial is officially known as the diopter adjustment control.

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

       If you don’t take this step, scenes that appear out of focus through the viewfinder may actually be sharply focused through the lens,