Canon EOS Rebel T7i/800D For Dummies. King Julie Adair

Figure 1-7 points out the Set button and the four surrounding buttons, known as cross keys. These buttons team up to perform several functions, including choosing options from the camera menus. You use the cross keys to navigate through menus and then press the Set button to select a specific menu setting.

       In this book, the instruction “Press the left cross key” means to press the one to the left of the Set button, “Press the right cross key” means to press the one to the right of the Set button, and so on.

      During viewfinder photography – that is, when you’re using the viewfinder and not the monitor to frame your shots – the cross keys also have individual responsibilities, which are indicated by their labels:

      ● Press the up cross key to change the White Balance setting. The White Balance control, explained in Chapter 6, enables you to ensure that colors are rendered accurately.

      ● Press the right cross key to adjust the AF Operation mode. This option controls one aspect of the camera’s autofocus behavior, as outlined in Chapter 5.

      ● Press the left cross key to change the Drive mode. The Drive mode settings enable you to switch the camera from single-frame shooting to continuous capture or any of the other drive modes. See Chapter 2 for details.

      ● Press the down cross key to change the Picture Style. Chapter 6 explains Picture Styles, which you can use to adjust the color, contrast, and sharpness of your pictures.

      For Live View and Movie shooting, the cross keys perform different actions, all related to autofocusing. See Chapter 5 for help.

      ❯❯ Playback button: Press this button to switch the camera into picture-review mode.

      ❯❯ Erase button: Sporting a trash can icon, the universal symbol for delete, this button lets you erase pictures from your memory card during playback. Chapter 9 has specifics.

      ❯❯

      Info button: In Live View, Movie, and Playback modes, pressing this button changes the picture-display style.

      During viewfinder photography, you can press the Info button to toggle between the Quick Control screen and electronic level. (These displays are explained later in this chapter.)

      ❯❯ Menu button: Press this button to display camera menus; press a second time to exit the menus. See the upcoming section “Ordering from Camera Menus” for help navigating menus.

And the rest …

The remaining external features of note are shown in Figure 1-8 and described in the following list:

      ❯❯ Wireless remote-control sensor: This sensor can pick up the signal from the optional Canon wireless remote-control unit. The part number is Canon RC-6 and sells for about $20.

      You also have two other wireless remote-control options. If you have a smartphone or tablet that can run the Canon Connect app, you can use that device as a wireless remote; the appendix provides more information. Alternatively, you can buy the Canon Wireless Remote Control BR-E1 (about $50), which connects to your camera via Bluetooth, also detailed in the appendix. I bring them up now because unlike the RC-6 unit, these two tools don’t need to be aimed at the camera’s remote-control sensor to work.

      ❯❯ Lens-release button: Press this button to disengage the lens from the lens mount so that you can remove it from the camera. While pressing the button, rotate the lens toward the shutter-button side of the camera to dismount the lens.

      ❯❯ Flash button: Press this button to raise the built-in flash in the advanced exposure modes (P, Tv, Av, and M).

      ❯❯ Depth-of-Field Preview button: When you press this button, the image in the viewfinder (or, in Live View mode, on the monitor) offers an approximation of the depth of field that will result from your selected aperture setting, or f-stop. Depth of field refers to the distance over which the scene appears to be in focus. Chapter 5 provides details.

      ❯❯ Speaker: When you play a movie that contains audio, the sound comes wafting through these little holes.

      ❯❯ Connection ports: Hidden under two covers on the left side of the camera, you find inputs for connecting the camera to various devices. Open the smaller cover to access the connections for a wired remote control or external microphone. Under the larger door, you find a digital terminal for connecting the camera to your computer via USB and an HDMI out port that sends the signal from your camera to an HDMI-equipped TV. To use either feature, you need to purchase a cable to make the connection. For USB downloading, check the Canon website for the cables that will do the trick. For HDMI output, you can use any HD cable that has a Type-C connection one on end (the end that goes into the camera).

      See Chapter 12 for help with displaying images on an HD television; Chapter 9 explains how to connect the camera via USB to download pictures to your computer. (Spoiler alert: Downloading via USB is probably not your cheapest or easiest option; instead, consider using a memory-card reader or taking advantage of wireless transfer.)

      ❯❯ NFC antenna: This label marks the spot that emits a signal than can be picked up by NFC-enabled smartphones and other smart devices. (NFC stands for Near Field Communication.) If your device has this feature, you can simply place it next to the antenna to initiate a wireless connection between it and the camera. See the appendix for information on this wireless feature.

       FIGURE 1-8: Other important controls reside on the front and left side of the camera.

      If you turn the camera over, you find a tripod socket (which enables you to mount the camera on a tripod that uses a ¼-inch screw), the chamber that holds the battery, and a connection port for attaching a Canon power adapter. See the camera manual for specifics on running the camera on AC power.

      Changing from Guided to Standard Display Mode

      By default, your camera is set to Guided Display Mode. In this mode, designed for novices, camera screens are simplified and offer explanations and feedback when you adjust certain settings.

For example, when you press the Menu button, you get a description of the contents of the current menu, as shown on the left in Figure 1-9. And when you rotate the Mode dial to choose an exposure mode, the display describes what that mode is designed to do. The right side of Figure 1-9 shows the screen that appears if you select the Tv (shutter-priority autoexposure) exposure mode, for example.

       FIGURE 1-9: In Guided Display mode, the camera offers simplified menus and brief details about the feature you’re currently using.

Additionally, after you exit the screen that describes the exposure mode, the camera displays available picture-taking settings along with input on certain options.