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

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

      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 information related to the Auto Power Off setting, found in the section Setup Menu 2” for help adjusting the timing of the automatic shutoff.

      ❯❯ Mode dial: Rotate this 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.

      ❯❯ 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.

       On some camera screens, you see a symbol that resembles the top half of a dial with notches around the edge. That’s designed to remind you that you use the Main dial to adjust the setting. Similarly, on some screens, a pair of curved arrows is perched above a picture-taking setting. Those arrows also indicate that you can rotate the dial to adjust the setting.

      ❯❯ Red-Eye Reduction/Self-Timer 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. See Chapter 2 for more details about Red-Eye Reduction flash mode and the self-timer function.

      ❯❯ AF Area Selection button: Press this button to access the AF Area Selection setting, which is related to autofocusing. Chapter 5 explains.

      ❯❯ 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.

      ❯❯ DISP button: This button affects the Quick Control screen, which displays shooting information when you’re taking still pictures. (Check out “Displaying the Quick Control screen, later in this chapter, for a look.) Normally, the screen appears automatically when you turn the camera on or press the shutter button halfway and release it and then turns off after a period of inactivity. But you take control over the display by pressing the button, which toggles the Quick Control screen on and off.

      ❯❯ 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.

      ❯❯ Flash hot shoe: Labeled in Figure 1-6, this is the connection for attaching an external flash and other accessories such as flash adapters, bubble levels, flash brackets, off-camera flash cords, and the GP-E2 GPS Receiver.

      ❯❯ Focal plane indicator: Should you need to know the exact distance between your subject and the camera, the focal plane indicator labeled in Figure 1-6 is key. 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.

      ❯❯ Microphone: You can record movie audio via the built-in microphone, which picks up sound from the two clusters of holes labeled “Microphone” in Figure 1-6.

      ❯❯ Wi-Fi lamp: The Wi-Fi lamp turns on to show that you’re connected, and blinks at various rates to show that it is waiting, transferring data, or has a connection error. For more information on Wi-Fi, turn to the appendix.