The EOS 5D Mark II offers an expanded set of custom function options for flash sync speed in Av mode. When shooting with flash in Av mode, the camera will try to perform a fill-in flash. If light levels are low this can lead to a very long shutter speed. However, by setting C.Fn I-7 you can choose from three settings: 0 = Auto – the shutter speed will be as long as required. 1= 1/200sec-1/60sec. This will lock the shutter speed between those two values so you will not risk camera shake, but the ambient light levels may be dark. 2 = 1/200sec – like option 1, there is unlikely to be any camera shake, but the shutter speed will be too fast to record much ambient light unless it is very bright.

Many photographers are familiar with the effect of second-curtain sync (the flash is triggered just before the camera shutter closes meaning that, when using slow shutter speeds, the subject is followed by a light trail recorded with ambient light) but not how to make it work. To enable second-curtain sync press the ‘High-Speed sync/Shutter curtain synchronization button’ so that the Triple Forward Arrow symbol is displayed. Press again to return to normal mode. Alternatively, in the camera Custom Functions choose ‘Second-Curtain synchronization’ (C.FN II -5-1 on EOS-1 Mark III series cameras).

Strobe is the effect that is often used to demonstrate golf swings and other situations where a sequence of rapid movement needs to be recorded in a single frame. The effect can easily be captured with the Canon Speedlite 580EX II, 580EX and 550EX flashguns. The Speedlites allow the user to set three variables - flash output, the number of flashes and the firing frequency (number of flashes per sec, expressed as Hz). The user also needs to determine the exposure by selecting the aperture to match the subject distance. On the 580EX II, press the mode button so that ‘MULTI’ is displayed. Press ‘SEL’ to select and use the control dial to select required values. Remember to press ‘SEL’ again to lock the values. For more detailed information check your Speedlite User Guide. A little practice will quickly reward you with interesting results. Caution: To prevent possible damage, DO NOT use stroboscopic flash more than 10 times in quick succession - allow 15 minutes cooling time before further use.

A common mistake when working in low light with flash is to use program mode or to try to keep the shutter speed too high. This results in flash illuminated subjects and black backgrounds as program mode by default keeps shutter speeds to 1/60sec or above. For best results, set the camera mode to Av (or manual); select an appropriate aperture (try and keep it open as far as possible - so f/2.8 or f/4); and let the shutter speed drop away. Use ISO to control the shutter speed. Ideally this should be between 1/4sec and 1/30sec. The result will be a good mixture of ambient light in the background and the subject illuminated by flash.

One of the significant features on the Speedlite 580EX II flashgun is the automatic flash exposure control independent of the camera. This replicates the functionality of the previous generation of Thyristor Flash units. To activate setting requires accessing the flash’s Custom Functions, either via camera menu or the flash menu. Flash Custom Function C.Fn 5 controls the setting - choose option 3, ‘External metering: Manual’. This setting forces the flash to regulate the output via the 580EX II’s external flash sensor. Almost no communication takes place between camera and flash.
Once the flash is set, the letter ‘E’ appears in the upper left of the flash’s LCD panel, as well as an indication of ISO and aperture. Set the ISO in use and the aperture on the flash. An indication of the range possible for successful exposure is given on the flash LCD. Set the camera to ‘M’ or ‘Av’ and shoot. This function may be particularly useful when the flash is being used to light backgrounds or provide backlight for subjects when used off-camera.

The Canon E-TTL II flash system is very accurate once you learn how to use it correctly, however you may sometimes want more creative control of your flashguns by manually setting the powers in a multiple flash arrangement. With the latest generation of EOS cameras and the EX Speedlites, this is easy to do, even from the camera. Just enter the 'External Speedlite' setting menu in the camera, choose manual for the flash metering and then, in the wireless setting, you'll be able to select the manual flash output for each group independently. With these set on the camera, each remote flash will be updated automatically by the master flash unit.

One of the beauties of Canon's versatile flash system is that you need so little hardware to make it work. In the past adding in an extra highlight, or some fill flash, away from the camera position would have required a flash or continuous light source, cables and a flash meter. Now all that is required is a spare flash or a Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 to trigger from the camera plus a Canon Speedlite 580EX II or 430EX flashgun to provide the light source. Set the remote unit as a slave, turn off the output if you are using a flash unit as the trigger on the camera and the job is done. The camera automatically controls the output giving perfect fill or highlighting on the subject.

Do you struggle with shadows falling behind your portrait subject when shooting with a flashgun mounted on your EOS camera? If so the simple solution is to remove the flash from the camera. This can be achieved using either the ST-E2 infrared Speedlite Transmitter or an OC-E3 Off-Camera Shoe Cord. However, while getting the flash off-camera is all well and good, it's quite difficult to shoot with one hand and carry the flash in the other. Fortunately, the SB-E2 Speedlite bracket can help. Simply place the flash on the bracket, connect it to the camera using the OC-E3 and you'll have better-looking portraits with less intrusive shadows. As a bonus, it will help to reduce the causes of red-eye as well.

Flash exposure lock is a quick and reliable way to get precision flash exposures. The only downside is that the exposure lock is only 1 second after release by default. Such a short lock could prove to be an issue if you need to get a consistent exposure for a sequence of portrait images using a 'Speedlight Studio' for instance. Tucked away in the custom functions of the EOS-1 series cameras is a setting that may be helpful:

C.Fn IV - 12: Timer length for timer.

Scroll down to Timer after release and set the appropriate length of time, up to 60 minutes. The good news is that the same setting is also available on previous EOS-1 Mark I and II cameras, as a personal function, set by tethering the camera to the computer.

Do you need to freeze high-speed action with a fast shutter speed and flash The Canon Speedlite 580EX, 580EXII and 430EX flashguns can synchronise with EOS-1 series cameras up to a top shutter speed of 1/8000sec. Go to back panel of the flash and press the button with the lightning bolt and H beside it. In the viewfinder the lighting bolt and H are shown to confirm the setting. In standard mode, the flash emits a single pulse of light at the sync speed or below. In high-speed mode a series of very small pulses of flash are emitted, effectively illuminating the subject the whole time the shutter is open. Consequently the flash power is reduced substantially, so keep an eye on the green exposure confirmation light.

If you're shooting a lot under tungsten or strip lights flash is useful to fill-in, or even to provide additional light, but the discrepancy in colour temperatures can be a problem. Do you shoot with white balance set for tungsten/fluorescent or flash Ponder the question no longer. Set the white balance for the ambient light and gel your flashes to match - the process is cheap and straightforward. All good camera stores will sell sheets of lighting gels designed for studio flash. Major brands are Lee and Rosco. Simply buy the appropriate gel and cut sections off to fit to the front of the Speedlite 580EX flashgun. Secure with tape, elastic bands or if you are feeling smart, fix velcro on camera and gels.

The Canon Speedlite 580EX and 580EXII are very powerful and versatile flashgun units. One the most useful functions is the ability to be able to remotely trigger and fire one unit with another in master/slave configurations or with the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2. Combine the ST-E2 with a couple of 580EXIIs and you have a completely portable studio that fits into a tiny bag. Expand the versatility with a couple of lighting stands, white umbrellas and brackets from any good photo store and you can leave the mains flash in the studio.

Sidelight, backlight, bounced light: flash is a versatile and portable light source. The only problem is that results do not always look great when the flash is mounted on the camera. One of the quickest ways to improve your flash pictures is to take the flash off the camera and move it around the subject. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is to buy the Canon Off Camera Shoe Cord OC-E3. This cable fixes to the hotshoe on the camera and the base of the flash it preserves all flash functionality at up to 0.6m from the camera. Flat looking pictures are a thing of the past.

Have you ever noticed the FEL button on your EOS-1 Situated just behind and to the left of the main shutter release, the FEL (flash exposure lock button) is unknown by most users, yet provides the perfect flash accuracy. If you don't have an FEL button, don't despair; on the lower EOS models, the FEL function is combined with the Exposure Lock button (*) on the back of the camera. Using FEL is straightforward: Think of it for spot metering for flash; put the active focus point over the subject you wish to expose accurately and press the FEL button. A small pre-flash is emitted to measure exposure. Recompose the picture and fire the shutter. The FEL value is held for 16 seconds, or as long as the shutter button is depressed halfway. If the key subject is a pale face, exposure will need to be set for +2/3 before using FEL. For a dark face, work on -2 .If you are metering flash from a white wedding dress, it should be +2. Practice before using it on a live shoot. FEL provides a quick and accurate way to perfect flash metering and works perfectly with multi-flash set-ups.

Canon’s Speedlite 580EX II and 430EX flashguns can help to ensure accurate autofocusing in low light shooting situations by deploying AF–assist beams. If low light levels mean autofocus cannot be achieved by the EOS camera alone the external EOS–dedicated Speedlite’s AF assist beam will be emitted automatically. The beam projects onto the subject, which is recognised by the camera’s AF system, and an image can then be shot. On the EOS–1Ds Mark III and EOS–1D Mark III the AF–assist beam is available as custom function C.Fn III – 14 – this allows the photographer to enable or disable the EOS—dedicated Speedlite flashgun’s AF—assist beam.

All of the EOS–1 series cameras and the EOS 40D and 5D offer flash exposure compensation. Flash exposure compensation adjusts the level of illumination provided by the flash so that you can fine tune the balance between foreground and background or compensate for extremely dark or bright tones on the subject. The EOS–1 series cameras offer+/–3 stops of flash exposure compensation in 1/3–stop increments while the 40D and 5D offer +/–2 stops in 1/3–stop increments. On the EOS–1 series cameras and the 5D models flash exposure is instigated by pressing the metering mode button and turning the quick control dial to select the required exposure compensation setting. On the 40D access it via the ISO/flash metering button and adjust via the quick control dial.

The Canon Macro Twin Lite MT–24EX flash unit can be used as a master to control slave Canon Speedlites like the 430EX. By default, the MT–24EX will only allow you to trigger slave Speedlites if they are set to Group C, where you can use flash exposure compensation to adjust the power. This is great if you want to use a slave Speedlite for backlighting, but for more complex lighting arrangements, you will need more flexibility. If you set the MT–24EX custom function 5 to option 1, you will be able to trigger slave Speedlites as group A, B or C and have full ratio control between groups A and B, and use flash exposure compensation to set the power of group C.

You may wonder why the flash heads on Canon’s Speedlite 580EX, 430EX and 580EX II flashguns can rotate so that they point behind you. The simple answer is bounce flash. If you’re taking a photograph with your back to a white wall and there’s no ceiling to bounce the flash from, you can turn the flash head around so it’s firing over your head at the wall to create softer light than using direct flash. Varying your distance from the wall will vary the softness of the light as it is spread over a larger or smaller area. Avoid bouncing light from surfaces with a strong colour as this will affect the colour balance of your images.

When using an EX Speedlite it can be useful to get an idea of where the light will fall and therefore where you will have shadows. This is especially true when using wireless multiple flash set–ups. Whether you are using an ST–E2 Speedlite transmitter or a Master Speedlite on camera, pressing the depth–of–field preview button on the front of the camera will cause the flashguns to emit a series of strobe flashes so you can see where the light is falling. Don’t press it repeatedly for too long − it can eventually damage the flash tubes and it will use up battery power.

To preserve the extra waterproofing of the 580EX II Speedlite, the Master/Slave switch as found on the 550EX and 580EX has been removed. To access the Master/Slaves settings on the new Speedlite, press the Zoom button for a couple of seconds and use the command dial to set the option. If you are shooting with an EOS 40D, EOS–1D Mark III or EOS–1Ds Mark III with the 580EX II Speedlite, the Master/Slave settings can also be accessed from the Flash Settings menu on the camera.

It’s a fact of life that shooting at high ISO settings will mean image noise. While Canon’s CMOS technology combined with the DIGIC processors means noise levels are very well controlled, it is still the case that at the highest ISO settings image noise is present. However, does this mean you shouldn’t use the high ISO settings? No. Clearly you don’t want to use them when you don’t need to, but capturing an image with detail and some noise is infinitely better than one that is clear of image noise shows subject blur or camera shake from a slow shutter speed. So, take advantage of the EOS cameras - for example the EOS 5D Mark II (ISO 25,600), the EOS 7D (ISO 12,800), and the EOS-1D Mark IV (ISO 102,400) - that offer you ISO expansion settings for low light situations.

All EOS cameras feature at least Program (P), Shutter priority (Tv), Aperture priority (Av) and Manual (M) shooting modes. On the EOS-1 Series models, it is possible to customise the display for faster access. Although the camera will still have all the modes, C.F. I-9 on the Mark III models allows you to choose which are selectable. For example, if you only ever use M and Av mode, you can stop P, Tv and BULB mode being selectable. This means if you want to change the shooting mode you don’t need to take your eye away from the viewfinder as it will simply be one click in any direction to switch between the two modes you have available.

The EOS-1 series SLRs feature four metering modes – Evaluative, Partial, Centre-weighted and Spot, but most photographers only make use of one or two of these. To cater for this custom function C.Fn I-10 on the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1Ds Mark III cameras allows you to select which metering modes are selectable. This way you only have the chance of selecting the modes you use and it can be changed without having to take your eye away from the viewfinder.

On the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1Ds Mark III cameras there is a custom function to set the metering mode that should be used when using Manual shooting mode. C.Fn I-11 allows you to specify any of the four metering modes to be automatically switched to when you change to Manual shooting mode, or you can set it so it stays in the metering mode you’re currently using – this is the default setting. It makes the camera quicker to use and means that if you switch to M mode, you don’t then have to think about changing the metering mode as well.

The rear LCD panel on the EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS-1D Mark III SLR cameras is relatively small. In some situations it can be tricky to see when selecting White Balance, Image Size and Media Selection settings. For a clearer view use C.Fn IV-8 and set it to option 1 to allow the main rear LCD Monitor to be used instead to select these settings. For speedy scrolling though the options, use the ‘FUNC’ button repeatedly.

If a picture opportunity occurs you need a setting instantly! With EOS-1 series cameras this scenario can be dealt with simply by holding down the (AE lock button) to access a previously registered setting. This is controlled by C.Fn I-14 and allows setting of shooting mode, metering mode, shutter speed or exposure compensation. Set the settings that you need to store. Go to Menu > Custom Functions > C.Fn I-14. Select (Register). Choose whether you want the AE lock button to also activate AF or not. Finally select ‘Enable’ to register the settings to the camera.

Using the My Menu function of your EOS camera can really speed up the usage as you can place your six most used settings in the green tab for quick access. Simply putting various settings in there is only half of the story. Inevitably, out of the six settings you've stored there will be some you use more than others. For this reason there is the option to sort the entries. In the My Menu Settings, choose 'Sort' and then by selecting each setting and pressing the SET button, you will be able to move that setting up or down the list as required.

Most recent EOS digital cameras feature a multi-controller (a sort of small joystick) that's situated on the back of the camera above the quick command dial. This multi-controller has a number of functions, from navigating through menus to moving around an image in review mode, but it can also be programmed for use when shooting. On the EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D it can be used to select a focusing point without first having to press the AF point selection button. C.Fn III-3 on the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D, or C.Fn III-9-3/4 or 5 on the EOS-1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III will allow multi-controller direct access to the AF points.

If you use back button focus with your EOS camera set to AI Servo you may have noticed something a little confusing – when you review your images you may sometimes see the AF point used (if you have AF point display turned on), and sometimes not. If this has caught you by surprise the answer is actually quite simple – if you're activating the AF at the point the picture is taken by using the AF-ON or AE Lock buttons, then the AF point will show. If, however, you've stopped pressing one of those two buttons then, at the point the picture is taken, the AF is not active - hence no AF point will show. This is most likely to occur with static subjects where you activate AF and then release when the camera has achieved focus.

If you've come from shooting on a camera that didn't have the AF-ON button, then you may be used to activating back button focus using the AE Lock (*) button. If this is the case, then you can set up the newer EOS cameras in the same way by using C.Fn IV-2-1 to switch the AF-ON and AE Lock button function. If you do this there is another side effect you need to be aware of – when you review your images the AE Lock button will no longer zoom out, instead it will return the camera to shooting mode. To zoom out, you need to use the AF-ON button because all functions of the two buttons are switched.

Are you happy with the white balance results as they come out of the camera? Photography is a subjective art and as such we all see things differently. If you want to tweak the colours that your camera is producing, you can use White Balance Shift to do so. In the second red settings menu, choose 'WB SHIFT/BKT'. You will see a grid with G, A, M and B (for Green, Amber, Magenta and Blue). You can then use the multi-controller to shift the point around and bias your colours towards any of the four colours, or if you want to a combination of Green-Amber, Amber-Magenta, Magenta-Blue or Blue-Green. One level of shift is the equivalent of 5 mireds of a colour temperature conversion filter.

When you've downloaded all your images from a memory card, do you delete them all or format them? For many the answer is 'Delete all' but this is really not the best way to keep your memory card performing to its best. Once you've finished downloading images, put the memory card back in the camera and use the format option. This will remove the File Allocation Table (FAT) and start a new one. The FAT is basically the index of images on the memory card. If you tear up the index and start a new one, it's easier to keep track of where images are on the card.

We've all done it - started shooting only to realise there is no film in the camera. This has not got any better with digital either – it is still possible to merrily continue to shoot without a memory card. Out of the box, the Canon EOS cameras are set to shoot without a memory card inserted, however a quick change in the menu (on the EOS 5D Mark II it's in the first red menu) to the 'Shoot w/o card' setting will ensure it never happens again. By changing the setting to 'Off' the camera will simply not let you take a picture unless a memory card has been inserted. There will also be a flashing warning on the top LCD panel.

If you are at an event with more than one camera, or are working with a team of photographers, it is important that date and time are synchronised to allow correct ordering of images. EOS Utility software has a neat function to ensure that all camera clocks are synchronised. Plug the camera into the computer, open EOS Utility and then go to Camera settings/Remote shooting. Just above the Shooting menu are three icons: Camera, Tools and Star (favourites). Choose Tools. If you have not added owner name and on later cameras, copyright, take the opportunity to add them; then select Date/Time. Select 'Always match computer time'. Do this for each camera in use – it's much less fiddly than trying to match the minutes and seconds on the camera menu!

The Quick Control screen on the EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mark II DSLRs makes changing settings from the rear LCD screen quick and easy. However, if you are trying to use the Quick Control Screen and it doesn't seem to be working, it is most likely because you have the Custom Function for AF Point Selection method set. If C.Fn III-3 is set to Option 1 for Multi-controller direct, the Quick Control screen function will not be accessible. Unset the Custom Function and you can use the Quick Control Screen again.

Some users use the AF Beep notification all the time, others, usually wildlife photographers, switch it off immediately. If you are someone who uses the AF Beep by habit, then be aware of what focus mode you are using. The Beep will only function in either One Shot AF or AI Focus AF. If you switch to using AI Servo focus to track moving subjects the notification beep will no longer sound.

Setting a custom white balance or fixing the setting on daylight or tungsten works perfectly for shooting at a sports stadium or an event, but when the lighting or environment is changing for each image sequence, more frequent references are essential. For social and event photographers, white balance is critical to giving images the right atmosphere.

Typically images will be shot RAW, so the white balance can be fine tuned after the event, but to do this, it's necessary to capture some white balance reference shots during the event. These should be captured every time there is a change of environment or lighting, but make sure Auto White Balance is turned off. The ideal way to capture these reference shots is to carry around a product like the 'WhiBal', an 'ExposDisc or a 'QP Card', depending on your preferred shooting style. Shoot a reference frame before each new image sequence. Reference images don't need to be perfect, just sufficient to be able to click on the grey or white area to white balance all the other images in the sequence during processing.

The shutter release time lag for EOS-1 Mark III cameras is a very minimal 55 milliseconds but this can be further shortened by applying C.Fn IV-13 in the camera menu. By enabling this function, the time lag stabilization is removed and shutter release time lag is shortened by up to 20% when lenses are stopped down three stops or less from maximum aperture.

The EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D DSLRs feature a new shooting mode called 'Creative Auto Mode'. The 'CA' Creative Full Auto setting is found on the EOS 5D Mark II camera's mode dial. This setting allows users to make image adjustments such as aperture or shutter speed through an easy-to-understand navigation screen on the camera's LCD menu, allowing them to 'blur backgrounds or make exposures 'darker' or 'brighter'. These easy-to-understand image options allow photographers to experiment with image exposure options while still managing to shoot in an automatic mode.

The EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D cameras offer a new feature that allows you to input a copyright notice and your name. This information is added to the camera's EXIF shooting data (it isn't watermarked into an image), and can be viewed using Canon Digital Photo Professional software, as well as third-party browsing/image editing programs such as Photoshop. To input this information connect your camera to your computer via a USB cable. Using EOS Utility software, navigate to the Camera Settings section and type in the information you want to appear with each image and then upload this information into the camera. Once installed, you can view this information on the EOS 5D Mark II or 50D menu at Set-Up Menu 3 > Clear Settings > Press INFO. button. It's not possible to set or change this information using the camera alone. You can delete the information using the Clear Settings menu option by selecting Delete Copyright Information.

Picture Styles are a great way of adding atmosphere to images shot with EOS DSLR cameras. Canon Inc. has created a great resource for everything related to Picture Styles, including many freely downloadable styles. It's well worth a look. Click here to find out more and download Picture Style File.

The Canon EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mark II cameras feature a new Quick Control Screen that gives you instant access to the major shooting settings on these cameras. Instead of having to press different buttons or scroll through menus this is designed to let you quickly change settings such as ISO levels, metering modes, white balance, image size quality, shutter speed, aperture, and more. The Quick Control Screen is accessed via the small eight-way multi-controller toggle control to the right of the top right of the LCD screen on the cameras. Once you've highlighted a specific function via the multi-controller you can then change the setting via the main dial or the rear Quick Control dial. The function you've selected is spelt out at the bottom of the LCD screen monitor.

The EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D DSLRs feature a new Menu setting called Peripheral illumination correction. This is used to automatically adjust the images shot on the camera to correct for corner shading, sometimes wrongly identified as vignetting, so the brightness is more even across the scene. With a lens attached to the camera, select the Peripheral illumin. correct. setting from the menu. The camera will tell you if data is available for the lens you have attached and you can select to Enable or Disable the setting.

Normally the auto sensor cleaning option on the EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS-1D Mark III and EOS 40D cameras should be enough to eliminate any dust visible on captured images. In addition to this you can add Dust Delete Data to images to later erase dust spots. To do this select Dust Delete Data from under the Shooting 2 tab and press SET. Turn the main control dial to select OK, then press SET. After auto sensor cleaning, the message Press the shutter button completely, when ready for shooting? will appear. Then fill the viewfinder with a solid white object and shoot it at a distance of between 20-30cm. The picture will be taken in aperture priority mode at an aperture of f/22 and when a message appears saying data obtained select OK. This data will then be appended to all future JPEG, RAW and sRAW images taken. You can then batch process these images in Canon's Digital Photo Professional software to remove any dust spots. This will only work with the Canon software as it is the only software that knows how to read Dust Delete Data information and automatically remove dust related artefacts from your images.

On the EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS-1D Mark III and EOS 40D DSLRs you can customise Picture Styles to alter sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tones. To do this, first press the Picture Style setting button, then select a Picture Style, such as Portrait, and press the INFO button. Turn the main control dial to select a parameter such as Contrast and press the SET button. Then turn the main control dial to move along the Contrast parameter settings they run from -4 (low contrast) to +4 (high contrast) and press SET when you are at the setting you want. Then press the MENU button to save the adjusted parameter. The Picture Style selection screen will reappear and any setting that's different from the default will be in blue. The parameters for Sharpness run from 0 (less sharp outline) to +7 (sharp outline); the parameters for Saturation are from -4 (low saturation) to +4 (high saturation); and the parameters for Colour tones are -4 (reddish skin tone) to +4 (yellowish skin tone).

Are your images lacking that sparkle? Not quite getting the colours that you see? Out of the box, digital SLRs always have white balance set to Auto or AWB (auto white balance). This means that the camera is always trying to normalise the colour temperature, correcting warm orange (sunsets) or cool blue light towards more neutral tones. Set the white balance to sun symbol (daylight) and all of your natural light pictures will match what you are seeing.

Do you show your clients images on the rear LCD of your EOS DSLR? If you do, you will know that it's often necessary to warn them that images will look more bright and saturated in reality. Assuming that you are shooting RAW, there is a very simple way around this. Any EOS DSLR set to shoot in sRGB has a richer, more saturated image on the rear LCD by comparison with a camera set for Adobe RGB. By shooting in RAW, just the preview is changed and the image is not affected, nor is the amount of colour information in the file restricted. Go into the menu and select Colour Space > sRGB. Press the set button and check the difference on the rear LCD.

High speed shooting means capturing multiple frames per second. Depending on your EOS camera model, this can be up to 10fps on the EOS-1D Mark IIIs, 5fps on the EOS-1Ds Mark III and 6.5fps on the EOS 40D. Need a little less performance? All cameras offer a drive option for High-Speed Continuous Shooting or Low-Speed Continuous shooting at around half the frame rate. On the EOS-1 series cameras, custom functions enable the frame rate to be adjusted to suit user needs in C. Fn III -16.

Long exposure noise reduction is set in the custom functions (C.Fn) II on the EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 40D and C.Fn 2 on the EOS 5D. There are three settings - 0: Off, 1: Auto and 2: On. Ideally, set the camera to 1: Auto and leave it there. Noise reduction will be automatically activated when noise is detected in any exposure over one second. Noise reduction is subtractive, so after the initial exposure, a second exposure of identical length is made with the shutter closed. Noise from the second exposure is subtracted from the first image leaving a pristine, noise-free image. The only downside is the exposure takes twice as long. Setting 2 may give a slightly cleaner image by removing noise that is not detected by the auto setting. It can extend long exposures made using Live View, so setting 1 is the best option.

On all of the EOS–1 series SLRs, plus the 40D and 5D cameras one of the options in white balance settings is colour temperature adjustment (signified by the letter ‘K’ in the LCD panel). This is particularly useful when you wish to adjust colour temperature for an artificial lighting situation, such as tungsten, to ensure accurate colour reproductions.To set the colour temperature on the EOS–1Ds Mark II use the WB (white balance button), on the 5D use the AF WB button, on the 40D use the Shooting 2 menu setting, whilst on the EOS–1Ds Mark III and EOS–D Mark III the colour temperature adjustment is available via the FUNC (function) button. To set the colour temperature reading from a colour temperature meter, take test shots and adjust the setting to compensate for the difference between the colour temperature meter’s reading and the camera’s colour temperature reading.

The ‘S’ option on the EOS–1Ds Mark III and EOS–1D Mark III cameras stands for silent shooting. In normal ‘N’ mode they deliver a loud clunk when firing the shutter but using the S setting means the sounds of shutter and mirror are spread out – the mirror only falls back after exposure when you take you finger off the shutter release button. This is a useful mode for candids, sports and event photography when you want to keep camera shutter noise to a minimum. S mode is selected via the AF DRIVE button on the top plate and turning the main control dial through the AF drive options to get to silent mode.

In addition to their 10–second self–timer options the EOS–1 series and 40D cameras offer a two–second self–timer option (the EOS 5D has a 10–second self–timer). This is great for shooting landscapes avoiding camera shake, for example when you want to catch fast moving clouds. On the EOS–1 SLRs the two second self–timer option is selected by depressing the mode and metering buttons simultaneously and turning the control dial to choose the 10–second or two–second self–timer option and let go of the buttons. You then look into the viewfinder and depress the shutter button halfway to check the focus confirmation light is on and exposure setting is displayed; then press the shutter completely to take the picture. The EOS 40D’s self–timer options are accessed via the AF DRIVE button on its top plate and then via its large control dial on the camera’s back.

If you shoot with one of the EOS–1 series cameras, there is a little known function you can use – multi–spot metering. The cameras have the four common metering modes – Evaluative, Partial, Spot and Centre–weighed, but a fifth, Multi–spot, gives you more control of your exposures. If you set the camera to spot metering, you can use the FEL button to register up to 8 spot metering points from within the scene. The camera will adjust the exposure based on these spot meter readings and provide a balanced exposure. It requires practice to make the most of this setting, but can provide exposure metering in situations where other methods may not be as accurate.

The EOS 40D, 1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III all feature a custom function for high ISO noise reduction. This can be used on images shot at high ISO speeds to help reduce the appearance of noise in the final image. If the custom function is turned on, some noise reduction will be applied at all speeds, but it will be most effective at higher ISO settings. If you do set high ISO noise speed reduction, you will notice that the burst rate is dramatically reduced due to the extra processing required in the camera. In the EOS 40D, the maximum burst will only be 8 shots regardless of the file size recorded.

The EOS 40D incorporates a new feature to the EOS SLR range, Auto ISO. This is enabled in the creative zone modes, P, Tv, Av, M and A–DEP, and allows the camera to select the ISO speed appropriate to the lighting conditions. To turn on Auto ISO, press the ISO button and rotate the main control dial all the way to the left. The ISOs set will be between 100 and 800 depending on the shooting mode and light conditions, with the default setting being ISO 400. This setting is especially useful in M mode when you want a particular combination of shutter speed and aperture to achieve a specific result.

Not quite sure which white balance setting you want to use? With the cameras that feature Live View you can change the white balance setting while in Live View mode to get a view of exactly what that setting will look like. Combined with the Live View exposure simulation setting, you can make sure the image is as close to perfect as possible before pressing the shutter button.

When shooting with the EOS 40D, you can of course look at the top LCD panel to check the camera settings, however, this can be difficult in some situations. If you’d rather look at the larger LCD panel on the back of the camera, select INFO button in the first yellow settings menu and set it to ‘Shoot. func.’ Pressing the INFO button when shooting will now display the camera shooting settings on the rear LCD, including shutter speed, aperture, ISO speed, drive speed, white balance, metering mode and file settings among others.

When using the in–built self cleaning sensor unit, the camera can be set to perform a sensor clean whenever the power is turned on or off. If you find that while shooting some dust appears on your images, you can either turn the camera off and on again, or execute a ‘Clean Now’ cleaning cycle. A ‘Clean Now’ cycle takes around 2 or 3 seconds. During that time, the shutter will make three sounds but will not actually take any images. To ensure the best results with the self–cleaning sensor, place the camera base on a table or other surface that enables the camera to stand up. This will help the unit shake dust off onto the sticky pads below the sensor.

Making notes on the subjects you are shooting can be time consuming and impractical in fast–moving environments. The EOS–1 series cameras offer a sound recording facility by simply pressing and holding the Protect/Record button for two seconds and then speaking into the microphone while continuing to hold the button down. When you want to finish the recording simply release the button. To play back the sound, view the images in ZoomBrowser or ImageBrowser. A musical note will be displayed next to each image with a sound file attached.

The EOS–1D Mark III, EOS–1Ds Mark III and EOS 40D offer a new feature for EOS cameras – customisable ‘My Menu’ settings. These settings, stored in the final screen in the menu system, allow you to register a selection of menu settings that are used regularly, thus avoiding the need to hunt through the menu system to find them. For example, if you regularly switch between Highlight Tone Priority on and off, you may wish to save that as a My Menu setting to save time accessing the custom functions screen.

C.Fn II–9 gives you access to two options that affect the way the INFO button functions in shooting mode on the EOS–1D Mark III and EOS–1Ds Mark III. Setting C.Fn II–9–0 displays the camera settings on the rear LCD screen – things like the Picture Style, colour space, white balance and AF Microadjustment. For most users, this information is not essential. Setting C.Fn II–9–1 displays the shooting functions on the rear LCD screen. It replicates the top panel LCD showing settings like shutter speed, aperture, ISO speed and shooting mode. For most people this is a more useful setting and saves looking to the top panel as often. Pressing the focus point selection button means you can select a focus point on the screen.

Is using the small rear LCD screen to set file size and white balance too slow in fast–paced environments? Set C.Fn IV–8–1 on your EOS–1D Mark III or EOS–1Ds Mark III, pressing the FUNC button on the back of the camera will now toggle through file size, white balance and folder settings on the main read LCD screen. It is larger and easier to read and saves having to enter the menu first to make changes to these settings.

If you use Highlight Tone Priority on the EOS–1D Mark III (C.Fn II–3) then you will find that even with ISO expansion set to allow ISO speeds of 50–6400, your ISO speed will actually be limited to 200–3200. A quick way to check if you have Highlight Tone Priority set is to look at the ISO setting on the top LCD panel. If Highlight Tone Priority is turned off, the ISO speeds will use numbers that are all the same size: 100, 200, 400, 1600 etc. If Highlight Tone Priority is activated, the zeroes will be small: 2oo, 4oo, 16oo etc.

On the consumer cameras with a JUMP button (EOS 400D, 40D, 5D) pressing the Jump button while in the Menu, will move you between menu sections as indicated by the menu tabs or coloured borders. It is quicker than scrolling to the top of each menu section and then moving across.

Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software is regularly updated with additional features and to provide support for new cameras. Version 3.6.2 brings very useful highlight and shadow detail recovery to Canon RAW files. To use this functionality, open one or several RAW images in the ‘Edit Image’ window and use the highlight or shadow slider to bring additional image detail back into the image.

Workflow is one of those words that we all know, but we don’t always know how to implement it in the best way. Basically, it means getting your files from the camera to a ready-to-use state as smoothly as possible. Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software (bundled free with pro Canon DSLRs) can help with this by use of the Quick Check tool. When you have a large number of images you’ll need to sort through them quickly. Quick Check lets you do this, and assign ratings (1-3) to each image as you go. That way you can sort the ‘wheat from the chaff’ and get on with actually processing the images.

Sometimes composition and exposure can be a little off but RAW gives you the option of rectifying this. With Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software you can crop images using the Trimming tool in the tools menu. Select the image that you want to crop and open the trimming tool. You’ll then be able to select from a number of pre-determined aspect ratios, use a custom aspect ratio, or crop with no boundary. If you want to apply this crop to several images, simply copy the crop - when you open the trimming tool for the next image you can paste the crop in. For a batch of images, select them all before opening the trimming tool and, once you’ve made the crop on one image, use ‘Apply to all’ to adjust every selected image.

If you're shooting with a wideangle lens you may have noticed that, no matter how good the lens it, if it is at the wide end you will most likely find some distortion. Most of the time it won't be noticeable, but if your image is of a land or seascape with a straight horizon, it may be more obvious. Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software allows you to correct this. Simply open your RAW file in DPP and go to the NR/Lens/ALO tab. In there, choose the Distortion setting and the image will magically pop to being undistorted. You can also then use the slider bar to adjust the exact amount of correction if you wish to make further alterations.

Have you got a lot of files you'd like to rename in a batch? If so Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software makes it easy to do. Simply find the files you wish to rename in DPP; select them all and then, in the tools menu, choose 'Start Rename' tool. You will get a window showing you the current file names on the left and a droplet style rename structure along the top. Here you can choose how you want the new file name to be composed with text strings, date and time, and sequence numbers. You also have the option of copying the images first so, if you want to keep it, you don't overwrite the original file name. Once you've set up the structure, click 'Execute' and the files will be renamed and copied to a new location if you've chosen to do that.

Even the finest lenses have slight distortion and chromatic aberration. Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software now features excellent lens correction for Canon EF lenses, based on auto detection of the lens that has been used from the camera EXIF data. Open an image in DPP, select the Edit Image window and then the NR/Lens/ALO/ tab. Lens Aberration Correction enables the automatic optimisation of Peripheral illumination, Distortion, Chromatic aberration and Colour blur.

High burst speeds on several of Canon's DSLRs means that making short movies from stills is more possible than ever before. Creating a movie clip automatically is fast and economical using Apple's Quick Time player. The first step is to make an upgrade to QuickTime Player Pro - the cost is around €25. Ideally all images should be the same dimensions, as they will all be conformed at the same size as the first image.
Open QuickTime and choose File > Open Image Sequence. Navigate to the sequence (preferably JPEGs), and select open. A dialogue opens where it is necessary to choose 'Image Sequence Settings'. This means how many images will be shown per second or how many seconds per image in the case of using it as a movie slideshow. The choice ranges from 60 frames per second to 10 seconds per frame. Make the appropriate choice according to how the images were shot. Almost immediately a movie clip is created at the original size of the first image. Save as a QuickTime movie and you are done. If you want to make futher changes, this can be done later in QuickTime player, any movie software, Adobe Photoshop CS3 or 4 Extended edition.

Sometimes an image needs a little more than you can get from DPP or Photoshop. Here's how: take your RAW file (it needs to be RAW to work) and open it in a copy of HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro. Photomatix Pro is designed to combine multiple images for High Dynamic Range Photography. Less obviously, it has the ability to extract more detail from a single RAW file than any RAW convertor on the market. The results can be extraordinary, but make sure that any noise in the shadows is acceptable for your needs.

The EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D SLRs both feature the new Auto Lighting Optimizer (ALO). This is designed to automatically optimize images by adjusting brightness and contrast while maintaining highlight details. ALO is available on both cameras in full auto and Creative Auto Shooting modes, but it can be used and fine-tuned in other modes. For anyone shooting RAW, ALO can be applied via Canon's Digital Photo Professional software that comes bundled free with every EOS camera.

Do you enjoy shooting black and white images? Sometimes it can be hard shooting colour images and converting them to black and white - you can suddenly find that the image composed in colour doesn't really work in monochrome. There is an easy solution: shoot all the images in RAW mode with a Black and White Picture Style. Doing it this way means that you can check images in monochrome on the rear screen and modify your composition or shooting style as necessary. If you don't like the result after the shoot, it takes seconds to apply a colour Picture Style to the image using Canon's DPP imaging software and you have lost nothing.

When working with RAW images using Canon's Digital Photo Professional software, it is possible to switch between Adobe RGB, sRGB, Wide Gamut RGB, Apple RGB and ColorMatch RGB quickly and easily. Simply select the image or images you want to change, go to the Adjustment Menu, select Work Color Space and then choose the colour space you wish to work in for those images.

Like the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1Ds Mark III, the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D cameras have an sRAW (or Small RAW) function that allows photographers to choose between shooting at full resolution or at a reduced pixel resolution. The EOS 5D Mark II and 50D now go a step further and provide two sRAW functions sRAW 1 and sRAW 2. The EOS 5D Mark II has a standard full resolution of 21.1 megapixels, with sRAW 1 offering 10 megapixels and sRAW 2 offering 5.2 megapixels. The 15.1megapixel full resolution EOS 50D offers 7.1 megapixels in sRAW 1 and 3.8 megapixels in sRAW 2. The sRAW functions allow all the flexibility of RAW without the heavy file size if it is not required.

To shoot black and white images with the EOS–1Ds Mark III, EOS–1D Mark III, EOS 40D and EOS 5D cameras you can simply select the Monochrome option from the Picture Style menu – this will set the contrast for you. Alternatively you could select a Picture Style with lower contrast and more detail such as Faithful or Neutral. You can always boost contrast and throw away detail later but you can’t reduce contrast and add detail that isn’t in the original mage. Additionally if you turn your ISO up as high as you need it you will gain the flexibility to shoot with as fast a shutter speed as you like.

To avoid accidentally losing images for all EOS–1 series cameras you can choose to protect a single image or protect all the images in a folder or on a memory card. On the EOS–1Ds Mark III and EOS–1D Mark III to protect a single image you use playback and press the ‘key’ icon button below the LCD panel on the back of the cameras. Once protected, an image cannot be erased unless the protection status is cancelled manually. To protect all images in a folder or on a card use the MENU button on the back of the camera to reach the Protected images setting options of ‘All images in folder’ or ‘All images on card’. To cancel protection select ‘Clear all images in folder’ or ‘Clear all images on card’.

With Canon digital SLRs you can control the colours shot by your camera by inputting your trademark ‘style’ to the camera, thus saving on post–processing time. The EOS 40D and EOS–1Ds Mark III SLRs come bundled with Picture Style Editor – for previous EOS digital models this software can be downloaded from Canon websites. Picture Style Editor allows you to adjust the Hue, Saturation and Luminance of each colour range individually and save it as a Picture Style file. These files can then be uploaded back to the camera for use at the time of shooting as a customised in–camera colour setting. Click here to find out how to use Picture Style Editor.

If you shoot at events with more than one camera, and want to be able to view images in order of the time they were taken, make sure you synchronise the time and date settings of each camera. That way, whatever the file number, or the camera used, you will be able to organise the files chronologically – even if you switch between cameras. This is particularly useful in events such as weddings or sports.

Don‘t need the full file size of your EOS–1D Mark III camera, but want all the advantages of shooting in RAW? Set the camera to shoot in sRAW. That way, you obtain a file size of around 2.5megapixels suitable for A5 prints and still have the ability to adjust exposure, white balance, saturation and colour tone accurately using Digital Photo Professional.

The Fine and Normal settings when shooting in JPEG indicate the compression applied to the file. For example, an image shot on an EOS 5D in Large/Fine will have the same number of pixels (4368 × 2912) as an image shot in Large/Normal. However, the image shot in Large/Normal will produce a smaller file size (2.3Mb compared to 4.6Mb) due to the higher compression applied to the file. Shooting with higher compression will allow more images per memory card, but may affect the final image quality. On the EOS–1 Series digital cameras, the compression level is set on a scale from 1 to 10 indicating JPEG quality.

Contrary to the way it works with still images, when shooting movies, the slower the shutter speed the smoother any moving subjects will be recorded. This means that although you can select shutter speeds up to 1/4000sec, when shooting HD movies on the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D SLRs, it’s unlikely you’re ever going to want to make use of them unless your subject is not moving much and you need to cut down the light recorded. Instead you should be trying to stay down at the lower end of the shutter speed range, especially if you are filming moving subjects.

When shooting movies with an EOS 5D Mark II or EOS 7D DSLR it’s best if you can keep the camera as steady as possible. In a previous CPN tip we told you about using the camera strap for this when you need to be free moving, but if you’re going to use a tripod, you should really invest in a proper video tripod. These are heavier than photo tripods but this weight allows you to pan without the tripod moving. You can use a photo tripod, but just make sure that you weight it down first to help to remove vibrations and stop the tripod slipping.

Although both the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D DSLRs feature an approximate maximum of around 12 minutes when shooting Full HD movies, this is governed not by a software or hardware block, but by a the maximum file size of a single file – in the case of FAT 32, this is 4GB. If you want to shoot a longer movie the easiest way to do it, if you’re not going to need sound, is to switch off sound recording on the camera. This will save the space that would be used for sound and allow you a bit longer. In tests, you can get over 14 minutes of Full HD footage using this method.

When shooting video, always make sure you leave some space at the beginning and end of the video clip to aid in editing. If you start recording and the action begins straight away, then when you come to edit the clips together, you’ll find it harder to get it exactly at the point you want. If you’re in control of the action try to record for at least a couple of seconds before it gets going to make your editing options easier later on.

The EOS 5D Mark II captures HD movies at 30fps in 1080p (1920x1080 pixels, progressive mode, using an h.264 codec). When the camera was released all of the movie exposure settings were set automatically but Canon has updated the firmware to allow full manual exposure control of the camera in movie mode. This is enabled from firmware 1.1.0 onwards. With the firmware in place, shutter speed, aperture and ISO can all be controlled in the same way as in film mode. Simply set exposure mode to 'M', set ISO, shutter speed and aperture and shoot as normal.

Shooting video footage is normally restricted to a fairly narrow range of lenses unless budgets are in the blockbuster category. Because the EOS 5D Mark II is a full frame camera, video footage from this camera can be captured with from the same wide range of Canon EF lenses as stills, giving almost endless possibilities that weren’t previously possible. Think tilt and shift, with movement on TS-E lenses, fisheye cityscapes, and even super-macro images with the MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens.

In extremely bright light the use of Canon’s Neutral Density filters may help to maintain wide apertures and the optimal shutter speed for movie capture on the EOS 5D Mark II. Canon manufactures a range of ND filters that reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor by two stops (ND4L) and three stops (ND8L), without affecting the colour balance of the captured image. This helps to ensure there is no ‘washing out’ of your movie footage.

The EOS 5D Mark II has an impressive ability to capture high quality video in even the lowest light thanks to its large, full-frame sensor. In its standard configuration ISO values can be set from 100 to 6400. Activating Custom Function C.Fn1-3 allows that range to be extended from 50 to 25,600, by activating the ‘L’ (50 ISO), ‘H1’ (ISO 12,800) and ‘H2’ (ISO 25,600) settings. With video best results will be captured in the ISO range 100 to 1600. When working in low light quality will be improved by dropping the shutter speed to 1/30sec or by using a faster lens rather than increasing the ISO speed beyond 1600.

When using the EOS 5D Mark II it is very easy to forget that you are using a video camera. Do not under any circumstances shoot HD video in portrait mode! It is very hard to correct the orientation, and the result is very small vertical window on a horizontal screen.

The EOS 5D Mark II features an internal mono microphone for recording sound with movies. For many uses it is fine but if you want better sound quality, and more control, you can use the 3.5mm stereo jack plug to attach an external microphone. This will allow you to use two-channel recording and achieve better sound quality. It will also help you to avoid recording any sounds from touching the camera or moving it around. There are a variety of external microphones available for various uses - these are shotgun microphones suitable for mounting on top of the camera and clip mics for interviews. There are other options if you want different types of microphones for other uses, as well as XLR input boxes from third party manufacturers that will allow you to plug an XLR mic into the camera for use with balanced professional quality microphones.

When recording movies, the sound is almost as important as the pictures. You need to be aware of the sound and ensure it all fits together well. You also need to make sure it is as clear as possible. The EOS 5D Mark II features an internal mono microphone that is absolutely fine for general use. However, to ensure you get the best sound from it, you need to be careful. Because the microphone is built into the camera body it risks picking up handling sounds as you touch the camera. To get the best audio, try to minimise any contact with the camera during recording by using a tripod and video head. If you have to hold the camera, try to minimise any button presses and hand movements as these will be recorded.

Shooting stills is relatively straightforward as the camera only has to be kept still for a fraction of a second. Shooting video on the EOS 5D Mark II is a different ball game. While the tip for using the neck strap is a good one, it is something of a compromise for very short clips. An Image Stabilization (IS) lens is essential for any form of hand-holding, but it's better to use a video tripod or one of the shoulder mount adapters that are being introduced by specialist video equipment manufacturers.

Most photographers have tripods; they are an essential part of the kitbag. Unfortunately video has slightly different demands - the ability to make smooth movements is part of the medium, so a dedicated video tripod head is needed. The best of these utilise a viscous liquid to control the movement and remove judder. They are described as 'fluid heads'. Some fluid heads can be fitted to the standard flat plate of a photographic tripod or, on larger tripods, by means of a bowl adapter to facilitate rapid levelling. Others will require specialist video 'sticks' or tripod legs with a built-in bowl adapter.

Colour management for still images is something that most photographers do to ensure the quality of their images. With the coming of the EOS 5D Mark II and shooting HD video there is a new challenge; ensuring that video meets a common standard and will look correct on other people's systems. Colour management for video is quite straightforward to implement in a basic way. For shooting video the camera is best set up to shoot in sRGB, the standard for the web. If the files are opened in the extended versions of Adobe Photoshop (it allows video editing) ensure that sRGB is the colour space assigned to the files. Calibrate your monitor to the following settings to allow correct viewing of the video files: Gamma 2.2, Colour Temperature 6500K, and Luminance 120 cd/m.

One of the good points, and also a problem with the movie quality from the EOS 5D Mark II camera, is that it is so good. The file is genuine 1080p, with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The files are encoded in Apple's H.264 codec and the quality is substantially better than many movie cameras. The downside of this is that the data rates are high at around 39Mbits/sec (5Mb/sec). This is enough to give issues, even on some late model laptop and desktop computers. If your playback is jerky, don't blame the camera!

To help matters, do the following:

Do not try playing back from the Compact Flash card - always copy the file to your computer hard disk.

For optimum performance, ensure your computer drive has at least 30% clear space. If you are running Windows, ensure that the hard disk is de-fragmented.

One of the best ways to preview files full screen is via the included Canon Image Browser software. On Mac or PC you can also use QuickTime Player from Apple or VLC Media Player.

At first sight, manual focus for video seems straightforward: look at the back screen and focus. Unless you are very gifted, you will soon realise that the screen does not offer sufficient resolution for accurate focus. When the EOS 5D Mark II is not recording, there is no issue; use the magnify button to zoom in 5x or 10x for a detail view of the subject and the Multi-controller to move the focus point around the image.

However, it is quicker to use autofocus. To do this select the Quick mode for Auto Focus in the menu (you can also press the AF. DRIVE button and use the main control dial to select the AF mode). Ensure the lens is switched to AF. Use the multi-controller to select a suitable AF point in the image. Press the AF ON button on the back of the handgrip. The mirror will go down, AF will be achieved and the Live View image will re-appear. This takes less than a second. AF is disabled when the camera is recording, so autofocus has to be set before starting to record.

Picture Styles can be used to achieve a particular look in your still images shot with an EOS digital SLR and they can also be used when shooting HD movies with the EOS 5D Mark II. Simply by using the Picture Style settings, you can create exactly the colours you want in a movie or even remove them completely by shooting in the Monochrome Picture Style. For even more control, you could create your own custom Picture Style using Picture Style Editor and upload that to the camera. You can see what it will look like before recording. Just select the different Picture Styles while in the Live View/Movie recording mode as it presents you with a live preview as you choose each setting, even when using different parameters within the Picture Styles.

When shooting HD video with the EOS 5D Mark II unless you want your video to look like you're running around the woods wildly, you need to keep the camera steady. While the Image Stabilizer will work to a degree the steadier you can keep the camera the better it will be. One way to help when hand holding is to use a shortened neck strap which you can place over your head and then use to brace the camera. Simply push the camera away from you with the strap around your neck and it will create a tension that helps to steady everything. If you then move from the hips you can also pan quite effectively without wobbling around too much.

Editing video from the EOS 5D Mark II might sound like a frightening proposition but if, like most photographers, you have a copy of Adobe Photoshop, then it can all be done in the comfort of your favourite application. Photoshop CS3 and CS4 Extended versions both support video and working with it is as straightforward as going to File > Open and selecting a clip from your EOS 5D Mark II. The video is opened as a layer (smart object layer in CS4) and choosing Window > Animation reveals a timeline to play the clip.

The EOS 5D Mark II offers a full HD movie shooting function. Movies can be recorded at one of two resolutions 1920x1080 16:9 for the best image quality or 640x480 4:3 standard TV quality (SD) capture. To select the recording resolution, go to the Live View/Movie func. set. Options and select Movie rec. size. From here you can select either of the two video capture resolution options.

The EOS 5D Mark II offers a full 1080 High Def movie function. The maximum size of a movie file created on the camera is limited to 4GB per clip - this will determine exactly how long a recording can be made. By setting it to a standard definition (SD) of 640x480 pixels, it will give you up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds continuous movie capture. When using a 4GB memory card in full 1920x1080 pixel High Def mode it will provide around 12 minutes of full HD resolution, depending on the content of the film, and 24 minutes in standard definition.

When shooting movies on the EOS 5D Mark II note that there is no manual control of either the aperture or the shutter speed. Instead, the camera will control the exposure and allow exposure compensation to be used by rotating the quick control dial on the rear of the camera. During shooting, the camera will aim to minimise changes in the aperture, as the internal microphone will pick up sounds from the aperture opening and closing. The shutter speed will be controlled, usually between 1/30sec and 1/125sec.

When shooting in movie mode with the EOS 5D Mark II the camera will try and soften changes in the exposure by effectively blending the previous frames over the top of new frames as the exposure changes. This helps to avoid a very rapid jump in exposure if the aperture opens or closes due to changing ambient light conditions. Both high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) movie resolutions shoot at a frame rate of 30fps on the EOS 5D Mark II.

Although the Spot AF settings on the EOS 7D can be used for shooting moving subjects with AI Servo II, as well as when shooting in low light, in these situations you may find it isn’t as effective a focusing method as using a single standard AF point. This is because the AF sensor for Spot AF is smaller and therefore is not as accurate or fast at tracking or detecting defocus, nor at focusing in low light where there is less contrast for the system to detect and lock onto. So, remember to choose your AF setting carefully depending on the lighting conditions.

Using the orientation sensor in the EOS 7D to automatically select AF points and settings when you turn the camera can really speed up the operation and allow you to get shots you might otherwise miss. However, if used all the time it can prove challenging – if you’re aiming for a creative angle on your shot, simply turning the camera could switch to a different AF set up without you wanting it to. For this reason it’s a good idea to put this setting in the ‘My Menu’ settings so you can turn it on and off quickly and easily.

When shooting with the EOS 7D using EOS Movie mode you can choose to set your exposure manually. This gives you control over the shutter speed and aperture to change the depth-of-field or deal with moving subjects. Adjustable shutter speed choices are from 1/30sec to 1/4000sec, with the lowest shutter speed dependent on the frame rate you have selected to shoot at. For 30fps, 25fps and 24fps the lowest shutter speed is 1/30sec but for 50fps or 60fps the slowest shutter speed allowed is 1/60sec.

Many photographers make use of a focusing technique called 'back button focus' when the AE Lock button, rather than the shutter button, is used to activate focus. Until the arrival of the EOS 7D on previous EOS DSLRs back button focus had always been accessed via custom functions. On the EOS 7D to set up back button focusing you enter the 7D’s Quick Control Screen (via the ‘Q’ control on the back left of the camera) and select the AE Lock button setting option. From here you can choose to have the button start the autofocusing operation. You can also select the shutter button options and choose to remove autofocusing from the function.

If you’re shooting landscapes, or using a Canon tilt and shift TS-E lens, you should make use of Live View and the Dual Axis Electronic Level to ensure that you have the camera level before shooting. With the level displayed on the screen you can judge whether the pitch or roll of the camera is level to help you ensure horizons are level and your verticals are absolutely vertical with no hint of convergence.

Because the EOS 7D SLR uses a transmissive LCD screen rather than a normal focusing screen, it is possible to turn off the display options to provide a clear view when looking through the viewfinder. This is most useful when shooting subjects such as small macro items or even when shooting landscapes. In these situations focusing points showing on the screen can be a distraction. To avoid this use CFn III-10 and set it to option 1. This will turn off the focus display during AI Servo and manual focusing.

The EOS 7D offers those filming in the EOS Movie mode selectable frame rates. To choose the frame rate settings you need to be aware which video format you are shooting in – PAL or NTSC – and at what resolution. The Full HD 1080p resolution can be captured at 30fps (29.97), 25fps or 24fps (23.97). Note that to access the 25fps rate the camera needs to be set to shoot in PAL mode. If you are set to NTSC mode the camera will only be able to capture 30fps or 24fps. The camera also features two faster frame rates available in 1280x720 and 640x480. 60fps (59.94) is available in NTSC mode and 50fps is available in PAL mode.

The EOS 7D features a new Spot AF mode that uses a smaller section of each cross-type AF point sensor to provide more accurate focusing on smaller areas such as on macro subjects or close portraits. It can be used for all subjects, but you will need to be very accurate with focus point placement on moving subjects because the shorter length of the cross-type sensor used means that it will be slower to respond to extreme defocus situations.

In use the PowerShot G10 camera uses Auto ISO by default - perfect if you are working in good light. For low light the camera will always keep the ISO at 200 or below. For better results, take control: set white balance to daylight and the ISO rating to 400 or more. The image has a tendency to be noisy but, in return, you get more flexibility and faster shutter speeds. The noise adds drama and atmosphere to the image and daylight White Balance (WB) ensures you get what you see.

The PowerShot G10 works well with all of the EX series of Canon Speedlite flashguns but it can be a handful when used with the larger units. The 580EX II in particular is bigger than the G10 camera. Canon’s recent launch of the 270EX Speedlite is fortuitous as it offers full EX series functionality with a zoom head and bounce flash head. The 270EX unit fits nicely in a small pocket, offers near silent recycling, and is the perfect match for the PowerShot G10.

The PowerShot G10 has three Image Stabilization (IS) settings to help you to get sharp images. 'Continuous' will leave the IS system running of all the time that the camera is active and ready to shoot with the shutter button half pressed. 'Shoot only' will help to conserve battery life by only activating IS while the picture is being taken. 'Panning' is the same as Mode 2 on the EF lenses that feature Image Stabilization – it is for use when using a slow shutter speed and panning with a subject to create a sense of movement.

The PowerShot G10 features several more consumer-oriented features such as 'themes' and 'camera sounds'. For a professional the G10 is an ideal candid camera for street shooting, so having camera noises isn't ideal. To turn off these noises you can either go into the menu and change each of the sounds for start-up, operation, self-timer and shutter, or you can simply switch mute on in the settings tab – the second along the top in the LCD panel. If you do switch the camera to mute remember that when you play back a movie clip you won't hear any of the recorded sound.

Among the key features on the Powershot G10 are the mechanical controls for shooting mode selection. In addition to providing access to the usual Aperture and Shutter priority, Manual and Program modes, there are two Custom settings, C1 and C2. These allow direct access to preferred settings that are assigned via Menu > Camera > Save settings. Among the settings that can be retained are as follows: Shooting mode (M, AV, Tv, P), ISO speed, metering mode, ND filter. Also Zoom and Manual focus location and My menu settings. Make your choices, save settings to C1 or C2 and Press the FUNC SET button; perfect for creating street shooting or quick portrait mode.

In addition to being an extremely useful camera in its own right, the PowerShot G10 has a very useful, built in sound recording function. Sound recording can be done in two ways: with an image (as with the EOS-1 series cameras) or by using the camera as a standalone recorder. Sound recording is accessed though the playback menu. To add sound to an image, select the image and then press the microphone/exposure lock button. To record, press function set. A maximum of 60sec is allowed per image. To use the G10 as a standalone recorder, select the playback menu > sound recorder. Depending on the card in use and the quality setting chosen, up to 25 hours of recording is possible, with qualities from 44.1-11.025Khz.

Paparazzi, photojournalism, even sports; sometimes it is necessary to get a picture by any means. Canon's PowerShot G series is particularly good at this and the G10 is better than any other. In addition to being black and small, all sound can be turned off and, without a moving mirror, the camera is totally silent in operation. With the lens set to its widest setting (28mm in 35mm equivalent) and aperture at f/4, set the manual focus to 2m and depth of field stretches an impressive 0.8m to infinity, rendering focusing unnecessary. Four stop image stabilization means that low light is not an issue either. The G10 has a 14.7 megapixel sensor, so even with a 50% crop, the image will still make any photo agency glad.

Clients often come up with concepts requiring cameras to be used in compromising locations like sand, water, and underwater. All very well if there is the budget for specialist protective housings or replacement cameras in case of damage. Often though, budgets are limited and photographers will take a chance, just to get the commission. The PowerShot G10 may provide the answer. Delivering outstanding images from its 14.7 million pixel sensor, a 5x zoom, and the option to shoot RAW, it is perfect for those high risk shoots, particularly when equipped with Canon's WP-DC28 underwater housing. Depth rated to 30m, the housing is robust, affordable and provides all the protection that most will ever need. For photographers with the older PowerShot G9 camera Canon makes the WP-DC21 housing.