Canon Digital Learning Center
August 2010
Ever since our last Antarctica trip I've been thinking of buying a Canon 7D. The two main reasons being that the camera was much lighter than the Mark series, and the focus, and features, looked very enticing. See this month's Question for more on this.
At any rate, the 7D has a lot of features, and the instruction booklet, like most I've read, is somewhat confusing. However, my friend Rick Holt, one of my digital instructors who teaches Photoshop and Lightroom here at Hoot Hollow, writes script for the instruction videos, and Rick was a great source of advice. However, even more importantly for you, Rick told me about the Canon Digital Learning Center website where you can view or download short video clips that describe many of the 7D's features.
Viewing the videos has saved me a huge amount of time, as the videos are for the most part very clear and step-by-step. The only video I found confusing, should you visit, was Video #2 on Manual AF Point Selection. In that video, Spot AF and AF point expansion are described, but I couldn't get that option in my camera. By experimenting, I discovered that in the Custom Functions menu, at CF III 6 if I hit the SET dial, and used the thumb wheel in back, I could navigate through options that gave me the chance to select, by hitting the SET button, the options for Manual AF and AF point expansion. Without doing so, these were 'grayed' out and were not available. The video does not make this clear, and thic could prove frustrating for someone trying to set the feature.
The Mark IV has its own series of video tutorials as well, and I'm sure by viewing these I'll be getting much more out of that camera, too.
Previous Tips, July 2009 onward
The Movie Mode with the Canon Mark IV
Batch Renaming in Bridge and CS5
Alternate Uses of some Bogen Products
Hoodman Products
Using High ISO and Live View for Focusing in Dim Light
Art Print Scams for Hungry Photographers
Hungry Vultures ruin vehicles in the Everglades
Use a Short Lens for Depth of Field
Get Professional Help!
Mini-Molar Bag
Access America Trip Insurance
Bogen Base for Macro Work
Archived Tips of the Month
prior to July 2009
Most of my original Tips of the Month for the last several
years are available through this link. The 'look' is from my
original web site, although if I ever have enough time I might redo these pages to match the new web site But that's not a high priority.