Camera Articles

Article / Updated 10-07-2022

Your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D has the potential for some great dynamic photography. But good intentions don’t always result in what you want to see from your Canon camera. Sometimes, you’ll need some help. When it comes to high-contrast shots, you may want to use your Canon’s Highlight Tone Priority. When should you use Highlight Tone Priority? When a scene contains both very dark and very bright areas, achieving a good exposure can be difficult. If you choose exposure settings that render the shadows properly, the highlights are often overexposed, as in the left image below. Although the dark lamppost in the foreground looks fine in the first shot, the white building behind it became so bright that all detail was lost. The same thing occurred in the highlight areas of the church steeple. To produce a better image in this situation, try enabling Highlight Tone Priority, which helps keep highlight areas intact without darkening shadows. The feature did the trick for the scene above; the results appear in the second image above. The difference is subtle, but the windows in the building are at least visible, the steeple regained some of its color, and the sky, too, has a bit more blue. Highlight Tone Priority is available only in the P, Tv, Av, and M modes. It’s turned off by default, which may seem like an odd choice after looking at the improvement it made to the scene you see above. What gives? The answer is that in order to do its thing, Highlight Tone Priority needs to play with a few other camera settings, as follows: The ISO range is reduced to ISO 200–25600. The camera needs the more limited range in order to favor the image highlights. (If you enable the feature for movie recording, the top end of the ISO range is 12800.) Auto Lighting Optimizer is disabled. This feature, which attempts to improve image contrast, is incompatible with Highlight Tone Priority. You can wind up with more noise in shadow areas of the image. Again, noise is the defect that looks like grains of sand. The only way to enable Highlight Tone Priority is via Shooting Menu 2, shown directly below. Choose D+ for the standard amount of adjustment (this setting was used in the image above) or select D+2 for a stronger effect. Canon says that whether the stronger effect actually produces any greater impact on the highlights depends on the lighting conditions, however. Also, D+2 isn’t available for movie recording. As a reminder that Highlight Tone Priority is enabled, a D+ or D+2 symbol appears near the ISO value in the Quick Control and Live View displays, as shown in the image below. The same symbol appears with the ISO setting in the viewfinder and in the shooting data that appears in Playback mode. Notice that the symbol that represents Auto Lighting Optimizer, also labeled below, is dimmed because that feature is disabled automatically as soon as you turn on Highlight Tone Priority. In case you’re wondering why the letter D is assigned to this feature, it’s related to the term dynamic range, or the range of brightness values, from black to white, that an imaging device can capture. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 09-19-2022

It's great to have a map to the buttons and controls on your camera, but it's not a lot of help if you can't remember which button to press when (and why). So here's a quick recap of what you can do with each button. Note: This information concentrates on features available when you shoot in the P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes. A few features also work in other modes. This Control . . . Performs These Functions Mode dial Sets the exposure mode, which determines how much control you have over picture settings. For the most control, choose P, Tv, Av, or M. Menu button Press to display and hide camera menus; rotate Main dial to cycle through menu pages. Info button During playback, Live View photography, and Movie shooting, changes the data display. During viewfinder photography, toggles between the normal information display and an electronic level. Live View/Movie record button Press to toggle Live View on and off. When the camera is in Movie mode, press to start and stop recording. Exposure Compensation button In P, Tv, and Av modes, press while rotating the Main dial to apply Exposure Compensation (adjusts image brightness). In M mode, press while rotating the Main dial to adjust the aperture setting. Q button Activates Quick Control mode, which provides fast access to shooting and playback settings. Press again to exit Quick Control mode. Set button/cross keys During viewfinder shooting, press to access the following settings: top key, White Balance; right key, AF Operation; bottom key, Picture Style; left key, Drive mode. When choosing options from menus and other screens, use the cross keys to highlight an option and then press Set to select that option. AF Area Selection button Press to display the AF Area Selection setting, which controls which autofocus point or zones the camera uses to set focusing distance. ISO button Press to display a screen where you can adjust the ISO setting, which determines how sensitive the camera is to light. DISP button During viewfinder photography, enables you to manually turn the monitor on and off. AE Lock/FE Lock/Index/Reduce button During shooting, press to lock autoexposure (AE) or to lock flash exposure (FE). During playback, press to cycle from single-image view to index (thumbnails) view. If the displayed image or live preview is magnified, press to reduce the magnification level. AF Point Selection/Magnify button During viewfinder photography, press to display the AF Area Selection screen. (You still must use the AF Area Selection button to change the setting.) In Playback mode, press to magnify the image on the monitor. In Live View or Movie mode, you also can magnify the display under certain circumstances. Wi-Fi button Press to display menu screen containing options for configuring wireless connections to a computer, smartphone, or tablet. Erase button While reviewing pictures, press to erase currently displayed or selected photos. Playback button Toggles picture playback on and off. Flash button Press to raise built-in flash in P, Tv, Av, and M modes. When the flash is up, press again to access flash-related menu settings. Depth-of-Field Preview button Press to temporarily set the aperture to the selected f-stop so you can see an approximation of depth of field in the viewfinder. Lens-release button Press to disengage the lens from the camera's lens mount so you can remove the lens.

Article / Updated 08-16-2022

Your choice of exposure mode determines how much control you have over picture settings, including options that affect exposure, color, and autofocusing features. Set the exposure mode via the Mode dial shown here. For the most control, switch to P, Tv, Av, or M mode. Canon refers to those modes as Creative Zone modes; the others are Basic Zone modes. Exposure Mode Description Scene Intelligent Auto Completely automatic photography; the camera analyzes the scene and tries to choose settings that produce the best results. Auto Flash Off Same as Auto, but with flash disabled. Scene Automatic modes for capturing specific types of scenes. Four scenes (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, and Sports) have their own setting on the Mode dial. Set the dial to the SCN position to access additional scene types. Creative Auto Provides a bit more control than Scene Intelligent Auto, enabling you to adjust the amount of background blurring and a few other picture characteristics. Creative Filter Enables you to add special effects to pictures and movies as you shoot them. P (Programmed Autoexposure) Camera selects both the f-stop and shutter speed to ensure proper exposure, but you can choose from multiple combinations of the two settings. Tv (Shutter-priority Autoexposure) You set the shutter speed, and the camera selects the f-stop that will produce a good exposure. Av (Aperture-priority Autoexposure) You select the f-stop, and the camera selects the shutter speed that will produce a good exposure. M (Manual Exposure) You control both the shutter speed and f-stop.

Article / Updated 08-16-2022

Your choice of exposure mode determines how much control you have over picture settings, including options that affect exposure, color, and autofocusing features. Set the exposure mode via the Mode dial shown here. For the most control, switch to P, Tv, Av, or M mode. Canon refers to those modes as Creative Zone modes; the others are Basic Zone modes. Exposure Mode Description Scene Intelligent Auto Completely automatic photography; the camera analyzes the scene and tries to choose settings that produce the best results. Auto Flash Off Same as Auto, but with flash disabled. Scene Automatic modes for capturing specific types of scenes. Four scenes (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, and Sports) have their own setting on the Mode dial. Set the dial to the SCN position to access additional scene types. Creative Auto Provides a bit more control than Scene Intelligent Auto, enabling you to adjust the amount of background blurring and a few other picture characteristics. Creative Filter Enables you to add special effects to pictures and movies as you shoot them. P (Programmed Autoexposure) Camera selects both the f-stop and shutter speed to ensure proper exposure, but you can choose from multiple combinations of the two settings. Tv (Shutter-priority Autoexposure) You set shutter speed, and the camera selects the f-stop that will produce a good exposure. Av (Aperture-priority Autoexposure) You select f-stop, and the camera selects the shutter speed that will produce a good exposure. M (Manual Exposure) You control both the shutter speed and the f-stop.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D is capable of amazing close-ups. For great close-up shots, start with the basic capture settings. Then try the following additional settings and techniques to take great close-ups on your Canon camera: Check your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D owner’s manual to find out the minimum close-focusing distance of your lens. How “up close and personal” you can be to your subject depends on your lens, not on the camera body. Take control of depth of field by setting the camera mode to Av (aperture-priority autoexposure) mode. Whether you want a shallow, medium, or extreme depth of field depends on the point of your photo. For the scene shown below, for example, setting the aperture to f/5.6 blurred the background, helping the subjects stand out from the similarly colored background. But if you want the viewer to clearly see all details throughout the frame—for example, if you’re shooting a product shot for your company’s sales catalog—go the other direction, stopping down the aperture as far as possible. Remember that zooming in and getting close to your subject both decrease depth of field. Back to that product shot: If you need depth of field beyond what you can achieve with the aperture setting, back away, zoom out, or both. (You can always crop your image to eliminate excess background.) When shooting flowers and other nature scenes outdoors, pay attention to your Canon’s shutter speed. Even a slight breeze may cause your subject to move, causing blurring at slow shutter speeds. Experiment with adding flash for better outdoor lighting. As with portraits, a bit of flash can improve close-ups when the sun is your primary light source. You may need to reduce the flash output slightly, via your Canon camera’s Flash Exposure Compensation control. Remember that turning on the built-in flash limits the maximum shutter speed to 1/200 second, however, and that mixing sunlight with flash light may affect image colors. When shooting indoors, try not to use flash as your primary light source. Because you’re shooting with your Canon at close range, the light from your flash may be too harsh even at a low Flash Exposure Compensation setting. If flash is inevitable, turn on as many room lights as possible to reduce the flash power that’s needed. To get really close to your subject, invest in a macro lens or a set of diopters. A macro lens enables you to focus at a very short distance so that you can capture even the tiniest of critters or, if you’re not into nature, details of an object. A 90mm macro lens was used to snap an image of the ladybug below just before she got annoyed and flew away home. Notice how shallow the depth of field is. The extreme background blurring is due to the long focal length of the lens and the short distance between the lens and the subject. An f-stop of f/10 was used, which may seem high when you’re going for a shallow depth of field. But because the focal length and subject distance already combined for a very shallow depth of field, a higher f-stop was needed to keep the entire subject in the focus zone. Unfortunately, a good macro lens isn’t cheap, regardless of which Canon camera you’re using; prices range from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. If you enjoy capturing the tiny details in life, though, it’s worth the investment. For a less-expensive way to go, you can spend about $40 for a set of diopters, which are like reading glasses that you screw onto your lens. Diopters come in several strengths — +1, +2, +4, and so on — with a higher number indicating a greater magnifying power. With most sets, you can stack one diopter on top of another for increased power. The downside of a diopter is that it typically produces images that are very soft around the edges, a problem that doesn’t occur with a good macro lens. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel Ti8/850D Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

When you select an Image Quality setting on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D that results in a JPEG image file—that is, any setting other than Raw—also experiment with the Auto Lighting Optimizer feature. Unlike Highlight Tone Priority on your Canon, which concentrates on preserving highlight detail only, Auto Lighting Optimizer tries to improve underexposed, low-contrast, or high-contrast shots by adjusting both shadows and highlights. The adjustment is made as the image is captured by your Canon camera. In the Basic Zone exposure modes, you have no control over how much adjustment is made. But in P, Tv, Av, and M modes, you can decide whether to enable Auto Lighting Optimizer. You also can request a stronger or lighter application of the effect than the default setting, which is Standard. The following image offers an example of the impact of each Auto Lighting Optimizer setting. Given the level of improvement that the Auto Lighting Optimizer correction made to this photo, it may seem crazy to ever disable this feature on your Canon camera. But it’s important to note a few points: The level of shift that occurs between each Auto Lighting Optimizer setting varies depending on the subject. This particular example shows a fairly noticeable difference between the High and Off settings. But you don’t always see this much impact from the filter. Even in this example, it’s difficult to detect much difference between Off and Low. Although the filter improved this particular scene, at times you may not find it beneficial. For example, maybe you’re purposely trying to shoot a backlit subject in silhouette or produce a low‐contrast image. Either way, you don’t want the camera to insert its opinions on the exposure or contrast you’re trying to achieve. Enabling Auto Lighting Optimizer may slow your shooting rate. That slowdown occurs because the filter is applied after you capture the photo, while the camera is writing the data to the memory card. In some lighting conditions, Auto Lighting Optimizer can produce an increase in image noise. Noise becomes more apparent when you enlarge a photo. It also tends to be most visible in areas of flat color. The corrective action taken by Auto Lighting Optimizer can make some other exposure‐adjustment features less effective. So turn it off if you don’t see the results you expect when you’re using the following features: Exposure compensation. Flash compensation. Automatic exposure bracketing. You can’t use this feature while Highlight Tone Priority is enabled. In fact, as soon as you turn on that feature, the camera automatically disables Auto Lighting Optimizer. You can view the current Auto Lighting Optimizer setting in the Quick Control and Live View displays; look for the icon representing the setting in the areas labeled below. Notice the vertical bars in the graphic—the number of bars tells you how much adjustment is being applied. Two bars, as you see above, represent the Standard setting; three bars, High; and one bar, Low. The bars are replaced by the word Off when the feature is disabled. By default, the Auto Lighting Optimizer level is set to Standard for the P, Tv, and Av modes. In M mode, the feature is disabled by default. You can adjust these settings in two ways: Shooting Menu 2: Choose Auto Lighting Optimizer, as shown on the left in the image you see next, to display the settings screen shown on the right below. Here, you can select the level of adjustment you want to apply. Just below the four adjustment-level symbols, notice the check box next to the Info label. This is the option that determines whether Auto Lighting Optimizer is applied in the M exposure mode. By default, the box is checked, as in the image above, telling the camera not to make the adjustment during manual exposure. If you do want to add the adjustment, tap the check box or press the Info button to toggle the check mark off. Tap Set or press the Set button to return to Shooting Menu 2. Quick Control method: You also can adjust the setting using the Quick Control method. After pressing Q or tapping the Q symbol to shift to Quick Control mode, highlight the Auto Lighting Optimizer icon and press Set (or just tap the symbol). You’re presented with the same options screen you see in the image above. If you’re not sure what level of Auto Lighting Optimizer might work best or you’re concerned about the other drawbacks of enabling the filter, consider shooting the picture in the Raw file format. For Raw pictures, the camera applies no post‐capture tweaking, regardless of whether this filter or any other one is enabled. Then, by using Canon Digital Photo Professional, the software provided free with the camera, you can apply the Auto Lighting Optimizer effect when you convert your Raw images to a standard file format. If you want to learn more about your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, check out our Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Aperture and shutter speed give you refined control over your Canon camera pictures. Which Creative Zone exposure mode on the Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D you choose determines your level of control over aperture and shutter speed and also determines the method you use to adjust those settings. Here’s the scoop on adjusting aperture and shutter speed on your Canon Rebel. P: You can choose from different combinations of aperture and shutter speed, but have no direct control over either. To view the camera’s recommended combination, compose your shot and then press the shutter button halfway. To select a different combination of the two settings, rotate the Main dial. Tv: You control shutter speed; adjust that setting by rotating the Main dial. After selecting the shutter speed, frame your shot and press the shutter button halfway to initiate autoexposure metering. The displays then show the aperture setting that the camera selected to expose the picture at your chosen shutter speed and the current ISO. Av: The opposite of Tv mode, Av mode enables you to set the f-stop while the camera selects the shutter speed. Rotate the Main dial to set the aperture setting you want to use. Then frame your subject and press the shutter button halfway. The camera then displays the shutter speed it selected. Even though you’re in aperture-priority mode and so concentrating on the f-stop, always check the shutter speed that the camera selected for you. If the shutter speed drops so low that handholding the camera or capturing a moving subject won’t be possible, you can either open the aperture (choose a lower f-stop number) or dial in a higher ISO setting, which will enable the camera to select a faster shutter speed at your preferred f-stop. M (manual exposure): You set both aperture and shutter speed. Use these techniques: Adjust shutter speed. Rotate the Main dial.In M mode, you have access to Bulb mode, which keeps the shutter open as long as you keep the shutter button pressed fully down. To get to the Bulb setting, go one step past the slowest possible normal shutter speed (30 seconds). Adjust aperture. Rotate the Quick Control dial. Be sure to use the Main dial to lock in your setting when working in the P, Tv, or Av modes. In those modes, rotating the Quick Control dial applies an exposure adjustment called Exposure Compensation. In the Av, Tv, and M exposure modes, you also can adjust the exposure settings on your Canon camera as follows: For viewfinder photography, use Quick Control mode. After pressing the Q button or tapping the Q touchscreen symbol, highlight the setting you want to change and then rotate the Main dial. The Quick Control method doesn’t work in Live View mode, unfortunately. In Live View mode, use the touchscreen. Just tap the setting on the touchscreen to display a screen that offers the available values for that setting. A few more words of wisdom related to aperture and shutter speed for the Canon EOS Rebel T8i/80D: Check the meter for guidance in M exposure mode. Of course, you don’t have to follow the camera’s guidance—you can take the picture using any settings you like, even if the meter indicates that the image will be under‐ or overexposed. In Live View mode, keep an eye on the Exp Sim symbol. The live monitor preview updates as you adjust exposure settings to show you the change in image brightness. But if the camera can’t display an accurate preview, the Exp Sim symbol in the lower-right corner of the screen appears dimmed. (This happens, for example, when you use flash.) In P, Tv, and Av mode, the shutter speed or f‐stop value blinks if the camera isn’t able to select settings that produce a good exposure. If the problem is too little light, try raising the ISO or adding flash to solve the problem. If there’s too much light, lower the ISO value or attach an ND (neutral density) filter, which is sort of like sunglasses for your lens—it simply cuts the light entering the lens. (The neutral part just means that the filter doesn’t affect image colors, just brightness.) Say “nay” to Safety Shift. If you dig into the Custom Functions warehouse found on Setup Menu 5, you find Custom Function 4, Safety Shift. This feature, when enabled, gives the Canon camera permission to fiddle with your chosen f-stop in Av mode or shutter speed in Tv mode if it thinks that you’re headed for an exposure disaster. The option is disabled by default, and that’s how you should probably leave it. The recommendation is based on a couple of assumptions. First, if you’re using Av or Tv mode, it’s because you want to be the one controlling the f-stop or shutter speed. If you wanted the camera to stick its nose into your business, you’d shoot in Scene Intelligent Auto or P mode. Second, the camera does alert you to impending doom by blinking the f-stop or shutter speed value in the displays, as mentioned earlier. If you pay attention to those signals, you can decide how you want to solve the problem. You—not the camera. Finally, if Auto ISO is enabled, the camera is already free to adjust ISO as an exposure assist—although, granted, it may not be able to choose an ISO low enough to avoid overexposure or high enough to prevent underexposure. On some higher-end Canon models, you can give the camera a couple of options for how it responds when it senses exposure peril in Av or Tv modes. But on the T8i/850D, you either can say “yay” or “nay,” which means that you don’t really know how your settings will be adjusted. So for most, Safety Shift is a no-brainer: Keep it turned off. You can adjust the exposure results that you get in the P, Tv, and Av modes. When you use these semi-automatic exposure modes, the settings that the camera selects are based on what it thinks is the proper exposure. If you don’t agree with your Canon camera, you have two options. Option one is to switch to manual exposure (M) mode and simply dial in the aperture and shutter speed that deliver the exposure you want. Or if you want to stay in P, Tv, or Av mode, your other option is to try using exposure compensation. Want to learn more? Check out our Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

You can record audio on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i by attaching an external microphone to the camera or using the built-in microphone. (Either way, options on Shooting Menu 1 enable you to control sound recording for your Canon camera. In Scene Intelligent Auto and other Basic Zone modes on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i, you have limited control over the audio portion of your movie: You can choose to record sound or disable audio recording. Make your preferences known through the Sound Recording option on Shooting Menu 1. When you set the camera to P, Tv, Av, or M exposure mode, you get a larger set of audio recording options. To explore them, choose Sound Recording from Shooting Menu 1, as shown on the left below, to display the screen shown on the right. If you’re new to sound recording on your Canon camera, explore the next few sentences to discover the audio meter at the bottom of the right screen. An audio meter provides guidance about the sound level being picked up by the microphone. Stereo audio contains two channels, left and right, so you see a volume meter for each channel. Note that although the built-in Canon mic is a stereo mic, you can’t control the channels individually, so both meters always reflect the same data when you record on your Canon camera using that microphone. Audio levels are measured in decibels (dB). Levels on the volume meter range from—40 (very, very soft) to 0 (as loud as can be measured digitally). The goal is to set the audio level so that sound peaks consistently in the -12 range. The indicators on the meter—the notches that run horizontally across the L and R bars of the meter—turn yellow in this range. The extra space beyond that level, called headroom, gives you both a good signal and a comfortable margin of error. But if the sound is too loud, the volume indicators peak at 0, with the last notch on the meter turning red, warning you that the audio may be distorted. With Audio Meters 101 out of the way (was that the easiest class ever, or what?), here’s the rest of what you need to know about the three options on the Sound Recording settings screen on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i: Sound Rec.: You get three choices: Auto: At the default setting, Auto, the camera adjusts sound volume automatically. You may want to open the menu screen and take a look at the audio meter before you begin recording to make sure that the sound levels aren’t too high or too low at the Auto setting. Disable: Choose Disable to record a video without sound. When this setting is in force, a microphone and the word Off appear at the top of the Live View screen, as shown in the left screen below. Manual: Select Manual if you want to set the audio recording levels yourself and also to gain access to the additional settings described next. When you opt for this setting, a minimalist version of an audio meter appears in the lower-left corner of the Live View screen, as shown on the right below. Rec. Level: This option—the one bordered by the red selection box on the left below—enables you to adjust the audio level after you switch to manual volume control. The volume scale to the right of the option name shows the current setting; to make an adjustment, tap the option name or highlight it and press Set. You see the screen shown on the right below. To change the volume level, tap the triangles at the end of the scale or rotate the Quick Control dial. As you do, a white marker appears atop the scale to indicate the new level; the blue marker, the original level. Tap Set or press the Set button to return to the Sound Recording menu screen. Wind Filter/Attenuator: Regardless of whether you select Auto or Manual as your Canon’s Sound Recording method, you also can enable or disable the following two features. Choose Wind Filter/Attenuator from the main Sound Recording screen (left screen above) to access the features. They work as follows: Wind Filter: Ever seen a newscaster out in the field, carrying a microphone that looks like it’s covered with a big piece of foam? That foam thing is a wind filter. It’s designed to lessen the sounds the wind makes when it hits the microphone. You can enable a digital version of the same thing via the Wind Filter option. By default, the Wind Filter is set to Auto, and the camera decides whether to apply it and at what strength.Essentially, the filter works by reducing the volume of noises that are similar to those made by wind. The problem is that some noises not made by wind can also be muffled when the filter is enabled. So when you’re indoors or shooting on a still day, keep this option set to Disable. Also note that when you use an external microphone, the Wind Filter feature has no effect. Attenuator: This feature is designed to eliminate distortion that can occur with sudden loud noises. Experiment with enabling this feature if you’re shooting in a location where this audio issue is possible. The internal microphone may pick up sounds made by the camera’s autofocusing system, especially if you use an older lens. (Newer Canon lenses offer quieter autofocusing operation.) The best solution is to use an external microphone for your Canon camera or lock in autofocusing before you start recording.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Getting the settings right for you Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D isn’t as straightforward as you might think. For some Canon camera options, such as exposure mode, aperture, and shutter speed, the best settings depend on your subject, lighting conditions, and creative goals. But for certain basic options, the same Canon camera settings work well for almost every scenario. The table below offers recommendations for these settings. The following image shows the information display on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, where you can see the current status of many of these settings. (You may need to press the shutter button halfway or press the DISP button to view the screen.) Don’t forget that by pressing the Q button or tapping the Q touchscreen symbol, you activate Quick Control mode, which enables you to adjust settings right from the screen. To adjust the following settings, you must be in advanced exposure modes: P, Tv, Av, or M. Other modes prevent you from accessing settings that can be critical for capturing certain subjects, especially in difficult lighting. All-Purpose Picture-Taking Settings for a Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D Option Recommended Setting Image Quality Large/Fine (JPEG), Raw, or cRaw (CR3) Drive mode Action photos, Continuous Low or High; all others, Single ISO 100 Metering mode Evaluative Exposure Compensation (P, Tv, and Av modes only) Set as needed; raise value for brighter exposure, lower for darker exposure AF Operation mode Moving subjects, AI Servo; stationary subjects, One Shot AF Area Selection mode Moving subjects, Auto Selection; stationary subjects, Single Point White Balance Auto (AWB), Ambient Priority Auto Lighting Optimizer Standard for P, Tv, and Av modes; Disable for M mode Picture Style Auto Want to learn more about operating your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D? Check out our Cheat Sheet.

Article / Updated 08-04-2022

Getting familiar with the concept of depth of field is one of the biggest steps you can take to taking better shots on your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D. Not sure what depth of field means? Here’s a quick overview: Depth of field refers to the distance over which objects in a photograph appear acceptably sharp. With a shallow depth of field, the subject is sharp, but objects in front of and behind it appear blurry. The farther an object is from the subject, the blurrier it looks. With a large depth of field, the zone of sharp focus extends to include objects at a greater distance from your subject. Which arrangement works best depends on your creative vision and your subject. In portraits, for example, a classic technique is to use a shallow depth of field, as in the example shown below. But for landscapes, you might choose to use a large depth of field, as shown in the following image. Because the historical marker, lighthouse, and cottage are all sharp, they have equal visual weight in the scene. Again, though, which part of the scene appears blurry when you use a shallow depth of field depends on the spot at which you establish focus. Consider the lighthouse scene: Suppose you opted for a short depth of field and set focus on the lighthouse. In that case, both the historical marker in the foreground and the cottage in the background might be outside the zone of sharp focus. So how do you manipulate depth of field? You have three points of control: Aperture setting (f‐stop): The aperture is one of three main exposure settings on your Canon camera. Depth of field increases as you stop down the aperture (by choosing a higher f‐stop number). For shallow depth of field, open the aperture (by choosing a lower f‐stop number). This image offers an example. Notice that the tractor in the background is in much sharper focus in the first shot, taken at f/20, than in the second image, shot at f/2.8. Lens focal length: Focal length, which is measured in millimeters, determines what the lens “sees.” As you increase focal length, the angle of view narrows, objects appear larger in the frame, and—the important point in this discussion—depth of field decreases. Additionally, the spatial relationship of objects changes as you adjust focal length. For example, the next image compares the same scene shot at focal lengths of 138mm and 255mm. The aperture was set to f/22 for both examples. Whether you have any focal‐length flexibility depends on your lens. If you have a zoom lens, you can adjust the focal length by zooming in or out. If your lens offers only a single focal length—a prime lens in photo‐speak—scratch this means of manipulating depth of field (unless you want to change to a different prime lens, of course). Camera‐to‐subject distance: When you move the lens closer to your subject, depth of field decreases. This statement assumes that you don’t zoom in or out to reframe the picture, thereby changing the focal length. If you do, depth of field is affected by both the camera position and focal length. Together, these three factors determine the maximum and minimum depth of field that you can achieve, as follows: To produce the shallowest depth of field: Open the aperture as wide as possible (select the lowest f‐stop number), zoom in to the maximum focal length of your lens, and move as close as possible to your subject. To produce maximum depth of field: Stop down the aperture to the highest possible f‐stop setting, zoom out to the shortest focal length your lens offers, and move farther from your subject. Here are a few additional tips and tricks related to depth of field: Aperture‐priority autoexposure mode (Av) enables you to easily control depth of field while enjoying exposure assistance from the camera. In this mode, you rotate the Main dial to set the f‐stop, and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed to produce a good exposure. The range of available aperture settings depends on your lens. If you’re not up to Av mode, experiment with the Background Blur setting available when you shoot in Scene Intelligent Auto mode. You access it through the Creative Assist option. Just don’t expect miracles: The Background Blur feature doesn’t always deliver as much or as little blurring as you’d like. Some SCN modes also offer the Background Blur option. For greater background blurring, move the subject farther from the background. The extent to which background focus shifts as you adjust depth of field also is affected by the distance between the subject and the background. Depth-of-field preview: When you look through your viewfinder and press the shutter button halfway, you see only a partial indication of the depth of field that your current camera settings will produce. You can see the effect of focal length and the camera‐to‐subject distance, but because the aperture doesn’t actually stop down to your selected f‐stop until you take the picture, the viewfinder doesn’t show you how that setting will affect depth of field. By using the Depth‐of‐Field Preview button on your camera, however, you can do just that when you shoot in the advanced exposure modes. Almost hidden away on the front of your camera, the button is labeled below. To use this feature, press and hold the shutter button halfway and simultaneously press and hold the Depth‐of‐Field Preview button with a finger on your other hand. Depending on the selected f‐stop, the scene in the viewfinder may get darker. In Live View mode, the same thing happens in the monitor preview. Either way, this effect doesn’t mean that your picture will be darker; it’s just a function of how the preview works. Note that the preview doesn’t engage in P, Tv, or Av mode if the aperture and shutter speed aren’t adequate to expose the image properly. You have to solve the exposure issue before you can use the preview. To learn more about your Canon EOS Rebel T8i/850D, check out our Cheat Sheet.