20D Custom functions/settings

[kiranhk]

Hi All,

I have been shooting with 20D for the last 6 months. I have a 50f1.8, 50 mm Macro and 75-300USM. tommorrow i will be getting my new 70-200 F4L

till now i the only custom functions or creative zones i have used are the apperture priority or Shutter priority. Like if i am shooting a flying bird or running dog or squirrel i have set the shutter priority and shot them. if i am shooting in the evening in a low light or indoors i just adjust the aperture and set the ISO to 200/400/800 and take multiple shots. most of the times ISO 400 is sufficient. i also change the parameter to B/W or parameter1/2 etc. other than these setting change i havent really done anything on my 20D

I wanted to know what custom functions or settings that you all Pro's/Experts enthusiast use while shooting wild life or birds. I plan to shoot some birds this weekend with my New F4L

or should i just shoot in the automatic mode

thanks for your help.


Kiran

[blonboy]

Hey Kiran~

One of the custom functions ( C.fn ) that might be of some benefit to you for your low light scenarios or perhaps when you need a super fast speed is the ISO Expansion C.fn. Currently, the 20D tops out normally at 1600, but with the expansion you can set it to 3200 (which reads as "H" on your display). You can also enable the Mirror Lockup function to help reduce any vibration. For obvious reasons you'd only do this for tripod mounted - timer/cable release shots.......

I certainly dont profess to be a wildlife shooter, but I would definitely recommend being in the Tv (Time Value) shutter-priority mode for birds. I know this sounds kind of silly, but i have been known to sit out in a parking lot next to a main road and practice with my settings on cars zipping by. There are several useful C.fn's and I would highly suggest reviewing them and understanding what they do.

[mdurisseau]

The custom functions I use include moving the focus from the shutter button to the * on the back of the camera (C. fn 04), long exposure noise reduction (C.fn 02), 1/3 stop exposure increments (C.fn 06) and a number of others...the complete list is here...

[kiranhk]

thanks for ur replies.
yes.. i use only the Av and Tv options. but have never tried the Program mode (P) and the M option.
and when i shoot indoors i end up shooting in the auto or Basic mode.
Like last week i went to my Friend's daughter birthday party and when i used to take time to change the setting before taking the photos, some of my friends made fun of me saying if i take so much time to take pictures the train will leave the station :(
so ended up taking most pictures in Auto mode except for few of them which i took in Black&White...
sometimes i wonder should i just shoot in auto or basic mode....
any pointers for shooting birds and which mode i need to use...

thanks

[blonboy]

Kiran~

Dont forget tho.......... shooting in P (program) mode is EXACTLY the same as if shooting in Auto Mode. The only difference between the two is that in P mode, you have the ability to tweak whatever setting you want.

For example if you focus/meter and realize you need to stop up/down or perhaps increase/decrease shutter speed .........you use the quick select dial on the back, and the roll wheel on top..........respectively. Its AWESOME for changes/tweaks on the fly.......

Even in P Mode, you'd never even have to pull your eye away from the viewfinder..... (your friends would never know......)

[TxManx]

If I can make a recommendation, you might want to tell your friends that you didn't spend the money you have on your body and lenses to merely take 'snapshots'...:)

Part of the enjoyment I get from using the camera is to determine what settings a particular scene needs before I take the picture - when it's an important shot, I leave the camera on P mode and check to see if I'm right before I take the picture...when I've got plenty of time, I put it in manual mode and put in what I thought would be right, and then see if the sensors agree :)

I totally agree with Blonboy though - you may want to start using the P mode instead of full auto.

Something else you can do to help understand the settings a little more - use the custom modes (portrait, landscape, etc.) and then look at the EXIF information captured with the picture to learn what settings the camera thought were best...it can teach you more than many, many books!

Cheers!

Ken

[kiranhk]

thank you all..
will try out your suggestions tommorrow :)

[kiranhk]

Ken and Mathew..
I tried some of your advice during my outing to BBSP on saturday.. i posted some of the photographs here.. pls do give me your comments...

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=24423