I was browsing through some of Canon’s overseas sites last weekend and came across the Canon Professional Network site and some of the fabulous tips and tricks for the 40D camera. It surprised me a little since none of this information is currently available from Canon USA’s site. You can find some great Tips & Tricks on this site and here are my top five picks!
“Auto ISO: 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.”
“Long Exposure Noise Reduction: This is set in the custom functions (C.Fn) II on the EOS 40D. 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.”
“High ISO Noise Reduction: 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.”
“Speedlite 580EX II Slave Setting: 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.
“Flash Exposure Compensations: 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.”
[...] September 18, 2008 by Jeff Lynch Another landscape image of the old water tower taken just after sunset on a beautiful Texas evening. This image was taken with my Canon 40D using the Long Exposure Noise Reduction (C.Fn II -1) setting, which I described in my post entitled Canon 40D Tips & Tricks. [...]