Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide [Paperback]

Charlotte K. Lowrie (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470521295 | ISBN-13: 978-0470521298 | Publication Date: December 21, 2009 | Edition: 1

No-fail formulas for getting great digital photos with the Canon EOS 7D

If you want to polish your photography skills, keep your camera bag stocked with the best equipment, like Canon's new EOS 7D camera and this practical, full-color Canon EOS 7DDigital Field Guide. Portable and packed with information, this handy guide helps you get the very most out of the EOS 7D's powerful new features. Discover professional shooting tricks, helpful composition advice, and invaluable tips on exposure, perspective, and more. The book also includes a grey and color checker card, so you can tweak your captured photos for optimal colorization.

• From menu screens to composition, this book provides no-fail techniques for getting the most out of your Canon EOS 7D digital camera
• Covers the camera's new features, including the 19-point autofocus, new metering system, integrated Speedlight Transmitter, 8-frames-per-second shooting ratio, and improved HD video capturing
• Helps you take your photography skills to another level with photography tips and tricks from professional photographer and author Charlotte Lowrie
• Teaches you photography essentials such as composition, exposure, perspective, and more
• Includes a grey and color card checker and full instructions with the book

Take memorable photographs with your new Canon EOS 7D and the Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide!

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you want to polish your photography skills, keep your camera bag stocked with the best equipment, like Canon's new EOS 7D camera and this practical, full-color Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide. Portable and packed with information, this handy guide helps you get the very most out of the EOS 7D's powerful new features. Discover professional shooting tricks, helpful composition advice, and invaluable tips on exposure, perspective, and more. The book also includes a grey and color checker card, so you can tweak your captured photos for optimal colorization.

• From menu screens to composition, this book provides no-fail techniques for getting the most out of your Canon EOS 7D digital camera
• Covers the camera's new features, including the 19-point autofocus, new metering system, integrated Speedlight Transmitter, 8-frames-per-second shooting ratio, and improved HD video capturing
• Helps you take your photography skills to another level with photography tips and tricks from professional photographer and author Charlotte Lowrie
• Teaches you photography essentials such as composition, exposure, perspective, and more
• Includes a grey and color card checker and full instructions with the book

Take memorable photographs with your new Canon EOS 7D and the Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide!

Top Ten Canon 7D Photography Tips
Amazon-exclusive content from author Charlotte Lowrie

With an array of great new features, it can take awhile to discover some of the shortcuts to using the Canon EOS 7D. Here are some tips and some of the accessories that I use with the 7D.

1. Save time by setting up AF point orientation so that the 7D automatically switches to the AF point you most often use in horizontal and both vertical (grip at the top and grip at the bottom) shooting orientations. The 7D also remembers the AF-Area selection mode that you’ve selected for each position.
2. Need to ensure a level horizon? Press the INFO. button until the electronic level appears in the viewfinder to help you align the line of the horizon. This is a great tool to use with Tilt & Shift lenses because it also shows pitch and roll to help square up vertical lines.
3. If you haven’t gotten the hang of pressing the new M-Fn button to change the Area selection mode for focusing, then press the Q button to display the Quick Control Screen. Tilt the Multi-controller to highlight the Area selection mode item (third row, left-most item), and then turn the Quick Control dial to change the mode.
4. As a portrait photographer, one of my first moves was to enable the Spot AF Area selection for ultra-precise focusing on the subject’s eye. Spot AF isn’t one of the default Area selection modes, but you can add it by using Custom Function III-6. And to use Spot AF, you have to manually select the AF point.
5. Entering your personal copyright information is easy. Just go to the Set-up 3 menu, select Copyright information, and then select Enter copyright details to add your information.
6. For a series of High-Dynamic Range (HDR) images, try combining the 5 stops of exposure compensation with 3 stops of bracketing to get an 8-stops of exposure variance. Be sure to bracket by shutter speed rather than by aperture for HDR images.
7. To get quick access to Mirror Lockup function (Custom Function III-13), just add it to My Menu.
8. If you’re like me, I most often manually select a single AF point for focusing. I’ve found the fastest method is to press the AF-point selection/Enlarge button, and then tilt the Multi-controller to select the AF point. This method is easier than using the Quick Control and Main dials to move side to side and up and down.
9. For lens calibration using Custom Function III-5, the LensAlign Focus Calibration system from Michael Tapes makes the calibration process precise and repeatable.
10. When the 7D is combined with the new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM lens, the results are exceptional sharpness especially at f/2.8 through f/11. The addition of Image Stabilization gives you approximately 1 stop of additional stability at close focusing distances and approximately 4 stops at longer distances.

Photos from Author Charlotte Lowrie

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Lowrie The Canon 7D and the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM lens is a winning combination with superb sharpness and snappy contrast. For this shot, I used a white seamless background with two Photogenic studio strobes lighting the background, one strobe provided some backlighting for the outside rose petals, one strobe was placed in front of the rose, and a large silver reflector to the right filled shadows. The slight backlighting effect provides a halo of light petals around the darker center area of the rose. To maintain good detail through the bloom, I used a narrow f/22 aperture. Exposure: f/22, 1/125 sec., ISO 100, Manual shooting mode with Evaluative metering.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Lowrie With the integrated flash transmitter, it is easy to control and fire multiple Speedlites using the 7D’s built-in flash and the Flash Control menu. For this image, I used a Canon 580EXII and a 580EX Speedlite. The 580EX lit a white poster board background and the 580EXII lit the apple and the water. Both flash units were set up as slaves and fired in TTL mode at full power. I had the 7D set to Manual shooting mode with a bit of overexposure to brighten the background and water. The trick is to catch the apple at a mid point in the water while showing its bubbly path through the water. I learned to drop the apple, wait a split second, and then fire the shutter. I used High Speed Continuous drive mode, but with an approximately 3-second flash recycle time, the only usable picture in a burst was the first image when the flashes fired at full power. For images like this, keys include: having a lot of patience, shooting many images, using a sparkling, scratch-free container, keeping the container full of water, and having a good supply of towels to mop up water. I was happy to learn that Canon’s Speedlites are apparently impervious to water splashes. Exposure: f/2.8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200 with Highlight Tone Priority enabled, using the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens with Evaluative metering.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Lowrie The 7D combined with a good lens is a great tool for making portraits. Since part of my business is pet portraits, I appreciate the quick response of the 7D and the fast and accurate autofocus performance since pets seldom stay still for very long. For this shot of a 10-month-old white miniature Schnauzer, I used the new EF 100mm, f/2.8L IS Macro USM lens. This was a one-light portrait with a Photogenic strobe placed above the puppy and a large silver reflector to camera right. Exposure: f/2, 1/125 sec., ISO 200 with Highlight Tone Priority enabled, using the EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM lens.

Review

‘...the best extension to the manuals of popular camera models…well-illustrated guide…' (Amateur Photographer, March 2010).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470521295
• ISBN-13: 978-0470521298
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlotte Lowrie is a professional photographer and an award-winning writer based in the Seattle, WA area. Beginning her career as a newspaper writer and photographer, she later moved from newspapers to corporate writing, and then to magazines. She became the founding editor and photographer of two trade magazines based in Dallas, TX.

In the mid-80s, Charlotte moved to the Seattle area and spent the 16 years as an award-winning writer and editor, and as an editorial manager for a large software company. She wrote documentation for a variety of popular consumer software programs, as well as writing software manuals. She also contributed to the ongoing redesign of instructional models for various learning systems.

During her last four years with Microsoft, she was the editor, writer, and a photographer for the MSN Photos Web site (now discontinued).

Today, Charlotte divides her time among writing books and photography magazine articles, shooting stock images, shooting editorial assignments and weddings, and making portraits for various private clients. She also teaches three monthly photography courses at BetterPhoto.com (http://www.betterphoto.com/courseOverview.asp?cspID=79).

Charlotte shoots with a variety of Canon 35mm cameras and lenses.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent 7D Guide, December 15, 2009

By 

Charles A. Walker "Charlie Walker" (Newborn, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

I previously purchased Charlotte's 40D Field Guide and found it to be an excellent adjunct to the Canon owners manual. I have often wondered why manufactures can not write lucid, easy to understand directions. Charlotte has remedied this by turning out another fine guide in the 7D edition. I received it from Amazon Dec. 12th and quickly read thru it, and now I am going back and studying it in depth, particularly the sections pertaining to the autofocus system. Charlotte not only tells you what the various 7D features are, but where they are useful, using real life illustrations from her professional work, and then how to implement them step by easy step.

The 7D autofocus system has to be one of the best available, if not indeed the best. But it is full featured and to use it to maximum advantage one should have a complete understanding of it's capabilities and functionality. Charlotte does a fine job explaining both. The 7D was unfairly maligned on the web forums by early adopters because they did not study the autofocus system before attempting to capture images and be the first to get them online. I have not had one problem with the 7D, and the 18-135 kit lens is one of the best I have used, and I have some fine lenses including Canon "L".

Charlotte's 7D book will probably be best appreciated by those who have a basic understanding of the interplay between ISO setting, F stop, and shutter speed for obtaining proper exposures. I am not looking "down my nose" at those who are learning, but the 7D is very fully featured and I do not think of it as an "entry" level camera. I have a lot of experience, being trained by the U.S. Army over fifty years ago as a Still Picture Photographer, but I find much useful information in my Charlotte Lowrie Field Guides and I highly recommend them. In closing, I have frequently utilized the Picture Style recommendation by Charlotte for the 40D, and I used her 7D Style recently for a "Santa Claus" event I did for a local Children's Specialty Shop. I shot in large raw and medium jpg and the jpg results were so outstanding, I did not have to do any raw processing, only cropping and then uploading to Mpix for printing. The workflow time savings from her Style recommendation alone was worth the price of the book.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on functions of Canon 7D, January 18, 2010

By 

Eric D. Brown "Technology Consultant" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

I've been reading through the Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide by Charlotte Lowrie and have to say that I'm impressed with the book. I've never bought a book like this before having always relied on the manual that came with the camera and other online guides. While I still like the camera manual and love scouring the interwebs for new information, this book provides a great deal of value to a photographer with a Canon 7D...especially when you're out in the field shooting.

When you pick up a book like this, you know what you're in for...a walk-through of all the settings of the camera and how to use those settings. But more than that, the author provides a great deal of insight into how she users her camera in different situations...which is extremely interesting for me. These types of personal touches allow me to see how other photographers think and use their gear.

The book is split into twelve chapters with a ton of information in each chapter. The chapters are:

* Ch 1 - Roadmap to the 7D
* Ch 2 - Camera Setup and Image Playback
* Ch 3 - Controlling Exposure and Focus
* Ch 4 - Getting Great Color
* Ch 5 - Customizing the 7D
* Ch 6 - Shooting Live View and Tethered
* Ch 7 - Using Movie Mode
* Ch 8 - Working with Flash and Studio Lights
* Ch 9 - Lenses and Accessories
* Ch 10 - Event and Action Photography
* Ch 11 - Nature and Landscape Photography
* Ch 12 - People Photography

The titles of the chapters are pretty self-explanatory.

Chapter's 1 through 7 provided the most value for me as they explored camera functionality and usage. I spent the majority of my time with this book in these first seven chapters. Chapters 8 through 12 provide general information about photographing in particular situations and how to setup the Canon 7D for those situations...good chapters but not as 'meaty' as the first seven.

The real strength of this book is the ability to communicate camera settings and functions clearly and quickly. The manual that comes with the 7D is good, but is a technical manual...this book provides a bit more for the reader to soak in.

If you have a Canon 7D and can't (or don't want) to decipher the camera manual, this book is for you.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I can't put this book down; except to wash my hands..., February 6, 2010

By 

Democritus AChE (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon EOS 7D Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

I have not been able to put this book down since I got it. It's the best camera-specific book I have read an is very detailed. It's like having a conversation with another experienced user; one who gives you the inside scoop on all those little features you don't know how to use...

If you are consdiering this book or the Magic Lantern series, I would suggest this: If you are a newbie, use auto mode and want to move the dial over to those strange AV/TV modes; then maybe get both, the Magic Lantern books are great for beginers; I loved them. However, their book is NOT 7D specific. However, if you know how to use AV/TV modes pretty well, but want the inside scoop on all the custom settings, best settings for certain shots, you must get this book. You will not regret it.

So why the three stars? Well, the ink on the book smudges like an old inkjet printer from 1994. I'm not going to return it, I like it that much, but I'm very disatasfied with the ink and find that unacceptable. Halfway through chapter one I had to wash my hands because my fingers were turning black.