topic Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 14:39:03 GMT

Hi there,

I've got a Canon Rebel SL1. It's my first proper camera, and I got it second hand from a friend.

I've gone into the menu settings to change the aspect ratio of the pictures (to 4:3), but no matter what I change it to, it always takes pictures in a ratio of 3:2. I've looked all over for a solution, but haven't had any luck, so I thought I would try this forum.

Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks in advanced!

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 15:23:18 GMT

Are you shooting in RAW?

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 15:28:23 GMT

Also, see the star next to the heading in the manual? That means you have to be in one of the advanced modes, PAS or M.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

BurnUnit — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 16:11:05 GMT

KV's got you on the right track here. And he types faster than me, too . . .

If you haven't already, download a copy of the SL1 user manual and spend some "quality time" with it. I think you'll find the camera is capable of doing maybe 10 times as much as you're expecting. Especially if this your first proper camera.

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/5/0300010915/01/eos-rebelsl1-100d-im-en.pdf

Read the manual a section at a time till you start to get a feel for the camera's controls. If you try to learn it all in one sitting you'll likely feel a bit overwhelmed.

At a glance it looks like different camera settings (shooting mode, saving RAW images, using Live View, etc.) may have some effect on the available aspect ratios.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:12:55 GMT

I'm not shooting in RAW. I'm using the 'S1' setting.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:16:57 GMT

And what shooting mode?

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:24:49 GMT

I'm shooting in "P" mode. I have a friend who does photography, and she said it's the best one for me to learn in, but I still need to get around to figuring out what everything means.

I got the camera two weeks ago (or so), and have only started using it in the last 3 days. It's -40C outside, so I haven't tried it anywhere fun, but my main intention for getting it, and learning, is to professionally photograph my artwork for selling.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:26:37 GMT

Thank you! I'm going to download this to my phone for the long work commutes I'll be back to starting next week.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

kvbarkley — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 19:51:54 GMT

It should be working. What is the image size you do get? Try setting it to L and see if that helps.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 00:15:14 GMT

I went through each of the picture size settings. If I take a picture through the viewfinder, they come out at 3:2, no matter what size I've selected in the settings. If I take a picture through the video screen, the pictures are whatever size I have selected in the menu. I can switch back and forth, from picture to picture, and this is always the result. Absolutely baffling.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

jrhoffman75 — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 12:01:30 GMT

"If I take a picture through the viewfinder, they come out at 3:2, no matter what size I've selected in the settings. If I take a picture through the video screen, the pictures are whatever size I have selected in the menu."

I am pretty sure viable aspect ratio sizes are only available when shooting in Live View. The menu choice for that feature is in the Live View menu section - you can see the little icon that shows the Live View screen.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 14:17:36 GMT

I don't like using the video screen, because of how quickly it drains the battery. So if I use the viewfinder, I'll always have pictures in 3:2 ratio, and I just have to edit / crop them afterwards? I find that I have to edit my pictures anyways, so cropping isn't a big deal.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

kvbarkley — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 14:31:55 GMT

Looks like it.

Re: Aspect Ratio of Pictures Won't Change

JosephineM — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 15:04:15 GMT

Alright, good to know. Thank you!