EOS Rebel T100 What does the main dial do?

[Frank1776]

the T100 has a small dial on the top just above the shutter release button. The owners manual only says this is the "main dial". It does not say what this dial does and I have not been able to determine what it does. Someone please explain to me what it is for. Thank you, Frank

[BurnUnit]

I think what you're referring to is the T100's "Mode Dial". See pg. 57 of user manual linked below.

https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/1/0300029791/02/eos-rebelt100-3000d-im1-en.pdf

It's used to set the various shooting modes the camera offers for your particular shooting conditions. If this your first DSLR spend some "quality time" with the user guide and you'll likely be amazed!

[kvbarkley]

No, it is the Main dial, the little control wheel between the mode dial and the shutter button.

OP:

What it controls is context dependent.  You need to be out of green square mode!

As you look through the manual look for the main dial icon:

For example, if you set the mode dial to Av, the main dial controls the aperture setting:

[BurnUnit]

Ah, yes . . . I overlooked that little bugger. 😞 It seems to start showing up around page 105 in the user guide.

Thanks for getting things back on track here. 😅

[kvbarkley]

Except of course on the Nomenclature, page 26:

8^)

[FloridaDrafter]

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@Frank1776 wrote:

the T100 has a small dial on the top just above the shutter release button. The owners manual only says this is the "main dial". It does not say what this dial does and I have not been able to determine what it does. Someone please explain to me what it is for. Thank you, Frank

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I don't have the T100, but typically the "main dial" will control shutter speed when in Tv mode, aperture when in Av mode, help navigate the menu structure, and control one leg of the exposure triangle when in "manual (M)" mode. Possibly other things, but since I don't have this camera, that's all I can think of that it controls on my other EOS cameras.

Newton

[Tronhard]

Hi Frank and welcome to the forum:
If you are starting out, then keeping an eye on this forum is a good idea - there are a lot of experienced and talented Canon users here.   The ones who spent time on the site tend to have an Illuminary  ID by their handle.  Another  site to try is https://focus-on-photography-forum.net/ which is well-managed (so no trolls or misbehaviour) and you can get good critiques and advice there too.
If you have only the hardcopy manual, I suggest downloading the PDF version for your camera, as you can then search the text for specific words and phrases - such as 'main dial' and find out in what contest those phrases appear.  Then there is the Index - extremely hand, but often missed.
Here is a link to the PDF: c015.pdf (start.canon) make it your friend! 😊

[normadel]

Download the manual for your camera NOW! This is where you find out what all the controls are.

https://www.usa.canon.com/support/p/eos-rebel-t100