EOS Rebel T7 - Best Settings?

[emilykate3]

Hi! I am new to photography and recently purchased the canon rebel eos t7. I am a little confused on the focus settings. What is the best option to get your picture as focused as possible?

[jrhoffman75]

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@emilykate3 wrote:

Hi! I am new to photography and recently purchased the canon rebel eos t7. I am a little confused on the focus settings. What is the best option to get your picture as focused as possible?

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For most shooting select One Shot AF using one focus point. Use the Program P mode. 

[emilykate3]

Thank you so much! Is program mode preferable over manual mode? I have been using manual mode and then struggling with focus

[jrhoffman75]

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@emilykate3 wrote:

Thank you so much! Is program mode preferable over manual mode? I have been using manual mode and then struggling with focus

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Manual mode is where you select the individual exposure settings of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. You can be in M mode with auto focus. Manual focus (the AF/MF switch on lens) is where you manually adjust focus. You can use MF in P mode. 

I recommend you use P mode with AF on lens. Appropriate for majority of shooting situations, particularly as a learner.

[emilykate3]

Thank you so much!!!

[jrhoffman75]

https://youtu.be/dgPEu54Qtps?si=7nUoLC6zr80lXtbJ

[stevet1]

emilykate3,

Your best bet for focus is probably going to be Single Point. It's the most precise, and you choose what to focus on. With Whole Area focusing, the camera decides.

The same thing goes for Manual Mode. In Manual, you, the photographer has total control over the creative aspects of your photography. In your Auto, or semi-Auto modes, like P or Program Mode, you give up some of that control to the camera. For example, I put my camera in Auto Mode once and took a picture, I was very surprised to see that the camera had chosen f/5.6 as the aperture. I didn't know why it had chosen that aperture over some other.

With Manual Mode, you have to be a little more methodical than with some of the more Semi-Auto Modes.

Steve Thomas

[jrhoffman75]

In P mode cameras have built-in programs where they select combinations of settings, similar to this:

 Canon cameras will try to maintain the 1/focal length relationship to minimize motion blur (approximately 1/2*FL for crop cameras) and adjust aperture based on lowest possible ISO (if Auto ISO is set). Tries to get best possible image.

[Tronhard]

Hi again:
Since you are new to photography, I would recommend watching some videos on the use of your camera.  Try these:

and...

Canon EOS 101: Photo and Videography Basics | Canon U.S.A., Inc.

You should have and refer to the camera manual, it is a rich source of information and excellent for finding specific items of information.  I recommend downloading a PDF version that you can put on a phone or tablet to take with you.  Here is a link to the one for your camera: eos-rebelt7-1500d-im2-en.pdf

Photography with a dedicated camera takes a while to master - unlike cellphones, the onus is much more on the use to get the focus and exposure correct.   For that reason, don't abandon your phone as a backup, at least until you have confidence in your imagery with a camera.

Like my colleagues, I would recommend using spot focus.  You can get to that from a button on the back of the camera.   Use only the centre point for focus and when I shoot I place the spot on the subject's eye.   To hold focus you can half-press the shutter button, then recompose and fully press it to take the shot.

A technique that will help you with this is what is called Back Button Focus (BBF).  It takes the focus function off the shutter button and uses the AF-ON button on the back of the camera - which is already configured for that.  By removing the focus function from the shutter button one can get more reliable focus, because you are using two different fingers to do so, and it is especially effective on moving subjects - it does take practice (like everything else).   See this video from Canon on how to use it:

[emilykate3]

This is so incredibly helpful! Plus I saw your response on my other question as well! Thank you thank you. I am brand new but really hoping to capture pictures of my children so this is a great start for me!