on the rebel t3 eos 1100d

[chook]

what is the Main Dial used for

[MikeSowsun]

Do you mean the "Mode Dial"?   

Here is a link to a "Quick Reference Guide for the T3:  T3 Quick Reference Guide 

You can also download the full manual here if you don't have one"  T3 owners manual 

[ebiggs1]

"what is the Main Dial used for"

You are joking?

[chook]

I know what the mode dial is for...what I asked was what is the Main Dial that is located next to the shutter button used for?

[Skirball]

To scroll through options.  In AV mode it'll change your aperture, in Tv, your shutter speed.  In a semi-auto mode if you hold the Av button and scroll it'll change the exposure compensation.  Etc.  I suggest you either thumb through the manual or at least start playing with it and see what results you get.

And for the record, I've never heard it called "the main dial", so perhaps a little bit softer tone when people don't understand what you're talking about.

[TCampbell]

Canon often refers to that front dial/wheel as the "main dial" and you can find it documented near the front of owner's manuals (where they diagram the camera and call out the name of each part).

But Skirball's explanation is correct... it serves mulitple functions and what it does depends entirely on what you're doing with the camera at the time.  

it may control exposure settings when shooting.  It can be used to select focus points.  it can be used to set the ISO settings.  It's used to navigate through menus.  The list of uses goes on and on.  

While it may seem boring... give your owners manual at least one good read-through (and then after you do a bit of shooting... do ANOTHER read through because you'll start to pick up on things you missed ... or issues you ran into while shooting that are resolved by reading.)  The camera offers amazing amounts of control if you learn how and why to exploit those capabilities.  It's tragic to have a DSLR camera and treat it like a basic point & shoot when it can do so much more.

[Skirball]

---

@TCampbell wrote:

Canon often refers to that front dial/wheel as the "main dial" and you can find it documented near the front of owner's manuals (where they diagram the camera and call out the name of each part).

 

---

Well I'll be damned, they do refer to it as a main dial.  That's a first for me.  I guess I should take my own advice and actually read an owners manual.