Cover ...i
Short Courses Books and Web Site ...ii
Preface ...iv
Contents ...v
Chapter 1
Getting Started with your Canon G12 ...7
The PowerShot G12— An Overview ...8
Jump Start— Taking Photos in Auto Mode ...9
Good Things to Know ...11
When Things Go Wrong ...13
Using the Monitor ...14
Using Dials and Buttons ...16
- Top of Camera ...16
- Front of Camera ...16
- Back of Camera ...17
Using Menus ...18
- Tabbed Menus ...18
- The Function Menu ...20
- Resetting All Settings ...21
Managing Images in Review Mode ...22
Managing Images in Playback Mode ...23
- Using Index View ...23
- Using Scroll Display ...24
- Erasing and Protecting Images ...24
- Tagging Images as Favorites ...25
Giving Slide Shows ...26
- Connecting to a Standard TV ...26
- Connecting to an HD TV ...26
- Slide Show Settings ...26
- Smart Shuffle ...27
Working with Groups Of Images ...28
- Auto Category ...28
- My Category ...28
- Filtering Images and Jumping ...29
- Specifying a Range of Images ...30
Selecting Image Quality Settings ...31
- Number of Pixels ...31
- How an Image is Captured ...33
- It’s All Black and White After All ...33
- Choosing Image Quality and Size — Still Images ...34
- Selecting image settings ...36
- Hints & Tips ...37
- Resizing images ...37
- Trimming images ...37
Chapter 2
Controlling Exposure ...38
Understanding Exposure ...39
The Shutter Controls Light and Motion ...40
The Aperture Controls Light and Depth of Field ...42
Using Shutter Speed and Aperture Together ...44
- Exposure— Faucets & Buckets Analogy ...45
- Exposure— Seesaw Analogy ...46
Retaining Highlight and Shadow Details ...47
Choosing Shooting Modes ...48
Using Special Scene (SCN) Modes ...48
Quick Shot Mode ...49
Using Program AE (P) Mode and Program Shift ...52
Using Shutter-Priority (Tv) Mode ...53
Using Aperture-Priority (Av) Mode ...54
Using Manual (M) Mode ...55
How Your Exposure System Works ...56
Choosing a Metering Method ...58
When Automatic Exposure Works Well ...59
When to Override Automatic Exposure ...60
- Scenes Lighter than Middle Gray ...60
- Scenes Darker than Middle Gray ...61
- Subject Against Very Light Background ...61
- Subject Against Very Dark Background ...62
- Scenes with High Contrast ...62
- Hard to Meter Scenes ...63
How Overriding Autoexposure Works ...64
How to Override Automatic Exposure ...65
- Exposure Compensation ...65
- AE Lock ...66
- Autoexposure Bracketing (AEB) ...67
- Using Safety Shift ...68
- Using the Neutral Density Filter ...68
Using Histograms ...69
- Displaying Histograms ...69
- Evaluating Histograms ...69
- Clipped Pixels ...71
- Sample Histograms ...72
Adjusting Tones In Your Images ...73
- High Dynamic Range (HDR) ...73
- i-Contrast in Shooting Mode ...73
- i-Contrast in Playback Mode ...74
Chapter 3
Controlling Sharpness ...75
Getting Sharper Pictures ...76
- Using the Self-timer ...76
- Setting the Image Stabilization (IS) Mode ...77
- Changing the ISO ...78
- Changing ISO Auto Settings ...79
Sharpness Isn’t Everything ...81
How to Photograph Motion Sharply ...82
- Speed of Subject ...82
- Direction of Movement ...82
- Distance to Subject and Focal Length of Lens ...83
Focus and Depth of Field ...84
- Focus ...84
- Depth of Field ...84
Focusing Techniques ...86
- Focusing ...86
- Changing the AF Frame Mode ...86
- Changing the AF Frame Size and Moving it ...87
- Continuous AF ...88
- Using Focus Lock and AF Lock (AFL) ...88
- Using Servo AF ...89
- Following a Subject with Tracking AF ...90
Face AIAF ...91
Manual Focus ...88
Bracketing Focus...93
Checking Focus ...94
- Checking Focus in Shooting Mode ...94
- Checking Focus in Review and Playback Modes ...95
Controlling Depth of Field ...96
Using Maximum Depth of Field ...97
Using Shallow Depth of Field ...98
Conveying the Feeling of Motion ...99
Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color ...100
Where Does Color Come From? ...101
White Balance ...102
Color Balance and Time of Day ...105
Sunsets and Sunrises ...106
Photographing at Night ...108
- Fireworks ...108
- The Moon ...108
The Weather ...110
The Direction of Light ...112
The Quality of Light ...114
Chapter 5
Understanding Lenses ...115
The Zoom Lens ...116
Normal Zoom ...117
Wide-Angle Zoom ...118
Telephoto and Digital Zoom ...120
Portraits with a Zoom Lens ...123
Perspective in a Photograph ...124
Canon Lens Converters ...125
Using Macro Mode ...126
Focusing and Depth of Field Close Up ...127
Chapter 6
Using Flash and Studio Lighting ...128
How Automatic Flash Works ...129
- Flash Falloff ...129
- Flash and Shutter Speeds ...129
- Flash Modes ...130
- Flash FAQs ...130
- Using a Small External Flash ...131
- Using a Hot Shoe Mounted Speedlite ...131
Using Flash Settings ...132
Portraits with Flash ...133
Reducing and Removing Red-eye ...134
- Reducing or Correcting Red-eye in Shooting Modes ...134
- Removing Red-eye in PLayback Mode ...135
Using Flash On— Fill Flash ...136
Using Available Light ...137
Using Slow Synchro Flash ...138
Controlling Flash Exposures ...140
- Flash Modes ...140
- Flash Exposure Lock ...140
- Flash Exposure Compensation ...141
- Adjusting Flash Output Manually ...141
Studio Lighting ...142
- Candidates for Studio Lighting ...142
- Lighting ...142
- Backgrounds ...144
- Risers ...144
- Special Bulbs ...144
Portrait and Product Photography— Introduction ...145
The Main Light ...146
The Fill Light ...147
The Background Light ...148
The Rim Light ...149
Chapter 7
Special Features ...150
Panoramas—Stitch Assist Mode ...151
- Basic Techniques ...151
- Stitch Assist Mode ...152
Using Color Accent and Color Swap...153
Using My Colors...154
- Using My Colors in Shooting Mode ...154
- Using My Colors in Playback Mode ...155
Continuous Photography ...156
Capturing Movies ...157
- Movie Modes ...157
- Movie Recording ...157
- Adjusting exposure ...158
Playing Movies ...159
Editing Movies ...160
Using C1 and C2 Modes ...161
Using The Shortcut Button ...162
Changing Functions of Front and Control Dials ...163
Using My Menu ...164
Using the Set Up Menu ...165