Cover ...i
Short Courses Books and Web Site ...ii
Preface ...iv
Contents ...v
Chapter 1
Getting Started with your Canon SX40 HS ...7
The PowerShot SX40 HS— An Overview ...8
Jump Start— Taking Photos in Auto Mode ...9
Good Things to Know ...11
When Things Go Wrong ...13
Using the Monitor and Viewfinder ...14
Using Dials and Buttons ...16
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
- Viewing Movies made with Movie Digest ...25
- Viewing Images in a Group ...25
- Auto rotating images ...25
Connecting to a TV Set ...26
- Connecting to a Standard TV ...26
- Connecting to an HD TV ...26
- Slide Show Settings ...26
- Using a TV Remote to Control the Camera ...27
- 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 and Size ...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
- Hints & Tips ...35
- Resizing images ...36
- 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 ...49
Using Creative Filters ...51
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
- The Exposure Compensation point on the Control Dial ...68
Using Histograms ...69
- Displaying Histograms ...69
- Evaluating Histograms ...69
- Clipped Pixels ...71
- Sample Histograms ...72
Using i-Contrast ...73
- Using i-Contrast While Shooting ...73
- Using i-Contrast in Playback ...73
Chapter 3
Controlling Sharpness ...74
Getting Sharper Pictures ...75
- Using the Self-timer ...75
- Setting the Image Stabilization (IS) Mode ...76
- Changing the ISO ...77
- Sharpness Isn't Everything ...79
How to Photograph Motion Sharply ...80
- Speed of Subject ...80
- Direction of Movement ...80
- Distance to Subject and Focal Length of Lens ...81
Focus and Depth of Field ...82
- Focus ...82
- Depth of Field ...82
Focusing Techniques ...84
- Focusing ...84
- Changing the AF Frame Mode ...84
- Changing the AF Frame Size and Moving it ...85
- Continuous AF ...86
- Using Focus Lock and AF Lock (AFL) ...86
- Using Servo AF ...87
Face Detect ...88
Manual Focus ...89
Bracketing Focus ...90
Checking Focus ...91
- Checking Focus in Shooting Mode ...91
- Checking Focus in Review and Playback Modes ...92
Controlling Depth of Field ...93
Using Maximum Depth of Field ...94
Using Shallow Depth of Field ...95
Conveying the Feeling of Motion ...96
Chapter 4
Capturing Light & Color ...97
Where does Color Come from? ...98
White Balance ...99
Color Balance and Time of Day ...101
Sunsets and Sunrises ...102
Photographing at Night ...104
- Fireworks ...104
- The Moon ...104
Weather ...106
The Direction of Light ...108
The Quality of Light ...110
Chapter 5
Understanding Lenses ...111
The Zoom Lens ...112
Normal Zoom ...113
Wide-Angle Zoom ...114
Telephoto and Digital Zoom ...116
- Digital Zoom ...117
- Digital Tele-converter ...117
- Zoom Framing Assist ...117
Portraits with a Zoom Lens ...119
Perspective in a Photograph ...120
Using Macro Mode ...121
Focusing and Depth of Field Close Up ...122
Chapter 6
Using Flash and Studio Lighting ...123
How Automatic Flash Works ...124
- Flash Falloff ...124
- Flash and Shutter Speeds ...124
- Flash Modes ...125
- Flash FAQs ...125
Using an External Flash...126
- Using an Small External Flash ...126
- Using a Hot Shoe Mounted Speedlite ...126
Using Flash Settings ...127
Portraits with Flash ...128
Reducing and Removing Red-eye ...129
- Reducing or Correcting Red-eye in Shooting Modes ...129
- Removing Red-eye in Playback Mode ...130
Using Flash On — Fill Flash ...131
Using Available Light ...132
Using Slow Synchro Flash ...133
Controlling Flash Exposures ...135
- Flash Modes ...135
- Flash Exposure Lock ...135
- Safety FE ...135
- Flash Exposure Compensation ...136
- Adjusting Flash Output Manually ...136
Studio Lighting ...137
- Candidates for Studio Lighting ...137
- Lighting ...137
- Backgrounds ...139
- Risers ...139
- Special Bulbs ...139
Portrait and Product Photography— Introduction ...140
The Main Light ...141
The Fill Light ...142
The Background Light ...143
The Rim Light ...144
Chapter 7
Special Features ...145
Panoramas—Stitch Assist Mode ...146
- Basic Techniques ...146
- Stitch Assist Mode ...147
Using Color Accent and Color Swap ...148
Using My Colors ...149
- Using My Colors in Shooting Mode ...149
- Using My Colors in Playback Mode ...150
Continuous Photography ...151
Capturing Movies ...152
- Movie Modes ...152
- Movie Recording ...152
- Adjusting Exposure ...153
- Taking Still Images ...153
Playing Movies ...154
Editing Movies ...155
Using C1 and C2 Modes ...156
Using the Shortcut Button ...157
Using My Menu ...158
Using the Set Up Menu ...159