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I actually sat down and read the whole manual last night. I should have done that first, but I was just so excited to get out and shoot!

Now that I know a little about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc., I have no idea how to know what settings to use. I can do test shots no problem, but for wildlife, I don't want to miss anything because I am looking down at my camera.

Are there any good rules of thumb you all go by?

Thanks for the help.
Andrew



Andrew,

Welcome to the quest for optimal image quality (IQ). I have to admit that I am always trying to optimize my settings and it requires looking at the camera alot. But I think there a couple of rules of thumb that you can try

>Make sure you set up your camera when you first go out to shoot. I don't know how many shots I ruined because I left some special settings from my last session.

>I think with the rebel you can probably use an ISO of 400 and get pretty good IQ for most situations. ISO 200 would be OK where you've got plenty of light. After 400, the noise (grain) just gets worse.

>While Julie shoots wide open and is satisfied with her lens performance, most lenses really perform at optimum when stopped down 1 or 2 stops. Shooting wide open does maximize shutter speed and the ability to freeze the action, but the shallow depth of field means you really need focus to be right on. If you've got enough light stopping down to 5.6 or 8 and maintaining a shutter speed of 1/250 or better will probably be optimum. If you're using a longer lens (above 150) higher shutter speed is really critical for preventing image blur.

>It is also a good idea to check the settings periodically, because as you found out the hard way, settings can be inadvertently changed and can degrade IQ.

I could go on, but I think these are the basics.

George

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