Top Tips specifically for the 350D

Probly a dumb noob question, But whats a flashgun?

Another term for a flash source of light synchronized to the shutter, either integral to the camera or installed into the hot shoe on top of the camera

IMO most of these pre-flash red eye reductions don't work very well. Oftentimes, even if you warn the subject not to move after the first flash, they do anyway, and the effect is not very good to begin with. When at all possible, use bounce flash or a flash bracket or of shoe cord to avoid red eye. In most cases if it does occur, you can PS it out.

Probably the best time saving tip is to get a CF reader (not expensive) and download your shots that way instead of from the camera. Soooo much faster, but then you must remember to put it back in the camera. With memory prices dropping like a rock, you should have at least 2 cards

My hint--
Custom Function Four (C.Fn-4), "Shutter button/AE lock button". Set it to 1, "AE lock/AF". That way you can press the * (splat) button to focus using your pre-selected focal point, then meter with a half-press of the shutter button. See page 149 of your manual. Useful if you want to focus on your subject, recompose the shot, and then meter the new composition. This helps me to reduce shots with blown highlights.

And, you gotta love shooting raw. You can do some easy pp with ZoomBrowser, which came with your camera.

Have fun!

Thanks, I did that first thing. I actually even mention it in my original post, but that's cool, it's worth repeating. I also hadn't thought about remetering, but then if you focus on your primary subject wouldn't you want the metering to be for the subject? And when shooting in raw isn't it actually preferential to overexpose (to a point) and then adjust the RAW image? My understanding is that as long as your histogram doesn't extend off of either end of the scale, but drops just before then end that you should be able to pull the highlights when editing the raw and the better of the two ends to shoot into is the light end because there are at least twice as many levels in the lightest end as any other end and they decrease by half each "stop" down towards the dark end?

I'm just making sure that I have some of the info that I've read in the last week down. I read something new everyday and yet manage to feel like I know less and less everyday. I'm hoping that at some point the curve starts to roll back up

But even if you don't use C.Fn4, exposure lock is assigned to the * button and focus is assigned to half press. You're really only swapping the functions.
You can still find your exposure point, hit the * button to lock the exposure, find your focus point and half shutter, then recompose (slightly is best or choose a different AF point) and take the shot.

The thing that frustrated me was two fold.
FIRST, my wife doesn't understand the details of photography. She's a point-and-shooter. For the most part, I told her to use either the full auto or P modes.
When I switched the * button, the functions got all mixed up and we ended up both getting confused. I can't remember the details, but I think in the normal modes that I used (Av, Tv, M) everything was fine... but when I used P... or when she used the camera... something wrong happened and she basically didn't want to use it any more.
The same thing happened with the AF points. I have it locked on the center... but she didn't understand how to recompose so most of her pictures were OOF.

SECOND, once I got my speedlight... with CFn4 set to focus with * I couldn't fire a pre-flash to lock the flash exposure. That was really stupid.

I think Custom function 4 was a good idea until somebody else wanted to use the camera as a PAS and I got an external flash.

Now I just leave the CFn4 as-is and use the * button to either lock the exposure or lock the flash exposure... which makes sense to me.

Maybe I'm just on crack!

I disagree about the UV filter.
I Bought one with the camera, and left it on all the time. But noticed real flairing problems in a lot of photos. Messed up a set i did at night with the moon.
Now I only put it on when I think it is needed for lens protection. e.g. sand or flying gravel like at motocross.
The modern lenses use a very hard glass for the front element and with normal camera use where the lens cap is replaced after use, you don't need the protection.
Of course if there is UV haze, then use it.

My tip. Buy one of those lens cap leash thingies with an elastic ring for the lens, then you can't loose the cap. If you need to take it off, you can.

RAitch, the main reason for using cf4 is that it prevents the accidental triggering of the shutter while focusing or recomposing. With the * set to focus you can focus all day long without accidentally snapping a photo.

akiwi, what sort of filter did you buy? The reason that I ask is that I wonder if a high end filter would be less likely to cause flare problems than a low quality filter. I'm sure that any filter can cause a problem under the right circumstances, but it seems that a better filter with better more comprehensive coatings would be less likely to do so.

My tip around the 350 is to forget the dish washer and rubber gloves and do all the washing up every single day by hand. There are two benefits to this if you are married or in a relationship: first, your hands shrink over time making it more comfortable to hold and use the camera; second, your partner thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread and so buying an occasional lens becomes easy-peasy and you may also get to bonk more often

Cfn4-1 and a battery grip...never looked back!

Will Elements 3 support RAW

Bob J

Hipgrncln wrote:
Will Elements 3 support RAW

Bob J

It doesn't need to. Do the RAW converson with DPP that somes with the camera. Then post-process with your Elements.

What? I've never accidently released the shutter trying to focus. There's an obvious pressure difference between the 2. I find it hard to believe that people would accidently trip the shutter when trying to half press it to focus... or at least consider the occasional one a serious problem.

It sounds to me like there's no reason to use CFn4. It causes more problems than does any good... unless there's a benefit other than accidental release... or premature exposure if you will

I agree, for the first while I thought having the focus separate was neat... but after I found the problem with the flash, I turned it right back to normal.
I can't see one thing wrong with CFn4-0 but there are obvious issues with CFn4-1.
I'll have to disagree with that advise, but the other ones are good.

Elements 3 does support raw for the xt, with the correct download from adobe

I dissagree... I find elements 3.0's "Digital Camera Raw" converter head and shoulders above the clunky converter in the Canon software. DPP adds an unessesary step to the process too. Elements 3.0 with it's support for the 350/DRXT in Digital Camera Raw alows you to "get photos" in RAW format directly into Elements right from your CF card and the converter is integrated into the Editor. I know that if I had an extra $500.00 laying around (the difference between CS2 and PSE 3.0) and had a choice of getting CS2 or saving it for that new "L" glass I would opt for the glass.

I can agree to disagree, and even though I'm not a woman I reserve the right to change my mind at a later date.