Canon 50d Owners Manual

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The  (Portrait) mode blurs the background to make the human 
subject stand out. It also makes flesh tones and the hair look softer than 
with the < 1> (Full Auto) mode.
  The farther the distance between the subject and background, 
the better.
The further the distance between the subject and background, the 
more blurred the background will  look. The subject will also stand 
out better in front of a plain, dark background.
  Use a telephoto lens.
If you have a zoom lens, use the te lephoto end to fill the frame with 
the subject from the waist up.  Move in closer if necessary.
  Focus the face.
Check that the AF point covering the face flashes in red.
2 Shooting Portraits
Shooting Tips
  If you hold down the shutter button, y ou can shoot continuously to obtain 
different poses and facial expressions. (max. approx. 3 shots/sec.)
  If necessary, the built-in flash will pop-up automatically.
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Use the  (Landscape) mode for wide scenery, night scenes, or to 
have everything in focus from near to far. The greens and blues also 
become more vivid and sharper than with < 1> (Full Auto).
  With a zoom lens, use the wide-angle end.
When using the wide-angle end of a  zoom lens, objects near and far 
will be in focus better than at the telephoto end. It also adds breadth 
to landscapes.
  Shooting night scenes.
Since the built-in flash will be disabled, this 
mode is also good for night scenes. Use a 
tripod to prevent camera shake. If you 
want to photograph a person against a 
night scene, set the Mode Dial to  
(Night Portrait) and use a tripod (p.55).
3  Shooting Landscapes
Shooting Tips
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When you want to photograph flowers or small things up close, use the 
 (Close-up) mode. To make small things appear much larger, use 
a macro lens (sold separately).
  Use a simple background.
A simple background makes the flower, etc., stand out better.
  Move to the subject as close as possible.
Check the lens for its minimum focusing distance. Some lenses 
have indications such as < 40.28m/0.9ft >. The lens minimum 
focusing distance is measured from the < V> (focal plane) mark on 
the camera to the subject. If you are too close to the subject, the 
focus confirmation light < o> will blink.
Under low light, the built-in flash will  fire. If you are too close to the 
subject and the bottom of the picture looks dark, move away from 
the subject.
  With a zoom lens, use the telephoto end.
If you have a zoom lens, using the telephoto end will make the 
subject look larger.
4 Shooting Close-ups
Shooting Tips
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To photograph a moving subject, whether it is a child running or a moving vehicle, use the  (Sports) mode.
  Use a telephoto lens.
Using a telephoto lens is recommend ed so you can shoot from afar.
  Use the center AF point to focus.
Aim the center AF point over the subject, then press the shutter 
button halfway to auto focus. During autofocusing, the beeper will 
continue beeping softly. If focus cannot be achieved, the focus 
confirmation light < o> will blink.
When you want to take the picture, press the shutter button 
completely. If you hold down the s hutter button, continuous shooting 
(max. approx. 6.3 shots per sec.) and autofocusing will take effect.
5  Shooting Moving Subjects
Shooting Tips
Under low light when camera shake is prone to occur, the viewfinder’s 
shutter speed display on the bottom left will blink. Hold the camera steady 
and shoot.
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To shoot someone at night and obtain a natural-looking exposure in the background, use the  (Night Portrait) mode.
  Use a wide-angle lens and a tripod.
When using a zoom lens, use the wide-angle end to obtain a wide 
night view. Also, use a tripod to prevent camera shake.
  Keep the person within 5 meters/16.4 feet from the camera.
Under low light, the built-in flash wi ll fire automatically to obtain a 
good exposure of the person. The effective distance of the built-in 
flash is 5 meters/16.4 feet from the camera.
  Shoot also with < 1> (Full Auto).
Since camera shake is prone to occu r with night shots, shooting also 
with < 1> (Full Auto) is recommended.
6 Shooting Portraits at Night
Shooting Tips
  Tell the subject to keep still even after the flash fires.
  If the self-timer is also used, the self-timer lamp will flash after the picture 
is taken.
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In places where flash photography is prohibited, use the  (Flash 
Off) mode. This mode is also effe ctive for candlelight scenes when you 
want to capture the ambient light.
 If the numeric display in the vi ewfinder blinks, take care to 
prevent camera shake.
Under low light when camera shake is prone to occur, the 
viewfinder’s shutter speed display will blink. Hold the camera steady 
or use a tripod. When using a zoom  lens, use the wide-angle end to 
reduce blur caused by camera shake.
  Taking portraits without flash.
Under low light, the person must not  move until the picture is taken. 
If the person moves during the expo sure, he or she might look 
blurred in the picture.
7  Disabling Flash
Shooting Tips
In the < 7> (Flash Off) mode, AF-assist beam  will not be emitted. However, 
when < b> (Flash off, p.58) is set in the  Creative Auto mode, the built-in 
flash will pop up and em it the AF-assist beam wh en achieving focus is 
difficult in low light conditions.
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The  (Creative Auto) mode enables you to easily change the 
picture’s brightness, etc. The defau lt settings are the same as the  
(Full Auto) mode.
* CA stands for Creative Auto.
1Set the Mode Dial to < C>.
XThe Creative Auto screen appears on 
the LCD monitor.
2Press < 9> straight down.
XYou can use  to select a 
function.
  Functions (1) to (6) shown on the next 
page can be selected.
3Set the desired setting.
 Use < 9> to select the function.
X The selected functi on is displayed on 
the screen’s bottom.
  Turn the <
5> or < 6> dial to 
change the setting.
  Press < 9> straight down to return to 
step 1 screen.
4Take the picture.
  When the picture is taken, the LCD 
monitor turns off.
  If you change the  shooting mode or 
turn off the power  switch, the Creative 
Auto settings will revert to the default. 
Image-recording quality and self-
timer settings will be retained.
C  Creative Auto Shooting
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							C Creative Auto Shooting
58
(1) Flash firing
 (Auto firing), < D> (Flash on), or < b> (Flash off, with AF-assist 
beam enabled) can be se lected. If you set , see “Disabling 
Flash” on page 56.
(2) Blurring/sharpening the background If you move the index mark toward  the left, the background will look 
more blurred. If you move it to ward the right, the background will 
look more in focus. If you want to blur the background, see “Shooting\
 
Portraits” on page 51.
(3) Adjusting the picture brightness If you move the index mark toward the left, the picture will look 
darker. If you move it toward the ri ght, the picture will look brighter.
(4) Picture Style You can select one of four Picture Styles (p.65, 66).
(5) Single, continuous, and self-timer shooting If you select < i>, you can shoot continuous ly at about 3 shots per 
sec. If you select < j>, see the notes ( ) for “Self-timer Operation” 
on page 90.
(6) Image-recording quality When you press < 0>, the image-recording quality setting screen 
will appear. To set the image-record ing quality, see “Setting the 
Image-recording Quality” on page 60.  After adjusting all the desired 
settings, press < 0> to return to the screen in step 2 on the 
previous page.
Shutter speed and aperture(1)
(2)
(3)
(5)
(6)
Battery check
Maximum burstPossible shots
(4)
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3
Image Settings
This chapter explains image-related function settings: 
Image-recording quality, ISO speed, Picture Styles, 
white balance, color space, etc.
 In the Basic Zone modes, you can only set the image-
recording quality and lens perip heral illumination correction, 
create and select folders, and set the file numbering as 
explained in this chapter.
  The  M icon on the right of the page title indicates that the 
respective feature is avail able only in Creative Zone modes 
( d , s , f , a, 8 ).
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You can select the pixel count and the image quality. The following 
JPEG quality settings can be set: 73, 83 , 74 , 84 , 76 , 86. 
RAW images captured as  1, D 1, or D 2 must be 
processed with the provided software (p.62).
1Select [Quality].
 Under the [1 ] tab, select [Quality], 
then press < 0>.
X The [ Quality ] screen will appear.
2Select the image-recording quality.
 To select a RAW setting, turn the 
 dial. To select a JPEG setting, 
turn the < 5> dial.
 
On the upper right, the “***M (megapixels) 
**** x ****” number indicates the recorded 
pixel count, and “
***” is the number of 
possible shots (displayed up to 999).
 Press  to set the selected quality.
Image-recording Quality Setting Example
* If [–] is set for both RAW and JPEG, 73  will be set.
3 Setting the Image-recording Quality
73 only
D
2+74
1
+73 1
 only
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