Is anyone aware of an online tutorial for the Canon 10D ?

I have been using my new 10D for a few weeks now, mainly for

motorsports, with the 70-200L F4. And though my output is OK, it's

unimpressive. I've been using the camera in Sport mode or Tv, but

I've been getting a lot of images that are less than sharp. I know

that in the current state of our modern world, individuals are loath

to take responsibility for their own actions, but I'm pretty sure

that it's me, and not the camera that's at fault here. Heh heh. Of

course, I've read the manual, but I'd like to learn more about the

modes that are available, and which is best for a given set of

circumstances. Does anyone know of an online tutorial on how to get

the most out of the modern digital SLR ?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

fattfreddie<div></div>

No, but I just want to advise you that, if you�re looking for a printed tutorial, I would NOT purchase the Short Course in 10D Photography. I did buy it and found that it is substantially the same as the 10D manual. So, it just wasn't worth it.

You might try:

<p>

http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html<br>

http://www.cps.canon-europe.com/home.jsp<br>

Lots of resources/forums here:<br>

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~zz28/links.html

<p>

Melanie Kipp does fantastic work with the 10D (and now the 1D MKII, I think), and her site is linked in the last of the above three sites. But she doesn't have links on her site to her tips, so here are a couple: <br>

http://www.caughtintimephotography.com/10D_WorkFlow.html<br>

http://www.caughtintimephotography.com/BWwithColor.html

Thank you, but none of those really fill the bill.

I'm looking more for a primer on how to use the camera.

(ie: "If conditions are like this...then you want to do this...")

 

But thanks for the links, as there was a great article on F1 photography on the Canon Euro site.

 

Anyone else ?

 

Thanks and best regards.<div></div>

<i>(ie: "If conditions are like this...then you want to do this...")</i>

<p>

It sounds like you just need a book on general photography, not necessarily one specific to the 10D or digital. Maybe if you asked a specific question regarding a specific matter, someone would be able to answer that for you. Also keep in mind that motorsports photography, in general, is difficult. Even seasoned pros with the absolute best equipment know that they are going to get a very small number of keepers, with the vast majority of shots being junk. It's not uncommon for a professional shooter to come away from a sports shoot with literally thousands of images, with only a few being true keepers.

<p>

You might want to read this article on Sports Illustrated's Digital Workflow, and see how the pros do it:

 

<a href="http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6453-6821">article</a>. Even the pros get a LOT of "less than sharp" images, too.

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Peter.

 

You're right about motorsports being tough. The Galbraith article doesn't even come close to describing how difficult it is to shoot a motorcycle traveling at 70 MPH from ten feet away (moving laterally, not toward you), while still considering composition and all other aspects of the shot. Heh heh, not to mention that last night, I was shooting with flash under mixed overhead light sources ! A challenge, to say the least.

 

But perhaps I should have phrased my question differently. I'm looking for a guide to setting up the camera for different sets of circumstances. The 10D (and the Pro Canon's) are more like little computers with lenses on the front than they are like traditional film cameras. And for a given set of circumstances, several camera modes and/or settings would be "adequate". But I'd like to have a guide on what's "best". Is that easier to understand ?

 

In addition to that, the setup of custom functions is another challenge. As with most sophisticated electronic devices, 90% of the options will probably never be used. But some are really beneficial. For example, the first day that I was shooting a big event, I was standing next to a Pro who was shooting for the same publication that I was there to write for. He handed me his 1DS and said: "Push here for AF, and push -here- to shoot". So his camera was set up to use one button for each function, rather than the "halfway down" mode that most AF cameras use. And I'll tell you what, it was a huge improvement.

 

So I figured that the knowledge base of Photo.net would be second to none with regard to setup tips and useful pointers. Or that at least, I would be pointed in the right direction. Thanks very much for your help.<div></div>

<I>He handed me his 1DS and said: "Push here for AF, and push -here- to shoot". So his camera was set up to use one button for each function, rather than the "halfway down" mode that most AF cameras use.</I>

<P>

He was refering to Custom Function 4 (page 146 of the manual). You can assign functions to the shutter button and the AE Lock button. Normally it's on "0", which is:<p>

Shutter Button= Autofocus, trips the shutter<br>

AE Lock Button= AE Lock (Auto Exposure Lock)<p>

But setting it to "1" is popular because it sets it to:<p>

Shutter Button= AE Lock, trips the shutter<br>

AE Lock Button= Autofocus<p>

The advantage to this is that you are putting autofocus activation and shutter trigger on two different buttons. Pressing the shutter button to take the picture won't cause the camera to re-focus.

<p>

Another setting I like on the 10D is Custon Function 13, which assigns the function of the Assist button. Normally, the Assist button is set to register a "home" focus point, but I think it's much more valuable to set it to "4", which makes the Assist button activate FE Lock (Flash Exposure Lock). Normally, when you attach a flash to the camera, the AE Lock button becomes the FE Lock button. That means you lose the ability to do AE Lock. Putting FE Lock on the Assist button allows you to do AE Lock (like taking a partial meter reading off the sky in the background, so that it exposes well), then do FE Lock (like taking a flash exposure reading off of your subject in the foreground) and take a shot that combines these two readings.

<p>

I also usually have my camera set to Evaluative metering, but hit the AE Lock button whenever I want a Partial metering. For me, this is much better than manually switching the metering mode from Evaluative to Partial metering. Basically, what that gives you is on-demand partial metering every time you hit the AE Lock button. And with the Assist button doing FE Lock, that doesn't change even with a flash mounted.

Thanks for the tip, and you've just clarified my question as well. What I'd really like to know is:

 

Is there anywhere on the web where one may find an accumulation of valuable pointers like this which will greatly increase the performance of the Canon 10D ?

 

Aside from pouring through messages on Photo.net, I mean :)

 

Thanks.

 

Brett

It would be great if it were all in one place, but the domain name "canon10d.com" is already taken :)<div></div>

Go here:

<a href="http://www.normankoren.com/EOS-10D.html">http://www.normankoren.com/EOS-10D.html</a>. If you make it to the bottom of the page, you will have aquired a lot of information on the 10D. Good luck.

That is _perfect_ thank you.