subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 9 November 2019 53
The90Dhasalotofadvancedoptionsinits
menu.Herewetake a look at a few in more detailFocal pointsCustomcontrols
Customcontrolsareslightlyhidden
in themenuandarefoundunderthe
C.FnIII Operation/Othersheading.
Fromhereyoucancustomisethe
cameracontrols– forexampleyou
canreassigntheAF-ONbuttonto
engageAIServo,orchangetheSet
button to load the picture styles.Anti-flickershooting
Somelightsources,likefluorescentandLEDbulbs,areknowntoflicker,
whichcanresultin photoswithunevencolourorexposure.Whenthe
anti-flickerfeatureis turnedon,theshutteractionis timedtominimise
theflickereffect,thusensuring more consistent and reliableresults.Intervaltimer
Theoptionoftakingimages
automaticallyatpresetintervals
is a greatfeaturetohaveif you’d
liketocreatea time-lapseor
stitchmultipleimagestogether.
The90D’sintervaltimerletsyou
settheintervaltimeprecisely
(hours,minutesandseconds)for
an unlimited number of shots.HDRmode
TheHDRmodeadjusts
thedynamicrange
betweenshots
automaticallyor
manuallyupto3EV.
Youcanchoosefrom
differenteffectstoo.
Aswellasa natural
HDReffect,thereare
vivid HDR settings.104.8mm76.8mmAspectratio
Aswellasshooting
in thenative3:2
aspect,userscan
setthestillimage
aspectratioto4:3,
16:9and1:1.Aspect
settingsarefound
belowtheimage-
qualitysettingsin
the main menu.140.7mmCAMERA TEST Testbenchthatwaspositionedabove
themulticontroldialhasnow
beenmovedbelowit, whichin turn
seesthelockswitchmoveacross
totherighta bit.Thepurpose
of thelockswitchis toprevent
unintentionalchangestoexposure
compensationandexposure
settingsbymovingthereardial.It
doesn’tphysicallylock(thewheel
willstillturn)butit doesturnoff
thefunctionsit’sassociatedto.
Enthusiastswho’dliketo
intuitivelyshifttheAFpointaround
theframewillreallyappreciate
havingthemulti-controllerjoystick
ontheEOS90D.Goingbackto
usingthe80Dandhavingtotap
thedirectionalbuttonstoget
theAFpointwhereyouwant
it highlightshowmuchfaster
andmoreintuitivefocuspoint
positioningis onthe90D.The
otherbenefit of thejoystickis that
it makesfora greatwaytoquickly
navigatethemenu.Toconfirm
menusettingsorrepositionthe
AFpointbacktothecentre,you
simplypushthejoystickinwards.
Thebodyis constructedfrom
a blendof aluminiumalloyand
polycarbonateresinwithglass
fibre.There’snosignof creakingor
squeakingwhenit’sgrippedtightly
andthoughyoucantellit’snotas
solidaspro-specEOSmodels,it
feelswellputtogetherandrobust
enoughforthoseit’sdesignedfor.
Asa camerathat’slikelyto fallinto
thehandsof manywildlife,sports
andoutdoorphotographers
whomightgetcaughtoutin wet
weather,it wasvitalthatCanon
addedweathersealing.Canon
doesn’tspecifyexactlyhowmany
weathersealsfeaturein the
construction,butmostimportantly
theydoa goodjob.Usingthe90D
outdoorsin persistentdrizzlefor
morethantwohourscaused
noharmandI waspleasantly
surprisedto findthatthe
touchscreenis justasresponsiveto
usewhenit’scoveredin water
dropletsaswhenit’sdry,which
can’tbesaidforallcameras.
Anotherthingthat’llappealto
usersis howeasyit is forexisting
Canonuserstopickupthe90D
andimmediatelyfeelat home
withit. It won’tfeelintimidating
foranyoneupgradingfroman
entry-levelEOSmodeland
neitherdoesit feeltoobiga step
downfromanadvancedEOS
DSLRliketheEOS7DMarkII.
Thereisn’ta hugedifferencein
weightbetweenthe90D(701g)
and 80D (730g), but a saving in
weightis betterthannosaving
at all.It’soneof thelightest
double-digitEOSDSLRsto
bemade,secondtothe
EOS30D(700g).Viewfinderandscreen
Theopticalviewfinderoffers
100%framecoveragewith0.95x
magnificationand-3to+1m-1
dioptrecorrection.Exposure
variablesareclearlydisplayed
alongthebottomandif youhead
intotheviewfinderdisplayoptions
in themenuyoucanchooseto
displayanelectroniclevel,grid
displayaswellasa Flicker
Detectionwarning.Unlikemany
electronicviewfindersfoundon
mirrorlesscamerasthough,it
doesn’trotatethisinformation
whenshootingin portraitformat.
Asforthescreen,it’sthe
same3in,1040k-dotvari-angle
touchscreenwe’veseenonmany
CanonDSLRsbefore.It displays
a good,cleanfeedtoassist
compositionandvideorecording
in liveview.Imagesarewell
displayedin playbackmodetoo.
Coloursarefaithfulandyouget
fourthumbnailviewstoquickly
searchthroughhundredsof
imagesonthememorycard.
Havingtheoptionof pullingthe
screenoutandtiltingit toyour
preferredanglegivesit a distinct
advantageovera fixedscreen
whenattemptingtoshootfrom
loworhighanglesandunusual
perspectives.Thecutoutthat
helpsuserspullthescreenout
whenit’sfoldedbackintothe
camerais nowpositionedat the
topcornerratherthanat theside.
Aswe’vebecomeusedtoon
Canon’smostrecentDSLRs,the
touchscreenis veryresponsive
andreactstolighttoucheswhen
it’susedtonavigatethemenus,
selectdifferentsettingsorzoom
andswipethroughimagesin
playbackmode.Thereis the
optiontoincreasethesensitivity
fromstandardtosensitive,butit’s
hardtotellthedifferencebetween
thesesettings.If youfindthe
touchscreenmoreof a hindrance
thanit is helpful,it canbedisabled
fromthetouchcontrol settings.Performance
The90D’slayoutof 45autofocus
pointsis groupedquitetightly
in theviewfinder.Thecentral
gatheringof AFpointsare
arrangedin a 3x5gridwiththe
topandbottomlinessittinga
fraction higher than the twoImagerating
Aswellasbeingabletorateanimageindependentlyfromonetofivestars
in playbackmodeafterhittingtheQuickmenubutton,it’spossibleto
change the rating of multiple images using the select range option.