PhotoPlus The Canon Magazine – August 2019

The Canon Magazine 87

EOS S.O.S

Can you use Auto

ISO with flash?

Amanda Smith, Calne

BRiAn SAyS... Virtually

all EOS cameras with Auto

ISO will default to ISO400

when a flash is used, either

the built-in flash or a

Speedlite. When using

Program mode, with a

built-in flash the ISO may

sometimes be increased

beyond or below ISO400,

but this is rare.

Is it better to

have one big SD

card, or several

smaller ones for

a long holiday?

Justin Prosser,

Stevenage

BRiAn SAyS... I would

normally take several

smaller cards. Quality

cards don’t fail often, but if

you have one 256GB card

a failure means losing all

the photos from your trip.

Carrying four 64GB cards

spreads the risk of card

failure, but adds the risk

that you lose the cards

that aren’t in the camera.

Where can I find

tips for making

better photos?

The manual only

explains the

camera

functions.

Stephen Camden,

Birmingham

BRiAn SAyS...

PhotoPlus of course, we

have many articles to help!

You’ll also find plenty of

other information online,

maybe at a photography

club and in books. Canon

also has a free app for your

phone called Photo

Companion that provides

help for a range of genres.

How do you control EOS 7D Mark II

shutter speed when the mode dial is

set to C3 for AF case 3?

Robert Hill, Mold

Brian SayS... I think you’ve confused the AF case and the
custom shooting modes. Each custom shooting mode, C1/
C2/C3, can be configured as a copy of whichever exposure
mode you like, and then can also be set to any of the AF
cases. Set up C2 as a copy of shutter priority (Tv) mode,
then turn the dial to C2 and change the AF case to Case 4.
Now when you set the mode dial to C2, it’s shutter priority
when you select the shutter speed, but using AF case 4. This
is the power of the custom shooting modes, you can create a
mode that’s easy to recall for your style and subjects.

Custom modes can be changed with any shooting mode and AF case

The EOR RP has focus

peaking, is it only useful

for movies, or stills too?

Adrian Merton, St. Helens

Brian SayS...

Focus peaking

does work for

both stills and

movies. I leave it

switched on in

my camera so

that whenever I

use manual

focus the red

overlay appears

to indicate where

the focus is. In

low light, and with very limited depth of

field it really helps to be sure that your

subject is in focus. I’ve also found it

invaluable when using the tilt

movement on a tilt-shift lens. Focus

peaking has improved my portrait

shots using a tilt-shift lens.

When the light is low the top professional

cameras deliver excellent results, iSO 20,000

was required inside this old dark sawmill

How do you set exposure

compensation for the flash when

using automatic E-TTL mode?

Peter Lightfoot, Midhurst

Brian SayS... There are

two places you can set

flash exposure comp (FEC);

the camera, or on most

models the Speedlite. Both

options achieve the same,

brightening or darkening

the flash lit parts of the

photos. If you set FEC on

the flash it takes priority

over the camera. Setting

-2EV on the camera and

+1EV on the flash means

+1EV result.

I use a custom function

on the Speedlite 600EX

II-RT and 430EX III-RT to

allow me to dial in FEC by

just turning the dial on

the flash.

Can you suggest a

camera for live music

photography, particularly

rock concerts?

Jon McClung, Washington USA

Brian SayS... Invariably you’ll need a

camera with fast acting AF covering

much of the frame, excellent low light

performance and wide dynamic range.

As for lenses, faster primes are often

better than a slower zoom lens. The

best performing option is EOS-1D X

Mark II with excellent low light

performance, AF that can see in the

dark, and fast frame rate. As a second

option the smaller, lighter and cheaper

EOS 5D Mark IV is also a great choice.