Canon® EOS 5D Digital Field Guide

Chapter 1. Exploring the Canon EOS 5D

In This Chapter

• Anatomy of the EOS 5D

• Setting the date and time

• Choosing the file format and quality

• Setting file numbering

• Creating folders on the CF card

• Using the EOS 5D

• Selecting a metering mode

• Modifying exposure

• Setting the ISO

• Selecting a drive mode

• Viewing and playing back images

• Erasing images

• Protecting images

• Restoring the camera's default settings

• Cleaning the image sensor

The Canon EOS 5D is a star performer in terms of image resolution, quality, and camera handling. The 5D pioneered ease-of-use improvements that are now incorporated in the majority of Canon's EOS bodies, including the top LCD panel with key exposure settings; large, wide-angle view; detailed LCD; and large menu text, all of which translate into enabling you to make quick camera adjustments as you shoot.

Standard shooting modes are easy to move among on the Mode dial, and the camera offers the full complement of metering and drive-mode options for a range of shooting scenarios. ISO options, including ISO expansion, cover a broad range of lighting needs, and the noise performance is low to moderate even at the highest sensitivities. Depending on the ISO, the 5D's dynamic range — measured in f-stops or Exposure Values (EV), the range of dark to light values that the camera can maintain without clipping, or losing detail—runs from approximately 7–8 f-stops.

Note

Dynamic range figures have been adapted from Dave Etchells' testing of the EOS 5D on www.imaging-resource.com and from Phil ...