The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion

ANATOMY OF THE REBEL XSI

HOLDING THE CAMERA

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WARNING: Visible Menus Are Context Sensitive

If you press the Menu button and don’t see any tool menus, it’s because you’re

in a mode that doesn’t support these menus. Change to Program, Tv, Av, or M

mode and try again.

Camera Status

With the menu active, you can press the Disp button on the back of the camera

to get a view of some important camera statistics.

Pressing the Disp button at any time gives you a simple status readout of the

camera’s current settings.

ere’s nothing on this screen that you can’t learn by going and looking at the set-

tings of the individual parameters, but it can be a nice way to quickly get a look at

some vital settings. You’ll learn more about each of these settings later.

Holding the Camera

Holding the XSi might seem like a fairly obvious procedure, but good photo-

graphic “form” can mean the difference between a sharp image and one that’s

blurred from camera shake. Observing a few simple guidelines about camera grip

and posture will improve your chances of getting stable, sharp images.

e Grip

Obviously, your right hand goes around the camera’s grip, with your forefinger

positioned on the shutter button. To guarantee the most stable hold, your left

hand should go underneath the lens barrel, where it connects to the camera.

CHAPTER 2

HOLDING THE CAMERA

38

Support the lens with your left hand to ensure a more ...