The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion

ADVANCED EXPOSURE

SCENE MODES REVISITED

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Scene Modes Revisited

We will be returning to some exposure discussion when we get to Chapter 6 and a

discussion of the XSi’s priority and manual modes. For now, though, you have all

of the tools and understanding you need to shoot just about any situation, and

all from within Program mode.

In Chapter 1 you learned about the XSi’s scene modes, those special automatic

modes that are designed for shooting in specific circumstances. Let’s take another

quick look at those with your new understanding of exposure.

Portrait mode tries to choose an exposure that will blur out the background.

So, you now know that what it’s up to is trying to choose an exposure with a

wide aperture (lower f-number), since a wider aperture produces a shallower

depth of field. And, you also now know that if it’s using a wider aperture, then

it must use a faster shutter speed to compensate (a wider aperture lets in

more light, so you need a shorter exposure time).

Landscape mode does the exact opposite from Portrait mode. It uses a

smaller aperture (bigger number) to increase depth of field. is will usually

result in a slower shutter speed. When the shutter speed drops below what

the camera thinks is appropriate for handholding the camera at your current

focal length, then it will flash the shutter speed readout as a warning.

Close-up mode will ...