The perfect companion for Canon's new Rebel dSLR camera The Canon Rebel EOS T3i/600D combines the shooting power of the Rebel T2i with the hardware and options of the Canon 60D, creating a powerful camera packed with new features. This handy field guide fits in a camera bag and explains how to use all the settings and modes, shoot HD video, work with common Canon accessories, and more. Illustrated with spectacular photos by author and popular photographer Charlotte Lowrie, the book shows you how each button and dial can affect your images. A bonus gray/color checker card helps you get the color right on every shot. Canon's new Rebel EOS T3i/600D sports a dizzying array of features including expanded power in auto settings, onboard shooting guides, variable frame rate for video, and updated video zoom capabilities This conveniently sized field guide fits in your camera case and explains how to use all the camera settings as well as how to shoot HD video Filled with step-by-step techniques and plenty of tips for getting great shots Includes a gray/color checker card to assure accurate color and white balance Illustrated with the author's outstanding color photos Make the most of every feature on your Canon Rebel EOS T3i/600D with this colorful, portable guide.

Photos from the Author

Pink Camellia

(Click image to see larger version and information on the photo) Turtle Family

(Click image to see larger version and information on the photo) White Dog, “Sadie”

(Click image to see larger version and information on the photo)

From the Author: Top Features of the New Canon EOS T3i/600D

Every iteration of Canon’s flagship entry-level digital SLR is more compelling than the one before, and that’s certainly true of the new Canon EOS RebelT3i/600D. This camera features Canon’s tried and true 18-megapixel image sensor, as well as the latest version of Canon’s metering system that incorporates color information when making exposure decisions. While these are not new features for the latest Rebel model, they assure excellent image quality and consistently good exposures. And image quality and spot-on exposures are, after all, the acid test for any camera.

The T3i/600D, like its predecessors, offers a full menu of still-image shooting options so that you can take as much or as little control over image exposure as you want. If you are new to SLR photography, the T3i will serve you well now, and it will challenge you to higher levels of skill and creativity.

Beyond that, the T3i/600D adds nice refinements to still-image, video, and flash shooting—refinements that make the Rebel competitive with pricier EOS cameras. What’s important for me as a photographer are camera features that enhance my creative options, and the T3i/600D delivers several new and compelling creative features.

As video shooting becomes almost as important as still-image shooting, the T3i/600D offers video features not found on other EOS cameras. First, the new Video Snapshot feature is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. With Video Snapshot, you can choose to record short video clips at 2-, 4-, or 8-second lengths. Then you can save the snapshot to a video album. It doesn’t take long to think of cool and fun ways to create themed video snapshot albums. The first idea I considered was recording a series of video snapshots at a wedding in which each snapshot featured a personal greeting from the parents, grandparents, and friends of the bride and groom. Save all of the individual snapshots in an album, do a little video editing, and you have a unique and wonderful gift for the newly weds. Speaking of video editing, Canon provides a capable video-editing program on the EOS Digital Solutions Disk that comes with the camera. You can add titles, stills to your movie, and you can convert the movie to black-and-white as well. Also if you need lighting for your video, the affordable new Canon 320EX flash unit features a bright LED light that is suitable for video lighting, and you can use it for up to 3.5 hours of continuous shooting.

You can now add music to videos in the camera. Just copy the music that Canon provides on the EOS Digital Solution Disk to the memory card using the provided EOS Utility program. Alternately, you can add music from your computer to the memory card, again using the EOS Utility. Then on the camera, you can choose a music selection to play as background music for the video. With the music added, all you need to do is to plug the T3i/600D into a TV, pop some popcorn, and enjoy your HD videos in style.

For everyday video shooting and for Live View shooting, you’ll love the new articulated 3-inch LCD. You can adjust the LCD to almost any angle, and it gives a 100 percent view of the scene. Thus you can shoot at a variety of angles and still monitor the shooting on the LCD. Plus, with the T3i/600D, you can shoot video in either fully automatic or with manual exposure.

Speaking of control, the T3i/600D is the first model in the Rebel line to offer built-in wireless flash photography. If you haven’t used wireless flash, you’re in for a treat. With the Integrated Speedlite Transmitter, you can use your Canon Speedlite together with the built-in flash, or fire only the Speedlite, or setup two or three Speedlites to create beautiful, studio-like lighting for your images—all without hassling with cords. To help put this feature in perspective, you’d need to buy the Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter, currently priced at more than $200, to get equivalent functionality. While wireless flash can be a little complicated, Canon provides the Easy Wireless option that makes setting up basic wireless flash simple and quick. Combined with the new 270EX II Speedlite, you can even control the camera remotely from the 270EX II.

Another new feature on the T3i/600D is the A+ shooting mode that replaces the Full Auto shooting mode found on previous Rebel cameras. A+ shooting mode includes using the new Auto Picture Style. A Picture Style sets the sharpness, contrast, saturation, and color tone aspects of images. The Auto Picture Style evaluates the scene and makes changes to the way the image looks based on its evaluation. Auto Picture Style is available as part of the suite of “auto” settings in A+ mode including auto exposure, white balance, and Auto Lighting Optimizer. All in all, this makes it easy to get great images from the T3i/600D for photographers who want to leave everything to the camera.