My viewfinder is too small!

Question

I own a 450D, and I am very satisfied with the image quality, features, a.s.o. The only thing that disturbs me is the viewfinder. I can barely see the whole image when looking through it (black blends in near the edges as my eyes focus the image) and as soon as I look through it slightly from the side, e.g. when I'm shooting near the floor, the whole thing gets to be controlled by luck. Manual focus is almost impossible to get right - especially with the crappy focus ring on the kit lense (it's slightly better with the 60mm/2.8). Later, when I view the photos on my PC, I can see details that I haven't noticed at all while using the viewfinder and therefore did not have control of.

My question is: Am I the only one having these problems? Is there any possibility to improve my viewfinder's image without buying a new camera? And last but not least - which cameras do have good/big viewfinders? Does it have something to do with the size of the sensor?

Asked by eWolf

Answer

There are a few things conspiring against you. First is the fact that your camera uses a pentamirror rather than a pentaprism to orient the viewfinder image so up is up and left is left. Mirrors are nowhere near as efficient as total internal reflection within a prism, but they are a whole lot cheaper. And unlike a prism, they get worse rather than better the further away from the normal angle you get. (The 60D, 7D, 5D, 1D and 1Ds all use a pentaprism.)

The focusing screen makes a difference as well. I don't know enough about the actual construction of the screens in the various Canon models to say for sure whether that's a contributing factor in your case, but I do know that back in the day the Minolta Acute Matte screen was brighter than other designs by a significant enough margin (nearly a full stop of apparent brightness compared to the screens Nikon and Canon were using) that Hasselblad licensed the technology for their medium format cameras.

The reflex mirror is only partially silvered these days as well (it used to be just an ordinary front-silvered mirror in the Dark Ages). Again, I don't know if there is a significant difference in transmissivity between the various models of camera, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were.

The image erector, the screen and the reflex mirror (not to mention the optics used at the eyepiece) are all places where a camera maker can save a buck or two when making an entry-level camera.

Answered by Stan Rogers

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Is it possible to manually controll the flash while using the BULB manual exposure setting on a Canon XSi?

Question

To explain a little more, I want to be able manually set off the flash more than once for the purpose of having a double exposure while shooting in manual exposure mode. Is there a way to do this using the Canon XSi that doesn't involve any extra equipment and only the on-camera flash?

Asked by Dylansq

Answer

Since you're looking to do this with the built-in flash, the answer is a simple "no, sorry". Some other Canon models can use custom firmware which might be able to enable what you want, but not this one.

I would suggest getting a very cheap manual flash which you can trigger by hand, if timing isn't vital. Or, at a higher cost, many non-manual hot-shoe flashes (both from Canon and third-party) have a stroboscopic mode, which does exactly what you want automatically.

Answered by mattdm

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Why did my Canon EOS 450D fail to save the entire photo?

Question

After not being used for three months I got this (bottom right corner cropped from processed raw image by Canon's DFP):

(original RAW is available for download here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9271284/IMG_9766.CR2)

This was first photo taken that day, all photos taken after were saved ok. Is this a failing SD Card or first sign that my EOS is going bye bye?

Asked by Vnuk

Answer

Looking at the raw file, the JPG preview looks fine, but there is about 1/6th of the RAW image that is blanked out.

It could have been a glitch in the camera, an error on the card, or an error in the transfer to your computer.

If you still have the image on the card, I'd try to transfer again.

Then reformat the card and see if it happens again.

If it does, try other cards, as Rowland suggested.

If other cards have the same issue, then suspect the camera. Until then I'd think a faulty card or transfer is more likely.

Answered by MikeW

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Canon EOS 450D failed to save entire photo

Question

After not being used for three months I got this (bottom right corner cropped from processed raw image by Canon's DFP):

(original RAW is available for download here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9271284/IMG_9766.CR2)

This was first photo taken that day, all photos taken after were saved ok. Is this a failing SD Card or first sign that my EOS is going bye bye?

Asked by Vnuk

Answer

Looking at the raw file, the JPG preview looks fine, but there is about 1/6th of the RAW image that is blanked out.

It could have been a glitch in the camera, an error on the card, or an error in the transfer to your computer.

If you still have the image on the card, I'd try to transfer again.

Then reformat the card and see if it happens again.

If it does, try other cards, as Rowland suggested.

If other cards have the same issue, then suspect the camera. Until then I'd think a faulty card or transfer is more likely.

Answered by MikeW

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Is it worth spending more to buy the Canon 500D vs the Canon 450D?

Question

I would like to get into photography but I'd like to gather more information about the topic first. I'm thinking about buying a starter D-SLR camera, and am leaning heavily towards a Canon (most of my friends are using Canon).

Budget is important for me, so do think is it worth it to spend more money to a buy the Canon 500D instead of the Canon 450D? I don't think I will use video feature...

Answer

The 450D is plenty camera for anyone taking up photography. I would spend the money saved on better lenses.

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Can I use a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 450D?

Question

My wife has a Canon EOS 450D and, after following a few threads and questions and answers, a Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens seems to be popular for insect photography. I am considering buying one for her birthday, would it be a good buy or a good bye. To add to my question do Canon provide better lenses for insect photography?

Answer

The 450D can take EF and EF-S lenses, so the 100mm f/2.8 macro will work on it. I would, by the way, recommend the IS version of it, though it is substantially more expensive. Macro shooting has very little tolerance for shake, so without IS, it can be harder to do.

As for the lens, it's top notch, I've seen some stunning shots from it. However, if you want a little more working distance, especially for insect shots, the 180mm f/3.5 may be a good one to look at as well. Nevertheless, the 100mm is excellent. Here's a review from Photozone, it's highly recommended.

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Can you use the built-in flash in a Canon EOS 450D with a hot shoe GPS geo-tagger?

Question

As far as I can see, the answer is no, the flash cannot open if anything, is plugged on the hot shoe of a Canon EOS 450D:

Can anyone confirm that I wouldn't be able to use something like the Jobo photoGPS and the flash at the same time?

Answer

There is a sensor in the hotshoe to detect a flashgun; this inhibits the pop-up flash from coming up (or even firing, even if you trick it). You might be able to chip off the relevant part of the slide so the camera doesn't detect the hotshoe flash, but I wouldn't personally recommend it.

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How do I take automatically bracketed exposures with the Canon XSi?

Question

I'm trying to help someone with a Canon XSi. I'm not used to the Canons that use menus (rather than buttons on the body).

Does anyone know how to set up the Canon XSi to take a bracketed exposure of 3 photos? -1, 0, and +1?

Answer

The Canon 450D/XSi has the ability to automatically bracket exposures +/- 3.0 EV, in 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments. To get to the AEB menu you have to have another thing setup correctly. It is displayed only in the P, TV, Av, M or A-DEP modes, not in any of the 'Basic Zone' modes (such as full Auto or the Scene modes). Once you have that setup, hit the Menu button on the back and scroll over right to the second option in the menu, and you will see the first option is "AEB". Select that and you can expand the selection using the right and left arrows up to a full +/- 3 depending on what you would like. In your particular case you would expand it to -1,0,and +1 to get the desired effect you asked for.

At this point when you start shooting images it will take a series of three images for the bracketing. It is usually a benefit to put the camera into a continuous shooting mode for faster shots at this point, but that is a preference.

The website dpreview does have images of the menu if you would like a visual of that screen here.

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