First Time out shooting with my 7D

[liam1986ukuk]

im off out to the woods at the weekend, to try and get my head around using my Canon 7D, im wondering what settings to have the camera on to start with? i assume it will be dull and overcast, or maybe sunny and bright, i want to take some close shots of trees and wide angle shots of the general landscape. ill have the following lens to use.. 10-22mm and 17-55mm

 

[lord]

Use AV and experiment, no one can tell you what settings to use as its entirely dependant on the available light, conditions and what you want to achieve!

 

[DizMatt]

RAW too if you want to get the most out of it, never know what white balance will be best for the conditions

are you taking a tripod?

 

[Brian Sayle]

I would take a tripod if your going into the woods, they are darker once you get into the trees...etc

Also without knowing what camera you have just upgraded from to get the 7D (i went from a 400D to a 7D a while back now) dont to be scared to push up the ISO up a bit if you have to, that camera can deal with it pretty well. For example my 400D went up to 1600 max but anything past ISO400 i didnt like, the 7D can go well past that and if you have exposed it well, histogram to the right, you will only get minimal noise

 

[tdodd]

A couple from earlier this week with the 7D at 1600 and 800 ISO respectively. Both cropped....

And one in better light, but still at 800 ISO....

Hopefully with f/2.8 glass you'll be able to scrape something out of the woodwork. Mind you, I'm not sure how you'll fare at 55mm for subjects such as these.


As others have said, settings are a very personal thing. There is your creative input, which will steer shutter speeds and apertures, as well as your preferred way of working. The light and subject matter will influence all those things, so nobody can really tell you how to set the camera up.


Whatever you do, be sure to have fun doing it.