Front of The Camera

On the front of the camera, the controls that you'll use most often are the Lens Release button and the Depth-of-Field Previem button (show in Figure 1.4). And, of course, you'll use the lens mount each time you change lenses.

From bottom left to top right, here is a look at the front of the camera:

-Red-eye Reduction/Self-timer lamp. When you have Red-eye Reduction turned on, this lamp lights to help reduce the size of the subject's, which minimizes the appearance of red-eye in the final images.

-Shutter button. Press this button halfway down to focus on the subject, and then press it completely to make the picture. You'll learn more about focusing and exposure . In addition, when you half-press the shutter button, the camera measure, or "meters," the light and calculates the aperture and the shutter speed based on the current ISO needed to make a well-exposed picture.

-Remote control sensor. This sensor works with the accessory Remote Controller RC-6 that can fire the camera's shutter from up to 16.4 feet (5meters) from the camera. The remote includes the option for immediate or a 2-second delay before shutter firing.

-Grip/battery compartment. This is the molded area where your hand grips the camera, and it serves as the battery compartment as well.

-Reflex mirror. This mirror provides a view of the scene when you're composing the images in the viewfinder, and when you press the shutter button completely, it flips up and out of the optical path to expose the image sensor to make the picture. In Live View and Movie shooting, the mirror also flips up to give you a live view of the scene.

-Lens contacts. These contacts provides communication between the lens and the camera.

-Depth-of-Field Preview button. Press this button to stop down, or adjust, the lens diaphragm to the current aperture (f-stop) so that you can preview the depth of field in the viewfinder. The large the area of darkness in the viewfinder, the more extensive the depth of field will be. You can also use this button when shooting in Live View. While you press the Depth-of-Field Preview button, you can't change the aperture.

Note : At the len's maximum aperture, the Depth-of-Field Preview button does not show a change because the camera's diaphragm is fully open. The maximum aperture is the widest lens opening for the lens you're using and it varies by lens.

-Lens Release button. Press this button to release the lens mount, and then turn the lens to remove it.

-Flash button. In P, Tv, Av, M, and A-DEP shooting modes, press this button to pop up and use the built-in flash. In some Basic Zone shooting modes, such as Full Auto and Portrait, the flash fire automatically.

-Built-in microphone. The built-in monaural microphone record sound when you're shooting movies.

-EF an EF-S lens mount index markers. The lens mount has a white and a red mark for two types of lennses. The white mark on the lens mount is for Canon EF-S lenses that have a white mark on the lens barrel. EF-S lenses are designed for a smaller sensor size of the T3i/600D. The red mark on the lens mount is to Canon EF lenses. EF lenses can be used on any Canon Eos camera. Just line up the white or red mark on the lens barrel with the same color mark on the lens mount, and then turn the lens to the right to attach it