# Cannon 5D Mkll settings



## Fragile (Apr 27, 2012)

Hi All, just found this site and its what i was hoping for.  I have a Cannon 5D MKll camera and I have a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS lens and a 24-70 lens.  I am reading a lot about ideal settings to play with for this but was hoping that some one can tell me a couple of good setting for outdoors that i can preset and use when I cannot get my settings rights.  Other than normal family outing type photos i will be trying to take images of dirt bike riding.

Can any one give me some guidance?  Love to hear some ideas 

Regards


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## jakontil (Apr 27, 2012)

Use AV mode, set ISO within range 100-400 depending on the lights... Play around with your aperture... Depending on the objects )

Have fun


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## gsgary (Apr 27, 2012)

Sorry cant help you because there is no such thing as ideal setting every situation is different


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## Fragile (Apr 27, 2012)

gsgary said:


> Sorry cant help you because there is no such thing as ideal setting every situation is different



Ok Sorry, I should have said, can anyone tell me what they use that produces decent pictures.  I really have no idea what I am doing, reading a lot and i am hoping to do a course to learn more, but I am cannot do that till Mid June as I a traveling to US next month for a holiday, I didnt want to leave my camera on auto all the time.

I tried some different settings on the weekend, on TV mode looking at water I set the ISO at 800 as and the shutter speed at 0"6 the pic was awfull.  

I tried the ISO at 400 - 800 and F18 then F11 ( Below)not bad but needs work, I know that most of you have way more experiance than me and that is why i am asking the question.  I am not after professional photo's, just one that any beginner would be proud off :er:


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## gsgary (Apr 27, 2012)

Still cant help there are so many different settings you can use to get the same exposure but with differing results photography is not something you pick up in 5 minutes like most think on here


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## Fragile (Apr 27, 2012)

gsgary said:


> Still cant help there are so many different settings you can use to get the same exposure but with differing results photography is not something you pick up in 5 minutes like most think on here



gsgary please stop replying with useless and negative responses.. not very welcoming to a newby


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## gsgary (Apr 27, 2012)

When you learn about photography you will understand what i have written if you know so little about photography leave it on auto until you have a clue what you are doing
Because you have not got begginer gear


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## Fragile (Apr 27, 2012)

Pffft!


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## gsgary (Apr 27, 2012)

Your going to get loads of help on with your attitude


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## Dao (Apr 27, 2012)

Fragile, Gary is right.  There is no such thing as ideal settings.  The perfect setting for a photo is based on what the photographer want the photo looks like and the condition of the environment.  In this second, it need this settings, but a minute later, the setting may need to change for the same shot if environment change.  (i.e. Sun comes out from the cloud)


You are basically asking, I have a state of the art stove and cooking set, can anyone tell me how to prepare a perfect dinner?


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## Dao (Apr 27, 2012)

The first thing you need to do to find a perfecting setting is learn what shutter speed, aperture and ISO are and their relationship.  Learn the effects when using  different shutter speed settings, aperture and ISO.

There are a lot more to learn, you may want to pick up some books or check out some online videos.


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## Mach0 (Apr 27, 2012)

Unfortunately, Fragile, Gary is right. There's too many variables to tell you what settings to use. None of us know what the lighting conditions are, the lenses you are using, etc. It will take some trial and error. My suggestion to you is to try to learn how to read a histogram and learn composition. Reason being, you can see whether your subjects are properly exposed. You will need a fairly quick shutter speed to freeze action. Your aperture will also play a role in nailing focus but you will have to figure out how to calculate your DOF in relation to aperture, subject distance, and focal length. Once you get those in line, you can see if your subject is properly exposed. If not, time for an increase in iso or use flash( if permitted.) All of this can change from moments to the next and is dependent on the desired outcome. The only way to get it right is to practice and study. Practice so you can see what you are doing wrong. Study to see how to improve. Practice more to apply what you learned on how to improve. Good luck !


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## Mach0 (Apr 27, 2012)

Lol Dao, we pretty much said the same thing.


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## shmne (Apr 27, 2012)

Don't listen to these guys, everyone knows the best setting is - up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. 

That should give you about 30 lives and get you pretty far.


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## Dao (Apr 27, 2012)

Mach0 said:


> Lol Dao, we pretty much said the same thing.



Because we both tell OP the truth.  

OP, if you really want to learn,  a book called Understanding Exposure maybe a good start.

Take a look at the Tutorial Thread (sticky thread in the beginner forum here) and see if you can find some more materials to read.


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## Overread (Apr 27, 2012)

Two books:

Start with: The Digital Photography Book 1 by Scot Kelby

Then once you've read that and tried the content:

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.



Your question is understandable considering your experience, however the replies you have gotten are correct. We can't give you ideal settings, there aren't any. There are some ideal balances of settings that you can use - the Scot Kelby book gives you some pointers on these for different situations and whilst its not a comprehensive introduction to exposure it does give you some ground "rules" or "guidelines" for different situations. Further it starts to teach you what your "primary" setting might be for different situations based upon what effect you want.
The Byran Peterson book goes much further (and is still aimed at beginners and if you want you can certainly start with that book and skip the Kelby one which you should grow out of pretty fast) into outlining the balance between the three primary settings to teach you not only how to best balance them; how their effects vary for different shots but also how to judge what a "correct exposure" really is.


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## Fragile (Apr 27, 2012)

Thank you,I will buy the books today. I appreciate your responses   :thumbup:


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## gsgary (Apr 27, 2012)

Forget the Bryan Paterson book it's crap


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## Overread (Apr 27, 2012)

gsgary said:


> Forget the Bryan Paterson book it's crap



But its far more detailed than Scots book and is still good enough for entry level photographers to learn their basics from. Asides, thus far the only real compliant I'm aware of is that he refers to exposure value as exposure. And to be quite honest pretty much all of us do that on a daily basis here (and asides if you know better you wouldn't be reading the beginners book).


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## gsgary (Apr 27, 2012)

There you go your having a go at me again    most people that read Bryan Patersons book come back with lots of question's that should have been answered by the book


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## Overread (Apr 27, 2012)

Hmm that might be the book or it might be that they read the parts wrong - sometimes people have to hear the same information in a different context of just differently worded for it to sink in. Other times (esp beginners) people can gloss over details they think they know or that they think are not important and miss out the key part that is - meaning that parts which come later on confuse them because they've skipped a step.


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## Dao (Apr 27, 2012)

gsgary said:


> There you go your having a go at me again    most people that read Bryan Patersons book come back with lots of question's that should have been answered by the book



Those people who come back and ask those question may end up learn quicker.


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## Derrel (Apr 27, 2012)

You MIGHT want to try one of the best strategies. Set image contrast to LOW. Set Image sharpening to the second-from-the-highest level. Set the camera to deliver a relatively FLAT, almost dull and un-inspiring image as seen on the LCD screen when in the field or studio. THEN, bring the CR2 files into your developing module (ACR, Lightroom, or Canon's DPP software) and "goose" the images so that they look the right way.

Australia, eh, mate? Land of the big ozone hole, sunburn, SPF 50 just for going to the post box to get the mail, and blinding,intense, UV filled sunlight...

Canon's own DPP software has some interesting "looks" at its "Faithful" setting...I'm not sure why they call it that...it looks lovely, but is not all that "faithful" to the real world.

The problem that Canon has had for many years, according to me, and to the folks who just reviewed the new Canon's imager at dPreview's testing department, is that 5D-III's highlight tonal values tend to compress together, and get "clipped" a bit too early...so the LAST thing you want to do is to set the Tone Curve or Contrast to "higher than low" when shooting in bright conditions with a Canon (or, for that matter,m other cameras too). SHoot to capture a well-exposed but "flat, low-contrast" almost BORING CR2 file whehn reviewing on the LCD.....then later at home, goose 'em up good!

The in-camera JPEG file that is INSIDE the CR2 is what the camera's histogram is generated from; setting the contrast/tone curve/color saturation levels to HIGH values causes the histo to go bonkers wayyyy too early,and can lead to bad exposures.


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## Fragile (Apr 28, 2012)

I bought the Scott Kelby Book, I could not find the other.  The book is brilliant for me, I enjoying reading it and it has certainly helped me understand a lot of what was posted here. 

On another note: Derrel you forgot all the poisonous snakes and spiders, beaches that go for 80 miles or more and of course there is Ayers Rock (Uluru) ..:thumbup: A great place to try out the tips I am getting on this site....Cheers to all


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## Alex_B (Apr 28, 2012)

gsgary said:


> There you go your having a go at me again    most people that read Bryan Patersons book come back with lots of question's that should have been answered by the book


The book does not answer many questions, but it leaves the (beginner) reader with many questions ... true! But I consider this a good thing as it can be an inspiration for people to experiment.


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## Alex_B (Apr 28, 2012)

As for the original question: each possible setting is a perfect setting for at least one particular shooting situation, and also depends on what you want to achieve in that situation.


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