Canon T3i camera settings...

[johnh2005]

I was wondering if any of the experienced camera users out there that own a T3i if could please post your full camera settings? I have left mine at default. I had played around with some of them and wound up with some very bad photos (worse than my usual) and wound up resetting them back to default.

I am not talking about manual mode settings for the actual taking of photos. I mean the changes you have made in the "Menu"

If this is a bit obscure I can try to explain better. I know that not everyone should have the same settings. I am just trying to figure out what can make my experience "better."

 

[Vtec44]

Post the bad photos?

 

[johnh2005]

Post the bad photos?

heh I am not sure how that will help... But sure. Later on when I get a chance. Most of them are in the recycle bin so I will have to dig them out.

 

[enzodm]

You have to know what your are doing, and we too, to suggest something . Share your settings that did not succeed, and let's discuss why.
Actually, one bad default is the automatic focus point selection: set it to just the central point, so that you can focus in a specific point and if needed recompose. If you leave focus point selection to the camera, you do not know where it will be.
Other settings are or can be overridden if you shoot raw, so no need to worry much. On the other side, metering and autofocus settings have their importance, but you can find about them on the manual.

 

[Overread]

I mean the changes you have made in the "Menu"

Which "menu" are you referring to as there are quite a few
A lot of this also depends if you are shooting in RAW or JPEG mode as some settings have no effect on RAW photos (or only affect them so much as to affect the histogram and view on the back of the camera and default editing settings when starting RAW processing with some RAW processor software options).

I agree that we need an idea of what settings you used in the shots that failed and which menus you're using - examples and ideas of what you're doing and trying to do is key to this.

 

[johnh2005]

Well, what I was specifically asking about was things that did not have so much to do with the taking pictures portion. However, at some point in time I think I somehow screwed up my exposure compensation. Even though the in camera meter was telling me dead center all of my shots were coming out slightly blown and overexposed. I am not sure how I even did that as the only setting I see is for bracketing. Where it sets it +1/-1 for a three shot exposure.

Quality, this I leave on RAW+L most of the time. Unless I know I am going to want more than three rapid fire shots or it is for something for work like taking shots of streets and such that do not need to be excessively PP'ed.

Peripheral illumination correction. I have no idea what this one does... I left it enabled. It seems to adjust something based on the lens that you are using...

One thing I do have a direct question about is the Auto Lighting Optimizer. What is that for? It has a OFF, Low, Standard, Strong. Maybe this is what I screwed up that caused my shots to over exposed.

Metering Mode I have left alone most of the time. I know this one is used to determine where and how you want the camera to meter the scene for you. I leave mine in Evaluative. If I know I need to meter on a certain spot to get that area the way I want it I zoom in and set the exposure based on that.

Next is color space. It is currently set in sRBG. There is also Adobe RGB. What is the difference between these two? Why would a person change from the default sRGB to Adobe RGB?

Aspect ratio: This one I am thinking is just a personal preference depending on the media you are planning on using. Yes?

Metering Timer. I have not a freaking clue on this one. Mine is set at 16 sec. I am assuming that means 16 seconds. Why would someone want to change this? What does it do?

Bass Boost? lol whut? I guess for video?

Control Over HDMI? Not a clue.

Select Folder? I am guessing this is to create user folders for maybe separation of different shots. Like, wedding, reception, drunk people to make fun of after the wedding.

That is basically it. Just wondering what if anything people change from the default, that does not have to do with the photo being taken at the time.

 

[Overread]

Peripheral illumination correction - from what I gather this is about correcting lighting in the edges of shots and is aimed at reducing slight vignetting based on lens profiles. Its a JPEG auto edit (and thus has no effect on RAW shots) however it does not gell well with flash and thus when flash is used can sometimes lead to overly bright edges to photos
Mine is set to off.

Auto Lighting thing - another auto editing feature, I did once remember what it was for, but I've twitched it off and forgotten; but again its aimed at streamlining a JPEG workflow.

Metering mode - this is way beyond a short thread to answer and is really a whole topic in itself. Read the manual and then read around online with regard to this topic, its well covered in books and sites.

Colour Space - if you don't know the difference leave it in sRGB as its the colourspace of the internet and most working labs these days (only top labs are using Adobe RGB). This has the potential to be a very tricky area, not impossible, but it can take time to learn this properly and its most strongly linked to printing and strong editing.

Aspect Ratio - Another jpeg auto editing feature, and yes something you can easily leave well alone until you've got the shot in editing.

Metering Timer - I've no idea I don't think I even have this in my 7D so I've no idea what this function does (read manual ).


Honestly I think you need to read and re-read the manual a few times; you might also want one of the guide books aimed at your camera (there are a few one the market for specific models, but I've never read them so I can't recommend).

 

[johnh2005]

Thank you so much Overread. I had originally thought some of these might make a difference as to how the camera performed (when not actually taking a picture) When I sat down yesterday and went through the menu one line at a time there was not much I did not understand. Now, it seems as if about the only thing I need to check into is the Metering Timer.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and all the effort you put into it.