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Part I: Getting Started
When the lens you have on your camera isn’t suited for your subject — say,
you have a wide angle lens on but you want to photograph a bird far away —
you can quickly change to a lens of a different focal length.
Removing a lens
When you want to use a different lens or store the camera body, you need to
remove the lens. Removing a lens and attaching another lens can be a bit of a
juggling act. To remove a lens from your camera:
1. Power off the camera.
Never change lenses with the power on because the charge of electricity
can turn your sensor into a dust magnet.
2. Press the lens-release button.
This button unlocks the lens from the camera.
3. Twist the lens counterclockwise until it stops. Then gently pull the
lens away from the body.
4. Attach another lens to the camera as soon as you can.
When you remove a lens, the inside of your camera is exposed to the
elements. Dust can adhere to the sensor.
Do not change lenses in a dusty environment because dust may inadvertently
blow into your camera. I also recommend pointing the camera body down
when changing lenses. Dust on the sensor shows up as little black specks on
your images, which is not a good thing.
Never store a camera without a lens or body cap attached because pollutants
may accidentally get into the camera, harming the delicate mechanical parts,
and possibly fouling the sensor.
Using image stabilization lenses
Many Canon and third-party lenses that fit your camera offer
image stabiliza-
tion
— a feature that enables you to shoot at a slower shutter speed than you
normally are able to use and still get a blur-free image. The actual number
of stops you can gain depends on how steady you are when handling the
camera.
Note:
Image stabilization stabilizes the camera for any motion you
transmit to the camera. If you photograph a fast moving object using image
stabilization, the subject may be blurred because of the slow shutter speed,
even though the camera is stable. To enable image stabilization
1. Locate the Stabilizer switch on the side of your lens.
On Canon lenses, you’ll find the switch on the left side of the lens when
the camera is pointed toward your subject (see Figure 1-13). If you’re
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