How to Use the Rear LCD Screen on a Canon Rebel Camera

[WendyMay]

What I share in this post isn’t only valid for the T7i (800D), it’s also just as valid for the T3i, T4i, T5i, T6i and I’m sure the yet to be released T8i. The flip-out screens all work pretty much the same way with these cameras. As a matter of fact, if your camera, no matter the brand, comes with a flip-out screen, it most likely works this way. It’s all very simple.

One of the most attractive attributes of having what Canon refers to as an LCD monitor is the flexibility it offers. I’ve used this feature to lower my camera way down to the ground and then point it upward toward the sky. Since I’m not able to get my face down that close to the ground, having the ability to flip the rear screen out to see what I’m photographing helped out a lot. The best part is, when the monitor is flipped out, all of the same options are able to be set on the camera, just as if the screen was in its fixed home position.

When you purchase your brand new Canon Rebel camera, the screen will be fixed in its home position. The rear screen will be hidden and pointing toward the camera body. To use the rear screen, you’ll need to insert your finger or fingernail into the small notch on the screen’s right side and pull it out. You’ll be able to swing the screen out approximately 175°. Once the screen is flipped out partially, you’ll also be able to twist it 180°. When using the camera at strange angles, you’ll likely want to set the screen so it’s facing you. When you’re using the camera when it’s set to more traditional angles, you can flip the screen back into its home position, but so the screen is facing outward, as opposed to the inward position in which you originally found it.

Here are a few tips to follow when using the LCD monitor that comes with your Canon Rebel camera:

1. Be careful when swinging the monitor outward and twisting it. If it becomes stuck, don’t force it or you may break it.

2. Remember that when you’ve got a cable, such as a USB, attached to the side of the camera, you won’t be able to twist the screen around as much as you normally would be able to. This type of situation is common when you’ve got the camera set up with a larger monitor or computer or when you’re transferring your photos to your computer via USB.

3. When you’re storing your camera, turn the monitor so it’s facing in toward the camera body. It will be shielded this way and won’t get scratched up on your side or in your camera bag.

4. If you’re taking photos or videos of yourself, you can flip the screen outward so it’s facing the front of the camera. This way, you’ll be looking at a mirror image of yourself, which will make things so much easier.

 

[WendyMay]

How to Use the Touch Screen on Your Canon Rebel Camera​

When teaching folks how to use their cameras, I tend to talk a lot about pressing this button or pressing that one. What I haven’t discussed yet is how to use the touch screen that the Canon T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i, T6i, T7i, and T8i comes equipped with. By touching or dragging the screen, you can save tons of time taking photos and changing settings.

Back in the post where I discussed how to access the Quick Control screen, I indicated that in order to access it, you needed to press the Q button. While that was certainly true, you just as easily could have touched the Q button on the LCD monitor on the back of the camera. If you simply touch the screen with the tip of your finger, you can reach the same set of controls. So basically, there are multiple methods for doing the same thing. You can use your finger to access different parts of the menu area as well. To enter the menu area, you’ll still need to press the Menu button, but once there, you can touch and drag your finger to navigate the various sections. In order to select something, touch the screen once with your finger. To navigate to different areas, you may press and drag your finger. This will take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it very simple.

The Canon T7i offers lots of options to take advantage of by touching the rear screen. Here’s a list of them:

– After entering the menu area, you’ll gain the ability to set controls.
– You can set all the Quick Control functions.
– You can also set various functions after pressing their associated buttons on the rear of the camera.
– If you’re shooting in Live View, you can set the auto focus and shutter functions.
– If you’re shooting videos, you can set the AF point selection.
– You can also set various functions while in Live View photography and movie mode.
– When accessing playback options, you can use your finger to navigate.

If you’d like to hear an audible beep when you touch something on the rear monitor, you’ll need to set that option in the menu area. You can turn this option off as well.

Some items, such as options that use scales, will require that you drag your finger to set them properly. As I mentioned above, all you need to do in order to accomplish this is to touch your finger to the screen, keep it there, and then lightly pull it in the direction in which you’d like to make your change.

 

[WendyMay]

How to Switch the LCD Monitor Screen on the Canon Rebel T7i​

This post isn’t only valid for the Canon T7i, it’s also valid for the T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i, and T6i.

What I’d like to cover today has to do with how to switch between screens on the back of this Canon Rebel camera. There are a few of these screens and it’s actually very simple to switch between each one of them to view different information.

When you first turn on your T7i, you’ll see the Quick Control screen. I’ve already discussed this screen in previous posts. If you’d like to turn the entire display off so the screen is blank, all you need to do is press the DISP (Display) button on the top right of the camera. If your camera’s rear LCD screen is off or blank, simply press the DISP button again. It will turn back on. You can also turn the screen off by pressing and holding the shutter button half way down. When you let go of the button, the screen will come back on and return to its original state.

If you’d like to move between the Electronic Level and the Quick Control screens, you’ll need to press the INFO button on the upper left portion of the rear of the camera. Continue pressing that button to toggle between those two screens.

To toggle between the menu functions area and the Quick Control screens, press the MENU button on the rear of the camera. Even when you’re inside of the menu area making changes to settings, you can press the MENU button multiple times to return to the Quick Control screen. If you’re deep inside the menu area and you press the MENU button once, you’ll go back a step. To go back multiple steps, press the button multiple times.

If you’d like to review captured images, press what looks like a PLAY button on the lower right portion of the rear of the camera. If you’d like to return to the Quick Control screen, press that same button again.

To turn the rear screen on and off, press the MENU button and then navigate to the LCD Off/On BTN option and make your setting there.

 

[WendyMay]

How to Set the Screen Display Level on the Canon Rebel T7i​

The Canon T7i comes with a few different options that have to do with how you view the LCD screen on the back of the camera. If you’re a total beginner, you’ll have the option of being guided through the process of using your camera and if you’re a more experienced user and are someone who already knows how to use your camera, then you’ll have the option of using much more straightforward screen options. Each screen the Canon T7i offers is beneficial in its own way, but by taking advantage of the guided options, a new photographer can learn quite a bit.

If you turn your camera on and then press the Menu button in its rear upper left corner, you’ll see the menu area. Use the left and right arrow buttons in the back of the camera to scroll side to side. When you reach the light blue section that’s identified by the Display Level text, you’ve made it. Next, use the up and down buttons on the rear of the camera to scroll through the different options. There are four of them; Shooting Screen, Menu Display, Mode Guide, and Feature Guide. If you scroll to each one and then press the Set button, you’ll see the various options offered. I’ll list the available options below.

Shooting Screen: Guided, Standard
Menu Display: Guided, Standard
Mode Guide: Enable, Disable
Feature Guide: Enable, Disable

To see what’s available for each option, go ahead and choose it and then press the Set button again. Then, go out and use your camera to learn what each screen has to offer. As you’ll come to discover, the Guided modes are much more about instructing and teaching the user while the Standard modes are more about quick and efficient navigation of the camera’s systems. As you become more experienced with your camera, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself becoming annoyed at the Guided screens and you’ll likely turn them off.

It’s also important to note that some of the menu and Guided screens vary depending on what shooting mode you’re in. For instance, if you’ve got your camera set to Aperture Priority mode, you’ll see one screen for a particular area. If you’re set up in one of the creative modes, you’ll see another.

Again, as opposed to going through every single nuance of the varied screens in this post, I encourage you to try them out for yourself. They’re easy enough to find and set in the menu system and they’ll only take a few moments to become familiar with.

 

[WendyMay]

How to Choose a Menu Option with Guided Display on the Canon T7i​

While it’s simple enough for someone who’s experienced with the Canon T7i to browse and select a menu option, it may not be very straightforward for someone who’s never used the camera. Because of this, I’ll cover the entire process here. Not that’s it’s long and in depth of anything.

I’ve already covered how to swap your camera’s menu options between the Guided display and the Standard display, so I won’t go over that again. What I’ll start off with is after you press the Menu button on the back of the camera. I’m assuming you’ve already got your display set to the Guided option.

Okay, you’ve pressed the Menu button. You should now see four different sections in the upper portion of the LCD monitor. They are, from left to right, Shooting Settings, Playback Settings, Function Settings, and Display Level Settings. To navigate from one to the next, use the left and right cross key buttons found on the rear of the camera.

Once you land on your desired section, press the Set button on the rear of the camera to enter the section. If you ever want to go back a step or up a level, all you need to do is press the Menu button up top again.

Once you’re in the section, you’ll likely see a few additional sub-sections. To navigate those, press the left and right cross keys again. To enter an area you see in one of the sub-sections, use the up and down cross keys to navigate to that area and once it’s highlighted, press the Set button. Then, once you’re inside of that area, use the cross keys and the Set button again to achieve the desired results. Basically, all of the operations in the Menu area can be dealt with by using the Menu, cross keys, and the Set button.

To exit the menu area, either press the Menu button a few times until you’ve returned to shooting mode or just press the shutter button down half way.

As I’ve stated previously, you’ll likely enjoy using the Guided version of the menu area when you’re a beginner, but once you become more experienced, you’ll probably want to switch over to the Standard view.

 

[WendyMay]

Using the Canon Rebel Camera Standard Menu Display​

Using the Standard menu display on the Canon Rebel T7i is essentially identical to the process of navigating the Guided menu display. The same function buttons are pressed and similar actions are required.

To get into the menu area, turn your camera on and then press the Menu button in its rear upper left corner. Once you’re in the menu area, you’ll see five different section areas. They are Shoot, Play, Set Up, Display Level, and My Menu. Each of these sections contains sub-sections. To navigate between the top level and sub-level sections, use the left and right cross keys that are located on the rear of the camera. As a shortcut, you may press the camera’s Q button to jump between the top level sections. This is a sweet little time saver.

When you land on the section you’re interested in, use the up and down cross keys to navigate to the sub-section. Then, to enter that area, press the Set button. Once inside, use the cross keys again to choose the option you want to set the camera to and then press the Set button again to accept the change. When you’re finished and you’d like to go back up a level in the menu area, you can press the Menu button. To exit completely, either press the Menu button repeatedly until you return to shooting mode or you can simply half-press the shutter button.

 

[WendyMay]

Can I Select Dimmed Menu Items on the Canon Rebel?​

As you browse around the menu area in the Canon Rebel T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i, T6i, T7i, and T8i, you’ll notice that some options are dimmed out and can’t be selected. While the dimmed options totally depend on which mode you’ve got your camera set to, there’s likely to be at least a few for every mode. Sometimes, these dimmed options are frustrating because the option may be something you’d very much like to change. Fear not though because the reason for the unavailable option can be discovered.

Most of the time, options in the T7i aren’t available when there’s another option overriding it. Other times, an action needs to be completed first before the adjustable option become live. For instance, I just flipped my T7i on and navigated to the My Menu area. I noticed that the Add My Menu Tab option was live, but the remaining three were dimmed out. When I navigate down to one of the dimmed options and push the Set button, an explanation appears. In my case, I clicked on the Delete All My Menu Tabs option and the message Not Available. No Tabs Have Been Added. appeared.

When another option is overriding the option you’re interested in changing and you press the Set button to select the option, you’ll be presented with a reason the option is dimmed. For instance, if you navigate to the dimmed out Long Exposure Noise Reduction option and select it, you may be presented with a message that says, Not Available Because of the Associated Function’s Setting. Multi Shot Noise Reduction. So basically, if you wanted to change the setting of the first option, you’d first need to change the setting of the second option.

This feature of the Canon T7i is very straightforward. If an option is dimmed, you most likely need to cancel the overriding function’s setting in order to make the option settable.

NOTE: Not all dimmed options will give you an explanation for being dimmed. Also, if you use the Clear All Camera Settings menu option, you can clear your camera’s settings and make the once dimmed options available again, if overriding settings were the cause of them being dimmed.

 

[WendyMay]

How to Set the Touch Control Response for the Canon T7i (800D)​

The Canon Rebel T7i’s touch screen is one of the coolest things going. I remember back when I had no touch control on my T2i and T3i. With touch being introduced in the later models, such as the T6i and the T7i, life has been good. I can use my finger to swipe, drag, or touch. It’s so much easier to review photos and change settings with touch control, as long as you get used to it a bit. In the beginning, things move slowly.

Anyway, I wanted to make you aware of some setting changes you can make when it comes to the touch control response. There are a few different options available to us that can make the touch response more sensitive, the same, or even unavailable.

Okay, to adjust the touch response control, turn your camera on and press the Menu button on the back of the camera. Then, use the cross keys or your finger to navigate to the Set Up 3 menu. This is the third yellow screen indicated by the wrench. Then, use the cross keys or your finger again to navigate to the Touch Control option. Press the Set button to enter the area.

Inside, you’ll find three options. They are:

Standard: This is on by default. It’s the standard setting.
Sensitive: This will make the screen more sensitive to your touch.
Disable: This turns the touch screen off.

The Disable option is pretty self-explanatory. The Standard option is as well. If you’re not happy with the default setting, go ahead and navigate to the Sensitive option and then press the Set button to activate it. See how it works out for you. If you like it, keep it set and then press the shutter button half way to exit the menu area.

Here are a few notes for you when it comes to touch screen on this camera.

– The screen isn’t pressure sensitive, so don’t push on it, bang it, or use sharp objects in an attempt to get a response from it.
– If your fingers are wet, don’t use the touch control system. Your results won’t be as you think they’ll be.
– If your fingers are wet and you do decide to use your touch screen and you get unexpected results, dry your hands and be sure to turn the camera off before drying the screen. If you don’t turn the camera off, you may change a bunch of settings in the process of drying.
– If you place a protective screen over the LCD monitor, your touch may become less sensitive to the camera.
– If you’ve got the camera set to Sensitive touch and you touch the screen very quickly, you may experience some lag.