Just Want to Shoot?

The Mode Dial

The top dial controls the camera's autopilot level. Most people never leave the left half.

💡 Best first step into manual: Use Av mode. Set f/4 or f/5.6 and let the camera figure out the rest. You get creative control over depth of field without worrying about exposure.

The Exposure Triangle

Every photo is a balance of three things. Understanding all three is what separates snapshots from deliberate photos.

◎ Aperture (f-stop)

Controls how much light enters the lens and how blurry the background is.

The unintuitive rule: smaller number = bigger hole = more blur + more light.

f/1.8 → huge opening     f/16 → tiny pinhole

f-stop Background Light Use for f/1.8–2.8 Very blurry ⬤⬤⬤ Lots Portraits, low light f/4–5.6 Moderate ⬤⬤ Some Everyday, kit lens f/8–11 Sharp throughout ⬤ Less Products, documentation f/16–22 Everything sharp Minimal Macro stacking ⚠ Kit lens (18–55mm) only opens to f/3.5 at wide and f/5.6 zoomed. For serious background blur you need a prime lens — grab the 50mm f/1.8 from the lens bag.

f-stop animation showing aperture blades opening and closing Aperture blades physically opening and closing Side-by-side comparison of shallow vs deep depth of field Same scene · f/1.8 vs f/11

⏱ Shutter Speed

Controls how long the sensor is exposed. Faster freezes motion; slower blurs it.

Speed Effect Notes 1/1000 s+ Freezes fast motion Machinery, sparks, sport 1/250–500 s Freezes people Safe everyday speed 1/60–125 s May show slight blur Handheld safe zone (IS lens) 1/30 s and slower Motion blur / streaks Tripod required Bulb (B) Open as long as held Light trails, astrophotography ⚠ Flash sync limit is 1/200 s — shoot faster with flash and you get a black band across the frame.

Grid of photos showing same scene at different shutter speeds 1/1000 s → 1 s: same scene, same light Animated gif showing motion blur difference at different shutter speeds Real-world motion blur difference

☉ ISO

ISO makes the sensor more sensitive to light — but higher sensitivity = more grain (digital noise). Use the lowest ISO that gives a correct exposure.

Field of View & Crop Factor

The 750D's APS-C sensor is smaller than a full-frame (35mm film) sensor. The practical effect: every lens acts 1.6× more zoomed in than it would on full-frame. This is called the crop factor.

Autofocus

AF Modes

Picking an AF Point

By default the camera uses all 19 points and picks for you. For precision:

1. Press the ▦ AF point button (top-right of viewfinder)

2. Use the d-pad or tap the screen to move the active point

3. Half-press shutter to lock, then recompose if needed

💡 Macro / copy stand: Flip the lens switch to MF. Use Live View + the magnifier button (🔍) to zoom 5× or 10× — lets you nail focus manually to the pixel.

☀ White Balance

Tells the camera what counts as true white. Wrong setting → blue or orange colour cast everywhere.

Under the makerspace fluorescent strips: use White Fluorescent — or shoot RAW and correct in post.

Makerspace Tips

Product & Object Documentation

• Av mode · f/8–f/11 — maximum sharpness front to back

• ISO 100–400 under studio lamps; bump up only if needed

• Flip the screen out for overhead copy-stand shots

• White balance: Custom or shoot RAW for most accurate colour

Close-up & Macro

• Kit lens works down to ~25 cm · use extension tubes (lens bag) for tighter work

• Flip lens to MF + use Live View magnifier for hair-precise focus

• f/8–f/16 recommended — depth of field gets very thin at close range

EinScan 3D Scanning Reference Photos

• Shoot the object before placing on the turntable — useful colour/texture reference

• Enable Anti-flicker: MENU → 📷 → Anti-flicker shooting — helps under strip lights

Workshop Events & Documentation

• AI Focus · ISO Auto (cap 3200) · Av f/4–f/5.6

• Articulating screen is great for floor-level or overhead angles

• Canon Camera Connect app + Wi-Fi = phone as wireless shutter remote

Useful Lens Options

Known Quirks

• Astrophotography banding: Horizontal stripes appear under aggressive post-processing — an inherent limitation of the Hybrid CMOS AF III phase-detect pixels. Not a defect.

• Dark circle issue (early units): Canon repaired a small batch with circular dark patterns under certain conditions. Check serial number if shooting small apertures in bright light.

Sensor type

APS-C CMOS · 22.3 × 14.9 mm

Effective pixels

24.2 MP · 6000 × 4000 px · 3.71 µm pixel pitch

Crop factor

1.6× (multiply any lens FL by 1.6 to get effective angle)

Image processor

DIGIC 6 · 14-bit RAW processing

Metering

63-zone iFCL · 7560-px RGB+IR sensor

Type

Electronic focal-plane

Speed range

1/4000 s — 30 s · Bulb

Flash sync

X-sync at 1/200 s

Continuous shooting

5.0 fps · 180 JPEG or 7 RAW frames

Points

19 cross-type · centre double cross-type at f/2.8

Live View AF

FlexiZone-Multi/Single · Face Detection · Movie Servo

Full HD

1920 × 1080 @ 24p / 25p / 30p

HD

1280 × 720 @ 50p / 60p

Codec

H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC · .MOV container

Screen

3.0" vari-angle Clear View II touchscreen · 1,040,000 dots

Viewfinder

Optical pentamirror · 95% coverage · 0.82× magnification

Battery

LP-E17 Li-Ion · 1040 mAh · ~440 shots (CIPA)

Storage

SD / SDHC / SDXC (UHS-I)

Connectivity

Wi-Fi · NFC · 3.5 mm mic · Mini-HDMI · USB

Lens mount

Canon EF / EF-S

Dimensions

132 × 101 × 78 mm · 510 g body only