Canon EOS 750DAlso known as: Rebel T6i (Americas) · Kiss X8i (Japan)
📷 24.2 MP · APS-C CMOS · 1.6× Crop · 19-point AF · 5 fps · 1080p Video · Wi-Fi + NFC · Released Feb 2015
⚡ New here? Jump straight to The Mode Dial — it's all you need to get a photo. Come back to the rest when you're curious.
The Mode Dial
The dial on top controls how much the camera thinks for you.
Symbol
Name
What it does
Best for
A+
Scene Intelligent Auto
Camera decides everything — exposure, focus, flash
Total beginners, grab shots
CA
Creative Auto
Auto + you can nudge blur/brightness sliders
First step toward creative control
P
Program AE
Auto exposure, but you control ISO, flash, WB
General shooting when you know a little
Tv
Shutter Priority
You set shutter speed; camera sets aperture
Freezing or blurring motion
Av
Aperture Priority
You set f-stop; camera sets shutter speed
Portraits, product shots, depth of field control
M
Manual
You control everything
Studio, copy stand, full creative control
▶
Movie
Video recording
Video. Obviously.
💡 Recommended starting point: Av (Aperture Priority). You control the background blur; the camera handles the rest. Teaches you the most while keeping results usable.
△ The Exposure Triangle
Every photo is a balance of three settings. Change one and the others are affected.
◎ Aperture Controls light & blur
⏱ Shutter Speed Controls motion
☉ ISO Controls sensitivity
◎ Aperture (f-stop)
Written as f/1.8, f/5.6, f/16 etc. Counter-intuitive rule: smaller number = bigger hole = more light + blurrier background.
f-stop
Depth of field
Use for…
f/1.8–f/2.8
Very shallow — blurry BG
Portraits, low light
f/4–f/5.6
Moderate
General, kit lens range
f/8–f/11
Deep — most things sharp
Product shots, documentation
f/16–f/22
Very deep
Macro stacking, architecture
⚠ The kit lens (18–55mm) only opens to f/3.5 at wide and f/5.6 zoomed. For serious background blur, grab a prime lens (f/1.8) from the lens bag.
Aperture comparison — from wide open to closed down
Animated: how f-stop physically changes depth of field
⏱ Shutter Speed
Written as 1/500, 1/60, 2" etc. Faster = frozen motion. Slower = blur + shake.
Speed
Effect
Notes
1/1000+
Freezes fast motion
Moving machinery, sparks
1/250–1/500
Freezes people
Everyday use
1/60–1/125
Slight blur possible
Handheld safe zone (with IS lens)
1/30 and slower
Motion blur / light trails
Use a tripod — anything below 1/focal length = shake
Bulb (B)
Open as long as you hold
Star trails, long exposures
⚠ Flash sync maxes at 1/200 s. Faster than that with flash = black bar across image.
Shutter speed comparison across multiple exposures
Animated: shutter speed effect on a moving subject
☉ ISO
Higher ISO = brighter image + more digital noise (grain). Use the lowest ISO that gives a correct exposure.
ISO
Noise level
Use when…
100–400
✓ Clean
Outdoors, good light, studio with lamps
800–1600
Slight grain
Indoors, cloudy, dim makerspace conditions
3200–6400
Visible grain
Low light, candid, no other option
12800–H25600
Heavy grain, soft
Emergency only — noticeable quality hit
□ Crop Factor & Field of View
The 750D has an APS-C sensor (22.3 × 14.9 mm) — smaller than a full-frame 35mm sensor. The practical effect: every lens appears 1.6× more telephoto than it would on full-frame.
Lens
Effective FL on 750D
Angle of view
Typical use
18mm
~29mm
Very wide — fits a full workbench
Room/space shots
35mm
~56mm
Close to human eye
Street, general
50mm
~80mm
Flattering short portrait
Product, portraits
85mm
~136mm
Classic portrait length
Subject isolation
200mm
~320mm
Strong telephoto
Detail/macro at distance
📌 Makerspace tip: The 18–55mm kit lens at 18mm is wide enough to fit the entire CNC table or EinScan turntable in frame from about 60–80 cm away. Great for documentation shots.
🔍 Autofocus
AF Mode (set via button on camera back)
Symbol
Mode
Use it for
ONE SHOT
Single — locks when you half-press ◉
Still subjects, product photography
AI FOCUS
Auto-switches between One Shot and Servo
Mixed shooting, safe default
AI SERVO
Continuous tracking
Moving people, action, things on turntables
AF Point Selection
By default the camera picks from all 19 points. For precision control:
Press the ▦ AF point button (top-right of viewfinder area)
Use the d-pad or touchscreen to move the active point
Half-press shutter to lock, then recompose
💡 For copy stand / macro work: flip the lens barrel switch to MF and use Live View + magnifier (🔍 button) to zoom 5× or 10× for hair-precise manual focus.
⊙ Metering Modes
Controls which part of the frame the camera reads to calculate exposure.
Symbol
Mode
Description
⊙
Evaluative
Reads the whole scene — correct 90% of the time, default
◔
Partial
~9% at centre — good for backlit subjects
◎
Spot
~3.8% at centre — pin-precise for tricky lighting
⊕
Centre-weighted
Biases centre but reads whole frame
☀ White Balance
Tells the camera what true white looks like. Wrong setting = orange or blue cast over everything.
Symbol
Setting
Use when…
AWB
Auto White Balance
Default — works most of the time
☀
Daylight
Direct sun outdoors
☁
Cloudy
Overcast / open shade
💡
Tungsten
Warm incandescent bulbs
□💡
White Fluorescent
Strip/tube lighting — common in makerspace rooms
K
Kelvin
Manual colour temperature — full nerd mode
□
Custom
Set from a grey card — most accurate option
Under the makerspace's fluorescent tubes, use White Fluorescent — or shoot RAW and fix it in Lightroom / Photoshop.
Live View & Video
Push the ▶■ switch beside the viewfinder to enter Live View. The screen flips and rotates — handy for overhead copy-stand work.
Tap the screen to move focus point
Pinch to zoom for manual focus check
In Movie mode (dial to ▶) press the red ● button to record
Resolution
Frame rates
Notes
1080p (Full HD)
24 / 25 / 30p
Best quality — use this
720p (HD)
50 / 60p
Smooth slow-motion at 50%
480p (SD)
25 / 30p
Tiny files only
⚠ No 4K on the 750D. For 4K documentation use a modern smartphone or check if another camera body is available.
🔧 Makerspace Use Cases
Product & Object Documentation
Mode: Av at f/8–f/11 for sharp front-to-back depth
ISO 100–400 under studio lamps; bump up if using ambient only
Flip screen out for overhead copy-stand shots
WB: Custom (grey card) or shoot RAW
Macro & Close-up Work
Kit lens works down to ~25 cm; for tighter shots, use extension tubes (lens bag)
Switch lens to MF + Live View magnifier for hair-precise focus
f/8–f/16 recommended — depth of field collapses dramatically at close range
3D Scanning Reference Photos
Shoot before placing object on EinScan turntable — useful colour/texture reference
Anti-flicker shooting: MENU → 📷 → Anti-flicker shooting — helps under strip lights
Workshop Documentation / Events
AI Focus, ISO Auto (cap 3200), Av f/4–f/5.6
Use the articulating screen for low angles
Canon Camera Connect app + Wi-Fi = phone as wireless remote shutter
Known Quirks
Banding in astrophotography: Horizontal stripe artefacts appear under aggressive post-processing — inherent to Hybrid CMOS AF III phase-detect pixels. Not a defect.
Dark circle issue (early units): Canon repaired a batch of 750D/760D with circular dark patterns. Check your serial if shooting small apertures in bright light.
