Tips & Tricks

DSLRs: Rebel, 77D, 90D, 6D, 5D Mirrorless: R, M50

HOW DO I USE MY CANON

By:

Jan Flanigan

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May 7, 2024

Remember when the only way to learn how to use your new camera was to read the manual? It was about 500 pages printed on tissue paper, and you needed an electron microscope to read the small print. It was so barbaric! HOW DID WE SURVIVE???

Now you can search Google and YouTube for information on how to operate your cameras, which are really complex computers with lenses.

But before you do that, let us help you! Horn Photo would love to serve as your personal camera concierge. We will spoon feed you the very best video tutorials for the particular camera that you own. This time we’re focusing on Canon.

Canon users…this blog’s for you!

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Sony and Nikon users, your blog and video tutorials are already up on our website.

https://hornphoto.com/blog/learn-to-use-your-sony-camera

https://hornphoto.com/blog/how-to-use-my-nikon

Panasonic Lumix owners, your time will come another day very soon.

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Whether you are new to Canon, or a seasoned user, you should be able to get some helpful information from one or more of these videos. The videos cover specific Canon cameras that we just so happen to sell at Horn Photo.

We have found that the most comprehensive step-by-step video tutorials on how to use your Canon cameras are by

1. Michael Andrew (aka Michael the Maven) and

2. Tony Northrup.

3. Jared Polin

4. Media Unlocked

Michael Andrew is a science based photography instructor, and is not sponsored by any company. His videos are long and very thorough, but start at the basic of basics before getting into the how’s and why’s. He provides demonstrations that are relevant to your being able to learn, understand and retain information. He suggests that you have your camera handy and and follow along at times so you can see for yourself the way the camera works.

Michael does spend a few moments promoting his own educational courses in photography, and there are commercial ads throughout his tutorial that can be skipped after five seconds. These interruptions are a small price to pay of your time for the abundant information you will get about how to operate your camera.

***Tony Northrup*** *-If Billy Bob Thornton and Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) had a son*

Tony Northrup is a popular video instructor, who has written a number of books on photography. The amount of in depth information he gives depends on the complexity of the camera.

His videos include short ads, that you can skip after a few seconds. All of his videos are easy to fast forward through a part that you already know or aren’t interested in. Each new section starts with a noticeable graphic title of the topic. Tony gives a fair amount of detail in many of the sections. It’s best to get too much information than not enough.

His feelings won’t be hurt if you fast forward him. He won’t even know.

WARNING!!!!! Be aware of Tony Northrup.

Tony’s great at explaining things, and for the most part a good and ethical man. But he does have an evil side. He will suggest items for you to buy, such as lenses, batteries, tripods, memory cards, etc. Then he will tell you where can buy them online. Pay no attention to that. We have the same or similar items at our good, pure and wholesome Horn Photo. Plus, angels from Heaven are always watching over our store, making notes on who is shopping there. So, support your local small business while wracking up a lot of points in Heaven by shopping at Horn Photo. You’ll be in good standing, when your time comes.

CHECK OUT HORN PHOTO’S PRODUCTS!!! RIGHT HERE

There is one video by Jared Polin from the Fro Knows Photo YouTube Channel. He’s also very good at instruction, and a great resource for many different topics on photography.

Media Unlocked is a YouTube channel intent on informing viewers about photography. The video tutorials broken down into shorter parts. They may seem shorter than the other videos by Michael Andrew or Tony Northrup, but if you watch all of the parts, they will take a considerable amount of time. The information provided by Media Unlocked is outstanding. It is a wonderful resource for a variety of topics and products. The presenter does not spend any time trying to hock any of his products, however, at the end of the video, he does encourage you to click on a link that will take you to another camera store that has great prices just like Horn Photo, but it’s a five day drive from Fresno. Also, the employees at that other place won’t know your name, or even care about how tired you are after driving for five days.

Here are the videos:

1. How do I use my Canon EOS Rebel T7?

We recommend that you watch this hour long video by Tony Northrup, but please, watch it with your new BFF (uh..your CAMERA). It won’t get you emotional, or make you laugh and cry, but it will teach you how to use your Rebel. It is a hands-on learning tutorial,and that’s why your BFF should be right by your side.

Tony makes the work of learning your camera pretty dagnabbed easy, and that’s a good thing, since this is probably your first substantial DSLR.

He starts out very basic, then gets into more detail. If you are familiar with a topic, it’s easy to fast forward to a topic that you need to learn, since the topics are clearly labeled at the beginning of each segment.

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Click here to shop Rebel DSLR's

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2. How do I use my Canon EOS 77D?

This is a one hour and 18 minute comprehensive video tutorial made by Tony Northrup. It starts with how to put the lens on the camera and ends with his recommendations for lenses and accessories.

Tony covers a ton of topics, some you may be more interested in than others, including sections on flash, video, time-lapse, and lots more. He presents things in an easy to follow, and easy to understand way. As with all of Tony’s video tutorials, it’s easy to scrub through the sections that you aren’t interested in, or have had enough of. The topics are clearly displayed at the beginning of each section.

Here’s Tony’s video tutorial on the Canon EOS 77D:

If you don’t have the time or the attention span to start and stop an hour plus video with tons of pertinent information that will make you an expert, then watch this 10minute video by Michael Andrew on what each button and dial is for. Then feel an overwhelming sense of shame because you don’t care enough about your camera to want to know more of what capabilities it has.

Click here to shop EOS 77D

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3. How do I use my Canon EOS 90D?

Our pick for the best video tutorial on the Canon EOS 90D is a lengthy one by Michael Andrew. Hunker down, because it’s two and a half hours. Seems like a lot of time to invest in learning your camera? Here’s something you may have already considered: Don’t watch it all in one sitting!

Remember the days when the only way to learn your technical devices was by reading the manual? You’d learn the basic, basics, then if you learned something new and tricky, it was because you stumbled on it by mistake, or someone else showed it to you.

Thank heavens for Michael the Maven. He is your living, breathing manual for the Canon 90D, plus much much more. He explains and demonstrates the features so that you can understand the principles and therefore remember them.

Without further adieu, here is the Oscar Worthy performance by Michael Andrew in his epic film: Canon 90D Tutorial Training Overview & Tips.

If, for whatever reason, you don’t like guys named Mike, or you don’t want to invest two and a half hours of your precious time, here’s another option. This one hour video by Jared Polin (Fro Knows Photo) called Canon EOS 90D User’s Guide, maybe more suited to your needs. It is more basic, but goes over all of the buttons and dials on the camera, and then delves into the menu.

Click here to shop EOS 90D

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5. How do I use my Canon 6D Mark II

This is a video by Tony Northrup. It is a little under an hour and a half. It is a “monster of a video” as Tony says. Not because it’s hideous or scary, but because it’s long and covers a monstrous amount of information, from basic to advanced. You can scrub through the video to find the parts that you want and avoid the stuff you already know.

If you want a different tutorial broken up into four parts, we have for your viewing pleasure Media Unlocked. The first three parts are geared for still photography. The fourth part covers video. I highly recommend this tutorial even if you think you know everything there is to know about your 6D Mark II. Here’s a breakdown:

Part one goes over all of the buttons and functions on the outside of the camera. This video is 21 minutes long.

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Part two covers a portion of the menu functions extensively. It goes over every menu item under the red camera icon and the blue playback icon. You will not be disappointed by this 22 minute long video.

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Part three goes over more menu function settings under the yellow wrench icon and the orange camera settings. This video is a little under one-half hour long.

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Part four is an eight and a half minute tutorial that goes over the video functions setting and menus.

Click here to shop EOS 6D Mark II

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4. How do I use my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV?

For an over view of how to use your Canon 5D Mark IV, we recommend Tony Northrup’s hour long video. If you are wondering how can such a complex camera be covered in an hour, then read on, because we have more. Here is Tony’s video:

If you have a Canon 5D Mark IV, then you’re in this photography thing pretty deep. And so is this next set of videos by Media Unlocked. There are eight parts. And they’re not shorties. They go into great detail. Don’t watch them if you are sleepy. Matter-of-fact, if you are having trouble falling asleep, and you want to fall asleep, then by all means, watch any one of these videos. But, if you really want to know your camera intimately, not in a sick creepy way, then watch some or all of the tutorials by Media Unlocked on the 5D Mark IV. We’ve done the heavy lifting, and broken them down for you by topics.

Part one (26 minutes) goes over the all of the buttons, dials, nooks and crannies of the camera body.

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Part two (23 minutes) goes over part of the menu functions under the red camera icon.

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Part three (19 minutes) goes over more of the menu functions under the red camera icon.

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Part four (11 minutes) goes over the Auto Focus settings

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Part five (27 minutes) goes over the functions under the blue playback menu icon and the yellow wrench menu icon settings

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Part six (12 minutes) goes over the custom functions menu.

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Part seven (18 minutes) goes over the video settings

Part eight (8 minutes) goes over the touch screen features.

Click here to shop EOS 5D Mark IV

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6. How do I use my Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera

We recommend Michael Andrew’s video tutorial. It is a little under two hours long, and covers the most important features and operations of your camera. He does a great job demonstrating how things work with visual examples, so that you’re more likely to recall the information.

Click here to shop EOS R

7. How do I use my Canon M50 Mirrorless

This is a two hour video tutorial on the M50 by Michael Andrew. It’s pretty easy to scrub through the parts you already know. As with all of Michael Andrew’s video tutorials, he goes above and beyond explaining the features. He demonstrates them so you can see how they work. He LOVES this camera!

Click here to shop EOS M50

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That’s it for now! Thanks for reading.

Video tutorials on Panasonic Lumix COMING SOON!

Checkout a cornucopia of inspiring articles and videos right on the Canon website, including tips on how to use your camera features, as well as how to take great landscape, macro, wedding, travel etc. photos.