Canon EOS 5D Review: 6. Operation & Controls: Digital Photography Review

Top of camera controls (left) - Exposure Mode Dial

Situated on the top of the camera on the left hand side is the exposure mode dial. Note that compared to the EOS 20D this has been simplified considerably and now only features fully automatic, 'creative' modes, Bulb and the new Camera user setting mode.

Icon	Description
	Fully Automatic Exposure Camera has complete control over exposure, essentially point-and-shoot operation. In this mode ISO sensitivity is set to 'Auto', White balance is 'Auto' and AF mode 'AI Focus'. You can only select self-timer.
	Program Auto Exposure (Flexible) The standard Program mode everyone will be used to, can set the ISO, exposure compensation, use AE lock, bracketing etc. The Program AE on the EOS 5D is flexible, that means that you can select one of a variety of equal exposures by turning the main dial (top of camera). Example: • 1/30 F2.8 (metered) • 1/20 F3.2 (turn left one click) • 1/15 F4.0 (turn left two clicks) etc.
	Shutter Priority Auto Exposure In this mode you select the shutter speed and the camera will calculate the correct aperture for the exposure (depending on metered value; metering mode, ISO). Shutter speed is displayed on the viewfinder status bar and on the top LCD, turn the main dial to select different shutter speeds. A half-press of the shutter release causes the camera's exposure system to calculate the aperture, if it's outside of the camera's exposure range the aperture will blink. Available shutter speeds below represent 1/3 stop increments, 1/2 stop increments can be selected via custom function 6. 1/8000, 1/6400, 1/5000, 1/4000, 1/3200, 1/2500, 1/2000, 1/1600, 1/1250, 1/1000, 1/800, 1/640, 1/500, 1/400, 1/320, 1/250, 1/200, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, 1/40, 1/30, 1/25, 1/20, 1/15, 1/13, 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.3, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 20, 25, 30 sec
	Aperture Priority Auto Exposure In this mode you select the aperture and the camera will calculate the correct shutter speed for the exposure (depending on metered value; metering mode, ISO). Aperture is displayed on the viewfinder status bar and on the top LCD, turn the main dial to select different apertures. A half-press of the shutter release causes the camera's exposure system to calculate the shutter speed, if it's outside of the camera's exposure range the shutter speed will blink. Available apertures will differ depending on the lens used, the list below represent 1/3 stop increments, 1/2 stop increments can be selected via custom function 6. F1.0, F1.1, F1.2, F1.4, F1.6, F1.8, F2.0, F2.2, F2.5, F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0, F9.0, F10, F11, F13, F14, F16, F18, F20, F22, F25, F29, F32, F36, F40, F45, F51, F57, F64, F72, F81, F91 (exact range depends on lens used)
	Full Manual Exposure In this mode you select the aperture and the shutter speed from any combination of the above. Top dial selects shutter speed, rear dial selects aperture. Half-press the shutter release and the meter on the viewfinder status bar and top LCD will reflect the exposure level compared to the calculated ideal exposure, if it's outside of +/- 2EV the indicator bar will blink either + or -.
	Bulb exposure In this mode the shutter stays open for as long as you hold the shutter release button, use either dial to select aperture. (Note that this is a departure from the EOS 20D which implemented Bulb in manual mode).
	Camera user setting This mode dial position is essentially a 'user memory', from any of the P, Tv, Av, M or B modes you can select the 'Register camera settings' option from the menu to preset this mode. Virtually all settings (including custom functions) are then memorized and can be recalled by switching to this mode.

Top of camera controls (right)

Top of the camera on the right side is the status panel LCD, directly above this are four buttons (LCD panel backlight, AF/WB, Drive/ISO, Metering/Flash compen.) In front of these buttons is the main dial and shutter release button. Settings buttons are press once, turn a dial to change setting value and then half-press the shutter release to return to shooting mode (or press another button).

The table below shows the relationship between each of the settings buttons and the parameters changed by either turning the main dial (top) or quick control dial (rear).

Button	Main Dial	Quick Control Dial
	Auto Focus Mode • One Shot (focus lock on half-press) • AI Focus (locks but monitors movement) • AI Servo (continuous predictive focus) AI Focus mode initially locks just like One Shot mode but monitors the focused subject, if the subject moves it will automatically switch to an AI Servo operation.	White Balance Mode • Auto (3000 - 7000 K) • Daylight (~ 5200 K) • Shade (~ 7000 K) • Cloudy (~ 6000 K) • Tungsten (~ 3200 K) • Fluorescent (~ 4000 K) • Flash (~ 6000 K) • Custom (2000 - 10000 K sample) • Kelvin temperature (2800 - 10000 K)
	Drive Mode • Single shot • Continuous • Self-Timer Self-Timer delay is by default 10 seconds, however if you use mirror lockup (C.Fn 12) the delay is reduced to 2 seconds.	ISO Sensitivity • L (ISO 50) * • ISO 100 • ISO 125 • ISO 160 • ISO 200 • ISO 250 • ISO 320 • ISO 400 • ISO 500 • ISO 640 • ISO 800 • ISO 1000 • ISO 1250 • ISO 1600 • H (ISO 3200) * * Enabled via C.Fn 8
	Metering Mode • Evaluative (35 zone) • Partial (8% of center of frame) • Spot (3.5% of center of frame) • Center-weighted Average	Flash Compensation • +/-2 EV • 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps (C.Fn 6)

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