The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS/1000D Companion

The LCD Status Display

In addition to the in-viewfinder status display, the XS also shows a lot of status information on the rear LCD. What's displayed on the screen varies depending on what mode you're in simply because in some modes you don't have as much manual control and so don't need as much status feedback. In Full Auto mode, your screen should look something like the following.

Figure 1-8. In Full Auto mode, the LCD screen on the back of the XS should look something like this.

As you can see, you can easily tell how many shots are remaining, how charged the battery is, and the image format that you're shooting in. The camera also shows what light-metering mode you're using, which, to be honest, is kind of strange, because you can't actually change this when shooting in Full Auto.

When you half-press the shutter button to tell the camera to focus and meter, it displays its chosen shutter speed and aperture at the top of the status display. We'll explore what these mean in later chapters.

Figure 1-9. After you half-press the shutter button, the status screen will show your shutter speed and aperture.

In low light, the LCD screen can be distracting when you look through the viewfinder. In extremely low light, the brightness of the LCD screen can even make it difficult to see through the viewfinder at all. Later, you'll see how to change the color scheme of the menu display. However, you can easily deactivate the screen with a half-press of the shutter. If you get in the habit of quickly doing this as soon as you raise the camera to your eye, then the screen shouldn't be a problem.

Remember, though, that when you half-press the shutter button, the camera will meter and focus. So, you might need to re-focus correctly to ensure your camera is focused on the correct subject.

Shoot some more in Full Auto mode and get comfortable with the camera's controls. While the camera has a lot of other buttons and dials, you don't really need to worry about them right now.

If the Viewfinder Is Not Sharp

If you wear glasses and like to remove them when shooting, you can use the diopter control, the small knob next to the viewfinder, to compensate for some near- or farsightedness. Turn the knob until the nine autofocus boxes inside the viewfinder are sharp. Note that the diopter may not be able to completely compensate for extremely bad vision. Also, you'll have to change it back if you put your glasses back on. If the viewfinder ever inexplicably goes out of focus, it might just be that you bumped the diopter knob. Turn it until focus is restored.