1....That 40D, as long as it works good, is more camera than either of us will ever be a photographer
2....The glass, not the camera, from this point will make the difference.
3....Learn to use Av and M. Av means you set up the aperature and it stays where you set it, and the shutter then follows the light meter. Remember, the light meter is not always right. Frankly, I find Canon's terminology on metering confusing
4....Learn to use the histogram. I screwed the pooch badly on this the last trip to Fairchild several years ago. I had taken many shots, and they "looked OK" but I had some setting on the camera, and the TOP BUTTON GOT ROTATED without my knowledge to shutter priority. Turns out, the shutter ended up being on an incredibly slow setting, much too slow for the 100-400mm at 400mm, and none of the shots were worth saving.
5....Learn the triangle of ISO, shutter, and aperture. One thing that has become more difficult for digital users, is "depth of field." DOF used to be bracketed right on the lens like in this example here
There are a couple of reasons why this is no longer
First, DOF changes with crop factor. This means, such as Canon, if you have a 35mm (autofocus EF mount), a 'full frame' digital such as a 5D, and a crop camera such as a 40D, the depth of field WILL CHANGE with the same lens on all three bodies.
There are "depth of field calculators" which are some help
6......Whether you use them or not, learn and learn the significance of the "original" "standard f stops." This has become polluted with digi cameras, because now you can set the menu for FRACTIONS of standard f stops. Why? Because let's say you set up a shot. Let's say the exposure is perfect. But you decide you want more or less depth of field, or maybe you need a faster shutter speed for subject movement.
"It used to be" that if you changed STANDARD f stops open one, or open two, you MOVED THE SHUTTER SPEED by the same 1/2 time period.
It was easier to cut / paste than to type, so..........
Standard f/stops: 1.4 (widest opening), 1.8 (or 2), 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45
Standard shutter speeds: 1 (one second, slow shutter speed), 2 (half second), 4, (1/4 second, etc.) 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000
Which came from here
http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~rcollins/242photojournalism/fstopex.htm
So let's say you have this "perfect exposure" set up for f2.8, but you want some more DOF so you move it "closed" two down to f5.6. You have cut the light "in half" TWICE. That's what each standard stop does
This means you now have to DOUBLE the amount of light "back in" using the shutter "twice." So let's say the shutter was on 1/500. You'll have to move it to 1/125 to get the "double double" light back that you shut down with the aperture.
You can also do this if you learn the "doubles" on ISO. There are times I "argue" with this, as 800 intuitively seems too "grainy" for a shot, so I want "slower film" down to 400. Of course now you must either open the lens or slow down the shutter or both. So it's a balance between the triad of ISO, f stop, and shutter.
7....Visit the Canon website. If you look around there and on YouTube, there are tutorials.
8....Find some Canon 40D specific books. If you Google around you can find reviews. I hope you have, and have read the factory manual. I realize, it needs further explaining.
9.....Once you get better, consider setting the thing up for "rear button." I forget what this is called. There's a menu setting that causes the camera to focus NOT WITH the shutter half press, but rather with the "rear button" at the top right. WHY? Let's say you are taking a photo of something, and you DO NOT want the main subject to be in the center of the shot, but you DO want the subject to be properly exposed and focused. So with the back button, you set up the shot with SUBJECT CENTERED, then RELEASE the button, and offset the subject as desired. The camera will NOT refocus or change exposure while you get the shot. I use this exclusively
10.....For things like sunsets, fireworks, and other similar, use a tripod, and learn to use magnified live view. THIS above all else helps with those kinds of shots, making them stellar instead of "sorta."
This was taken with an adapted manual lens, on tripod. I probably took 10 shots to bracket the exposure and get "just what" I wanted. Focus was magnified live view. This was an old Olympus OM 28mm lens, probably about F16
Original full size link:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3186/2834527369_02f1147769_o.jpg
