Canon EOS 40D: Focusing System

Series Summary

Introduced in 1987, the Canon EOS (Electro-Optical-System) is a popular system of interchangeable camera bodies, lenses and flashes. By 2007, more than 40 EOS camera models had been released. The main competition for this series is the Nikon F series, though the EOS models are more affordable, as well as more popular in most countries. The 40D is a midrange digital SLR camera with professional features, perfect for the advanced photographer who can't quite afford or justify spending the money for a pro model. The digital camera presents photographers with new tools, and new challenges for taking great photos. And part of becoming a great photographer is mastering the features and capabilities of your camera of choice.

In this free photography lesson, you will learn how to use the autofocus and drive modes of the Canon EOS 40D digital camera. Our expert will demonstrate how to use the autofocus features for still as well as moving subjects. Want to take a picture of yourself? Use the self timer feature.

Video Transcript

"Okay, we're talking about the 40D here and next we're going to be exploring the auto focus modes and the different drive modes. There are a lot of different auto focus modes that we'll use. Various points on the nine point focusing system that Canon uses in its 40D. And you can also select a particular point and use that to focus. So we'll be talking about how to do that. And Canon has different drive modes, single shot mode, multiple burst modes and timer modes. So we'll be going through those and talking about how to select those as well. And, obviously, Canon has set up its basic shooting modes to take care of all of that for you. So some of this stuff is going to be a little bit more on the advanced side, something that you'll use and what Canon calls its creative zone or creative modes. Those creative modes are listed here. There's about five different creative modes and that is the zone that we'll be dealing with right now."