Getting started

• Charge the included BP-511A battery overnight and load it in the battery compartment at the bottom of the camera. Attach the neck strap and load a Compact Flash memory card into the memory card slot (use a card that has at least 1one gigabyte of storage). Attach a lens to the camera by lining up the dot on the lens (red on an EF lens, white on an EF-S lens) with the white dot on the camera body, slotting the lens into the body and twisting it to the right to secure it. Power on the camera and set the date and time when requested, using the jog dial on the back of the camera to move the numbers up or down and pressing the set button in the middle of the jog dial to accept the entry and move to the next field.
  
  

Basic shooting

• The 40D has several automatic modes. For basic operation, turn the mode dial to the green square. Aim the camera lens at the subject you want to shoot and depress the shutter halfway to engage the autofocus. When the camera beeps, the subject is in focus; depress the shutter fully to take the shot. Better shots can be achieved by using the scene modes on the mode dial to tell the camera what type of shot you are taking; the 40D will adjust its settings accordingly. Scene modes include Portrait, Landscape, Close Up, Sports/Action, and Night Portrait.
  
  

Advanced shooting

• The 40D, like most SLRs, supports more advanced shooting, including Program, Aperture, Shutter, and Manual modes. In Program, the camera will set the aperture and shutter speed; the photographer can set ISO (sensitivity of the sensor to light), and white balance (how the camera reads white). In Aperture, the photographer can control depth of field (how much of the shot is in focus front to back) with higher aperture settings for greater depth of field and lower aperture settings for lower depth of field. In Shutter, the photographer can control shutter speed to freeze motion, and in Manual, the photographer can control all four settings. To change ISO, hold down the ISO button on the top right side of the camera body and rotate the jog dial; for white balance, hold down the white balance button and rotate the jog dial. In Aperture and Shutter modes, the jog dial controls each respectively. In Manual, the main jog dial controls shutter speed while the small one at the top right of the camera body adjusts aperture.