Lessons
Class Introduction
05:13 2Basic Camera Controls
03:14 3Exposure Controls
19:53 4Drive Dial
18:53 5Top & Back of Camera
04:10 6Viewfinder Display
07:34 7Playback Menu
04:47 8Back Of Camera Buttons
06:31Quick Menu
21:40 10Selector & Function Buttons
03:26 11Left Side & Bottom Of Camera
05:44 12Lenses & Front Of Camera
05:34 13Menu Overview & Image Quality Menu
10:04 14Autofocus & Manual Focus Menu
13:17 15Shooting Settings Menu
14:56 16Flash Settings Menu
05:39 17Movie Settings Menu
03:33 18Set Up Menu
14:38 19My Menu & Play Back Menu
03:17 20Camera Operations
08:47Lesson Info
Basic Camera Controls
So, this section, Camera Controls, is all about the physical outside controls of the camera, what they do, and how to operate them and how to use them to the most efficiency of the camera, you might say. So, let's start off by taking a look at some of the basic controls that we're going to use, and Fuji cameras have definitely a different layout than a lot of other cameras. And so, if you're coming from a different camera system, there's going to be a few changes. The camera has a front control dial, which we will use for a number of different features, has a rear command aisle on just the opposite side. Very easy to get to, very good. Obviously, have your camera turned on. We have our selector on the back of the camera, and this is going to be good for navigating the menu system up, down, left, and right. Also, going to be very helpful in moving the focusing point around the screen area, so something we'll use there quite a bit. In the middle of that is our menu "Okay" button, and so,...
when we want to confirm a particular setting, we're going to usually pressing that single "Okay" button right there. Looking at the top of the camera in detail, we have our shutter release. When you press halfway down on the shutter release, it activates the metering system. It also activates the focusing system. If the camera was asleep, it'll be waking the camera up. And if you are in a movie mode, or, excuse me, if you're in the menu, it will return the camera to the shooting mode. And so at any point you want the camera to be ready to shoot a photo, press halfway down on the shutter release. Now, one of the things that some advanced photographers prefer to do is to have the auto-focus taken off of the shutter release, so that when you press halfway down, the camera doesn't auto-focus. They sometimes like using a different button for doing that. Well, if you do want to separate those functions, you can go into the setup menu under "Button Dial Setting," and you can turn off the shutter auto-focus activation and turn your camera into a back button focusing machine. And so, this is a little shortcut window that I will bring in from time to time for those of you watching the class who would like to go in and make that change right now. So, maybe you're thinking, "Hey, I heard about back button focusing. I had it on one of my other cameras. I want to set it up on my camera." You can go ahead and dive into that menu. Maybe you want to stop the video and take the time to go in, dive in, make that change right now. If you don't want to do it, don't worry about it. We're going to come back, and we are going to cover that when we go through the Menu section of the class. All right, the shutter release on this is old-school. There's a lot of old-school stuff on this camera, and it's got the standard threaded cable release. And so, on this, when you want to hook up a traditional cable release, which is some of the cheapest, most common cable releases out there, you can get those and screw it straight in there and trigger the camera with just a traditional mechanical release on there, so really nice. We do also have some options for electronic ones. I'll talk about that later on as we get into the class, but it's a nice option to be able to see that we have that on there.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
James Beaumont
Excellent class, well structured and easy to follow. Although following this class to get to grips with my Fujifilm X-T30, the functions and menus are near identical, so this class is perfect. As a relative newcomer to photography, the explanations are incredibly helpful and helped me to gain confidence in operating my camera. I am also following John Greengo's Fundamentals class and couldn't recommend him highly enough.
Jenny Mummert
This was just what I needed to become more familiar with my xT30...cousin to xT20. Fast start is right. My mind is spinning with information, but that's OK. Very useful information here and valuable handout. Instructor is so knowledgeable and explains things well. I enjoyed his photography 101 course as well. Would also love to have a fast start guide for the Ricoh III. PRETTY PLEASE.
Paul Reid
Excellent classes. Well structured. Easy to follow. Great explanations and practical tips. I've learned so much about my Fuji X-T20 since watching!
Student Work
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Camera Guides