Greg from Romeoville illinois wrote:
Glancing through that article, I find it hard to believe it was written this year!
Much of the info in it appears to be at least 10 out of date. The person who wrote it claims to have knowledge of Canon gear, but gets the names of models and prices wrong in almost every instance. They refer to a "Mark III", which you only discover is a full frame, Canon EOS 5D Mark III by looking at the photo. The 5D Mark III was introduced ten years ago, discontinued and superseded by a new model six years ago. The article also refers to a high priced "Mark IV", which must be an EOS 5D Mark IV that was introduced at $500 lower list price than what was cited and currently is selling for an additional $900 less.
There also is no recognition of the regional nature of Canon's model naming conventions and the global nature of the Internet. For example, Canon only markets "Rebel" series cameras in N. America. In Japan they are "Kiss" models. And in the rest of the world they are EOS xxxD or EOS xxxxD models (where the "x" is a numerical designation).
And some of the tips are just plain dumb or irrelevant. The article recommends you pick up a "camera harness", by which they mean a camera shoulder strap. Most cameras actually come with a strap that's perfectly serviceable.
Further, the description of lens handling is confusing. It starts out talking about removing the rear cap on a lens (which can only mean the lens is not attached to a camera), then suddenly jumps to how to remove a lens from a camera. This is unclear and could be read that you need to press a button while
attaching a lens, which is not necessary or even a very good idea.
When the article starts to get into camera settings, problems with using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III starts to show. This article is targeted at new Canon users... beginners. The 5D III camera is fairly advanced and lacks some of the features found on the more entry-level models. A little further down there is a mode dial displayed that has some of the "scene" modes (sports, portrait, scenic, etc.) which are offered on the more entry-level models, but are omitted from the more advanced.
The article completely skips one of the modes common to most Canon made the last ten or fifteen years. "CA" is "Creative Auto", which is of particular interest to new users. It's a mode that provides assistance in the form of "wizards" on the camera's LCD screen to help people decide their settings. What could be more useful to someone learning how to use a Canon camera? Yet this article completely omits it.
Finally near the end of the article they get around to asking "Are Canon cameras suitable for beginners?". Well, I certainly hope some of them are, or why would anyone write an article entitled "How to use a Canon camera: Beginner tips and tricks"?
Interestingly, their answer to the above question is, "As a beginner, you may want to avoid the more high-end models with the steepest learning curves -- such as the Mark range or EOS R's -- and instead consider options including the Rebel T7 or a Powershot compact camera." This once again makes it apparent the author of the article has very limited knowledge of the Canon system: "the Mark range or EOS R's"? I guess the original 7D is fine, but the 7D Mark II is verbotten? Or the original 5D is user friendlier than the 5D Mark II, III, or IV? And there are no entry-level R-series mirrorless? I guess the RP and R6 are just too advanced. I guess Canon didn't just introduce an R10 mirrorless for more entry-level buyers, along with a slightly more advanced R7?
So a beginner should buy the stripped down to bare minimum Rebel T7 (aka Kiss X90 in Japan, EOS 1500D in S.E. Asia and EOS 2000D in other parts of the world).... A Rebel T7 that uses an 18 year old AF system and a 14 year old processor. Why not the Rebel SL3 (aka EOS 200D Mark II in Australia and Asia, EOS 250D in other parts of the world) that has all the same features and many more? Even better is the Rebel T8i (aka Kiss X10i in Japan, EOS 850D elsewhere). Heck, even the more advanced EOS 90D has lots of support for new users.
I'm not going to get into that articles descriptions of exposure factors other than to say that Bryan Peterson's, "Understanding Exposure" book does a much better job explaining how cameras work.
You might have guessed... I won't be recommending that article to new Canon users. Sorry to say, I think it does more harm than good! More confusion than clarity. It appears to have been written by someone who has working knowledge of exactly one Canon camera.... the one they own and use... and can't even get the model name of that right!
P.S. Then they had to ask...
"Canon or Nikon?
Both Canon and Nikon dominate the photography landscape.
Neither can be considered the favorite of all photographers as these companies are closely matched, and both offer a huge variety of cameras and accessories for pros and beginners. However, generally speaking, you can expect cheaper entry-level DSLRs from Canon (such as the Rebel series), and cheaper lens options from Nikkon's range.
Both companies, alongside their competitors, are rumored to be moving away from DSLRs altogether in favor of mirrorless products. It will be interesting to see whether they remain neck-and-neck in the coming years." I guess Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Olympus aren't worth mentioning.... and hope "Nikkon" doesn't mind being misspelled.
"Rumored to be moving away from DSLRs... in favor of mirrorless"? No, in fact Canon and Nikon have both stated that they are doing so in no uncertain terms. And both have discontinued some DSLR cameras and a slew of the lenses for them.