I was talking with a fellow T2i owner over on my Facebook page and she was wondering what settings her camera should be set to in order to get a quick focus and the flash not flicker. I thought it would be beneficial to share our conversation with all of you...
Julianne's Question: About a month ago I bought a T1i, but had to return it because the flash was defective. I liked that one because it was super fast and I wasn't missing stuff like I had been with my point and shoot because it was so slow. I ended up buying a T2i and have been experimenting with it, but it seems to take forever to focus, and once again I am missing pictures of my two very busy little kiddos. I did discover when it's in live view mode it's considerably slower, but I'm still having problems with focusing (it's on the full auto mode). The lens twists back and forth several times trying to focus. Another thing I am finding is the flash kind of flickers, rather than just a burst?? I'm upgrading from a point and shoot, so I know there's a lot to learn, just wasn't sure if this is how this model operates or if I'm doing something wrong. The T1i I could seriously take pictures one after another with no delay.
Moose's Answer: Right off the bat, I recommend resetting your settings back to default. You can do this inside the T2i menu under the wrench tab. After you've done that, rotate the mode dial (large round knob on top of your camera) to a scene mode (portrait, night portrait, landscape, sports, etc...) depending on what you're shooting.
Next, check your AF mode. For moving subjects I recommend enabling the 'AI Focus' AF mode. You can do this by pressing the AF button on the back of the camera. When this AF mode is enabled, just half press the shutter and the T2i will continuously focus on the moving subject. When you can get the kiddos to sit still, switch back to the 'One Shot' AF mode. This will allow you to lock focus with a half-press and then recompose the shot for better framing. Whenever possible, try to focus on the eyes and then re-frame your shot. :) This should help solve your focusing issues in most situations. If you're shooting indoors or in low light, the focusing speed and accuracy will drop a bit. If you can try to turn on as many lights as possible to increase the amount of ambient light in the room.
In regards to the multiple flashes, it sounds like you have 'Red-eye Reduction' enabled. You can turn it off inside the T2i menu under the first tab.
Julianne's Reply: I tried these tips, I'm still getting a "static" type of sound I guess from the flash. It makes the sound and the flash flickers like a strobe. I turned off red eye. Not sure if I'm trying to take a picture in less than idea conditions and it's picking up on it? I've read through the book 3 times now and looked through a lot of your posts. I liked your suggestion off learning one setting at a time. I got this camera really to take good portraits of my kids, so hopefully I can just keep practicing. : )
Moose's Reply: Here's the thing, if you want to capture natural looking shots indoors, you really need the help of an external flash or more ambient lighting. The built-in flash is fine when it's just too dark and you need a way to illuminate your subject, however, since the flash is pointed directly at your subject you'll end up with a bright subjects against a very dark background. An external flash like the Canon 320EX will allow you to point the flash head towards the ceiling. This will bounce the light and spread it evenly throughout the room, giving you much more natural looking shots indoors.
In regards to settings, you can enable 'Night Portrait' mode (icon on the mode dial with a man next to a star), which will slow the shutter speed down to expose the background giving more natural looking shots indoors. However, this mode really only works with subjects who can remain very still throughout the shot. If you're trying to capture kids, you're going to end up with a blurry mess. In that case, you'll need to switch to regular 'Portrait' mode (lady icon on the mode dial). The key with this mode is that your subjects will be sharp which is the most important thing, however, the exposure will produce bright faces and dark backgrounds.
