Unbiased digital camera reviews, advice, and prices
Note: this camera was first sold in Aug 2006. There may be newer versions available.
Canon Digital Rebel XTi / Canon 400D (Body Only)
Canon Digital Rebel XTi / Canon 400D (Body Only)
B
HQ Grade: B
A is outstanding and exceptional, rated in the top 10% of digital cameras.
B means they are good, with some standout features.
C means they are mediocre, and probably more trouble than they are worth.
D & F mean they are absolutely awful or old. Avoid at all costs.
  • 4 out of 5
"Very good starter camera"
  • 4 out of 5
"New toy for old timer"
See rating based on 1855 user reviews
Submit your own Canon 400D review!
This camera is ranked
Ask

Have a question about the 400D?
Enter it here: (You can enter more details in the next step)

Back to List
Question Answered!
desperate (buangman) 0 pts
June 11, 2008 10:27 PM
0 people rated this question helpful, 0 people rated this question not helpful Subscribe for Email Updates for this Question

I have a question ... everytime i take pictures outside i always get a shaded face or dark pictures why is that

Report Abuse Did you find this question helpful or not helpful?
Answers This question has been answered!
Andrew Skinner (blackdoorphotos) 18534 pts
June 13, 2008 1:29 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Check the type of exposure compensation you're using. I would switch it to spot compensation and do a preliminary focus on the person you're taking the photo of. If you're doing a balance of the whole frame and have a bright background, the camera is automatically adjusting to balance the entire photo and not overexpose the bright sky behind your subject. You can also change the exposure value to brighten the photo up (hold the AV button on the back of the camera and spin the dial on the upper right to the right to increase the value). This will also brighten the pictures up for you. Good luck and happy shooting.

Andrew
Best Answer
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
by James DeRuvo (byjamesderuvo) 58445 pts
June 13, 2008 5:40 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Ask yourself where the sun is when you take the picture. If the sun is over the subject's shoulder going towards you, then your camera is in a backlight situation and is stopping down the camera to compensate. Always have the sun going over your shoulder, not that of your subject. Also, even in daylight, there's nothing wrong with using a flash. It'll illuminate your subject and cause them to "pop" in a day light photo.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
CT 0 pts
October 12, 2008 2:21 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
How do you force the flash to go off on an XTi?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
bukit97 (bukit97) 12611 pts
November 17, 2008 7:00 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
There is a flash button, on the left hand side of the body next to the lens.
Press this button and the flash will pop up.

Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
lindam 0 pts
January 10, 2009 6:45 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
don't know if anyone is still answering on this question, but...........I have had the xti for a year and its never been off auto. not getting the greatest photos. I tried the button but my flash did NOT pop up.... anyone know why? it shows the lightening bolt.?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Larry (logcabiny) 4897 pts
March 22, 2009 3:36 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Typically auto controls everything so you have to move off auto to get to force the flash to work when the camera says it's not needed.

In addition to the above excellent suggestions regarding getting the exposure right and using fill flash, you can also post-process the picture in your computer and accomplish something similar to the fill flash using Picasa3 (free software from Google).
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
dave 0 pts
June 28, 2009 5:54 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Lindam, If your camera has never been off "auto" in the year since you bought it you are definately wasting the brilliant features available. One thing you could do to start exploring is to use the other auto modes such as landscape portrait etc. Looking through the viewfinder you will see the settings the camera has chosen. Lets say you are on landscape and the camera is choosing F8 250. Now, be brave and switch to apperture priority (AV). Dial in F8 using the thumb wheel and look through the viewfinder and see what shutter speed the camera has chosen. The fun starts when you ask yourself what happens if you reduce the apperture size to say F16. (The larger the number the smaller the apperture). You should find the image is now sharper front to back. Now increase the apperture to say F3.5. Now you will notice that your image has a much narrower depth of field. i.e. the background will be blurred so that your subject will stand out more. The shutter speed will also increase markedly.
Even if you are not ready to experiment too much yet you can shoot on P (programmed) where you can still adjust shutter and/or apperture while allowing the camera to keep you on the right track. In all these modes you can pop the flash up by pushing the lighting flash button. Good luck and for goodness sake start to explore your delightful camera.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?

This Question is Answered. If you have further information you may add it here.

Need to add formatting or links? Use BBCode.
Spell-check
Start Here!
Most Popular
  1. Panasonic FZ35
  2. Canon SD1200 IS
  3. Canon 500D
  4. Canon A1000 IS
  5. Canon SX20 IS
  6. Panasonic FS15
  7. Samsung SL30
  8. Canon 50D
  9. Nikon D90
  10. Canon SX120
Camera Brand
Price Range
Camera Type
Camera Line
Megapixels
Hands-On Reviews
Latest Cameras
Top Searches
Our Other Sites

Close
Loading