Your Canon T7i/800D has so many features that it can be difficult to remember what each control does. To help you sort things out, this Cheat Sheet offers a handy reference to your camera's external controls and exposure modes. Print out this guide, tuck it in your camera bag, and get a head start on taking great photographs!
Controls on the Canon EOS T7i/800D
If you’re not familiar with the T7i/800D camera, here’s a quick guide to its buttons, dials, and other external controls. The lens shown here is the 18-55mm kit lens; other lenses may have different features.
Button functions and other controls
It’s great to have a map to the buttons and controls on your camera, but it’s not a lot of help if you can’t remember which button to press when (and why). So here’s a quick recap of what you can do with each button. Note: This information concentrates on features available when you shoot in the P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes. A few features also work in other modes.
| This Control | . . . Performs These Functions |
| Mode dial | Sets the exposure mode, which determines how much control you have over picture settings. For the most control, choose P, Tv, Av, or M. |
| Menu button | Press to display and hide camera menus; rotate Main dial to cycle through menu pages. |
| Info button | During playback, Live View photography, and Movie shooting, changes the data display. During viewfinder photography, toggles between the normal information display and an electronic level. |
| Live View/Movie record button | Press to toggle Live View on and off. When the camera is in Movie mode, press to start and stop recording. |
| Exposure Compensation button | In P, Tv, and Av modes, press while rotating the Main dial to apply Exposure Compensation (adjusts image brightness). In M mode, press while rotating the Main dial to adjust the aperture setting. |
| Q button | Activates Quick Control mode, which provides fast access to shooting and playback settings. Press again to exit Quick Control mode. |
| Set button/cross keys | During viewfinder shooting, press to access the following settings: top key, White Balance; right key, AF Operation; bottom key, Picture Style; left key, Drive mode. When choosing options from menus and other screens, use the cross keys to highlight an option and then press Set to select that option. |
| AF Area Selection button | Press to display the AF Area Selection setting, which controls which autofocus point or zones the camera uses to set focusing distance. |
| ISO button | Press to display a screen where you can adjust the ISO setting, which determines how sensitive the camera is to light. |
| DISP button | During viewfinder photography, enables you to manually turn the monitor on and off. |
| AE Lock/FE Lock/Index/Reduce button | During shooting, press to lock autoexposure (AE) or to lock flash exposure (FE). During playback, press to cycle from single-image view to index (thumbnails) view. If the displayed image or live preview is magnified, press to reduce the magnification level. |
| AF Point Selection/Magnify button | During viewfinder photography, press to display the AF Area Selection screen. (You still must use the AF Area Selection button to change the setting.) In Playback mode, press to magnify the image on the monitor. In Live View or Movie mode, you also can magnify the display under certain circumstances. |
| Wi-Fi button | Press to display menu screen containing options for configuring wireless connections to a computer, smartphone, or tablet. |
| Erase button | While reviewing pictures, press to erase currently displayed or selected photos. |
| Playback button | Toggles picture playback on and off. |
| Flash button | Press to raise built-in flash in P, Tv, Av, and M modes. When the flash is up, press again to access flash-related menu settings. |
| Depth-of-Field Preview button | Press to temporarily set the aperture to the selected f-stop so you can see an approximation of depth of field in the viewfinder. |
| Lens-release button | Press to disengage the lens from the camera’s lens mount so you can remove the lens. |
Exposure modes
Your choice of exposure mode determines how much control you have over picture settings, including options that affect exposure, color, and autofocusing features. Set the exposure mode via the Mode dial shown here. For the most control, switch to P, Tv, Av, or M mode. Canon refers to those modes as Creative Zone modes; the others are Basic Zone modes.
| Exposure Mode | Description |
| Scene Intelligent Auto | Completely automatic photography; the camera analyzes the scene and tries to choose settings that produce the best results. |
| Auto Flash Off | Same as Auto, but with flash disabled. |
| Scene | Automatic modes for capturing specific types of scenes. Four scenes (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, and Sports) have their own setting on the Mode dial. Set the dial to the SCN position to access additional scene types. |
| Creative Auto | Provides a bit more control than Scene Intelligent Auto, enabling you to adjust the amount of background blurring and a few other picture characteristics. |
| Creative Filter | Enables you to add special effects to pictures and movies as you shoot them. |
| P (Programmed Autoexposure) | Camera selects both the f-stop and shutter speed to ensure proper exposure, but you can choose from multiple combinations of the two settings. |
| Tv (Shutter-priority Autoexposure) | You set the shutter speed, and the camera selects the f-stop that will produce a good exposure. |
| Av (Aperture-priority Autoexposure) | You select the f-stop, and the camera selects the shutter speed that will produce a good exposure. |
| M (Manual Exposure) | You control both the shutter speed and f-stop. |
