Canon In-camera Effects - Image Processing, A How-to Guide

Canon's newly released EOS 60D has enjoyed an enthusiastic reception on photography blogs and camera review sites. Fans love the new functions and abilities of this handy EOS model, which includes vari-angle LCD screen, full manual control HD video capture and more in-camera effects. Meanwhile, for photographers shooting on-location, in-camera editing capabilities make it easy to process RAW image files in a few easy steps.

Creative Filters for your EOS 60D

Historically, one disadvantage of shooting original JPEG image files is that the creative options in post-processing at the computer are far fewer than is possible with RAW images. The EOS 60D's new in-camera processing gives you more options with Creative Filters option.

Creative Filters lets you take a RAW image file or an ordinary JPEG image file, play it back on the camera's LCD monitor, and then using the Playback Menu, create a new JPEG copy of that original with specialised variations applied to it. You can even call up that copy, once it's been created, and apply a new Creative Filter, in essence applying more than one adjustment to the original image.

There are four options that users can apply. Within each, there are adjustments that can be made right on the LCD monitor, using the new large Multi-Controller, to modify the "look" of the Creative Filter in question. Available choices are:

" Grainy Black & White - creates a B&W copy of an original colour JPEG file, and digitally adds noise for a grainy effect; the photographer can adjust contrast over a 3-step range.

" Soft Focus - potentially the most useful of the Creative Filter Effects; provides a nice soft look for portraits, certain types of landscapes, and so on; adjustable in a 3-step range)

" Toy Camera - an unusual effect, designed to mimic the "look" of images created by some toy film cameras; provides heavy vignetting, and user's choice of natural color, or a bluish-green or yellow-amber tint.

" Miniature Effect - mimics the effect of using a tilt-shift lens with "reverse" or "negative" tilt, for extremely narrow depth-of-field; users can choose to have the zone of sharpness be horizontal or vertical [regardless of picture orientation], and can move this zone of sharpness across the photograph.

To apply your creative filters to your images:

1. Go to the playback menu on your EOS 60D

2. Select Creative Filters

3. Turn the dial to select the image to apply the creative filter to

4. Press the Button to see your creative filter options for the image

5. Adjust the filter settings with the arrow buttons

6. Select to save the new image

7. You can apply multiple effects to an image by applying a new filter on top of your processed image and vary the resolution on-screen. This makes uploading and sharing photos easy and you can instantly optimise your images for photo printing or on-screen display.

Canon's in-camera image processing capabilities helps to streamline your photography equipment and reduce the need to carry laptops and cables when you're shooting on location. Discover the many other abilities of the Canon EOS 60D at the World of EOS and learn more about your favourite Canon camera.