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Welcome to the Canon D-SLR photography service centre

PROBLEM #28
How do use
my in-camera Creative Filters
can be applied in
any shooting
Creative Filters? mode - from
fully automatic
to manual
Give your pictures a digital
makeover without going near a
computer – here’s how to get
the most from Creative Filters

W
ith the flexibility that comes
from shooting Raw and the
power and boundless
possibilities offered by Photoshop, it
might seem a strange choice to add
digital effects to your pictures in-camera.
But there’s a lot to be said for saving
yourself some time sat in front of a
computer, as well as the enjoyment that
comes from trying a new way of shooting.
Digital ‘filters’ have taken the world of
smartphone photography to new hipster
heights, and they’re making a bit of
resurgence on D-SLRs too. Canon’s not the optical variety that sit on the lens or Filters can’t be changed in software. The
Creative Filters have been a fixture on EOS drop in front of the sensor, but rather a effects can only be applied in-camera, and
cameras since the 60D arrived almost a collection of in-camera processing effects the results have to be saved to the memory
little over three years ago. You won’t find that can be applied to pictures – with card as JPEGs.
them on pro-grade bodies like the 5D Mark permanent results. You see, unlike picture
III or the 1D X, but they’re available as an styles and white balance, whose effects can Before and after
editing option in the playback menu of the be adjusted later in Canon’s Digital Photo There are two ways to work with Creative
majority of other D-SLRs. These filters are Professional if you shoot Raw files, Creative Filters: either during playback on pictures

“Using Creative Filters during

you’ve already taken or on pictures you’re
about to shoot using Live View. The first
option is the most widespread and offers

Live View enables you to the most flexibility, as any ‘filtered’ image is
always saved as a separate file. Because
your original image is left untouched, you’re

preview the effect in real time” free to save as many different variations as
your memory card can take, each with a

74 | PhotoPlus March 2014

 Canon’s Creative Filter camera controls
Thinking of adding a filter effect? Here are the key settings you need to use…

1. Live View 5. Adjustments

Use this to preview a filter effect
During playback, highlight a filter
before you take a picture. Not all EOS
and then tap the SET button to be
D-SLRs enable you to do this.
able to tweak the strength or
2. White icon position of the effect. When you’re
using Live View, pressing the INFO
The Creative Filters menu icon
needs to be white in order to apply button has the same effect.
an effect – a greyed out symbol
means that the image is 6. Q/SET button
incompatible. Use this to bring up the Creative
Filters option in Live View, and to
3. Image preview select a filter option.
You can preview the effect
before deciding to save it.
7. Play button
4. Filter flavours Press this to review your images
and then tap the Q button to
The amount of filters available is
dependent on the camera model. choose a Creative Filter.
The Canon 100D shown here offers
seven effects, along with the option
to switch them off.

different strength of filter effect or
combination of effects – Creative Filters can
be cumulatively applied to a single image.
When you’re reviewing images on the rear
screen, tap the Q button to access the editing
display. It’s here that you’ll find the Creative
Filters option. Alternatively, select Creative
Filters in the camera’s blue playback menus
and scroll through your images until you’ve
found a suitable picture. It’s then a matter of
selecting the effect, adjusting its strength
and then saving the worked-up version as a
new file on the memory card. You can apply
Creative Filters to both Raw files and JPEGs,
although you will be unable to do so on an
image that you’ve previously cropped.
Using Creative Filters during Live View
brings the advantage of being able to preview
the effect in real time. This enables you to
compose a picture to make the most of the
filter – such as finding the perfect angle for
the model village look when using the
Miniature Effect – rather than having to make
do after the event. The downside of this is
that you have to shoot JPEGs in order to
access the Creative Filter option on the Live
View screen, and that means the effect of the
filter is embedded in the picture file when you
press the shutter release. There’s no going
back if you don’t like what you see. Still, it
brings back some of the edge-of-your-seat
immediacy to taking pictures!
Not all cameras offer this Live View
preview, and if you happen to use a Canon
D-SLR that predates the 60D then you won’t
have any onboard Creative Filters at all.

STEP BY STEP
How to preview a Creative Filter
Use Live View on the latest Canon D-SLRs to see a Creative Filter effect before you shoot

Enter Live View
Press the Live View button
and then either tap the Q
button or press INFO repeatedly
until the menus appear on the
screen. The Creative Filter icon
has the two overlapping circles.
Use the right format Select a filter Preview the effect
You won’t be able to apply Shooting JPEG, you can Pressing INFO enables you
the effect in the Raw or freely select a Creative to change the position or
Raw+JPEG format. If you shoot Filter. Scroll through the options strength of the effect, depending
Raw, you can save a separate using the arrow keys or Quick on which Creative Filter you pick,
JPEG with the effect applied Control dial, then tap SET to although it can take a little time
once you’ve taken the shot. select your preferred filter. for the screen to update.

PhotoPlus March 2014 | 75


Filters in action
The latest crop of Canon cameras (100D, 700D, 70D) have
seven Creative Filters, each of which can be increased or
decreased in strength (over three steps) or adjusted in
position. We’ve suggested subjects that each of the filters
works particularly well with, but experiment to find an effect
or combination of effects that works for you.
Grainy B/W
This filter takes a hammer
to the more subtle results
that can be achieved
through the Monochrome picture
style. However, the punchy-but-gritty
look works well for street photography
and architecture. Whether you can
accept the dappling it adds to areas of
clean pale tone is another thing.
Adjustable option: the level of
contrast can be increased or
decreased from the Standard setting.
Highlights and brighter areas are
likely to burn out at the highest
setting – that is, they’ll be so bright
they won’t hold any detail.
Fish-eye effect
It’s no substitute for a
good quality fish-eye
lens, but at least it’s
free. The Fish-eye filter produces
a super-distorted view of the
world, causing straight horizontal
and vertical lines to distort and
bulge outwards. It’s an effect
that’s best used in moderation
– but in all honesty it’s an effect
that you’ll tire of quickly.
Adjustable option: you get the
familiar Standard, Low and High
settings here. The higher the
setting, the more of the available
image you lose around the edge
of the frame.
Water painting effect
Turn your photos into
works of art; or at least,
reduce the details in your
photos to black outlines with subtle
colours that bleed beyond these
edges. Pick a scene or subject with
strong edges to make the most of this
filter – landscapes, city scenes and
other views you’d normally associate
with watercolour paintings lead to the
most convincing overall effect.
Adjustable option: the colour density
can be set to Standard, Light or Deep.
Avoid the Deep setting if people
feature in the frame.
76 | PhotoPlus March 2014
BEFORE AFTER
Toy camera effect
If you’re looking for
a colour shift typical
of old film and dark
corners that you’d get from a
cheap plastic lens, this is for you.
Alongside the Miniature filter, we
feel this is one of the most successful options available, producing an effect
that suits a wide range of subjects, from portraits to cars to fruity still lifes.
BEFORE Adjustable option: you can alter the tone of the colour cast across the
image, from Standard (slightly warm) to Cool or Warm (a bit sickly yellow,
really). Standard offers the most ‘natural’ looking results.
Soft focus BEFORE
Does exactly what it says
on the tin, giving a hazy
look to pictures. Portraits
are a natural fit for this filter (even
the icon shows a glowing figure), but
still life work and landscapes can
benefit from the dreamy quality it
gives to pictures.
Adjustable option: as with most of
AFTER the other filters, the strength of the
effect has three settings – Standard,
Low or High. And, as with the others,
you need to be wary of the highest
setting as it can end up looking as
BEFORE AFTER
though you failed to focus properly.
BEFORE
Art bold effect
This strong dose of saturation
produces vivid, hyper-real
colours. Images that are
colourful to begin with benefit most
with this filter, but scenes that feature a
single colourful focal point – such as red
poppy in a field – can look good. Just
avoid shots of people with this filter…
Adjustable option: if you’re looking for
a bold effect, you’re unlikely to use the
Low setting, so stick with Standard. The
High option inflates the warmth of reds
AFTER
and oranges to nuclear dawn levels.
AFTER
BEFORE
Miniature effect BEFORE
This mimics the toytown
look that can be created
when a tilt-shift lens is used
‘incorrectly’ and a wafer-thin depth
of field is created. It’s most effective
if you can find a subject that could
conceivably be a model and shoot it
from a raised position. Warning: this
filter can be addictive.
Adjustable option: you’re unable to
adjust the strength of the Miniature
effect, but you change the position of
the sharp area in the picture.
AFTER
AFTER
 Multiple filters
If the strongest setting for a filter isn’t extreme enough for you,
you can double the impact by applying it more than once. This
works well with the Miniature effect, allowing you to really
intensify the degree of blur. However, you have to build up the
effect in stages, saving the image after applying a filter, then
opening up that image and applying it again. Carrying out this
process many times can reduce the overall quality of the picture.

When you select the Creative After cranking up the Grainy Scroll through the images to Repeating the same process,
Filters option in the playback B/W filter to its maximum find the previously filtered one we finish off with the Miniature
menu, only the files that are level, we save a new version of in order to add another effect effect, positioning the area of
compatible will be accessible. the image by pressing SET. (Toy Camera here). sharpness near the clock face.

The 60D introduced four in-camera filters,
with the 600D taking that total to five:
Fish-eye, Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Toy
camera effect and Miniature effect. Later
bodies, like the 100D, added the painterly
Art bold and Watercolour effects to the mix.
Using them is straightforward, but getting
the best out of them is another matter.
Naturally, some filters are more suited to
certain scenes than others. For instance, far
fewer subjects can take the overcooked
colours of the Art bold effect than those that
suit the more subdued and classier Toy
camera effect. Most of the Creative Filters
have three levels of adjustment – Low,
Standard and High – but the default
Standard setting generally gives the most
pleasing result. We find that some of the
more extreme effects, such as Fish-eye and
Soft focus, benefit from being dropped to
the lowest setting for a more subtle result,
but it’s ultimately a matter of taste.
Talking of taste, these types of D-SLR
digital filters often get a hard time for being
‘amateurish’. While there’s no denying that
one or two are garish, we think it’s a good
idea to have them available as a creative
option – after all, you don’t have to use them
if you don’t want to. With some white
balance adjustments and picture style
tweaks they can produce some surprisingly
effective results, perfect for quickly sharing
online, and they’re also
a great way for kids to
have fun with digital
photography. n

25 hints and tips for…

Superzoom lenses
Every month we highlight an EOS camera
or type of lens and provide priceless
advice to get more from your gear

1 Zoom creep 3 Image 5 Using filters

If you’re looking to buy a
new superzoom, choose
one with a Zoom Lock
switch. This will prevent the
lens from zooming out
towards its telephoto end
when you’re carrying the
camera over your shoulder.
2 ISO setting
Superzooms have slow
maximum apertures, so
you’ll need a faster shutter
speed to combat camera
shake. Use your camera’s
Auto ISO setting to
automatically take care of
this by increasing the ISO.
Stabilization
A stabilised lens improves
your chances of getting
sharp shots at longer focal
lengths. Switch this
function off when you shoot
from a tripod though, as the
results tend to be crisper.
A clear UV filter can help
protect the lens’s front
element, however keep an
eye out for vignetting –
dark corners in the picture
– when you’re using more
4 Better focusing than one filter and shooting
The narrow maximum at the wide end of the lens.
aperture can cause issues
for your camera’s autofocus
system, and it may ‘hunt’
for something to lock onto.
Try using manual focus in
conjunction with Live View’s
magnification function.

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