Canon EOS Rebel T3 won't photograph in zoom, please help!

dollysmama · May 10, 2012

Hi. I am new here and seeking help. For Mothers Day I got a Canon Rebel EOS Rebel T3. No matter if I am in Macro mode or regular, when I zoom in to take a photo, the photo it takes looks like a regular "unzoomed" photo. It doesn't matter if I am in auto focus, or manual focus, it doesn't matter if I am in 18, 24, 35 or 55 MM. What am I doing wrong??? It has worked for me a couple times, but I think I have messed up the settings somewhere (playing with a new camera). I have looked in the manual and I am not having any luck troubleshooting. Can someone please help?

Overread · May 10, 2012

The only "zoom" on the camera is on the lens itself. You can zoom from 18mm to 55mm on the regular lens, if you want more you have to get lenses with a larger focal length.

The zoom feature on the LCD on the back screen when you are taking a photo is only zooming in on the screen itself to aid manual focusing of the shot. The shot itself will always be taken at the full size of the shot depending on the focal length you set.

If you want to magnify the image any further the only way to do so is in the computer by enlarging the photo itself There are also software options which can help in this process, such as Genuine Fractles. These help to preserve detail when you enlarge a photo, but even these have their limitations as to how far you can take things.

dollysmama · May 10, 2012

So you are saying, if I want to take a close up of say..a flower or an insect, I have to set the lens only and be in macro mode and don't bother with the magnification cause the magnification just helps focus it on the screen? (Amateur here...

Overread · May 10, 2012

"macro mode" on the camera you have actually won't change how close or how "magnified" an image you can get. This, with a DSLR, is totally a property of the lens you are using. For a flower photo you'd probably get the best magnification at the 55mm end of the lens.

The auto scene modes on the DSLR simply adjust its priorities for the three key settings of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Macro mode is most likely just trying to ensure a small aperture (bigger f number) with a modest shutter speed. As another example the sports mode is most likely going to give you a wide aperture (small f number) a higher ISO and a fast shutter speed.

You might want to look into a few guides to help get you started:
The Digital Photography book series (books 1, 2, 3) by Scot Kelby is ideally suited toward the novice DSLR shooter just getting started.
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is another good book aimed at the beginner in teaching basic exposure control.

If you want to get more serious with shooting macro subjects you'll want to consider investing in either an adaptor for your existing lens; this is cheaper though comes with some limits; or a dedicated macro lens (this would be a prime lens* with macro in the name**).

* prime meaning a single focal length
** there are one or two zooms with "macro" in the title, but this is simply close focusing no true macro; whilst there are one or two primes also with macro in the title which are not true macro capable.

dollysmama · May 10, 2012

Thanks, I will look into the books and I really appreciate the help! I wish I would have remembered the settings I had my camera on when I took some close ups. It may sound odd but I was wondering what a tan shingle would look like up close, it was a really good photo, looked like sand or pea gravel magnified, it turned out awesome. Now I can't even do that. I need patience, ha!

Overread · May 10, 2012

If you have the photos you've likely still got details of the settings that you used at the time. Digital cameras like the T3 store the details of the shot along with the photo itself. This info is called EXIF and most times its not hard to access the info itself. If you have the photo on your computer right clicking on it and going to "properties" and then selecting the "details" tab in the properties window will often display a list of info = listed within being the aperture used, shutter speed and ISO - it might also include the mode as well as many other bits of info from the shot.

Most editing software (eg programs like Adobe Photoshop Elements) will often also have a settings/EXIF/shot details menu option.

Oh and looking at the world close up isn't odd at all