Getting to Know the Canon Rebel T3i
The Canon Rebel T3i (sold as the 600D outside North America) is an 18-megapixel APS-C DSLR that hit the market in 2011 and is still a solid camera for learning photography. It shoots 1080p video, has a 3-inch articulating touchscreen, records to SD cards, and supports Canon’s full EF and EF-S lens lineup. If you’ve picked one up secondhand or you’re still shooting with yours, this guide will walk you through every setting that matters.
For a similar walkthrough on its successor, see our guide to the Canon 700D.
Shooting Modes Explained
The mode dial on top of the T3i gives you access to fully automatic, semi-automatic, and manual modes. Here’s what each one does and when to use it.
Auto and Scene Modes
Full Auto (green rectangle) handles everything. The camera picks ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and focus mode. It works fine for casual snapshots, but you give up all creative control.
Scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Close-up, Night Portrait) are tuned versions of Auto. Portrait mode opens the aperture for background blur. Sports mode bumps up the shutter speed. These are good starting points if you’re not ready for manual settings but want better results than full Auto.
Creative Auto (CA) sits between Auto and the semi-manual modes. It gives you a slider for background blur (which adjusts aperture behind the scenes) and lets you choose drive mode and flash behavior. It’s a nice stepping stone.
Program (P)
Program mode sets both aperture and shutter speed automatically, but lets you change ISO, white balance, metering, and other settings. You can also “shift” the combination by turning the main dial: the camera adjusts the aperture/shutter pair while keeping the same exposure. P mode is useful when you want speed but still want control over ISO and color.
Aperture Priority (Av)
You pick the aperture (f-number), and the camera sets the shutter speed to match. This is the mode most photographers live in. Use a wide aperture (f/1.8 to f/4) for portraits with blurred backgrounds, or a narrow aperture (f/8 to f/16) for landscapes where you want everything sharp from front to back.
Shutter Priority (Tv)
You set the shutter speed, and the camera adjusts the aperture. Use fast shutter speeds (1/500 or higher) to freeze action, or slow speeds (1/30 or below) for motion blur effects. Keep an eye on the aperture value in the viewfinder. If it blinks, you’ve hit the limit of your lens and the photo will be over or underexposed.
Manual (M)
Full manual gives you control over both aperture and shutter speed. Watch the exposure meter in the viewfinder: the indicator should sit near the center mark for a correctly exposed image. Manual mode is best for studio work, tricky lighting, and situations where the camera’s metering gets confused (like shooting against a bright window).
Understanding Metering Modes
The T3i has four metering modes that determine how the camera measures light in the scene.
Evaluative metering divides the frame into 63 zones and averages them, giving extra weight to the area around your active focus point. This is the default and works well for most situations.
Partial metering reads about 9% of the frame, centered in the viewfinder. Use it when your subject is backlit and you want to expose for them, not the bright background.
Spot metering reads roughly 4% of the frame, right at the center. This is the most precise option. Point the center at your subject, lock exposure with the AE lock button (*), then recompose and shoot.
Center-weighted average reads the whole frame but favors the center. It’s a middle ground between evaluative and spot, and it’s predictable once you get a feel for it.
Autofocus Points and Selection
The T3i has 9 autofocus points, with the center point being a cross-type sensor (meaning it detects contrast in both horizontal and vertical directions). The surrounding 8 points are single-axis.
To select a focus point manually, press the AF point selection button (top right of the back panel), then use the directional pad or main dial to pick a point. Press SET to confirm. Using the center point gives you the fastest and most accurate autofocus. For portraits, switch to a side point that lines up with your subject’s eye.
One-Shot AF locks focus when you half-press the shutter. Best for still subjects like portraits, products, and landscapes.
AI Servo AF tracks a moving subject continuously as long as you hold the shutter half-pressed. Use this for sports, kids, and animals.
AI Focus AF starts in One-Shot and automatically switches to Servo if the subject moves. It works, but the switch isn’t always instant. You’re usually better off choosing One-Shot or AI Servo yourself.
ISO Range and Noise
The T3i’s native ISO range runs from 100 to 6400, with an expanded option up to 12800. ISO 100 to 400 produces clean images with minimal noise. ISO 800 to 1600 is usable, especially if you shoot in RAW and apply noise reduction in post. Above ISO 3200, grain becomes noticeable, and fine detail starts to soften.
For the best image quality, keep ISO as low as lighting allows. In Auto ISO mode (available in P, Av, and Tv modes), the camera adjusts ISO automatically within a range you can set in the menu.
White Balance Settings
White balance controls color temperature. The T3i offers Auto (AWB), Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, and Custom presets. Auto white balance handles most situations well, but it can make warm-toned scenes (like golden hour sunlight) look cooler than they should.
For more control, try the Daylight preset when shooting outdoors. Use Tungsten under incandescent bulbs. For mixed lighting, set a custom white balance by photographing a white card under the same light and selecting that image as the reference in the menu.
If you shoot in RAW, white balance can be changed in post-processing without any loss of quality. This is one of the biggest reasons to shoot RAW on the T3i.
Video Recording Tips
The T3i records 1080p video at 24, 25, or 30 fps, and 720p at 50 or 60 fps. It was one of the first affordable DSLRs to offer full HD video, and it still produces good-looking footage.
Manual exposure in video is available in M mode. Set your aperture, shutter speed (double your frame rate for natural motion blur, so 1/50 for 24 fps), and ISO before you start recording.
Autofocus during video is slow and noisy on the T3i. The camera uses contrast-detect AF in Live View, which hunts back and forth. For smooth video, set focus manually before recording. Pull-focus moves look better when you do them by hand.
Audio can be recorded through the built-in microphone or an external mic via the 3.5mm input. An external mic is a big upgrade. The built-in mic picks up lens motor noise and handling sounds.
Recording is limited to about 12 minutes per clip (4GB file size limit on FAT32 SD cards). For longer recordings, stop and restart.
Using the Flip Screen
The articulating screen on the T3i flips out to the left and rotates 270 degrees. You can angle it up for low-angle shots, flip it forward for self-portraits or vlogging, or fold it face-in against the body to protect the screen in a bag.
In Live View, the flip screen makes it easy to shoot from unusual angles without lying on the ground or holding the camera overhead and guessing at the composition. For video shooters, it’s one of the T3i’s best features.
Custom Functions Worth Changing
Under the Custom Functions menu (the orange wrench icon), there are a few settings worth adjusting.
C.Fn I-1: Exposure level increments. Set this to 1/3-stop for finer control over exposure adjustments.
C.Fn I-3: Flash sync speed in Av mode. Change this from “auto” to “1/200-1/60 sec. auto” to prevent the camera from using very slow shutter speeds when the flash is on.
C.Fn IV-1: Shutter/AE lock button. You can reassign the AE lock button (*) to activate autofocus instead of the shutter button. This is called back-button focus, and many photographers prefer it because it separates focus from shooting.
