Canon EOS Rebel T5i / EOS 700D

Control trainer

A hands-on map for the buttons, dials, exposure triangle, creative modes, and the tiny cockpit logic of your Rebel T5i. Click the camera. Twist the virtual dials. Make deliberate photos instead of letting Auto guess what matters.

Clickable camera diagrams Manual mode walkthrough Exposure simulator Practice drills

How to use this page

Choose a shooting mode in the sticky bar, then click a control on the camera. The right panel tells you what that control does in the selected mode.

Start with M if you want full manual control. Start with Av if you want the useful everyday “make the background blurry or sharp” mode.

Current mode
1. Button map

Click the camera, not the manual.

The T5i is a small spacecraft with a polite British naming problem: Tv means shutter-priority, Av means aperture-priority, and M means you are now the adult in the room.

Tip: keyboard users can tab to hotspots and press Enter.

Tip: tap a hotspot, then change the mode above.

Top plate from back Mode: M
Top plate viewed from behind the camera: the right-hand controls are grouped on the right. HOT SHOE MODE P Tv Av M A+ SCN OFF ON MOV MODE PWR ISO DIAL SHUTTER FLASH
2. Manual mode

M mode: three knobs and one meter.

Manual mode is not mystical. It is just this: shutter speed controls time, aperture controls the size of the lens opening, ISO controls amplification, and the meter tells you whether the camera thinks the result is too dark or bright.

1/125F5.6ISO 400
-3
+3

Meter: 0 EV, balanced for this simulated scene.

Five-step cockpit flow

Click each step as you practice it on the real camera. The sequence is deliberately mechanical. Muscle memory beats menu archaeology.

1
Turn the Mode Dial to M.
Creative Zone, full manual exposure.
✓
2
Press ISO, pick a starting ISO.
ISO 100 outdoors, 400 cloudy shade, 800-3200 indoors.
✓
3
Turn the Main Dial for shutter speed.
Faster for motion; slower for more light.
✓
4
Hold Av/± and turn Main Dial for aperture.
Lower f-number for blur and light; higher f-number for depth.
✓
5
Half-press shutter and watch the meter.
Needle near 0 is the camera’s “normal.” You can choose brighter or darker on purpose.
✓

Practical first setting: M, ISO 400, 1/125, f/5.6. Point at a normal indoor scene. Then change one thing at a time and watch the meter move.

3. Exposure lab

See what the settings do before you miss the shot.

This simulator is intentionally simple. It teaches the tradeoffs, not sensor physics in a lab coat. The scene changes brightness, noise, motion blur, and background blur as you move the controls.

Balanced Motion: modest Background: medium Noise: low
Shutter speed1/125
Freezes ordinary hand motion. Running dogs may need faster.
Aperturef/5.6
Middle aperture: workable depth, decent light.
ISO400
Moderate sensitivity. Usually safe on this body.
0 EVExposure compared with the starting scene.
1/125 · f/5.6 · ISO 400Your current triangle.
4. Mode matrix

What changes when you turn the Mode Dial?

This is the map. The row for the selected mode is highlighted.

ModeBest useMain DialAv/± buttonISOCamera still controls
A+ / BasicHand the camera most decisions. Useful when the point is documentation, not craft.Limited. Often changes scene/quick options only.Usually unavailable for exposure control.Mostly Auto.Exposure, aperture, shutter, ISO, focus choices, flash behavior depending on mode.
PFast general shooting while keeping creative controls nearby.Program shift after metering; selected Q value when in Quick Control.Exposure compensation with Main Dial.Manual or Auto ISO.Camera chooses shutter and aperture pair.
TvMotion control: freeze action or create blur.Sets shutter speed.Exposure compensation with Main Dial.Manual or Auto ISO.Camera chooses aperture. If aperture blinks, your selected shutter is outside what the lens/light can support.
AvDepth control: blurry background or sharp scene.Sets aperture.Exposure compensation with Main Dial.Manual or Auto ISO.Camera chooses shutter speed. If shutter blinks, light/lens limits are biting.
MFull control, consistent exposures, flash work, tricky light.Sets shutter speed.Hold Av/±, turn Main Dial to set aperture.Manual ISO or Auto ISO, depending on setup.Metering guidance and autofocus. You choose the exposure.
MovieVideo capture and Live View framing.Adjusts selected exposure/menu value. Behavior depends on movie exposure settings.Can participate in manual exposure adjustment where enabled.Manual/Auto depending on movie exposure setup.Autofocus mode, movie recording size, exposure automation unless set otherwise.
PlaybackReview, delete, zoom, protect, inspect histograms.Moves through images or magnification states depending on screen.Navigation role, not exposure.No shooting ISO change.No capture settings; you are reviewing files.
5. Field recipes

Settings that get you moving.

Click a recipe to load the exposure lab. Real light varies, so treat these as launch coordinates, not scripture carved into basalt.

6. Drills

Quick checks for actual learning.

Camera knowledge decays into menu fog unless you press buttons. These drills force small decisions.

Freeze a running dog in daylight.

Which priority matters first?

Background is too sharp in a portrait.

What do you change first?

In M mode, how do you change aperture?

Which control combo is the usual path?

Reference

Small glossary, large payoff.

Stop

A doubling or halving of light. 1/125 to 1/250 is one stop darker. ISO 400 to 800 is one stop brighter.

Shutter speed

How long the sensor sees light. Faster freezes motion but darkens the image. Slower brightens but blurs movement and hand shake.

Aperture

The lens opening. Lower f-number means more light and shallower depth of field. Higher f-number means less light and deeper focus.

ISO

Signal amplification. Higher ISO brightens the file but adds noise and reduces clean detail.

Exposure compensation

In P, Tv, and Av, this tells the camera to make the automatic exposure brighter or darker than its meter’s normal.

AE lock

Freezes the camera’s metered auto exposure so you can recompose without the exposure changing.

AF operation

One-Shot for still subjects, AI Servo for moving subjects, AI Focus lets the camera switch automatically.

Metering

How the camera evaluates brightness: whole scene, center-weighted, partial, or spot. The meter is a recommendation, not a court order.