Finding the horizon and making sure your camera is level is sometimes easier said than done. Photographing a flat landscape is one thing, but when you integrate mountains, rolling hills, and foliage into the image, you might not be able to see where the horizon line is, and you risk tilting your camera in one direction or the other.
Many tripods and tripod heads come with a bubble level, but there will be times that your tripod is propped at a weird angle and you won’t be able to rely on it. The 60D has a really cool feature—called the electronic level—that can help you with this. When the electronic level is activated, you can set the horizontal tilt and properly level your camera for landscape photography. You also have the option of viewing this feature on the LCD Monitor, through the viewfinder, or on the top LCD Panel (Figures 5.10 and 5.11). I usually prefer using the LCD Monitor, especially when my camera is on a tripod, but sometimes I don’t want to take my eyes away from the viewfinder (which could slow down my shooting). In those situations, I use the viewfinder method.
SETTING THE ELECTRONIC LEVEL IN THE LCD MONITOR
- First, be sure that you have the electronic level set up to display properly. To do so, press the Menu button and use the Main dial to select the third setup tab, and then scroll down to Info Button Display Options using the Quick
Control dial (A). Press the Set button. - Make sure that there is a check mark next to the Electronic Level setting (B). If there isn’t, use the Quick Control dial to scroll to it, and then press the Set button (a check mark should appear). Use the Quick Control dial again to scroll down to OK, and then press Set.
- Next, press the Info button until the electronic level appears in the LCD Monitor. (To view the electronic level when using Live View, press the Info button until it appears in the LCD Monitor.) You’ll know the horizontal tilt is leveled when the red lines turn green (C).
SETTING THE ELECTRONIC LEVEL IN THE VIEWFINDER AND TOP LCD PANEL
- Press the Menu button and use the Main dial to scroll to the Custom Functions tab, and then use the Quick Control dial to highlight the C.Fn IV: Operation/Others item (A). Press the Set button.
- Use the Quick Control dial to select C.Fn IV-2. Press the Set button and use the Main dial to get to the fifth menu option (B). Press Set.
- Now, look through the viewfinder as if you are going to take a photo, halfpress the Shutter button to activate the camera, and then press the Set button. On the bottom of the display you’ll see hash marks moving from left to right. When just one hash mark is showing, your camera is leveled horizontally.