Canon T8I Battery Door Removal

by Kevin Marcus
(Grand Rapids Mi)

Hello my name is Kevin I have a quick question is the battery door removable on the T8i if so how does it come off.

Thank You In Advance Kevin Marcus

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your question on how to remove the battery door from your Canon Rebel t8i. Usually-See the photo of the inside of t8i battery door below-there is a diagram on the inside of the batter door. To remove the t8i battery door is a simple matter of a gentle push or twist of the hinge.

This video might help you too: YouTube Video

Battery doors are removed to enable using a battery grip or an AC power cord.

I hope this helps. Keep in touch,
Bruce

A Word About Canon Batteries

Rebel t8i

by Patrick McKenna
(Placerville, Calif USA)

Not necessarily a question. I just purchased a Rebel t8i . Really looking forward to its delivery- Oct 16. It’s my fourth Canon- maybe fifth. I am glad my other ef lenses will work. Just wish I knew what they are all best for. My favorite is the 75-300 with image stabilizer.

I really enjoy wildlife photography-any wildlife! I am currently working on hummingbirds. Anything on that is appreciated. I am a certified amateur, 79 years old and just enjoy taking pictures and looking at them on my iPad. If I can figure out how I will send you a couple. I am still at that point where like to get info on anything about wildlife pics- don’t tell my Grandkids. They are fun too. Thanks for listening.

Patrick M.

Hi Patrick, thanks for taking the time to reach out to me. Glad you're going to have fun with a Rebel t8i. That's what it's all about. Hummingbirds present a few specific challenges to photograph because of their speed, but You'll figure that out as you go.

I look forward to seeing some of your photos! Here are a few posts you might find helpful,

Bird Lenses
All Canon Lenses
Best t8i Lenses

Thanks,
Bruce

The Best Lens for a Canon Rebel t8i

by Mary Beth Shackelford
(Trenton KY)

Here's a great question from a Canon Geek reader about which lens is the best choice for a Canon Rebel t8i for shooting sunsets, bird photography and family events.

"Hi Bruce!

I am a newbie in the camera world and need to be pointed in the right direction. I am a picture taking fool, I will take hundreds of pictures of sunrises and sunsets to capture the right picture... but most of my pics are on my iphone, which is great for spur of the moment and ease but want to take photography to the next level.

Last year I got a Rebel 8ti for Christmas. It's great...still learning it...but need to invest in lenses to make it worthwhile. This is my dilemma. Do I stick with my Rebel and invest in a quality lens that allows me to take beautiful sunrise and sunset pics, nature pics, capturing that bald eagle in the field I'm driving by, and family get togethers, and if so...which one is the best bang for my buck? (I don't mind to spend some on it but also am not at a professional level, and don't want to sell a kidney to purchase it.....or...do I do a 180 and invest in a mirrorless or the Mark you referenced on your page?

I would love something that I can keep near me at all times, easy to pack around, and ease to connect to WIFI for downloading, something that my pictures continue to give that "wow" factor but with a lot more clarity and ability to really get that detail I'm craving when I zoom in to capture the moon. I'm going to Spain in January so I'd like to be camera ready and educated before then.

Thanks so much in advance!

MB"

Hi Mary Beth,

It's a great question. Your Rebel t8i has an APS-C sensor. It take both Canon EF-S and EF lenses. Before we dive in deep, let me say thanks so much for contributing your beautiful photos with your inquiry about Canon lenses. The t8i gives you a lot of technology for a great price and the flexibility of expanding your photography capabilities with many Canon Lenses. Here's my 3-part answer about lenses for your t8i versus a camera "upgrade."

Best General t8i Lens

The best general lens for your t8i is the Canon EF-S 18-135mm lens. It will give you sharp detailed photos. The 18-135mm focal range gives you wide angle through moderate zoom focal lengths that will handle almost all of your picture taking needs. On the Rebel t8i, the angle of view of your subject is equivalent to that of a 28mm to 216mm lens on a full frame Canon.

CANON 18-135MM F/3.5/5.6 IS LENS

The 18-135mmm lens also has image stabilization which will give you sharp photos with slower shutter speed photos-like those sunset and just after sunset photos you enjoy taking.
I recommend you read the detailed article I wrote on the best lens for a Canon 90D because it has the exact same size sensor as your t8i. That means it will give you the same benefits. Here's the post on lens choices for a 90D.

The 18-135mm lens zooms plenty wide enough for family snaps shots and group photos. Zoomed in all the way to 135mm, this lens will give you good (but not great) reach for photographing eagles and other birds.

Bird Lens For Rebel t8i

Ultimately, if you want to be able to take wild bird photos you need more serious magnification with your lens and you can't go wrong with the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L. This is a pro L lens and comes with a high pro lens price, so it's out of reach for many newbie photographers.

A cheaper alternative "bird lens" for your t8i would be the CANON EF-S 55-250MM F/4.5-5.6, although it only has about 2/3 of the reach as the 100-400mm lens, it's smaller, lighter and a fraction of the cost.
Another affordable t8i lens choice for bird photography is the Canon EF 75-300mm lens. Although neither one of these lenses is going to have the performance of the 100-400 L Lens, they both are good starter lenses for bird photographers shooting with a crop camera like the t8i.

Rebel t8i versus Canon Mirrorless

You're wondering which is better, your t8i or a newer mirrorless camera. Should you trade in your t8i for a shiny new Canon mirrorless camera? I wouldn't. The very slight advantage of having a smaller camera body is outweighed by having the same sized large lenses attached to your camera at a higher cost.

The newer mirrorless do have better burst modes (faster frames per second fps) and generally have better video capabilities, but I really like your choice of the t8i. Your Rebel can shoot at 7 fps, which is good for capturing birds in flight. You just have to learn the right technique.

Your Rebel t8i is likely the end of the line for Canon's "Rebel t" series. Starting with the Rebel X, Rebel XT, and t3, through all the upgrades, you can think of the Rebel t8i as the final improve version of this very successful line of Canon camera bodies.

Mary Beth, I hope this was helpful answer to your question about lenses for your Rebel t8i. Please comment back or send us a few photos when you upgrade for your Rebel kit lens.

Warm Regards,
Bruce

T8i Vertical video - how do I turn it off the auto rotate?

by John
(Seattle, WA)

Hello,
Thank you for reviewing this question. I am trying to just shoot with my t8i vertically and then play it back on a TV that is vertically oriented. IE, I don't want to camera to do anything clever, just shoot what it sees. There is an auto rotate function in the t8i which wants to be helpful and automatically rotates your vertical footage for a horizontal screen. The effect is that you get a narrow vertical stripe of video with lots of black space on the sides. Regardless of whether i turn this auto rotate off or on its other settings, it doesn't make a difference. same result.

Is there some setting I am missing?

Hi John,

thanks for your question on t8i video playback setting. Sorry that, as you mentioned (""the setting of off doesn't help.") I don't have any experience with the Canon t8i, but I'll try to give you some ideas. I did some research, but didn't find anyone else specifically addressing the same issue of cancelling auto-rotate when shooting video vertically with the t8i. I've done some vertical videos on my Canon DSLRs for YouTube shorts, but not a Rebel t8i.

If we assume the settings on the t8i will be very similar to perhaps the t7, t6, or other Rebels, you might broaden your searches using both Google and YouTube, using a few variations such as "Canon Rebel vertical video playback," or do a parallel search "how to set vertical (or auto-rotate) playback on Canon t7i."

Additional you might try a users group on Facebook that is dedicated to the Canon Rebel t8i, such as: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanonT8i.

As a sidenote, on my 5D Mark III, I get a "CANNOT ROTATE" on the LCD screen when I try to set the rotate when I'm in video mode. On my 90D, even in video mode, when I've got a video thumbnail displayed on the screen, there is no response in the camera when I select the rotate function. It's likely that your t8i was designed the same way.

Be persistent with your search and try using one of the methods above to get your answer disabling the auto-rotate for shooting vertically on your Canon Rebel t8i. Hopefully, one of the Canon Geek readers might be some help too.
Hope that helps,
Bruce

Indoor Sports Lens
For Canon Rebel t8i

by Michele
(Jacobsburg ohio)

I’m a mom not a professional nor do I want to be. I just want to take good pictures of my kid doing indoor youth wrestling and I’m trying to move into manual mode but can’t find much help in what settings to use. I currently have a rebel T5i and just ordered a canon T8i . Any suggestions on lenses and settings

Hi Michele,

Thanks for asking about a good Canon indoor sports lens for your Rebel t8i camera. Congrats on getting your new camera! It's got a nice fast burst rate of 7 frames-per-second for shooting sports.

I don't have any personal experience with the t8i, but it's a nice upgrade from the t7i, which is a great camera at a good price point.

The biggest challenge you're likely to face when shooting sports indoors is the lighting. You won't be able to use any flash so you'll have to rely on the existing light.

INDOOR CANON SPORTS LENS

In terms of the best lens, I'd recommend you look at the EF 70-200mm lenses. They're very sharp when you're shooting at their maximum apertures (a setting you'll want to use) and they have plenty of reach to zoom in on your subject, particularly with the t8i crop sensor.

There's no reason you need to spend a lot money on a new one. There are a ton of excellent used lenses available that will more than a good job for you. There are different versions of both the f/4 and f/2.8 versions. See the advertisement on this page for "Where I Buy My Used Gear": KEH. I deal with them a lot and I highly recommend them when you're buying used gear.

INDOOR SPORTS SETTINGS

Fortunately, with youth wrestling your subjects are confined to a fixed area which is not too large and the speed of the action is a little less than some of the other indoor sports.

I'd use aperture priority mode with your f/stop as low as possible. Then raise your ISO setting until your camera achieves 1/500 second exposure as a starting point. I think you'll find my article on Canon Camera Settings very helpful.

Michele, I hope that helps you with a starting point. Feel free to follow up with any questions.

This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, at no cost to you.


KEH: WHERE I BUY CANON GEAR
"I've found that the condition of the used equipment from KEH is excellent and a whole lot cheaper than buying new" - Bruce, the Canon Camera Geek