First camera settings: the 10 to change on a new camera
A new camera comes out of the box set up to please the widest range of buyers, not to help you take better photos. A few minutes in the menu fixes that. The ten changes below protect your files, make focusing more predictable, show you when an exposure is going wrong and keep the camera quiet when it needs to be. Menu names differ between brands, so look for the closest match on yours; the manual or the maker's online help will show the exact path. None of these settings is permanent, and every one can be changed back later.
Recommended starting points
| Setting | Start here | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Image quality | RAW + JPEG (fine) | 1 |
| Date, time, copyright | Local time, your name in copyright | 2 |
| Memory card | Format in the camera | 3 |
| Focus button | Back-button AF (optional) | 4 |
| AF mode and area | Continuous AF, single point or zone | 5 |
| Auto ISO | Max about 6400, min shutter about 1/125 s | 6 |
| Review display | Histogram on, highlight warning on | 7 |
| Shutter sound | Electronic or silent mode when needed | 8 |
| Image review | About 2 s, or off | 9 |
| My Menu, firmware, beep | Custom menu set, latest firmware, beep off | 10 |
1Set image quality to RAW + JPEG
A JPEG is a finished picture: the camera has already decided the white balance, contrast and sharpening, and thrown away the data it did not need. A RAW file keeps everything the sensor recorded, so you can recover highlights, fix colour and lift shadows much further later.
Saving both gives you a ready-to-share JPEG and a RAW safety net for the frames that matter. The cost is storage space, so buy a larger card.
- Find Image quality (or File format) in the shooting menu and choose RAW + JPEG, with JPEG set to Fine or Large.
- If the camera offers compressed or lossless compressed RAW, lossless is a good default: smaller files with no visible loss.
- Check how many shots the card now holds and buy a bigger card if the number feels short.
- Once you are comfortable editing RAW files, you can switch to RAW only.
2Set date, time and copyright
The date and time are written into every file and decide how your photos sort in any app. A wrong clock makes it hard to find pictures and to match them with a phone or a second camera later.
Most cameras can also write your name into the copyright and artist fields of each file. It does not stop copying, but it records who took the picture.
- Set the time zone first, then the date and time; turn on daylight saving if your camera has the option.
- Fill in Copyright information or Artist name with something like "© Your Name".
- If the camera can sync time from its phone app, turn that on so the clock stays right when you travel.
- Check the clock again after changing time zones or after the battery has been out for a long time.
3Format the memory card in the camera
Formatting prepares the card with the file structure your camera expects. A card formatted on a computer or used in another camera can cause errors or slow writing.
Formatting erases everything on the card, so copy your photos off first.
- Copy any photos you want to keep to a computer before formatting.
- Use Format card in the camera's setup menu, not the computer.
- Repeat this each time you have safely copied a card, instead of deleting photos one by one.
- Keep one card per camera if you can, and reformat when moving a card between cameras.
4Try back-button focus (optional)
By default, half-pressing the shutter button both focuses and takes the picture. Back-button focus moves focusing to a separate button on the back, usually labelled AF-ON or AE-L/AF-L. The shutter button then only takes the picture.
This lets you focus once and recompose without the camera refocusing, or hold the back button to track a moving subject. It takes a day or two to get used to, so it is optional.
- Look for Custom controls, Button customisation or AF activation in the menu.
- Assign AF-ON (or AE-L/AF-L) to start focusing, then set the shutter button so it no longer starts AF.
- Practise at home: press with your thumb to focus, release to lock, press the shutter to shoot.
- If it feels awkward after a week, switch back; nothing is lost.
5Choose the AF mode and area
The AF mode decides whether focus locks once (single, AF-S or One Shot) or keeps adjusting while you hold the button (continuous, AF-C or AI Servo). The AF area decides where in the frame the camera looks.
Many cameras start in a fully automatic area mode that guesses the subject and often picks the nearest or brightest object. Choosing the area yourself makes results more predictable.
- Use continuous AF as an all-round default; with back-button focus it also works for still subjects.
- Start with a single point or a small zone, and move it with the joystick or touchscreen.
- Turn on face and eye detection for people and animals if your camera has it.
- Switch to wide or tracking areas for fast, unpredictable action.
6Set Auto ISO limits
Auto ISO lets the camera raise ISO when light gets low, so you can keep the aperture and shutter speed you want. Without limits it may push ISO very high, or drop the shutter speed until photos blur.
Two limits matter: the highest ISO you accept and the slowest shutter speed before ISO starts rising. The numbers below are approximate starting points.
- Turn on Auto ISO and set the maximum to about 3200–6400 on a recent camera, lower on an older or small-sensor model.
- Set the minimum shutter speed to about 1/125 s for people, or choose Auto with a faster bias if the camera offers it.
- Use Auto ISO in aperture priority or manual mode, and keep exposure compensation in mind.
- Look at a few high-ISO files at full size to decide where your own limit is.
7Turn on the histogram and highlight warnings
The rear screen is a poor guide to exposure: its brightness changes with the room and the screen setting. The histogram shows the tones as a graph, and the highlight warning blinks on areas that have turned pure white.
Clipped highlights cannot be recovered, even from RAW, so seeing them right away is one of the most useful habits you can build.
- Turn on the histogram in the live view or viewfinder display, and in the playback display.
- Turn on Highlight alert or Blinkies in the playback menu.
- Turn on zebras in video settings if you also film.
- If important areas blink, reduce exposure with compensation or a faster shutter speed and shoot again.
8Choose the shutter sound and silent mode
Mirrorless cameras can use a mechanical shutter, an electronic shutter or a mix. The electronic shutter is silent, useful at ceremonies, concerts and with wildlife.
It has trade-offs: fast movement can lean or bend (rolling shutter), and some lights cause stripes. Keep the mechanical or electronic first curtain shutter as the everyday default.
- Set the shutter type to mechanical or electronic front curtain for normal use.
- Learn where Silent mode or Electronic shutter sits, ideally on a custom button or in the quick menu.
- In silent mode, check that the AF light and flash are off too.
- Watch for stripes under LED or fluorescent lights and switch back if they appear.
9Set image review
After each shot, many cameras show the picture on the screen for a few seconds. In a viewfinder this can block your view just when the next moment happens, and it uses battery.
A short review, or none, keeps you looking at the scene. You can always press Play when you want to check.
- Set Image review to about 2 seconds, or off if you shoot action.
- On mirrorless cameras, turn off review in the viewfinder if a separate option exists.
- Set the playback display to show the histogram, so a quick check is a useful one.
- Use the magnify button in playback to check focus on important frames.
10Build a custom menu, update firmware, turn off the beep
Most cameras have a custom menu (My Menu) where you can put the settings you change most often, so you do not have to search deep menus in a hurry.
Makers release firmware updates that fix bugs and sometimes add features. The focus confirmation beep, meanwhile, rarely helps and draws attention in quiet places.
- Add your most used items to My Menu: format card, Auto ISO, shutter type and AF area are good starts.
- Check the maker's support site for your model, compare the version in the camera's setup menu and follow the update steps with a fully charged battery.
- Turn off Beep or Sound in the setup menu.
- Save your setup to a custom mode (C1, U1) or to the card if the camera allows it.
Before your first shoot
- RAW + JPEG set
- Date, time zone and copyright set
- Card formatted in the camera
- Back-button focus decided
- Continuous AF with a single point or zone
- Auto ISO with max and min shutter set
- Histogram and highlight warning on
- Shutter type and silent mode known
- Image review short or off
- My Menu built, firmware updated, beep off