Worked examplesLesson 6 of 8 · 20 min · 5 reading, 15 doing

The short version

The same five day-one settings apply to every camera. What changes is where to find them and what to watch for.

A new phone

What you see: A camera app with very few visible settings, and three lens buttons: 0.5x, 1x and 2x or more.
What to decide: Which settings matter on a phone, since there is no mode dial.
The decision: Turn on the grid. Set the highest photo quality, and RAW if offered (you'll use it later). Leave HDR on automatic. Use the 1x lens by default; it's the best camera in the phone.

A compact zoom camera you were given

What you see: A long zoom, a small mode dial, a screen and no viewfinder. The date shows a year ago.
What to decide: Whether anything was left on the card, and what the last owner changed.
The decision: Copy off the old photos, then format the card. Look for "Reset all settings" in the menu, run it, and then make the five day-one changes. Starting clean means you know every setting is yours.

A second-hand DSLR with a kit lens

What you see: Some dust on the body, an 18–55mm lens, one battery and a 16GB card.
What to decide: What to buy before the first outing.
The decision: Reset the settings, make the five changes, and buy one spare battery and a 64GB U3 card. Find out how many photos it has taken (the shutter count): for many models, a free website or app reads it from one photo. Many entry DSLRs are tested to about 100,000 shots, so a few thousand is nothing. Take a photo of plain blue sky, slightly out of focus, with the mode dial on A and the aperture at f/16. A small aperture like f/16 makes dust on the sensor show up clearly. Dark spots mean the sensor needs a professional clean.

A brand-new mirrorless camera

What you see: A box with the body, a kit zoom, one battery, a USB-C cable and no charger. The camera asks for language and date as soon as it's switched on.
What to decide: How to charge it, and which of the many menus matter now.
The decision: Charge it in the camera over USB-C overnight before the first outing. Answer the setup prompts, then make the five day-one changes. Leave every focus and video setting at its default; Module 11 covers focus. Download the maker's phone app only if you want to copy photos to your phone; you don't need it to learn.

What all four have in common

Every camera got the same three things: a clean start (reset or fresh setup), the five day-one settings, and power and storage sorted before the first outing. The menus look different. The thinking doesn't.

Notice what nobody did: buy new lenses, download presets or change a dozen advanced settings. None of those helps a beginner. The camera's defaults are sensible; you'll change them one at a time as each module shows you why.

A Sony camera with a menu open on its tilted rear screen — Look for "Reset" or "Initialise" near the end of the setup menu.

Illustration: sensor dust shows as soft grey blobs in a plain sky shot at f/16. They stay in the same place in every photo.

Quick checkYou've borrowed a friend's camera for a weekend. Should you reset all its settings?

No. Make only the changes you need, and note them so you can change them back. Resetting is for a camera that's now yours.

Finn's tip

Take a photo of your camera's serial number and receipt now. You'll want both for insurance and repairs.

Try it now · 15 minutes

Choose the scenario closest to your camera and check you've made every change in its "decision".
Write your own scenario in the same three parts: what you see, what to decide, the decision. Use your actual camera.
Do the blue-sky test if your camera takes interchangeable lenses: mode A, f/16, plain sky or a white wall, slightly out of focus. Zoom in on the photo and look for spots.
Photograph your serial number and file it with your receipt.

Four cameras, set up from the box