ALWAYS change these 5 camera settings

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I have set up dozens of new and used cameras and have forgotten to change settings and features that have ruined my photos and/or shooting and editing experience. A few are just camera settings I choose to idiot-proof my camera in the future.
I'm hoping to spare you all the pain of my mistake by sharing the camera settings I change on every camera I take photos with, including:

- The right memory card
- The right file format
- My preferred drive mode

Don't forget to share how you set up your camera in the comments.
Also, I listed 9 things I change but ALWAYS is a strong word so I just put 5 in the title. That way people can argue about which ones should ALWAYS be changed and which ones are a preference. It's going to give everyone something to talk about.

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I also just realized Tony made this SAME VIDEO but listed 10 settings. We even chose almost identical titles. We both hate beeping. We should get married. But, had I known about this sooner I would have done 11 settings to one-up him.

[ValerieCox-VECCreative]

I always change the file name settings by changing the “DSC” to my own initials. I got into this habit when I began managing a team of photographers and needed a way to prevent files overwriting other files that had the same name when uploading to a central media catalog. Now all my team add their own initials in front of file names. This also helps me identify who the photographer of a particular picture is so that I can give proper credit to them on publications.

[rickwovrosh]

My slogan is "Clear, Concise and To-The-Point. That's exactly what you have done here. I'm revisiting shooting manually again after 46 years. This video helped me to create a solid baseline to work from. Thank You!

[smaakjeks]

8:00 - I met a person who was getting into photography, and she loved her camera. She said it wasn't functioning perfectly, but she was okay with working around the limitations of its issues. She asked me to grab a quick picture of her, and yep, the diopter was completely screwed up. One spin of the finger later and she was over the moon with gratitude. It made me feel like a magician XD

[lldd]

I set pretty stuff that you mentioned. Date/Time, Image format JPG+RAW, No shutter without card, shutter release with no lens (unrecognizable lens), I also change to "uncompressed raw" type (by default it set to compressed on Sony). Sometimes I also change autofocus type - depending on what I'm planning to shoot and that is what my custom button set too. I do not switch to continues shooting unless I shoot moving subject (model, bird, bug etc). I also like my beeping otherwise I'm unsure whats going on, so I only turn it off if absolutely needed, for example during some ceremony like wedding). I use only high speed memory cards and always have 1 extra for each cam (I usually carry 2 cameras, to avoid disaster if 1 camera failed). and have 4-5 extra batteries on me (sometimes they fail and die forever, once I had to trash 2 batteries of the same day, thats why its good to have extra).

[Tinfoilnation]

Use high speed continuous - absolutely. You tapped on *Hi+* mode -- note the plus sign. Really gotta be careful with that - because it has a huge downside. Your viewfinder *stops* updating in realtime. If you've ever wondered why you were losing the ability to accurately track moving subjects in the frame and you had that enabled, this is why. Edit: Other downside is when shooting at apertures tighter than f/11 - because continuous autofocus only works until you hit the shutter in Hi+ mode at any aperture greater than f/11. If you're at Hi+ and f/16 the moment you hit the shutter your continuous AF is disabled and the focus is locked to whatever you had - and it stays that way for the entire burst. It's just a really fast way of taking an entire burst of out-of-focus images. Edit Edit: You've both often mentioned the problem of viewfinder lag. If you've had that mode enabled I wonder if perhaps this was the primary source of it?

Edit x3: Something to always change on Sony cameras: *DRO* = Dynamic Range Optimization. Turn this *OFF* -- worst default setting in the history of photography. It "optimizes" the dynamic range of your JPG files. This sounds helpful - until you realize that it also affects the embedded preview JPG in your RAW files. This also sounds harmless - until you find out that your *histogram* is based upon that embedded JPG preview. If you're shooting raw and chimping to check the histogram, it is literally *lying* to you and you end up with all your shots being 1 or 2 stops underexposed. /rage

[NPJensen]

One thing I do, you haven't mentioned, is to change the the copyright information on the camera. You can change it in post, but it's easier to have it set up correctly from the beginning.
Other than that, I agree with you on almost every setting - except for shooting mode. I change that according to what I shoot.
I often use old manual lenses, and I prefer to shoot in single shot mode, when I do that. Switching between modes is so simple and easy to do, I like to think, I get more out of my camera by using different modes for different things (beyond the obvious 2 sec. self timer for landscapes when using a tripod and slow shutter speeds).

[anweko]

Closing shutter sound is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.
Never. Turn. It. Off.

[DamienOnTheGo]

What I love about this video is how you're not projecting to be perfect. You'r like hey I mess up but this is what I did to correct it. I dunno just made it seem like I'm not the only one....lol Loved this.

[darylspencer]

Enjoyed this video! Some necessary info for folks. I'm a bit more obsessive...I get a new camera and I go through EVERY SINGLE MENU item enabling, disabling, and modifying options. The up side of being that obsessive is that I've seen every option in every menu and helps me get just that much more familiar with my camera :-)

[zekethedego]

I often shoot birds and have found when I have a subject that is intent on looking away the beep will draw its attention toward the business end of the camera and I get better shots. With hummingbirds, who's color changes with just the slightest movement of their heads it is most helpful.

[edwhitt]

Some things I like to change or check after shooting (and, because I don't always remember, before I shoot as well): Go back to base ISO; zero out the exposure compensation; zero out bracketing; set f/wide open; go to single shot (that's where I stay unless I really, really need burst shooting because, unlike you, I only use it when I need it - different strokes!). I like my Black Rapid strap, but only when I don't have my camera railed onto something like a tripod head. Thanks for the video!

[ForrestWest]

Great video thank you! When I am adjusting my diopter I look at the numbers in the viewfinder instead of the scene. I find if those numbers are sharply In Focus for my eyes then the focus in the viewfinder is correct out in the real world

[paulhanscom]

It's always nice listening to you Chelsea. I always change to single point AF too. Thanks again.

[daven]

Thanks Chelsea. I was into photography many years earlier with a 35mm film camera. I didn't survive the jump to digital. However now I am just getting back into it with a new to me camera and lenses. D5200. I am finding it a little overwhelming with the lingo and all the settings. I have watched you and your husbands vids on youtube along with many other folks vids. However I find yours to be the easiest to understand for me. So I will be getting a couple of your books soon.

[jessicaroley]

OMG THANKYOU!! I’m extremely new to this and I got some lenses on Amazon and could not figure out why they were not focusing but turning off the setting to use without memory card cleared it up. Not real sure why no one mentioned that! Seems pretty important!

[benoloughlin]

I have a lucky strap as well (one of my kids gave it to me as a gift). I've never taken it off my camera even when I've gone on multi-day hikes in the wilderness. The strap is a couple of years old now and very soft! Thank you for the video, Chelsea!

[sawlens]

I haven't tried back button focusing before. I was wondering how it would work with wildlife photography but you said you like using it for that so I'll give it a try. I also want to start doing more night time photos this summer so the example you gave will save me a lot of future trouble. A strap with a quick release sounds super handy, especially when I want to use a gimbal so I bought 2 straps.

My photography mistake stories:
With my first wedding shoot my memory card filled up during some group photos. I didn't notice since my camera took and previewed the images like normal. Fortunately, I had switched out the memory card after the group photos so I didn't miss out on too much afterwards.

When my diopter was first off, I thought maybe something was dirty so I cleaned everything. I was frustrated when all I saw was blurriness again looking through the viewfinder. Finally I wondered, "what does this little scroll wheel do?.... Ohhhh."

[danbrowning]

Good tips. You might consider a video on what settings to check EVERY TIME you go out on a new shoot. I've screwed up a lot of photos by failing to check my settings. Specifically, white balance, flash on/off, shutter rate (continuous, single [for studio], self-timer [I've left it on after doing self-portraits or long shutter speed releases], ISO, etc.

[anaphylaxis]

When I first got a new digital camera years ago, I forgot to change the setting to shoot without a card. I shot a bunch, and then later wanted to cry. I have not forgotten that one since.

[SalamanderFangskin]

I use an eye test chart when adjusting the diopter, and remember to use the same eye when taking pictures :)