DO THIS WITH EVERY NEW CAMERA!

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My name is Simon d'Entremont and I'm a professional wildlife and nature photographer from Eastern Canada. In this video, I'll take you through the settings you should always set intentionally and not rely on the defaults on your camera.

I use Topaz Labs software for noise reduction, sharpening and upscaling:

Music in intro: "Nicer", by Houses on the Hill. Find that, and other sound effects at Epidemic Sounds

My equipment:

Follow me on:

[simon_dentremont]

Are there other critical settings I’ve missed? Let me know!

[StevanNetto-qggx]

Love how Simon is neutral amongst camera manufacturers and how he shows how the settings are on different brands!

[simonbanfield]

Still the best photography guy on You Tube. Simons's experience shines through. He's the real deal. Learn so much

[XTGPQR]

1:28 “RAW is like a digital negative”, the best analogy in photography I’ve ever heard. He makes everything so easy to understand.

[boatman]

I have a great story RE diopter adjustment. I owned a nature tour charter boat company for many years and took out many people primarily interested in nature and wildlife photography. One day a client complained to me that her expensive Canon 5D MkII was a disappointment to her because the images always looked out of focus. I immediately suspect the diopter focus was the problem and asked her to hand me the camera. Sure enough when I looked through the viewfinder everything was blurred. a check of the diopter setting revealed it was way out of adjustment so I set it to my vision and handed it back to the woman. Wow! she exclaimed! You fixed it! I explained to her what the adjustment was for and added that it was important to set it for your particular vision and on we went with our 3 hr boat trip. I did notice that she kept fooling with the diopter setting throughout the trip but just figured that, like me, she was a perfectionist and was obsessed with getting it set perfectly. Only a few days later did it finally occur to me that the poor woman apparently thought that the diopter needed to be reset for every photo! The lesson in all this is "Read the camera manual from cover to cover, or stick to simple auto cameras that don't require much in the way of settings!

[petermethner]

I have been following Simon since day 1 and truly love his tutorials. He has been very helpful and is very humble. It's also nice to follow a fellow Canadian

[janwo]

what i really love about your videos is that you often give the different names for settings on different camera brands.

[BGTuyau]

This video is a must for anyone who is starting out with a digital camera. Absolute beginners might want to hit pause and take notes. You shouldn't simply rely on presumably "ignorable" [I'm talking to you, B&H.] default settings or, at minimum, fail to have an understanding of their works and ways. The master teacher gives you a running start here.

[PainedPete]

Thank you for making photography alot less daunting and much more enjoyable.

[lphilpot]

A minor addendum to setting #8 (diopter adjustment) - When focusing the diopter, use the viewfinder markings (reticle, guides, etc.) as a reference to verify focus. Using the image may be inaccurate if the lens isn't focused exactly right. Once the guidelines are correct and the lens is in focus, both will be visually sharp.

Great video.

[kosekjm]

Truly appreciate that you give the menu info for the major camera systems.

A lot of videos show you the settings for say a Sony camera but if you're on a Nikon you gotta dig thru the menu and figure it out. Love that you don't.

Thank you..

[ianross]

Ive been an avid amateur photographer for many years now. Somehow YouTubes clever algorithms put Simons vids into my mainstream. Ive watched a few of his videos over the last few days but this is absolutely brilliant and spoken in basic English even for me to understand! Thank you Simon

[-esseff-]

When your first video came out I remember thinking, "This guy gets straight to the point. I hope he makes more." And here you are, over 100K subscribers later. Congrats, Simon. By far the best channel on Youtube. You videos have helped me so much.

[argetech]

I like you. Your approach to the subject of photography is very clear and easy to digest. I have been taking photos for a long time before the digital age. What I like about Bridge and DSLR's cameras is that you save money, lots of money. Your computer becomes your darkroom. Photos that are bad can be learned from then deleted. I still remember the cost of having your shots developed, then returned to you to see all the mistakes you'd made in camera settings, wasted photos and money. Not so today. New subscriber!

[ChippyKings]

Yes! Silent mode is a reason why I change my set from Sony a99 to Sony a9. No more beeps in a theatre :) No more questions not to do photos when is a quiet scene. I like to watch your videos as even after years of work I still find something interesting. Thank you!

[mne]

Simon, I subscribe to many channels, but yours is one of the most helpful. You fit more valuable tips and suggestions in 11 minutes than some others spend 20 minutes or more. They spend too much time telling stories, which I find interesting but don’t have the time to listen to, unless I am trying to fall asleep of course.

[atejaney]

He is the best teacher in photography.

[MJCreative-Bleu]

I am learning all the beginner's tools for taking photos and quite honestly your examples and demonstrations of the use of the camera's settings are very easy to understand. Your photos are brilliant, colorful and very well crafted. So far my style has been landscapes, nature (especially flowers with bugs or different textures). Thank you for teaching; I'm listening and learning! Congrats for your 100+ Youtube award-- well deserved!

[johnjackson]

Yes, I have been watching you either from the beginning or shortly after you started!

[dennisharris]

I was your first subscriber and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. :) Honestly I think I have been with you from the beginning and so glad I am. I have worked very hard to practice what you preach and just this weekend I was looking at my old "good" photos from a year ago and was shocked on how far I have come. I am not bragging at all, quite the opposite. I could not have come this far without your videos. I am truly grateful.