New Camera Anatomy: 12 key camera settings to get you started right

jmeyer | Beginner | 26/12/2012 01:00am

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5. Sensitivity: Auto

The sensitivity or ISO setting determines how much light the camera needs to capture an image. At high ISO settings like ISO 6400 the camera only needs a small amount of light, but the image may be noisy and have some speckling visible.

Using a low sensitivity setting ensures high image quality, but it may require a slow shutter speed or large aperture setting. To save having to worry about this in the early days, set the camera to its automatic ISO setting.

6. White balance: Auto

Different light sources produce light of slightly different colours but our brains do a great job of correcting the colour shift. The camera’s automatic white balance setting attempts to do the same thing.

It may not always get it right, and it may sometimes over-correct, but it’s a great starting point.

7. Metering: Evaluative, Matrix or Multi-segment

Your camera’s light metering system measures the amount of light available and suggests (or sets) appropriate exposure settings.

The name of the multi-purpose setting varies depending upon the brand of camera, but it’s often called Evaluative, Matrix, Multi-area or Multi-segment metering and it is the best option to use when you are starting out in photography.

This setting tells the camera to look at several areas across the whole frame and suggest/set aperture and shutter speed settings that give a balanced exposure.

PAGE 1: Best settings for your new camera – format the card
PAGE 2: Best settings for your new camera – image quality
PAGE 3: Best settings for your new camera – image size and exposure mode
PAGE 4: Best settings for your new camera – sensitivity, white balance and metering
PAGE 5: Best settings for your new camera – focus mode
PAGE 6: Best settings for your new camera – drive mode and image stabilisation
PAGE 7: Best settings for your new camera – Picture Style/Control and colourspace