Recently a shiny new camera arrived in our household. Amidst the glee of the new device we happened to skip a few things we usually do with every new camera and the results really put a crimp in our picture taking the next day. To help avoid a repeat of this, we created this helpful 5 point list.
5 Things You Should Do When You Get a New Camera:
1. Fully charge the battery.
Often your new camera will arrive with a little bit of juice in the battery. We've yet to see a camera arrive with instructions to not fully charge the battery before you use it, so take their advice and give it a solid charge. This charge typically takes 4-6 hours.
2. Check the image settings on the camera.
We prefer to shoot RAW and most of the time cameras do not arrive with that as the default image setting. Check your settings before you start shooting to save yourself quite a bit of disappointment when you upload them later and discover much lower res images than you were hoping for.
3. Collect all of the materials that came in the box and put them in a bag.
We're not naturally organized people so when a new piece of tech ends up in our home the odds are everything that came with it will soon be lost. To combat this we put the various materials that come with the new tech in a clear plastic zip bag and label the bag with a marker. We put the date and the model number of the device on the bag and keep all of these bags in a box. This system has worked wonders for us and comes in handy when it comes time to sell the device or learn how to do something new on it (far easier to find the manual).
4. Format your old memory card in your new camera.
Imagine this, you're out shooting with your new camera and you get home only to find card errors due to the formatting your old camera left on the card. This is not fun and yes, this did happen to us. Start fresh with your new camera and format your old memory card in the new camera before you start shooting.
5. Check the warranty info.
Every camera comes with warranty information. Sometimes in order to take advantage of the warranty you're required to submit some information to the manufacturer within a specific time window. Since you're having fun looking at all the cool stuff that came with your new camera, take a gander at the warranty info, learn if there is anything required for the warranty (do you need to send in proof of purchase or a barcode from the box?) and learn what's covered and for how long.
What do you do when you get a new camera?
(Images: Joelle Alcaidinho)
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I had the card formatting issue happen to me as well after I got my new camera for Christmas. Thankfully, the photos were just goofy test shots from around the house, so I didn't lose anything great.
My other tip is make sure you have a bag that will fit the new camera and lenses. I could fit the camera body in my old bag, but there was no room for extra lenses, etc.
Finally, buy a UV lens filter immediately, put in on your lens (or lenses, if you have many), and never EVER take it off. If you scratch the filter, no big deal. If you scratch a lens, you're starting over.
If you have a camera with a chargeable battery, before you do your first charge you should run the battery until it's dead. The initial charge sets up how much juice your battery can hold, so you want to start from zero. At least, that's what I've been told. ;)
Why is "take pet picture and post on Facebook" not on the list?
The first thing I do is tether the lens cap to the camera--otherwise I'll lose it before I even take my first picture.
I haven't had a new camera in 35 years or so, but if I get one the first thing I'll do is buy film.
The Sony NEX! I've been trying to decide on a mirrorless interchangeable for a few months now... tough decision. I always seem to go back to eying the Olympus PEN, though.
I have the Sony NEX and I love it! I went back and forth, but eventually had to know that I wanted a camera I could throw in my bag (protected, of course). It has been really great.
Read the manual!!!
I take a picture of a word document that says, "This camera belongs to Heather. If found, please call [my phone number].
#3 all the way.
Head straight to the bathroom for a modeling session.
I agree with tethering the lens cap to the body and putting a UV filter on the lens.
Once I know I'm going to keep the camera, I put a small return address label somewhere on the body too, and a business card in the case. --Cutting the doofy picture off the the March of Dimes fundraiser labels make perfect tiny labels!
The Sony cameras are very tempting, however, Sony is an electronics company,
so I always recommend buying a camera made by a camera company. They are the ones that make the best opticals, the better internal parts, and offer the best photographic camera knowledge should you ever need to contact them.
I disagree with the RAW - unless you do a lot of editing, it's not really necessary and just takes up more memory.
Adding onto the organizing part, I put a sticker label onto the cords itself with the camera name. After a few years and numerous electronics later, they get confusing!
Shooting with Raw is a bad idea. It will take up about 3 times as much hard drive space. It is overkill. Look at the folder file size of your photo library, then triple it, do you have the space for this?
In the very rare occasions where you are shooting very dark or light then maybe you could set it to RAW and bring in the details. If you are shooting something important, like an indoor wedding or first birthday then set it to RAW. For 99% of the time it is best to shoot high quality. Dropping down to medium would also give you good results, and almost cut your file size in half again.
All camera settings are different and will produce different results, but this is a good general rule of thumb.
I agree about the shooting in raw being overkill...I'm a photographer myself so of course I shoot raw for stuff that will require a lot of post production, but for the average person taking snapshots why would you want to go through all the extra trouble of dealing with raw files? I never shoot raw when I'm just taking pics of vacations, friends, family etc. If you're getting an SLR with a nice lens you should def. get a uv filter. I have dropped a 2000$ lens before and at first thought it was shattered, but then realized the 80$ uv filter saved it.
I have no idea how to format the memory card to my new camera.
to chime in: surely people who have to be told these 5 steps don't shoot RAW pictures.
If you're thinking about getting a SONY NEX, check out the interface IN PERSON (Target has them in-store usually). I found it very very tedious and time-consuming to change settings and navigate around. It's a great camera, but the software needs a LOT of work in the usability dept, IMHO. I ended up going with an Oly EPL-2. It takes great jpegs, and raw when I need it. A really good camera! Those PENs are just too pricey for what they offer.
As for this article, very good things to do! I always throw out the trash and keep all the manuals and stuff in the camera box. I mean, why not? It's already labeled and everything.
Have an issue with #3: Why take everything out of a container to put into another container?
1. If you keep everything in the box it came in then it is already pre-labeled and even has an image of what it belongs to on the box.
2. Easier to stack and organize boxes on a closet shelf than a bunch of wilty bags. Also, no need to pull any bags out to see what's written on them, just glance up at your boxes picture for what you need.
3. Keeps one more box and inserts out of the landfill.
4. Much nicer to re-sell items still in their original box and packaging.
#6: RTFM