This list of essential settings to adjust does not only apply to new Alpha cameras but most of the older models as well. They can apply to a wide variety of photography styles, from portraiture to street photography, and nature photography.

1. Decide your image quality settings, RAW, JPEG, or both?

When getting started with your new camera, it’s important to remember to change the image quality settings. By default, every camera is set to capture photos in JPEG format. This is fine if you want to store as many photos as possible on your memory card, however, if you want greater control in editing your pictures in post then we suggest you shoot in RAW. This setting is easily overlooked. You can also set it to RAW & JPEG to create two images files – one for viewing and one for editing.

For the uninitiated, RAW images are unprocessed files that allow the photographer to manipulate the image to your liking.

2. Confirm your desired EV settings

Those well-versed in photography will know that exposure is one of the most important settings you need to know when getting started with your camera. The exposure value is a convenient way of brightening or darkening the exposure beyond what the camera does automatically. The exposure value compensation will be represented by either a minus or plus sign depending on whether your image is under or overexposed.

Some cameras have a physical dial to control the exposure value, allowing for easy control of how bright or dark you want your photos to be. Sometimes this value was the result of a previous adjustment that was switched back to zero. So, keep your eye on this dial and set it to zero first for the most optimal exposure then adjust it depending on your preferences.

3. Decide which metering mode is best for you

Speaking of exposure metering, metering modes is one of the few ways for your camera to determine the best exposure settings. The three most common settings are multi, center-weighted, and spot metering, which we go into more detail on in this article.

Multi metering is typically the default setting on most cameras. What it does is it analyses the entire image and determines the proper exposure itself. You can pretty much leave this as is.

But sometimes, it’s not best to use the entire frame to determine the exposure. That’s where center-weighted metering focuses on the centre of the image and references a small area outside of it to get the exposure settings. This is perfect for when your subject is backlit, or close-up portraits.

Finally, spot metering lets you position a rectangle on any spot in the image which allows the camera to get the exposure settings from that particular area. This mode is best for subjects that are also backlit but don’t take up a lot of space in the frame. A great example would be photographing city lights– it won’t take up too much space in the frame and spot metering would look at the light level coming from around the moon and nothing else in frame.

4. Take note of your monitor brightness

Your camera has a setting that brightens or dims your monitor display while shooting. But you should be careful when adjusting this. Brightening the monitor will exaggerate the colours of your photos and might make you think your photos are sufficiently exposed. This often results in underexposed images which you only find out when you look at them on a calibrated LCD screen indoors. Just pay attention to the metering or the histogram at the bottom of the screen to make sure your photos aren’t too over or underexposed!

5. Enable touch tracking

Touch tracking allows you to track moving subjects with greater accuracy with just a touch of your finger. To get this working, you’ll need to enable it by turning on [Touch operations] and then going to [Funct. of touch operations] and setting it to [Touch tracking].

6. Formatting your memory cards in-camera

Say you’ve decided to pick up an SD card from an accumulated stash over the years. Whereas it might be tempting to just slot it in and start shooting, you should definitely format it. Not only can you now conveniently format cards within the camera, but it’s also a good practice to do this in-camera as it ensures a stable performance of your memory card with your new camera’s file format. Don’t forget to back up all your photos and videos onto a computer, external storage or the cloud before you reformat your camera.

7. Maximising your custom buttons

Alpha cameras allow you to reassign features of certain buttons. The most common example of this is changing the focus button. Normally, the shutter and focus button are the same but sometimes focus will accidentally change as you try to take a photo. That’s why many people change the focus to a separate button and this is called back-button focusing.

To assign custom buttons, go to MENU → [Camera Settings2] → [Custom Key] →  select a button to assign, and select the function to assign.

It’s recommended to set your custom buttons to the settings that you use the most and it all depends on your shooting style. To read more on custom buttons click here.

Now that you know all the essential settings to adjust when you get your camera, feel free to explore and discover newer ones that suit your preferences. Happy shooting!