Want To Get The Most From Your New Digital Camera? Read The Manual

Want To Get The Most From Your New Digital Camera? Read The Manual
By Anita Cross

Nearly every digital camera on the market today has an incredible number of features. Most of these features will help you take better photos if you learn how to use them.

You could just "dive in", play around, and hope for the best. And that's exactly what most of us do, at least when we first get a new digital camera. Whether it's a new toy, or a new tool, it's exciting to get out there and start taking pictures.

To get the most out of your new toy, uh, I mean tool, you really need to read the camera's manual!

For example: Your camera has a built in light meter, with three "metering modes", to calculate the correct exposure value (EV) for the various lighting conditions. The default metering mode evaluates the entire scene, breaking it into zones or regions. The resulting exposure works well for most photographs.

Do you know what the other two metering modes are, how they affect the image, or when to use them? Do you know how to change the metering mode?

It's all there in the manual. Along with information about what each of the buttons and dials are for; What all those confusing symbols on the LCD are actually telling you; How to use the menu: How to turn off and on different functions such as digital zoom and red eye reduction; How to use special effects, like sepia and solarize; How to change the white balance; And much more.

Don't let the manual, and all those features, intimidate you. Go ahead and get comfortable with your new camera, using the features that are intuitive, or obvious to you from your experience with other cameras. Just don't stop there.

Pick an unfamiliar feature, like metering modes, and read the instructions. Then experiment with what you've just learned. Take the same shot several times, varying the feature you're working with. Upload your test images to your computer, and compare the results. When you feel comfortable working with that feature, move on to another one.

At your own pace, use the manual to explore the features and options of your new digital camera. The day will come when your tenacity pays off, when an unusual photo opportunity results in a truly great photograph.
Anita Cross is a professional photographer specializing in landscape and floral photography. A number of her photos can be purchased as royalty free stock photography, and are available exclusively at http://www.callofthewildphoto.com/ Call Of The Wild Photo sponsors an Articles resource where you will find more Digital Photography Tips from Anita and other professional photographers.

Source: Anita Cross