Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First

 📸 About This Episode 

You’ve just got a new camera. The excitement is real — but most cameras come out of the box in a state that will cause you problems at exactly the moment you most want to take photos. In this episode, Rick walks you through seven quick setup steps — about twenty minutes in total — that get your camera properly ready before you take a single shot. Perfect for anyone who’s just unboxed their first camera, or who wants to start things off the right way. 

✅ The 7 Setup Steps 

1.    Charge the battery fully before your first shoot — and order a spare battery today. One battery is never enough. 

2.    Format the memory card inside the camera using the camera’s own menu — not your computer, not by deleting files. It sets the card up in exactly the right way for your specific camera. 

3.    Set the date and time correctly in the camera settings. Every photo is stamped with the date and time it was taken — that stamp is how you find photos later. 

4.    Set image format to RAW and JPEG. Start working with JPEG files straight away, and have those RAW files ready for when you’re ready to edit them. 

5.    Set image quality to the highest setting your camera offers — Fine, Large, or equivalent. Storage is cheap. Quality matters. 

6.    Spend ten minutes with the first chapter of the manual. Just ten minutes. Know where the controls are before you go out. 

7.    Put it in Auto mode and go and take some photos. Build confidence. Build enthusiasm. That takes you further. 

📝 Full Show Notes and Blog Post 

Read the full episode notes and transcript: Episode 230 — Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First 

🔗 Related Episodes 

Episode 225 — I Just Got My First Camera — What Do I Do in the First Week? 

Episode 228 — How to Know If You’re Ready to Move from Phone to Camera 

Episode 229 — What Can an Entry Level Camera Really Do? 

🗃️ Next Episode 

Episode 231 — Camera. Check. Something to Photograph. Check. Now How Do You Actually Take the Photo? — publishes Friday 24 April 2026. 

🎦 Support the Podcast 

Get the video version of every episode on Patreon: patreon.com/c/rickphoto 

🌐 Find Rick 

Website: r

 My brand new course Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico, will teach you exactly how to get out at sunrise and come back with photos you love  all told in plain English. it includes real footage of me photographing an actual sunrise in Mexico with an entry level camera. Find out more at rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses.

 If you want to start taking stunning sunrise photos, and why wouldn't you,  check out my Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico course at rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses.

Transcript

Brand new camera. Half-charged battery. Clock set to 2020. Let's sort that out before you miss a single shot.

You've got a new camera. I know exactly how that feels. The excitement is real and the urge to grab it, point it at something, and start shooting is almost irresistible.

Here's the thing. Most cameras come out of the box in a state that will cause you problems at exactly the moment you most want to take photos. Not because anything is wrong with them. But because there are a handful of things that need to be sorted out before you take a single shot.

Seven things, to be precise. They take about twenty minutes in total. And once you've done them, you're properly set up and ready to go.

This is that episode. Let's get into it.

Hello and welcome to episode 230 of the Photography Explained Podcast

This episode is titled... Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First

A very good morning, good afternoon, or good evening to you, wherever you are in the world. I'm your host, Rick, hi, and in each episode, I try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 27 minutes (ish), without the irrelevant details. Yes, really.

I'm a professionally qualified photographer based in England with a lifetime of photographic experience, which I share with you in my splendid podcast.

Let's get into this.

Right then. Twenty minutes. Seven things. Let's get your camera properly set up from the start.

Some of these feel obvious once you know them. Most people skip at least three of them. And then they wonder why their first proper shoot ends with a flat battery, a full memory card, or photos they can't find six months later.

Let's go through them one by one.

One. Charge the battery before you do anything else.

This sounds obvious. It is obvious. The battery that came with your camera could be fully charged. It could be flat. It has been sitting in a box somewhere, probably for months. It is probably not ready for a full day of shooting. Like you. Not yet anyway.

Charge it fully first. This can take a few hours. Do this first and then do everything else in this episode. Unfortunately, you can't do the other things while it charges.

But you can do this. Order a spare battery. A second battery is one of the best investments you will make. I only use the camera manufacturer's own batteries. But I get that they are more expensive, so you might go down the third-party battery route — just make sure you are buying safe, reputable batteries.

One battery is never enough. Two batteries mean you can always be shooting while the other one charges. And you have a backup in case something goes wrong. You will thank yourself the first time you are out somewhere interesting and the camera keeps going instead of stopping.

Two. Format the memory card inside the camera — not on your computer.

When you put a new memory card in your camera — or any card you have used in another device — format it inside the camera. Not on your computer. Not by deleting everything on it. In the camera.

In your camera's menu, there will be a Format or Format Memory Card option. Find it and use it.

Here is why this matters. Formatting inside the camera sets the card up in exactly the way your specific camera needs. It creates the correct file structure. It removes any leftover data from other devices. It significantly reduces the risk of card errors and corrupted files. The whole thing takes about ten seconds. It is always the right way to start with any card in any camera.

Three. Set the date and time — you will thank yourself later.

Also in the menus. I know. Bear with me.

Every photo you take is stamped with the date and time it was taken. This information lives inside the image file — it is called EXIF data. When you are looking for a specific photo six months from now, or three years from now, that date stamp is exactly how you find it.

A camera that thinks it is January 1, 2020, will create a catalogue of confusion when you try to organise your photos later. Take two minutes. Set the date and time correctly. Do it now while you are already in the menus.

And when you go on holiday, if the time zone has changed, change the time on your camera. I often forget to do this, such as my recent trip to Mexico. So learn from my mistakes.

Four. Set the image format to RAW and JPEG — options are good.

Your camera will offer you a choice between saving images as JPEG or RAW. Or both. RAW files contain more data, give you more flexibility when editing, and are generally the professional choice. They are also large files that need specialist software to open.

JPEG files are processed in the camera, are manageable in size, open in anything, and are ready to share or use immediately.

Choose both, and you can work on JPEG files now and RAW files when you are ready. Or, if you are comfortable working with RAW files, go straight to RAW.

You will need specialist editing software, but editing is very similar — you have more work to do with a RAW file, but you also have more data to work with.

And yes, the JPEG file will look better straight out of the camera, but that is because the camera has done some processing when it captured each and every image.

Start with JPEG. This keeps things simple while you are getting started and building confidence with the camera. RAW is a genuinely excellent next step when you are ready for it — and I will cover it in a future episode. JPEG is the right starting point. You are not losing anything meaningful by starting here. And you have those lovely RAW files for later.

How utterly splendid.

Five. Set image quality to the highest setting your camera offers.

Within JPEG, your camera will offer different quality levels. Often labelled Fine, Normal, and Basic — or shown as approximate file sizes in megabytes. Pick the highest quality setting. Same with RAW.

Yes, the files will be bigger. Yes, your memory card will fill up a little faster. But a 64-gigabyte card holds thousands of high-quality images literally, and the cost of a card is trivial compared to the cost of the camera. Starting on a lower quality setting to save storage is a false economy. Use the highest quality your camera offers and do not think about it again.

Six. Spend ten minutes with the first chapter of the manual — just ten minutes.

The manual. I know. Stay with me.

You do not need to read all of it. You do not need to understand everything in it. Spend ten minutes — just ten — with the first chapter, which will show you what the physical controls on your camera actually are and where they are.

Where is the main control dial? Where is the shutter button? Where is the playback button? Where is the menu button? Where does the battery go? Where is the memory card slot? Knowing where things are before you go out stops you fumbling at exactly the wrong moment. This is small but perfectly formed advice. Ten minutes with the manual saves hours of confusion later.

Seven. Put it in Auto mode and go and take some photos.

That is the setup done. Now here is something I genuinely mean: put the camera in Auto mode and go and take some photos.

Not because Auto is where you will stay. You will not. But building confidence and familiarity with your camera — knowing how it feels in your hands, what it sounds like when you press the shutter, how it responds — is genuinely valuable. Before you learn to control all the settings, learn to love the camera.

Auto mode will produce good results in most situations. It is not cheating. It is a starting point. And taking photos you are happy with in the first week builds the enthusiasm that takes you further. Which is exactly the point.

Quick Recap.

Charge the battery fully before your first shoot — and order a spare today. Format the memory card inside the camera using the camera's own menu. Set the date and time correctly in the camera settings. Set the image format to RAW plus JPEG straight away. Set image quality to the highest setting your camera offers. Spend ten minutes with the first chapter of the manual. Put it in Auto mode and go and take some photos.

What If I Use a Phone?

If you are still shooting on a phone, most of this happens automatically in the background. Your phone charges from any USB socket. There is no memory card to format. The date and time sync from the mobile network. Image quality is managed by the phone's software.

That invisible automation is one of the main reasons phones feel so effortless. The camera puts these decisions in your hands — and that is actually part of what makes it more capable once the setup is done.

If you are thinking about making the move from phone to camera, this episode gives you a clear picture of what that first step involves. It is not overwhelming. It is simply a different kind of device that asks you to take charge of a few things the phone handles silently. Do them once. Then go and take photos.

What Do I Do?

I have a setup routine I follow with every camera I pick up, including the Canon R100 I have been shooting with recently.

First thing — battery on charge before I do anything else. Then format the card in the camera. Then the date and time, if they need updating. After that, I check the image format — I always use RAW, I haven't used JPEG for decades.

Before I pack my camera in my bag, I clean it and make sure everything is working as it should be. And then, before I take a photo, I take a few test shots to make sure everything is working as it should.

The whole routine takes about fifteen minutes. It means I never arrive on location with a half-charged battery or a card that hasn't been formatted. Worth every minute.

Here's Something for You to Do, Dear Listener.

Go through these seven setup steps today. Right now, if your camera is nearby. Set a timer for twenty minutes and work through the list from top to bottom.

And then go and take some photos. Let me know how you get on — you can text me directly from the podcast feed. I'd genuinely love to hear that someone did this and then went straight out with their camera for the first time.

Related Episodes.

If you've just got your first camera and want to know what to do across the whole first week, Episode 225 — I Just Got My First Camera — What Do I Do in the First Week? covers everything.

If you're still deciding whether a camera is the right move, Episode 228 — How to Know If You're Ready to Move from Phone to Camera will help you work that out.

And if you want to understand what an entry-level camera can actually do before you commit, Episode 229 — What Can an Entry Level Camera Really Do? is the one to listen to.

Next time, in Episode 231 — Camera. Check. Something to Photograph. Check. Now, How Do You Actually Take the Photo? We get to the moment that really matters. Your camera is set up. You've found something to photograph. Now, how do you actually take the photo? That is exactly what we are going to cover. I will see you in two weeks.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe so you don't miss future ones. And you can text me from the podcast feed!

For everything else — courses, resources, questions, my weekly email — it's all at RickMcEvoyPhotography.com. And you can find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy.

If you'd like to support the podcast and get the video version of every episode, find me on Patreon at patreon.com/c/rickphoto.

This episode was brought to you by a cheese and pickle sandwich, consumed before settling into my homemade, acoustically cushioned recording emporium.

I've been Rick McEvoy. Thanks again very much for listening and for giving me 27-ish minutes of your valuable time. I reckon this episode will be about 23 minutes long after editing out the mistakes and other bad stuff.

Thanks for listening. Stay safe. Cheers from me, Rick!