Setting Up Your Mirrorless Camera

There it is, in front of you – that shiny box with your dream gadget –a new mirrorless camera (MLC)! You are all excited to start using it and maybe you start off with an unboxing video to share it with your friends.

- Ashok Kandimalla

Holding off the urge to use it immediately, you follow the advice of Smart Photography and read the user manual which due to the complexity of the current cameras (or perhaps computers with lenses) runs to hundreds of pages to the point of being intimidating. The unfortunate part is that, even after you read the manual (or perhaps even read it multiple times), it does not tell you how to configure your camera to take a landscape photograph or a portrait, for example.

So, while you know the basic controls of the camera there is a lot to be done before you can really put your camera to practical use. Is there a way out? Yes! Smart Photography, knowing your problems brings to you this short guide to help you set up your camera quickly. However, remember that this is not a substitute but rather a supplement to your manual. First, let us look at the various parameters that you need to set. Once we are done with this, we can look at the specific settings based on the type of photograph you would like to take.

Shutter speed

No one likes a blurry picture unless it has been intentionally made so for an artistic effect. Hence, the most fundamental requirement is that your picture must be sharp! Apart from correct focus, this can only be assured by using a certain minimum shutter speed (unless you use a tripod). This is called the ‘handholdable shutter speed’. The rule of thumb for this is –

Shutter speed must be equal to or greater than 1 / ‘Effective focal length being used’