Reset Your Camera To Its Factory Defaults -- Really!

Custom Reset on my Olympus menu

Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings
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WHAT?!  It took me a hundred years to get the settings just right!  
 
I recently sent my camera in for repairs.  They fixed what I had broken, cleaned it inside and out, and… gasp!... reset everything to the factory defaults!
 
I thought that was it.  I was done.  I’d never be able to get it back to the way I wanted it.  I might as well go get a job in fast food.
 
But I heaved a heavy sigh, and sat down with the manual — again.  I’d done this before, hadn’t I, and it hadn’t killed me then, had it?
 
As it turns out, this really was a good exercise for me.  Not to do every other week, or even once a month, for goodness sake, but maybe once a year or once in two years.  You can find the menu item in the basic camera settings area of the menu.  It’ll probably be called Custom Reset or Factory Defaults or some such wording.

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So I’m telling you now: reset your camera to its factory defaults.  “B-b-b-but-whyyyy??” you ask.  Because:

• Things change.  Your knowledge base has changed.  You aren’t shooting the same types of images you were two years ago.  And you aren’t shooting the same way.  Perhaps you had set something to Auto because in the beginning you didn’t know enough about it to work that setting manually.  But you know a lot more now and maybe could benefit from the greater latitude afforded by manually working this particular tool.

• You might find you had set some things based on a previous shooting style but now they are not applicable.  Did you start your photo-life shooting street candids under sunlight but now most of your work is studio portraiture?  Check your white balance settings.  Maybe you moved from shooting sports to architecture.  Check shutter speed or flash.

• Even if not a lot has changed about your style and subject matter, reworking all the defaults is a great way to get reacquainted with your camera and its myriad tools and settings.  You very well may discover a feature you weren’t familiar with but now could really benefit from.  For me, this was anti-shock and image stabilizer; two functions to reduce tiny amounts of camera movement which, in close-up shots, can add a lot of motion blur to a shot.
  

 
It's just after the New Year now and what better time than now to start a new chapter, turn over a new leaf, start again from scratch, exercise a do-over, fulfill a resolution, this is your chance for a Second Honeymoon.  A second chance to work out all your differences and establish a brand new relationship.  OK, so that was a bit melodramatic.  But this is a chance to gain a renewed understanding of all the features and functions your camera can provide for you.  You may possibly — nay, probably —  improve your technique and your Art.
 
Thank You for visiting,
 
—Chris
 
P.s.      Did you do this?  What do you think?  Are you going to stop reading my lame advice now or did you benefit from it?  What did you discover?  How are you using your camera differently now?  Send me some comments — let’s compare notes!