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Testing 1-2-3: Putting Your New Digital Camera through its Paces and Getting a Digital Photography Lesson at the Same Time!

© Karin Rex

The first time I cracked open the 207-page instruction booklet with my camera I must admit to being more than a little apprehensive. Why did such a tiny camera require such a thick booklet? And why didn't it come with a magnifying glass so that I could read it without squinting?

But I forged on -- and so should you!

Your camera's manual, chunky and incomprehensible as it may seem, is your guide to achieving digital photography Zen. To become "one with your camera" I advise settling in a comfortable chair (preferably next to the brightest reading light in the house) with your camera in your lap and its manual at hand. Next: begin discovering your inner Ansel Adams! Here's the plan:

Start by taking a look at the manual's table of contents to familiarize yourself with how it is organized. There will probably be a section that covers preliminary information, such as loading batteries, inserting media, and turning the camera on. Another section may cover common operations such as taking, viewing, and deleting pictures. You should also see headings in the table of contents for using menus to edit camera settings and transferring your pictures to a computer or viewing them on a television. There should also be a section (usually in the very back of the manual) that offers some troubleshooting tips.

Getting a Visual
Can you name each of the accessory pieces that came with your camera? Do you know what each button on your camera is called? If not, start by searching for a page in the manual that contains a detailed list of contents and shows a graphic image of your camera with labels. Then pick up your camera and find everything that is labeled in the diagram and identify each of the accessory pieces that came with your camera.

If you're not sure what something is for, don't worry about that quite yet. For now you are just trying to get acquainted with what everything is called so that later on, when you are reading instructions on how to do something, you are familiar enough with the terrain that you don't try attaching the camera strap to the shutter release!

Is this Thing On?
First things first! Using the instructions in the manual, install the battery (or batteries), insert the media and turn the camera on. Nothing happen? Check that the battery and media have been installed correctly - on certain models it's easy to make a mistake and put something in backwards. Also check that you are pressing the power switch and not the zoom (or some other) button to turn on the camera! If trouble persists, consult the manual's troubleshooting section, which usually contains information on what to do if the camera has no power.

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