20 Simple Ways to Customize Your Camera

5 Pop-up flash slow sync: 

Most DSLRs with the pop-up enabled will override autoexposure if it will drop the shutter speed below a certain level (often, around 1/60 sec). So a scene that needs a slow shutter speed for correct background exposure ends up looking like a flash snapshot. You can prevent this by changing the default flash setup to slow sync.

One of our favorite custom functions found on most DSLRs is the horizon leveling guide

6 Custom function(s):
Most custom functions (CFs) are pretty granular—defining which way a dial turns for plus or minus, that sort of thing. But a perusal of recent camera menus showed quite an assortment of possibilities: compositional grid lines, the embedment of an authenticity stamp in image files, autofocus microadjustment, correction of distortion and chromatic aberration, catch-in focus. If you haven’t reviewed all the custom functions available on your camera, we recommend doing so. You may find some hidden gems.

7 Defining a user profile:
Most DSLRs now let you save multiple camera setups, either through the menus or on a mode dial such as on the Pentax K-30. You can set it up for different types of shooting, for multiple users, or for quick changes in the heat of the shoot—for instance, nature shooter Jon Cornforth recommends setting two different modes for the lighting conditions on either side of a boat when photographing whales.

8 Vertical battery grips:
These attachments provide a number of benefits. They allow composing verticals with a more natural and secure grip. The extra battery power provides for more shots, and in some cases, faster bursts. Some have space to carry extra batteries. On relatively small cameras, such as the Canon EOS Rebel T4i, the grips make the cameras friendlier to big hands.

Shortcut to Square One
Okay, so you’ve gone hog-wild in your camera’s menus, changed every custom function, located all the operations on different buttons, and now you feel you have a Frankencamera? If you want to return everything to “normal” and start over again, there’s an easy way. Cameras all have a menu choice for return to default settings. It’s sometimes called reset.