Setting up the R50

Part A — Know what you're holding

The R50 is unusual in having one main dial — the wheel around the shutter button. It changes the main setting of whichever mode you're in. That's the whole control philosophy: dial for the big thing, buttons for everything else.

Shutter button

Half-press: focus and meter. Full press: take the picture.

Main dial

The wheel around the shutter button — the only dial. Changes the main setting of whatever mode you're in.

Up key (±)

Exposure compensation — the brightness fixer. In M mode it switches the dial between shutter speed and aperture.

Left key (AF/MF)

Switches between autofocus and manual focus.

Right key (timer/drive)

Self-timer and drive mode: single shot, or bursts.

Down key (bin)

Deletes a photo when you're reviewing.

Q / SET

Middle of the cross keys. Opens the Quick Control screen — the fast way to change anything.

AF point button

Grid-of-dots icon, top right of the back. Chooses where the camera focuses.

★ button

Locks the exposure while you hold it. In playback it magnifies.

Playback (▶)

Review your photos.

INFO

Cycles what's shown on screen. In playback, cycles to the settings and histogram screen.

MENU

The full menu.

The viewfinder has an eye sensor: raise the camera to your eye and the screen switches automatically. Fold the screen closed, facing inward. It forces you to use the viewfinder — steadier, readable in bright sun, and it roughly doubles battery life.

Part B — Holding and turning it

• Right hand on the grip. Left hand palm-up under the lens, fingers resting on the zoom ring — never gripping from the side.
• Elbows tucked into your ribs. Camera to your eye. Three points of contact: that's the difference between sharp and not.
• Turning the camera for a vertical shot: rotate it so the shutter button is at the top, right hand up, elbow still tucked.
• Go vertical whenever the subject is taller than it is wide — a lighthouse, a giraffe, a person standing, a waterfall. Go horizontal for wide scenes. Fill the frame with the subject.
• Strap on. Always, at the coast.

Part C — The settings

Press MENU. The tabs across the top: red camera = Shooting, purple = AF, blue = Playback, yellow spanner = Set-up. Use the cross keys, or just touch the screen. Where three independent setup guides disagreed, I've picked for your trip and said why.

1. 1

   Mode guide

   MENU → Set-up (yellow spanner) · page 2 → Mode guide

   Set toEnable

   The R50's beginner aid: it explains each dial position as you turn to it. Experts turn it off; you keep it on.

2. 2

   Feature guide

   MENU → Set-up (yellow spanner) · page 2 → Feature guide

   Set toEnable

   Explains settings as you touch them in the Quick Control screen.

3. 3

   Beep

   MENU → Set-up (yellow spanner) · page 2 → Beep

   Set toLeave on this week

   The focus beep is useful feedback while you learn the half-press. We silence it before Lake Eland and the galleries.

4. 4

   Image quality

   MENU → Shooting (red camera) · page 1 → Image qualityThe dial picks the RAW type; the left/right keys pick the JPEG.

   Set toC-RAW + Large Fine JPEG

   Compact RAW keeps every photo editable later with no visible loss and much smaller files. The JPEG is for sharing straight off the camera.

5. 5

   Max for Auto ISO

   MENU → Shooting (red camera) · page 2 → ISO speed settings → Max for Auto

   Set to6400

   The three expert guides say 3200, 6400 and 12,800. On this sensor 6400 is where grain shows but still prints fine; at the coast you'll have a tripod for anything darker. We revisit for Sweden's interiors.

6. 6

   AF operation

   MENU → AF (purple) · page 1 → AF operation

   Set toServo AF

   The camera keeps refocusing while you half-press, so a moving dolphin or child stays sharp. Slightly more battery; worth it.

7. 7

   AF area

   MENU → AF (purple) · page 1 → AF area

   Set toWhole area AF

   Let the camera search the whole frame for the subject. Lesson 3 teaches when to narrow it.

8. 8

   Whole area tracking Servo AF

   MENU → AF (purple) · page 1 → Whole area tracking Servo AF

   Set toOn

   Once it finds the subject, it follows it anywhere in the frame.

9. 9

   Subject to detect

   MENU → AF (purple) · page 1 → Subject to detect

   Set toAuto

   Finds people, animals and vehicles by itself. Canon says 'animals' means dogs, cats and birds — it usually manages giraffe and zebra too; we'll test before you go.

10. 10

    Eye detection

    MENU → AF (purple) · page 1 → Eye detection

    Set toEnable

    Focuses on the eye, which is the only place a portrait can be in focus.

11. 11

    Touch & drag AF

    MENU → AF (purple) · page 3 → Touch & drag AF settings

    Set toEnable · Positioning: Relative · Active area: Right

    Move the focus point with your thumb on the screen while your eye is at the viewfinder. Right-side-only stops your nose doing it.

12. 12

    Release shutter without card

    MENU → Shooting (red camera) → Release shutter without card

    Set toDisable

    Canon ships this enabled, which lets you take an entire day of photos with no card in and lose them all.

13. 13

    Date/Time/Zone

    MENU → Set-up (yellow spanner) → Date/Time/Zone

    Set toSet it now

    Every photo gets the right timestamp. We change the zone in December.

14. 14

    Format card

    MENU → Set-up (yellow spanner) · page 1 → Format card

    Set toOnce, now, while the card is empty

    Prepares the card for this camera. It erases everything on the card — only ever do it after backing up.

Five things deliberately not touched — white balance, picture style, metering, drive mode, and the lens control ring. The defaults are right for now, and each gets its own moment later.

Part D — Your home mode

Mode dial to Av. Turn the main dial until the screen shows f/8. That's it: f/8 gives you sharpness front to back and forgives almost everything. ISO is on Auto. The camera picks the shutter speed. This is your camera for the week.