I recently watched a few videos and read a few articles on Steve Perry’s website, and they inspired me to share my camera settings with you. Thanks, Steve!
Buying a new camera inevitably leads to a few hours of playing around with it (and even reading the manual!), so I thought it might be useful for you to know all my settings.
I have two camera bodies, a Nikon D810 and a Nikon D850, but I’ll focus on the D850 as that one has the newer, more advanced settings. However, here are the settings files for the D810 and D850 so that you can upload them to your own camera(s) if you wish.
Note that this is only a starting point, though, as some of the information such as copyright will obviously need changing.
Custom changes
The full list of settings is shown at the end of this article, but it’s a very long list (!), so I’ll pick out a few highlights. All the ones beginning with a letter and a number are in the Custom Setting Menu.
By the way, it’s handy to know that any settings you’ve changed in the Custom Setting Menu will show up with an asterisk over the letter in the relevant sub-menu. For example, I’ve changed one of the settings in the a3 Focus tracking with lock-on sub-menu, so the ‘a’ appears with an asterisk above it.
Back button focus
Back button focus is pretty much essential for wildlife photography. It allows you to track subjects in motion by keeping your thumb pressed on the AF-ON button, and it also allows you to lock the focus and exposure when you take your thumb away. This means you can happily recompose your shot any number of times until either the animal moves or the lighting conditions change.
a8 AF activation OFF
AF-ON only
Out-of-focus release
Enable
Viewfinder virtual horizon
I’m a great believer in getting as much right in camera as possible, and setting up your Fn1 function button to show the virtual horizon in the viewfinder is a very neat trick that avoids hours spent in post-processing checking all your horizons are straight.
f1 Custom control assignment
Fn1
Viewfinder virtual horizon
You can do the same with your MB-D18 battery grip if you have one.
f10 Assign MB-D18 buttons
Fn button [graphic]
Viewfinder virtual horizon
Zoom to 100% in playback by pressing the multi selector button
The best way to check the sharpness of your images is at 100%, and you can easily toggle between full frame and 1:1 by customising the multi selector button.
f2 Multi selector center button
Playback mode
Zoom on/off
1:1 (100%)
Zoom to 100% in live view by pressing the multi selector button
The best way to check the sharpness of your images in live view is at 100%, and you can easily toggle between full frame and 1:1 by customising the multi selector button, just as you did for playback mode.
f2 Multi selector center button
Live view
Zoom on/off
1:1 (100%)
Review images using main command dial and set sub-command dial to advance by 10
Canon users can easily scroll through their images because they have a circular command dial on the bank of the camera. Using the multi selector button is a lot slower, but you can set things up so that you can use the main command dial to whizz through your images one-by-one and the sub-command dial to advance by 10 (or 50) frames each time.
f4 Customize command dials
Menus and playback ON
On
Sub-dial frame advance 10
10 10 frames
Format memory cards without using menus
Having to scroll through the menu system just to format your memory card(s) is a bit of a pain. Here’s a simple trick to do it by pressing the delete and ISO buttons instead.
Press and hold delete and ISO buttons until For appears on the top LCD screen.
Select the primary or secondary card using the main command dial.
Press and hold delete and ISO buttons again.
Use movie record button to change ISO on your D810
If you have a D810 and a D850 as I do, this just allows you to get used to changing the ISO in roughly the same way, given that the movie record button on the D810 is in much the same place as the ISO button on the D850. Change the ISO with the main command dial and switch Auto ISO on and off with the sub-command dial.
f13 Assign movie record button ISO
Press + command dials ISO
ISO ISO sensitivity
D850 menu settings
Here are all my D850 settings, organised by menu section. The active options are in bold.
Playback Menu
Delete
Playback folder
ND850 [a custom name I chose]
All
Current
Hide image
Playback display options
Basic photo info
☑︎ Focus point
Additional photo info
☑︎ None (image only)
☑︎ Highlights
☑︎ RGB histogram
☑︎ Shooting data
☑︎ Overview
Copy image
Image review
On
Off
After delete
Show next
Show previous
Continue as before
After burst, show
First image in burst
Last image in burst
Auto image rotation
On
Off
Rotate tall
On
Off
Slide show
Select to send to smart device
Photo Shooting Menu
Photo shooting menu bank
A Nick Dale [a custom name I chose]
B People
C Sports
D
Extended photo menu banks
On
Off
Storage folder
Rename ND850 [a custom name I chose]
Select folder by number 124
Select folder from list
File naming
File naming [NDP]
sRGB: NDP_1234
Adobe RGB: _NDP1234
Primary slot selection
XQD card slot
SD card slot
Secondary slot function
Overflow
Backup
RAW primary - JPEG secondary
Flash control
Image area
Choose image area
FX (36x24)
1.2x (30x20)
DX (24x16)
5:4 (30x24)
1:1 (24x24)
Auto DX crop
ON
OFF
Viewfinder mask display
ON
OFF
Image quality RAW
NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine★
NEF (RAW) + JPEG fine
NEF (RAW) + JPEG normal★
NEF (RAW) + JPEG normal
NEF (RAW) + JPEG basic★
NEF (RAW) + JPEG basic
NEF (RAW)
JPEG fine★
JPEG fine
JPEG normal★
JPEG normal
JPEG basic★
JPEG basic
TIFF (RGB)
Image size
JPEG/TIFF
Large
8256x5504; 45.4 MMedium
6192x4128; 25.6 MSmall
4128x2752; 11.4 M
NEF (RAW) RAW L
RAW L Large
8256x5504; 45.4 MRaw M Medium
6192x4128; 25.6 MRAW S Small
4128x2752; 11.4 M
NEF (RAW) recording
NEF (RAW) compression ON
ON Lossless compressed
ON Compressed
Uncompressed
ISO sensitivity settings
ISO sensitivity 64
Lo 1
Lo 0.7
Lo 0.3
64
80
100
125
160
200
250
320
400
500
640
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3200
4000
5000
6400
8000
10000
12800
16000
20000
25600
Hi 0.3
Hi 0.7
Hi 1
Hi 2
Auto ISO sensitivity control ON
ON
OFF
Maximum sensitivity 25600
80
100
125
160
200
250
320
400
500
640
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3200
4000
5000
6400
8000
10000
12800
16000
20000
25600
Hi 0.3
Hi 0.7
Hi 1
Hi 2
Maximum sensitivity with ↯ 25600
Same as without flash
2560080
100
125
160
200
250
320
400
500
640
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3200
4000
5000
6400
8000
10000
12800
16000
20000
25600
Hi 0.3
Hi 0.7
Hi 1
Hi 2
Minimum shutter speed AUTO
Auto
1/4000 s
1/3200 s
1/2500 s
1/2000 s
1/1600 s
1/1250 s
1/1000 s
1/800 s
1/640 s
1/500 s
1/400 s
1/320 s
1/250 s
1/200 s
1/160 s
1/125 s
1/100 s
1/80 s
1/60 s
1/50 s
1/40 s
1/30 s
1/25 s
1/20s
1/15 s
1/13 s
1/10 s
1/8 s
1/6 s
1/5 s
1/4 s
1/3 s
1/2.5 s
1/2 s
1/1.6 s
1/1.3 s
1 s
1.3 s
1.6 s
2 s
2.5 s
3 s
4 s
5 s
6 s
8 s
10 s
13 s
15 s
20 s
25 s
30 s
White balance AUTO2
AUTO2 Auto
AUTO0 Keep white (reduce warm colors)
AUTO1 Normal
AUTO2 Keep warm lighting colors
Natural light auto
Incandescent
Fluorescent
Direct sunlight
Flash
Cloudy
Shade
Choose color temp.
PRE Preset manual
Set Picture Control NL
A Auto
SD Standard
NL Neutral
VI* Vivid
MC Monochrome
PT Portrait
LS Landscape
FL Flat
Manage Picture Control
Save/edit
A Auto
SD Standard
NL Neutral
VI* Vivid
MC Monochrome
PT Portrait
LS Landscape
FL Flat
Rename
Delete
Load/save
Copy to camera
Delete from card
Copy to card
Color space sRGB
sRGB
Adobe RGB
Active D-Lighting OFF
A Auto
H* Extra high
H High
N Normal
L Low
Off
Long exposure NR OFF
On
Off
High ISO NR NORM
High
Normal
Low
Off
Vignette control OFF
High
Normal
Low
Off
Auto distortion control ON
On
Off
Flicker reduction
Flicker reduction setting OFF
Enable
DIsable
Flicker reduction indicator ON
On
Off
Auto bracketing set AE↯
AE↯ AE & flash bracketing
AE AE bracketing
↯ Flash bracketing
WB WB bracketing
ADL bracketing
Multiple exposure OFF
Multiple exposure mode OFF
On (series)
On (single photo)
Off
Number of shots 2
Overlay mode AVG
ADD Add
AVG Average
LIGHT Lighten
DARK Darken
Keep all exposures ON
On
Off
HDR (high dynamic range) OFF
Interval timer shooting OFF
Start
Choose start day/time 05/18 17:22 [current date and time]
Now
Choose day/time
Interval 00:01’00”
00:01’00”
End day/time 2020/05/18 17:22 [current date and time]
Intervalsxshots/interval 1x1
0001x1=00001
End day/time 2020/05/18 17:22 [current date and time]
Exposure smoothing OFF
On
Off
Silent photography OFF
On
Off
Interval priority OFF
On
Off
Starting storage folder
New folder
Reset file numbering
End day/time 2020/05/18 17:22 [current date and time]
Focus shift shooting OFF
Start
No. of shots 40
Focus step width 4
Interval until next shot 0”
Exposure smoothing ON
On
Off
Silent photography ON
On
Off
Starting storage folder
New folder
Reset file numbering
Silent live view photography SL 1
SL 1 On (Mode 1)
SL 2 On (Mode 2)
Off
Movie Shooting Menu
Reset movie shooting menu
Yes
No
File naming NDP
Destination XQD
XQD card slot
20h 18m 26s [based on current space available]SD card slot
10h 29m 41s [based on current space available]
Image area
Choose image area FX
FX
DX
Auto DX crop ON
On
Off
Frame size/frame rate 1080p 24
2160 p★ 30 3840x2160; 30p
2160 p★ 25 3840x2160; 25p
2160 p★ 24 3840x2160; 24p
1080 p 60 1920x1080; 60p
1080 p 50 1920x1080; 50p
1080 p 30 1920x1080; 30p
1080 p 25 1920x1080; 25p
1080 p 24 1920x1080; 24p
720p 60 1280x 720; 60p
720p 50 1280x 720; 50p
1080 x4 30 1920x1080; 30p x4 (slow-mo)
1080 x4 25 1920x1080; 25p x4 (slow-mo)
1080 x5 24 1920x1080; 24p x5 (slow-mo)
Movie quality NORM
High quality
Normal
Movie file type MOV
MOV
MP4
ISO sensitivity settings
Maximum sensitivity 25600
200
250
320
400
500
640
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3200
4000
5000
6400
8000
10000
12800
16000
20000
25600
Hi 0.3
Hi 0.7
Hi 1
Hi 2
Auto ISO control (mode M) ON
ON
OFF
ISO sensitivity (mode M) 64
64
80
100
125
160
200
250
320
400
500
640
800
1000
1250
1600
2000
2500
3200
4000
5000
6400
8000
10000
12800
16000
20000
25600
Hi 0.3
Hi 0.7
Hi 1
Hi 2
White balance AUTO2
Same as photo settings
AUTO2AUTO0 Auto
A Natural light auto
Incandescent
4 Fluorescent
Direct sunlight
Cloudy
Shade
K Choose color temp.
PRE Preset manual
Set Picture Control NL
Same as photo settings
NLA Auto
SD Standard
NL Neutral
VI Vivid
MC Monochrome
PT Portrait
LS Landscape
FL Flat
Manage Picture Control
Save/edit
A Auto
SD Standard
NL Neutral
VI Vivid
MC Monochrome
PT Portrait
LS Landscape
FL Flat
Rename
Delete
Load/save
Copy to camera
Delete from card
Copy to card
Active D-Lighting OFF
High ISO NR NORM
High
Normal
Low
Off
Flicker reduction AUTO
Auto
50 Hz
60 Hz
Microphone sensitivity A
Auto sensitivity
Manual sensitivity
Microphone off
Attenuator OFF
Enable
Disable
Frequency response WIDE
WIDE Wide range
VOICE Vocal range
Wind noise reduction ON
On
Off
Electronic VR OFF
Time-lapse movie OFF
Custom Setting Menu
Custom settings bank A
A WILDLIFE [custom name I chose]
B SLOW PAN [custom name I chose]
C HIGH SPEED [custom name I chose]
D
a Autofocus
a1 AF-C priority selection
Release
Focus + release
Release + focus
Focus
a2 AF-S priority selection
Release
Focus
a3 Focus tracking with lock-on
Blocked shot AF response
Quick 1 2 3 4 5 DelayedSubject motion
Erratic 1 2 3 Steady
a4 3D-tracking face-detection ON
ON On
OFF Off
a5 3D-tracking watch area NORM
Wide
Normal
a6 Number of focus points AF 15
AF55 55 points
AF15 15 points
a7 Store by orientation
Focus point
Focus point and AF-area mode
Off
a8 AF activation OFF
Shutter/AF-ON
AF-ON only
Out-of-focus releaseEnable
Disable
a9 Limit AF-area mode selection
☑︎ Single-point AF
☑︎ Dynamic-area AF (9 points)
☑︎ Dynamic-area AF (25 points)
☑︎ Dynamic-area AF (72 points)
☐ Dynamic-area AF (153 points)
☑︎ 3D-tracking
☑︎ Group-area AF
☐ Auto-area AF
a10 Autofocus mode restrictions AF-C
AF-S
AF-C
No restrictions
a11 Focus point wrap-around ON
Wrap
No wrap
a12 Focus point options
Focus point illumination OFF
Auto
On
Off
Manual focus mode ON
On
Off
Dynamic-area AF assist ON
On
Off
b Metering/exposure
b1 ISO sensitivity step value 1/3
1/3 step
1/2 step
1 step
b2 EV steps for exposure cntrl 1/3
1/3 step
1/2 step
1 step
b3 Exp./flash comp. step value 1/3
1/3 step
1/2 step
1 step
b4 Easy exposure compensation OFF
On (Auto reset)
On
Off
b5 Matrix metering ON
ON Face detection on
OFF Face detection off
b6 Center-weighted area (•) 8
(•) 8 𝝋 8mm
(•) 12 𝝋 12mm
(•) 15 𝝋 15mm
(•) 20 𝝋 20mm
(•) Avg Average
b7 Fine-tune optimal exposure
c Timers/AE lock
c1 Shutter-release button AE-L OFF
ON On (half press)
ON On (burst mode)
Off
c2 Standby timer 6s
4 s
6 s
10 s
30 s
1 min
5 min
10 min
30 min
No limit
c3 Self-timer
Self-timer delay 2s
2s 2 s
5s 5 s
10s 10 s
20s 20 s
Number of shots 1
Interval between shots 0.5s
0.5s 0.5 s
1s 1 s
2s 2 s
3s 3 s
c4 Monitor off delay
Playback 10s
4 s
10 s
20 s
1 min
5 min
10 min
Menus 10s
4 s
10 s
20 s
1 min
5 min
10 min
Information display 10s
4 s
10 s
20 s
1 min
5 min
10 min
Image review 4s
2 s
4 s
10 s
20 s
1 min
5 min
10 min
Live view 10m
5 min
10 min
15 min
20 min
30 min
No limit
d Shooting/display
d1 CL mode shooting speed 3
8 8fps
7 7 fps
6 6 fps
5 5 fps
4 4 fps
3 3 fps
2 2 fps
1 1 fps
d2 Max. continuous release 200
d3 ISO display ON
Show ISO sensitivity
Show frame count
d4 Sync. release mode options
Sync
No sync
d5 Exposure delay mode OFF
3 s
2 s
1 s
0.5 s
0.2 s
Off
d6 Electronic front-curtain shutter ON
Enable
Disable
d7 File number sequence ON
On
Off
Reset
d8 Peaking highlight color R
Red
Yellow
Blue
White
d9 Viewfinder grid display OFF
On
Off
d10 LCD illumination
On
Off
d11 Live view in continuous mode
On
Off
e Bracketing/flash
e1 Flash sync speed 1/250*
1/250 s (Auto FP)
1/250 s
1/200 s
1/160 s
1/125 s
1/100 s
1/80 s
1/60 s
e2 Flash shutter speed 1/60
1/60 s
1/30 s
1/15 s
1/8 s
1/4 s
1/2 s
1 s
2 s
4 s
8 s
15 s
30 s
e3 Exposure comp. for flash
Entire frame
Background only
e4 Auto ↯ ISO sensitivity control
Subject and background
Subject only
e5 Modeling flash OFF
On
Off
e6 Auto bracketing (mode M)
Flash/speed
Flash/speed/aperture
Flash/aperture
Flash only
e7 Bracketing order N
MTR > under > over
Under > MTR > over
f Controls
f1 Custom control assignment
[graphic]
f2 Multi selector center button
Shooting mode RESET
RESET Select center focus point
PRE Preset focus point
Highlight active focus point
None
Playback mode
Thumbnail on/off
View histograms
Zoom on/off
Low magnification (50%)
1:1 (100%)
High magnification (200%)
Choose slot and folder
Live view
RESET Select center focus point
Zoom on/off
Low magnification (50%)
1:1 (100%)
High magnification (200%)
None
f3 Shutter spd & aperture lock
Shutter speed lock OFF
On
Off
Aperture lock OFF
On
Off
f4 Customize command dials
Reverse rotation
☐ Exposure compensation
☐ Shutter speed/aperture
Change main/sub
Exposure setting OFF
Autofocus setting OFF
Aperture setting ON
Sub-command dial
Aperture ring
Menus and playback ON
On
On (image review excluded)
Off
Sub-dial frame advance 10
10 10 frames
50 50 frames
Protect
Still images only
Movies only
Folder
f5 Multi selector OFF
Restart standby timer
Do nothing
f6 Release button to use dial OFF
Yes
No
f7 Reverse indicators - 0 +
+ 0 - [graphic]
- 0 + [graphic]
f8 Live view button options ON
Enable
Enable (standby timer active)
Disable
f9 💡 switch 💡
💡LCD backlight (💡)
💡info💡 and information display
f10 Assign MB-D18 buttons
Fn button [graphic]
Center-weighted metering
Spot metering
Highlight-weighted metering
Viewfinder grid display
Viewfinder virtual horizon
MY MENU
Access top item in MY MENU
Playback
None
Fn button + [graphic] OFF
ISO ISO sensitivity
MODE Exposure mode
Exposure compensation
Metering
None
AF-ON button = AF ON
Same as camera AF-ON button
AF-ON
AF-area mode
AF-area mode + AF-ON
AE/AF lock
AE lock only
AE lock (Reset on release)
AE lock (Hold)
AF lock only
None
Multi selector = [graphic]
Same as camera multi selector
Info [horizontal graphic]/Playback [vertical graphic]
Info [vertical graphic]/Playback [horizontal graphic]
Focus point selection
Fn button
Center-weighted metering
Spot metering
Highlight-weighted metering
Viewfinder grid display
Viewfinder virtual horizon
MY MENU
Access top item in MY MENU
Playback
None
Fn button + [graphic] OFF
ISO ISO sensitivity
MODE Exposure mode
Exposure compensation
Metering
None
AF-ON button = AF ON
Same as camera AF-ON button
AF-ON
AF-area mode
AF-area mode + AF-ON
AE/AF lock
AE lock only
AE lock (Reset on release)
AE lock (Hold)
AF lock only
None
Multi selector
Same as camera multi selector
Info [horizontal graphic]/Playback [vertical graphic]
Info [vertical graphic]/Playback [horizontal graphic]
Focus point selection
g Movie
g1 Custom control assignment
[graphic]
g2 Highlight brightness 255
255
248
235
224
213
202
191
180
Setup Menu
Format memory card
XQD card slot
SD card slot
Language
English
[various other languages]
Time zone and date
Time zone
London, Casablanca
UTC 0 19/05/2020 08:22:53 [current date and time][world timezone map]
Date and time
Y M D H M S
2020. 05. 19 08:22:53 [current date and time]
Sync with smart device OFF
Date format D/M/Y
Y/M/D Year/Month/Day
M/D/Y Month/Day/Year
D/M/Y Day/Month/Year
Daylight saving time ON
UTC 0 19/05/2020 08:22:53 [current date and time]On
Off
Monitor brightness
Menus/playback 0
[list of values from -5 to +5]
Live view 0
[list of values from -5 to +5]
Monitor color balance
[graphic to alter G, B, A and M values]
Virtual horizon
Information display AUTO
AUTO Auto
B Manual
AF fine-tune
AF fine-tune (On/Off) ON
On
Off
Saved value
[List of values from -20 to +20]
Default 0
[List of values from -20 to +20]
List saved values 6/20
800/5.6VR x1.25 07
NO. 07 [list of values]
800/5.6VR 06
NO. 06 [list of values]
18-35/3.5-4.5 05
NO. 05 [list of values]
28-300/3.5-5.6VR 02
NO. 02 [list of values]
24-70/2.8VR 01
NO. 01 [list of values]
80-400/4.5-5.6VR 03
NO. 03 [list of values]
Non-CPU lens data
Lens number 5
Focal length (mm) 50
Maximum aperture F1.8
Clean image sensor
Clean now
Clean at startup/shutdown ON/OFF
Clean at startup
Clean at shutdown
Clean at startup & shutdown
Cleaning off
Lock mirror up for cleaning
Image Dust Off ref photo
Start
Clean sensor and then start
Image comment OFF
☐ Attach comment
Input comment
[character list]
Copyright information ON
☑︎ Attach copyright information
Artist
Nick Dale[character map]
Copyright
2020 Nick Dale[character map]
Beep options
Beep on/off OFF
On
Off (touch controls only)
Off
Volume 2
3 3
2 2
1 1
Pitch L
H High
L Low
Touch controls ON
Enable/disable touch controls ON
Enable
Playback only
Disable
Full-frame playback flicks
⬅︎ Left←Right
➡︎ Left➝Right
HDMI
Output resolution AUTO
Auto
2160p (progressive)
1080p (progressive)
1080i (interlaced)
720p (progressive)
576p (progressive)
480p (progressive)
External recording control OFF
On
Off
Advanced
Output range AUTO
Auto
Limited range
Full range
Output display size 100%
95%
100%
Live view on-screen display ON
On
Off
Dual monitor ON
On
Off
Location data
Download from smart device OFF
Position
External GPS device options
Standby timer ON
Enable
Disable
Set clock from satellite ON
Yes
No
Wireless remote (WR) options
Assign remote (WR) Fn button OFF
+RAW + NEF (RAW)
Lv Live view
None
Airplane mode ON
Enable
Disable
Connect to smart device
Send to smart device (auto) OFF
On
Off
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth OFF
Network
Conformity marking
[Graphic 1]
[Graphic 2]
[Graphic 3]
MB-D18 battery type LR6
LR6 LR6 (AA alkaline)
Ni-MH HR6 (AA Ni-MH)
FR6 FR6 (AA lithium)
Battery order MB-D18
Use MB-D18 batteries first
Use camera battery first
Battery info
[information screen]
Slot empty release lock OK
LOCK Release locked
OK Enable release
Save/load settings
Save settings
Load settings
Reset all settings
Reset
Do not reset
Firmware version
C 1. 11
LD 2. 018Done
Retouch Menu
NEF (RAW) processing
Select image(s)
[image selection screen]
Select date
XQD card slot
SD card slot
Select all images
XQD card slot
SD card slot
Choose destination
XQD card slot
SD card slot
Trim
[image selection screen]
Resize
Select image(s)
[image selection screen]
Choose destination XQD
XQD card slot
SD card slot
Choose size 2.5M
3.5M 2304x1536; 3.5 M
2.5M 1920x1280; 2.5 M
1.1M 1280x 856; 1.1 M
0.6M 960x 640; 0.6 M
D-Lighting
[image selection screen]
Red-eye correction
[image selection screen]
Straighten
[image selection screen]
DIstortion control
Auto
Manual
Perspective control
[image selection screen]
Filter effects
Skylight
[image selection screen]
Warm filter
Monochrome
Black-and-white
[image selection screen]
Sepia
[image selection screen]
Cyanotype
[image selection screen]
Image overlay
Image 1
[image selection screen]
Image 2
[image selection screen]
Preview
Overlay
Save
Trim movie
My Menu
Battery info
HDR mode OFF
Auto distortion control ON
Add items
Remove items
Rank items
Choose tab
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