24 Steps to the Perfect Canon EOS Rebel T6 Setup

As has become my habit when setting up a new DSLR, I recorded my setup steps for the recently-received Canon EOS Rebel T6. Following are the 24 steps I took to make an out-of-the-box Rebel T6 ready for use.
 

1. Open the box, find the battery and charger and plug it in. The battery likely comes partially charged, but it is nice to start out with a fully charged battery.
2. While the battery is charging, unpack the other items you want from the box.
3. Download the Canon Solution Disk software from Canon’s website and install on your computer to get support for the latest camera(s). Canon Digital Photo Pro (DPP), EOS Utility, Photostitch and Lens Registration Utility are the options I manually include in the install.
4. Attach the neck strap.
5. Insert the battery (after charging completes – if you can wait that long).
6. Power the camera on.
7. The date and time setup screen will show at startup the first time. Use the Rear Control dial and the Set button to update this information.
8. Insert a memory card (don’t forget to format the card via the tools menu option before taking pictures).
9. Set the camera’s mode to Av, Tv or M (some modes provide only a small subset of available menu options).
10. Scroll through all of the menu tabs to configure the cameras as follows:
11. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Image quality: “RAW”
12. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Beep: Disable
13. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Release without card: Disable/off (I highly recommend this setting)
14. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Image review: 4 sec.
15. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Peripheral illumination correction: disabled
16. Shooting Menu, Tab 2: Picture Style: Neutral with Sharpness Strength set to “1” (Note: the low contrast “Neutral” picture style provides a histogram on the back of the camera that most-accurately shows me blown highlights and blocked shadows on the camera LCD. I usually change the Picture Style to “Standard” in DPP after capture.)
17. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: ISO Auto: 6400
18. Shooting Menu, Tab 1: Grid display: Grid 1 (3×3)
19. Playback Menu, Tab 2: Histogram disp: RGB (I want to monitor all three color channels for blown or blocked pixels)
20. Tools Menu, Tab 1: Auto rotate: On/Computer only (this provides the largest playback image size on the camera LCD)
21. Tools Menu, Tab 3: C.Fn I: Exposure: ISO Expansion: On
22. Tools Menu, Tab 3: Long exposure noise reduction: I usually have this option set to “Auto”, but my choice varies for the situation.
23. Tools Menu, Tab 3: High ISO speed noise reduction: Off (noise reduction is destructive to images details – I prefer to add NR sparingly in post)
24. My Menu: Register the following options: Long exposure noise reduction, Format card, Date/Time/Zone (great for monitoring what time it is), Sensor cleaning (Clean manually), Expo.comp./AEB (back up near the top of the list)

I of course make other menu and setting changes based on current shooting scenarios, but this list covers my initial camera setup process.
 
To copy this configuration would mean that you intend to shoot similar to how I shoot – including shooting in RAW-only format. While my setup works great for me, your best use of this list may be for tweaking your own setup.
 
If you can’t remember your own menu setup parameters, keeping an up-to-date list such as this one is a good idea. Anytime your camera goes in for a service visit, the camera will be returned in a reset-to-factory state (unless you request otherwise). Your list will insure that you do not miss an important setting when putting the camera back into service.
 
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Canon EOS Rebel T6