# RTFM. Do you?



## Valvebounce (Dec 10, 2014)

Hi Folks. 
Just for giggles and to save hijacking someone else's post, do you RTFM, and what drove you to it?
I first resorted to RTFM as a child many years ago when I was trying to build a Technical Lego tractor from the picture on the front of the box! It hadn't gone too well, not as simple as it was to build the standard Lego cars and such just from the box image! 
Technical Lego was new then, before it was called Lego Technics! 
Since then I have tended to Read The Flamin' Manual first for most stuff. 

Cheers, Graham.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 10, 2014)

Valvebounce said:


> Just for giggles and to save hijacking someone else's post, do you RTFM, and what drove you to it?



Usually I fiddle with all options until the thing doesn't work anymore, then rtfm 

Somewhere, I've read that men tend to test the result of all switches and never bother reading what they do, while women tend to actually get informed before touching anything. Don't know if this is true though, and in any case it'll vary a lot across ages, generations and cultures.


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## jdramirez (Dec 10, 2014)

I don't dislike manuals, but there are diminishing returns. The stuff I already know doesn't help me... Then there are features I don't understand and reading the manual is like reading Greek. So I'm really in the butter zone of knowing enough, but not nearly enough.


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## tolusina (Dec 10, 2014)

For many items and for sure cameras, I download and read the manual, find out what the device can do and how do do it as part of my purchasing decision.
Many things explained in a manual make little sense unless and until the device is in hand, no matter, once the device is in hand I'm already familiar enough with the manual to find answers easily.

Pre-familiarization often gives additional clues as to a device's shortcomings prior to purchase, more shopping time can then be spent seeking solutions.

Truth, naw, I rarely read them completely. :-[


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## Old Sarge (Dec 10, 2014)

Even though I usually d/l the manual before purchase, if possible, I still don't RTFM. It is more of S(can)TFM. Then I will use the camera (or whatever) until I don't remember how to do something and return to the manual at that time. Probably not the best way to handle things, but at my age I'm pretty well set in my ways.


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## CurtL5 (Dec 10, 2014)

Depends...

I scan through the how-to of some pieces but usually I start pushing buttons. I will admit though, that I made a point for the first year after receiving my 5Dmiii, to go back every month or so and RTFM a different part. I actually found it allowed me to modify a process for the better or take advantage of one of the zillion seldom-used functions I wasn't aware of or didn't use adequately.

Over-all, I'm a button pusher tho' ...


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## AcutancePhotography (Dec 10, 2014)

When I am considering a new camera, one of the things I like is being able to download the manual. I often find that reading the manual gives me insight into whether the camera will be right for me.

So in this context, I read the manual even before I buy the camera. ;D


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## eli452 (Dec 10, 2014)

If every thing else fails read the instructions!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 10, 2014)

When I order a camera, I read the manual while I'm waiting for the camera to arrive. I also use the acrobat search function to look for information in the manual. Frequently at first.


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## tayassu (Dec 10, 2014)

Im one of the guys that try out the camera and set it up with their common Canon Menu knowledge, and when they see something they don't know, they look into the manual...


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## IgotGASbadDude (Dec 10, 2014)

If I purchase something that has been out for a while, I'll go to the manual only when I can't figure it out on my own.

If I "pre-order" something I'm ecstatic when the manual gets posted. Reading the manual helps pass the time until I can actually get the item in my hand. 8)


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## DominoDude (Dec 10, 2014)

Hey, I even read manuals for things I don't own, so I guess that puts me in the first category. However, some types of manuals have become less useful and intuitive. If I can, I read the manual in English, even if it exists in Swedish; the translators are so lousy at times that they make me want to rip my eyes out. When translators lacks the proper technical understanding, or the correct terms and phrases to use for a given item, then they are not explaining or defining in a way that increases the readers knowledge. Machine translations can also make me go over the top...

I've even proofread an English game site, and corrected bad Inglese contributed by Americans and English(wo)men, so the native speakers are not always the best at handling their own language.

With all that said, with a good and thoroughly written manual the obstacles of handling new material are lessened and knowledge is gained. (Fully aware that some types of people learn better by hands on experience, or by listening during lessons held by a teacher/instructor/educator of sorts, but for me, the primary way of getting an improved knowledge goes through well written documentation.)

All this goes out the window when I instruct martial arts. Then it is visual, oral and tactile feedback, from which pupils will have to learn, in combination with numerous repetitions.


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## davidcl0nel (Dec 10, 2014)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> When I order a camera, I read the manual while I'm waiting for the camera to arrive. I also use the acrobat search function to look for information in the manual. Frequently at first.



Me, too.
Did it with 60D, my first DSLR - and could use it on the first minute as it arrived...
About 1 year later I bought the 5D3 and again, I read the new chapters, here the chapter for the AF module. And again, I could use the camera correctly from the first minute....


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## AcutancePhotography (Dec 10, 2014)

I wonder how many people don't read the manual and then complain about what the camera can't do or does poorly? ;D


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## Marsu42 (Dec 10, 2014)

AcutancePhotography said:


> I wonder how many people don't read the manual and then complain about what the camera can't do or does poorly? ;D



I'd really like to know the actual number, but I guess it's very high - the very reason manufacturers and esp. Canon are that conservative with new software features and would never adopt advanced features like ML has. The amount of work and bad viral press ("crappy camera ain't working") would be too huge to compensate for the amount of customers won.


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## Maximilian (Dec 10, 2014)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi Folks.
> do you RTFM, and what drove you to it?
> ...
> Cheers, Graham.


Hi Graham! 

RTFM is one of my most beloved abbreviations. 
Although I really try to avoid saying it to someone I really often think it, reading some peoples questions.
So feeling that way it would be a shame not to act like that. That's my stimulus.
So mostly I try out what can be done intuitively, look at the "Getting started" and then have a nice RTFM bedtime reading.

Yours, 
Maximilian


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## noisejammer (Dec 10, 2014)

Those who play first, curse later - have you ever tried to set up a 1-series without rtfm...


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## DJD (Dec 10, 2014)

The truth is, I usually read the manual before I buy the product. It is part of my pre-purchase research. I like to know what the product really does, rather than relying on what some reviewer (or forum commenter) thinks the product does or should do.


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## Pookie (Dec 10, 2014)

Although I have a new profile now... a few years ago I got chastised by the mods here on CR for telling someone in a joking manner to RTFM. Wonder how this thread is kosher now?

Honestly, 95% of the questions here on this forum could be answered with RTFM... but that would be too easy, better go ask the "internet" rather than pull out the hard copy.


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## dcm (Dec 10, 2014)

Missing option: I usually skip the marketing literature and skim the manual before I buy so I know what I'm really getting - helps to minimize surprises and lets me study anything that I haven't encountered before. It usually one of the last things I do before I purchase, just to be sure. After that I only crack it open if I can't figure it out by playing or need some nitty gritty technical detail. I do keep a copy of key manual pdfs on my phone, tablet, and desktop to refer to, just in case. I seem to use them more to lookup stuff for other folks than for myself. Good products usually don't require much use of the reference material. But I'm an engineer building software products for the past 35 years so my expectations may be a bit different than others.


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## beforeEos Camaras (Dec 10, 2014)

my 70D has so much built on it I cant help but to read the manual. now my FTb-n was easy by comparison how to load film change asa and change lenses.


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## slclick (Dec 10, 2014)

beforeEos Camaras said:


> my 70D has so much built on it I cant help but to read the manual. now my FTb-n was easy by comparison how to load film change asa and change lenses.



That's what I thought about my EOS 3 and then I was like..whoa! this has got a nice feature set, better RTFM, alas, it died and now I have an EOS 5, nothing to read up on.


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## lintoni (Dec 11, 2014)

I'm on my first dSLR, so I read _some_ of the manual before starting to press buttons.  I've not read it all, yet, but it is there by my bedside... but I have a load of Philip K. Dick novels that are a higher priority to read! Like some others though, I do have pdf copies on my tablet and laptop that do get referred to if I'm stuck.


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## Valvebounce (Dec 11, 2014)

Hi Folks. 
Some interesting responses. 
DCM I have added the option of read before buying. 
Pookie, this is a question about your own habits with a manual, not telling someone however lightheartedly to RTFM, though sometimes it would seem to be the best answer to a question! ;D
I too love translated manuals, especially those that appear to have started, for example in Chinese, been translated to an intermediate language, perhaps French, then to the final language of English. 

Cheers, Graham.


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## Davebo (Dec 11, 2014)

Haven't always RTFM first...but did download (and read) the 7D Mk II manual on my iPad before taking delivery. Went one step further and downloaded the AF setting guide to my phone. Did help get up and running quicker, once the camera arrived.


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## jhaces (Dec 11, 2014)

^

This, Most of the time I thoroughly read the manuals of all the stuff I buy even before they arrive on my doorstep. Afterwards I can forget about the pesky thing and focus on the shiny new one


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## alexanderferdinand (Dec 11, 2014)

I read it, because I read everything.


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## Roo (Dec 11, 2014)

It's a Canon so most of the menu system, button labelling is always familiar but I still read the manual and refer to it from time to time just to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 11, 2014)

Roo said:


> It's a Canon so most of the menu system, button labelling is always familiar but I still read the manual and refer to it from time to time just to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.



The problem with the Canon (and probably all other) manuals is that they try to be accessible to everyone, including instructions on how to turn on the camera. If they'd split it up into a part "advanced settings, faq and this is what people usually miss" part, I'd rtfm more often.


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## Cosmicbug (Dec 11, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Roo said:
> 
> 
> > It's a Canon so most of the menu system, button labelling is always familiar but I still read the manual and refer to it from time to time just to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.
> ...



+1


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## takesome1 (Dec 11, 2014)

Not enough options in the poll

There should be a line "When all else fails read the manual".


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## rpt (Dec 11, 2014)

takesome1 said:


> Not enough options in the poll
> 
> There should be a line "When all else fails read the manual".


Third from the bottom. The wording is different.


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## Valvebounce (Dec 11, 2014)

Hi takesome1. 
I figured I'd covered when all else fails read the manual with "Use item until stuck then RTFM" or "Push, pull etc." No? 
Hi Marsu. 
I like the idea of an advanced section in a manual, but not all people's advanced ability starts at the same level. The idea of a "this is what most people miss" section is  ;D ;D. 

Cheers, Graham. 




takesome1 said:


> Not enough options in the poll
> 
> There should be a line "When all else fails read the manual".


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## dcm (Dec 11, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Roo said:
> 
> 
> > It's a Canon so most of the menu system, button labelling is always familiar but I still read the manual and refer to it from time to time just to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.
> ...



The bodies often have two manuals: a basic instruction manual for the newbies and a full instruction manual with all the details. Unfortunately the full instruction manual just includes all the newbie stuff interspersed as well. Makes it easier to produce, but does not tailor it to the advanced users. 

I only use the pdfs since they are text searchable - usually makes finding an answer pretty quick so I don't mind not having a separate advanced section. But it would shorten skimming the document before I buy since I seldom need to look at the newbie stuff.


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## takesome1 (Dec 11, 2014)

rpt said:


> takesome1 said:
> 
> 
> > Not enough options in the poll
> ...



Actually its not the same, it doesn't take in to account exhausting all the help on the forums to solve an issue that is clearly explained on page 23 in the manual.


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## zim (Dec 11, 2014)

I could actually answer yes to three of those options

is it sad that I enjoy reading manuals!!!

I used to have the full set of every AutoCAD manual, the hardback period was gorgeous


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## e17paul (Dec 11, 2014)

I first read the downloaded manual before buying and major purchase. That's part of my decision making. By the time I have the item, I have already remembered the key instructions.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 11, 2014)

zim said:


> I used to have the full set of every AutoCAD manual, the hardback period was gorgeous



Right, were are good ol' times when ever self-respecting coder or it worker had a shelf of hardcover books like "Word for Windows 5.0" that aged like good wine and came in handy as paperweights  ... you could tell the expertise of someone just by checking his library. Nowadays, just like film we're haunted by ebooks and pdf, and all your knowledge is either in your head or on your hd :-o


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## RGF (Dec 11, 2014)

Too many manuals are reference manuals, not user manuals.

Reference manuals assume you know the basic and why you would want to ... User manuals tell you they why and limited about of the how. You need both - users to start and reference to answer detailed questions.

For example, a dictionary is a great reference manual (you can find the definition of any word there) but it fails to teach writing


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## TAF (Dec 11, 2014)

RGF said:


> Too many manuals are reference manuals, not user manuals.
> 
> Reference manuals assume you know the basic and why you would want to ... User manuals tell you they why and limited about of the how. You need both - users to start and reference to answer detailed questions.
> 
> For example, a dictionary is a great reference manual (you can find the definition of any word there) but it fails to teach writing




Which is why there is a large market for 'aftermarket' how-to manuals. Most manufacturers manuals are not nearly as helpful as one would like.

As for dictionaries - how many remember asking our parents how to spell a word and being told to look it up in the dictionary? Need I explain further for the younger crowd who don't remember life before auto-correct?


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## Ryan85 (Dec 12, 2014)

When I get a new camera I'll turn it on and play with it, take a few shots, set up bbf and basic stuff like that then I read the manual. But I'll still use the camera before I finish it. Then I'll refer to it from time to time.


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## Valvebounce (Dec 12, 2014)

Hi Zim. 
Wow that was a blast from the past, I had to learn AutoCAD at college, the lecturer was building a steam launch, various parts of the boiler and engine were programmed by assorted students. It made it a bit more interesting working on a tangible item rather than just an example from the book. I worked on the top boiler tube support plate. No idea if the boiler has the plate we made in it, but the boat was finished or as finished as boats like that get. 

Cheers, Graham. 



zim said:


> I could actually answer yes to three of those options
> 
> is it sad that I enjoy reading manuals!!!
> 
> I used to have the full set of every AutoCAD manual, the hardback period was gorgeous


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## Valvebounce (Dec 12, 2014)

Hi takesome1. 
I expect to see at least 1 vote in option 8.  : ;D
I have added your preferred response for you. It is all really just for fun, not intended to be too meaningful but it is interesting to see at least 3 have done the twist pull push damn experience! I honestly thought no one would vote that. 

Cheers, Graham. 



takesome1 said:


> Not enough options in the poll
> 
> There should be a line "When all else fails read the manual".


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## tcmatthews (Dec 12, 2014)

My first Canon DSLR Rebel XS I read the manual and bought a book aftermarket manual that when into greater detail on featurs. 60D messed with the Camera I think I skimmed the manual once to go over some of the new features. 6D I don't know where the manual is. It is probably in the box. Dads NEX 5n skimmed the manual set up camera through in camera help. Nex 6 no idea where the manual is probably in box turned off in camera help it was annoying me. EOS M became annoyed had to read the manual to find out how to get it out of idiot mode. I could not even find the menu with out manual.

Olympus OMD EM-5 played with camera settings became confused. Read manual became more confused. When in doubt Google. Found several good guides online covering the settings.


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## martti (Dec 25, 2014)

I often Google things that I cannot figure out instead of looking them up in the Canon manual which is written in such a complicated way that I cannot understand what is said there unless I know it already. Frankly I am sick and tired of being told that I should not swallow the battery or give it to a child to eat, either.


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## rpt (Dec 25, 2014)

martti said:


> I often Google things that I cannot figure out instead of looking them up in the Canon manual which is written in such a complicated way that I cannot understand what is said there unless I know it already. Frankly I am sick and tired of being told that I should not swallow the battery or give it to a child to eat, either.


 ;D ;D ;D


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## Valvebounce (Dec 26, 2014)

Hi martti. 
What you mean you have never mistaken that shiny silver disc for a chocolate button?

Cheers, Graham. 



martti said:


> Frankly I am sick and tired of being told that I should not swallow the battery or give it to a child to eat, either.


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## martti (Dec 26, 2014)

The nasty little button batteries are a real risk if swallowed. They have corrosive chemicals inside and if they burst while doing their passage through the digestive system, there is a real and imminent risk of perforation and peritonitis. Those particular batteries should definitely be kept out of the reach of small children.

Would I mistake an LP-E6 for a Mars bar...? With a lot of whisky and then some, I guess, possibly.


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## GaryJ (Dec 26, 2014)

Then there is always You Tube...


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## AlanF (Dec 26, 2014)

I read CR first. Lots of key points come up, like don't put in the CF card sideways into your new 7D II, which aren't in the manual. Then Google.


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## Eldar (Dec 26, 2014)

The irritating thing about manuals is, as has been pointed out previously in this thread, that they spend page after page on security and safety and the don´t dos and load batteries and turn on and what color the on-light is etc. etc. Then, when you´re really stuck, or you have multiple options and want to know their differences and you really need a good manual, the thing is given a shallow and short description. As an example, how many of you learned how to setup and master the 5DIII/1DX AF system by reading the manual? (come to think of it, I did not even try to read the manual ... :)

I charge the batteries, load them, turn the thing on and then I go through a time consuming learning by doing process. But when I figure something out, I don´t forget it. And when I´m stuck, I usually find good information by searching the web.


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## Joey (Dec 26, 2014)

Flamin'? Have I been reading that acronym wrong all these years???


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## moushu (Dec 26, 2014)

Hello all, this is my first post on this Forum, and picked this thread as it's amusing me 
I've submitted my vote ("use manual when stuck").
The thread reminded me of my all-time favourite manual - for a Lubitel 166B TLR I had in the 80's. It looks like it was translated from Russian into English, but by someone who wasn't fluent in either!
Features such classic advice as:
"“It is enough to raise a little reflex viewfinder cover to see deep between the light protective hoods large and for any illumination distinct clear image according to which it is easy to fit frame limits when the object is already found or to find a new scene.“
Got that straight? 
Cheers,
Marlon


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## rpt (Dec 26, 2014)

moushu said:


> Hello all, this is my first post on this Forum, and picked this thread as it's amusing me
> I've submitted my vote ("use manual when stuck").
> The thread reminded me of my all-time favourite manual - for a Lubitel 166B TLR I had in the 80's. It looks like it was translated from Russian into English, but by someone who wasn't fluent in either!
> Features such classic advice as:
> ...


Wow! I had one too! Not sure of the exact model but look at my profile pic


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## martti (Dec 26, 2014)

Oh, yes, Lubitel!
I took my sister's graduation pictures with a Lubitel with a light leak (cracked bakelite) and a stuck shutter.
I remember grabbing the camera by the neck band, circling it a couple of times and throwing it in a lake after I got the pictures. The only things Russian that actually do their job (that are sold to civilians) are pickles, caviar and vodka. Even the prostitutes, get an Estonian or a Czekh.


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## AlanF (Dec 26, 2014)

"Lubitel" is meant to come from the Russian "Lubyitel". meaning amateur, dilettante, connoisseur etc. But, I reckon it is a portmanteau word derived from the Russian "Lublyu", I love, "tel", telephoto.


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## Valvebounce (Dec 26, 2014)

Hi Joey. 
I put the safe for work and children version! ;D

Cheers, Graham. 



Joey said:


> Flamin'? Have I been reading that acronym wrong all these years???


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## Joey (Dec 26, 2014)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi Joey.
> I put the safe for work and children version! ;D
> 
> Cheers, Graham.
> ...


 ;D :


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## shining example (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm very much the "learn by doing, refer to manual when I get stuck" type. As others have observed, manuals tend to start off with a whole lot of tedious "try not to eat the packaging" admonishment, and then there's loads of fairly self-evident stuff like how to insert the battery and turn the thing on, and my attention span is somewhat limited, so by the time they get to anything of actual interest, my mind will be miles away. But I always take them with me (on my phone, nowadays), and refer to them when needed.

The 7D was my first DSLR, and my previous SLR was a different brand, so I did get stuck a fair bit and was glad to be able to look stuff up. I think the really sticky spot is when you have enough experience to know what you want to do, but insufficient experience of the tech in hand to figure out how to do it. I've also had to refer to the manual for the EOS M rather more than I would have expected. Part of that was admittedly that weird talent I have for overlooking menu items that are clearly _right there_... :


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## Marsu42 (Jan 1, 2015)

shining example said:


> I'm very much the "learn by doing, refer to manual when I get stuck" type.



The good thing abut not rtfm'ing is that you might end discovering things you'd have missed when just going for what you intended in the first place - it's like exploring the countryside without a map or gps, but just a general idea which direction your destination is


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## mb66energy (Jan 11, 2015)

pre buying:
1. Check a PDF file with search feature - to see if the things I want are possible

after buying and before first use:
2. Check PDF file for warnings/precautions and similar stuff

after that:
3. Use the camera and profit from the heavenly situation that I can check the results of settings/procedures immediately.

Best manual ever: The manual of the 1973/4 Canon EF I bought 30 years ago ... some chapters about the use of different focal lengths, right exposure of darger or brighter than average objects, etc.


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## NancyP (Jan 12, 2015)

Speed-read the manual to get an idea of the camera's capabilities, as a part of pre-purchase research. 
Get camera out of box, ID all the buttons on the diagram in the front of the manual. Read manual until the camera battery is fully charged. Stop reading manual once the battery is ready, then start shooting. Pull out manual once in a while when I want to try out a feature. I still haven't used the GPS and remote release features on the 6D, but I did read the manual enough to know that the GPS has to calibrate itself, then by default stays on even if you turn camera off, and that the remote release feature needs a specific iPhone app. More than that I don't need to know, until I decide to use it.

Re: Canon 7D2 - where's the famous Penguin? (it has been replaced by a human figure in the flash diagrams)


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## jdramirez (Jan 12, 2015)

So here's a quick story... I was changing my thermostat to my home and I didn't read the manual... so I f'd up and broke the furnace.

But while I was trying to fix it I did read the manual, I did change the configuration correctly, but the stupid furnace was still broken... 

So long story short... don't watch a youtube video in lieu of reading the manual.


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## Valvebounce (Jan 13, 2015)

Hi Jd. 
Sorry to hear your dilemma, but I guess that is why in England you have to be a "competent" person to touch any electrical bits, and a certified electrician to work on boilers (furnaces are for melting metal here!) or in kitchens bathrooms and gardens! 
No idea what makes one "competent", a bit like a camera being weather sealed, an immeasurable quality. 
It would seem the guy that did the utube video was also not competent! Glad that the one I followed to repair my lens was competent! 

Cheers, Graham. 



jdramirez said:


> So here's a quick story... I was changing my thermostat to my home and I didn't read the manual... so I f'd up and broke the furnace.
> 
> But while I was trying to fix it I did read the manual, I did change the configuration correctly, but the stupid furnace was still broken...
> 
> So long story short... don't watch a youtube video in lieu of reading the manual.


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## rpt (Jan 13, 2015)

Don't tell me we are still reading the beeping manuals! Real photographers don't read manuals! We just shoot!


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