I don’t care for the factory default settings of most digital cameras, so I change them as soon as I get a camera. These are the settings I typically use for the Canon A510.

• Shooting mode: P
• Focus mode - use center point; turn AiAF off
• Metering - Evaluative
• Sensitivity - ISO 100
• Exposure Compensation: -2/3
• Picture setting: Vivid
• Auto focus assist lamp- ON
• Red-eye mode - OFF
• White balance - AUTO
• Digital Zoom - OFF
• LCD Review: 3 seconds
• Power save - 2 minutes

Use these as default settings but adjust as needed.

After taking hundreds of shots with the A510 and for general photo taking, I am convinced that shooting in P mode with AiAF OFF (so the camera focuses with the center area frame only) is most accurate. I get consistently better photos: more focused, better exposed; more saturated color.

Photos by Gail taken with the Canon A510