Podcasts · Photography Explained Podcast
What on Earth Are the Letters and Symbols on the Turny Dial?
· 23 min
Episode What on Earth Are the Letters and Symbols on the Turny Dial?
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🎧 Your camera has a dial on top. It is covered in letters and little pictures. And not one of them tells you what to do. This episode is for beginners who bought a camera and cannot work out the dial. I read out every symbol on a Canon R100 and a Canon 6D. By the end, that dial looks like a short list, not a wall of hieroglyphics.
In this episode:
📷 What the mode dial on a camera does. It decides who controls your settings, you or the camera.
🔤 Why the letters on a camera dial differ between manufacturers. Your dial is not wrong.
🖼️ What the little pictures on a camera dial mean. Every symbol on the R100 and the 6D, plus the menus behind them.
🎯 How many camera modes you really need. Far fewer than the dial suggests.
🔄 Can you change the mode dial whenever you want? Yes.
🚫 Why some camera settings are greyed out. Look at the dial first.
👀 Why you should check your mode dial before every shoot. It takes one second.
💡 Bonus: the missing Tip 8 from the RAW versus JPEG episode. Where to actually change that setting.
📝 Read the full blog post: https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/what-do-the-letters-on-a-camera-mode-dial-mean
🎧 Related episodes:
▶️ Episode 31 — What Are The Different Camera Modes?
This is a first look at the modes on the dial. It is a good warm-up before next episode.
▶️ Episode 107 — What Are Creative Modes In Photography - And What Are The Other Modes?
This one explains the difference between the beginner pictures and the modes that give you control.
▶️ Episode 230 — Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First
If your camera is new and the dial feels overwhelming, start here.
🔜 Next episode, Friday 6 November 2026: 11 Camera Modes Explained — and the Only 2 I Actually Use. I explain every mode on the dial. And I confess to the only two I actually use. If today left you staring at your dial, next episode is where it finally clicks.
▶️ Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy.
🌐 Website: rickmcevoyphotography.com
🎓 Courses: rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses
🧰 Resources: rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources
Buzzsprout tags (paste into the separate tags field, not into the show notes):
camera mode dial, camera dial letters, camera dial symbols, camera modes, canon r100, canon 6d, beginner photography, photography for beginners, camera settings, scene modes, hybrid auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, photography podcast, learn photography
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Get your question answered This is what my podcast is all about: answering your photography questions. Just head over to my shiny new website to find out more about me, my podcast and my photography. Thanks very much for listening Cheers from me Rick
Links in the notes 9
- https://www.buzzsprout.com/1243889/fan_mail/new
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/what-do-the-letters-on-a-camera-mode-dial-mean
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/what-are-the-different-camera-modes/
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/what-are-creative-modes-in-photography-and-what-are-the-other-modes/
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/new-camera-setup-before-first-shoot
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses
- https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources
- https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Rickmcevoy
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