User Settings and Settings Files

At a quarter past six the 85mm comes off and the 180-600 goes on, on a riverbank where terns are diving along the channel. Last night's portrait session is still in the camera: Auto-area AF looking for people, a shutter-release button that does not focus, a lens ring that sets the aperture. Rebuilding the bird setup by hand would mean a walk through three menus while the birds go on fishing. Instead you hold the lock release on the mode dial, turn it from U2 to U1, and the whole setup changes with one click.

Those three dial positions, and the file that copies them to a memory card, are the subject here. Page numbers in parentheses point to Nikon's Z6III Reference Guide, edition 09, which matches firmware 2.00.

01.A Snapshot You Can Return To

Start with a small case. Put the camera in A, aperture-priority, where you pick the aperture and the camera picks the shutter speed. Set f/8, leave White balance on Auto, and save that state to U3. Now open up to f/2.8 and change White balance to Direct sunlight. The camera in your hands has changed, but U3 has not. Turn the dial to U3 and you are back in mode A at f/8 with Auto white balance, because those are the values the position recorded when you saved (pp. 142-143).

That is the whole idea. A user setting position is a snapshot: a stored copy of the camera's state, taken when you ask and left alone afterwards, which the camera brings back when you turn the dial to it. The camera you work with at P, S, A or M (programmed auto, shutter-priority, aperture-priority and manual) is the live state, and U1, U2 and U3 are three snapshots beside it. Saving copies the live state into a snapshot. Turning the dial puts a snapshot in charge.

Some photographers call these banks. Menus and Controls explains why this guide avoids the word: Nikon never uses it for this camera, and where cameras do have banks, a bank swaps one menu while a user setting position swaps everything together, exposure mode included.

A snapshot lives inside the camera, so a large reset can empty it and a lost body takes it along. Nikon adds a second layer for that: a file on a memory card holding a copy of the menus and of all three snapshots, which can be loaded back into this camera or another Z6III (pp. 860-864).

02.The User Setting Positions

To reach U1, U2 or U3 you hold the mode dial lock release and turn the dial, as for any mode (p. 138). Nikon's dial table describes them as homes for the settings you use most (p. 139).

What a Position Holds

Nikon's list has four parts (p. 142): the photo shooting menu, the video recording menu, the Custom Settings (the lettered groups a to g that configure buttons, dials and displays), and the exposure state. That last part means the shooting mode itself, the shutter speed in S and M, the aperture in A and M, any flexible program shift in P, and exposure compensation.

The list opens with "include" and ends with "etc.", so Nikon offers it as examples rather than a fence. It does not mention the playback menu, the setup menu, the network menu or My Menu. My reading, an inference rather than Nikon's statement, is that those four are shared by every position.

That matters in practice. Silent mode lives in the setup menu (p. 846), so Nikon does not promise that U2 can be quiet while U1 is not. What is promised is Custom Setting d6 Shutter type, because every Custom Setting travels with a position (p. 142), so put the electronic shutter there and check the result.

Because Custom Settings ride along, a position changes the camera's handling as well as its exposure. Button roles in f2 Custom controls (shooting), the i menu layout, the lens control ring and a6 AF activation are all Custom Settings, so two positions can make one body behave like two cameras. Custom Controls and The i Menu cover those pieces.

What a Position Cannot Hold

Nikon names nine exceptions, seven in the photo shooting menu and two in the video recording menu, and $7 + 2 = 9$ (p. 143).

• Photo shooting menu: the housekeeping items Storage folder and Manage Picture Control, and five multi-shot procedures, Interval timer shooting, Time-lapse video, Multiple exposure, Pixel shift shooting and Focus shift shooting.
• Video recording menu: Storage folder and Manage Picture Control.

The housekeeping items belong to the body: where new files go, and the library of Custom Picture Controls you have built. Choosing which Picture Control to use, in Set Picture Control, is not on the list, so a position can still point at one of your own. The multi-shot procedures are sequences of frames the camera runs for you. If a time-lapse or a focus-stacking run belongs to a job, set it up after you turn the dial.

Saving a Position

Get the camera into the state you want, mode and exposure values as well as menus and buttons. Then open Save user settings, pick the position you want, for example Save to U2, then highlight Save settings and press OK (pp. 142-143). Whatever the camera is running at that moment replaces what the position held.

Nikon says the current settings go to the position, which has a handy consequence. Turn the dial to U1 and save to U3, and U3 starts as a copy of U1 that you can then change. That follows from the wording rather than from an example in the guide, so check it the first time.

The saved mode decides which exposure values come along. A position saved in A keeps its aperture, one saved in S keeps its shutter speed, one saved in M keeps both, and one saved in P keeps any flexible program shift (p. 142).

Changing a Setting While You Are There

Suppose the dial is at U1 and you change White balance. Does the change survive a turn to A and back, or a power cycle? Nikon's guide does not say. Its user setting pages cover saving, recalling and resetting, and nothing else (pp. 142-144). The user setting section of Nikon's online manual is silent too.

So rely on neither behaviour. When a change is one you want to keep, save it to the same position at once, as Menus and Controls also advises. When it is for this scene only, expect to put it back yourself.

Finding out takes a minute. At U1, change a setting you would notice at a glance. Turn the dial to A, then back to U1, and see whether the change survived. Then switch off and on at U1 and look again. Write the answer down.

Resetting a Position

Reset user settings empties one position. Pick Reset U1, Reset U2 or Reset U3, then Reset, and that position returns to Nikon's defaults with the camera working in mode P (pp. 144, 811). Only the position you picked changes. An emptied position puts factory-fresh shooting menus and Custom Settings one turn away, which is what most borrowers expect.

03.User Settings Against Recall Shooting Functions

A button can do a smaller version of the same job. Custom Setting f2 can give a control the role Recall shooting functions: holding it applies a stored group of still-photo settings, shooting mode and metering among them, in P, S, A or M. You tick the items that belong to the group and store their values with Save current settings (p. 707). Recall shooting functions (hold) latches instead, one press on and a second press back, and unlike the plain role it cannot store or recall the AF-ON entry, one of the items a group can contain (p. 708).

The rule of thumb is that a position suits a change of job and a recall control a change of moment. Theatre to river is a job. A bird dropping from a branch into open sky is a moment, gone before you could find the dial. Recall Shooting Functions covers the roles in full.

04.My Three Positions

Menus and Controls gives my two working positions in detail, so here is why each belongs in a snapshot.

U1 is the Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR for birds in flight, while perched wildlife stays on P, S, A and M, set up as Menus and Controls describes, with a wide AF-area preset on the sub-selector centre. Its a6 AF activation stays at the default, Shutter/AF-ON, because that preset needs the half-press to focus, and the birds-in-flight setup in Choosing an Autofocus Setup keeps a1 AF-C priority selection at Release (pp. 623, 631).

U2 is the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S for portraits, saved in mode A so the aperture comes back too (p. 142), with the lens ring on Aperture and f4 Touch Fn on Switch eyes (p. 730). Its focus is the portrait setup from Choosing an Autofocus Setup: Auto-area AF with People detection, a6 at AF-ON only with Out-of-focus release at Disable, and a1 at Focus.

Side by side, the value is plain. On U1 the shutter-release button focuses, and on U2 it does not. Changing a6 by hand at every lens swap is the step that gets missed at the worst moment, and the dial folds it into a movement you were making anyway.

U3 stays free, as Menus and Controls says, meaning no setup of mine lives there. I would empty it with Reset U3, so it holds Nikon's defaults in mode P (p. 144), with a6 at Shutter/AF-ON (p. 623). That is the spare position Back-Button Focus suggests for lending: a borrower who half-presses gets focus, as they expect.

After any change to U1 or U2, save the position again and then write a settings file, in that order, because the file copies each position as last saved (p. 864).

05.The Settings File

Save/load menu settings has two options. Save menu settings writes the camera's menu settings to a memory card as one file, and Load menu settings reads one back, into this camera or another of the same model (p. 860). First-Day Setup gives the basics. This section adds the contents, the gaps and where to keep copies.

What the File Carries

Nikon lists the contents menu by menu (pp. 860-863). Counted against this guide's list of menu items, the file carries 35 of the 45 photo shooting items, 37 of the 40 video recording items, 11 of the 14 playback items and 27 of the 42 setup items, which is $35 + 37 + 11 + 27 = 110$ named items. On top come every Custom Setting, My Menu, the recent settings list of up to 20 items, each with its Choose tab choice, and Customize retouch options from the playback i menu (pp. 862-863).

It also carries the three positions, as they were last stored with Save user settings, and a load replaces all three with the file's copies (p. 864). So save an improved position before you write the file, or the file keeps the older version.

Some entries come with conditions. Custom Picture Controls are written as Auto (p. 860), so a menu that pointed at one of yours comes back pointing at Auto, and Nikon does not say whether the copies of U1 to U3 are treated alike. Export the Picture Controls themselves through Manage Picture Control, Load/save and Copy to card (p. 194). Time zone and date is saved without Date and time, Location data without Position, and Timecode without Timecode origin (pp. 861-862).

The file is personal, too. It carries Copyright information, Image comment and IPTC, the last being caption and credit presets that can be embedded in pictures (p. 862). Delete the file from any card that leaves your hands.

What the File Leaves Out

Nikon prints only what is saved. The list below is my comparison of that list against every item in each menu, not a list Nikon publishes, with one-off actions such as Format memory card, Image Dust Off ref photo and Pixel mapping set aside.

• Photo shooting menu: the same housekeeping pair and five multi-shot procedures that a position cannot hold, plus Release mode and HDR overlay.
• Video recording menu: Storage folder and Manage Picture Control.
• Playback menu: Delete, Playback folder and Copy image(s).
• Setup menu: Monitor brightness, Monitor color balance, Viewfinder brightness, Viewfinder color balance and AF fine-tuning options, plus information screens such as Battery info.
• Network menu: all of it, including the smart-device, computer and FTP (file transfer protocol) connections.

Three gaps catch people out. Release mode is not in the file, so check it after a load. AF fine-tuning options holds the focus correction you made for a lens (p. 822), and on the evidence of these lists a full reset followed by a load leaves it gone. And network connections, which Reset all settings clears (p. 911), must be set up again by hand, as the later part of this guide on wireless connections describes.

Keeping Copies Where a Format Cannot Reach

With two cards in, Nikon writes the file to the card chosen in Primary slot selection (p. 860). On my setup that is the CFexpress card in slot 1, and formatting a card deletes everything on it, a settings file included (p. 808). A file kept only there lasts until that card's next format.

So keep two more copies. One goes on the SD (Secure Digital) card in slot 2, where it travels with the camera, so a reset or a change gone wrong in the field can be undone without a laptop. Under Overflow, which Card Slots and File Handling suggests for a long day of bird bursts, the SD card is written only once slot 1 is full (p. 457), so it needs formatting less often. The other copy goes on a computer, where it survives anything that happens to either card. Whenever you format the SD card, write the file to it again.

Getting the file onto the SD card takes care, because Nikon names only the primary slot. The clean way is to take the CFexpress card out and run Save menu settings with the SD card alone. With one card there is no choice of destination, so the file should land there. That is my inference, but you can confirm it: Load menu settings is offered only when a card holding saved settings is inserted (p. 863), so if it can be selected with only the SD card in, the file is there. Then put the CFexpress card back.

The other route, switching the primary slot to SD, saving and switching back, hides a trap. Primary slot selection is itself in the file (p. 860), so the file records SD as primary, and a later load quietly makes the slower card the primary one.

The file is named NCSET followed by an identifier that varies between cameras, and the camera will not load it if the name changes (p. 864). Copy it to the computer with its name intact, and keep older versions in dated folders rather than renaming them. Nikon does not say where on the card the camera looks for the file, so when you copy one back, put it where the camera wrote it.

Loading a File

Load menu settings writes the file over the camera's menus and replaces U1, U2 and U3 (p. 864), so a position saved after the file was written is lost unless a newer file exists. Nikon does not say which card is read when both hold a file, so load with only the card you want.

A file works only in a Z6III, this one included (pp. 860, 863). Nikon does not say whether a file saved under one firmware version loads under another, as Firmware and Updating also notes, so write a fresh file after every update and keep a short note of the settings you would hate to rebuild. The Custom Settings menu marks every item changed from its default with an asterisk (p. 629), so turn the dial to each position, open the menu and copy down the starred items.

06.Resetting the Camera

Menus and Controls lists the resets from a single control in f2 (p. 717) up to the whole camera. Two belong here, and both touch the user setting positions in ways Nikon leaves partly unsaid.

Reset Custom Settings

Reset custom settings returns every Custom Setting to its default (p. 630), button roles, i menu and a6 included, so it is larger than its place in one menu suggests. Nikon does not say whether it reaches the Custom Settings stored in U1 to U3. Save a settings file first, and check each position afterwards.

Reset All Settings

Reset all settings spares only two items, Language and Time zone and date. Everything else goes back to default, copyright details and your other entries included, and there is no undo (p. 865). Nikon recommends saving a settings file first, and adds elsewhere that it clears wireless network profiles (p. 911). The description never names U1 to U3, but nothing suggests an exception, so expect the positions to be emptied. That is my inference, and the settings file covers it either way.

Nikon suggests it in three situations. When menu items stay greyed out for no reason you can find, it is the last resort (p. 911). Before lending a camera linked to Nikon Imaging Cloud, you either turn off automatic connection in the service or run this reset (p. 384). Before selling or giving the camera away, it removes network settings and personal information (p. 1010). For that last case the order is fixed: save a settings file, copy it to the computer, delete it from both cards, and only then reset.

07.Recommended Settings

The routine is short. Improve a position, save it to the same position, write the settings file with only the SD card in, put the CFexpress card back, and copy the file to the computer at the next offload. After a firmware update, repeat it and refresh the written note.

08.Beginner Mistakes

Assuming a change made at U1 has been kept. Nikon does not say it is. Save the position again whenever you mean to keep a change.

Writing the file before saving the position. The file copies each position as last saved (p. 864). Save the position first.

Loading an old file over newer positions. A load replaces U1 to U3 (p. 864). Save a fresh file first, so you can go back.

Keeping the only copy on the slot 1 card. The next format deletes it (p. 808). Keep one on the SD card and one on a computer.

Switching the primary slot to save on SD. The file records the primary slot (p. 860), so every later load inherits it. Take the CFexpress card out instead.

Reaching for Reset all settings first. It cannot be undone and clears copyright and network profiles (pp. 865, 911). Use the smallest reset that fits.

09.Related Chapters

• Menus and Controls: the mode dial, my U1 and U2 in full, and the reset ladder.
• First-Day Setup: the first settings file and the card arrangement.
• Card Slots and File Handling: the primary slot, Overflow and Backup.
• Exposure Modes: the modes and values a position stores.
• Recall Shooting Functions: a group of settings on a held or latched control.
• Custom Controls: the button and dial roles a position carries.
• The i Menu: i menu layouts that differ by position.
• Back-Button Focus: a6, and a spare position for borrowers.
• Choosing an Autofocus Setup: the focus setups U1 and U2 hold.
• Firmware and Updating: saving settings before an update.
• Glossary: user setting modes and other terms.