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It’s exciting to bring a new purchase home for the first time, and cameras are no exception. When buying a new camera, you hopefully did your research to find the best fit for you and your lifestyle, but when you get home with it, your reaction might be “Now what?” Here are the top three things to do when you get a new camera to make sure that you learn all you can and protect your purchase.

Read the manual. This step is the most important thing to do when making any new purchase, but often times we are too busy or too impatient to sit down for any amount of time. However, reading the manual for you new camera is very important. The manual will give you the important information regarding your camera that the salespeople at the store did not have time to tell you.

If your camera has a good manual, it will tell you about every feature and function of the camera and may even give you tips on taking good photographs. Study the manual carefully.

Protect your purchase. Many times, your camera will come with a warranty from both the store and the manufacturer. Read this literature to understand how the warranty works and what kinds of things are covered. You sometimes have the option of purchasing additional insurance, but read the information about this before buying it to make sure you are getting a good deal.

Also, for some warranties you have to register your camera, so make sure you do that before the time runs out. This may be the most beneficial way to protect yourself in case something happens to your camera. If you buy a very expensive professional camera, you may want to check into insurance programs as well.

Use your new purchase. The only way you can truly learn to use your camera is to use it! Even if you have no special subject to shoot, just take pictures around your house or neighborhood to get a feel for you new camera. Keep your manual close to your side, and you’ll be able to page through it if you aren’t getting the results you want.

By learning to use your new camera by practice, you will save time (and film) when you have real subject matter that you want to photograph. When you purchase a new camera, spend the time to learn as much as you can about your new investment.