Do you have your D7000 set up exactly the way you like it? Have you spent hours and hours with this book and the User’s Manual, or simply exploring menus, and finally got all the settings in place? Are you worried that you might accidentally reset your camera or that it could lose its settings in one way or another? Well, worry no more!
Save/load settings works a little like the Save user settings function we examined at the beginning of this chapter, except that Save/load settings writes configuration settings to the memory card—instead of storing them in the camera’s memory (i.e., it doesn’t use U1 or U2)—allowing you to back up camera settings to your computer.
When you have your camera configured to your liking, or at any time during the process, simply use the Save/load settings function to save the camera configuration to your memory card. It creates a 2 KB file named NCSETUP7.BIN in the root directory of your memory card. You can then save that file to your computer’s hard drive and have a backup of your camera settings.
Here are the steps to save or load the camera’s settings:
Choose Save/load settings from the Setup Menu and scroll to the right (Figure 5-29, image 1).
Select Save settings or Load settings from the Save/load settings screen, and then follow one of these two easy procedures (Figure 5-29, image 2):
Save settings – Select Save settings and press the OK button. Your most important camera settings will be saved to your memory card. Afterward, copy the settings file (NCSETUP7.BIN) to your computer for safekeeping. Warning: You may notice in Figure 5-29, image 2, that the Load settings selection is grayed out. If it is not grayed out when you get ready to Save settings, be careful—you are about to overwrite previously saved settings that are currently on the memory card. The only time you’ll see Load settings not grayed out is when an NCSETUP7.BIN file already exists on the memory card.
Load settings – Insert a memory card with a previously saved NCSETUP7. BIN file on it, select Load settings, and press the OK button. The settings you previously saved will be reloaded into the D7000 and will overwrite your current settings without prompting you for permission, so be sure that you are ready to have the settings overwritten. If you change the name of the NCSETUP7.BIN file, the D7000 will not be able to reload your settings.
Here is a list of settings that are saved or loaded when you make use of these functions. It doesn’t save or load every setting in the D7000, only the ones listed here:
Playback Menu
Display mode
Image review
After delete
Rotate tall
Shooting Menus
File naming
Role played by card in Slot 2
Image quality
Image size
JPEG compression
NEF (RAW) recording
White balance (includes fine-tuning adjustments and presets d-0 to d-4)
Set Picture Control
Auto distortion control
Color space
Active D-Lighting
Long exp. NR
High ISO NR
ISO sensitivity settings
Movie settings
Remote control mode
Custom Settings
Custom settings (includes all configurable settings)
Setup Menu
Clean image sensor
Video mode
HDMI
Flicker reduction
Time zone and date (except date and time)
Language
Image comment
Auto image rotation
Copyright information
GPS
Non-CPU lens data
My Menu and Recent Settings
My Menu (includes all items you’ve entered)
Recent Settings
Choose tab
My Recommendation: This function is a great idea. After using my new camera for a few days and getting it set up just right, I save the settings file to my computer for safekeeping. Later, if I change things extensively and want to reload my original settings, I just put the backed-up settings file on a memory card, pop it into the camera, hit Load settings, and I’m back in business.