First Setup
What should you change on a brand-new a7C II before your first shoot?
Format the card in the camera
Formatting builds the folder structure the camera expects and clears a card that has lived in other devices. The a7C II has one SD card slot — the card you format is the only copy of everything on it, so empty it first. Press Enter for a quick format; for a full format, press the Delete button on the format screen. Shortcut: hold MENU and the Delete button together for about two seconds and the format screen opens directly.
Shoot RAW, at full quality
Set File Format to RAW. Then set RAW File Type to Lossless Comp (L): full resolution, no information thrown away, in a smaller file. This body keeps the size letters the a6700 dropped — L is full-frame only; M and S record fewer pixels for when small files matter more. Compressed is smaller still, and is the pick only when card space matters more than the last of the quality.
Confirm SteadyShot is on
On for normal lenses — the camera reads the focal length itself. Shooting a fully manual lens? Open SteadyShot Adjust. in the same group, switch it to Manual, and set the Focal Length yourself (8–1000mm), or the stabilization will work against you.
Save everything to Memory 1
Register the setup you just built to slot 1. From now on, the mode dial’s 1 position is your known-good camera — after any reset, firmware update, or borrowed-body detour, one turn of the dial restores it. The body holds 3 sets (dial 1, 2, 3); M1–M4 live on the card.
Put the deep settings one press away
Add the items you will revisit — Format first — to My Menu. The a7C II’s menu is deep; your five items should not be.
Do the five steps now, in order, then turn the mode dial to 1 and confirm every setting stuck. That dial position is your camera from today on.