Introduction 1
A Quick Look at What’s Ahead 1
Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps 2
Part II: Taking Creative Control 2
Part III: Working with Picture Files 3
Part IV: The Part of Tens 3
Icons and Other Stuff to Note 3
About the Software Shown in This Book 4
Practice, Be Patient, and Have Fun! 5
Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps 7
Chapter 1: Getting the Lay of the Land 9
Getting Comfortable with Your Lens 10
Attaching a lens 10
Removing a lens 12
Using a VR (vibration reduction) lens 12
Setting the focus mode (auto or manual) 13
Zooming in and out 14
Adjusting the Viewfinder Focus 15
Working with Memory Cards 16
Exploring External Camera Controls 18
Topside controls 19
Back-of-the-body controls 20
Front-left buttons 23
Front-right controls 24
Ordering from Camera Menus 26
Monitoring Shooting Settings 28
Asking Your Camera for Help 31
Reviewing Basic Setup Options 31
Cruising the Setup menu 31
Browsing the Custom Setting menu 35
Chapter 2: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically 41
Getting Good Point-and-Shoot Results 42
Using Flash in Automatic Exposure Modes 46
Exploring Your Automatic Exposure Options 47
Auto mode 48
Digital Vari-Program modes 50
Changing the (Shutter Button) Release Mode 55
Chapter 3: Controlling Picture Quality and Size 59
Diagnosing Quality Problems 60
Considering Resolution (Image Size) 62
Pixels and print quality 63
Pixels and screen display size 64
Pixels and file size 64
Resolution recommendations 66
Understanding the Image Quality Options 68
JPEG: The imaging (and Web) standard 68
NEF (Raw): The purist’s choice 71
My take: Choose JPEG Fine or NEF (Raw) 75
Setting Image Size and Quality 75
Chapter 4: Monitor Matters: Picture Playback and Live View Shooting 79
Enabling Automatic Picture Rotation 80
Disabling and Adjusting Instant Review 81
Viewing Images in Playback Mode 82
Viewing multiple images at a time 84
Displaying photos in Calendar view 86
Zooming in for a closer view 87
Viewing Picture Data 89
File Information mode 90
RGB Histogram mode 92
Highlight display mode 94
Shooting Data display mode 95
GPS Data mode 97
Overview Data mode 97
Hiding Photos during Playback 99
Deleting Photos 101
Deleting images one at a time 101
Deleting all photos 102
Deleting a batch of selected photos 102
Protecting Photos 104
Exploring Live View Shooting 105
Taking pictures in Live View mode 107
Recording movies 110
Customizing the Live View display 113
Part II: Taking Creative Control 115
Chapter 5: Getting Creative with Exposure and Lighting 117
Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 118
Understanding exposure-setting side effects 120
Doing the exposure balancing act 124
Exploring the Advanced Exposure Modes 126
Reading the Meter 127
Setting ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed 129
Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 129
Controlling ISO 130
Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode 134
Applying Exposure Compensation 138
Using Autoexposure Lock 141
Expanding Tonal Range with Active D-Lighting 143
Using Flash in P, S, A, and M modes 145
Setting the flash mode 146
Adjusting flash output 151
Locking flash exposure on your subject 154
Exploring a few additional flash options 155
Using an external flash head 156
Bracketing Exposures 158
Chapter 6: Manipulating Focus and Color 163
Reviewing Focus Basics 164
Adjusting Autofocus Performance 166
Understanding the AF-area mode setting 166
Changing the Autofocus mode setting 171
Choosing the right autofocus combo 172
Using autofocus lock 173
Autofocusing in Live View mode 173
Manipulating Depth of Field 176
Controlling Color 183
Correcting colors with white balance 183
Changing the white balance setting 185
Fine-tuning white balance settings 188
Creating white balance presets 190
Bracketing white balance 196
Choosing a Color Space: sRGB vs Adobe RGB 198
Taking a Quick Look at Picture Controls 200
Chapter 7: Putting It All Together 205
Recapping Basic Picture Settings 206
Setting Up for Specific Scenes 206
Shooting still portraits 206
Capturing action 211
Capturing scenic vistas 214
Capturing dynamic close-ups 217
Coping with Special Situations 219
Part III: Working with Picture Files 223
Chapter 8: Downloading, Organizing, and Archiving Your Picture Files 225
Sending Pictures to the Computer 226
Connecting the camera and computer 227
Starting the transfer process 228
Downloading and Organizing Photos with the Nikon Software 231
Downloading with Nikon Transfer 231
Browsing images in Nikon ViewNX 235
Viewing picture metadata 238
Organizing pictures 240
Processing Raw (NEF) Files 242
Processing Raw images in the camera 244
Processing Raw files in ViewNX 247
Chapter 9: Printing and Sharing Your Pictures 251
Printing Possibilities: Retail or Do-It-Yourself? 252
Preventing Potential Printing Problems 253
Match resolution to print size 253
Allow for different print proportions 256
Get print and monitor colors in synch 258
Preparing Pictures for E-Mail 260
Creating small copies using the camera 262
Downsizing images in Nikon ViewNX 265
Creating a Digital Slide Show 267
Setting up a simple slide show 268
Creating Pictmotion slide shows 269
Viewing Your Photos on a Television 271
Part IV: The Part of Tens 273
Chapter 10: Ten (Or So) Fun and Practical Retouch Menu Features 275
Applying the Retouch Menu Filters 276
Removing Red-Eye 278
Straightening Tilting Horizon Lines 279
Shadow Recovery with D-Lighting 281
Boosting Shadows, Contrast, and Saturation Together 282
Two Ways to Tweak Color 284
Applying digital lens filters 284
Manipulating color balance 285
Creating Monochrome Photos 287
Removing (or Creating) Lens Distortion 289
Adding a Starburst Effect 291
Cropping Your Photo 293
Chapter 11: Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day 297
Annotate Your Images 297
Creating Your Own Menu 300
Creating Custom Image Folders 302
Customizing External Controls 305
Adjusting the On/Off switch 305
Changing the function of the OK button 305
Assigning a duty to the Function button 306
Changing the function of the AE-L/AF-L button 307
Customizing the command dials 309
Two Roads to a Multi-Image Exposure 310
Index 313
