Nikon D5000 For Dummies E-Book

Julie Adair King

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 471

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

Full-color guide to everything you need to get the most out of your Nikon D5000! The Nikon D5000 packs a lot of punch into a camera that beginners will love, and now you can pack an equal amount of punch into the digital photographs you take with your new Nikon. Whether you want to understand the D5000's new exposure settings or learn photography basics such as aperture, shutter speed, and downloading photos, this book delivers. * Walks you through the new Nikon D5000's features, including a 12.3 megapixel sensor, 19 auto-exposure modes, and a swivel viewfinder * Shows beginners who may be new to DSLR cameras how to take good digital photographs-from using the right settings for things like sunsets, candelight, or portraits-to downloading to your computer and printing * Demonstrates beginning to advanced techniques with over 200 full-color photos, giving you plenty of great ideas of what you can accomplish * Offers practical tips and ideas from two expert digital photographers and authors Don't be intimidated by your new digital camera! This friendly For Dummies guide will get you up and running in no time.

Leseprobe

Nikon® D5000 For Dummies®

Table of Contents

Introduction

A Quick Look at What’s Ahead

Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps

Part II: Taking Creative Control

Part III: Working with Picture Files

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Icons and Other Stuff to Note

About the Software Shown in This Book

Practice, Be Patient, and Have Fun!

Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps

1: Getting the Lay of the Land

Getting Comfortable with Your Lens

Attaching a lens

Removing a lens

Using a VR (vibration reduction) lens

Setting the focus mode (auto or manual)

Zooming in and out

Adjusting the Viewfinder Focus

Working with Memory Cards

Exploring External Camera Controls

Topside controls

Back-of-the-body controls

Front-left buttons

Front-right controls

Ordering from Camera Menus

Monitoring Shooting Settings

Asking Your Camera for Help

Reviewing Basic Setup Options

Cruising the Setup menu

Browsing the Custom Setting menu

2: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically

Getting Good Point-and-Shoot Results

Using Flash in Automatic Exposure Modes

Exploring Your Automatic Exposure Options

Auto mode

Digital Vari-Program modes

Changing the (Shutter Button) Release Mode

Taking Advantage of Interval Timer Shooting

3: Controlling Picture Quality and Size

Diagnosing Quality Problems

Considering Resolution (Image Size)

Pixels and print quality

Pixels and screen display size

Pixels and file size

Resolution recommendations

Understanding the Image Quality Options

JPEG: The imaging (and Web) standard

NEF (RAW): The purist’s choice

My take: Choose JPEG Fine or NEF (RAW)

Setting Image Size and Quality

4: Monitor Matters: Picture Playback and Live View Shooting

Using the LCD Monitor

Enabling Automatic Picture Rotation

Disabling and Adjusting Instant Review

Viewing Images in Playback Mode

Viewing multiple images at a time

Displaying photos in Calendar view

Zooming in for a closer view

Viewing Picture Data

File Information mode

RGB Histogram mode

Highlight display mode

Shooting Data display mode

GPS Data mode

Overview Data mode

Deleting Photos

Deleting images one at a time

Deleting all photos

Deleting a batch of selected photos

Protecting Photos

Exploring Live View Shooting

Taking pictures in Live View mode

Recording movies

Customizing the Live View display

Part II: Taking Creative Control

5: Getting Creative with Exposure and Lighting

Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO

Understanding exposure-setting side effects

Doing the exposure balancing act

Exploring the Advanced Exposure Modes

Reading the Meter

Setting ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed

Adjusting aperture and shutter speed

Controlling ISO

Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode

Applying Exposure Compensation

Using Autoexposure Lock

Expanding Tonal Range with Active D-Lighting

Using Flash in P, S, A, and M modes

Setting the flash mode

Adjusting flash output

Using an external flash head

Bracketing Exposures

6: Manipulating Focus and Color

Reviewing Focus Basics

Taking Advantage of Manual-Focusing Aids

Adjusting Autofocus Performance

Understanding the AF-area mode setting

Changing the Focus mode setting

Choosing the right autofocus combo

Using autofocus lock

Autofocusing in Live View mode

Manipulating Depth of Field

Controlling Color

Correcting colors with white balance

Changing the white balance setting

Fine-tuning white balance settings

Creating white balance presets

Bracketing white balance

Choosing a Color Space: sRGB vs. Adobe RGB

Taking a Quick Look at Picture Controls

7: Putting It All Together

Recapping Basic Picture Settings

Setting Up for Specific Scenes

Shooting still portraits

Capturing action

Capturing scenic vistas

Capturing dynamic close-ups

Coping with Special Situations

Part III: Working with Picture Files

8: Downloading, Organizing, and Archiving Your Picture Files

Sending Pictures to the Computer

Connecting the camera and computer

Starting the transfer process

Downloading and Organizing Photos with the Nikon Software

Downloading with Nikon Transfer

Browsing images in Nikon ViewNX

Viewing picture metadata

Organizing pictures

Processing RAW (NEF) Files

Processing RAW images in the camera

Processing RAW files in ViewNX

9: Printing and Sharing Your Pictures

Printing Possibilities: Retail or Do-It-Yourself?

Preventing Potential Printing Problems

Match resolution to print size

Allow for different print proportions

Get print and monitor colors in synch

Preparing Pictures for E-Mail

Creating small copies using the camera

Downsizing images in Nikon ViewNX

Creating a Digital Slide Show

Turning Still Photos into a Stop-Motion Movie

Viewing Your Photos on a Television

Part IV: The Part of Tens

10: Ten (Or So) Fun and Practical Retouch Menu Features

Applying the Retouch Menu Filters

Removing Red-Eye

Straightening Tilting Horizon Lines

Shadow Recovery with D-Lighting

Boosting Shadows, Contrast, and Saturation Together

Two Ways to Tweak Color

Applying digital lens filters

Manipulating color balance

Creating Monochrome Photos

Removing (Or Creating) Lens Distortion

Correcting Perspective

Cropping Your Photo

11: Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day

Annotate Your Images

Creating Your Own Menu

Creating Custom Image Folders

Customizing External Controls

Assigning a duty to the Function button

Changing the function of the AE-L/AF-L button

Adding a Starburst Effect

Creating a Color Outline

Using the Soft Filter

Combining Two Photos with Image Overlay

Controlling Flash Output Manually

Nikon® D5000 For Dummies

by Julie Adair King

with Doug Sahlin

Nikon® D5000 For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009929461

ISBN: 978-0-470-53969-9

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

Julie Adair King is the author of many books about digital photography and imaging, including the best-selling Digital Photography For Dummies. Her most recent titles include a series of For Dummies guides to popular digital SLR cameras, including the Nikon D90, D60, and D40/D40x. Other works include Digital Photography Before & After Makeovers, Digital Photo Projects For Dummies, Julie King’s Everyday Photoshop For Photographers, Julie King’s Everyday Photoshop Elements, and Shoot Like a Pro!: Digital Photography Techniques. When not writing, King teaches digital photography at such locations as the Palm Beach Photographic Center. A graduate of Purdue University, she resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Doug Sahlin is an author and photographer living in Venice, Florida. He has written 21 books on computer applications such as Adobe Flash and Adobe Acrobat. He has written books on digital photography, and co-authored 13 books on applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Recent titles include: Flash CS4 All-in-One For Dummies, Digital Photography Quicksteps, 2nd Edition, and Digital Photography Workbook For Dummies. Many of his books have been best sellers at Amazon.com.

He is president of Superb Images, Inc., a wedding and event photography company. Doug teaches Adobe Acrobat to local businesses and government institutions. He uses Flash and Acrobat to create Web content and multimedia presentations for his clients. He also hosts Pixelicious (www.pixelicious.info), a weekly podcast on digital photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom.

Author’s Acknowledgments

Julie Adair King: I am grateful beyond measure to the team of talented professionals at John Wiley & Sons for all their efforts in putting together this book. Special thanks go to editors Kim Darosett and Heidi Unger, for whom the adjective awesome is an understatement; I am so, so fortunate to have you on my team. I also owe much to many other folks in both the editorial and art departments, including Rashell Smith, Shelley Lea, Steve Hayes, Andy Cummings, and Mary Bednarek. Last but not least, I am also indebted to technical editor Dave Hall, without whose insights and expertise this book would not have been the same.

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Introduction

Nikon. The name has been associated with top-flight photography equipment for generations. And the introduction of the D5000 has only enriched Nikon’s well-deserved reputation, offering all the control a die-hard photography enthusiast could want while at the same time providing easy-to-use, point-and-shoot features for the beginner.

In fact, the D5000 offers so many features that sorting them all out can be more than a little confusing, especially if you’re new to digital photography, SLR photography, or both. For starters, you may not even be sure what SLRmeans or how it affects your picture taking, let alone have a clue as to all the other techie terms you encounter in your camera manual — resolution, aperture, white balance, and so on. And if you’re like many people, you may be so overwhelmed by all the controls on your camera that you haven’t yet ventured beyond fully automatic picture-taking mode. Which is a shame because it’s sort of like buying a Porsche 911 and never driving it on a winding road.

Therein lies the point of Nikon D5000 For Dummies: Through this book, you can discover not just what each bell and whistle on your camera does, but also when, where, why, and how to put it to best use. Unlike many photography books, this one doesn’t require any previous knowledge of photography or digital imaging to make sense of things, either. In classic For Dummies style, everything is explained in easy-to-understand language, with lots of illustrations to help clear up any confusion.

In short, what you have in your hands is the paperback version of an in-depth photography workshop tailored specifically to your Nikon picture-taking powerhouse.

A Quick Look at What’s Ahead

This book is organized into four parts, each devoted to a different aspect of using your camera. Although chapters flow in a sequence that’s designed to take you from absolute beginner to experienced user, I’ve also tried to make each chapter as self-standing as possible so that you can explore the topics that interest you in any order you please.

The following sections offer brief previews of each part. If you’re eager to find details on a specific topic, the index shows you exactly where to look.

Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps

Part I contains four chapters that help you get up and running with your D5000:

Chapter 1, “Getting the Lay of the Land,” offers a tour of the external controls on your camera, shows you how to navigate camera menus to access internal options, and walks you through initial camera setup and customization steps.

Chapter 2, “Taking Great Pictures, Automatically,” shows you how to get the best results when using the camera’s fully automatic exposure modes, including the Digital Vari-Program scene modes such as Sports mode, Portrait mode, and Landscape mode.

Chapter 3, “Controlling Picture Quality and Size,” introduces you to two camera settings that are critical whether you shoot in automatic or manual mode: the Image Size and Image Quality settings, which control resolution (pixel count), file format, file size, and picture quality.

Chapter 4, “Monitor Matters: Picture Playback and Live View Shooting” offers just what its title implies. Look here to find out how to use the D5000’s cool, swiveling monitor to review your photos, compose photos in Live View mode, and record short movies. This chapter also discusses how to delete unwanted images and protect your favorites from accidental erasure.

Part II: Taking Creative Control

Chapters in this part help you unleash the full creative power of your D5000 by moving into semiautomatic or manual photography modes.

Chapter 5, “Getting Creative with Exposure and Lighting,” covers the all-important topic of exposure, starting with an explanation of three critical exposure controls: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. This chapter also discusses your camera’s advanced exposure modes (P, S, A, and M); explains exposure options such as Active D-Lighting, automatic exposure bracketing, metering modes, and exposure compensation; and offers tips for using the built-in flash.

Chapter 6, “Manipulating Focus and Color,” provides help with controlling those aspects of your pictures. Head here for information about your camera’s many autofocusing options, for tips on how to manipulate depth of field (the zone of sharp focus in a picture), and for details about color controls such as white balance.

Chapter 7, “Putting It All Together,”summarizes all the techniques explained in earlier chapters, providing a quick-reference guide to the camera settings and shooting strategies that produce the best results for specific types of pictures: portraits, action shots, landscape scenes, close-ups, and more.

Part III: Working with Picture Files

This part of the book, as its title implies, discusses the often-confusing aspect of moving your pictures from camera to computer and beyond.

Chapter 8, “Downloading, Organizing, and Archiving Your Picture Files,” guides you through the process of transferring pictures from your camera memory card to your computer’s hard drive or other storage device. Look here, too, for details about using the D5000’s built-in tool for processing files that you shoot in the Nikon RAW format (NEF). Just as important, this chapter explains how to organize and safeguard your photo files.

Chapter 9, “Printing and Sharing Your Pictures,” helps you turn your digital files into “hard copies” that look as good as those you see on the camera monitor. This chapter also explains how to prepare your pictures for online sharing, create digital slide shows and stop-motion movies, and, for times when you have the neighbors over, display your pictures and movies on a television screen.

Part IV: The Part of Tens

In famous For Dummies tradition, the book concludes with two “top ten” lists containing additional bits of information and advice.

Chapter 10, “Ten (Or So) Fun and Practical Retouch Menu Features,” shows you how to fix less-than-perfect images using features found on your camera’s Retouch menu, such as automated red-eye removal. You also find out how to apply color effects and perform a few other photo-enhancement tricks.

Chapter 11, “Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day,” presents information about some camera features that, while not found on most “Top Ten Reasons I Bought My D5000” lists, are nonetheless interesting, useful on occasion, or a bit of both.

Icons and Other Stuff to Note

If this isn’t your first For Dummies book, you may be familiar with the large, round icons that decorate its margins. If not, here’s your very own icon-decoder ring:

A Tip icon flags information that will save you time, effort, money, or some other valuable resource, including your sanity.

When you see this icon, look alive. It indicates a potential danger zone that can result in much wailing and teeth-gnashing if ignored. I’ve already found this, so you won’t have to.

Lots of information in this book is of a technical nature — digital photography is a technical animal, after all. But if I present a detail that is useful mainly for impressing your technology-geek friends, I mark it with this icon.

I apply this icon either to introduce information that is especially worth storing in your brain’s long-term memory or to remind you of a fact that may have been displaced from that memory by some other pressing fact.

Additionally, I need to point out three additional details that will help you use this book:

Other margin art: Replicas of some of your camera’s buttons also appear in the margins of some paragraphs. I include these to provide a quick reminder of the appearance of the button being discussed.

Software menu commands: In sections that cover software, a series of words connected by an arrow indicates commands that you choose from the program menus. For example, if a step tells you to “Choose File⇒Convert Files,” click the File menu to unfurl it and then click the Convert Files command on the menu.

Camera firmware: Firmware is the internal software that controls many of your camera’s operations. The D5000 firmware consists of three parts, called A, B, and L. At the time this book was written, A and B were version 1.00, and L was version 1.001.

Occasionally, Nikon releases firmware updates, and it’s a good idea to check out the Nikon Web site (www.nikon.com) periodically to find out whether any updates are available. (Chapter 1 tells you how to determine which firmware version your camera is running.) Firmware updates typically don’t carry major feature changes — they’re mostly used to solve technical glitches in existing features — but if you do download an update, be sure to read the accompanying description of what it accomplishes so that you can adapt my instructions as necessary.

About the Software Shown in This Book

Providing specific instructions for performing photo organizing and editing tasks requires that I feature specific software. In sections that cover file downloading, archiving, printing, and e-mail sharing, I selected Nikon ViewNX and Nikon Transfer, both of which ship free with your camera and work on both the Windows and Mac operating systems.

Rest assured, though, that the tools used in ViewNX and Nikon Transfer work very similarly in other programs, so you should be able to easily adapt the steps to whatever software you use. (I recommend that you read your software manual for details. And of course, there are For Dummies books on all the major image editing applications, and you can use them if you find the manual a tad — ahem — boring.)

Practice, Be Patient, and Have Fun!

To wrap up this preamble, I want to stress that if you initially think that digital photography is too confusing or too technical for you, you’re in very good company. Everyone finds this stuff a little mind-boggling at first. So take it slowly, experimenting with just one or two new camera settings or techniques at first. Then, each time you go on a photo outing, make it a point to add one or two more shooting skills to your repertoire.

I know that it’s hard to believe when you’re just starting out, but it really won’t be long before everything starts to come together. With some time, patience, and practice, you’ll soon wield your camera like a pro, dialing in the necessary settings to capture your creative vision almost instinctively.

So without further ado, I invite you to grab your camera, a cup of whatever it is you prefer to sip while you read, and start exploring the rest of this book. Your D5000 is the perfect partner for your photographic journey, and I thank you for allowing me, through this book, to serve as your tour guide.

Part I

Fast Track to Super Snaps

In this part . . .

Making sense of all the controls on your D5000 isn’t something you can do in an afternoon — heck, in a week, or maybe even a month. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take great pictures today. By using your camera’s automatic point-and-shoot modes, you can capture terrific images with very little effort. All you do is compose the scene, and the camera takes care of almost everything else.

This part shows you how to take best advantage of your camera’s automatic features and also addresses some basic setup steps, such as adjusting the viewfinder to your eyesight and getting familiar with the camera menus, buttons, and dials. In addition, chapters in this part explain how to obtain the very best picture quality, whether you shoot in an automatic or manual mode, and how to use your camera’s picture-playback, Live View, and movie recording features.

1

Getting the Lay of the Land

In This Chapter

Attaching and using an SLR lens

Adjusting the viewfinder to your eyesight

Working with memory cards

Getting acquainted with your camera

Selecting from menus

Displaying onscreen help

Customizing basic operations

Istill remember the day that I bought my first SLR film camera. I was excited to finally move up from my one-button point-and-shoot camera, but I was a little anxious, too. My new pride and joy sported several unfamiliar buttons and dials, and the explanations in the camera manual clearly were written for someone with an engineering degree. And then there was the whole business of attaching the lens to the camera, an entirely new task for me. I saved up my pennies a long time for that camera — what if my inexperience caused me to damage the thing before I even shot my first pictures?