Nikon® D300 For Dummies

339 Pages·2009·28.98 MB·English

by  Julie Adair King

spine=.67”
PHOTOGRAPHY/Techniques/Digital
In
Color Making Everything Easier!™
Explore your camera’s creative
options and learn to get
great shots with your dSLR!
Open the book and find:
Congratulations — you’ve chosen to take greater control over NN D3 0 0 0
your photos with a dSLR camera! Now get expert advice on (cid:127) D etails about every camera option N i ko n
(cid:127) A nswers to common photography ii ®
making the most of your Nikon D3000. Learn how to use its
kk
questions
many settings, how to get the best results in automatic mode,
when to use the built-in flash, how to produce prints that look (cid:127) S ecrets for capturing great action oo
shots
as good as they do on your monitor, and more. nn
(cid:127) P ro techniques for photographing
(cid:127) Lenses, modes, and more — learn to attach and remove lenses, set people and pets ®®
the focus mode, and use all the controls DD
(cid:127) W ays to avoid red-eye and other
(cid:127) Quality control — discover how to get the best picture quality and photo problems
33
solve common image problems
(cid:127) F un effects you can add with your
00
(cid:127) Cultivate creativity — explore automatic Scene modes and then camera
step up to full control with manual exposure modes
00
(cid:127) W hen to use JPEG and when to use
(cid:127) Processing your pictures — download your images to your RAW
computer, process RAW files, and organize your photos 00
(cid:127) S imple explanations of f-stops,
(cid:127) Share — find out how to get perfect prints, optimize photos for shutter speed, ISO, and other
e-mailing, and create a digital slide show photo terms
Learn to:
(cid:127) Take advantage of all your camera’s
Go to Dummies.com
® functions and modes
for videos, step-by-step examples,
how-to articles, or to shop the store! (cid:127) Get results from the exposure, focus,
and color settings
(cid:127) Download images to your PC and
retouch, print, and share them
$29.99 US / $35.99 CN / £21.99 UK
IN FULL COLOR!
ISBN 978-0-470-57894-0
Julie Adair King has been writing about digital cameras and photography
for more than a decade. She is the author of several books on various Nikon
and Canon cameras as well as Digital Photography For Dummies, and she
teaches beginning digital photographers at the Palm Beach Photographic Julie Adair King
Centre.
King Author of Digital Photography For Dummies
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Get More and Do More at Dummies.com
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Start with FREE Cheat Sheets
Cheat Sheets include
(cid:127) Checklists
(cid:127) Charts
(cid:127) Common Instructions
(cid:127) And Other Good Stuff!
To access the Cheat Sheet created specifically for this book, go to
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Nikon D3000
®
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Julie Adair King
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Nikon® D3000 For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009939783
ISBN: 978-0-470-57894-0
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Author
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 D5000, D300s, 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.
Author’s Acknowledgments
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 Chuck
Pace, without whose insights and expertise this book would not have been
the same.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com.
For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974,
outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions and Editorial Composition Services
Project Editor: Kim Darosett Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond
Executive Editor: Steven Hayes Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell,
Samantha K. Cherolis
Copy Editor: Heidi Unger
Proofreader: Susan Hobbs
Technical Editor: Chuck Pace
Indexer: Slivoskey Indexing Services
Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron
Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham
Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps .................................. 7
Chapter 1: Getting the Lay of the Land ...........................................................................9
Chapter 2: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically ........................................................45
Chapter 3: Controlling Picture Quality and Size ..........................................................65
Chapter 4: Reviewing Your Photos ................................................................................87
Part II: Taking Creative Control ................................ 115
Chapter 5: Getting Creative with Exposure and Lighting .........................................117
Chapter 6: Manipulating Focus and Color ..................................................................157
Chapter 7: Putting It All Together ................................................................................193
Part III: Working with Picture Files .......................... 213
Chapter 8: Downloading, Organizing, and Archiving Your Picture Files ................215
Chapter 9: Printing and Sharing Your Pictures ..........................................................243
Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................... 265
Chapter 10: Ten Fun and Practical Retouch Menu Features ....................................267
Chapter 11: Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day ...................287
Index ...................................................................... 313
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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................. 1
A Quick Look at What’s Ahead ......................................................................2
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 ........................................................................4
About the Software Shown in This Book ......................................................5
eCheat Sheet .....................................................................................................5
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 Viewfi nder Focus ...................................................................15
Working with Memory Cards .......................................................................16
Exploring External Camera Controls ...........................................................19
Topside controls ..................................................................................19
Back-of-the-body controls ...................................................................20
Front-left buttons .................................................................................22
Ordering from Camera Menus .....................................................................24
Using the guided menus ......................................................................24
Ordering off the main menus..............................................................29
Monitoring Shooting Settings ......................................................................31
Using the Quick Settings Screen ..................................................................32
Displaying Help Screens ...............................................................................34
Customizing Your Camera ............................................................................34
Restoring Default Settings ............................................................................42
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viii
Nikon D3000 For Dummies
Chapter 2: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Getting Good Point-and-Shoot Results ........................................................46
Using Flash in Automatic Exposure Modes ................................................50
Exploring Your Automatic Exposure Options ...........................................52
Auto mode ............................................................................................52
Scene modes .........................................................................................54
Changing the (Shutter Button) Release Mode ...........................................61
Chapter 3: Controlling Picture Quality and Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Diagnosing Quality Problems .......................................................................66
Considering Resolution (Image Size) ..........................................................68
Pixels and print quality .......................................................................69
Pixels and screen display size ............................................................70
Pixels and fi le size ................................................................................71
Resolution recommendations ............................................................72
Understanding the Image Quality Options .................................................74
JPEG: The imaging (and Web) standard ..........................................75
NEF (RAW): The purist’s choice ........................................................79
My take: Choose JPEG Fine or NEF (RAW) .......................................82
Setting Image Size and Quality .....................................................................83
Chapter 4: Reviewing Your Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Setting Playback Timing Preferences ..........................................................88
Adjusting playback timing ..................................................................88
Adjusting and disabling instant review .............................................90
Enabling Automatic Picture Rotation .........................................................91
Viewing Images in Playback Mode ..............................................................92
Viewing multiple images at a time .....................................................94
Displaying photos in Calendar view ..................................................96
Zooming in for a closer view ..............................................................97
Viewing Picture Data .....................................................................................98
File Information mode .......................................................................100
RGB Histogram mode ........................................................................102
Highlight display mode .....................................................................104
Shooting Data display mode .............................................................105
Overview Data mode .........................................................................106
Deleting Photos ............................................................................................108
Deleting images one at a time ..........................................................108
Deleting all photos .............................................................................109
Deleting a batch of selected photos ................................................110
Protecting Photos ........................................................................................112
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