Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3 i Nikon Photography The Complete Manual

There has never been a better time to own, or be thinking of owning, a Nikon digital camera. A digital camera has a simple function; it captures light that, in turn, creates the kind of images we all see and enjoy. This capturing of light is such a rewarding experience for beginner and professional alike and the camera you choose is the key to unleashing the kind of photographer you want to be. The popularity of digital cameras has increased over recent years and if you want to be both a technically accomplished and creative photographer, then a camera system with manual controls, plus the option to swap out different lenses, should still be your first choice. The range of Nikon cameras, lenses and accessories available to photographers is nothing…

“This is where you need something a little easier to manage and that would be rugged enough to do the kinds of things and go to the kinds of places where DSLRs fear to tread.” If you are the adventurous type and love to get out into the world and explore, then taking a larger bulky DSLR with you to capture all those amazing moments may prove troublesome. This could be particularly true if you are hanging off the side of a mountain or riding a perfect wave on your surfboard. The same could be true even if it is just a family vacation to the coast and you want some memorable moments captured as your kids splash around at the water’s edge down on the beach. This is where…

You may notice that the Nikon range of DSLR camera bodies come in two formats. There is DX-format, which we will be looking at in this section and the FX-format, which will be covered in the subsequent section. The DX-format sensor is referred to as a cropped sensor format (APS-C) and measures 24 x 16mm. This means it is slightly smaller than the FX-format sensor which measures 36 x 24mm and is approximately the same size as a full frame of 35mm film. For those with more modest needs, or those looking for a more compact system, Nikon provides a highly acclaimed range of DX-format DSLRs, with APS-C sized sensors. Just because they have smaller sensors however doesn’t make them any less capable and the DX range covers all requirements,…

“If you own a Nikon DSLR with a 24 x 16mm APS-C sensor, this makes it a DX-format camera body. These smaller sensors allow for the production of lighter and smaller camera bodies.” What exactly is a DX-format lens? A DSLR camera’s format is based upon the size of its sensor. If you own a Nikon DSLR with a 24 x 16mm APS-C sensor, this makes it a DX-format camera body. These smaller sensors allow for the production of lighter and smaller camera bodies. If you were to use a normal full-frame lens on a new crop sensor camera, it would project an image that was too big for the sensor. A 100mm full-frame lens for example, would project an image that was about 1.5 times too large for the…

There’s nothing quite like being able to bring light where it was once dark. Whether you’re using the Nikon 1 system or a full-frame Nikon DSLR, a Speedlight flashgun can light up your images, either mounted on-camera or as part of an off-camera lighting setup. Flashguns compatible with the Nikon Creative Lighting System can be operated wirelessly as single or multiple units, when used with any Nikon camera featuring a built-in flash commander mode. How you control light is one of the key methods that lets you excel as a creative photographer. Ambient light will take you so far but a Nikon Speedlight can take you even further, whether it’s just one compact flash unit or a whole army of top of the range flashes, used as part of a…

Nearly all modern compact cameras have zoom lenses, and most users of digital SLRs or CSCs will also have at least a couple of zooms in their kit. Focal length is one of your primary tools for adjusting composition. Selecting the right focal length for the scene allows the photographer to control perspective, angle of view and magnification, and can radically alter the mood and style of the photo. Some focal lengths are more suited to particular types of photo, and the properties of wide-angle and telephoto lenses can be used to produce particular effects. Understanding how focal length works and how it affects your photos is a vital photographic skill. “Selecting the right focal length for the scene allows the photographer to control perspective, angle of view and magnification.”…

“There is great knowledge to be gained from trying something new. You never know, your true calling as a photographer may be revealed.” It’s time to get creative. It’s time to step out with your equipment and look for the next great photographic project that you can sink your teeth into. You may have had your camera for a while, been using it and getting some good results. The question you might ask yourself is, where next? If that is the case, you’re ready to start learning more of the creative techniques that professional photographers use to achieve outstanding results time after time. By trying new things and learning new techniques, you can turn your photographs from well-taken snapshots into creative masterpieces, of which you can be proud. It begins…

Planning a themed photo shoot is a great way to explore your imagination and get your creative juices flowing. Once you have an idea, the prospect of planning and preparing for it can be quite daunting if you intend to start from scratch: sourcing your props and materials and finding suitable venues and models. However, the wealth of knowledge you pick up when planning your shoot makes the experience worth all the hard work; and the unique images you will create bringing your imagination to life makes it well worth taking up the challenge. Before you decide upon the nature of your shoot, it is a good idea to do a little research, to help you decide on a theme that interests you. On this occasion we decided to do…

There was a time, and not even that long ago, when fireworks in the UK really only happened on Guy Fawkes night on November 5th or as a climax to some massive celebration or event. If you wanted a chance to photograph a big display, you were fairly limited and had to travel large distances to find them, or buy your own and set them off in your garden. These days it would seem that firework displays happen with a much greater frequency. Local towns will often end staged events with a display and there are even fireworks competitions where a number of teams with big budgets will each stage 10-15 minute displays. These competitions will often happen over a couple of consecutive nights so you get a couple of…

Back in the day, it was always something of a cliché to shoot or paint a bowl of fruit as an indoor still life project. It doesn’t have to be that way, especially in the world of digital photography. Using fruit as your still life subject can be given a little twist with this easy to setup tabletop project. Rather than having a bunch of fruit in a bowl, how about something a little more creative? Sliced fruit pieces are a lovely, translucent material, in a range of great colours. All well and good, but what if you shine a strong light through them? Now things get interesting. Suddenly the fruit glows and internal shapes and structure are seen. This is not how you normally see fruit and it sounds…

“To help you, over the following pages we take a look at a range of Nikon cameras, explain more about them and offer some insight into what each one has to offer.” These days it is a rare thing to be able to find a local camera store and actually look at a camera that interests you. The rise in online retail activity is making the high street shop a thing of the past. This is a shame. The ability to walk into a camera shop, talk to the assistants (who are most likely photographers themselves) and handle a camera and lenses is invaluable. Moreover, many stores would happily let you use a demonstration model so you could get a feel of the device and discuss whether it is the…

Nikon has a long and proud history of making many of the world’s best SLR cameras and that tradition continues with the FX-format DSLRs. The key feature of the range is the full-frame FX-format sensor, the same size as a frame of 35mm film, the FX sensor format provides the ultimate in image quality, especially when paired with Nikon’s legendary optical technology. The FX series cameras are compatible with all of Nikon’s F-bayonet mount lenses, giving access to a huge range of current and legacy lenses, and other accessories. Full-frame DSLRs used to be the exclusive preserve of wealthy professional photographers only but advances in technology and the increasing popularity of the format have brought full-frame cameras within the reach of the enthusiast hobby or semi-pro photographer. Nikon has responded…

It is likely that as a photographer, enthusiast, pro or otherwise, you will hear the often quoted mantra that a camera is only as good as the lens you attach to it. In the ever advancing world of camera and sensor technology, the size of the images the camera can capture and its ability to resolve amazing detail can often show up the weaknesses of below par lenses. Sharpness is probably the first thing you might notice when reviewing an image taken on something like the Nikon D850 but the sharpness of your lens is just the beginning, there is also contrast to consider as well as how much distortion is present. Then comes colour fringing and the darkening of the image edges known as vignetting. Obviously, you can offset…

“Learning more about the basics of photography and how each setting impacts on the other is essential.” In automatic mode, a camera will do most of the heavy lifting for you. It will work out the shutter speed, aperture and ISO values to deliver what it thinks will be a well-exposed image. There is no doubting just how marvellous a digital camera is; a wonder of miniaturised technology and optics. If you are new to photography, using automatic is a quick and easy way to get shooting and producing results, but we would always advocate taking your camera out of auto and learning how to exercise more control over your camera. If you take a shot in auto, what were the decisions made to give you the resulting picture? If…

The shutter of your camera is simply a mechanical barrier that prevents light from entering the camera until it is needed, controlling when and for how long light is allowed in to expose the sensor. The latest digital cameras have high-speed electro-mechanical shutters capable of timing exposures with an accuracy measured in fractions of a millisecond. Along with the aperture setting and the amplification control, shutter speed is one of the three ways that photographic exposure is adjusted. When a picture is taken, the shutter is opened for a precisely measured amount of time allowing light to pass through. The duration of the exposure is set either automatically by the camera’s light meter or manually by the photographer. The wider the range of available shutter speeds, the greater the creative…

“What your camera’s light meter sees is quite different.” Understanding exposure and how it affects your photographs is probably the single most important technical skill you can learn in photography. It’s certainly the one that most people get wrong, and apart from camera shake bad exposure probably ruins more photos than any other single cause. The main problem is over-reliance on automatic metering. Most modern cameras, even relatively cheap compacts, have sophisticated built-in TTL multi-zone evaluative exposure meters that measure light levels at dozens, in some cases hundreds, of points within the frame, instantly comparing the results with a built-in library of exposure situations and automatically adjusting the shutter speed and aperture to deal with problems such as back-lighting, close-ups or moving subjects. In most cases these automatic exposure systems…

While the top wildlife photographers jet off to exotic locations to capture their photos, for those of us of more modest means, zoos and wildlife parks can provide many opportunities to photograph animals in more controlled and easily accessible locations. Most wildlife parks try to ensure that their animals are kept in surroundings that closely match their natural environment. Zoos and parks will usually actively encourage photography, and often build their enclosures to provide an unobstructed view of the animals, so by careful use of a telephoto lens it should be possible to exclude anything from the shot that might give away the fact that it was not shot in the wild. Most zoo animals are accustomed to visitors, they seem quite happy to pose for their photo, giving the…

Planning and photographing a styled shoot is a great way of exploring your creative ideas using your portraiture skills, combined with exciting colourful concepts you wish to try out. The idea behind a styled shoot is to collect ideas formed by a group of people with different skills, bring them to the table and create an elaborate concept, mock situation or event. The images resulting from your styled shoot can then be used by all involved for their own purposes, without any payment exchanging hands. Therefore a styled shoot is a great way of not only exploring new concepts but also gaining images which can be used for advertising and promotion. Styled shoots are a great way of making new contacts and friendships within the industry which may lead to…

Digital SLR systems offer the greatest versatility of any photographic system, and represent the best compromise between quality and portability. The best CSC systems are still some way behind, but are catching up fast. There are lenses and other accessories available to suit every type of photography, both amateur and professional. It is worth being aware that top quality DSLR lenses like this also command top prices. This photographer is using a very specialist lens to get this shot of a rural scene from a different perspective. The extreme nature of the distortion and the wide field of view this lens gives you is apparent, as is the visible curvature of the ground, adding to the scale and openness of this scene. The kind of lens that can do this…

Careful control of depth of field by adjusting aperture and focal length is one of the most striking creative techniques available to the photographer, and you don’t need any special equipment to do it, just your camera and a zoom lens. For this striking portrait image, the photographer has used a 100mm, fast, macro lens with a large maximum aperture of f2.8. This has resulted in a narrow depth of field but by carefully focusing on the subject’s face the effect of this narrow plane of focus is to isolate the subject against what could otherwise be a busy and distracting woodland background. One consideration to bear in mind is that when working with very shallow depth of field, precise focusing is essential. The slightest movement and your subject will…

“The visual quality of part of a photograph rendered out of focus by a lens is referred to as ‘Bokeh’.” Selective focus is the term used to describe the method by which you render one part of your shot in sharp focus and the area beyond and/or in front increasingly out of focus. Any shot that has a small area of sharp focus while everything else is blurred, draws the eye to that focused area. Typically it is achieved using lenses with very large apertures of f/2.8 to f/1.2 or even wider. The visual quality of part of a photograph rendered out of focus by a lens is referred to as ‘Bokeh’. Shots taken with extremely large apertures enhance this effect which is particularly noticeable in background highlights. NASA once…

Nikon have created a system that ushers in a new era of photographic possibilities. Mirrorless cameras have been with us for some time but now Nikon have changed the game with their two Z series cameras. They have taken their inspiration from the D850 full-frame DSLR which is a model of perfection, sturdy build quality, easy handling and impressive image quality. All the qualities you want from the D850 form factor have been transposed into the smaller, lighter Z7 and Z6 mirrorless bodies. It looks like a Nikon and, more importantly, it handles like a Nikon, but it is going to become the future of photographic imaging. Both the Z7 and the Z6 use the new Z Mount full-frame lens mount. This new design is actually the widest mount on…

Of the three main controls common to nearly all cameras, shutter speed, focus and aperture, it is aperture adjustment that is the least well understood. This is because it not only helps to control exposure, but also affects something called Depth of Field. Understanding the effects of aperture size is a vital skill for any keen photographer. At least there’s nothing mysterious about the name. The aperture is literally a hole through which light passes after it enters the lens. The diameter of this hole can be altered, allowing a greater or smaller amount of light to pass through on its way to the sensor. In the early days of photography, aperture was adjusted by slotting cards with different sized holes cut in them into the body of the camera…

“The list of tips we’ve compiled range from some of the simplest technical insights, that can give your skills a quick boost, to more in-depth knowledge.” As we’ve mentioned, there is a bit more to photography than ‘full auto’ and simply snapping away to your heart’s content. Part of the skill (and all of the enjoyment) of photography is the knowledge that any shot you take was done so with you in full control. We understand you have to start somewhere, but in the fullness of time, when you find yourself hitting a wall and wondering what is required to help you improve, seeking out some handy hints and tips can give you that important jump-start into some next-level photography. The list of tips we’ve compiled range from some of…

You are out and about happily taking photographs, with gorgeous sunshine to brighten the experience. It’s your last day before venturing off home and you happen upon a scene that you want to capture. The sun is rising and its position is creating a dramatic lighting effect. What can you do to get the most from the opportunity? The problem is that the dynamic range of the scene before you is very extreme because the sun itself is part of the shot. You have options, of course. If you had the time you could wait until the next day when the sun is in a different part of the sky but then you wouldn’t have the drama of the sun low to the horizon. You could bracket your exposures if…

Let’s get that word out of the way first. Silhouette, what does it mean? It came into being as a result of severe economic demands imposed upon the French people by their finance minister Étienne de Silhouette in 1759. His name became linked with anything that was thought to be done cheaply. In the days before photography, making a portrait cheaply and quickly from paper became known as a silhouette. It is a term used to describe the image of a person or object that is represented as a solid shape. The interior of the shape is totally black and featureless. Only the edge of the object describes what the object actually is. The term silhouette was originally thought to describe pieces of paper that were cut out and stuck…

Back in the day, a formal event such as a wedding had a particular style of photography associated with it. The shots were generally quite serious and posed, as you might expect. Over time, it has become more and more popular to not only capture those standard formal shots, but also to inject some more documentary-style photography into the mix as well. It was as if you had your big day shot by an old school wedding photographer and also a paparazzi photographer too. Indeed, on some occasions, younger couples getting hitched have done away with the formal aspect of the wedding altogether and briefed the photographer to take nothing but candid images throughout the day. Candid shots capture their subjects in more natural poses and exhibiting more relaxed behaviour.…