C OVER AA30470C A S C H O R T O U R S E I N N D70 P IKON HOTOGRAPHY D P. C ENNIS URTIN S C . H O R T O U R S E S C O M H T T P : / / W W W . S H O R T C O U R S E S . C O M FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM SHORT COURSES PUBLISHING PROGRAM S C P P HORT OURSES UBLISHING ROGRAM Short Courses is the leading publisher of digital photography books, textbooks, and guides to specific cameras from Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus and others. All of these books are available on-line from the Short Courses bookstore at: http://www.shortcourses.com/bookstore/book.htm All recent books are available in both black & white print and fully search- able full-color eBook (PDF) versions. The list of books we’ve published is rapidly expanding so be sure to visit the store to see if there is a book on your camera or area of interest. If you find any errors in this book, would like to make suggestions for improvements, or just want to let me know what you think—we welcome your feedback. ShortCourses.com 16 Preston Beach Road Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.shortcourses.com To learn more about digital photography visit our two Web sites: ■ http://www.photocourse.com ■ http://www.shortcourses.com COPYRIGHT NOTICE © Copyright 2004 by Dennis P. Curtin. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. SHORT COURSE BOOKS Short Courses on Canon Camera Photography ■ Pro 1 ■ EOS Digital Rebel/300D ■ EOS 10D ■ G5 ■ G3 ■ EOS D60 ■ EOS D30 ■ G2 ■ G1 ■ S300 ■ S110 ■ S100 ■ S20 ■ A5/A50 Zoom Short Courses on Nikon Camera Photography ■ D70 ■ D100 ■ 4500 ■ 5700 ■ 5000 ■ 995 ■ 990 ■ 950 ■ 880 Short Courses on Olympus Camera Photography ■ C-5050 ■ C-4040 ■ C-700 Ultra Zoom ■ E-20 ■ E-10 ■ C-2100 Ultra Zoom ■ C-3040 Zoom ■ C-3030 Zoom ■ C-2500L ■ C-2040 Zoom ■ C-2020 Zoom ■ C-2000 Zoom Short Courses on Sony Camera Photography Other books in which you ■ DSC-F828 ■ DSC-F717 ■ DSC-F707 may be interested. Textbooks & General Choosing and Using a Camera Phone ■ Displaying & Sharing Your Digital Photos ■ Photoshop Elements 2.0 ■ The Textbook of Digital Photography ■ Digital Desktop Studio Photography ■ Managing Digital Pictures with Windows XP and Beyond ■ Choosing and Using a Digital Camera ■ Using Your Digital Camera ■ The Digital Photographer’s Ultimate Software Collection ISBN: 1-928873-49-9 ii FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM PREFACE P REFACE A great photograph begins when you recognize a great scene or subject. But recognizing a great opportunity isn’t enough to capture it; you also have to be prepared. A large part of being prepared involves understanding your camera well enough to capture what you see. Getting you prepared to see and capture great photographs is what this book is all about. It doesn’t matter if you are taking pictures for business or plea- sure, there’s a lot here to help you get better results and more satisfaction from your photography. To get better, and possibly even great photographs, you need to understand The Nikon D70. both concepts and procedures; the “whys” and “hows” of photography. ■ Concepts of photography are the underlying principles that apply regard- less of the camera you are using. They include such things as how sharpness IMPORTANT NOTE and exposure affect your images and the way they are perceived by viewers. Understanding concepts answers the “why” kinds of questions you might The only Nikon have about photography. lenses that fully work with the D70 ■ Procedures are those things specific to one kind of camera, and explain are CPU lenses, step-by-step how you set your camera’s controls to capture an image just the particularly those way you want to. Understanding procedures gives you the answers to the in the D and G “how” kinds of questions you might have. series (page 87). This book is organized around the concepts of digital photography because Other lenses work that’s how photographers think. You think about scenes and subjects, high- in some situations, lights and shadows, softness and sharpness, color and tone. The procedures but not in others. you use with the Nikon D70 camera are integrated throughout the concepts, To explain all of appearing as text discussions and QuickSteps boxes in those places where these incompat- they apply. This integrated approach lets you first understand the concepts of ibilities would photography and then see step by step how to use the D70 to capture scenes make this book and subjects exactly the way you want to. unnecessarily complicated for the To get more effective, interesting, and creative photographs, you only need to majority of readers. understand how and when to use a few simple features on your camera such To keep things as focus, exposure controls, and flash. If you’ve previously avoided under- simple, we assume standing these features and the profound impact they can have on your you are using a D images, you’ll be pleased to know that you can learn them over a weekend. or G lens. You can then spend the rest of your life marveling at how the infinite variety of combinations make it possible to convey your own personal view of the world. You’ll be ready to keep everything in a scene sharp for maximum PHOTOGRAPHY detail or to blur it all for an impressionistic portrayal. You’ll be able to get ON-LINE dramatic close-ups, freeze fast action, and capture the beauty and wonder of rainbows, sunsets, fireworks, and nighttime scenes. The contents of this book are constantly As you explore your camera, be sure to have fun. There are no “rules” or updated, en- “best” way to make a picture. Great photographs come from using what you hanced, and know to experiment and try new approaches. Digital cameras make this expanded on-line. especially easy because there are no film costs or delays. Every experiment is To learn more free and you see the results immediately so you can learn step by step. about digital This book assumes you’ve mastered the mechanics of your camera. It’s about photography, visit getting great pictures, not about connecting your camera to your computer our ShortCourses and using software. That information is presented in the user guide that Web site at www. came with your camera. Be sure to visit our Web site at shortcourses.com. www.shortcourses.com for even more digital photography information. FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM III CONTENTS C ONTENTS Cover...i CHAPTER 4 Short Courses Publishing Program...ii CAPTURING LIGHT & COLOR...71 Preface...iii Contents...iv Where Does Color Come From?...72 Index to QuickSteps...v White Balance...73 Color Balance and Time of Day...76 Sunsets and Sunrises...77 CHAPTER 1 Weather...79 GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR NIKON D70...6 Photographing at Night...81 The Direction of Light...83 The Nikon D70—An Overview...7 The Quality of Light...85 Jump Start—Using Auto Mode...8 Good Things to Know...9 When Things Go Wrong...11 CHAPTER 5 Using Dials and Buttons...12 UNDERSTANDING LENSES...86 Using Menus...15 Restoring Default Settings...17 Nikon D70 Lenses...87 Using Image Review and Playback Mode...18 Zoom Lenses...89 Using the Playback Menu...20 Normal Lenses...90 Selecting Image Quality and Size...22 Wide-Angle Lenses...91 Telephoto Lenses...93 Tilt-Shift Lenses...95 CHAPTER 2 Macro Lenses...96 CONTROLLING EXPOSURE...28 Lens Accessories...97 How a Photograph Shows Depth...98 Understanding Exposure...29 Understanding Exposure Displays...30 Choosing Exposure Modes...31 CHAPTER 6 Using Digital Vari-program Modes...32 USING FLASH AND STUDIO LIGHTING...99 Using Auto Multi Program (P) Mode...33 Using Shutter-Priority (S) Mode...34 How Automatic Flash Works...100 Using Aperture-Priority (A) Mode...36 Selecting a Flash Mode...104 Using Manual (M) Mode...38 Portraits with Flash...105 How Your Exposure System Works...39 Using Fill Flash...107 How Exposure Affects Your Images...42 Using Slow Sync Flash...108 When Automatic Exposure Works Well...43 Using Available Light...109 When to Override Automatic Exposure...44 Controlling Flash Exposures...110 How to Override Automatic Exposure...48 Using an External Flash...111 Using Histograms...50 Studio Lighting...112 Studio Portrait Lighting...115 CHAPTER 3 CONTROLLING SHARPNESS...53 CHAPTER 7 OTHER FEATURES AND COMMANDS...116 Eliminating Camera Movement...54 Sharpness Isn’t Everything...57 Shooting Continuously...117 How to Photograph Motion Sharply...58 Bracketing...118 Focus and Depth of Field...60 Optimizing Images...121 Focusing Techniques...62 Optimizing Images—Custom Settings...122 Controlling Depth of Field...66 Using The Setup Menu...124 Capturing Maximum Depth of Field...67 Using The Custom Settings Menu...129 Using Selective Focus...69 Using The Playback Menu...135 Conveying the Feeling of Motion...70 IV FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM INDEX TO QUICKSTEPS I Q S NDEX TO UICK TEPS Taking a Picture in Auto Mode 8 Increasing Depth of Field 67 Using Menus 15 Setting the Hyperfocal Distance 68 Using the Two-Button Reset 17 Zone Focusing 68 Reviewing and Playing Back Images 18 Decreasing Depth of Field in Automatic Mode 69 Zooming Images 19 Capturing Creative Blur 70 Deleting Images 20 Setting White Balance with the WB Button 74 Connecting the Camera to a TV 20 Setting White Balance from the Menu 74 Displaying a Slide Show 21 Setting Preset White Balance 75 Hiding and Unhiding Images 21 Using Bulb 82 Changing Image Quality & Size 27 Mounting a Lens 88 Changing Exposure Modes 31 Unmounting a Lens 88 Using Digital Vari-program Modes 32 Zooming the Lens 89 Using Auto Multi Program (P) Mode 33 Using the Built-in Speedlight 104 Using Shutter-Priority (S) Mode 35 Using Red-eye Reduction Mode 106 Turning Noise Reduction On and Off 35 Using Fill Flash 107 Using Aperture-Priority (A) Mode 37 Using Slow Sync Flash 108 Using Manual (M) Mode 38 Turning Off the Flash 109 Changing the Metering Mode 41 Using Flash Exposure Compensation 110 Using Exposure Compensation 49 Using FV Lock 110 Using Exposure Lock 49 Choosing a Shooting Mode 117 Displaying Histograms 50 Selecting What to Bracket 120 Using Histograms 52 Turning Bracketing On and Off Using the Self-timer 55 and Selecting a Bracketing Program 120 Changing the ISO with the ISO Button 56 Optimizing Images 121 Changing the ISO with the Menu 56 Optimizing Images—Custom Settings 123 Increasing the Sharpness Using the Setup Menu 124 of Moving Objects 59 Using the Custom Settings Menu 129 Using Focus Lock 63 Using the Playback Menu 135 Manually Selecting an Autofocus Area 64 FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM V CHAPTER 1. GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR NIKON D70 Chapter 1 Getting Started With Your Nikon D70 Serious digital cameras such as the Nikon D70 give you amazing CONTENTS creative control over your images. Because of the number of controls it ■ The Nikon D70–An offers, your camera may initially seem complicated, but that’s not at all Overview ■ Jump the case. All you have to do to get good pictures is turn the camera on and Start–Using Auto Mode take them. Because the camera is fully automatic, there’s no more to it than ■ Good Things to Know ■ When Things Go that. Once you’ve taken images, you can play them back for yourself or Wrong ■ Using Dials others right on the camera’s screen, and this is no small feature. Digital and Buttons ■ Using cameras are still so new that showing an image you just took elicits a shocked Menus ■ Restoring surprise. Kids especially delight in seeing themselves immediately, and will Default Settings ■ then mug more than ever. Using Image Review and Playback Mode ■ In this chapter we discuss just about everything you need to know to take Using the Playback Menu ■ Selecting good pictures. We’ll start by exploring how you use the camera set to its fully Image Quality and Size automatic mode and then see how you use buttons, dials, and menus to change settings and review and manage your images. Finally we’ll take a close-up look at how your camera captures digital images made up of small pixels, and what determines the size and quality of your photos. The founda- tion you’ll lay by mastering this chapter will make it easy for you to use all of the concepts and procedures discussed in the chapters that follow. 6 FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM THE NIKON D70—AN OVERVIEW T N D70—A O HE IKON N VERVIEW Nikon’s D70 is a 6.1 megapixel digital SLR camera with a CCD that captures images up to 3,008 x 2,000 pixels in size—large enough for extremely sharp 8 x 10 prints and sharp 11 x 14s. The camera is ready to shoot the instant you turn it on, and shutter-lag time is almost nonexistent. The D70 is available either as an outfit or a set. The outfit includes the camera body, rechargeable battery, charger, new Nikon PictureProject™ software, neckstrap and the new AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5–4.5G IF-ED lens. The D70 set includes the same items except the lens. The Nikon D70 is an SLR The camera includes the expected program, shutter-priority, aperture- digital camera with priority, and manual exposure modes but also includes seven digital vari- interchangeable lenses. program modes preset for photographing specific situations. These scene- specific modes include portrait, auto, landscape, close-up, sports, night portrait, and night landscape. The camera has a buffer that lets you capture up to 7 high-quality images, and often more, at the rate of three pictures per second. The images are optimized for PictBridge™ printers that are designed for printing directly from digital cameras. In-camera image enhancement possibilities include sharpening, contrast, tone, color, saturation and hue. There is even a com- mand that lets you optimize images using settings choices that include normal, vivid, sharp, soft, direct print, landscape or custom optimization. A unique help button on the camera temporarily displays a short description for each of the 25 different custom settings so you can get at least a little help while customizing your camera. If you want to capture the highest possible image quality, you can use the camera’s NEF (RAW) mode that also captures a JPEG image at the same time To learn about managing to simplify evaluating and selecting which RAW images to enhance. your pictures, see the book “Managing Digital The built-in speedlight automatically pops up and fires when natural light- Pictures with Windows XP ing is inadequate or when there is strong backlighting and the scene would and Beyond” at the benefit from fill flash to lighten shadow areas. A hot shoe lets you mount an ShortCourses.com external SB-600 or SB-800 flash when you need more flash power or range, or bookstore. want the ability to swivel and rotate the flash head to use bounce flash. http://www.shortcourses.com Either of these speedlights can also be used in commander mode to remotely and wirelessly control other SB-600 or SB-800 speedlights. Finally, photos taken with the camera in a vertical orientation are automati- cally rotated during playback so they have the same orientation as the other photos when viewed on the camera’s monitor or a connected TV or other ACCESSORIES playback device. ■ Optional acces- Included with the camera is Nikon’s PictureProject image management and sories for the D70 editing software used to transfer images to PC’s or MAC’s and browse, include lenses, organize, and share them. To learn more about the D70, visit any of these speedlights, battery Nikon Web Sites: chargers, view- finder accessories, ■ http://www.nikonusa.com remote control, ■ http://www.euorpe-nikon.com filters, and cases. ■ http://www.nikon-asia.com ■ http://www.nikonimaging.com FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM 7 CHAPTER 1. GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR NIKON D70 J S —U A M UMP TART SING UTO ODE When using auto mode you just frame the image and push the shutter button. This fully automatic mode is great because it lets you focus on the subject and not on the camera. Here’s how you use it: ■ Lenses are interchangeable and auto mode works only with CPU lenses. (With other lenses the shutter button is disabled in this mode.) ■ Power switch on top of the camera turns the camera on and off. When on, both the viewfinder and the control panel display information. When off, only the number of shots remaining is displayed on the control panel. The mode dial shown here set to full auto ■ Exposure mode. Rotate the mode dial to the green AUTO icon. mode. ■ Framing the image. Use the optical viewfinder and zoom ring, if your lens has one, to frame the image. The viewfinder shows you just 95% of the actual area that will be captured in the image. ■ Autofocus (AF). The camera focuses on the closest part of the scene that is covered by one or more of the five focus frames in the viewfinder. When you press the shutter button halfway down and the camera focuses, the camera beeps, the focus indicator—the leftmost green dot in the viewfinder— glows a steady green, and the area or areas used to set focus briefly flash red. If the camera is having problems focusing, the green focus indicator blinks (page The five focus areas. 62). In dim light, the AF-assist illuminator may light to help the camera focus. How close you can get to your subject depends on the minimum focusing distance of the lens you are using. ■ Autoexposure (AE). Auto mode uses matrix metering to measure all areas of the scene and uses the readings to set the best possible exposure for the scene. ■ Autoflash. If the light is dim, the flash may pop up. When up, it always fires when you take a picture unless set to off (page 109). The focus indicator. ■ Holding the camera. To take pictures, hold the camera in both hands, with your right forefinger on the shutter button. Brace the camera against your face. Be sure not to block the AF assist illuminator on the front of the camera TIPS just to the left of the shutter button. ■ The first time you turn on the TAKING A PICTURE IN AUTO MODE camera you have to 1. Set the mode dial so the green AUTO icon aligns with the white select a language marker on the camera body, remove the lens cap, and turn the power and set the date. To switch to ON. The control panel and viewfinder display both turn on. do so, see page 124. ■ If the camera 2. Frame the subject in the viewfinder. doesn’t perform as 3. Press the shutter button halfway down so the camera can set focus described here, it (see above) and exposure. If the light is dim, or the subject backlit, may be because the flash may pop up. some settings have 4. Press the shutter button all the way down to take the picture and the been changed. To shutter opens and closes. As the image is saved to the memory card, restore many it is displayed on the monitor and the green card access light glows settings to their on the back of the camera. factory defaults see page 17. 5. When done, turn the power switch to OFF and replace the lens cap. 8 FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM GOOD THINGS TO KNOW G T K OOD HINGS TO NOW When you first start taking photos, it sometimes seems that there is too much to learn all at once. Here are some things you may want to know right off. ■ The camera is powered by a rechargeable Lithium ion battery (EN-EL3), or an optional AC Adapter (EH-5). A full battery icon is displayed on the control panel when there is sufficient battery power. The icon changes to partly-full when power is getting low, and then flashes when power is out. When the battery gets very low, the viewfinder display also dims. The When the battery is fully battery takes about 2 hours to fully charge in the included charger and the charged, the top icon is number of shots you can then expect depends on the condition of the displayed. When it starts battery, the temperature, and how you use the camera. In a pinch you can getting low, the bottom icon is displayed and then also use three widely available CR2 lithium batteries in the included MS- flashes when battery D70 battery holder. To extend battery life, don't use the monitor, hold the power is out. shutter button halfway down, repeatedly autofocus, use NEF (raw) mode, or use slow shutter speeds. ■ Never open the flash card or battery cover when the camera is on, espe- cially when the green card access lamp on the back of the camera is flashing. Doing so can damage your images and the card. ■ To insert or remove a CompactFlash (CF) card, turn the camera off and open the cover on the back of the camera being sure the green card access lamp isn’t lit. Insert the CF card with its terminals toward the slot, its front The camera accepts Type label facing away from the monitor, and aligned with the slightly-angled slot. 1 or Type 2 Compact- Gently push the card to seat it on the connector and pop up the gray eject Flash (CF) cards including button. To remove a card, press the eject button down to raise the card so you the 1 Gigabyte IBM can grasp it and pull it out. Some CF cards have to be formatted before you Microdrive. use them (page 124). ■ To insert a battery, turn the camera off and press the cover latch on the bottom of the camera to open the battery chamber. Insert the battery, contacts first, and close the cover so it snaps into place. Turn on the camera and check the battery power indicator on the control panel. ■ If the viewfinder display turns off, or the shutter speed and aperture settings on the control panel disappear, the camera has entered “auto meter After a few seconds, off” mode because you didn’t use any controls for the time specified in metering turns off and custom setting 23 Meter off (page 129). To wake the meter up, press the the shutter speed and shutter button halfway down and then release it. Be aware that there are aperture are no longer some settings you can’t change while the meter is off. displayed on the control panel or in the viewfinder. ■ When you take a photo, it is displayed on the monitor so you can review it Press the shutter button provided custom setting 07 Image review is set to On (the default—page 129). halfway down and The image remains on the monitor until you press the shutter button halfway release it to turn them down to take another picture. Once an image is displayed on the monitor, back on. you can scroll to other images, change the number of images displayed at one time, delete the image to make room for new images, protect it from deletion, or display information about it. Image review is essentially identical to playback mode (page 18). Some commands won’t work with an image displayed on the monitor. To clear it from the monitor, press the shutter button halfway down and then release it. ■ If the monitor turns off during playback or when using menus, the camera is trying to save battery power. You can change the time before it Diopter adjustment turns off using custom setting 22 Monitor off (page 129). To turn the monitor control. back on, press the playback or menu button again. FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM 9 CHAPTER 1. GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR NIKON D70 ■ If the image in the viewfinder isn’t sharp, slide the diopter adjustment control next to the viewfinder to bring the viewfinder’s display into sharp focus. Corrective viewfinder lenses are available from Nikon dealers if this adjustment isn’t enough. ■ To display a reference grid in the viewfinder, turn on custom setting 08 Grid Display (page 129). This grid helps you better align images with domi- Viewfinder grid lines. nant horizontal and vertical elements such as the horizon or tall buildings. ■ Always check camera settings on the control panel and in the viewfinder. Notice how many pictures you can take at the current settings and the status of the battery charge. Also, learn what the icons mean because it’s not at all uncommon to change a setting, then forget you have done so. ■ To focus on a subject not in the center of the screen, select one of the other focus areas (page 64). The five focus areas. ■ The focus area display darkens and slows in low temperatures and brightens in high temperatures. The other viewfinder displays darken and slow at high temperatures. ■ The camera comes with a clear plastic monitor cover (BM-4) that keeps the monitor clean and protected. To remove the cover, pull the bottom outwards to unlatch it. To replace it, insert the projection on the top of the cover into the matching indentation above the monitor then press in the At night, press the LCD bottom of the cover until it clicks into place. illuminator button so you ■ The shutter button has two stages. When you press it halfway down, the can read the control camera sets focus and exposure. When you press it all the way down, you panel display. take the picture. ■ As you take photos, they are first stored in the camera’s internal memory—called a “buffer” (page 117). The buffer stores images so you don’t have to wait until one is saved to the CompactFlash card before taking another. (Storing to the buffer is much faster than storing to the card.) During shooting, or while the shutter button is pressed halfway down, the number of new images that can be stored in the buffer using the current settings is displayed on the control panel and in the viewfinder. How many you can A readout on the control shoot depends on the image size and quality settings. panel and in the viewfinder tells you how ■ Automatic white balance. The color cast in a photograph is affected by the many images will fit in color of the light illuminating the scene so the camera automatically adjusts the buffer at the current white balance to make white objects in the scene look white in the photo settings. (page 73). ■ When done shooting, turn the power switch to OFF. If images are being stored when you do so, they will be saved before the camera shuts itself off. ■ When the built-in flash is popped up, you can only take photos when the flash ready indicator is displayed in the lowerright corner of the viewfinder. The flash ready indicator If it isn’t displayed, release the shutter button, then try again. that appears in the viewfinder when the flash ■ The D70 offers four shooting modes—single frame, continuous (page is ready to fire. 117), self-timer (page 55), and remote (page 55). 10 FOR MORE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VISIT HTTP://WWW.SHORTCOURSES.COM