Nikon D3000 for Dummies (ISBN - 0470578947)

339 Pages·2021·28.98 MB·English

Julie Adair King
Author of Digital Photography For Dummies

Learn to:
• Take advantage of all your camera’s
functions and modes

• Get results from the exposure, focus,
and color settings

• Download images to your PC and
retouch, print, and share them

IN FULL COLOR!

Nikon

® D3000

Making Everything Easier!™

Open the book and find:

• Details about every camera option

• Answers to common photography
questions

• Secrets for capturing great action
shots

• Pro techniques for photographing
people and pets

• Ways to avoid red-eye and other
photo problems

• Fun effects you can add with your
camera

• When to use JPEG and when to use
RAW

• Simple explanations of f-stops,
shutter speed, ISO, and other
photo terms

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
Centre.

PHOTOGRAPHY/Techniques/Digital

$29.99 US / $35.99 CN / £21.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-57894-0

Go to Dummies.com®

for videos, step-by-step examples,
how-to articles, or to shop the store!

Congratulations — you’ve chosen to take greater control over
your photos with a dSLR camera! Now get expert advice on
making the most of your Nikon D3000. Learn how to use its
many settings, how to get the best results in automatic mode,
when to use the built-in flash, how to produce prints that look
as good as they do on your monitor, and more.

• Lenses, modes, and more — learn to attach and remove lenses, set
the focus mode, and use all the controls

• Quality control — discover how to get the best picture quality and
solve common image problems

• Cultivate creativity — explore automatic Scene modes and then
step up to full control with manual exposure modes

• Processing your pictures — download your images to your
computer, process RAW files, and organize your photos

• Share — find out how to get perfect prints, optimize photos for
e-mailing, and create a digital slide show

Explore your camera’s creative
options and learn to get
great shots with your dSLR!

In
Color

Nikon

® D3000
Nikon

® D3000

King

spine=.67”

Start with FREE Cheat Sheets

Cheat Sheets include

• Checklists

• Charts

• Common Instructions

• And Other Good Stuff!

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To access the Cheat Sheet created specifically for this book, go to
dummies.com/cheatsheet/nikonD3000

spine=.67”

by Julie Adair King

Nikon® D3000

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

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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
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit-
ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
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Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://
www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the
Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything
Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its
affi liates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Nikon
is a registered trademark of Nikon Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO
REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF
THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITH-
OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE
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WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care
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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

Project Editor: Kim Darosett

Executive Editor: Steven Hayes

Copy Editor: Heidi Unger

Technical Editor: Chuck Pace

Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell,
Samantha K. Cherolis

Proofreader: Susan Hobbs

Indexer: Slivoskey Indexing Services

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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