Description
Book SynopsisDiscover the essentials to getting better photos with the Nikon DLSLR D3400 The Nikon D3400 hits stores as Nikon's most advanced entry-level DSLR camera. Along with the pixel power to deliver sharp images, it also offers tools to be instantly creative and quickly share photos to a smartphone.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
About This Book 1
How This Book Is Organized 2
Icons and Other Stuff to Note 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Fast Track to Super Snaps 5
Chapter 1: Getting Up and Running 7
Preparing the Camera for Initial Use 7
Exploring Basic Camera Features 11
Checking out external controls 11
Ordering from camera menus 19
Switching to Live View mode 23
Viewing critical picture settings 25
Adjusting settings via the control strip 28
Displaying Help Screens 29
Familiarizing Yourself with the Lens 30
Working with Memory Cards 35
Taking a Few Final Setup Steps 37
Restoring Default Settings 40
Chapter 2: Reviewing Five Essential Picture-Taking Options 43
Choosing an Exposure Mode 44
Fully automatic exposure modes 44
Semiautomatic modes (P, S, and A) 45
Manual exposure mode (M) 46
Specialty modes (Effects and Guide modes) 46
Setting the Release Mode 47
Single Frame and Quiet Shutter Release modes 48
Continuous (burst mode) shooting 49
Self-timer shooting 50
Wireless remote control modes 51
Checking Image Size and Image Quality 52
Considering the Image Size setting (resolution) 52
Understanding Image Quality options (JPEG or Raw) 56
Setting Image Size and Image Quality 60
Adding Flash 62
Enabling and disabling flash 63
Choosing a Flash mode 64
Adjusting the flash output (P, S, A, and M modes only) 70
Chapter 3: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically 75
Shooting in Auto and Auto Flash Off Modes 75
Viewfinder photography in Auto and Auto Flash Off modes 76
Live View photography in Auto and Auto Flash off modes 79
Taking Advantage of Scene Modes 82
Portrait mode 83
Landscape mode 84
Child mode 84
Sports mode 85
Close Up mode 87
Night Portrait mode 88
Part 2: Beyond the Basics 89
Chapter 4: Taking Charge of Exposure 91
Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 92
Aperture affects depth of field 94
Shutter speed affects motion blur 96
ISO affects image noise 96
Doing the exposure balancing act 99
Stepping Up to Advanced Exposure Modes (P, S, A, and M) 100
Checking the Exposure Meter 102
Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode 105
Setting Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 108
Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 108
Controlling ISO 111
Solving Exposure Problems 115
Applying Exposure Compensation 115
Expanding tonal range with Active D-Lighting 119
Eliminating vignetting 122
Using autoexposure lock 124
Chapter 5: Controlling Focus and Depth of Field 125
Choosing Automatic or Manual Focusing 126
Exploring Standard Focusing Options (Viewfinder Photography) 127
Mastering the autofocusing system 128
Focusing manually 137
Focusing During Live View and Movie Shooting 140
Understanding Live View autofocusing 141
Manual focusing during Live View and movie shooting 149
Manipulating Depth of Field 149
Chapter 6: Mastering Color Controls 153
Understanding White Balance 153
Changing the White Balance setting 155
Fine-tuning White Balance settings 158
Creating white balance presets 159
Choosing a Color Space 163
Taking a Quick Look at Picture Controls 164
Chapter 7: Putting It All Together 171
Recapping Basic Picture Settings 171
Shooting Still Portraits 172
Capturing Action 178
Capturing Scenic Vistas 181
Capturing Dynamic Close-Ups 184
Chapter 8: Shooting, Viewing, and Trimming Movies 187
Shooting Movies Using Default Settings 188
Adjusting Video Settings 193
Controlling Audio 197
Choosing the Microphone setting (volume control) 197
Reducing wind noise 200
Exploring Other Recording Options 201
Manipulating Movie Exposure 203
Screening Your Movies 205
Trimming Movies 207
Saving a Movie Frame as a Still Image 210
Part 3: After the Shot 211
Chapter 9: Playback Mode: Viewing Your Photos 213
Picture Playback 101 214
Choosing Which Images to View 215
Adjusting Playback Timing 216
Enabling Automatic Picture Rotation 217
Shifting from Single-Image to Thumbnails Display 219
Displaying Photos in Calendar View 220
Magnifying Photos During Playback 221
Viewing Picture Data 223
File Information mode 224
Highlights (“blinkies”) display mode 227
RGB Histogram mode 228
Shooting Data mode 231
Overview mode 232
Creating a Digital Slide Show 234
Viewing Your Photos on a Television 236
Chapter 10: Working with Picture and Movie Files 239
Rating Photos and Movies 240
Deleting Files 242
Deleting files one at a time 242
Deleting all files 243
Deleting a batch of selected files 243
Protecting Photos and Movies 246
Taking a Look at Nikon’s Photo Software 247
Downloading Pictures to the Computer 250
Connecting via USB 251
Starting the file-transfer process 252
Downloading using Nikon Transfer 2 253
Processing Raw (NEF) Files 257
Processing Raw images in the camera 258
Processing Raw files in Capture NX-D 261
Preparing Pictures for Online Sharing 264
Prepping online photos using ViewNX-i 265
Resizing pictures from the Retouch menu 265
Part 4: The Part of Tens 269
Chapter 11: Ten Fun (And Practical) Ways to Manipulate Your Photos 271
Applying the Retouch Menu Filters 272
Removing Red-Eye 275
Straightening Tilting Horizon Lines 275
Removing (Or Creating) Lens Distortion 277
Correcting Perspective 278
Adjusting Exposure and Color 279
Cropping Your Photo 282
Applying Effects to Existing Photos 284
Shooting in Effects Mode 288
Combining Two Photos with Image Overlay 293
Chapter 12: Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day 295
Adding Hidden Image Comments 295
Adding a Copyright Notice 297
Creating Custom Image Folders 298
Turning Off the AF-Assist Illuminator 300
Adjusting Automatic Shutdown Timing 300
Changing the Look of the Information Display 301
Keeping the Information Display Hidden 303
Changing the Function Button’s Function 303
Customizing the AE-L/AF-L Button 304
Using the Shutter Button to Lock Exposure and Focus (or Not) 305
Appendix: Intro to Nikon Snapbridge 307
What Can I Do with SnapBridge? 308
Getting Familiar with the SnapBridge App 309
Understanding SnapBridge-Related Camera Options 312
Glossary of Digital Photography Terms 315
Index 323
