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1. Portrait This mode uses a wider aperture allowing the back ground to be soft while giving you sharp focus on your subject Landscape This mode chooses a smaller aperture to ensure that focus is achieved throughout the image The camera also enhances blues and greens to accentuate the sky and foliage in the scene Close Up This setting provides sharp details of the subject while allowing the background to soften to draw attention to the subject Sports With this setting the camera chooses a higher shutter speed to freeze the action Night Portrait This setting uses flash to capture your subject while maintaining a longer shut ter speed to capture the ambient light of the background resulting in an evenly balanced and more natural looking exposure The Scene modes take care of all the set tings for you including activating the flash These modes are handy when starting out 4 Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide but you re limited in fine tuning the settings After you become more familiar with the camera settings such as aperture and shut ter speed you may find yourself eschewing these Scene modes in favor of choosing the more flexible Shooting modes Focusing Your Nikon D90 camera can automatically focus on a subject when using the lens that comes with the D90 kit or when using any of Nikon s many other autofocus lenses The lens that comes with the D90 kit is the AF S DX Nikkor 18 105mm f 3 5 5 6G2. The first thing you need to do is turn the camera on The On Off switch is located right on top of the camera and surrounds the Shutter Release button On Off switch known as Flexible Program and it allows you to control the settings while maintaining the same expo sure Use this mode when taking snapshots or when controlling the shutter speed and the amount of the image that s in focus aren t as important as simply getting the photo Mode dial Image courtesy of Nikon The On Off switch Choosing a Shooting mode is simple Rotate the Mode dial located on the top of the camera The Shooting mode also appears in the top left corner of the LCD where the shooting information is displayed The D90 has four standard Shooting modes P Also known as Programmed Auto mode This is a fully automatic Shooting mode in which the cam era decides both the aperture set ting and shutter speed You can Image courtesy of Nikon use the Main Command dial to Rotate the Mode dial to select a adjust the aperture and shutter to Shooting mode better suit your needs This is QT Quick Tour 3 S Also known as Shutter Priority mode This is a semiautomatic mode in which you decide the shutter speed to use and then the camera chooses the appropriate aperture Use this mode when you need fast shutter speeds to freeze action or slow shutter speeds to show motion blur Be sure not to use this mode when you need to control
3. Review Shutter speed ISO Aperture Understanding Depth of Field Rules of Composition Keep it simple The Rule of Thirds Leading lines and S curves Helpful hints Lighting Essentials Hard light Soft light 131 132 133 134 135 137 137 138 141 142 145 145 144 Chapter 6 Working with Light 145 Natural Light D90 Flash Basics Guide Number Aperture Distance Guide Number Distance Aperture Flash Exposure Modes I TTL mode Manual mode Auto mode Auto Aperture mode Guide Number Distance Priority mode Repeating Flash mode Flash Sync Modes Sync speed Front Curtain Sync mode Red Eye Reduction mode Slow Sync mode Rear Curtain Sync mode Flash Exposure Compensation Fill Flash Bounce Flash Nikon Creative Lighting System Basics Understanding the Creative Lighting System Speedlights Using the Built In Speedlight Strobes and Monolights 146 147 148 148 148 149 149 149 150 150 150 150 150 151 151 153 154 155 155 156 156 159 160 160 161 166 168 Continuous Lighting Incandescent and halogen Fluorescent HMI Light Modifiers Umbrellas Softboxes Diffusion panels Other light modifiers Chapter 7 D Movie 181 About Video Progressive versus interlaced Frame rate Shutter Setting up D Movie Recording Tricks Tips and Workarounds Video Editing Software 171 172 175 174 174 174 176 177 179 182 182 183 183 184 185 186 188 Chapter 8 Advanced S
4. VR This lens can be focused automatically or manually To use the AF feature you must first ensure that the switches on the lens and the camera body are set to AF Lens autofocus switch Autofocusing the camera is done simply by pressing the Shutter Release button halfway down The focus areas that are used to determine focus are shown in the viewfinder as tiny squares One or more of these squares is momentarily lit up in red when the camera achieves focus The active target is indicated by lit brackets By default the camera automatically focuses on the closest subject in all modes except for the Close Up mode in which the camera uses the center focus point or the Sports mode in which the camera uses the center focus point by default and tracks the subject If it leaves the center of the frame After the camera locks the focus a small green light in the bottom left corner of the viewfinder lights up If you want to lock focus and exposure settings you can simply keep Camera autofocus switch Image courtesy of Nikon QT 3 The A M switch on the kit lens and the AF M switch on the camera body QT Quick Tour 5 the Shutter Release button half pressed or you can press the AE L AF L Autoexposure Autofocus Lock button that s found to the right of the viewfinder This allows you to recompose your photo while maintaining the focus and exposure readings on your subject When the camera achieves focus all you need
5. to do is completely press down on the Shutter Release button to take your picture Using the Playback Mode After you shoot some images with your D90 you can look at them on the big bright 3 inch LCD screen To view your images press the Play button on the back ofthe cam era to the left of the LCD The most recent photo taken is the first image displayed To scroll through the images that are stored on the memory card press the Multi selector left or right Pressing the right button allows you to view the images in the sequence that they were taken Pressing the left button displays the images in reverse order There are a few other options available to you when the camera is in Playback mode Press the Thumbnail Zoom Out button to view thumbnails You can choose to view either four nine or 72 images at a time or a calendar view that shows images from a specific day When in Thumbnail mode use the Multi selector buttons to navigate among the thumbnails to highlight one You can then press the OK button to bring the selected image to a full sized preview Press the Zoom In button to mag nify the image This button allows you to check for sharpness or look for details Pressing this button also takes you out of the thumbnail preview Press the Protect button to save images from being deleted The Protect button denoted by a key locks the image to prevent you from accidentally erasing it when editing you
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7. J Dennis Thomas me Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide J Dennis Thomas WILEY Wiley Publishing Inc Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide Published by Wiley Publishing Inc 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis IN 46256 www wiley com Copyright 2009 by Wiley Publishing Inc Indianapolis Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN 978 0 470 44992 9 Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 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 permitted 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 Copyright Clearance Center 222 Rosewood Drive Danvers MA 01923 978 750 8400 fax 978 646 8600 Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department John Wiley amp Sons Inc 111 River Street Hoboken NJ 07030 201 748 6011 fax 201 748 6008 or online at http www wiley com go permissions 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
8. deo straight from the image sensor This feature has never been available on any dSLR previous to the D90 The built in microphone allows you to record sound as you re recording video and has surprisingly good sound quality This new video ability allows you to record and share your memories like never before by using only one camera Additionally the D90 sensor is larger than that of most video cam eras allowing you to shoot higher quality videos in low light This larger sensor also allows you to get a much more shallow depth of field giving your videos a more creative look Nikon has designed a brand new lens to complement the D9O the AF S Nikkor 18 105mm f 3 5 5 6G ED VR This is a great all around lens that covers the most used focal lengths From the moderately wide 18mm to use for architecture interiors and landscapes to 105mm which is perfect for portraits and some sports this lens covers most of your basic photography needs The added bonus of Nikon s Vibration Reduction allows you to hand hold the camera at slower shutter speeds without worrying about blurry pictures caused by camera shake The Silent Wave motor in the lens allows for quick nearly silent focusing Another great thing about the D90 is that like all other Nikon dSLRs you can use almost all lenses manufactured by Nikon in the last 75 years Nikon is known for having some of the highest quality optics in the industry Your Nikon D90 is a well built camera that will
9. e Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley amp Sons Inc and or its affiliates 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 WILEY About the Author J Dennis Thomas is a freelance photographer based out of Austin Texas He s been using a camera for fun and profit for almost 25 years Schooled in photography first in high school and then at Austin College he has won numerous awards for both his film and digital pho tography Denny has a passion for teaching others about photography and teaches black and white film photography to area middle school students as well as lighting and digital photography seminars in Austin His photographic subjects are diverse from shooting wed dings and studio portraits to photographing concerts and extreme sports events for Red Bull He has written six highly successful Digital Field Guides for Wiley Publishing and has another in the works His photographs have been featured in magazines and newspapers in the central Texas area and beyond Credits Acquisitions Editor Courtney Allen Senior Project Editor Cricket Krengel Project Editor Christopher Stolle Technical Editor Ben Holland Copy Editor Kim Heusel Editorial Manager Robyn B Siesky Vice President and Group Executive Publisher Ric
10. en eee 253 Appendix A ACCEOSSOrleS ooooccccccco nenne nenne nennen nenn 255 OSS y OCC Pon eene ce ere rear eee 263 Contents Acknowledgments viii Part I Using the Introduction xix Nikon D90 9 Quick Tour 1 Chapter 1 Exploring the Nikon D90 Selecting a Shooting Mode Key Components of the D90 11 Focusing 4 Top of the camera 12 Using the Playback Mode 5 Back of the camera 14 Downloading Images 6 Front of the camera 18 Sides and bottom of camera 21 D90 CMOS Sensor 24 From analog to digital 24 CMOS versus CCD 25 Pixels 25 Viewfinder Display 26 Control Panel 29 Shooting Info Display 32 Chapter 2 Nikon D90 Essentials 39 Exposure Modes Programmed Auto Aperture Priority Shutter Priority Manual Scene Modes Release Modes Metering Modes Matrix metering Center weighted metering Spot metering Focus Modes How the D90 autofocus works AF C mode AF S mode AF A mode Manual mode Autofocus Area Modes Single Point AF mode Dynamic Area AF mode 3D Tracking mode Auto Area AF 40 40 41 41 42 43 45 46 47 48 48 49 49 50 50 50 51 51 51 51 52 52 ISO Sensitivity Auto ISO Noise reduction White Balance What is Kelvin White balance settings Picture Controls Original Picture Controls Custom Picture Controls JPEG Image Size Image Quality NEF Files Live View Chapter 3 Using the Nikon D90 Menus 71 Playback Menu Delete Hide image Display mode Image review Rota
11. hard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Barry Pruett Business Manager Amy Knies Senior Marketing Manager Sandy Smith Project Coordinator Kristie Rees Graphics and Production Specialists Andrea Hornberger Christin Swinford Quality Control Technician David Faust Proofreading Cindy Lee Ballew Precisely Write Indexing Steve Rath Acknowledgments hanks to everyone at Wiley Courtney Cricket Laura and Chris You guys rock Thanks to Robert and the rest of the staff at Precision Camera in Austin Thanks to Shausta at Nikon Contents at a Glance A e o en has aaa gene viii Ano Po XIX OU TOU conil ade ane ons a ae end ee en 1 Part I Using the Nikon D90 vvveeenn ennen 9 Chapter 1 Exploring the Nikon D90 ococcoccccocc eene 11 Chapter 2 Nikon D90 Essentials amste a o ri tia ina od 39 Chapter 3 Using the Nikon D90 MenNuUS oococcoocccc seen nennen nenn 71 Part Il Capturing Great Images with the Nikon D90 109 Chapter 4 Selecting and Using Lenses for the Nikon D9O 111 Chapter 5 Essential Photography Concepts oenen 131 Chapter 6 Working with Light ia aa a ao 145 Chapter 7 D MOWE za ae bee a re caus cena ea ee ne 181 Chapter 8 Advanced Shooting Techniques o ooococccoccccocc eee eees 189 Chapter 9 Viewing Downloading and In Camera Editing 235 Part Ill Appendixes 00cc cece eee eee nenn
12. hooting Techniques 189 Action and Sports Photography Inspiration Action and sports photography practice Action and sports photography tips Architectural Photography Inspiration Architectural photography practice Architectural photography tips Concert Photography Inspiration Concert photography practice Concert photography tips 189 191 192 193 194 194 196 198 198 199 200 202 Landscape and Nature Chapter 9 Viewing Photography 202 Downloading and In Camera Inspiration 204 Editing 235 Landscape photography practice 205 Landscape photography tips 206 Macro Photography 207 Inspiration 209 Macro photography practice 210 Macro photography tips 212 Night Photography 212 Inspiration 212 Night photography practice 214 Night photography tips 215 De h Viewing Your Images 235 Sale y z Downloading Images 238 se Al Using Nikon Transfer 238 de a A Aral a 2 Transferring your images 243 a j eh Az E Using the Retouch Menu Options 243 Portrait ad y 219 D Lighting 245 Stu 2 ae sE moe Red Eye correction 245 Seal F ting piua e 220 no 246 Posing and composition re 246 considerations 223 Filter effects 247 Indoor 224 Color bal AAG Outdoor 226 E E A en 248 Portrait photography practice 227 o Image overlay 249 Portrait photography tips 229 SER 550 Still Life and Product Photography 229 ass or Quick retouch 250 Inspiration 231 Straight 25 Still life and product ee photography practice 232 Distorti
13. ional but if you re new to digital photography and file management installing this software may be beneficial To download your images by using a SecureDigital SD card reader fol low these steps 1 Turn off the camera Be sure that the camera is off to ensure that the camera s electronics aren t damaged 2 Remove the memory card Open the memory card door cover and then press the SD memory card in to eject it 3 Insert the memory card into the card reader Be sure that the reader is connected to your com puter Your computer should recog nize the card as a mass storage device and you can drag and drop the files or you can use a software program such as Adobe Bridge or Nikon Transfer to transfer your files Note Depending on your software and SA how your computer is set up your computer may offer to automati cally transfer the files to a predeter mined destination
14. on control 251 Still life and product Fisheye photography tips 234 Side by side comparison 252 Introduction elcome to the Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide This book is a handy reference for you to get started learning about all the features and functions of your Nikon D90 dSLR camera This Digital Field Guide isn t meant to replace the user s manual but is an adjunct to the manual explaining things in a simpler and more detailed manner than the manual The guide is aimed at D90 owners that are just beginning in the world of dSLRs up to advanced users with more hands on knowledge of photography The D90 Digital Field Guide not only covers the specifics of the D90 but also covers many other facets of digital photography from the basics of exposure to lighting and composition There s also a chapter to help you get started with Nikon s Creative Lighting System and all the possibilities that Nikon s Speedlights offer About This Book The D90 will likely be used by a wide variety of users from first time dSLR owners to people who have owned other dSLRs and have plenty of experience with photography This book contains information for D90 users of all levels The first few chapters cover the basics of the camera the buttons and switches the menu options and the different settings These are all described in detail including some tips on how to effectively use them Other chapters include information on lenses how they work and fo
15. r images in the camera When a memory card is formatted all images including the protected ones are erased Use the Multi selector buttons to view image data To check to see what settings were used when the photograph was taken press the Multi selector up or down This also allows you to check the histogram which is a visual representation of the tonality of the image Cross nf hi Reference For more Information on histograms see Chapter 5 Press the OK button to do in cam era photo editing Pressing the OK button brings you to a menu that allows you to do some rudimentary in camera editing such as D Lighting fixing red eye and cropping Cross A z Reference FOr more information on in camera editing see Chapter 8 Press the Delete button to erase images The Delete button has an icon shaped like a trash can Press this button to permanently erase the image from your memory card When the Delete button is pressed the camera asks for confirmation Press the Delete button again to complete the deletion Cross Reference For more information on settings see gt Chapter 2 for modes and Chapter 3 for menus 6 Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide Delete button Thumbnail Zoom Out button Zoom In button Image courtesy of Nikon QT 4 These buttons can be used in Playback mode for a variety of functions Downloading Images When you fill a memory card or you re ready to do
16. r what applications specific lenses are best used There s a primer on working with different lighting types as well as a chapter that teaches you how to take on different photographic tasks To put it simply there s a lot of information in this book There s a good bit of information for everyone from the new photographer to the advanced hobbyist About the D90 The D90 is the successor of Nikon s hugely successful D80 camera and isn t just a mild upgrade but almost a whole new camera The D90 has inherited quite a few features from Nikon s high end cameras the D3 D700 and D300 as well as offering some features that no other dSLR offers such as the ability to record HD video clips XX Introduction The D90 is the first camera in Nikon s line of cameras to feature a CMOS sensor The D90 s DX format 12 3 megapixel CMOS sensor gives the camera a high signal to noise ratio Combining this sensor with EXPEED image processing inherited from the venerable D3 the D90 offers incredible images with low noise rivaling the D300 images especially at high ISO settings Like the D300 and Nikon s FX format cameras the D90 has Live View Live View allows you to view exactly what s coming through the lens right on the rear panel LCD This feature enables you to use the LCD monitor to compose your photographs in situations where it may be awkward to put your eye up to the viewfinder The Live View feature enables the camera to shoot live HD vi
17. serve you for many years to come and hope this book helps you in all your photographic endeavors Quick Tour his Quick Tour is designed to cover the basic functions you need to know to help you immediately start using 4 4 4 your Nikon D90 It s by no means meant to be an in depth look at the menus and modes so if you re ready for that infor In This Quick Tour mation you can just give this section a quick once over and move on to the later chapters where everything is discussed Selecting a Shooting in more detail mode If you already use a Nikon dSLR a lot of this may be familiar Focusing to you In fact if you ve used a D80 the setup for the D90 is very similar If you re upgrading from a compact digital cam Using the Playback era you should probably read the entire Quick Tour to famil mode larize yourself with the camera s layout Downloading images This Quick Tour assumes that you ve already unpacked the camera read the manual charged the batteries mounted a lens and inserted the memory card If you haven t done these things please do them now If you re anything like me I m sure you re ready to get out there and start taking pictures with your new camera The great thing about the D90 is that you can start taking great photos right out of the box The D90 has some automatic Shooting modes that choose the proper settings for you All you really have to do is point the camera at something and shoot
18. some post processing of your images you want to download them from your memory card to your computer for storage You can either download the images straight from the camera to your computer or you can remove the memory card from the cam era and then use a card reader to transfer the images To download images from your camera by using the USB cable follow these steps 1 Turn off the camera Be sure that the camera is off when connecting it to the computer to ensure that the camera s or computer s elec tronics aren t damaged 2 Open the rubber cover that con ceals the D90 s output connec tions On the left side of the camera with the back facing you is a cover that has the camera s USB and video out ports Connect the camera to the USB cable Inside the box that your D90 came in is a USB cable Plug the small end of the cable into the camera s USB port and then plug the other end into a USB slot on your computer Turn on the camera Once the camera is turned on your com puter should recognize the camera as a mass storage device You can then drag and drop your files or you can use a software program such as Adobe Bridge or Nikon Transfer to transfer your files QT Quick Tour 7 USB port Image courtesy of Nikon QT 5 The camera s USB port The D90 comes with a free copy of Nikon Transfer inside the box Nikon Transfer can help you to keep your images in order Installing this software is opt
19. te tall Pictmotion Slide show Print set DPOF Shooting Menu Set Picture Control Manage Picture Control Image quality Image size White balance ISO sensitivity settings Active D Lighting 52 53 54 55 56 56 59 60 60 66 67 67 67 69 12 12 74 74 75 75 76 76 76 17 17 78 79 80 80 85 86 Color space 86 Part II Capturing le 87 Great Images with High ISO NR 87 et 37 the Nikon D90 109 Multiple exposure 88 i Movie settings gg Chapter 4 Selecting and Using Custom Setting Menu oo Lenses for the Nikon D90 111 Reset custom settings 90 CSM a Autofocus 90 CSM b Metering exposure 93 CSM c Timers AE lock 95 CSM d Shooting display 97 CSM e Bracketing flash 99 CSM f Controls 100 Setup Menu 103 Format memory card 103 LCD brightness 103 Clean image sensor 104 Lock mirror up for cleaning 104 Video mode 104 HDMI 104 World time 105 Language 105 Image comment 105 Auto image rotation 105 Image Dust Off ref photo 105 Battery info 105 GPS l 106 Lens Compatibility 112 Firmware version 106 Wide Angle and Ultrawide Angle Retouch Menu 106 Lenses 114 My Menu 106 When to use a wide angle Quick Settings Display 108 lens 116 Understanding limitations 117 Midrange Zoom Lenses 120 Telephoto Lenses 121 Special Purpose Lenses 126 Micro Nikkor lenses 126 Defocus Control lenses 128 Fisheye lenses 128 Using Vibration Reduction Lenses 129 Chapter 5 Essential Photography Concepts 131 Exposure
20. the amount of the image that s in focus A Also known as Aperture Priority mode This is another semiauto matic mode where you adjust the aperture to control how much of the image is in focus the depth of field Use this mode when you want to isolate a subject by focus ing on it and letting the back ground go soft or if you want to ensure that everything in the pic ture is in sharp focus M Also known as Manual mode With this mode you decide the shutter speed and aperture You can use this mode when you want to completely control the exposure in order to achieve a certain tonal ity in your image by purposefully over or underexposing the image To help you when using this mode you can check the D90 light meter in the viewfinder In addition to these modes the D90 also employs what Nikon terms Scene modes These are modes that apply settings that are optimized to the type of scene you re shoot ing The following Scene modes are available AUTO Auto This is a point and shoot mode in which the camera con trols all the settings including shutter speed aperture and ISO If the camera deems it necessary the built in flash automatically activates Auto flash off This setting is similar to the Auto mode the camera controls all settings However in this mode the flash is disabled This is a good setting to use when natural lighting is preferred or the use of flash isn t allowed such as in a museum
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