Introduction 1 About This Book 1 How This Book Is Organized 1 Icons and Other Stuff to Note 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Fast Track to Super Snaps 5 Chapter 1: First Steps, First Shots 7 Getting Started 8 Taking a Brief Camera Tour 14 Back-of-the-body controls 14 Topside controls 17 Front-of-the-camera features 19 Hidden connections 20 Using the Touchscreen 21 Navigating Menus 23 Saving Time with the i Menu 26 Looking at Display Options 28 Choosing which displays are active 28 Decoding photo-shooting data 30 Customizing the shooting display 33 Magnifying the display 36 Using the Touch Shutter (or Not) 37 Exploring a Few Lens Features 38 Reviewing a Few More Setup Options 42 Restoring Default Settings 45 Shooting a Photo in Auto Mode 45 Trying Self-Portrait Mode 49 Chapter 2: Choosing Basic Picture Settings 53 Picking a Shooting Mode 54 Setting the Release Mode 57 Reviewing Release modes 57 Changing the Release mode 61 Enabling Silent Photography 62 Selecting Image Size and Image Quality 64 Considering Image Size (resolution) 64 Understanding Image Quality Options 68 Adjusting the Image Size and Quality settings 73 Setting the Image Area 75 Turning On Vibration Reduction 76 Part 2: Beyond the Basics 79 Chapter 3: Taking Charge of Exposure 81 Meeting the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 82 Aperture affects depth of field 84 Shutter speed affects motion blur 85 ISO affects image noise 87 Doing the exposure balancing act 88 Gaining Maximum Exposure Control 89 Choosing a Shutter Type 91 Taking Advantage of Exposure Guides 95 Seeing live previews in the displays 95 Reading the brightness histogram 96 Reading the exposure meter 98 Choosing a Metering Mode 101 Setting Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 104 Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 104 Controlling ISO 110 Solving Exposure Problems 114 Applying Exposure Compensation 114 Expanding tonal range 118 Eliminating vignetting 125 Using autoexposure lock 126 Adding Flash 126 Setting the Flash mode 127 Adjusting flash strength 130 Looking at a few more flash options 131 Taking Advantage of Auto Bracketing 133 Chapter 4: Controlling Focus and Depth of Field 137 Reviewing Touchscreen Focus Options 138 Controlling the Autofocus System 139 Choosing a Focus mode 140 Picking the right AF-area mode 143 Choosing the right focus combos 149 Exploring a few other autofocus tweaks 154 Focusing Manually 157 Manipulating Depth of Field 159 Chapter 5: Mastering Color Controls 165 Understanding White Balance 165 Changing the White Balance setting 167 Fine-tuning a White Balance setting 171 Creating Custom White Balance Presets 173 Creating a preset with direct measurement 173 Creating a preset based on a photo 176 Selecting the preset you want to use 177 Editing presets 178 Choosing a Color Space 180 Taking a Quick Look at Picture Controls 181 Chapter 6: Putting It All Together 187 Recapping Basic Picture Settings 187 Shooting Still Portraits 189 Capturing Action 194 Capturing Scenic Vistas 197 Capturing Dynamic Close-Ups 200 Chapter 7: Recording Video 203 Understanding a Few Video Basics 203 Shooting a Video Using Default Settings 204 Adjusting Video Settings 207 Choosing a Video Format: MOV or MP4 209 Setting Frame Size, Rate, and Quality 210 Understanding basic video terminology 210 Changing frame size, fps, and bit rate 212 Controlling Audio 215 Setting microphone sensitivity 216 Adjusting other audio settings 217 Controlling and Monitoring Exposure 218 Looking at Other Menu Options 221 Screening Your Videos 225 Trimming Videos 228 Saving a Video Frame as a Still Image 229 Part 3: After the Shot 231 Chapter 8: Playback Mode: Viewing Your Photos 233 Picture Playback 101 233 Choosing Which Images to View 235 Adjusting Playback Timing 236 Disabling Automatic Picture Rotation 237 Shifting to Thumbnail Display 238 Displaying Photos in Calendar View 239 Magnifying Photos During Playback 241 Viewing Picture Data 243 Enabling display modes 245 File Information mode 245 Exposure Data mode 247 Highlight display mode ("blinkies" mode) 248 RGB Histogram mode 248 Shooting Data mode 250 Overview mode 251 Chapter 9: Working with Picture and Video Files 253 Rating Photos and Videos 254 Protecting Files 256 Deleting Files 257 Deleting files one at a time 258 Deleting all files in a folder 258 Deleting a batch of selected files 259 Introducing Nikon''s Free Photo Software 261 Downloading Pictures to Your Computer 264 Processing Raw (NEF) Files 267 Preparing Pictures for Online Sharing 270 Part 4: The Part of Tens 275 Chapter 10: Ten More Customization Settings 277 Swapping Out Items on the i Menu 277 Creating Your Own Menu 278 Editing Filenames 279 Creating New Storage Folders 280 Controlling File Numbering 281 Assigning New Tasks to Buttons 282 Customizing the Command Dials 283 Modifying the Shutter Button''s Role 285 Adjusting Auto Shutdown Timing 285 Setting HDMI Output Options 286 Chapter 11: Ten Retouch Menu Tricks 287 Accessing Retouching Tools 288 Applying the Tools 290 Comparing Original and Edited Versions 290 Removing Red-Eye 291 Leveling Horizon Lines 292 Eliminating Lens Distortion 293 Correcting Converging Lines 294 Adjusting Exposure with D-Lighting 295 Creating a Monochrome Version 295 Cropping Your Photo 295 Chapter 12: Ten Features to Try on a Slow Day 297 Storing Settings on a Memory Card 298 Using Exposure Delay Mode 298 Interval Timer Shooting 298 Creating a Time-Lapse Video 299 Adding Copyright Notices and Comments 300 Creating a Digital Slide Show 301 Two Roads to a Multi-Image Exposure 301 Shooting Photos for Focus Stacking 303 Creating a Dust Reference File 303 Trying Pixel Mapping for Sensor Repair 304 Appendix: Intro to Nikon Snapbridge 305 Glossary of Digital Photography Terms 321 Index 329.