Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 8 i Nikon Photography The Complete Manual

You may notice that the Nikon range of DSLR camera bodies come in two formats. There is DX-format, which we will be looking at in this section, and the FX-format which will be covered in the following section. The DX-format sensor is referred to as a cropped sensor format (APS-C) and measures 24 x 16mm. This means it is slightly smaller than the FX-format sensor which measures 36 x 24mm and is approximately the same size as a full frame of 35mm film. For those with more modest needs or those looking for a more compact system, Nikon provides a highly acclaimed range of DX-format DSLRs, with APS-C sized sensors. Just because they have smaller sensors however doesn't make them any less capable and the DX range covers all requirements, from newcomers…

It is likely that as a photographer, enthusiast, pro or otherwise, you will hear the often quoted mantra that a camera is only as good as the lens you attach to it. In the ever advancing world of camera and sensor technology, the size of the images the camera can capture and its ability to resolve amazing detail can often show up the weaknesses of below par lenses. Sharpness is probably the first thing you might notice when reviewing an image taken on something like the Nikon D850 but the sharpness of your lens is just the beginning, there is also contrast to consider as well as how much distortion is present. Then comes colour fringing and the darkening of the image edges known as vignetting. Obviously, you can offset a…

Nikon cameras come in many shapes, sizes and prices. At their heart though, they all do the same thing: capture light on a sensor and turn it into a digital image. That's a gross oversimplification but you get the general idea. Modern cameras also come with many features and functions. Although it would be difficult to list them all, here are the main dials and buttons that you can expect to find on many cameras. Different brands and models vary in their button and dial layouts as well as certain naming conventions but we've put together a little guide to the main controls and displays. “Nikon cameras come in many shapes, sizes and prices. At their heart though, they all do the same thing: capture light on a sensor and turn it…

Nikon has a long and proud history of making many of the world's best SLR cameras and that tradition continues with the FX-format DSLRs. The key feature of the range is the full-frame FX-format sensor, the same size as a frame of 35mm film, the FX sensor format provides the ultimate in image quality, especially when paired with Nikon's legendary optical technology. The FX series cameras are compatible with all of Nikon's F-bayonet mount lenses, giving access to a huge range of current and legacy lenses, and other accessories. Full-frame DSLRs used to be the exclusive preserve of wealthy professional photographers only but advances in technology and the increasing popularity of the format have brought full-frame cameras within the reach of the enthusiast hobby or semi-pro photographer. Nikon has responded to this…

There's nothing quite like being able to bring light where it was once dark. Whether you're using the Nikon 1 system or a full-frame Nikon DSLR, a Speedlight flashgun can light up your images, either mounted on-camera or as part of an off-camera lighting setup. Flashguns compatible with the Nikon Creative Lighting System can be operated wirelessly as single or multiple units, when used with any Nikon camera featuring a built-in flash commander mode. How you control light is one of the key methods that lets you excel as a creative photographer. Ambient light will take you so far but a Nikon Speedlight can take you even further, whether it's just one compact flash unit or a whole army of top of the range flashes, used as part of a creative…

Nearly all modern compact cameras have zoom lenses, and most users of digital SLRs or CSCs will also have at least a couple of zooms in their kit. Focal length is one of your primary tools for adjusting composition. Selecting the right focal length for the scene allows the photographer to control perspective, angle of view and magnification, and can radically alter the mood and style of the photo. Some focal lengths are more suited to particular types of photo, and the properties of wide-angle and telephoto lenses can be used to produce particular effects. Understanding how focal length works and how it affects your photos is a vital photographic skill. Lenses and focal length There are basically two types of lens; those with fixed focal lengths, also known as prime lenses,…

If you are the adventurous type and love to get out into the world and explore, then taking a larger bulky DSLR with you to capture all those amazing moments may prove troublesome. This could be particularly true if you are hanging off the side of a mountain or riding a perfect wave on your surfboard. The same could be true even if it is just a family vacation to the coast and you want some memorable moments captured as your kids splash around at the water's edge down on the beach. This is where you need something a little easier to manage and that would be rugged enough to do the kinds of things and go to the kinds of places where DSLRs fear to tread. Action cameras are designed…

What exactly is a DX-format lens? A DSLR camera's format is based upon the size of its sensor. If you own a Nikon DSLR with a 24 x 16mm APS-C sensor, this makes it a DX-format camera body. These smaller sensors allow for the production of lighter and smaller camera bodies. If you were to use a normal full-frame lens on a new crop sensor camera, it would project an image that was too big for the sensor. A 100mm full-frame lens for example, would project an image that was about 1.5 times too large for the smaller sensor. This meant that a new kind of lens had to be created that could project an image onto the smaller sensor and thus the DX-format lens came into being. Just as a…

The shutter of your camera is simply a mechanical barrier that prevents light from entering the camera until it is needed, controlling when and for how long light is allowed in to expose the sensor. The latest digital cameras have high-speed electro-mechanical shutters capable of timing exposures with an accuracy measured in fractions of a millisecond. Along with the aperture setting and the sensitivity control, shutter speed is one of the three ways that photographic exposure is adjusted. When a picture is taken, the shutter is opened for a precisely measured amount of time allowing light to pass through. The duration of the exposure is set either automatically by the camera's light meter or manually by the photographer. The wider the range of available shutter speeds, the greater the creative versatility…

Understanding exposure and how it affects your photographs is probably the single most important technical skill you can learn in photography. It's certainly the one that most people get wrong, and apart from camera shake bad exposure probably ruins more photos than any other single cause. The main problem is over-reliance on automatic metering. Most modern cameras, even relatively cheap compacts, have sophisticated built-in TTL multi-zone evaluative exposure meters that measure light levels at dozens, in some cases hundreds, of points within the frame, instantly comparing the results with a built-in library of exposure situations and automatically adjusting the shutter speed and aperture to deal with problems such as back-lighting, close-ups or moving subjects. In most cases these automatic exposure systems are very good, and can reliably cope with most common…