Nikon D600. Digital Field Guide

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3 Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide

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5 Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide J. Dennis Thomas

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7 Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN Copyright 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: Manufactured in the United States of America 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) , fax (978) Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, , fax , or online at 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 WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEB SITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEB SITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEB SITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) , outside the U.S. at (317) or fax (317) Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-ondemand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at For more information about Wiley products, visit Library of Congress Control Number: Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Nikon and D600 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nikon, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

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9 About the Author J. Dennis Thomas is a freelance photographer and author based out of Austin, Texas. He has nearly 25 years of experience behind the lenses of Nikon cameras. His work has been published in many regional and national publications, including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Elle, EBONY, W, Country Weekly, Us Weekly, and Thrasher. He has written more than a dozen highly successful Nikon Digital Field Guides, a comprehensive book about concert and live music photography, and a book about urban and rural decay photography. Thomas also writes articles about photography for Digital Photo magazine and and maintains a blog called The Nikon Digital Field Guide Companion (

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11 Credits Acquisitions Editor Carol Kessel Project Editor Kristin Vorce Technical Editor George Maginnis Copy Editor Marylouise Wiack Editorial Director Robyn Siesky Project Coordinator Sheree Montgomery Graphics and Production Specialists Andrea Hornberger Quality Control Technician Jessica Kramer Proofreading and Indexing Joni Heredia Ty Koontz Business Manager Amy Knies Senior Marketing Manager Sandy Smith Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Barry Pruett

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13 As always, to my girls Henrietta and Maddie.

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15 Acknowledgments I d like to thank everyone at Wiley who works so hard to get these books out, especially my favorite woman at Wiley, Courtney Allen, for always lending an ear and an objective opinion, and generally being an all-around great gal. I d also like to thank Kristin Vorce and Carol Kessel for all the hard work that they do behind the scenes, Kathleen Jeffers for getting out all the paperwork, Robyn Siesky for crackin the whip on the production team, and Barry Pruett for giving the go-ahead and signing the checks! I d also like to thank the folks at Precision Camera and Video in Austin, Texas, Jack and Monica Puryear at Puryear Photography, Cricket Krengel, and everyone else who lent a helping hand along the way.

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17 Contents at a Glance Introduction xxv CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Nikon D CHAPTER 2 Nikon D600 Essentials CHAPTER 3 Setting up the Nikon D CHAPTER 4 Selecting and Using Lenses with the Nikon D CHAPTER 5 Controlling Exposure CHAPTER 6 Working with Light CHAPTER 7 Working with Live View and Video CHAPTER 8 Advanced Topics APPENDIX A General Composition Tips APPENDIX B Accessories APPENDIX C How to Use the Gray Card and Color Checker Glossary Index

18 Contents Introduction xxv CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Nikon D600 1 Key Components of the D Top of the camera Back of the camera Front of the camera Right side of the camera Left side of the camera Viewfinder Display Control Panel Information Display CHAPTER 2 Nikon D600 Essentials 31 Exposure Modes Programmed auto Aperture-priority auto Shutter-priority auto Manual U1/U Scene modes Portrait Landscape Child Sports Close Up Night Portrait Night Landscape Party/Indoor Beach/Snow Sunset Dusk/Dawn Pet Portrait Candlelight Blossom Autumn Colors Food

19 Silhouette High Key Low Key Auto modes Auto Auto (flash off) Metering Modes Matrix Center-weighted Spot Autofocus Phase detection Contrast detection Focus Modes Continuous-servo AF (AF-C) Single-servo AF (AF-S) Auto-servo (AF-A) Manual (MF) Autofocus Area Modes Single-point AF Dynamic-area AF points points points D-tracking Auto-area AF Release Modes Single frame Continuous low speed Continuous high speed Quiet shutter-release Self-timer Remote control Mirror lockup ISO Sensitivity Auto ISO Noise reduction Long exposure NR High ISO NR White Balance What is Kelvin? White balance settings Picture Controls

20 D600 File Formats, Size, and Compression NEF (RAW) Type Bit depth JPEG Image size Image quality CHAPTER 3 Setting up the Nikon D The Playback Menu Delete Playback folder Hide image Playback display options Copy image(s) Image review After delete Rotate tall Slide show DPOF print order The Shooting Menu Reset shooting menu Storage folder File naming Role played by card in Slot Image quality Image size Image area JPEG compression NEF (RAW) recording White balance Using White Balance settings Choosing a color temperature Preset manual white balance Copy white balance from an existing photograph Set Picture Control Manage Picture Control Auto distortion control Color space Active D-Lighting High Dynamic Range (HDR) Vignette control... 99

21 Long exposure NR High ISO NR ISO sensitivity settings Remote control mode Multiple exposure Interval timer shooting Time-lapse photography Movie settings The Custom Settings Menu Reset custom settings Custom Settings menu a: Autofocus a1: AF-C priority selection a2: AF-S priority selection a3: Focus tracking with lock-on a4: AF point illumination a5: Focus point wrap-around a6: Number of focus points a7: Built-in AF-assist illuminator Custom Settings menu b: Metering/exposure b1: ISO sensitivity step value b2: EV steps for exposure cntrl b3: Easy exposure compensation b4: Center-weighted area b5: Fine-tune optimal exposure Custom Settings menu c: Timers/AE lock c1: Shutter-release button AE-L c2: Standby timer c3: Self-timer c4: Monitor off delay c5: Remote on duration Custom Settings menu d: Shooting/display d1: Beep d2: Viewfinder grid display d3: ISO display and adjustment d4: Screen tips d5: CL mode shooting speed d6: Max. continuous release d7: File number sequence d8: Information display d9: LCD illumination d10: Exposure delay mode d11: Flash warning

22 d12: MB-D14 battery type d13: Battery order Custom Settings menu e: Bracketing/flash e1: Flash sync speed e2: Flash shutter speed e3: Flash cntrl for built-in flash e4: Exposure comp. for flash e5: Modeling flash e6: Auto bracketing set e7: Bracketing order Custom Settings menu f: Controls f1: OK button (shooting mode) f2: Assign Fn button f3: Assign preview button f4: Assign AE-L/AF-L button f5: Customize command dials f6: Release button to use dial f7: Slot empty release lock f8: Reverse indicators f13: Assign MB-D14 AE-L/AF-L button Custom Settings menu g: Movie g1: Assign Fn button g2: Assign preview button g3: Assign AE-L/AF-L button g4: Assign shutter button The Setup Menu Format memory card Save user settings Reset user settings Monitor brightness Clean image sensor Lock mirror up for cleaning Image Dust Off ref photo HDMI Flicker reduction Time zone and date Language Image comment Auto image rotation Battery info Copyright information Save/load settings

23 GPS Virtual horizon Non-CPU lens data AF fine-tune Eye-Fi upload Firmware version The Retouch Menu D-Lighting Red-eye correction Trim Monochrome Filter effects Color balance Image overlay NEF (RAW) processing Resize Quick retouch Straighten Distortion control Fisheye Color outline Color sketch Perspective control Miniature effect Selective color Edit movie Side-by-side comparison My Menu The Information Display Settings CHAPTER 4 Selecting and Using Lenses with the Nikon D Lens Compatibility Deciphering Nikon Lens Codes Third-Party Lenses Wide-Angle Lenses Standard or Midrange Zoom Lenses Telephoto Lenses Special-Purpose Lenses Micro-NIKKOR lenses Defocus Control lenses Fisheye lenses Perspective Control lenses

24 Lens Accessories Teleconverters Extension tubes Close-up filters UV filters Neutral density (ND) filters CHAPTER 5 Controlling Exposure 173 Defining Exposure ISO Shutter speed Fast shutter speeds Slow shutter speeds Aperture Fine-Tuning Your Exposure Exposure compensation Using histograms CHAPTER 6 Working with Light 193 Lighting Essentials Quality of light Soft light Hard light Lighting direction Frontlight Sidelight Backlight Natural Light Continuous Light D600 Built-in Flash Built-in Flash Exposure Modes i-ttl and i-ttl BL Manual Repeating Flash Commander Flash Sync Modes Sync speed Front-curtain sync Slow sync Red-Eye Reduction Rear-curtain sync Flash Compensation

25 Creative Lighting System Basics Light Modifiers CHAPTER 7 Working with Live View and Video 213 Live View Overview Focus modes Single-servo AF Full-time-servo AF AF-area modes Live View Still Photography Movie Live View Frame Size and Frame Rate Video Setup Video Playback In-Camera Editing Viewing and Shooting Using the HD Output Viewing images on the camera Viewing images on an HDTV Shooting video using an external HD device CHAPTER 8 Advanced Topics 233 U1/U2 User Settings Working with Off-camera Flashes Gear Speedlights or flashes Light stands and brackets Umbrellas Manual flash exposures Guide Number Distance Aperture GN / D = A Technique Portraits Small product and still-life HDR and Tone Mapping Bracketing In-camera HDR Tone mapping

26 APPENDIX A General Composition Tips 256 Keep It Simple Rule of Thirds Leading Lines and S-Curves Helpful Hints APPENDIX B Accessories 260 Nikon MB-D14 Battery Grip Speedlights Nikon GP-1 GPS Unit Nikon ME-1 Stereo Microphone WU-1b Wireless Mobile Adapter ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control APPENDIX C How to Use the Gray Card and Color Checker 266 The Gray Card The Color Checker Glossary 268 Index 275

27 Introduction There had been rumors circulating for quite a while that Nikon was planning to release an affordable full-frame camera, so when the D600 was announced, it wasn t a complete surprise. The world was expecting a full-frame sensor in a D7000 and that s what they got. What was surprising, however, was that the D600 wasn t just a full-frame D7000; it inherited quite a bit of technology from its bigger brother, the D800. While the D800 turned the world of digital photography on its head, the D600 arrived a little later and set the world on fire. With a 24MP sensor (which puts it on par with one of Nikon s flagship cameras, the D3X), the brand-new EXPEED 3 image processor, the updated Multi-CAM 4800FX 39-point autofocusing system, and the 2016-pixel Color Matrix Metering II metering system, the D600 borders on being a professional camera. Although the D600 isn t necessarily a professional-grade camera, it does have a lot of professional features, including a magnesium alloy top and bottom for durability, weather sealing for protection against the elements, and easily accessible buttons to make quick changes during shooting. The D600 has everything an advanced photographer needs, but Nikon also hasn t forgotten about newer photographers. The D600 offers a plethora of scene modes to allow you to open up your creativity and capture great images in any shooting situation, no matter how much photography experience you have. The D600 also allows in-camera editing so you don t necessarily need to be computer savvy to add great effects to your images. It even allows you to edit RAW files. The D600 will appeal to videographers as well. It matches the D800 in almost every way in terms of video capabilities, including the ability to record uncompressed video through the HDMI port. Other features that will appeal to videographers in addition to the lower price point include the stereo microphone input, the stereo headphone

28 Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide output, the ability to control ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, and the number of fast lenses Nikon offers to achieve the shallow depth of field that is the hallmark of highquality video production. To sum it all up, Nikon has created an amazing, full-featured, full-frame camera that isn t out of reach of regular folks. About the Digital Field Guide The Digital Field Guide book series is intended to act as an adjunct to the manual that comes with your camera. While the manual gives you a great overview of the camera, a photographer didn t write it. The Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide gives you all of the information you need about the camera from a working photographer s perspective. The goal of this guide is to help photographers from novices to advanced amateurs grasp all of the features of their new camera. It includes tips learned from working with the camera in the field, as well as some basic information to help new photographers quickly get up to speed. This guide walks you through setting up your camera and offers insight into which settings to use, as well as why each setting is useful in a particular situation. It includes full-color images that demonstrate different photography concepts and show you some of the things that the D600 is able to accomplish under different circumstances. The Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide will help you quickly become familiar with your camera so that you can navigate and handle it better, and more easily reach your photographic goals and visions. xxvi

29 CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Nikon D600 This chapter covers the key components of the D600, including the buttons, switches, dials, and knobs. These are the features you most need to master because you will use them all the time as you modify settings to adapt to changing shooting conditions. The D600 is very similar to its DX sibling the D7000 and, indeed, was designed with this camera in mind. If you re upgrading to FX from the D7000, you will feel instantly at home. If you re stepping up from a D5100 or a D3200, the number of controls may surprise you. If you are accustomed to using one of Nikon s compact pro bodies such as the D300s, D700, or D800, you will definitely notice the difference in the control layout. Getting to know all your camera s menus, buttons, and dials allows you to capture your images just as you envision them.

30 Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide Key Components of the D600 The exterior controls of the D600 are used to access features that are most commonly changed. The D600 is a more advanced model than the D3200 and D5100 series, so it has a lot more buttons and dials to allow you to change your settings more quickly, which is a good thing. On the other hand, the D600 has much fewer buttons than the higher-end cameras, so a lot of the buttons perform double or even triple duty, depending on what mode the camera is in. The good news is that a number of buttons can be customized so that you can control the settings that you need to access the most. Top of the camera Most of the important buttons are on the top of the D600. This makes it easier to find them, especially when you have your eye to the viewfinder. This is where you find the dials to change the shooting modes as well as the all-important shutter-release button and the relatively new Movie record button. Shutter-release button. In my opinion, this is the most important button on the camera. Pressing this button halfway activates the camera s autofocus and light meter. Fully depressing this button releases the shutter and takes a photograph. When the camera has been idle, and has gone to sleep, lightly pressing the shutter-release button wakes it up. When the image review is on, lightly pressing the shutter-release button turns off the LCD and prepares the camera for another shot. On/off switch. This switch, located concentric to the shutter-release button, is used to turn the camera on and off. Push the switch all the way to the left to turn the camera off; pull the switch to the right to turn the camera on. The on/off switch also has a spring-loaded momentary switch, which, when pulled to the far right, turns on the control panel backlight. Movie record button. When the camera is in Live View movie mode ( ), pressing this button (which has a simple red dot on it) causes the camera to start recording video. Pressing it a second time stops the video recording. In Live View still photography mode ( ) and standard shooting mode or scene modes, this button has no function at all. Metering mode button ( ). Pressing this button and rotating the Main Command dial allows you to change the metering mode among Matrix ( ), Center-weighted ( ), and Spot metering ( ). This is also one of the buttons 2