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David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography
David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography
David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography
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David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography

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David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography is your all-in-one comprehensive resource and reference for getting the most out of your Nikon Z50 mirrorless camera. Nikon’s first APS-C format mirrorless model is compact, weighs just 14 ounces, and is very affordable, making it the perfect camera for budding photo enthusiasts. It’s built around a 21-megapixel sensor that offers excellent image quality and is sensitive enough for low light shooting. With a 209-point phase-detect autofocus system covering more than 85 percent of the frame, the Z50 can shoot sports and action at up to 11 frames per second, with lightning fast focus. The Z50 can capture both 4K and Full HD movies, too, and the flip-down rear LCD is ideal for selfies and vlogging. With this book in hand, you’ll master all the camera’s impressive features, and fine tune your camera skills as develop your creativity taking great photographs with your new Z50.
Filled with detailed how-to steps and full-color illustrations, David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography covers all the camera's capabilities in depth, from taking your first photos through advanced details of setup, exposure, lens selection, lighting, and more, and relates each feature to specific photographic techniques and situations. Also included is the handy visual guide to the Z50, with close-up photos and descriptions of the camera's essential features and controls. Learn when to use each option and, more importantly, when not to use them, by following the author’s recommended settings for every menu entry. With best-selling photographer and mentor David Busch as your guide, you'll quickly have full creative mastery of your camera’s capabilities, whether you're shooting on the job, as an advanced enthusiast, or are just out for fun. Start building your knowledge and confidence, while bringing your vision to light with the Nikon Z50 today.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherRocky Nook
Release dateMar 6, 2020
ISBN9781681986289
David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography
Author

David D. Busch

With more than two million books in print, David D. Busch is the world’s #1 best-selling camera guide author, with more than 100 guidebooks for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, and Panasonic cameras, and many popular books devoted to digital photography and imaging techniques. His best-sellers include Digital SLR Cameras and Photography for Dummies, which has sold more than 300,000 copies in five editions, and Mastering Digital SLR Photography, now in its Fourth Edition. The graduate of Kent State University is a former newspaper reporter/photographer, and operated his own commercial photo studio, shooting sports, weddings, portraits, fashion, architecture, product photography, and travel images. For 22 years he was a principal in CCS/PR, Inc., one of the largest public relations/marketing firms based in San Diego, working on press conferences, press kits, media tours, and sponsored photo trade magazine articles for Eastman Kodak Company and other imaging companies. His 2500 articles and accompanying photos have appeared inside and on the covers of hundreds of magazines, including Popular Photography, Rangefinder, and Professional Photographer. For the last decade, Busch has devoted much of his time to sharing his photographic expertise, both in publications, and in seminar/workshops he hosts at the Cleveland Photographic Society School of Photography. He has been a call-in guest for 21 different radio shows nationally and in major markets, including WTOP-AM (Washington), KYW-AM (Philadelphia), USA Network (Daybreak USA), WPHM-AM (Detroit), KMJE-FM (Sacramento), CJAD-AM (Montreal), WBIX-AM (Boston), ABC Radio Network (Jonathan & Mary Show). He’s also been a call-in guest for one Canadian television show, and appeared live on Breakfast Television in Toronto, the Today Show of the Great White North. With a total of more than 200 books to his credit, Busch has had as many as five books appear simultaneously in the Amazon.com Top 25 Digital Photography Books, and when Michael Carr of About.com named the top five digital photography books for beginners, the initial #1 and #2 choices were Busch’s Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies and Mastering Digital Photography. His work has been translated into Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Bulgarian, German, Italian, French, and other languages. Busch lives in Ravenna, Ohio, and you can find him online at www.dslrguides.com.

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    David Busch's Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography - David D. Busch

    Preface

    The new Nikon Z50 is proof that an advanced mirrorless camera can be highly affordable, too. This 21-megapixel APS-C (DX) format camera packs a surprising number of high-end features into a compact body priced at less than $1,000 with a versatile 16-50mm kit lens included. Although it’s a new camera, the Z50 looks and handles like a Nikon, with controls and menus that veteran Nikon owners will find comfortably familiar as they explore its exciting enhancements. Newcomers to the world of Nikon or the realm of mirrorless digital photography will easily master the Z50’s capabilities, even though the sheer number of features and options can be daunting. The only thing standing between you and pixel proficiency is the skimpy, 142-page book included in the box as a basic manual. Nikon provides detailed information in a reference manual available only as a download.

    Everything you need to know is in there, somewhere, but you don’t know where to start, nor how to find the information you really need to master your camera. In addition, the Z50 camera manual doesn’t offer much guidance on the principles that will help you master digital photography. Nor does it really tell you much about how mirrorless shooting might differ from the kinds of digital photography you may already be used to. If you’re like most enthusiasts, you’re probably not interested in spending hours or days studying a comprehensive book on digital photography that doesn’t necessarily apply directly to the enhanced features of your Z50.

    What you really need is a guide that explains the purpose and function of the Z50’s basic controls, available lens options, and most essential accessories from the perspective of mirrorless cameras. It should tell you how you should use them, and why. Ideally, there should be information about the exciting features at your disposal, how to optimize image quality, when to use exposure modes like Aperture- or Shutter-priority, and the use of special autofocus modes. In many cases, you’d prefer to read about those topics only after you’ve had the chance to go out and take a few hundred great pictures with your new camera. Why isn’t there a book that summarizes the most important information in its first two or three chapters, with lots of illustrations showing what your results will look like when you use this setting or that? This is that book.

    If you can’t decide on what basic settings to use with your camera because you can’t figure out how changing ISO or white balance or focus defaults will affect your pictures, you need this guide. I won’t talk down to you, either; this book isn’t padded with dozens of pages of checklists telling you how to take a travel picture, a sports photo, or how to take a snapshot of your kids in overly simplistic terms. There are no special sections devoted to real-world recipes here. All of us do 100 percent of our shooting in the real world! So, I give you all the information you need to cook up great photos on your own!

    Introduction

    Watching Nikon unveil the Z50 and the company’s expanding line of Z-series cameras and equipment is like watching A Star is Born, but without the chemistry of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. The aging stars of Nikon’s lineup—its digital SLR cameras—still have the right stuff, but up-and-coming products like the Z50 show that mirrorless cameras (especially those from Nikon) are the wave of the future. Following its introduction of the pro-level Z7 and enthusiast model Z6, the company has demonstrated its commitment to bringing the advantages of mirrorless technology to photographers looking for a more affordable entry to the burgeoning Z-mount system.

    Your new Nikon Z50 has to be one of the top photographic bargains on the market today. Although priced at an affordable sub-$1,000 for the body and 16-50mm kit lens, the Z50 packs most of the killer features found in its upscale mirrorless full-frame siblings, the Z7 and Z6, in a super-compact DX (APS-C/cropped sensor) body. The company introduced the Z50 with two DX lenses (the other is a 50-250mm zoom) that don’t sacrifice image quality while retaining affordable prices of their own. More DX Z-mount lenses are expected in the future and, meanwhile, the Z50 can use any of the dozen available full-frame Z-mount lenses using the optional FTZ adapter.

    Despite what you might read elsewhere, the Nikon Z-series cameras are not the first mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras Nikon has offered. That distinction belongs to the company’s Nikon 1 product line, a series of consumer-oriented cameras that were truly small in size, and which used small 1-inch sensors. Those cameras, targeted at amateur snapshooters, allowed Nikon to develop considerable expertise in mirrorless technology. Your Z50 builds on what the company learned in carefully designing a new platform that fully meets the needs of a much different group: dedicated photo enthusiasts, semi-professionals, and professional photographers.

    With the Z50, you’re not giving up much, other than a mirror and a pentaprism/pentamirror optical viewfinder—and the extra weight and bulk found in traditional dSLRs. Indeed, the Z50 is close to being a mirrorless do-everything camera. It has enough resolution—at 21 MP—to satisfy the needs of landscape and fine-art photographers. It can capture action up to 11 frames per second and its 1.5X crop APS-C format make it an excellent machine for sports photographers. Its built-in intervalometer effortlessly captures the beauty of an unfolding blossom, and it can shoot time-lapse movies with up to 4K resolution to track the progress of a construction project. The new N-log gamma option will make this camera prized by those assembling and editing serious video productions.

    You may be asking yourself—how do I use this thing? Nikon’s own printed and downloadable manuals aren’t really user-friendly, and online YouTube tutorials, while popular, generally provide overviews or summaries of how to use a specific feature, and can’t cover all the capabilities of this camera in depth. Do you really think you can master your camera sitting in front of a television or computer screen or, or do you want to go out and take photos with your camera?

    The included manual is thick and filled with information, but there’s really very little about why you should use particular settings or features. Its organization makes it difficult to find what you need. Multiple cross-references send you searching back and forth between two or three sections of the book to find what you want to know. The basic manual is also hobbled by black-and-white line drawings and tiny monochrome pictures that aren’t very good examples of what you can do.

    I’ve tried to make David Busch’s Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography different from your other Z50 learn-up options. The roadmap sections use larger, color pictures to show you where all the buttons and dials are, and the explanations of what they do are longer and more comprehensive. I’ve tried to avoid overly general advice, including the two-page checklists on how to take a sports picture or a portrait picture or a travel picture. You won’t find half the content of this book taken up by generic chapters that tell you how to shoot landscapes, portraits, or product photographs. Instead, you’ll find tips and techniques for using all the features of your Nikon Z50 to take any kind of picture you want. If you want to know where you should stand to take a picture of a quarterback dropping back to unleash a pass, there are plenty of books that will tell you that. This one concentrates on teaching you how to select the best autofocus mode, shutter speed, f/stop, or flash capability to take, say, a great sports picture under any conditions.

    This book is not a lame rewriting of the manual that came with the camera. Some folks spend five minutes with a book like this one, spot some information that also appears in the original manual, and decide Rehash! without really understanding the differences. Yes, you’ll find information here that is also in the manual, such as the parameters you can enter when changing your Z50’s operation in the various menus. Basic descriptions—before I dig in and start providing in-depth tips and information—may also be vaguely similar. There are only so many ways you can say, for example, Hold the shutter release down halfway to lock in exposure. But not everything in the manual is included in this book. If you need advice on when and how to use the most important functions, you’ll find the information here.

    David Busch’s Nikon Z50 Guide to Digital Photography is aimed at both Nikon and dSLR veterans as well those who have used other mirrorless cameras and those who are total newcomers to digital or mirrorless photography. Both groups can be overwhelmed by the options the Z50 offers, while underwhelmed by the explanations they receive in the manual. The manuals are great if you already know what you don’t know, and you can find an answer somewhere in a booklet arranged by menu listings and written by a camera vendor employee who last threw together instructions on how to operate a smart HDTV.

    Family Resemblance

    If you’ve owned previous models in the Nikon digital camera line, and copies of my books for those cameras, you’re bound to notice a certain family resemblance. Nikon has been very crafty in introducing upgraded cameras that share the best features of the models they replace, while adding new capabilities and options. You benefit in two ways. If you used a previous Nikon camera prior to switching to this latest Z50 model, you’ll find that the parts that haven’t changed have a certain familiarity for you, making it easy to make the transition to the newest model. There are lots of features and menu choices of the Z50 that are exactly the same as those in the most recent models. This family resemblance will help level the learning curve for you.

    Similarly, when writing books for each new model, I try to retain the easy-to-understand explanations that worked for previous books dedicated to earlier camera models, and concentrate on expanded descriptions of things readers have told me they want to know more about, a solid helping of fresh sample photos, and lots of details about the latest and greatest new features. Rest assured, this book was written expressly for you, and tailored especially for the Z50.

    Who Am I?

    After spending many years as the world’s most successful unknown author, I’ve become slightly less obscure in the past few years, thanks to a horde of camera guidebooks and other photographically oriented tomes. You may have seen my photography articles in the late, lamented Popular Photography magazine. I’ve also written about 2,000 articles for magazines like Rangefinder, Professional Photographer, and dozens of other photographic publications. But, first, and foremost, I’m a photojournalist who made my living in the field until I began devoting most of my time to writing books. Although I love writing, I’m happiest when I’m out taking pictures, which is why I spend four to six weeks in Florida each winter as a base of operations for photographing the wildlife, wild natural settings, and wild people in the Sunshine State. In recent years, I’ve spent a lot of time overseas, too, photographing people and monuments. You’ll find photos of some of these visual treasures within the pages of this book.

    Like all my digital photography books, this one was written by a Nikon devotee with an incurable photography bug who has used Nikon cameras professionally for longer than I care to admit. Over the years, I’ve worked as a sports photographer for an Ohio newspaper and for an upstate New York college. I’ve operated my own commercial studio and photo lab, cranking out product shots on demand and then printing a few hundred glossy 8 × 10s on a tight deadline for a press kit. I’ve served as a photo-posing instructor for a modeling agency. People have actually paid me to shoot their weddings and immortalize them with portraits. I even prepared press kits and articles on photography as a PR consultant for a large Rochester, NY company, which older readers may recall as an industry giant. My trials and travails with imaging and computer technology have made their way into print in book form an alarming number of times, including a few dozen on scanners and photography.

    Like you, I love photography for its own merits, and I view technology as just another tool to help me get the images I see in my mind’s eye. But, also like you, I had to master this technology before I could apply it to my work. This book is the result of what I’ve learned, and I hope it will help you master your Nikon Z50, too.

    Some readers who visit my blog have told me that the Nikon Z50 is such an advanced camera that few people really need the kind of basics that so many camera guides concentrate on. Leave out all the basic photography information! On the other hand, I’ve had many pleas from those who are trying to master digital photography as they learn to use their Z50, and they’ve asked me to help them climb the steep learning curve.

    Rather than write a book for just one of those two audiences, I’ve tried to meet the needs of both. You veterans will find plenty of information on getting the most from the Z50’s features, and may even learn something from an old hand’s photo secrets. I’ll bet there was a time when you needed a helping hand with some confusing photographic topic.

    In closing, I’d like to ask a special favor: let me know what you think of this book. If you have any recommendations about how I can make it better, visit my website at www.nikonguides.com, click on the E-Mail Me tab, and send your comments, suggestions on topics that should be explained in more detail, or, especially, any typos. (The latter will be compiled on the Errata page you’ll also find on my website.) I really value your ideas, and appreciate it when you take the time to tell me what you think! Most of the organization and some of the content of the book you hold in your hands came from suggestions I received from readers like yourself. If you found this book especially useful, tell others about it. Visit http://www.amazon.com/dp/1681986264/ and leave a positive review. Your feedback is what spurs me to make each one of these books better than the last. Thanks!

    If you’re like me, the first thing you probably did when you first extracted your Z50 from the box (after admiring how charmingly petite this little gem is), was to attach a lens, power the beast up, and begin taking photos through a tentative trial-and-error process. Who has time to even scan the manual? If you’re a veteran Nikon shooter, you probably found many of the controls and menus very similar to what you’re used to, even though the camera itself is much more compact and lighter in weight than your previous Nikon.

    But now that you’ve taken a few hundred (or thousand) photos with your new Nikon Z50, you’re ready to learn more. You’ve noted some intriguing features and adjustments that you need to master. Goodies packed inside your Z50 include diffraction correction, totally silent shooting, 4K movie-shooting capabilities, a nifty electronic viewfinder, and other enhanced capabilities.

    Of course, on the other hand, you may be new to the Nikon world, or the Z50 may be your first mirrorless digital camera, and you need some guidance in learning to use all the creative options this camera has to offer. In either case, despite your surging creative juices, I recommend a more considered approach to learning how to operate the Nikon Z50. This chapter and the next are designed to get your camera fired up and ready for shooting as quickly as possible. And while it boasts both Auto, Scene, and sophisticated Programmed Auto modes, the Z50 is not a point-and-shoot model; to get the most out of your camera, you’ll want to explore its capabilities fully.

    So, to help you begin shooting as quickly as possible, I’m going to first provide a basic pre-flight checklist that you need to complete before you really spread your wings and take off. You won’t find a lot of detail in these initial two chapters. Indeed, I’m going to tell you just what you absolutely must understand, accompanied by some interesting tidbits that will help you become acclimated to your Z50. I’ll go into more depth and even repeat a little of what I explain here in the chapters that follow, so you don’t have to memorize everything you see. Just relax, follow a few easy steps, and then go out and begin taking your best shots—ever.

    I hope that even long-time Nikon owners won’t be tempted to skip this chapter or the next one. No matter how extensive your experience level is with dSLRs, your new mirrorless camera has a lot of differences from what you may be used to. Yet, I realize you don’t want to wade through a manual to find out what you must know to take those first few tentative snaps. I’m going to help you hit the ground running with this chapter, which will help you set up your camera and begin shooting in minutes. Because some of you may already have experience with previous Nikon cameras, each of the major sections in this chapter will begin with a brief description of what is covered in that section, so you can easily jump ahead to the next if you are in a hurry to get started.

    TIP In this book you’ll find short tips labeled My Recommendation or My Preference, each intended to help you sort through the available options for a feature, control, or menu entry. I’ll provide my preference, suitable for most people in most situations. I don’t provide these recommendations for every single feature, and you should consider your own needs before adopting any of them.

    First Things First

    The Nikon Z50 comes in an impressive black and Nikon-yellow box filled with stuff, including a connecting cord, and lots of paperwork. The most important components are the camera and lens (if you purchased your Z50 in either the one-lens or two-lens kits), battery, battery charger, and, if you’re the nervous type, the neck strap. You’ll also need an SD memory card, plus a spare, as they are not included.

    The first thing to do is carefully unpack the camera and double-check the contents. While this level of setup detail may seem as superfluous as the instructions on a bottle of shampoo, checking the contents first is always a good idea. No matter who sells a camera, it’s common to open boxes, use a particular camera for a demonstration, and then repack the box without replacing all the pieces and parts afterward. Someone might have helpfully checked out your camera on your behalf—and then mispacked the box. It’s better to know now that something is missing so you can seek redress immediately, rather than discover two months from now that the USB cable you thought you’d never use (but now must have for an important video project) was never in the box.

    In the Box

    At a minimum, the box should contain the following components:

    Nikon Z50 digital camera. It almost goes without saying that you should check out the camera immediately, making sure the back-panel LCD touch screen monitor isn’t scratched or cracked, the memory card/battery door opens properly, and, when a charged battery is inserted and lens mounted, the camera powers up and reports for duty. Out-of-the-box defects like these are very rare, but they can happen. It’s more common that your dealer played with the camera or, perhaps, it was a customer return. That’s why it’s best to buy your Z50 from a retailer you trust to supply a factory-fresh camera.

    Lens (optional). At its introduction the Z50 was available as a body only, bundled with both 16-50mm and 50-250mm kit lenses, or with the 16mm-50mm kit lens only. Those two lenses were the only Z-mount lenses at introduction designed specifically for the Z50’s APS-C (cropped) sensor. Other lenses, designed for Z-series full-frame cameras like the Z7 and Z6, will also work just fine on your Z50 camera. You may prefer a Nikkor 24-70mm or 14-30mm S-series zoom lens, or any of the prime (single focal length) lenses also available, including 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm lenses (all with f/1.8 maximum apertures). As lenses are introduced, most retailers will readily package this camera with the lens of your choice, often at a savings over buying them individually.

    USB cable UC-E21. You can use this cable to transfer photos from the camera to your computer (I don’t recommend that because direct transfer uses a lot of battery power), to upload and download settings between the camera and your computer (highly recommended), and to operate your camera remotely using Nikon Camera Control Pro software (optional, and not included in the box).

    My recommendation: This is a standard USB 2.0 Micro cable that works with some other digital cameras. If you already own such a cable, use it as a spare. If you need a longer cable, you can find them at affordable prices online. I’ve tried several third-party cables and they work fine.

    Rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL25. You’ll need to charge this 7.6V, 1120mAh (milliampere hour) battery before use. You’ll want a second EN-EL25 battery (about $70) as a spare (trust me), so buy one as soon as possible.

    Quick charger MH-32. This multi-voltage charger (AC 100–240V, 50/60Hz) comes with a plug or adapter (the configuration depends on the country where the camera is sold) that you can use to plug the charger directly into a wall outlet.

    AN-DC20 neck strap. Nikon provides you with a neck strap emblazoned with the Nikon Z logo. It’s not very adjustable, and, while useful for showing off to your friends exactly which nifty new camera you bought, the Nikon strap also can serve to alert observant unsavory types that you’re sporting a higher-end model that’s worthy of their attention.

    My recommendation: I never attach the Nikon strap to my cameras, and instead opt for a more serviceable strap like the one shown in Figure 1.1. I strongly prefer this type over holsters, slings, chest straps, or any support that dangles my camera upside down from the tripod socket and allows it to swing around too freely when I’m on the run. Give me a strap I can hang over either shoulder, or sling around my neck, and I am happy.

    I use the UPstrap shown in the figure, with a patented non-slip pad that keeps your Z50 on your shoulder, and not crashing to the ground. Inventor-photographer Al Stegmeyer (https://journeycamera.com/) can help you choose the right strap for you.

    BF-N1 body cap. The body cap keeps dust from infiltrating your camera when a lens is not mounted. Always carry a body cap (and rear lens cap) in your camera bag for those times when you need to have the camera bare of optics for more than a minute or two. (That usually happens when repacking a bag efficiently for transport, or when you are carrying an extra body or two for backup.) The body cap/lens cap nest together for compact storage. If you lose yours, you can get an extra (plus Z-mount rear lens caps) at www.laserfairepress.com.

    Figure 1.1 Third-party neck straps like this UPstrap model are often preferable to the Nikon-supplied strap.

    DK-30 rubber eyecup. This is the rectangular rubber eyepiece that comes installed on the viewfinder of the Z50 It slides on and off the viewfinder. If you prefer, you can augment it or replace it with several accessories discussed in the next section.

    User’s manuals. Even if you have this book, you’ll probably want to check the user’s guide that Nikon provides, if only to check the actual nomenclature for some obscure accessory, or to double-check an error code.

    My recommendation: If you lose your printed material, just Google Nikon Z50 manual PDF to find a downloadable version that you can store on your laptop, on a USB stick, or other media in case you want to access this reference when the paper version isn’t handy. You’ll then be able to access the reference anywhere you are, because you can always find someone with a computer that has a USB port and Adobe Acrobat Reader available. Nikon also offers a manual reader app for Android and iOS smart devices you can use to read the factory manual. The Nikon app includes links to let you download manuals directly from their website, without needing to Google them. As a final option, you can view the Nikon Reference Manual online using a web browser at https://onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com/z50/en/.

    Warranty and registration card. Don’t lose these! You can register your Nikon Z50 by mail or online (in the USA, the URL is www.nikonusa.com/register), and you may need the information in this paperwork (plus the purchase receipt/invoice from your retailer) should you require Nikon service support.

    Optional and Non-Optional Add-Ons

    Don’t bother rooting around in the box for anything beyond what I’ve listed. There are a few things Nikon classifies as optional accessories, even though you (and I) might consider some of them essential. Here’s a list of what you don’t get in the box, but might want to think about as an impending purchase. I’ll list them roughly in the order of importance:

    Memory card. As I mentioned, the Z50 does not come with a memory card. That’s because Nikon doesn’t have the slightest idea of what capacity or speed card you prefer, so why charge you for one?

    My recommendation: The Z50’s 21-megapixel images have file sizes that range from roughly 9.4 MB (for a JPEG Fine image) to 44.1 MB (for uncompressed 14-bit NEF [RAW] files). I recommend Sony 64GB G-series cards as the best price/capacity compromise, although I also own Sony 128GB media. It’s better to have two 64GB cards available than depend on a single 128GB SD card, if only so you’ll have a backup to your main card.

    Extra EN-EL25 battery. As a mirrorless model, the Z50’s sensor and electronic viewfinder and/or LCD monitor are energized anytime you are using the camera, so you may note that you are getting fewer shots per charge than you may be used to. Nikon says that if you shoot with the viewfinder only, you can expect to get 280 images before you’ll need to swap batteries; if using the less energy-hungry LCD monitor, around 320 shots should be possible. You should be able to capture 85 minutes’ worth of video with either display.

    My recommendation: Buy an extra EN-EL25 or two. They can be charged in the camera while the camera is turned off, using a USB cable connected to a power supply. Keep all your batteries charged, and free your mind from worry. Although third-party vendors may eventually reverse engineer the encoding required to allow their batteries to function in the Z50, I don’t recommend using them simply to save $70 or so with a camera that costs more than ten times that amount.

    EH-73P charging AC adapter. Plug this small, square wall wart into an AC outlet and connect a USB connector cable to the USB port of the Z50 and you can recharge the battery of the camera internally while the camera is turned off. It cannot be used to supply power to the camera for taking pictures, however. It is an optional accessory priced at about $30.

    My recommendation: You can pick up one of these if you feel the need. Nikon warns against using any other charger or cable other than the UC-E21 USB cable furnished with the camera. However, the EH-73P is rated at 5V/1A, and I have used other cables and similar smartphone chargers and they’ve worked fine for me. Note that while you can use the Z50 when the charger is connected, the battery will not charge and the camera will not draw any power from the adapter.

    Nikon Capture NX-D or Nikon ViewNX-i software. You can download a free copy of these software utilities from Nikon’s website. Nikon no longer packs a CD-ROM with its cameras.

    Camera Control Pro 2 software. This is the utility you’ll use to operate your camera remotely from your computer. Nikon charges extra for this software, but you’ll find it invaluable if you’re hiding near a tethered, tripod-mounted camera while shooting, say, close-ups of hummingbirds. There are lots of applications for remote shooting, and you’ll need Camera Control Pro to operate your camera.

    My recommendation: You may already own Adobe Lightroom, which does an excellent job for tethered shooting, or Phase One’s application, Capture One. Buy a suitably longer USB cable, too.

    Add-on Speedlight. If you do much flash photography at all, consider an add-on Speedlight with more power than the Z50’s internal flash as an important accessory.

    My recommendation: An add-on flash can serve as the main illumination for your picture, diffused or bounced and used as a fill light, or, if you own several Speedlights, serve as a remote trigger for an off-camera unit. At around $250, the Nikon SB-500 has the most affordable combination of reasonable power, compact size, and features, including a built-in LED video light. If you need more power, the Speedlight SB-700, SB-910, or SB-5000 also offer more flexibility. I’ll provide more information on electronic flash in Chapter 8.

    ML-L7 Bluetooth Remote Control. Pair this device with your camera using the Wireless Remote (ML-L7) Options entry of the Setup menu and you can use Bluetooth connectivity to wirelessly trigger the shutter and control other functions, including exposure settings at a range of up to 33 feet/10 meters. I’ll explain all the options of this device in Chapter 11.

    My recommendation: You’ll need this accessory to take pictures or start/stop movies without the need to touch the camera itself, as no wired or infrared remote control is supported by the Z50. In a pinch, you can use the Z50’s self-timer to minimize vibration when triggering the camera. But when you want to take a photo at the exact moment you desire (and not when the self-timer happens to trip), or need to eliminate all possibility of human-induced camera shake, you need this remote control.

    BS-1 accessory shoe cover. This little piece of optional plastic protects the electrical contacts of the hot shoe on top of the Z50. You can remove it when mounting an electronic flash or other accessory, and then safely leave it off for the rest of your life. I’ve never had an accessory shoe receive damage in normal use, even when not protected. The paranoid among you who use accessories frequently can keep removing/mounting the shoe cover as required.

    My recommendation: Find a safe place to keep it between uses, or purchase replacements for this easily mislaid item. The previous low-cost source for these covers has gone out of business, so I’ve imported a stock of them, in both standard and bubble-level versions, which I’ll send you for a few bucks. (Visit www.laserfairepress.com for more details.)

    HDMI audio/video cable. The Z50 can be connected to a high-definition television, and can export its video output to an external recorder. You’ll need to buy an HDMI Micro D (high-definition multimedia interface) cable to do that. No HDMI cable is included with the camera.

    SC-28 TTL flash cord. Allows using Nikon Speedlights off-camera, while retaining all the automated features.

    SC-29 TTL flash cord. Similar to the SC-28, this unit has its own AF-assist lamp, which can provide extra illumination for the Z50’s autofocus system in dim light (which, not coincidentally, is when you’ll probably be using an electronic flash).

    My recommendation: If you intend to work with an external flash extensively, you’ll definitely want to use it off camera. Either of these cables will give you that flexibility. Wireless flash operation (described in Chapter 12) is more versatile, but requires more setup and has a steeper learning curve. With a flash cord, you just connect the cable to your camera and flash and fire away.

    Your SD Cards

    Your Z50’s memory card slot is compatible with UHS-I SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards rated Class 3 or better, which are fast enough to meet the demands of 4K video recording. The majority of all SD cards sold today (except for the very cheapest cards) are rated at UHS-I Class 3. (Look for the numeral 3 nested inside a letter U on the front of the card. Ignore other, earlier, class specifications, such as a numeral 10 contained within a circle.) As a practical matter, that means you can use just about any card in your Z50.

    Another speed metric used to differentiate memory cards, the so-called write speed means how fast the device can transfer an image file to storage, while read speed (which may be emphasized by the vendor because it is faster) represents how quickly the image can be transferred to your computer though a sufficiently fast connection (such as a USB 3.1 link). For a given card, each may be different; one popular UHS-I U3 memory card has a 90 MB/s maximum read speed, but a maximum write speed of only 40 MB/s. That means it will take more than twice as long to write a typical image to the memory card than it will take to read it when transferring to your computer. Obviously, the write speed is more important (unless you’re in a big hurry to copy images from your memory card to computer), but some vendors tout the read speed more prominently in their advertising.

    My recommendation: Buy the best quality cards you can afford. It may be a waste of money, however, to purchase the highest-speed cards, rated UHS-II Class 3, as the Z50 does not support the faster UHS-II specification. However, if you have or may purchase at some point a camera that does support UHS-II (such as the Nikon Z7 and Z6), you might as well get the fastest cards now.

    Initial Setup

    Once you’ve unpacked and inspected your camera, the initial setup of your Nikon Z50 is fast and easy. Basically, you just need to set the clock, charge the battery, attach a lens, and insert a memory card. If you already are confident you can manage these setup tasks without further instructions, feel free to skip this section entirely. While many buyers of a Z50 are experienced photographers, I realize that some readers are ambitious, if inexperienced, and should, at the minimum, skim the contents of the next section, because I’m going to list a few options that you might not be aware of.

    Mastering the Multi Selector and Command Dials

    I’ll be saving descriptions of most of the other controls used with the Nikon Z50 until Chapter 3, which provides a complete roadmap of the camera’s buttons and dials and switches. However, you may need to perform a few tasks during this initial setup process, and most of them will require the MENU button, and the multi selector buttons and pad. (See Figure 1.2, left.) You’ll also use the command dials (See Figure 1.2, right.)

    MENU button. It requires almost no explanation; when you want to access a menu, press it. To exit most menus or to confirm and exit in some cases, press it again.

    Multi selector pad. This pad may remind you of the similar control found on many point-and-shoot cameras, and other digital cameras. It consists of a thumbpad-sized button with notches at the up, down, left, right, and diagonal positions, used as directional buttons.

    The multi selector is used extensively for navigation, for example, to navigate among menus; to advance or reverse display of a series of images during picture review; or to change the kind of photo information displayed on the screen.

    Figure 1.2 Location of the MENU and OK buttons and navigation controls (left), and the command dials (right).

    Multi selector center (OK) button. The center button (as well as the right directional button) can be used to select a highlighted item from a menu. (I find pressing the right button faster and easier.) The center button also can function as an OK/Enter key.

    Main command dial/Sub-command dial. The main command dial and sub-command dial are located on the rear and front of the Z50, as shown at left and right (respectively) in the figure. The main command dial is used to change settings such as shutter speed, while the sub-command dial adjusts an alternate or secondary setting. For example, in Manual exposure mode, you’d use the sub-command dial to change the aperture, while the main command dial is used to change the shutter speed. In either case, the dial is active for these adjustments only when the Z50’s exposure meter is on. The meter will automatically go to sleep after an interval (you’ll learn how to specify the length of time in Chapter 10), and you must wake the camera (just tap the shutter release button) to switch the meter back on and activate the main and sub-command dials.

    Touch Screen

    The tilting LCD monitor supports a number of touch operations. For example, you can use it to navigate menus or make many settings, focus and release the shutter, or view photos and movies. Touch controls are not available when you’re using the viewfinder. The touch screen can be especially useful during image playback and when shooting. The screen has two active areas:

    Control area. The right edge of the screen contains touch-sensitive control icons (which were shown at left in Figure 1.2). From top to bottom they are: Zoom In, Zoom Out/Index/Help, and Display. I’ll explain how to use them next. These controls replace the traditional buttons used to activate these functions; their conversion to touch-screen operation helps make the Z50 as small at it is. It also means their functions may be more difficult to access. You can’t locate them by feel in the dark, and may have trouble using them when wearing gloves.

    Menu/Preview area. The rest of the screen is also touch sensitive, and is used to display menus (when making adjustments to your settings), to preview the image you’re about to take, make settings, and to enter text, trigger the shutter, or select a focus point, as described next.

    Here’s a list of things you can do with the touch screen:

    In Playback mode:

    Navigate among images. You can flick the screen to advance to other images during playback. (I’ll explain all the touch screen gestures shortly.)

    Rapid scroll. When reviewing an image in full-frame view, touch the bottom edge of the screen to produce a gray bar that can be dragged to scroll among images.

    Zoom in or out. Tap the Magnifying Glass/+ and Magnifying Glass/- icons in the control area, or (more conveniently), just double tap on the touch screen to zoom in or out of an image under review.

    Relocate zoomed area. You can slide a finger around the monitor to reposition the zoomed area.

    View thumbnails and movies. You can navigate among index thumbnails and movies.

    In Photo shooting mode (when using the LCD monitor):

    Zoom in and Out. Tap the Magnifying Glass/+ and Magnifying Glass/– icons in the control area to zoom in or out to examine/focus on the image you have framed.

    Take pictures. In photo mode, when the monitor is active you can tap the touch screen to take a picture without pressing the shutter release. (However, you can’t begin video capture with a tap.)

    Select a focus point. In both Photo and Movie modes, you can touch a location on the touch screen to specify a focus point. When you release your finger, a picture will be taken.

    Adjust settings. Some settings overlaid on the frame will be highlighted with a box drawn around it (such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, or a Help icon [a question mark]). Tap that box to use those options.

    Navigate menus. Personally, I find the touch screen clumsy for navigating menus. The menu bars and icons are a bit too small on the 3.2-inch screen to be tapped with precision. You still must press the MENU button to produce the menus, tap the main menu tab at the left of the screen, then tap the specific item, and then choose among its options. Most of the time the multi selector directional buttons are a lot faster.

    Enter text. When working with a text entry screen (for example, to enter an Image Comment in the Setup menu), you can tap the on-screen keyboard to enter your text. That’s much faster than the alternative—using the directional buttons to tediously move the highlighting from one character to another.

    You can disable touch functions entirely or enable them for Playback functions only (and thus disabling touch menu navigation) in the Setup menu, as described in Chapter 11. You can also specify direction for full-frame playback flicks (left/right or right/left) using the Touch Controls entry. In addition, you can turn the Touch Shutter/AF feature off by tapping an icon that appears at the left side of the screen during live view and movie shooting. I’ll offer some more advanced uses for the touch screen in Chapter 3.

    When adjustments are available, a white rectangle is drawn around the indicator that can be accessed by touch. You will see up/down and left/right triangles used to adjust increments, or other icons for various functions. Available gestures include:

    Flick. Move a single finger a short distance from side to side across the monitor. Note that if a second finger or other object is also touching the monitor, it may not respond. During playback, a flick to the right or left advances to the next or previous image.

    Slide. Move a single finger across the screen in left, right, up, or down directions. You can use this gesture during playback to rapidly move among subsequent or previous images in full-frame view, or to scroll around within a zoomed image. (See Figure 1.3, top left.)

    Stretch/pinch. Spread apart two fingers to zoom into an image during playback, or pinch them together to zoom out. (See Figure 1.3, bottom left.)

    Figure 1.3 Flick or slide your finger across the touch screen to scroll from side to side or up or down (top left); pinch or spread two fingers to zoom in and out (bottom left). Tap menu tabs, entries, and settings to make adjustments (center). Slide finger from side to side to scroll among images during Playback.

    Tap. Touch the screen with a single finger to make a menu adjustment. (See Figure 1.3, center.) For example, you can tap an up/down or left/right triangle to increment or decrement a setting, such as monitor brightness. When Touch Shutter is activated, tapping the screen locates the focus point at the tapped location and takes a picture when you remove your finger from the screen. When Touch Shutter is deactivated, tapping the screen simply relocates the focus point. (You’ll find a Touch Shutter on/off icon at the left side of the LCD monitor screen, as explained in Chapter 11.)

    Scroll. Tap the lower edge of the screen in Playback mode to produce a scroll bar. (See Figure 1.3, right.) Drag left or right to scroll quickly among images.

    Because the screen uses capacitance, it may not respond when touched with gloved hands, fingernails, or when covered with a protective film. I have a GGS glass screen over my Z50’s monitor and it works just fine; your experience may vary, depending on the covering you use. Don’t use a stylus, pen, or sharp object instead of a finger; if your fingers are too large, stick to the physical controls such as the buttons or dials. As you’ll learn in Chapter 11, you can enable or disable the touch controls or enable them only during playback, using an option in the Setup menu.

    A TOUCH OF SCREEN

    Throughout this book, when telling you how to use a touch-compatible feature, I’m going to stick to referring to the physical buttons and dials, for the benefit of those who prefer to use the traditional controls. From time to time I’ll remind you that a particular function can also be accessed using the touch screen.

    Nikon really needs to redesign the camera interface to take full advantage of the touch-screen capabilities. Cameras from other vendors, for example, use more slider controls instead of left/right touch arrows to make many adjustments. While some may find Nikon’s implementation helpful, it’s best when used with the Touch Shutter/AF feature, zooming in/out of a playback image, or, especially, when typing text rather than scrolling around with the directional buttons. Those functions are perfect for touch control.

    Setting the Clock

    The Z50’s clock settings are stored in internal memory powered by a rechargeable battery that’s not accessible to the user. It is recharged whenever a removable battery is installed in the battery compartment, and two days of normal use will recharge the internal battery enough to power the clock for about a month. The Z50 is normally sold without its main battery installed, so you’ll probably see a Clock Not Set icon the first time you power it up. In addition, if you store your Z50 for a long period without a charged main battery, the clock battery may go dead and forget your time/date/zone settings. It will recharge when a fresh EN-EL25 battery is inserted, and you’ll need to set the clock again.

    So, when you receive your camera, it’s likely that its internal clock hasn’t been set to your local time, so you may need to do that first. You’ll find complete instructions for setting the four options for the date/time (time zone, actual date and time, the date format, and whether you want the Z50 to conform to Daylight Savings Time) in Chapter 11. However, if you think you can handle this step without instruction, press the MENU button, use the multi selector (that thumb-friendly button I just described, located to the immediate right of the

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