Nikon D3200 Fast Start

with www.johngreengo.com

Product Overview

Photography Basics
! Digital Single Lens Reflex (D-SLR)
! Apertures
! Depth-of-Field
! Shutter Speeds
! Sensor Size

Button Layout

! Top

! ! Mode Dial
! ! !
! !

! ! Exposure Compensation Button

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Back

Drive Mode

! Live View

AF Area Mode
! ! ! ! Face-priority AF
! ! ! ! Wide-area AF
! ! ! ! Normal-area AF
! ! ! ! Subject Tracking AF
! ! Focus Mode
! ! ! ! AF-S single
! ! ! ! AF-F Full-time
! ! ! ! MF Manual
! Left Side

! ! Flash

! ! Flash Modes

! ! Flash Exposure Compensation

! ! ! Nikon ME-1 Stereo Mic

! ! ! Nikon MC-DC2 Remote Release
! ! ! Nikon GP-1 GPS

! Right Side
! ! ! SD, SDHC, SDXC
! Front
! ! ! Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote

! Bottom
! ! ! Nikon EN-EL14 Battery

! Lens
! ! DX - Exclusively for DX (1.5x crop sensors)
! ! FX (Non-DX) - Larger image circle

! ! G Lens - Newer lenses

! ! Non G - Older lenses (Will not autofocus on D3100)

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 Camera Operation (The 10 Most Important controls)

Release
Mode
Exposure
Comp. White Balance

ISO

Release Mode

Focus Points

Focus Mode

Exposure Mode Metering

Shutter Speed

Lense Info! Flash units!

! DX - For 1.5x crop smaller sensor cameras ! ! Speedlite Nikon SB-910
! ! Speedlite Nikon SB-700
! ! ! (D3000, D3100, D5000. D5100) ! ! Speedlite Nikon SB-400
! FX - For Full Frame sensor cameras ! !
! ! ! ! (D600, D700, D800, D4) ! !
! G - Electronically controlled aperture Nikon Accessories
! ! (Will autofocus with D3000/5000 series) ! ! Nikon ME-1 Stereo Microphone
! Non-G - Older AF lenses ! ! Nikon MC-DC-2 Remote Release Cord
! ! Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control
! ! (Will not autofocus with D3000/5000 series)
! ! Nikon EN-EL14 Battery
! VR - Vibration Reduction ! !
! AF - Autofocus Non-Nikon Accessories
! AF-S - Silent (fast) Autofocus ! ! Lexar SD USB Reader
! ! SanDisk SD USB Reader
! Nikon Kit Lenses ! ! Giottos Rocket Air Blower
! ! AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR ! ! Photographic Solutions Sensor Swab

! Notable Nikon Lenses

! ! AF-S DX VR Nikkor 55-200mm f4-5.6G IF-ED
! ! AF-S VR Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED
! ! AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
! ! AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G
! ! !

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Nikon D3200 - Fast Start 4
 M e n u S y s t e m - Nikon D3200

Playback Menu Set-up Menu Retouch Menu

Delete Reset Setup Options D-Lighting
Playback folder All Format memory card Red-eye correction
Display mode ✓✓✓ LCD brightness 0 Trim
Image review Info display format Graphic
On Monochrome
Auto Info Display On
Rotate tall Off Filter effects
Clean image sensor @ start
Slide show Color balance
Mirror lock-up
Print set (DPOF) Small picture
Video Mode NTSC
Image overlay
HDMI Auto
Shooting Menu NEF (RAW) processing
Flicker reduction
Reset Shooting Options Quick retouch
Time zone and date
Set Picture control Straighten
Language
Image qual. JPEG Fine RAW Distortion control
Image comment
Image size Large Auto image rotation On Fisheye
White Balance Auto Dust off reference photo Color outline
ISO sensitivity settings 100 Auto Off Timers Normal Perspective control
Active D-Lighting Off Self timer delay 10s
Miniature effect
Auto Distortion control On Beep Off
Edit movie
Color Space Adobe RGB Rangefinder Off
Before and after
Noise Reduction Off File number sequence On

Buttons Fn-ISO
AF-area Mode Single Point
Recent Settings
Slot empty release lock Lock
AF-assist Off
Date imprint Off
Metering Matrix
Storage Folder
Movie Settings 1920x1080 24p
GPS
Built-in Flash TTL
Eye-Fi upload
Firmware Version
! www.nikon.usa.com
! - Service & Support
! - Update Firmware

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 Camera settings
Recommendations
These will give you a good starting point for a variety of photographic situations. Your settings
will vary according the light, lenses, and other equipment you are working with. You’ll likely find
many settings that you want to adjust differently as you develop your own style.

Basic Camera Check List

1. Charge & install battery
2. Install & format memory card
3. Set image quality (Raw/JPEG)
4. Check to confirm proper menu settings
5. Shoot test photos, look for dust on sensor

Super Simple
Everything on auto, use program shift to
adjust the shutter speeds and apertures
combination. Camera will use all focus points
to achieve focus. Be careful of the camera
focusing on subjects in the foreground.

Basic Photography Old School Retro Style

Aperture Priority allows easy changes to any
available aperture/shutter speed combo. ISO at
best quality until you decide you need a faster
shutter speed or more depth of field. Use Ex.
Comp. as necessary for dark or bright subjects.
Single point focus allow good control of focus
selection.
Use manual to stay in full control. ISO 400 to
give you a slight edge for faster shutter speeds
or more depth of field. Center weighted
metering to get a more precise reading on
specific subjects. Manual focus to eliminate any
delay in the shutter firing.

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 Camera settings
Landscape
Lots of depth-of-field to keep everything in
focus, shutter speed won’t matter if the wind
isn’t blowing too much and you’re on a tripod
(which you should be). Metering shouldn’t
matter too much if you shoot a test photo then
check the histogram. Focus could also be done
manually using Live view and image
magnification to verify sharpness.
Action
Definitely manual unless you are shooting in
both direct sun and shade. Keep a shutter
speed of 1/500 or faster to stop the action. A fast
lens (f/2.8) is a great benefit here. The ISO is
going to have to be raised to stop the action,
400 is just the starting point. Indoor sports will
often require ISO 3200. Focus needs to be put
into continuous to capture a series of in-focus
shots of anyone or anything that is moving
toward or away from you. Put the motor drive in
continuous and fire off short bursts of shots.
Nikon D3200 - Fast Start
Portrait
Pick a fast enough shutter speed to stop your
movement and your subjects. Then choose a
shallow depth of field to separate your subject
from the background. ISO low for best quality.
WB wherever it needs to be, but adding a bit of
fill flash (maybe with a -1 to -2 Flash Exposure
Compensation set) will fill in the shadows and
give a little sparkle to the eyes. Focus on the
nearest eye, lock focus in, and recompose into a
pleasing frame.
Maximum Sharpness
This set-up assumes use of a tripod and a
stationary subject (at which point shutter speed
will become irrelevant). Use middle aperture for
max sharpness of lens. For additional sharpness
use manual focus and Live View with image
magnification to confirm focus. If a slower shutter
speed is being used, use Mirror Lock-up and a
cable release and/or the self timer.
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