Nikon D40 User's Guide © 2007 KenRockwell.com Nikon D40 with new 18-55mm lens. Original files at http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/users-guide/index.htm January 2007 Converted to PDF by Sándor Nagy nasa@delfin.unideb.hu © 2007 KenRockwell.
Ken Rockwell Post Office Box 8778 La Jolla, California 92038-8778 United States of America http://www.kenrockwell.com/ © 2007 Ken Rockwell All rights reserved. Permission is granted to make one print for yourself. All other uses are absolutely forbidden, especially emailing this to others, making multiple copies, posting or mirroring, or handing this out to others. Instead, please send others this link to the newest version: http://KenRockwell.
CONTENTS page INTRODUCTION BASICS 6 6 CAMERA SETTINGS RESET Quality Exposure Compensation Shutter Advance Mode ISO WHITE BALANCE OPTIMIZE IMAGE FOCUS (AF) Mode METERING LENS SETTINGS 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 EXPLICIT DETAILS 11 CONTROLS TOP PANEL CONTROLS Exposure Mode Selector Knob OFF, ON and Shutter Release Button +/- and Diaphragm (*) Button Info and Green Dot button REAR PANEL CONTROLS [>] (Play) Button MENU Button Minifying Glass / ? / Checkerboard Button < i > / Magnifying Glass / Green Dot Butto
Image Sharpening Tone Compensation (Contrast) Color Mode Saturation Hue Adjustment Image Quality Image Size White Balance ISO Sensitivity Noise Reduction CUSTOM SETTING MENU (Pencil icon) [R] Reset 01 Beep 02 Focus Mode 03 AF-Area Mode 04 Shooting Mode 05 Metering 06 No Memory Card? 07 Image Review 08 Flash Level 09 AF Assist 10 ISO Auto 11 Self Timer / Fn Button 12 AE-L/AF-L 13 AE Lock 14 Built In Flash 15 Auto Off Timers 16 Self Timer 17 Remote On Duration SET UP MENU (wrench icon) CSM/Setup Menu Format M
Monochrome Filter Effects Small Picture Image Overlay 42 42 43 43 APPENDIX 43 A1 How to Set White Balance A1/2 White Balance Examples A2 All About Exposure A2/2 Correct Digital Exposure and Do Nikons Underexpose? A2/3 The Nikon Matrix Meter A2/4 How to Use the Nikon Spot Meter A2/5 The Zone System A2/6 What are LV and EV A2/7 Exposure Meters A2/8 How to Use Histograms A2/9 How to Use Color Histograms A2/10 How to Use a Digital Camera as an External Light Meter 44 50 55 57 60 68 69 75 77 79 83 87 A3 Wh
INTRODUCTION Want free live phone support? In the USA, call (800) NIKON-UX, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Looking for a specific control? Use my Search page. Be sure to mention the D40 in your search. This lengthy article will teach you to be an expert on the Nikon D40's controls and menus. It also includes a lot of tips, tricks, and the settings I prefer to use.
Nikon has an easy reset feature. I use it every time! My standard operating setting is only a few clicks different from the defaults. RESET Unlike my other Nikons, I don't use the green reset feature. I find it easier to press the I button and run down the items on the left and bottom of the screen. Quality I use Large, JPG, BASIC I'm a data cheapskate. I prefer small files. For most people not shooting hundreds of throw-away images a day, feel free to leave it in NORMAL, the default.
maximum of 1,600 (or any ISO you choose) as it gets darker. Only if it gets still darker will it let the shutter speed go below 1/15 at ISO 1,600, exactly as I'd do manually. I explain how to set Auto ISO and select the shutter speed at which the ISO starts to increase and the maximum ISO to which it will increase in the Custom Setting 10 (page 30). I set Auto ISO to 1,600 max because the noise from the D40 at ISO 1,600 looks much better than blur.
Read more at Shooting Menu (page 21). FOCUS (AF) Mode I use the default of AF-A. This mode automatically selects between the two older modes, AF-C and AF-S. These are explained under Focus Modes (page 27). METERING I use Matrix, the default. You set metering in Custom Setting 05 (page 29) or with the Button (page 15). Seeing how poor the matrix meter has become in the D40 (it requires constantly varying levels of compensation) I intend to try center weighted metering.
focus with the included lens, move it to "M." If the switch says "M/A - M " then use M/A. These lenses may be focused manually at any time in either position. As soon as you tap the shutter button in M/A you return to autofocus. More advanced lenses, like the 18-200mm, 70-300mm VR and 18-135mm, and any lens with an M/A position, may be focused manually at any time without moving any switches. Leave them in their A or A/M positions. Non-AF-S and non-AF-I lenses, like the new 10.
EXPLICIT DETAILS These were the basics. Keep reading for explicit details. CONTROLS TOP PANEL CONTROLS Nikon D40 Top Panel Controls. Exposure Mode Selector Knob (shown above.) Spin it to select among P, S, A and M exposure modes. I ignore the green AUTO (as shown above) and the other convenience modes (flower, lady in hat, etc.).
Three easy ways to return to the standard program combination are to: 1.) flip to a different mode and back to P, or 2.) turn the D40 off and back on, or 3.) spin the rear dial back to its original position. The *P symbol goes away when you've returned to the standard combinations. The standard combinations are f/4 at 1/60, f/5.6 @ 1/125, f/8 @ 1/250, f/11 @ 1/500, etc. A shifted set might use f/4 @ 1/1,000, f/8 @ 1/500 or might use f/4 @ 1/2, f/5.6 @ 1 sec, etc.
Firmware Defect: When turned ON, Auto ISO (page 30) remains active in Manual mode. I always turn off AUTO ISO when I enter Manual Mode, otherwise Auto ISO changes the ISO and ruins whatever you were hoping to accomplish with manual exposure mode. OFF, ON and Shutter Release Button Leave it ON unless you're putting it away. It draws no more power in ON than OFF. OFF is a lock to prevent accidental operation. +/- and Diaphragm (*) Button This button is next to the shutter button.
Info and Green Dot button Tap this to wake up the D40 and show you what's going on with your settings on the LCD. Tap it again to turn off the LCD. To change the settings, tap the other < i > and Green Dot button (page 15)on the rearof the D40. Hold both Green Dot buttons at the same time for a few seconds to reset most of the tactical parameters, like exposure compensation, autofocus modes, ISO, White Balance, etc, to their defaults.
I thank my lucky stars with my Nikon, because on my idiotic Canon 5D I have to wait and press the Play button just to zoom in on a shot I just made! No need for this with Nikon, so long as you have Image Review (page 30) set to ON. The only reason you may want Image Review OFF (its default) is if you prefer to make many immediate changes to your next shots. If Image Review is ON, the image pops up after your shot, and the D40 responds to your dial inputs by showing the the next or previous image.
defaults. I don't use this reset often, since I set enough things away from defaults. I would use it if I loaned my D40 to a friend and had it returned later. AE-L AF-L / Key Button (Top Right Center) This can lock the focus and/or exposure or turn on the autofocus. You set what it locks in Custom Setting 12 (page 32). I set mine to lock exposure for as long as I hold the button (AE lock only). Rear Dial (top right) Click this left and right to control most of the D40's functions.
Trash Can Button This is the D40's flush lever. Press it while a photo is displayed to erase that photo. You'll get an "are you sure?" screen, and press it again to dump that shot. Meatheads like me get used to double pressing it every time out of habit, which means I accidentally erase some shots. Serves me right. It doesn't do anything else. It ignores you if pressed without an image displayed, except it is used for deleting bad characters in the secret message embed mode (page 38).
From the top down: +/- Lighting Bolt (Flash) Button 1.) Press once to pop up the built-in flash. 2.) Hold it and the +/- (*) diaphragm button (page 13) at the same time and spin the rear dial to alter the brightness of the flash. 0.0 is normal and I leave it there almost all the time. Only in rare instances do I ever need to adjust it towards the minus side to make it darker, or the plus side to make it lighter. This is much easier to do than it sounds; it's quite natural. 3.
mode. The background exposes correctly, people may be blurred, and a burst of flash freezes them along with the blurry ghost images. Normal and SLOW do the same thing in S and M exposure modes (page 11), since you or the camera may select any shutter speed in these modes regardless of flash sync. I usually prefer to choose an exact slowest shutter speed in the M or S exposure modes (page 11). In SLOW mode and dark conditions the shutter speeds can become too long for comfort.
What it Does It sets a few playback options. What I Change I leave it alone. Delete This is helpful if you want to delete all images while saving those you locked with the Key / AE-L AF-L button (page 16). I don't use this. I do all my editing and selection in my computer and I do my in-camera deletions one-by-one with the trash can key. Playback Folder The camera can record to and play back from different folders. CURRENT ignores photos in folders other than the one to which you're recording.
This menu really should be called the Film menu and shown with an icon of a roll of film. More camera settings, like autofocus, flash and timers, are set in the Custom Settings Menu (page 26), shown by a pencil. This is Nikon's mistake; don't penalize yourself if the menu names and icons make little sense at face value. How to Get There Press MENU, click left and then up and down to select the camera (shooting) menu. You'll see "SHOOTING MENU" on the top of the LCD monitor.
BW Black-and-White You might think I would use Vivid or More Vivid, except that they crank up some of the contrast and sharpness settings and leave them there. I want vivid colors, but leave the contrast and sharpness on Auto. This way as subjects get contrastier I don't have to stop and turn the contrast back down. In VI* you can easily blow out a slightly high-contrast scene.
use it you have to buy Nikon Capture and create a curve. You then use Nikon capture to load it into the D40. Once you've done that you select it here. If you haven't loaded your own custom curve and select this you get the default Normal curve. Custom curves are way beyond anything with which I want to bother. The curves in the camera are the best ones anyway. Real photographers pay more attention to their subject's lighting.
I usually use BASIC JPG and sometimes NORMAL JPG. BASIC JPG looks almost the same as NORMAL, unless you're making six foot wide prints. It also makes a file half the size of Normal, which speeds up everything and saves space on my hard drives and backup CDs. I never use FINE; it looks the same as NORMAL and wastes space. Feel free to use any settings you like; that's why they're here. You can see examples from my D200 at D200 Quality Setting Examples.
reason to use this is if you use a different trim value for your strobes than you do for sunlight. Cloudy (cloud): Warmer (more orange) than the sunlight position. I use this in shade, too. Shade (house casting a shadow): very warm (orange). Use this for sunset shots and deep shade. Preset (PRE): You use this setting with a white or gray card to get perfect color matching. I use this in bizarre artificial light that I wish no make look natural, or to get exact color with my studio strobes.
Higher ISOs can give sharper images in dimmer light because they let the D40 shoot at faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures, but they also can add more grain (noise) to your photos. ISO 200 gives the cleanest images, but the most potential for blur in dim light. ISO 400 and ISO 800 are perfect for outdoor sports. ISO 1,600 gives the noisiest images, with the least potential for blur. ISO 1,600 still looks pretty good if you need it, but I only use it indoors. ISO 3,200 is for use as a last resort.
that Nikon used the Camera icon for the shooting menu (page20), which really should be called the Film menu. Camera settings, like focus, flash and timers, are set here in the Custom Settings Menu, shown by a pencil. This is Nikon's mistake; don't penalize yourself if it makes little sense. How to Get Here Press MENU, go to the left and select up and down to the pencil icon. You'll see CUSTOM SETTING MENU on the top of the color LCD.
03 AF-Area Mode This selects how the D40 uses its three AF sensors. You'll want to change this for action, still subjects or handing your camera to a non-photographer. I wish my D40 had a dedicated switch as my D200 does. On the D40 we need to go into this menu every time our subject matter changes. [xxx] Closest Subject selects the closest AF area by magic, which just happens to be the right one every time.
Trick Self Portrait. My ML-L3 is in my other hand out of the picture. Hint: Be sure to select a long enough Remote ON Time time in Custom Function 17 (page 34). The D40 ignores the remote after the length of time set in Custom Function 17 (page 34). 05 Metering This selects Matrix, Center-Weighted or Spot. I always use Matrix, shown by an icon which looks like a weird rectangle with cross and circle in it. Matrix, in other Nikons, was an almost perfect meter.
Closest Subject AF (page 28), it reads from the center one. I never use this. 06 No Memory Card? I leave mine at LOCK. If I have no memory card it won't let me take pictures. Don't set it to OK. If you do, you could have no memory card and be shooting all day, thinking you're making pictures when you really aren't. Shoot one wedding without a card and this set to OK and you'll see how stupid you'll feel. Only set this to OK if you want to demonstrate the D40 in a camera store with no card.
component of Modern Exposure Technique. Today I adjust the Auto ISO's minimum shutter speed as I change lenses and conditions. I no longer adjust ISO directly, as we did in the old days before 2004. This is a time-saving step towards the future, just as program exposure was a step ahead of aperture priority in the 1970s. You can choose the highest ISO to which the Auto ISO will go (Max sensitivity).
ISO: Press and hold the Fn button (page 19) while turning the rear dial, slowly. You'll cycle through all the ISO Settings. (page 25) . An added nicety lacking on more expensive Nikons is that you have full ability to go to and from ISO 3,200 (HI 1) without needing to turn off Auto ISO (page 30). WB: I use this option, since I change my WB more often than any of the other options. Press and hold the Fn button (page 19) turning the rear dial, slowly. You'll cycle through all the WB Settings (page 24).
TTL (default) lets the flash work normally and give great exposures all by itself. M (manual) lets you force the flash to one brightness value. It adjusts in full stops from full power down to seven stops below, shown as 1/128 power. I use manual if I'm using the built-in flash to trigger my studio strobes or if I'm trying to set up something tricky which isn't working in the usually perfect TTL mode.
For those of you counting Custom Settings as if more were better, please note that the D40 intelligently has this one Custom Setting controlling what takes two custom settings in the D80 (Custom Setting 27 and Custom Setting 28), and adds a third setting, Image Review Time-Out, not available in the D80 at any price. HA! (The D80 always has image review at 4 seconds, while the D200 keeps image review on for the same time chosen in Custom Setting c5.
CSM/Setup Menu This allows me to set what I need once, like languages, and then turn off those items in the menus. It's wonderful to be able to clarify the menus down only to what I use daily. If I ever want to reset anything obscure, like reset the menus to Korean when I loan my D40 to a pal, I simply choose FULL menus again. The choices are: Simple (default): only the most basic settings are shown. Full is what you should set as soon as you get your D40.
Here are how these look. They each show the same things and have the same functions. Classic: I use this option because it makes everything the biggest and easiest to see. The menus in Classic mode are as they are in my other Nikons: white on dark blue. Graphic: This is the default. Most things are smaller to make room for the goofy moving picture of a diaphragm on the left. Change the aperture and it changes. This is supposed to help new photographers, but it won't.
Wallpaper: This is the cutest, although I don't use it. It's like Graphic above, with smaller numbers, and sets everything on top of a photo of your choice, presuming you've shot the photo on your D40. I selected a photo of my mother-in-law, and it remains in the D40 regardless of formatting or removing memory cards. A more practical use is to write PROPERTY OF with your complete contact information on paper and use a photo of that as your wallpaper.
Firmware Defect: You set the time under the DATE option. LCD Brightness This changes the midtones on the LCD. It changes backlight intensity only by 10%. It is mostly a gamma (midtone contrast) control. For the adjustment to take effect you must remember to hit OK after making a selection. I leave mine at 0. Unlike my Canon DSLRs, My D40's LCD is always bright, contrasty, color accurate at every angle and sunlight readable. I never have to twiddle with the brightness adjustment.
checkmark shows. Now go to and select DONE. If you forget to check Attach it won't attach, and if you forget to hit DONE it will also forget everything you just did. Sorry, I don't write the firmware. It's great having everything you shoot have your contact info embedded. It also allows you to prove ownership in a third-world country when catching a thief with your camera. Help the cop go through the menus and read your personal ID information. This text is added in the file's EXIF data.
Set it to ON, which should be the default but isn't. Mirror Lock-up Mirror Lock-up isn't. It's not a lock up for telephoto lenses on tripods. This setting is used to lock up the mirror to clean the CCD. I never use this, since I find it easier to set the camera to Bulb and hold open the shutter. I'd never stick anything into the camera to touch the CCD; the only people who suggest this are the people who want to sell you the tools to clean your CCD.
RETOUCH MENU (brush icon) How to Get Here Select the Retouch Menu by pressing MENU, moving to the left and then up or down to select the brush icon at the bottom. You'll then see RETOUCH MENU on the top of the color LCD. Trick: Press the OK button when an image is displayed to get to most of the retouch menu. What it Sets This lets you manipulate images in-camera. The originals are unaltered. The D40 creates new versions of the images and saves them.
Red-Eye Correction This creates new versions of images attempting to rectify flash-induced red eyes. This filter is sneaky enough to know if you used flash or not to make the image, and won't let you use this filter if you didn't use flash. I've never had a problem with red-eye with my D40, so all the better. When I was able to cause red-eye, this filter only corrected half of the eyes! Trim This creates new cropped versions of images. No pixels are moved or changed in size.
- magenta slides the red and blue equally left or right. The green stays put. Small Picture This creates a much smaller version of an image. You've got your choice of 640x480, 320x240 and 160x120 pixels. Image Overlay This is silly. It creates a new image by adding two others together in the z-axis (intensity). It only works with raw originals. A reader wrote me about a genius plan to use this for in-camera mutilation of large dynamic range scenes by combining two very different exposures.
A1 How to Set White Balance Auto White Balance. Photo made indoors while cloudy outside. Way too blue and ugly! 99% of people make this shot and never think anything more about it. Cloudy White Balance. Wow! Warm, golden, and just like it's supposed to look. I did this on my Canon SD700 point-and-shoot. Every digital camera over $50 and even most camera phones provide this adjustment. Setting the White Balance when needed is the key to great color photos.
5D ($3,300) and 16-35mm L ($1,700) and got the same results. You need to adjust the White Balance at times with every camera. I've also found point-and-shoots to be better than the more expensive DSLRs at auto white balance! Also see: Explicit Examples (page 50) How to Change the White Balance of an Existing Image The Expodisc INTRODUCTION This is so simple it often confuses people who think it's supposed to be complicated. White Balance is nothing more than an adjustment to get the color you want.
comparison and candle light looks almost red. Likewise, blue sky without the sun is very blue although when you're in the shade everything looks OK to you and I. If you make a photo in the shade the picture comes out way too blue or cool looking. This is because different kinds of light have different amounts of red, green and blue. Incandescent lights and candles have a lot of extra red because they make light by heating something hot enough to glow.
APPLICATION Basics Different settings change the amount of orange or blue color cast, usually to compensate for any cast in the lighting. If you have no blue or orange cast you get neutral whites, which is what you usually get if you use the settings suggested by the instruction book. The Fluorescent settings take out the green from Fluorescent, mercury, HMI and metal halide lights used in your garage, sports stadia and parking lots.
backlight, again since the subject is lit more by the blue sky instead of the direct sunlight. TIP: Some cameras skip this critical setting. If so, manually set the CUSTOM preset while in shade (also called one-push, Manual and white card and other things depending on manufacturer) and use this setting in place of the missing shade setting. TIP: I often use this mode even in direct sun when I want to make things look warm and inviting. Try it and you'll probably love it.
Fine Tuning (+3 to -3): Color is critical. The basic settings above get you close, but probably not exactly what you want. These fine adjustments allow you to get the exact amount of coolness or warmth. + is cooler and - is warmer. Nikons allow you to adjust this and remembers your preference for every setting while the Canons often skip this. Without the ability to fine tune these settings I find the Canon Rebel, 300D and 10D cameras not very useful. One can even fine tune Nikon's AUTO setting.
kinds of lights and even gel set windows to make outdoors match tungsten. (The funny part is Hollywood is still based on gelling everything to tungsten, since that's the film we shoot, but almost no lighting is tungsten anymore.) The best place to buy gel filters, which are just colored sheets of plastic, is your local theatrical stage and lighting supply store. They are a couple of feet on a side and cost a few bucks each. You cut them with scissors and tape them where you need them.
Here Auto WB does a perfect job, as does the Direct Sunlight setting. We expect this. You can use the other settings for a cool blue or deep orange effect, or to trim blue and amber any way you prefer. Shade (a white car in an open garage) © 2007 KenRockwell.
Auto again does a great job, otherwise this would turn out too blue. This is from a D200, which does much better than my D70 and other cameras at compensating correctly for shade. Most other cameras leave this too blue. No problem, on other cameras set Shade manually. Tungsten (conventional light bulbs in my refrigerator) © 2007 KenRockwell.
This looks a little warm in AUTO. The tungsten setting looks better. The 2,500 K setting is also good, if not a little too blue. Most Auto WB settings balance correctly for tungsten if you have a bright tungsten light source in the image, or a lot of illumination. With less illumination most Auto WBs don't compensate completely and stay a bit orange.
Home lighting, especially lower wattage bulbs, are much warmer looking than 3,200 K studio lights. These 40W bulbs look right at about 2,500 K! Auto WB never can balance this low - it stays orange. Of course the orange effect may be desired. If so, use it. SUMMARY That's it. I have no idea why people make this so complicated. Just use what looks good. © 2007 KenRockwell.
A2 All About Exposure See also Digital Exposure (page 57), The Nikon Matrix Meter (page 60) and Perfect Exposure with Large Format Cameras. INTRODUCTION Exposure is the easiest thing to master, yet causes the most confusion. Exposure is simple. Just add or subtract until it looks right. You need to experiment to know how much to add or subtract in different conditions. A fear of experimentation is what stalls most beginners.
With experience you'll recognize the few kinds of scenes which require compensation and you'll be smart enough to adjust the compensation before making the first shot. Thankfully many cameras today, especially the matrix meters on Nikons, are usually correct more and more often. That's a reason I love my Nikons; they are very hard to fool and don't require much twiddling, which saves time and lets me make more great images. HOW-TO: FILM Same as digital above.
used. See my page on how to use a digital camera as a light meter (page 87). Today I only use my handheld meters for their calculator dials to convert the readings from the digital camera's ISO to the reading I need for my film's ISO. I use the hand-held meters reading only as a sanity check. See also my page on light meters (page 77). FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS Have fun! Just shoot a lot and know that it's normal to need compensation. Be bold and just make your images as you want them.
making exposure. Latitude is broad if your subject has little contrast and if you will edit the image before use. Latitude is the amount by which your camera's dynamic range exceeds the range of the subject, if and only if you have the opportunity to edit the image before final use. There is very little latitude if you're using a digital file or transparency as-is. Digital files need to be within 1/3 of a stop if you use them as-is! Luckily most cameras are this good today.
End Use If you're using a digital file for direct printing or a transparency for projection or this is easy. Just make it look right. If the subject contrast was too great there is no correct exposure. You could lose your highlights and your shadows at the same time! At best you might retain either one, but the photo is still awful. Optimum exposure is more complicated if you're editing the file before printing or scanning or printing the transparency.
out of the mud in Photoshop. If you're shooting in crappy light and intend to print directly from the files without editing, use the exposure compensation control to dial in as many stops as needed. I've had to use several stops of + (lighten) compensation in these instances. Another source of confusion is the incorrect use of the Matrix Meter (Evaluative Metering in Canon).
knows how to make white snow or sand look white, instead of a conventional light meter's making everything look medium 18% gray. It applies the zone system automatically to attempt to render a correct exposure under difficult and contrasty situations. When shooting in a hurry under rapidly changing conditions, which is the whole point of using a small format camera like a Nikon, there is no better way to meter your exposures. An example of too much scene contrast midday.
The color Matrix meter of the F5 ought to be extraordinary. This is why Canon contract photographer Arthur Morris has said that the world's best camera is the Nikon F5. I have not tried it, because if I did I'm sure I wind up having to haul an F5 all over the place. I'm being obstinate by not trying the F5, you don't have to be. Meter accuracy is the most important aspect of image quality contributed by the camera, and why I shoot with Nikon.
To guess your subject type and determine what really is white in sunlight the Matrix needs to know the absolute level of light outside the camera. Remember that the light inside the camera will differ from the light level outside the camera depending on the speed (f/stop) of your lens. Therefor the Matrix needs to read the true f/stop of the lens. The FA camera read that with a special new lug on the back of AI and newer lenses. AF cameras read this electronically.
To get Matrix with the manual focus lenses on an FA or F4 you need a TC that has yet another feeler added to it to couple the absolute aperture information mechanically. The TC-201 has this coupling. The TC-200 does not. The manual focus TCs do not give either autofocus or Matrix metering when used on AF cameras. Oddly this means that to get Matrix metering with any lens other than an AF-I or AF-S lens and a teleconverter you have to use the old F4 or FA and a TC-201 or TC-301 (or I think TC-14A or B).
TIPS When to use Matrix The easiest thing to do is to trust the Matrix meter for everything; it will be correct more often than most people's ability to override a conventional meter. To understand how matrix metering works requires a knowledge of the zone system (See books in reference section) as well as the EV and LV (page 75) systems. Once you understand those, then read the documentation on the meters.
What about using AE lock in Matrix? It works just fine. I do it, although rarely. The Matrix meter works by first guessing what you are photographing (the hard part) and then setting the exposure accordingly (the easy part). If you lock it to something else then it is much less likely that the meter can guess correctly what your real subject is. If you are deliberate enough to want to lock exposures it is better to do it with the center weighted meter.
You may want to make a manual Matrix reading without the filter, AE lock that reading and then add that filter factor as a compensation value after adding the filter. Actually, if you are going to go to this much trouble you may as well just use a Pentax spot meter and a view camera, but this does illustrate potential problems. This is another reason to choose Nikon brand polarizers: they only lose 1-1/3 stops of light, not 2 as most other polarizers do. 4.
200 f/2.8 lens not only works flawlessly on the FA camera, it also has the lug to put the FA into the high-speed program mode for telephoto lenses. Next Page> Look here for more info on night exposures See factory matrix documentation here A2/4 How to Use the Nikon Spot Meter see also The Zone System (page 69) and Metering (page 77). CAVEATS Unless you really want to spend a lot of time learning the Zone System (page 69). FORGET the spot meter and just use Matrix as I do.
The best way to learn the zone system is to read this Ansel Adams book. That's how I learned. Before going any further you need to know the zone system. Go learn it either by Ansel's book or my page here, then we'll get to the next section. Presuming you know the Zone System: HOW-TO Put the camera on Manual exposure and point the camera around while looking at the exposure bar graph.
System was still relevant in that then-modern world. He replied "If you don't use the Zone System, then what system will you use to know what you've got as you photograph?" There are many ways to evaluate what you'll get in your final print or display as you photograph. The Zone System is one way to get a handle on everything. When you know what you're going to get you can make changes as you're photographing to optimize your final prints.
The Zone System is very important to understand, especially for color slides. Today the Zone System is the careful and analytical setting of exposure. Almost no one does special development for each negative any more. I learned it all from Ansel Adams' book "The Negative." He covers the Zone System for use with color film and point-and-shoot cameras, too.
end. The analog model is more precise and easier to read and interpret, however it is bigger and more delicate. The Pentax meters are superior to the complex, confusing and more expensive Gossen and Sekonic models. COLOR NEGATIVES For the color negatives shot by most amateurs just set the camera on automatic and GO! The films today have so much latitude that you just can forget it.
middle tone, which is why spot meters usually cannot be used without knowing the zone system. Sometimes green grass falls here. +1 Stop (Zone VI): Medium light parts of an image. Skin and granite rocks go here. For most landscape photos you'll set your light rocks here, and the shadows at -2 stops. Bright yellow is set at +2/3 stops. +2 Stops (Zone VII): White things like snow and sheets of white Fome-cor are set here. +2.7 Stops (Zone VIII): This is where slide film goes clear.
This is where many amateurs get lost: exposure cannot correct for bad light. OK, nothing can fix bad light. You have to wait for it. Photography takes patience. You can try a graduated Neutral Density filter which often helps bring down an overly bright sky or too dark foreground. Here's an example of one. Some people try to tweak development to compensate for crummy light. It's much better to fix the light.
A2/6 What are LV and EV Introduction LV, Light Value and EV, Exposure Value, are terms used to allow easy discussion of exposure and light without the confusion of the many equivalent combinations shutter speeds and apertures. LV refers to how bright the subject is. EV is the exposure setting on the camera. You may have seen them if you like to read the fine print of camera specifications. They are used to specify ranges of light levels for metering and autofocus. EV and LV follow an open-ended scale.
needing the meter after a while. This is because the same number pops up for each subject each time.
If you shoot slower film you of course have to use more exposure (EV) for the same Light Value (LV), and vice-versa. The EV is easy to calculate even if you forgot your meter, since each unit is one stop different than the next. For instance, with film a stop slower than ISO/ASA 100 (like 50 speed Velvia) you just subtract one from the LV to get the EV. This adds one stop of exposure. For instance, if your subject is at LV14, expose at EV13 with ASA 50 film. EV13 gives one stop more exposure than EV14.
A2/7 Exposure Meters see also The Zone System (page 69) Using the Nikon Spot Meter (page 68) EV & LV (page 74) INTRODUCTION AND BUILT-IN METERS How to use a digital camera as an excellent light meter (page 87) HINT: As of 2006 the best meter for any film camera is a calibrated digital camera. You can use a DSLR's LCD to preview the effects of lighting, light ratios, zone values, color temperatures and everything. It's like looking at a processed chrome on a light table.
the larger, heavier, more delicate, more precise and less expensive Pentax Spotmeter V which uses an analog needle on a scale. They have the same accuracy, which is pretty much perfect. I have two analog and one digital spot meter and they all agree with each other. That's very unusual. Most meters never agree with each other. The Digital meter used to be sold here and the analog meter used to be sold here. I bought all three of mine used in the 1990s and they've all worked perfectly for years.
Histograms are a way to measure exposure more objectively for those who can't see very well. Histograms don't replace your eyes and experience. Histograms are helpful in sunlight where it's hard to see an LCD, or in the shop if setting something exactly. Your eyes are always the final judge. A histogram is just a guide. Worry about your image more than the histogram. HISTOGRAM BASICS A histogram is a graph counting how many pixels are at each level between black and white. Black is on the left.
misleading. I use a single histogram as a simplified example. DON'T use a histogram to set exposure unless you have a color (RGB) histogram! SETTING EXPOSURE Warning: I show a single histogram to simplify. DON'T use a single histogram to set exposure! You need a color histogram, otherwise you may overexpose colored areas and not know it. Read on to Color Histograms (page 83) after you read this. Contrary to your camera manual, the histogram doesn't have to be in the middle.
© 2007 KenRockwell.
Reduce exposure if you see clipping. Try to get the histogram as close to the right side as possible without touching it. If your scene looks too dark when you do this there is no correct exposure: the scene's dynamic range (lighting ratio) is too great. In these cases professionals will correct the lighting by adding fill light to the shadows and/ or using scrims to dim the highlights.
covers the specifics of color histograms. Color histograms are three separate histograms, one each for the R, G and B channels. They help determine correct exposure in an instant. Single histograms, popular in many cameras, are misleading and worse than useless for color photography. This is because single histograms can indicate correct exposure while colored areas can be hideously overexposed! WHY YOU NEED COLOR (YRGB or RGB) HISTOGRAMS © 2007 KenRockwell.
Histograms in the left column: Nikons' single histogram only looks at the green channel. The green channel looks fine here. (Actually I need a better example because the green channel is a tiny bit overexposed as well.) The red channel, ignored by earlier Nikons and other digital cameras, is completely obliterated with overexposure. © 2007 KenRockwell.
Histograms in the right column: In this example all colors, especially red, are correctly exposed. This wood isn't that red. This problem is worse with more saturated colors. Nikons have had a dirty little secret for years. All the earlier digital SLRs, which means the D1X, D50, D100, D70s, etc., only read a histogram for the green channel! These cameras completely ignored red and blue! This is easy to see: pull up the image in Photoshop and compare to the camera's histogram. It matches the green channel.
A2/10 How to Use a Digital Camera as an External Light Meter see also Light Meters (page 77) The Zone System (page 69) Using the Nikon Spot Meter (page 68) EV & LV (page 75) Why buy a separate meter when you can buy a complete camera with a built in meter for less than a separate professional meter? Yes, for the same price or less as a pro meter you can buy a digital point-and-shoot that weighs less and lets you preview the images for color and contrast.
4a.) Set the digicam's effective ISO on the Pentax meter. You figured out the effective ISO from tests in 1.) above, which may or may not be the ISO indicated on the digicam. 4b.) Set the indicated exposure from the digicam on the Pentax scale. Don't move the ISO setting. 4c.) Reset the ISO on the Pentax meter to your film's ISO. Don't move the LV ring. Now read the film exposure off the Pentax scale.
through the 1980s and have called it ISO since then. Use the lowest ISO that gives you the apertures and shutter speeds you need. Pump up the ISO up to get smaller apertures and faster shutter speeds. Unlike film, digital interchangeable-lens SLRs usually look great even at ISO 1,600. Don't be bashful: crank it up and it will look great. For film or point-and-shoot digital cameras a normal ISO is 50 or 100. Faster ISOs are something like ISO 800 or 1,600.
