User manual NIKON D3 PRO TECHNICAL GUIDE

[. . . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Switching instantly between subjects at different distances from the camera The Inside Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Tracking subjects that are obscured by objects passing in front of the camera At the Finish Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Quick shutter response Poor Lighting or Bad Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Poorly lit or low-contrast scenes Exposure Auto ISO Sensitivity Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 A Daytime Stadium Match . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Switching between sunlight and shade Active D-Lighting (ADL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 A Daytime Stadium Match Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 High-contrast lighting Easy Exposure Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] Select 9 points or 21 points for track-and-field events or for subjects that move unpredictably. 8 Focusing with Autofocus 5 Choose an option for Custom Setting a4. Choose how quickly the camera responds when an object moves between the subject and the camera. 9 Autofocus Focus Tracking with Lock-On Focus tracking with lock-on controls how the camera responds to abrupt changes in focus distance. It can be used to prevent the camera from immediately refocusing when objects move through the space between the subject and the camera, ensuring that the camera will continue to track the main subject once the obstacle has moved away. Choose the length of time before the camera refocuses from Long, Normal, and Short. Camera will wait before refocusing on objects behind the subject Camera will track and focus on objects the same distance from the camera as the subject Camera will wait before refocusing on objects behind the subject 10 Focusing with Autofocus Example 1 Behind the Goal Photographers positioned behind the goal at a soccer match are faced with subjects that move unpredictably and that may be intermittently obscured by objects coming between the subject and the camera during framing. Choose the following focus options: AF-C priority selection: Dynamic AF area: Release 9 points or 21 points Focus tracking with lock-on: Normal 11 Autofocus Example 2 Pitcher or Runner? Choose lower lock-on times for improved focus response when you may have to switch quickly between subjects at different distances from the camera. AF-C priority selection: Dynamic AF area: Release 9 points or 21 points Focus tracking with lock-on: Short or Off (note that Off reduces effectiveness of dynamic-area AF) 12 Focusing with Autofocus Example 3 The Inside Track Choose longer lock-on times when photographing a runner on the inside track or in other situations in which your subject may be blocked for relatively long periods. Your subject AF-C priority selection: Dynamic AF area: Release 9 points or 21 points Focus tracking with lock-on: Long 13 Autofocus Example 4 At the Finish Line Selecting Release for Custom Setting a1 ensures a quick shutter response and faster frame advance rates. AF-C priority selection: Dynamic AF area: Release 9 points or 21 points Focus tracking with lock-on: Normal 14 Focusing with Autofocus Example 5 Poor Lighting or Bad Weather Select Release + Focus for quick shutter response while slowing frame advance rates in continuous release mode for improved focus with scenes that are poorly lit or low contrast. AF-C priority selection: Dynamic AF area: Release + Focus 9 points or 21 points Focus tracking with lock-on: Normal Note: If Focus is selected for Custom Setting a1, the shutter can only be released when the camera is in focus. 15 Exposure: Auto ISO Sensitivity Control If On is selected for ISO sensitivity > ISO sensitivity auto control in the shooting menu, the camera automatically adjusts ISO sensitivity if optimal exposure can not be achieved at the minimum shutter speed selected by the user. An example of how to use this feature appears on the pages that follow. Note that camera firmware version A 1. 10/B 1. 11 or later is required for minimum shutter speeds faster than 1/250 s. 16 Example 6 A Daytime Stadium Match Auto ISO sensitivity control is ideal for scenes with large variations in brightness. Sunlight Shade 17 Exposure Auto ISO Sensitivity Control Choose the following ISO sensitivity settings: ISO sensitivity: 200 ISO sensitivity auto control: On Maximum sensitivity: 6400 Minimum shutter speed: 1/500 s In this example, ISO sensitivity will automatically be raised to a maximum of ISO 6400 if optimal exposure can not be achieved at ISO 200. In modes e and g, sensitivity will be raised only if the shutter speed required for optimal exposure would be slower than 1/500 s (slower speeds will be used if a speed of 1/500 s would still result in underexposure at ISO 6400). 18 Exposure: Active D-Lighting (ADL) Active D-Lighting preserves details in highlights and shadows, creating photographs with natural contrast. Example 7 A Daytime Stadium Match Revisited Use Active D-Lighting for compositions that include areas of sharply contrasting brightness. 19 Exposure Active D-Lighting (ADL) The following settings are recommended: Active D-Lighting High or Normal Metering Matrix 1 Exposure mode e, f, or g 2 ISO sensitivity ISO 1600 or less 3 Memory card UDMA-compliant memory card 4 1. Active D-Lighting will not produce the desired effect when used with center-weighted or spot metering. Choose cards with faster write times for quicker processing when taking large numbers of photographs. 20 Exposure: Easy Exposure Compensation When On or On (Auto reset) is selected for Custom Setting b4 (Easy Exposure Compensation), exposure compensation can be set simply by rotating a command dial (at default settings, the sub-command dial is used for easy exposure compensation in exposure modes e and f, and the main command dial is used in exposure mode g). If On (Auto reset) is selected, exposure compensation will automatically be reset to 0 when the camera is turned off. Notes Auto reset also resets exposure compensation when the exposure meters turn off. The length of time the exposure meters remain on is controlled with Custom Setting c2 (Auto meter-off delay). 21 Image Quality: FX and DX Formats At default settings, image quality is not automatically adjusted when you switch between FX and DX image areas. As a result, pictures taken using the smaller DX image area will not be the same quality as FX-format images when printed at the same size. From camera firmware version A 2. 00/ B 2. 00 or later, you can automatically switch image quality settings when you switch between FX and DX formats: q Create one shooting menu bank for FX format and a second shooting menu bank with higher image quality and size settings for DX format. You can then use the Fn button and command dials to switch instantly between the two banks. DX-format image area FX-format image area 22 1 Choose shooting menu bank A. [. . . ] Shooting Menu Banks The camera has four shooting menu banks (A, B, C, and D). Manual focus will only be activated if the focus ring is rotated a large amount. Prevents manual focus from being activated accidentally. (autofocus priority) M/A Manual focus is activated whenever the focus ring is used, making it easy to use (autofocus with manual focus in autofocus mode. [. . . ]