By : Nikon School Blog | 10 Oct, 2017 |
Surprisingly, even today, there are quite a few features or modes in Nikon DSLRs that photographers often overlook. While some of these features are ignored due to their specific usage, some are just unknown to many photographers, even if they have had their cameras for a very long time.
Here are five useful but lesser known Nikon DSLR features that you should know about.
Picture control customization and creating picture controls
Picture controls are pre-loaded in-camera settings that vary parameters like saturation, sharpness, contrast etc. to determine how an image is going to turn out. However, many photographers are unaware that they can fine tune and customise the pre-loaded picture controls to suit their needs. Furthermore, you can create your picture control by setting parameters in the picture control utility software which can be downloaded from Nikon official websites. These picture control files can then be transferred and loaded into your camera using a memory card. Cool isn't it?
Remote mirror up / Exposure delay
Most people know that using a remote with long exposures is beneficial as you don't have to press the shutter release button which may cause camera shake. However, even the mirror going up can sometimes cause mild camera shake. To avoid this and ensure a perfectly stable shot, you can use the remote mirror up mode. In this case, the remote will send a signal to the camera and the mirror will go up, but the shutter will open only after you press the remote release button again, avoiding the mild camera shake caused by the mirror's movement.
A mode similar to this is the exposure delay mode, where the shutter opens a little after pressing the shutter release button, ensuring a stable shot.
Check your camera's shooting menu and custom settings menu for these features.
Multiple self-timer
We've all used self-timers and know that they allow us to be in the image. However, Nikon DSLRs support more than one image to be taken in this mode. This can be very useful, especially when you want to shoot multiple images of yourself or a group including you, but don't have anyone to shoot the image. You can set the number of images that the camera will shoot, and in some DSLRs, also the interval between the images.
Focus point lock
Have you been working on the single point or dynamic focus point and the point keeps on changing accidentally? It's frustrating to lose focus at the vital moment, isn't it? The focus point lock switch locks the selected focus point to avoid this. You can be sure that your selected focus point stays selected, even if your fingers accidentally touch the focus selector. Put the switch to unlock position if you want to shift the focus point.
White balance fine tune
You can tweak the camera's white balance modes by selecting the white balance fine tune option. If you want the colours to appear slightly warm, move the pointer towards the yellow zone. If you want the image to look cooler, or remove warm tone, turn the pointer towards the blue zone. You can add or remove green and magenta cats similarly to get accurate colours.
There are more such often ignored features in our DSLRs. Check your camera menus or browse the user manual more often to benefit from them.