Nikon D3400 For Dummies

by Julie Adair King

Overview

Discover the essentials to getting better photos with the Nikon DLSLR D3400

The Nikon D3400 hits stores as Nikon's most advanced entry-level DSLR camera. Along with the pixel power to deliver sharp images, it also offers tools to be instantly creative and quickly share photos to a smartphone. This book will get you up to speed on the D3400 in a flash—teaching you all the basic photography skills needed to get great shots from a DSLR camera, while also giving you clear, hands-on guidance through the D3400's specific controls.

Nikon D3400 for Dummies helps you learn the ins and outs of the Nikon D3400, including how to get started right away in auto mode, get creative with scene modes, and take full control in manual mode. Filled with practical, easy-to-follow instructions, this book will help you transform from an inexperienced beginner to an advanced shutterbug whose shots could grace the cover of any popular magazine.

• Get the lowdown on the controls and settings on a Nikon D3400
• Learn how pro photographers set their cameras to get better shots
• Discover the tools that control your camera's exposure settings
• Put your newfound knowledge together to shoot better portraits, action shots, and low-light images

If you're ready to put down your dinky, dim-lit, non-zooming smartphone and pick up a real professional-grade DSLR camera, do so with the help of Nikon D3400 for Dummies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781119336242
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	12/27/2016
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	264,123
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Julie Adair King has been covering digital cameras and photography for over two decades. Along with Digital Photography For Dummies, Julie has also written For Dummies guides covering specific Nikon and Canon digital SLR cameras. When not writing, she teaches master classes in photography and digital photo editing.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

How This Book Is Organized 2

Icons and Other Stuff to Note 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1 Fast Track to Super Snaps 5

Chapter 1 Getting Up and Running 7

Preparing the Camera for Initial Use 7

Exploring Basic Camera Features 11

Checking out external controls 11

Ordering from camera menus 19

Switching to Live View mode 23

Viewing critical picture settings 25

Adjusting settings via the control strip 28

Displaying Help Screens 29

Familiarizing Yourself with the Lens 30

Working with Memory Cards 35

Taking a Few Final Setup Steps 37

Restoring Default Settings 40

Chapter 2 Reviewing Five Essential Picture-Taking Options 43

Choosing an Exposure Mode 44

Fully automatic exposure modes 44

Semiautomatic modes (P, S, and A) 45

Manual exposure mode (M) 46

Specialty modes (Effects and Guide modes) 46

Setting the Release Mode 47

Single Frame and Quiet Shutter Release modes 48

Continuous (burst mode) shooting 49

Self-timer shooting 50

Wireless remote control modes 51

Checking Image Size and Image Quality 52

Considering the Image Size setting (resolution) 52

Understanding Image Quality options (JPEG or Raw) 56

Setting Image Size and Image Quality 60

Adding Flash 62

Enabling and disabling flash 63

Choosing a Flash mode 64

Adjusting the flash output (P, S, A, and M modes only) 70

Chapter 3 Taking Great Pictures, Automatically 75

Shooting in Auto and Auto Flash Off Modes 75

Viewfinder photography in Auto and Auto Flash Off modes 76

Live View photography in Auto and Auto Flash off modes 79

Taking Advantage of Scene Modes 82

Portrait mode 83

Landscape mode 84

Child mode 84

Sports mode 85

Close Up mode 87

Night Portrait mode 88

Part 2 Beyond the Basics 89

Chapter 4 Taking Charge of Exposure 91

Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 92

Aperture affects depth of field 94

Shutter speed affects motion blur 96

ISO affects image noise 96

Doing the exposure balancing act 99

Stepping Up to Advanced Exposure Modes (P, S, A, and M) 100

Checking the Exposure Meter 102

Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode 105

Setting Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 108

Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 108

Controlling ISO 111

Solving Exposure Problems 115

Applying Exposure Compensation 115

Expanding tonal range with Active D-Lighting 119

Eliminating vignetting 122

Using autoexposure lock 124

Chapter 5 Controlling Focus and Depth of Field 125

Choosing Automatic or Manual Focusing 126

Exploring Standard Focusing Options (Viewfinder Photography) 127

Mastering the autofocusing system 128

Focusing manually 137

Focusing During Live View and Movie Shooting 140

Understanding Live View autofocusing 141

Manual focusing during Live View and movie shooting 149

Manipulating Depth of Field 149

Chapter 6 Mastering Color Controls 153

Understanding White Balance 153

Changing the White Balance setting 155

Fine-tuning White Balance settings 158

Creating white balance presets 159

Choosing a Color Space 163

Taking a Quick Look at Picture Controls 164

Chapter 7 Putting St All Together 171

Recapping Basic Picture Settings 171

Shooting Still Portraits 172

Capturing Action 178

Capturing Scenic Vistas 181

Capturing Dynamic Close-Ups 184

Chapter 7 Shooting, Viewing, and Trimming Movies 187

Shooting Movies Using Default Settings 188

Adjusting Video Settings 193

Controlling Audio 197

Choosing the Microphone setting (volume control) 197

Reducing wind noise 200

Exploring Other Recording Options 201

Manipulating Movie Exposure 203

Screening Your Movies 205

Trimming Movies 207

Saving a Movie Frame as a Still Image 210

Part 3 After the Shot 211

Chapter 8 Playback Mode: Viewing Your Photos 213

Picture Playback 101 214

Choosing Which Images to View 215

Adjusting Playback Timing 216

Enabling Automatic Picture Rotation 217

Shifting from Single-Image to Thumbnails Display 219

Displaying Photos in Calendar View 220

Magnifying Photos During Playback 221

Viewing Picture Data 223

File Information mode 224

Highlights ("blinkies") display mode 227

RGB Histogram mode 228

Shooting Data mode 231

Overview mode 232

Creating a Digital Slide Show 234

Viewing Your Photos on a Television 236

Chapter 10 Working with Picture and Movie Files 239

Rating Photos and Movies 240

Deleting Files 242

Deleting files one at a time 242

Deleting all files 243

Deleting a batch of selected files 243

Protecting Photos and Movies 246

Taking a Look at Nikon's Photo Software 247

Downloading Pictures to the Computer 250

Connecting via USB 251

Starting the file-transfer process 252

Downloading using Nikon Transfer 2 253

Processing Raw (NEF) Files 257

Processing Raw images in the camera 258

Processing Raw files in Capture NX4D 261

Preparing Pictures for Online Sharing 264

Prepping online photos using ViewNX-i 265

Resizing pictures from the Retouch menu 265

Part 4 The Part of Tens 269

Chapter 11 Ten Fun (And Practical) Ways to Manipulate Your Photos 271

Applying the Retouch Menu Fitters 272

Removing Red-Eye 275

Straightening Tilting Horizon Lines 275

Removing (Or Creating) Lens Distortion 277

Correcting Perspective 278

Adjusting Exposure and Color 279

Cropping Your Photo 282

Applying Effects to Existing Photos 284

Shooting in Effects Mode 288

Combining Two Photos with Image Overlay 293

Chapter 12 Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day 295

Adding Hidden Image Comments 295

Adding a Copyright Notice 297

Creating Custom Image Folders 298

Turning Off the AF-Assist Illuminator 300

Adjusting Automatic Shutdown Timing 300

Changing the Look of the Information Display 301

Keeping the Information Display Hidden 303

Changing the Function Button's Function 303

Customizing the AE-L/AF-L Button 304

Using the Shutter Button to Lock Exposure and Focus (or Not) 305

Appendix: Intro to Nikon Snapbridge 307

What Can I Do with SnapBridge? 308

Getting Familiar with the SnapBridge App 309

Understanding SnapBridge-Related Camera Options 312

Glossary of Digital Photography Terms 315

Index 323