Nikon D5300 Digital Field Guide

The Nikon D5300 Digital Field Guide is filled with everything you need to know to take fantastic photos with your new Nikon. In full color, this portable guide covers all of the essential controls, features, and functions of the Nikon D5300, using step-by-step instructions and providing full-color images of each menu screen. Nikon users will love this comprehensive field guide—it's just the right size to fit into a camera bag, so you'll be able to take it wherever your photography adventures take you.

The guide goes beyond camera settings, offering you a refresher course in digital photography principles, and covering the essentials of lighting, composition, and exposure. This perfectly sized field guide features:

• Compact size, allowing photographers to carry it wherever they go
• Professional advice on everything from composing a variety of shots to choosing lenses
• Colorful example images, along with detailed instructions on how to get the most from each of the camera's features

Filled with amazing examples, this handy guide offers a variety of tips and tricks. You'll learn how to capture portraits, take character-filled candid shots, frame sports action, document travel, work with macro photography, and much more!

J. Dennis Thomas is an Austin, Texas, based photographer and the author of twenty Nikon Digital Field Guides by Wiley Publishing. He is also a frequent author of articles on photographic theory and technique for Digital Photo Magazine, MasteringPhoto.com, and F-Stoppers.com. Read more on his blog, the Nikon Digital Field Guide Online (http://NikonDFG.com).

Introduction xiii

About the Digital Field Guide xiv

CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Nikon D5300 1

Key Components of the D5300 2

The top of the camera 2

The back of the camera 4

The front of the camera 7

The left side of the camera 8

The Viewfinder Display 10

The Information Display 14

CHAPTER 2 Nikon D5300 Essentials 21

Exposure Modes 22

Automatic modes 22

Programmed auto mode 23

Aperture-priority auto mode 24

Shutter-priority auto mode 25

Manual mode 26

Scene modes 27

Special Effects Modes 33

Night Vision 33

Color Sketch 34

Toy Camera effect 34

Miniature Effect 35

Selective Color 37

Silhouette 38

High Key 38

Low Key 38

HDR Painting 39

Metering Modes 40

Matrix metering mode 40

Center-weighted metering mode 41

Spot metering mode 42

Autofocus 42

Phase detection 42

Contrast detection 43

Focus Modes 43

Auto Servo AF mode 44

Continuous Servo AF mode 44

Single Servo AF mode 44

Manual focus mode 45

Autofocus Area Modes 45

Auto-area AF mode 46

Single-point AF mode 46

Dynamic-area AF mode 47

Release Modes 48

ISO Sensitivity 50

Auto ISO 50

Noise reduction 51

White Balance 53

The Kelvin scale 53

White balance settings 53

Picture Controls 55

File Formats, Size, and Compression 62

NEF (RAW) 63

JPEG 63

Image size 65

Image quality 66

Wi-Fi 67

GPS 69

CHAPTER 3 Setting up the Nikon D5300 71

The Playback Menu 72

Delete 72

Playback folder 73

Playback display options 74

Image review 75

Rotate tall 75

Slide show 75

DPOF print order 76

Rating 77

Select to send to smart device 77

The Shooting Menu 78

Reset shooting menu 78

Storage folder 78

Image quality 79

Image size 80

NEF (RAW) recording 80

White balance 82

Set Picture Control 84

Manage Picture Control 84

Auto distortion control 86

Color space 86

Active D-Lighting 87

High Dynamic Range 87

Long exposure NR 88

High ISO NR 88

ISO sensitivity settings 89

Release Mode 89

Multiple exposure 89

Interval timer shooting 90

Movie settings 91

The Custom Setting Menu 92

Reset custom settings 92

Custom Setting menu a: Autofocus 92

Custom Setting menu b: Exposure 94

Custom Setting menu c: Timers/AE lock 94

Custom Setting menu d: Shooting/display 96

Custom Setting menu e: Bracketing/fl ash 97

Custom Setting menu f: Controls 98

The Setup Menu 100

Format memory card 100

Monitor brightness 101

Info display format 101

Auto info display 101

Clean image sensor 102

Lock mirror up for cleaning 102

Image Dust Off ref photo 103

Flicker reduction 104

Time zone and date 104

Language 104

Auto image rotation 104

Image comment 104

Location data 105

Video mode 105

HDMI 106

Remote control 106

Wi-Fi 107

Eye-Fi upload 107

Conformity marking 107

Firmware version 107

The Retouch Menu 107

D-Lighting 109

Red-eye correction 109

Trim 110

Monochrome 110

Filter effects 111

Color balance 112

Image overlay 112

NEF (RAW) processing 113

Resize 114

Quick retouch 115

Straighten 115

Distortion control 116

Fisheye 116

Color outline 116

Color sketch 116

Perspective control 116

Miniature effect 117

Selective color 117

Edit movie 118

Recent Settings / My Menu 118

CHAPTER 4 Selecting and Using Lenses with the Nikon D5300 121

Deciphering Nikon Lens Codes 122

Lens Compatibility 123

The DX Crop Factor 125

Third-Party Lenses 127

Types of Lenses 129

Wide-angle lenses 129

Standard zoom lenses 133

Telephoto lenses 135

Close-up/Macro lenses 137

Fisheye lenses 139

CHAPTER 5 Controlling Exposure 141

Defining Exposure 142

ISO 143

Shutter speed 144

Aperture or f-stop 147

Fine-Tuning Your Exposure 150

Exposure compensation 150

Using histograms 151

CHAPTER 6 Working with Light 157

Lighting Essentials 158

The quality of light 158

Lighting direction 160

Natural Light 163

Continuous Light 165

The D5300 Built-in Flash 166

Built-in flash exposure modes 167

Flash sync modes 168

Flash Compensation 171

Light Modifiers 172

CHAPTER 7 Working with the Live View and Video Modes 175

Live View Mode 176

Focus modes 177

AF-area modes 178

Using Live View mode 180

Shooting and Editing Video 184

Frame size and frame rate 187

In-camera video editing 188

CHAPTER 8 Real-World Applications 191

Abstract Photography 192

Equipment 193

Technique 193

Action and Sports Photography 194

Equipment 195

Technique 196

Concert and Live Music Photography 198

Equipment 200

Technique 201

Macro Photography 203

Equipment 204

Technique 206

Nature and Landscape Photography 208

Equipment 209

Technique 210

Night and Low-light Photography 211

Equipment 212

Technique 214

Portrait Photography 216

Equipment 217

Technique 218

Still-life, Product, and Food Photography 220

Equipment 221

Technique 222

Street Photography 225

Equipment 225

Technique 227

CHAPTER 9 After Capture 231

Viewing Your Images 232

Downloading Your Images 234

File Management and Workflow 235

Folder structure 236

Editing 236

Filenames and metadata 237

Tonal Adjustments and Color Corrections 238

Sharing Your Images Using Wi-Fi 242

APPENDIX A General Composition Tips 245

APPENDIX B Accessories 251

Glossary 255

Index 263

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.