Nikon D7100 Digital Field Guide

J. Dennis Thomas is a professional photographer and the author of 20 Digital Field Guides. He does freelance photography for Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Veri.Live magazines, and his photographs have also appeared in People, Us Weekly, Elle, Ebony, New York Post, and many other notable periodicals.

Acknowledgments iv Introduction xv CHAPTER 1 Exploring the Nikon D7100 1 Key Components of the D7100 2 Top of the camera 2 Back of the camera 5 Front of the camera 10 Left side of the camera 12 Right side of the camera 14 Viewfinder Display 15 Control Panel 19 Information Display 24 CHAPTER 2 Nikon D7100 Essentials 31 Exposure Modes 32 Auto modes 32 Auto 32 Auto flash off 33 Programmed auto 33 Aperture-priority auto 34 Shutter-priority auto 36 Manual 37 Scene Modes 38 Special Effects Modes 43 Metering Modes 48 Matrix 48 Center-weighted 50 Spot 50 Autofocus 51 Phase detection 51 Contrast detection 52 Autofocus Modes 52 Auto Servo AF 53 Continuous Servo AF 53 Single Servo AF 53 Autofocus Area Modes 54 Auto-area AF 55 Single-point AF 55 Dynamic-area AF 55 Dynamic-area AF 9 56 Dynamic-area AF 21 56 Dynamic-area AF 51 56 3-D tracking 57 Release Modes 57 ISO Sensitivity 58 Auto ISO 59 Noise reduction 60 Long exposure Noise Reduction 60 High ISO Noise Reduction 61 White Balance 62 The Kelvin scale 62 White balance settings 62 Picture Controls 64 File Formats, Size, and Compression 72 NEF (RAW) 72 JPEG 73 Image size 74 Image quality 75 CHAPTER 3 Setting up the Nikon D7100 77 The Playback Menu 78 Delete 78 Playback folder 79 Hide image 80 Playback display options 81 Copy image(s) 82 Image review 83 After delete 84 Rotate tall 84 Slide show 85 DPOF print order 85 The Shooting Menu 86 Reset shooting menu 87 Storage folder 87 File naming 88 Role played by card in Slot 2 89 Image quality 89 Image size 90 Image area 91 JPEG compression 92 NEF (RAW) recording 92 White balance 93 Choosing a color temperature 94 Preset manual white balance 94 Copy white balance from an existing photograph 96 Set Picture Control 97 Manage Picture Control 97 Color space 99 Active D-Lighting 99 High Dynamic Range (HDR) 100 Auto distortion control 101 Long exposure NR 102 High ISO NR 102 ISO sensitivity settings 102 Remote control mode (ML-L3) 103 Multiple exposure 103 Interval timer shooting 104 Movie settings 105 The Custom Setting Menu 106 Reset custom settings 106 Custom Settings menu a: Autofocus 106 a1: AF-C priority selection 107 a2: AF-S priority selection 107 a3: Focus tracking with lock-on 107 a4: AF point illumination 108 a5: Focus point wrap-around 108 a6: Number of focus points 108 a7: Built-in AF-assist illuminator 108 Custom Settings menu b: Metering/exposure 109 b1: ISO sensitivity step value 109 b2: EV steps for exposure cntrl 109 b3: Easy exposure compensation 109 b4: Center-weighted area 110 b5: Fine-tune optimal exposure 110 Custom Setting menu c: Timers/AE lock 111 c1: Shutter-release button AE-L 111 c2: Standby timer 111 c3: Self-timer 111 c4: Monitor off delay 112 c5: Remote on duration (ML-L3) 112 Custom Setting menu d: Shooting/display 112 d1: Beep 113 d2: Viewfinder grid display 113 d3: ISO display and adjustment 113 d4: Screen tips 113 d5: CL mode shooting speed 114 d6: Maxcontinuous release 114 d7: File number sequence 114 d8: Information display 114 d9: LCD illumination 115 d10: Exposure delay mode 115 d11: Flash warning 115 d12: MB-D15 battery type 115 d13: Battery order 116 Custom Setting menu e: Bracketing/flash 116 e1: Flash sync speed 116 e2: Flash shutter speed 116 e3: Flash cntrl for built-in flash 117 e4: Exposure compfor flash 117 e5: Modeling flash 118 e6: Auto bracketing set 118 e7: Bracketing order 118 Custom Setting menu f: Controls 118 f1: OK button 118 f2: Assign Fn button 119 f3: Assign preview button 122 f4: Assign AE-L/AF-L button 123 f5: Customize command dials 123 f6: Release button to use dial 124 f7: Slot empty release lock 124 f8: Reverse indicators 125 f9: Assign MB-D15 AE-L/AF-L button 125 Custom Settings menu g: Movie 125 g1: Assign Fn button 125 g2: Assign preview button 126 g3: Assign AE-L/AF-L button 126 g4: Assign shutter button 126 The Setup Menu 127 Format memory card 127 Save user settings 127 Reset user settings 128 Monitor brightness 128 Clean image sensor 128 Lock mirror up for cleaning 128 Image Dust Off ref photo 129 Flicker reduction 129 Time zone and date 130 Auto image rotation 130 Battery info 130 Image comment 131 Copyright information 131 Save/load settings 131 Virtual horizon 132 Non-CPU lens data 132 AF fine-tune 132 HDMI 135 GPS 136 Wireless mobile adapter 136 Network 136 Eye-Fi upload 136 Firmware version 137 The Retouch Menu 137 D-Lighting 138 Red-eye correction 139 Trim 139 Monochrome 140 Filter effects 140 Color balance 141 Image overlay 142 NEF (RAW) processing 143 Resize 144 Quick retouch 144 Straighten 145 Distortion control 145 Fisheye 145 Color outline 145 Color sketch 145 Perspective control 146 Miniature effect 146 Selective color 147 Edit movie 147 Side-by-side comparison 148 Recent Settings/My Menu 148 CHAPTER 4 Selecting and Using Lenses with the Nikon D7100 151 Deciphering Nikon Lens Codes 152 Lens Compatibility 153 The DX Crop Factor 154 Third-Party Lenses 156 Types of Lenses 158 Wide-angle lenses 158 Standard zoom lenses 162 Telephoto lenses 164 Close-up/Macro lenses 167 Fisheye lenses 169 Lens Accessories 170 Teleconverters 170 Extension tubes 172 Close-up filters 172 Ultraviolet filters 173 Neutral density filters 174 CHAPTER 5 Controlling Exposure 177 Defining Exposure 178 ISO 179 Shutter speed 180 Fast shutter speeds 181 Slow shutter speeds 181 Aperture or f-stop 182 Fine-Tuning Your Exposure 185 Exposure compensation 186 Using histograms 187 CHAPTER 6 Working with Light 193 Lighting Essentials 194 The quality of light 194 Soft lighting 194 Hard lighting 195 Lighting direction 195 Frontlighting 196 Sidelighting 196 Backlighting 197 Natural Light 199 Continuous Light 200 The D7100 Built-in Flash 202 Built-in lash exposure modes 202 i-TTL and i-TTL BL 202 Manual 203 Repeating Flash 204 Commander 204 Flash Sync Modes 205 Sync speed 206 Front-curtain sync 206 Slow sync 207 Red-Eye Reduction 208 Rear-curtain sync 208 Flash compensation 209 Creative Lighting System Basics 209 Light Modifiers 210 CHAPTER 7 Working with the Live View and Video Modes 213 Live View Mode 214 Focus modes 214 Single-servo AF 215 Full-time Servo AF 215 AF-area modes 215 Using Live View mode 217 Shooting and Editing Video 220 Frame size and frame rate 224 In-camera video editing 226 CHAPTER 8 Viewing, Downloading, Managing, and Editing Images 229 Viewing Your Images 230 Downloading Your Images 232 File Management and Workflow 233 Folder structure 234 Editing 234 Filenames and metadata 235 CHAPTER 9 Advanced Topics 237 U1/U2 User Settings 238 Working with Off-camera Flashes 252 Gear 253 Speedlights or flashes 254 Light stands and brackets 255 Umbrellas 256 Manual flash exposures 257 Guide Number 257 Distance 257 Aperture 258 GN/D = A 258 Technique 259 Portraits 259 Small product and still-life 261 HDR and Tone Mapping 263 Bracketing 264 In-Camera HDR 265 Tone mapping 266 Processing Options 267 Tonal Adjustments and Color Corrections 269 APPENDIX A General Composition Tips 271 Keep It Simple 271 The Rule of Thirds 272 Leading Lines and S-Curves 273 The Odd Rule 273 Using Color 274 Helpful Hints 275 APPENDIX B Accessories 277 Nikon MB-D15 Battery Grip 277 Speedlights 278 Nikon GP-1A GPS Unit 279 Nikon ME-1 Stereo Microphone 280 WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter 280 ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control 281 Wireless Remote Controllers WR-10/WR-1 281 APPENDIX C Color Checker 283 Glossary 285 Index 292