Contents

Nikon D50 User's Manual PDF

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Summary of Content for Nikon D50 User's Manual PDF

En

The Nikon Guide to Digital Photography with the

DIGITAL CAMERA

About This Manual

The topics in this manual are arranged in order from easy to advanced.

These chapters cover all you need to know for simple, point-and-shoot

photography

Read these chapters for a complete description of all aspects of camera

operation

Introduction (pages 113) Learn the names of camera parts and ready the camera for use.

Setup: Shooting, Playback, and Custom Settings (pages 76100) Read this chapter for more information on Custom Set- tings and on shooting and playback options.

Reference: More on Playback (pages 5167) Learn more about camera playback, transferring photo- graphs to a computer, and printing photographs.

Reference: More on Photography (pages 3050) Play with exposure and explore the creative possibilities of some of the cameras more advanced settings.

Tutorial: Photography and Playback (pages 1424) The basic operations involved in taking photographs and playing them back.

Technical Notes (pages 101103) Read this chapter for information on camera speci cations, accessories, and troubleshooting.

Setup: Basic Camera Settings (pages 6875) Basic camera setup, including formatting memory cards and setting the camera clock.

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Setup

Reference

Introduction

Tutorial

More on Photography

More on Playback

Basic Camera Settings: The Setup Menu

Shooting Options: The Shooting Menu

Playback Options: The Playback Menu

Custom Settings: The Custom Settings Menu

Technical Notes

Photography and Playback

Trademark Information Macintosh, Mac OS, and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The SD logo is a trademark of the SD Card Association. Adobe and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. PictBridge is a trademark. All other trade names mentioned in this manual or the other documentation provided with your Nikon product are trademarks or regis- tered trademarks of their respective holders.

ii

To prevent damage to your Nikon product or injury to yourself or to oth- ers, read the following safety precautions in their entirety before using this equipment. Keep these safety instructions where all those who use the product will read them.

The consequences that could result from failure to observe the precautions listed in this section are indicated by the following symbol:

This icon marks warnings, information that should be read before using this Nikon product to prevent possible injury.

WARNINGS Do not look at the sun through the view-

nder Viewing the sun or other strong light source through the view nder could cause per ma nent visual im pair ment.

Turn off immediately in the event of malfunction Should you notice smoke or an un usu al smell coming from the equip ment or from the AC adapt er (avail able sep- a rate ly), unplug the AC adapt er and re move the battery im me di ate ly, tak- ing care to avoid burns. Con tin ued op er a tion could re sult in injury. After re mov ing the bat tery, take the equip- ment to a Nikon-au tho rized service cen ter for in spec tion.

Do not use in the presence of am- ma ble gas Do not use electronic equip ment in the presence of ammable gas, as this could result in ex plo sion or re.

Do not place strap around the neck of an infant or child Placing the camera strap around the neck of an infant or child could result in strangulation.

Do not disassemble Touching the products internal parts could result in injury. In the event of a malfunction, the prod uct should be re paired only by a quali ed tech ni cian. Should the product break open as the re sult of a fall or other ac ci dent, re move the battery and/or AC adapt er and then take the prod uct to a Nikon-au tho rized ser vice cen ter for in spec tion.

Observe proper precautions when han- dling batteries Batteries may leak or explode if im- prop er ly handled. Observe the fol low ing pre cau tions when handling bat ter ies for use in this product:

Be sure the product is off before re- plac ing the battery. If you are using an AC adapter, be sure it is un plugged.

Use only batteries approved for use in this equipment. Do not mix old and new batteries or batteries of different types.

Do not at tempt to insert the battery upside down or back wards.

Do not short or disassemble the bat- tery.

Do not expose the battery to ame or to excessive heat.

Do not immerse in or expose to wa ter. Replace the terminal cover when trans-

porting the battery. Do not transport

For Your Safety

iii

or store with metal objects such as neck lac es or hair pins.

Batteries are prone to leakage when fully discharged. To avoid damage to the prod uct, be sure to remove the battery when no charge re mains.

When the battery is not in use, at tach the terminal cover and store in a cool place.

Immediately after use, or when the prod uct is used on battery power for an ex tend ed period, the bat tery may become hot. Before re mov ing the bat- tery, turn the camera off and al low the battery to cool.

Discontinue use immediately should you notice any changes in the bat tery, such as dis col or a tion or de for ma tion.

Use appropriate cables When connecting cables to the in put and output jacks, use only the ca bles pro vid ed or sold by Nikon for the pur pose, to main tain com pli ance with prod uct reg u la tions.

Keep out of reach of children Particular care should be tak en to pre- vent infants from putting the bat tery or other small parts into their mouths.

CD-ROMs The CD-ROMs on which the soft ware and manuals are dis trib ut ed should not be played back on audio CD equip ment. Playing CD-ROMs on an audio CD play er could cause hear ing loss or dam age the equip ment.

Observe caution when using the ash Do not operate the ash with the ash

window touching a person or object. Failure to observe this precaution could result in burns or re.

Using the ash close to your sub jects eyes could cause tem po rary vi su al im pair ment. Par tic u lar care should be observed if pho to graph ing in fants, when the ash should be no less than one meter (39) from the sub ject.

When using the view nder When operating the diopter ad just ment control with your eye to the view nder, care should be tak en not to put your n ger in your eye ac ci den tal ly.

Avoid contact with liquid crystal Should the monitor break, care should be tak en to avoid injury due to bro ken glass and to pre vent liq uid crystal from the mon i tor touch ing the skin or en- ter ing the eyes or mouth.

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No part of the manuals included with this product may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form, by any means, without Nikons prior writ- ten permission.

Nikon reserves the right to change the speci cations of the hardware and soft- ware described in these manuals at any time and without prior notice.

Nikon will not be held liable for any damag- es resulting from the use of this product.

While every effort has been made to en- sure that the information in these manuals is accurate and complete, we would ap- preciate it were you to bring any errors or omissions to the attention of the Nikon representative in your area (address pro- vided separately).

Notice for customers in the U.S.A. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Radio Frequency Interference Statement

Notices

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reason- able protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio fre- quency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio commu- nications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particu- lar installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turn- ing the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. Increase the separation between the

equipment and receiver. Connect the equipment into an outlet on

a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for help.

CAUTIONS Modi cations The FCC requires the user to be noti ed that any changes or modi cations made to this device that are not expressly approved by Nikon Corporation may void the users authority to operate the equipment.

Interface Cables Use the interface cables sold or provided by Nikon for your equipment. Using other in- terface cables may exceed the limits of Class B Part 15 of the FCC rules.

Notice for customers in the State of California WARNING: Handling the cord on this prod- uct will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.

Nikon Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, New York 11747-3064, U.S.A. Tel.: 631-547-4200

Notice for customers in Canada CAUTION This class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference Causing Equipment Regulations.

ATTENTION Cet appareil numrique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Rglement sur le matriel brouilleur du Canada.

D50 Tested To Comply With FCC Standards

FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE

v

Notice Concerning Prohibition of Copying or Reproduction Note that simply being in possession of material that has been digitally copied or repro- duced by means of a scanner, digital camera or other device may be punishable by law.

Items prohibited by law from being copied or reproduced Do not copy or reproduce paper money, coins, securities, government bonds, or lo- cal government bonds, even if such copies or reproductions are stamped Sample.

The copying or reproduction of paper money, coins, or securities which are circu- lated in a foreign country is prohibited.

Unless the prior permission of the govern- ment has been obtained, the copying or reproduction of unused postage stamps or post cards issued by the government is prohibited.

The copying or reproduction of stamps issued by the government and of certi- ed documents stipulated by law is prohibited.

Cautions on certain copies and repro- ductions The government has issued cautions on copies or reproductions of securities issued by private companies (shares, bills, checks, gift certi cates, etc.), commuter passes, or coupon tickets, except when a minimum of necessary copies are to be provided for business use by a company. Also, do not copy or reproduce passports issued by the government, licenses issued by public agencies and private groups, ID cards, and tickets, such as passes and meal coupons.

Comply with copyright notices The copying or reproduction of copy- righted creative works such as books, music, paintings, woodcut prints, maps, drawings, movies, and photographs is governed by national and international copyright laws. Do not use this product for the purpose of making illegal copies or to infringe copyright laws.

Disposing of Data Storage Devices Please note that deleting images or formatting memory cards or other data storage devices does not completely erase the original image data. Deleted les can sometimes be re- covered from discarded storage devices using commercially available software, potentially resulting in the malicious use of personal image data. Ensuring the privacy of such data is the users responsibility.

Before discarding a data storage device or transferring ownership to another person, erase all data using commercial deletion software, or format the device and then completely re ll it with images containing no private information (for example, pictures of empty sky). Be sure to also replace any pictures selected for preset white balance (page 81). Care should be taken to avoid injury or damage to property when physically destroying data storage devices.

Symbol for separate collection applicable in European countries This symbol indicates that this product is to be collected separately.

The following apply only to users in European countries. This product is designated for separate collection at an appropriate collec-

tion point. Do not dispose of as household waste. For more information, contact the retailer or the local authorities in charge

of waste management.

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Table of Contents

For Your Safety.............................................................................................. ii Notices ........................................................................................................... iv

Introduction.................................................................................................... 1 Getting to Know the Camera....................................................................... 2 First Steps ...................................................................................................... 7

Attaching a Lens ........................................................................................... 7 Charging and Inserting the Battery................................................................ 8 Basic Setup ................................................................................................... 10 Inserting Memory Cards ................................................................................ 11 Adjusting View nder Focus........................................................................... 13

Tutorial: Photography and Playback ............................................................ 14 Taking Photographs in Mode................................................................. 14 Digital Vari-Programs ................................................................................... 19 Choosing a Shooting Mode.......................................................................... 21 Using the Self-timer or Remote Control...................................................... 22 Basic Playback ............................................................................................... 24

Reference........................................................................................................ 25 Using Camera Menus.................................................................................... 26

Reference: More on Photography ................................................................ 30 Image Quality and Size................................................................................. 30

Image Quality ............................................................................................... 31 Image Size .................................................................................................... 32

Choosing the Focus Area.............................................................................. 33 Manual Focus ................................................................................................ 35 Flash Sync Mode............................................................................................ 36 Sensitivity (ISO Equivalency)......................................................................... 39 P, S, A, and M Modes .................................................................................... 40

Choosing an Exposure Mode......................................................................... 40 P: Programmed Auto..................................................................................... 42 S: Shutter-Priority Auto.................................................................................. 43 A: Aperture-Priority Auto .............................................................................. 44 M: Manual .................................................................................................... 45 Exposure Compensation (P, S, and A Modes Only) ......................................... 47 Optimizing Images ........................................................................................ 48 White Balance............................................................................................... 49

Restoring Default Settings ........................................................................... 50

Reference: More on Playback........................................................................ 51 Viewing Photographs ................................................................................... 51 Protecting Photographs from Deletion....................................................... 56 Deleting Individual Photographs................................................................. 57 Viewing Photographs on TV ........................................................................ 58

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A two-button reset (page 50) and Custom Setting R (Menu Reset; page 87) can be used to restore factory default settings.

Viewing Photographs on a Computer ......................................................... 59 Printing Photographs ................................................................................... 62

Setup............................................................................................................... 68 Basic Camera Settings................................................................................... 68

Format.......................................................................................................... 68 CSM/Setup Menu ......................................................................................... 69 Date ............................................................................................................. 69 LCD Brightness ............................................................................................. 69 Video Mode.................................................................................................. 69 Language (LANG).......................................................................................... 70 Image Comment........................................................................................... 70 USB .............................................................................................................. 71 Folders .......................................................................................................... 71 File No. Seq................................................................................................... 73 Mirror Lock-up .............................................................................................. 73 Dust Ref Photo.............................................................................................. 74 Firmware Ver. ................................................................................................ 75 Image Rotation ............................................................................................. 75

Shooting Options.......................................................................................... 76 Optimize Image............................................................................................. 76 Long Exp. NR ................................................................................................ 78 Image Quality ............................................................................................... 78 Image Size .................................................................................................... 78 White Balance............................................................................................... 79 ISO ............................................................................................................... 82

Playback Options .......................................................................................... 83 Delete........................................................................................................... 84 Playback Fldr ................................................................................................. 84 Rotate Tall ..................................................................................................... 84 Slide Show.................................................................................................... 85 Print Set ........................................................................................................ 86 Small Picture ................................................................................................. 86

Custom Settings ............................................................................................ 87

Technical Notes............................................................................................... 101 Camera Settings ............................................................................................ 101 Optional Accessories..................................................................................... 104 Caring for the Camera.................................................................................. 115 Troubleshooting............................................................................................ 120 Appendix ....................................................................................................... 126 Speci cations ................................................................................................ 129 Index .............................................................................................................. 136

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Foreign Matter on the Low-Pass Filter Nikon takes every possible precaution to pre vent foreign matter from com ing into con tact with the low-pass lter during production and ship ping. The D50, how ev er, is designed to be used with interchangeable lens es, and for eign matter may enter the camera when lens es are removed or exchanged. Once inside the camera, this for eign matter may adhere to the low-pass lter, where it may appear in photographs tak en under cer tain con di tions. To prevent foreign matter from entering the camera, do not exchange lenses in dusty environments. To pro tect the camera when no lens is in place, be sure to replace the body cap pro vid ed with the camera, being care ful to rst remove all dust and other foreign matter that may be ad her ing to the body cap.

Should foreign matter nd its way onto the low-pass lter, clean the low-pass lter as instructed on pages 116117 of this manual, or have the low-pass lter cleaned by authorized Nikon ser vice per son nel. Pho to graphs affected by the presence of for eign matter on the low-pass lter can be re touched us ing Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (available separately) or the clean image options available in some third-party im ag ing software.

Take Test Shots Before taking pictures on important occasions (for example, at weddings or be fore tak ing the cam era with you on a trip), take a test shot to ensure that the camera is func tion ing normally. Nikon will not be held liable for damages or lost pro ts that may result from product malfunction.

Life-Long Learning As part of Nikons Life-Long Learning commitment to ongoing prod uct sup port and ed u ca tion, con tin u al ly-updated information is avail able on-line at the following sites: For users in the U.S.A.: http://www.nikonusa.com/ For users in Europe and Africa: http://www.europe-nikon.com/support For users in Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East: http://www.nikon-asia.com/ Visit these sites to keep up-to-date with the latest product in for ma tion, tips, an swers to fre quent ly-asked ques tions (FAQs), and gen er al advice on digital imaging and pho- tog ra phy. Ad di tion al information may be available from the Nikon rep re sen ta tive in your area. See the URL below for contact in for ma tion: http://nikonimaging.com/

1

Thank you for your purchase of a Nikon D50 single-lens re ex (SLR) digital camera with interchangeable lenses. This manual has been written to help you enjoy taking pictures with your Nikon digital camera. Read this manual thoroughly before use, and keep it handy when using the product. The docu- mentation for this product also includes the manuals listed below. Please be sure to read all instructions thoroughly to get the most from the cam era. Quick Start Guide: The Quick Start Guide takes you through the process

of unpacking and set ting up your Nikon digital camera, taking your rst photographs, and trans fer ring them to your computer.

PictureProject Reference Manual (on CD): The PictureProject Reference Manual contains information on using the PictureProject software provid- ed with your camera. For information on view ing the reference manual, see the Quick Start Guide.

To make it easier to nd the information you need, the following sym bols and con ven tions are used:

This icon indicates that more infor- mation is available elsewhere in this manual or in the Quick Start Guide.

This icon marks notes, information that should be read before using the camera.

This icon marks tips, additional in- formation that may be helpful when using the camera.

This icon marks cautions, informa- tion that should be read before use to prevent damage to the camera.

This icon marks settings that can be ne-tuned from the Custom Set tings menu.

This icon marks settings that can be adjusted using camera menus.

An AF-S DX 1855 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens is used in this manual for illustrative purposes. See the manual provided with the lens for more information.

Lens

Focal length scale Mounting index: 7

Focus ring: 35 A-M mode switch: 15, 35

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CPU contacts: 105Zoom ring: 16

Introduction

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Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with camera controls and dis- plays. You may nd it helpful to bookmark this section and refer to it as you read through the rest of the manual.

Camera Body Accessory shoe: 109

Getting to Know the Camera

Mode dial: 6

( ash sync mode) button: 18, 36 [ Flash compen- sation: 38]

Eyelet for camera strap:

7

Lens release button: 7

Focus-mode selector: 15, 35

Infrared receiver:

28

Power switch: 14

(exposure compensation) button: 47 [ Aperture button: 45] [Flash compen- sation: 38]

(self-timer / remote control) button: 28 [Reset button: 50]

AF-assist illuminator: 34 [Self-timer lamp: 22] [Red-eye reduction lamp: 36]

Control panel: 4

Built-in ash: 109

Accessory shoe cover:

109

Shutter-release button: 17

Connector cover

USB connector: 60, 63

Video connector: 58

DC-IN connector for optional EH-5 AC adapter: 113

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Camera Body (continued)

(AE / AF lock) button: 34, 97, 98

Command dial: 4345, 5155

Memory card slot cover: 11, 12

Battery-chamber cover: 9

Tripod socket

Reset switch: 120

(playback) button: 24, 51

(menu) button: 26

(thumbnail) button: 54 [ISO (sensitivity) button: 39]

(help / protect) button: 26, 56 [WB (white balance) button: 49]

(enter) button: 29 [QUAL (image quality / size) button: 32] [ (playback zoom) button: 55]

(shooting mode) button: 21 [Reset button: 50]

Monitor: 24, 26

View nder eyepiece cup: 13View nder eyepiece: 5, 13, 16

Diopter adjustment control: 13

Hide / display photo information Move cursor down

Display previous page Return to previous menu

Cancel

Display next page Display sub-menu

Make selection

Hide/display photo information Move cursor up

Battery-chamber cover latch: 9

Memory card ac- cess lamp: 11, 12, 17

(delete) button: 24, 57

The multi selector is used for menu navigation and to control the display of photo information during playback.

Multi selector

Playback ( 51) Menu navigation ( 28)

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18

21

20

19

12

14

15

17

13

22

16

Control Panel 1

2

3

4

5

6 7

8

11

10

9

1 Shutter speed ..........................4045 Exposure compensation value ....... 47 Flash compensation value ............. 38 Sensitivity (ISO equivalency) .......... 39

2 Sensitivity (ISO) indicator............... 39 Auto sensitivity indicator......... 91, 92

3 Battery indicator ........................... 14 4 Flash sync mode ........................... 36 5 Image quality................................ 31 6 Image size .................................... 32 7 White balance mode..................... 49

8 Number of exposures remaining ... 14 Number of shots remaining before memory buffer lls............. 21 Preset white balance recording indicator ....................................... 79 PC mode indicator ........................ 59

9 K (appears when memory remains for over 1000 exposures) ................ 5

10 Beep indicator .......................... 88 11 Aperture (f/-number) ...............4045

PC mode indicator ........................ 60

12 Flash compensation indicator........ 38 13 Exposure compensation indicator.. 47 14 Flexible program indicator............. 42 15 Focus area .............................. 16, 33

AF-area mode............................... 89 16 AF mode....................................... 88 17 Metering mode............................. 96

18 Self-timer / remote control indicator ....................................... 22

19 Bracketing progress indicator ........ 93 20 Bracketing indicator...................... 93 21 Clock battery indicator.......... 10, 123 22 Shooting mode............................. 21

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Large-Capacity Memory Cards When enough mem o ry re mains on the memory card to record a thou sand or more pic tures at cur rent set tings, the num ber of exposures re main ing will be shown in thou sands, round ed down to the near est hun dred (e.g., if there is room for ap prox i mate ly 1,260 ex po - sures, the ex po sure count dis play will show 1.2 K).

Camera Off Display If the camera is turned off with a battery and memory card inserted, the number of exposures remaining will be displayed in the control panel.

The View nder Display

When the battery is totally exhausted, the display in the view nder will dim. The view- nder display will return to normal when a fully-charged battery is inserted.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17

1

2

3

2

4

1 Reference circle for center-weighted metering....................................... 96

2 Focus brackets (focus areas) .... 16, 33 3 No memory card warning .. 11, 123 4 Battery indicator ........................... 14 5 Focus indicator ............... 17, 35, 123 6 Focus area .............................. 16, 33

AF-area mode............................... 89 7 Flash value (FV) lock...................... 98 8 Shutter speed ..........................4045 9 Aperture (f/-number) ...............4045 10 Flash compensation indicator........ 38 11 Exposure compensation indicator.. 47

12 Number of exposures remaining ... 14 Number of shots remaining before memory buffer lls............. 21 Preset white balance recording indicator ....................................... 79 Exposure compensation value ....... 47 Flash compensation value ............. 38 PC mode indicator .................. 59, 60

13 Flash-ready indicator ..................... 18 14 Autoexposure (AE) lock................. 97 15 Electronic analog exposure display.. 46

Exposure compensation ................ 47 16 Auto sensitivity indicator......... 91, 92 17 K (appears when memory remains

for over 1000 exposures) ................ 5

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The Mode Dial The D50 offers a choice of the following eleven shooting modes:

Advanced Modes (Exposure Modes) Select these modes for full control over camera settings, in- cluding shutter speed and aperture.

P: Programmed auto ( 42)

A: Aperture-priority auto ( 44)

S: Shutter-priority auto ( 43)

M: Manual ( 45)

Point-and-Shoot Modes (Digital Vari-Programs) Selecting a Digital Vari-Program automatically optimizes set- tings to suit the selected scene, making creative photography as simple as rotating the mode dial.

: Auto ( 14)

: Landscape ( 20)

: Sports ( 20)

: Night portrait ( 20)

: Portrait ( 19)

: Child ( 20)

: Close up ( 20)

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Attaching the Camera Strap Attach the strap as shown below.

Detaching Lenses Be sure the camera is off when removing or exchang- ing lenses. To remove the lens, press and hold the lens- release button while turning the lens clockwise.

2 Keep ing the mounting index on the lens aligned with the mounting index on the cam era body, position the lens in the cam- eras bayonet mount. Being careful not to press the lens-release button, ro tate the lens counter-clockwise until it clicks into place.

Attaching a Lens Care should be taken to prevent dust from entering the camera when the lens is removed.

1 Turn the camera off and remove the body cap. Remove the rear lens cap from the lens.

First Steps

Aperture Ring If the lens is equipped with an aperture ring, lock aperture at the minimum setting (highest f/-number). See the lens manual for details.

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Charging and Inserting the Battery Use the supplied EN-EL3a battery and MH-18a quick charger.

1 Charge the battery

1.1 Connect the power cord to the charger and plug it in.

1.2 Place the battery in the charger. The CHARGE lamp will blink as the battery charges. About 135 minutes are required for an exhausted battery to fully charge.

1.3 Charging is complete when the CHARGE lamp stops blinking. Remove the battery from the charger and unplug the char- ger.

The Battery and Charger Read and follow the warnings and cautions on pages iiiii and 118119 of this manual, together with any warnings and instructions provided by the battery manufacturer.

Do not use the battery at ambient temperatures below 0 C (32 F) or above 40 C (104 F). During charging, the tem per a ture should be in the vi cin i ty of 535 C (4195 F). Note that the battery may become hot during use; wait for the battery to cool before charging. Failure to observe these precautions could damage the battery, impair its performance, or prevent it from charging normally.

The supplied power cable is intended solely for use with the MH-18a and is for domestic use only. It may be necessary to purchase another cable for use abroad; consult with a local Nikon-authorized retailer or service representative.

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2 Insert the battery

2.1 After con rming that the camera is off, open the battery chamber cover.

2.2 Insert a fully charged battery as shown at right. Close the battery chamber cover.

Removing the Battery Turn the camera off before removing the battery. Replace the terminal cover when the battery is not in use.

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Basic Setup The rst time the camera is turned on, the language selection dialog shown in Step 1 will be displayed in the monitor. Follow the steps below to choose a language and set the time and date.

3 4

Press multi selector left or right to select item, up or down to change.

Display DATE menu.

2

Select language.

5 Exit DATE menu. Monitor turns off.

Choosing a Language from the Setup Menu ( 68) Selecting Language (LANG) in the setup menu displays the menu shown in Step 1. Highlight an option with the multi selector and press the button to return to the setup menu.

Changing the Time and Date ( 68) Selecting Date in the setup menu displays the menu shown in Step 3. Set the time and date as described in Step 4 and press the button to return to the setup menu.

1

Display language-selection dialog.

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Inserting Memory Cards The camera stores pictures on Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (available separately).

1 Insert a memory card

1.1 Before inserting or removing memory cards, turn the camera off and open the card slot cover.

1.2 Slide the memory card in as shown at right until it clicks into place. The mem- ory card access lamp will light for about a second. Close the memory card slot cover.

Front

The Write Protect Switch SD cards are equipped with a write protect switch to prevent accidental loss of data. When this switch is in the lock position, the camera will display a message to warn that photos can not be recorded or deleted and the memory card can not be formatted.

Write protect switch

1.3 Turn the camera on. If the control panel shows the number of exposures remain- ing, the card is ready for use.

If the message shown at right is displayed in the monitor, the memory card must be formatted before it can be used in the camera. Proceed to Step 2.

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2 Format the memory card Formatting memory cards permanently deletes all photographs and other data they may contain. Be sure all data you wish to keep have been copied to another storage device before formatting the card.

2.1

Highlight Yes.

2.2

Begin formatting. Do not turn camera off or remove battery or memory card until formatting is

complete.

2.3 Monitor turns off when formatting is complete.

Formatting Memory Cards Use the camera Format option to format memory cards. Performance may drop if cards are formatted in a computer.

Removing Memory Cards 1 Con rm that the access lamp is off.

2 Turn the camera off and open the memory card slot cover.

3 Press the card in to eject (). The card can then be removed by hand ().

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Adjusting View nder Focus Photographs are framed in the view nder. Before shooting, make sure that the display in the view nder is in clear focus.

1 Remove the lens cap and turn the camera on.

2 Slide the diopter adjustment control up and down until the focus brackets are in sharp fo- cus. When operating the diopter adjustment control with your eye to the view nder, be careful not to put your ngers or ngernails in your eye.

Focus brackets

The eyepiece cup can be removed when ad- justing view nder focus.

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This section describes how to take pictures in (auto) mode, an automat- ic, point-and-shoot mode in which the majority of settings are controlled by the camera in response to shooting conditions.

1 Turn the camera on

Taking Photographs in Mode Point-and-Shoot Photography

1.1 Remove the lens cap and turn the camera on. The control panel will turn on and the display in the view nder will light. The monitor remains off during shoot- ing.

1.2 Check the battery level in the view nder or control panel.

Control panel

View- nder Description

Battery fully charged. Battery partially discharged.

Low battery. Ready fully- charged spare battery.

(blinks) (blinks) Shutter-release disabled. Change battery.

1.3 The exposure count displays in the con- trol panel and view nder show the num- ber of photographs that can be stored on the memory card. Check the number of exposures remaining.

If there is not enough memory to store additional photographs at current set- tings, the display will ash as shown at right. No further pictures can be taken until the memory card has been replaced or pictures have been deleted.

Tutorial: Photography and Playback

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2 Select mode and adjust camera settings

Illustrations In illustrations throughout this manual, indicators in the control panel and view nder are relevant to the explanation in accompanying text are shown in black. Indicators not mentioned in the text are shown in gray.

2.1 Rotate the mode dial to .

2.2 Rotate the focus-mode selector to AF (autofocus).

2.3 Slide the lens A-M mode switch to A (autofocus). See the lens manual for details.

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3 Frame a photograph

3.1 Hold the camera as shown.

Holding the Camera Hold the handgrip in your right hand and cradle the cam era body or lens with your left. Keep your elbows propped lightly against your torso for support.

3.2 Frame a photo in the view nder with the main subject positioned in any of the ve focus areas.

Focus area

Using a Zoom Lens Use the zoom ring to zoom in on the subject so that it lls a larger area of the frame, or zoom out to increase the area visible in the nal photograph.

Zoom in

Zoom out

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4 Focus and shoot

4.1 Press the shutter-release button halfway. The camera will automatically select the focus area containing the subject closest to the camera and focus on this subject. When the focus operation is complete, the selected focus area will be highlight- ed, a beep will sound, and the in-focus indicator () will appear in the view- nder. Focus will lock while the shutter- release button is pressed halfway.

If the subject is dark, the AF-assist illuminator may light to assist the focus operation and the ash may pop up.

The Shutter-Release Button The camera has a two stage shutter-release button. The camera focuses when the button is pressed halfway; focus locks until the button is released. To take the picture, press the shutter-release button the rest of the way down.

Lock focus Take photograph

4.2 Smoothly press the shutter-release button the rest of the way down to release the shutter and record the photograph. The photograph will be displayed in the moni- tor and the access lamp next to the card slot cov er will light. Do not eject the mem o ry card, turn the camera off, or remove or dis con nect the power source until the lamp has gone out and recording is complete.

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The Built-in Flash If additional lighting is required for correct exposure in

mode, the built-in ash will pop up automatically when the shutter-release is pressed halfway. Subjects outside the range of the ash (0.67.5 m / 2247) may not be properly lit. Remove lens hoods when using the ash.

Once the ash is raised, it will only re when required for additional lighting. If the ash is required, pho- tographs can only be taken when the ( ash-ready) indicator is displayed. Wait until the ash-ready indi- cator is displayed before shooting.

Flash off Auto with red- eye reduction

(see Reference)

Flash res when lighting is poor

If desired, the ash can be turned off so that it will not re even when lighting is poor. Press the button and rotate the command dial until is displayed in the control panel. To turn the ash back on, press the button and rotate the command dial until is displayed in the control panel.

To save battery power when the ash is not in use, return it to the closed position by pressing it gently downward until the latch clicks into place.

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Digital Vari-Programs Creative Photography

In addition to , the D50 offers a choice of six Digital Vari-Program modes. Selecting a program automatically optimizes settings to suit the selected scene, making creative photography as easy as rotating the mode dial.

Mode Description Portrait For portraits. Landscape For landscapes. Child For pictures of children. Sports For moving subjects. Close up For close up shots of small objects. Night portrait For portraits taken against a backdrop of night scenery.

To take pictures in Digital Vari-Program modes:

2 Frame a photograph, focus, and shoot as described for mode.

1 Rotate the mode dial to select a Digital Vari- Program mode.

Portrait: Bringing out a Portrait Subject Use for portraits. Camera selects focus area containing subject closest to camera; this subject stands out clearly while background details are softened, lending composition sense of depth. Colors are processed for soft, natural-looking skin tones. Degree of softening depends on amount of light available. Increase

distance between subject and background or use telephoto lens for best results.

The Built-in Flash If additional lighting is required for correct exposure in , , , and ,modes, the built-in ash will pop up automatically when the shutter-release is pressed halfway. See Taking Photographs in Mode.

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Landscape: Capturing Natures Majesty Use for vivid landscape shots that enhance out- lines, colors, and contrast in such subjects as skyscapes and forests. Camera selects focus area containing subject

closest to camera. Built-in ash and AF-assist illuminator turn off

automatically.

Child: Kid Pics in Living Color Use for snapshots of children. Clothing and background details are vividly rendered while skin tones remain soft and natural. Camera selects focus area containing subject

closest to camera.

Sports: Bodies in Motion High shutter speeds freeze motion for dynamic sports shots in which main subject stands out clearly. Camera focuses continuously on subject in

center focus area while shutter-release button is pressed halfway. Beep does not sound when camera focuses.

Built-in ash and AF-assist illuminator turn off automatically.

Close up: Photographing Small Objects Use for close-up shots of owers, insects, and other small objects. Camera focuses on subject in center focus

area. Tripod recommended to prevent blurring at

slow shutter speeds.

Night Portrait: Taking Portraits at Night Provides natural balance between main subject and background in portraits taken under low light. Camera selects focus area containing subject

closest to camera. Tripod recommended to prevent blurring at

slow shutter speeds.

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Shooting mode determines how the camera takes pho to graphs: one at a time or continuously while the shutter-release button is held down.

Mode Description Single frame (default)

Camera takes one photograph each time shutter-release button is pressed.

Continuous (burst mode)

Camera records photographs at rate of up to about 2.5 frames per second while shutter-release button is pressed.

To choose a shooting mode, press the button and rotate the command dial until the desired mode is displayed in the control panel.

Choosing a Shooting Mode

The Memory Buffer The camera is equipped with a memory buffer for tem po rary storage, allowing shooting to continue while photographs are being saved to the memory card. When the buff er is full, the shut ter is disabled until enough data have been trans- ferred to the mem o ry card to make room for another photograph. In con tin u ous mode, shooting will con tin ue as long as the shutter-release button is held down, al though the frame rate will drop once the buffer has lled.

The number of im ag es that can be stored in the memory buffer at current set tings is shown in the ex po sure-count dis plays in the view nder and con trol pan el while the shutter-release button is pressed.

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The self-timer or optional ML-L3 remote control can be used for photo- graphs in which you wish to appear yourself. To use the self-timer:

Using the Self-timer or Remote Control

1 Mount the camera on a tripod (recommend- ed) or place the camera on a stable, level sur face.

2 The current self-timer / remote control mode is shown in the control panel. Use the button to select one of the following modes:

Mode Description NO

ICON Timer off

Photos are taken when shutter- release button is pressed.

Self- timer

Photos are taken about 10 s after shutter-release button is pressed.

Delayed remote

Photos are taken about 2 s after shutter-release button on re- mote control is pressed.

Quick- response remote

Photos are taken when shut- ter-release button on remote control is pressed.

Mode Selection The self-timer / remote control mode can also be selected by pressing the button and rotating the command dial.

3 Frame the photograph.

4 To prevent light entering via the view nder from interfering with exposure, cover the view nder eyepiece with the supplied eye- piece cap as shown at right.

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5 Take the photograph.

Self-timer: Press the shutter-release button all the way down to start the self-timer. The self-tim er lamp (AF-assist lamp) will blink for about eight seconds. The lamp stops blinking two seconds before the pho- tograph is taken and remains lit until the shutter is released.

Remote control: From a distance of 5 m (16) or less, point the remote control at the in- frared receiver on the front of the camera and press the shutter-release button on the remote control. In delayed remote mode, the shutter will be released about two seconds after the shutter-release button is pressed.

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Photographs are displayed automatically after shooting. If no photograph is displayed in the monitor, the most recent picture can be viewed by pressing the button. Additional pictures can be displayed by rotating the command dial or pressing the multi selector left or right.

Basic Playback

To end playback and return to shooting mode, press the shutter-release button halfway.

To delete the pho to graph cur rent ly dis played in the monitor, press the button. A con r- mation dialog will be dis played. Press the button again to de lete the image and re turn to play back. Press any other button to exit without de let ing the picture.

Deleting Unwanted Photographs

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This section builds on the Tutorial to cover more advanced shooting and playback options.

Adjust image quality and size according to how the picture will be used

Image Quality: 31 Image Size: 32

Choose the focus area or focus manually Choosing the Focus Area: 33 Manual Focus: 35

Control depth of eld Exposure Mode A (Aperture-Priority Auto): 44

Choose shutter speed and aperture manually

Exposure Mode M (Manual): 45

Make photographs brighter or darker or enhance contrast

Exposure Compensation: 47

Make colors look natural Take photos under unusual lighting

White Balance: 49

Viewing Photographs 51

Take photographs where lighting is poor Flash Sync Mode: 36 Flash Compensation: 38

Sensitivity (ISO Equivalency): 39

Let the camera choose shutter speed and aperture

Exposure Mode P (Programmed Auto): 42

Printing Photographs 62

Viewing Photographs on a Computer 59

Freeze or blur motion Exposure Mode S (Shutter-Priority Auto): 43

Reference

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Most shooting, playback, and setup options can be accessed from the camera menus. To view the menus, press the button.

Using Camera Menus

Choose from play- back, shooting, Cus- tom Settings, and setup menus (see below)

Current menu item is highlighted

Current setting for each option is shown by icon

This icon indicates that help is avail- able for current menu item. Press

button to view help.

Slider is displayed if more options are available in current menu

Menu Description Playback Adjust playback settings and manage photos. Shooting Adjust shooting settings. Custom Settings Personalize camera settings. Setup Format memory cards and perform basic camera setup.

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: Press multi selector up or down

: Press multi selector right

Navigating the Menus To make changes to a menu item, rst select the menu from the playback, shooting, Custom Settings, and setup menus (1), then select the menu item (2), and nally select an option (3).

Some menus may contain multiple pages. The selection for some options is made from a sub-menu.

(1) Choose menu

(2) Highlight item

(3) Choose option

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Making a Selection The multi selector is used to navigate through the camera menus.

To modify menu settings:

Move cursor up Increase number

Return to previous menu Cancel (can also be per- formed with button)

Display sub-menu Make selection (selection can also be made with

button)

Move cursor down Decrease number

2

Highlight icon for current menu

1

Display menus

3

Select menu

5

Highlight menu item

4

Position cursor in selected menu

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Menu items that are displayed in gray are not currently available. When formatting memory cards and in other cases in which user con rmation is

required, a selection can only be made by pressing the button. A message to this effect will appear in the display.

To exit the menus and return to shooting mode, press the shutter-release button halfway.

7

Highlight option

6

Display options

8 Make selection

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Image Quality and Size

Together, image quality and size determine how much space each pho to - graph occupies on the memory card. Larger, higher quality images look better when printed at a larger size but also require more memory, meaning that fewer such images can be stored on the memory card.

Image Quality, Image Size, and File Size See the Appendix ( 126) for information on the number of pictures that can be stored on a memory card.

S M L

Image Quality and Size

Shooting menu Image Quality Shooting menu Image Size

Controls used:

La rg

e

le siz

e

FINE

NORMAL

BASIC

Sm all

le siz

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Small Image size Large

H igh

Im age quality

Low

Reference: More on Photography

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The following options are available:

Option Format Description

NEF (Raw) (RAW)

NEF Raw data from image sensor are saved in compressed Nikon Electronic Format (NEF). Suitable for images that will be processed on a computer.

JPEG Fine (FINE)

JPEG

Fine image quality, suitable for enlargements or high-quality prints.

Low (1 : 4)

Com pression ratio

JPEG Normal (NORM)

Normal image quality, suited to most applica- tions.

Medium (1 : 8)

JPEG Basic (BASIC)

Smallest le size, suitable to distribution by e- mail or use in web pages.

High (1 : 16)

NEF+JPEG Basic

(RAW BASIC)

NEF+ JPEG

Two images are recorded, one NEF (RAW) image and one basic-quality JPEG image. Image size automatically set to L; JPEG image is 3,008 2,000 pixels in size.

The current image quality setting is displayed in the control panel.

Image Quality

NEF (Raw) / NEF + JPEG NEF images can only be viewed using Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (avail- able separately) or PictureProject. When opened on a computer, NEF images are 3,008 2,000 pixels in size. When photographs taken at NEF + JPEG Basic are viewed on the camera, only the JPEG image will be displayed. When photographs taken at NEF + JPEG Basic are deleted, both NEF and JPEG images will be deleted.

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Image Size

The following options are available:

Image size Size Size (pixels) Approximate size when printed at 200 dpi L (3008 2000) Large 3,008 2,000 38 25 cm (15 10) M (2256 1496) 2,256 1,496 29 19 cm (11.5 7.5) S (1504 1000) Small 1,504 1,000 19 13 cm (7.5 5)

The current image size setting is displayed in the control panel.

The QUAL Button If the monitor is off, image quality and size can be set by pressing the (QUAL) button and rotating the command dial until the desired combination of image quality and size is displayed in the control panel.

File Names Photographs are stored as image les with names of the form DSC_nnnn.xxx, where nnnn is a four-digit number between 0001 and 9999 as signed automati- cally in ascending order by the camera, and xxx is one of the following three letter extensions: NEF for NEF images, JPG for JPEG im ag es, and NDF for Dust Off ref photos. The NEF and JPEG les recorded at a setting of NEF + JPEG Basic have the same le names but different extensions. Small copies created with the small picture option have le names beginning with SSC_ and ending with the extension .JPG (e.g., SSC_0001.JPG), while images recorded at an Optimize Image > Color Mode setting of II (Adobe RGB) have names that begin with an underscore, (e.g., _DSC0001.JPG, or _SSC0001.JPG for small copies of Color Mode II pictures).

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2 Press the multi selector left, right, up, or down to select the focus area. The se lect ed focus area will be displayed in the view nder, highlighted in red if necessary to establish contrast with the background. The selected focus area is also shown in the control panel and view nder status display.

The D50 offers a choice of ve focus areas that together cover a wide area of the frame. By default, the camera selects the focus area automatically or focuses on the subject in the center focus area. The focus area can also be selected manually to allow photographs to be composed with the main subject almost anywhere in the frame.

Manual Focus Area Selection

Choosing the Focus Area

Controls used: Multi selector

1 Select Single Area or Dynamic Area for Custom Setting 3 (AF-Area Mode). Man- ual focus area selection is not available with Closest Subjct, which is the default setting in , , , , and modes.

Advanced Settings 3: AF-Area Mode controls focus-area selection ( 89). 8: AF Area Illm de-

termines when the active focus area is highlighted ( 91).

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Focus Lock Focus lock can be used to focus on a subject that will not be in one of the ve focus areas in the nal composition. It can also be used when the autofocus system is unable to focus ( 121). Single or dynamic area AF is recommended when using focus lock ( 89).

The AF-Assist Illuminator If the subject is poorly lit, the AF-assist illuminator will light to assist the focus operation when the shutter- release button is pressed halfway. The AF-assist illumi- nator is not available in or mode or when Off is selected for Custom Setting 7 (AF Assist).

For the AF-assist illuminator to function correctly, the lens must have a focal length of 24200 mm and the subject must be in range of the illuminator (0.5 3 m/18910). Lens hoods should be removed.

1 Position the subject in the center focus area and press the shutter-release button halfway.

2 Check that the in-focus indicator () appears in the view nder. Focus will lock when the in-focus indicator appears, and remain locked while the shutter-release button is pressed halfway. Focus can also be locked by pressing the AE-L/AF-L but- ton while the shutter-release button is pressed halfway. Focus will remain locked while the AE-L/ AF-L button is pressed, even if you later remove your nger from the shutter-release button.

3 Recompose the photograph and shoot. Do not change the distance between the camera and subject while focus lock is in effect.

Taking Multiple Photographs Without Refocusing Focus will remain locked between shots if the shutter-release button is kept pressed halfway. In continuous mode ( 21), focus will remain locked if the AE- L/AF-L button is kept pressed between shots.

Advanced Settings 14: AE-L/AF-L controls the function performed by the AE-L/AF-L button ( 98).

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The Electronic Range Finder If the lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster, the view nder fo cus indicator can be used to con rm whether the subject in the se lect ed focus area is in focus. After positioning the sub ject in the active focus area, press the shut ter-re lease but ton half way and rotate the lens fo cus ring un til the in-fo cus in di ca tor () is dis played.

Focal Plane Position To determine the distance between your subject and the camera, measure from the focal plane mark on the camera body.

Manual focus is available for manual focus lenses or when autofocus does not produce the desired re sults. To focus manually, set the focus-mode selector to M and rotate the lens focus ring until the image displayed on the clear matte eld in the view nder is in focus. Pho to graphs can be taken at any time, even when the image is not in focus.

A-M Selection/Autofocus with Manual Priority When using a lens that offers A-M selection, select M when focusing manu- ally. With lenses that support M/A (autofocus with manual priority), focus can be adjusted man u al ly with the lens set to M or M/A. See the documen- tation provided with your lens for details.

Manual Focus

Controls used: Focus-mode selector Lens focus ring

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Flash Sync Mode

Choose a ash sync mode according to shooting conditions. The current ash mode is displayed in the control panel as shown below. is displayed when the ash is off.

Controls used: button + command dial

The ash sync modes available depend on the mode currently selected with the mode dial.

Auto+ red-eye

reduction

, , , Auto

Off Off

Auto slow sync

Auto slow sync+

red-eye reduction

Use for portraits. AF-assist lamp lights before ash res, reducing red-eye.

: Red-eye reduction

Flash res just before shutter closes, cre- ating stream of light effect behind moving subjects. If this icon is not displayed, ash will re immediately after shutter opens.

REAR: Rear-curtain sync

When lighting is poor or subject is back lit, ash pops up automatically when shutter-release button is pressed halfway and res as required. If this icon is not dis- played, ash will only pop up when button is pressed.

AUTO: Auto ash

Shutter speed slows automatically to capture background lighting at night or under low light. SLOW: Slow sync

P, A Fill ash

Red-eye reduction

Rear curtain +slow sync *

Slow sync+ red-eye

reduction Slow sync

* SLOW is displayed after command dial is released.

Red-eye reduction

S, M Fill ash

Rear- curtain sync

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Choosing a Flash Sync Mode Press the button and rotate the command dial. The current ash sync mode is displayed in the control panel.

Using the Built-in Flash , , , , and modes: Choose the ash sync

mode as described on the preceding page. The ash will pop-up as required when the shutter- pressed halfway, and re when a photograph is taken.

P, S, A, and M modes: Press the button to raise the built in ash and then choose a ash sync mode as described on the preceding page. Select a metering method and set exposure before taking photographs.

Lowering the Built-in Flash To save battery power when the ash is not in use, press it gently down- ward until the latch clicks into place.

Using the Built-in Flash Use with lenses with a focal length of 18300 mm (CPU lenses; the maximum focal length when the built-in ash is used with non-CPU lenses is 200 mm) and remove lens hoods to prevent them from casting shadows on the subject. The ash has a minimum range of 60 cm (2), and can not be used in the macro range of macro zoom lenses. See Optional Accessories ( 108) for details.

If the ash is used in continuous shooting mode ( 21), only one picture will be taken each time the shutter-release button is pressed.

After the built-in ash has been used for several consecutive shots, the shutter re- lease may be brie y disabled to protect the ash. The ash can be used again after a short pause.

See the Appendix for information on the type of ash control used by the built-in Speedlight ( 127).

Optional Flash Units (Speedlights) See Optional Accessories for information on using optional ash units ( 109).

Advanced Settings See FV Lock for information on locking ash output for a selected subject ( 98).

10: ISO Auto can be used to adjust sensitivity for optimal ash output ( 92). 16: Flash Mode can be used for manual control of ash output ( 99).

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Flash Compensation (P, S, A, and M Modes Only)

Controls used: and buttons + command dial

Flash compensation can be used to increase or reduce ash output from the level chosen by the cameras ash control system. Flash output can be increased to make the main subject appear brighter, or reduced to prevent unwanted highlights or re ections.

Pressing the and buttons, rotate the com- mand dial and con rm ash compensation in the control panel or view nder. Flash compensation can be set to values between 3 EV (darker) and +1 EV (brighter) in increments of 1/3 or EV. At values other than 0, a icon will be displayed in the control panel and view nder after the but- tons are released.

Normal ash output can be restored by setting ash compensation to 0.0. Flash compensation is not reset when the camera is turned off.

6: Flash Level ( 90) This option can be used to select a value for ash compensation from a menu.

Advanced Settings 11: EV Step controls the size of the increments for ash compensation ( 92).

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sitivity (ISO Eq

u ivalen

cy) Sensitivity (ISO Equivalency)

Photographs taken at slow shutter speeds are prone to blurring. If sensitiv- ity is raised above the default value of ISO 200 equivalent, the same expo- sure can be achieved at faster shutter speeds, preventing blur. Sensitivity can be set to values between ISO 200 and ISO 1600 in steps of 1 EV.

Controls used: Shooting menu ISO

The ISO Button If the monitor is off, sensitivity can be set by press- ing the (ISO) button and rotating the command dial until the desired value is displayed in the control panel.

Sensitivity Sensitivity is the digital equivalent of lm speed. The higher the sensitivity, the less light needed to make an exposure, allowing higher shutter speeds or smaller apertures. Just as higher speed lms tend to be grainy, pictures taken at high sensitivities are prone to mottling.

Digital Vari-Program Modes At default settings, manual sensitivity adjustment is not available in , , ,

, , , and modes. Instead, the camera adjusts sensitivity automatically. To adjust sensitivity manually, select Off for Custom Setting 9 (ISO Control; 91).

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P, S, A, and M modes offer varying degrees of control over shutter speed and aperture.

Mode Description

P Programmed auto

Camera sets shutter speed and aperture for optimal exposure. Recommended for snapshots and in other situations in which little time is available for adjusting camera settings.

S Shutter-priority auto

User chooses shutter speed; camera selects aperture for best results. Use to freeze or blur motion.

A Aperture-priority auto

User chooses aperture; camera selects shutter speed for best results. Use to blur background or bring both foreground and background into focus.

M Manual User controls both shutter speed and aperture. Set shutter speed to bulb for long time-exposures.

P, S, A, and M modes offer control over a variety of advanced settings, in- cluding shutter speed, aperture, and white balance.

Choosing an Exposure Mode

P, S, A, and M Modes

Controls used: Mode dial

P, S, A, and M Modes When using a CPU lens equipped with an aperture ring, lock the aperture ring at the min i mum aperture (highest f/-number). Non-CPU lenses can only be used in mode M, when aperture can be adjusted manually using the lens aperture ring. The cam- era exposure meter can not be used. See Optional Accessories ( 105).

If the limits of the exposure metering system are exceeded, one of the following in di - ca tors will be dis played in the control panel and view nder: Indicator Description

Subject too bright. Lower sensitivity or use optional Neutral Density (ND) lter. Subject too dark. Raise sensitivity or use ash.

Advanced Settings 11: EV Step controls the size of the increments for shutter speed and aperture

( 92). 12: BKT SET can be used to vary exposure automatically over a series of photographs ( 93). Exposure can be locked using AE lock ( 97).

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Exposure Exposure controls the brightness of photographs. The same exposure can be achieved with different combinations of shutter speed and aperture, allowing you to blur or freeze motion or control depth of eld. The following gure shows how shutter speed and aperture affect exposure.

Ove re

xp ose

d

(b rig

ht)

Under ex

-

pose d (d

ar k)

Slow Shutter speed Fast

Sm all

(high f/-num bers)

A

perture

W ide

(low f/-num

bers)

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P: Programmed Auto In this mode, the camera sets shutter speed and aperture for optimal ex- posure. This mode is recommended for snapshots and other situations in which little time is available for adjusting camera settings.

1 Rotate the mode dial to P.

2 Frame a photograph, focus, and shoot.

Flexible Program In mode P, different com bi na tions of shutter speed and ap er ture can be selected by rotating the com- mand dial ( exible program). All combinations pro duce the same ex po sure. While exible program is in effect, a icon appears in the control panel. To restore the default shutter speed and aperture, rotate the com mand dial until the icon is no longer dis- played.

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S: Shutter-Priority Auto In mode S, you choose the shutter speed while the camera au to mat i cal ly selects the aperture that will produce optimal exposure. Use slow shutter speeds to suggest motion by blurring moving objects, high shutter speeds to freeze motion.

1 Rotate the mode dial to S.

2 Rotate the com mand dial to choose a shutter speed between 30 s and ,000 s.

3 Frame a photograph, focus, and shoot.

Shutter Speed and Camera Shake To prevent blurring caused by camera shake, the shutter speed should be faster than the inverse of the focal length of the lens, in seconds (for example, if a lens has a focal length of 300 mm, shutter speed should be faster than 1/300 s). Use of a tripod is rec om mend ed when shooting at slower shutter speeds. To prevent blur, try increasing sensitivity ( 39), using the built-in ash ( 18), mounting the camera on a tripod, or attaching a VR lens.

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A: Aperture-Priority Auto In mode A, you choose the aperture while the camera controls shutter speed for optimal exposure. Small apertures (high f/-numbers) increase depth of eld, bringing both the main subject and back ground into focus. Large apertures (low f/-num bers) soften background details and let more light into the camera, increasing the range of the ash and making photo- graphs less susceptible to blurring.

1 Rotate the mode dial to A.

2 Rotate the com mand dial to choose the de- sired aperture.

3 Frame a photograph, focus, and shoot.

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M: Manual In mode M, the user controls both shutter speed and aperture. Shut ter speed can be set to values between 30 s and ,000 s, or the shutter can be held open inde nitely for a long time-exposure ( ). Aperture can be set to val ues between the minimum and maximum values for the lens.

1 Rotate the mode dial to M.

2 Rotate the com mand dial to choose a shut ter speed. To set aperture, rotate the command dial while pressing the ( ) button. Check exposure in the electronic an a log ex po sure display (see following page), and con tin ue to adjust shut ter speed and ap er ture until the de sired ex po sure is achieved.

3 Frame a photograph, focus, and shoot.

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Long Time-Exposures At a shutter speed of , the shutter will remain open while the camera shutter-release but ton is held down. In delayed remote and quick-response remote modes, is displayed instead of ; the shutter opens when the shutter-release button on the optional ML-L3 remote control is pressed (2 s after the button is pressed in delayed remote mode) and remains open until the remote-control shutter-release button is pressed a second time (maximum 30 minutes). Nikon recommends using a fully-charged battery or an optional EH-5 AC adapter to prevent loss of power while the shutter is open. Note that if the shutter is open for more than approximately 1 s at any setting, noise in the form of randomly-spaced, brightly-colored pixels may ap pear in the nal pho to graph. Noise can be reduced by turning long exposure noise reduction on before taking photographs ( 78).

Electronic Analog Exposure Display The electronic analog exposure display in the view nder shows whether the pho- tograph would be un der- or over-exposed at current settings. Depending on the option chosen for Custom Setting 11 (EV Step), the amount of un der- or over- ex po sure is shown in increments of 1/3 EV or EV. If the limits of the ex po sure metering system are ex ceed ed, the display will ash.

EV Step set to 1/3 Step EV Step set to 1/2 Step Optimal exposure Optimal exposure

Underexposed by 1/3 EV Underexposed by EV

Overexposed by more than 2 EV Overexposed by more than 3 EV

The electronic analog exposure display is not shown when is selected for shutter speed or a non-CPU lens is attached.

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Exposure Compensation (P, S, and A Modes Only) Controls used: button + command dial

To obtain the desired results with certain subject compositions, it may be nec es sary to use ex po sure compensation to alter exposure from the val ue sug gest ed by the cam era. As a rule of thumb, positive compensation may be needed when the main sub ject is dark er than the background, negative val ues when the main sub ject is bright er than the background. Center-weighted or spot metering is recommended when using exposure compensation.

Pressing the button, rotate the main com- mand dial and con rm ex po sure com pen sa tion in the control panel or the electronic analog exposure display. Ex po sure com pen sa tion can be set to val ues be tween 5 EV (un der ex po sure) and +5 EV (over ex po sure) in in cre ments of 1/3 or EV.

The cur rent val ue for ex po sure com pen sa tion is displayed in the control panel and view nder when the but ton is pressed.

0.3 EV

+2.0 EV

Normal ex po sure can be restored by set ting ex po sure compensation to 0. Ex po sure com pen sa tion is not reset when the camera is turned off.

Advanced Settings 11: EV Step controls the size of the increments for exposure compensation (

92).

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The options in the Optimize Image menu control sharpening, contrast, saturation, and hue.

Option Description

N Normal (default)

Recommended for most situations.

VI Vivid Enhances saturation, contrast, and sharpness to produce vivid images with vibrant reds, greens, and blues.

SH Sharper Sharpens outlines.

SF Softer Softens outlines. Use to ensure soft, natural-looking esh tones in portrait subjects or when taking pictures that will be sharp- ened in image application.

DP Direct Print Optimizes images for printing as is via direct USB connection ( 62). Images will be sharp and clear even when enlarged.

PO Portrait Lowers contrast while lending natural texture and rounded feel to skin of portrait subjects.

LA Landscape Enhances saturation and sharpness to produce landscapes with vibrant greens and blues.

Custom Customize sharpness, contrast, color reproduction, saturation, and hue ( 76).

Controls used: Shooting menu Optimize Image

Optimizing Images

At Settings Other than Custom At settings other than Custom: Photographs are optimized for current shooting conditions. Results will vary with

exposure and the position of the subject in the frame, even in scenes of the same type.

Photographs are recorded in the sRGB color space. Use a type G or D lens for best results ( 105).

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White balance ensures that colors appear natural regardless of the color of the light source. Auto white balance is recommended in most situations, but it may necessary to choose another option if colors seem too cold or warm.

Option Description Auto (default)

White balance automatically adjusted to suit lighting condi- tions. Recommended for most situations.

Incandescent Use under incandescent lighting. Fluorescent Use under uorescent lighting. Dir. sunlight Use with subjects lit by direct sunlight. Flash Use with the built-in ash or optional Nikon ash units. Cloudy Use in daylight under overcast skies. Shade Use in daylight with subjects in the shade.

Preset Use gray or white object or existing photograph as reference for white balance ( 79).

The current white balance setting is shown in the control panel.

Controls used: Shooting menu White Balance

White Balance

The WB Button If the monitor is off, white balance can be set by press- ing the (WB) button and rotating the command dial until the desired setting is displayed in the control panel.

Advanced Settings 12: BKT SET can be used to vary white balance automatically over a series of

photographs ( 93).

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The camera settings listed below can be re stored to default values by holding the and but- tons down together for more than two seconds (these but tons are marked by a green dot). The monitor will turn off brie y while these settings are reset. Other settings are unaffected.

Restoring Default Settings Two-Button Reset

Controls used: button + button

Option Description Shooting mode

( 21) Single

Self-timer / remote control

( 22) Off

Image quality ( 31)

JPEG Normal

Image size ( 32) L Focus area ( 33) Center

Flash sync mode ( 36)

M ode

, , , Auto

Auto slow sync

P, S, A, M Fill ash

ISO ( 39) 200

Option Description Flexible program

( 42) Off

Exposure compensation

( 47) Off (0.0)

Optimize image ( 48)

Normal

White balance ( 49)

Auto

AE lock ( 97) Off FV lock ( 98) Off

Custom Settings

6: Flash Level ( 90)

0

12: BKT Set ( 93)

Off

13: Metering ( 96)

Matrix

Defaults See pages 101103 for more information on default settings.

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Photographs can be viewed in the monitor one at a time (single-image playback) or in contact sheets of up to nine images (thumbnail play- back).

Single-Image Playback Press the button to view the most recent photograph in the monitor. Photographs taken in tall (portrait) orientation are displayed in tall orientation.

The following operations can be performed in single-image playback:

To Use Description

View additional

photos or

Press multi selector right or rotate command dial right to view photographs in order recorded. Press multi selector left or rotate command dial left to view photographs in reverse order.

View photo information

Press multi selector up or down to view infor- mation about current photograph ( 52).

Zoom in on photo

( ) Press button for enlarged view of current photograph ( 55).

Delete photo Delete photograph ( 57). Protect photo Protect photograph ( 56).

View thumbnails

View thumbnail display ( 54).

Return to shooting

mode

Shutter release / To turn monitor off and return to shooting mode, press button or press shutter-release button halfway.

Display menus

Display menus ( 26).

Viewing Photographs

Reference: More on Playback

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Photo Information Photo in for ma tion is su per im posed on images displayed in single-im age play back. Press the multi-se lec tor up or down to cycle through photo in for ma tion as follows: File Information Shoot- ing Data Page 1 Shooting Data Page 2 High- lights Histogram File Information.

File Information

1 Protect status...........56 2 Frame number / total

number of images 3 Folder name ............71

4 File name.................32 5 Image size ...............32 6 Image quality...........31

Shooting Data, Page 1 1 Protect status...........56 2 Frame number / total

number of images 3 Camera name 4 Date of recording.....10 5 Time of recording ....10 6 Metering .................96

7 Shutter speed ..........40 8 Aperture..................40 9 Mode ........................6

Exposure compensation..........47

10 Focal length...............1 11 Flash control ............36

Shooting Data, Page 2 1 Protect status...........56 2 Frame number / total

number of images 3 Image optimization..48 4 Sensitivity

(ISO equivalency) 1....39 5 White balance .........49 6 Image size ...............32

Image quality...........31

7 Sharpening ..............76 8 Tone compensation..77 9 Color mode .............77

Hue .........................78 10 Saturation................77 11 Image comment 2.....70

1 Displayed in red if Custom Setting 10 (ISO Auto) was on when photograph was taken and sensitivity was altered from value selected by user.

2 Only rst twelve letters appear in photo information display.

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Highlights 1 Protect status...................................................... 56 2 Image high lights (brightest areas of image) are

marked by a ashing border. 3 Frame number / total number of images

Histogram 1 Protect status...................................................... 56 2 Frame number / total number of images 3 Histogram showing the dis tri bu tion of tones in the

im age. The horizontal axis cor re sponds to pixel bright ness, with dark tones to the left and bright tones to the right. The vertical axis shows the num- ber of pix els of each brightness in the image. Note that camera histogram is intended as guide only and may differ from histograms displayed in imaging ap- plications.

Advanced Settings Rotate Tall controls whether tall (portrait-orientation) photographs are dis-

played in tall orientation during playback ( 84). 5: Image Review controls whether photographs are automatically displayed in the monitor after shooting ( 90). 17: Monitor Off controls how long the monitor will remain on when no operations are performed ( 100).

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Viewing Multiple Images: Thumbnail Playback To display images in con tact sheets of four or nine images, press the button in single-image playback. The fol low ing operations can be per- formed while thumb nails are displayed:

To Use Description

View additional pages of photos

Rotate command dial right to view photographs in order recorded, left to view photographs in reverse order.

Change num- ber of images

displayed

Press button to switch between four-thumb- nail display, nine-thumbnail display, and single- image playback.

Highlight photographs

Press multi selector up, right, left, or down to highlight thumbnails.

Zoom in on photograph

( ) Press button for enlarged view of highlighted photograph ( 55).

Delete photo Delete highlighted photograph ( 57). Protect photo Protect highlighted photograph ( 56).

Return to shooting mode

Shutter release / To turn monitor off and return to shooting mode, press button or press shutter-release button halfway.

Display menus Display menus ( 26).

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Taking a Closer Look: Playback Zoom Press the button to zoom in on the im age displayed in single-image playback or on the im- age currently highlighted in thumbnail playback. The following operations can be performed while zoom is in effect:

To Use Description

Change zoom ratio / navigate to other areas

of image

+

Press button to display frame show ing area currently zoomed in. While button is pressed, multi selector can be used to move frame and com mand dial can be used to control size of framerotate dial counterclockwise to zoom out, clockwise to zoom in to maximum of approximately 4.7 (large images), 3.5 (medium images), or 2.4 (small images). Release button to magnify se- lected area to ll monitor.

View other images

Rotate command dial to view same area of other im- ages at current zoom ratio.

View other areas of image

Use multi selector to view ar ea not visible in monitor. Hold multi selector down to scroll rapidly to other ar eas of frame.

Cancel zoom ( ) Cancel zoom and return to single-image or thumb nail playback.

Delete photo Delete photograph ( 57). Protect photo Protect photograph ( 56).

Return to shooting

mode

Shutter release /

To turn monitor off and return to shooting mode, press button or press shutter-release button halfway.

Display menus Display menus ( 26).

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In full-frame, zoom, and thumbnail playback, the button can be used to protect pho to graphs from ac ci den tal deletion. Protected les can not be deleted using the button or the Delete op tion in the playback menu, and have DOS read-only status when viewed on a Windows computer. Note that pro tect ed im ag es will be de let ed when the mem o ry card is for- matted ( 68).

To protect a photograph:

Protecting Photographs from Deletion

1 Display the image in full-frame playback or highlight it in the thumb- nail list.

2 Press the button. The pho to graph will be marked with a icon.

To remove pro tec tion from the pho to graph so that it can be deleted, display the photograph or high light it in the thumbnail list and then press the button.

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To delete a photograph displayed in single-image playback, or the pho- to graph highlighted in thumbnail playback, press the button. Once de let ed, photographs can not be recovered.

Deleting Individual Photographs

1 Display the image in full-frame playback or highlight it in the thumb- nail list. Note that protected images ( 56) can not be deleted.

2 Press the button. A con rmation dialog will be displayed.

3 To delete the photograph, press the button again. Press any other button to exit without deleting the photograph.

Advanced Settings Delete can be used to delete multiple photographs ( 84).

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The supplied video cable can be used to connect the camera to a tele vi sion or VCR for playback or recording.

Viewing Photographs on TV

1 Select the appropriate video mode from the Video Mode menu ( 69).

2 Turn the camera off. Always turn the cam- era off before connecting or disconnecting the video cable.

3 Connect the video cable as shown below.

Connect to video device

Connect to

camera

4 Tune the television to the video channel.

5 Turn the camera on. During playback, images will be displayed on the television screen or recorded to video tape; the camera monitor will remain off. Note that the television may not be able to display the entire image when pictures are played back.

Use an AC Adapter Use of an EH-5 AC adapter (available separately) is recommended for extended play- back. When the EH-5 is connected, the camera monitor-off delay will be xed at ten minutes and the exposure meters will no longer turn off automatically.

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ter Nikon Capture 4 Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (available separate- ly) can be used to control the camera from a computer and supports batch processing and more advanced im- age editing options. Before connecting the camera to a computer running Nikon Capture 4 Camera Control, set USB to PTP ( 71). The display shown at right will ap- pear in the control panel and view nder while Camera Control is running.

The supplied USB cable can be used to connect the camera to a computer. Once the camera is connected, the supplied PictureProject software can be used to copy photographs to the computer, where they can be viewed and retouched.

Before Connecting the Camera Install PictureProject after reading the manuals and reviewing the system requirements. To ensure that data transfer is not interrupted, be sure the camera battery is fully charged. If in doubt, charge the battery before use or use an EH-5 AC adapter (available separately).

Before connecting the camera, choose a camera USB option ( 71) according to the computer operating system:

Viewing Photographs on a Computer

Operating system USB option Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional Choose PTP or Mass Storage

Mac OS X Windows 2000 Professional

Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Windows 98 Second Edition (SE)

Choose Mass Storage *

* Do NOT select PTP. If PTP is selected when the camera is connected, the Windows hardware wizard will be displayed. Click Cancel to exit the wizard, and then dis- connect the camera. Be sure to select Mass Storage before reconnecting the camera.

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Connecting the USB Cable

1 Turn the computer on and wait for it to start up.

3 Turn the camera on. If Mass Storage is selected for USB, the control panel and view nder will display the icons shown at right (this display is not shown when PTP is selected). Photographs can be transferred to the computer as described in the PicturePro- ject Reference Manual (on the silver CD).

2 Turn the camera off and connect the supplied USB cable as shown. Do not use force or at- tempt to insert the connectors at an angle. Connect the camera directly to the comput- er; do not connect the cable via a USB hub or keyboard.

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Macintosh Drag the camera volume (NIKON D50) into the Trash.

Disconnecting the Camera If PTP is selected for USB ( 71), the camera can be turned off and the USB cable disconnected once transfer is complete. If the USB option in the cam- era setup menu is still at its default setting of Mass Storage, the camera must rst be removed from the system as described below.

Windows XP Home Edition / Windows XP Professional Click the Safely Remove Hardware icon ( ) in the taskbar and select Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device from the menu that appears.

Windows 2000 Professional Click the Unplug or Eject Hardware icon ( ) in the taskbar and select Stop USB Mass Storage Device from the menu that appears.

Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Click the Unplug or Eject Hardware icon ( ) in the taskbar and select Stop USB Disk from the menu that appears.

Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) In My Computer, click with the right mouse but- ton on the removable disk corresponding to the camera and select Eject from the menu that ap- pears.

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Take photographs

Photographs can be printed by any of the following methods: Connect the camera to a printer and print photographs directly from the

camera ( 63). Insert the memory card in a printer equipped with a card slot (see the

printer manual for details). If the printer supports DPOF ( 128), photo- graphs can be selected for printing using Print Set ( 67).

Take the memory card to a developer or digital print center. If the center supports DPOF ( 128), photographs can be selected for printing using Print Set ( 67).

Transfer the pictures using PictureProject and print them from a computer (see the PictureProject Reference Manual, on CD).

Note that RAW photographs can only be printed by transferring them to a computer and printing them using Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (available separately) or PictureProject.

Printing Via Direct USB Connection When the camera is connected to a printer that supports PictBridge ( 128), photographs can be printed directly from the camera.

Printing Photographs

Select PTP in camera USB menu and connect camera to printer ( 63)

Select photographs for printing using Print Set ( 67)

Printing Via Direct USB Connection If possible, use the EH-5 AC adapter when printing to reduce the drain on the camera battery. When taking photographs to be printed without modi cation in P, S, A, and M modes, choose Direct Print for Optimize image ( 48)or select Custom and set Color mode to Ia (sRGB) or IIIa (sRGB) (the default option).

Print photographs one by one ( 64)

Print multiple photographs ( 65)

Create index prints ( 65)

Disconnect USB cable

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Connecting the Printer

1 Set the USB option in the setup menu to PTP ( 71).

2 Turn the printer on.

3 Turn the camera off and connect the supplied USB cable as shown. Do not use force or at- tempt to insert the connectors at an angle. Connect the camera directly to the printer; do not connect the cable via a USB hub.

4 Turn the camera on. A welcome screen will be displayed, followed by the PictBridge playback display. Proceed to Printing Pho- tographs One at a Time ( 64) or Printing Multiple Photographs ( 65).

Press the multi selector left or right to view additional photographs, or press and hold the button to zoom in on the current photo ( 66). To view six photographs at a time, press the button. Use the multi selector to highlight photographs, or press the button again to display the highlighted photograph full frame.

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Option Description

Start Printing

Print selected picture. To cancel and return to PictBridge playback dis- play before all images have been printed, press button. PictBridge playback display will be shown when printing is complete. Print ad- ditional pictures as described above or turn camera off and disconnect USB cable.

Page Size

Page sizes for current printer will be displayed. Press multi selector up or down to highlight de- sired page size, then press multi selector to right to select and return to print menu.

No. of Pages

Menu shown at right will be displayed. Press multi selector up or down to choose number of copies (maximum 99), then press multi selector to right to select and return to print menu.

Border

Menu shown at right will be displayed. Press multi selector up or down to highlight Printer Default (default setting for current printer), Print with Border (print photo with white border), or No Border, then press multi selector to right to select and return to print menu.

Time Stamp

Menu shown at right will be displayed. Press multi selector up or down to highlight Printer Default (default setting for current printer), Print Time Stamp (print time and date of recording on pho- to), or No Time Stamp, then press multi selector to right to select and return to print menu.

Printing Pictures One at a Time To print the photograph selected in the PictBridge playback display, press and release the button. The menu shown at right will be displayed. Press the multi selector up or down to highlight an op- tion and press to the right to select.

Paper Size The camera supports the following page sizes: Printer Default (the default page size for the current printer), 3.5"x5", 5"x7", Hagaki, 100mmx150mm, 4"x6", 8"x10", Letter, A3, and A4. Only sizes supported by the current printer will be displayed.

Border and Time Stamp Choose Printer Default to print at current printer settings.

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Option Description

Cropping

Menu shown at right will be displayed. Press multi selector up or down to highlight Crop (crop photo for printing) or No Cropping, then press multi se- lector to right.

If Crop is selected, dialog shown at right will be displayed; rotate command dial to choose size of crop and use multi selector to choose position of crop. Press to return to print menu.

Printing Multiple Pictures To print multiple selected pictures or to create an index print listing all JPEG photographs as small thumbnail images, press the button. The menu shown at right will be displayed. Press the multi selector up or down to highlight an option and press to the right to select.

Option Description Print Select Print selected pictures( 66). Print (DPOF) Print current DPOF print order( 67).

Index Print

Create index print of all JPEG photos (if memory card contains more than 256 pho- tos, only 256 photos will be printed). Press

button to display menu shown below at right; choose page size, border, and time stamp options as described on page 64 (warning will be displayed if selected page size is too small). To start printing, highlight Start Printing and press multi selector right. PictBridge menu will be displayed when printing is complete.

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Printing Selected Photographs Choosing Print Select in the PictBridge menu (see above) displays the menu shown in Step 1.

Error Messages If the dialog shown at right is displayed, an error has occurred. After checking the printer and resolving any problems as directed in the printer manual, press the multi selector up or down to highlight Continue and press the multi selector to the right to resume printing. Select Cancel to exit without printing the remaining images.

Selecting Photographs for Printing NEF (RAW) photos and pictures created using the small picture option( 86) are displayed in the Print Selected menu but can not be selected for printing.

2

Select current picture and set num- ber of prints to 1. Selected pictures

marked by icon.

1

Scroll through pictures. To display current picture full screen, press

button. *

3 Specify number of prints (up to 99). To deselect picture, press multi selec- tor down when number of prints is 1. Repeat steps 13 to select additional pictures.

* To print photos in print order created with Print Set ( 67), select Print (DPOF) in PictBridge menu. Print order can be modi ed as described on this page.

4 Display print options. Choose page size, border, and time stamp options as described on page 64. To print selected pictures, highlight Start Printing and press multi selector right. PictBridge menu will be displayed when printing is complete.

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Print Set The Print Set option in the playback menu is used to create digital print orders for PictBridge-compatible printers and devices that support DPOF. Selecting Print Set from the playback menu ( 83) displays the menu shown in Step 1.

2

Display selection dialog.

1

Highlight Select / Set.

3 Select pictures and specify number of prints as described in Steps 13 on previous page.

4 Return to Print Set menu. To select or deselect options, highlight and press multi selector to right. Selected items are marked with a .

Data Imprint: Print shutter speed and aperture on all pictures in print or- der.

Imprint Date: Print date of recording on all pictures in print order. To complete print order and return to playback, highlight Done and press multi selector right. To exit without altering print order, press button.

Print Set NEF (RAW) photos and pictures created using the small picture option( 86) are displayed in the Print Set menu but can not be selected for printing. Note that the Print Set option may not available if there is not enough space on the memory card to store the print order. After creating a print order, do not change the hidden status of images in the print order or use a computer or other device to delete images. Either action could cause problems during printing.

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Setup

The setup menu contains the following options.

Option Format 68

CSM/Setup Menu 69 Date 69

LCD Brightness 69 Video Mode 69

Language (LANG) 70 Image Comment 70

USB 71

Basic Camera Settings The Setup Menu

Select Detailed ( 69) to display the following additional options:

Option Folders 71

File No. Seq. 73 Mirror Lock-Up 116 Dust Ref Photo 74 Firmware Ver. 75

Image Rotation 75

Format Formats the memory card. Note that this perma- nently deletes all photographs and any other data the card may contain. Copy all required les to a computer before formatting.

Formatting Memory Cards Do not turn the camera off or remove the memo- ry card while formatting is in progress.

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CSM/Setup Menu Choose Simple to display only basic options in the Custom Settings( 87) and setup menus( 68), Detailed to list all options.

Date Set the camera clock( 10). Nikon recommends resetting the clock monthly.

LCD Brightness Adjust monitor brightness.

Video Mode Before connecting your camera to a video device such as a television or VCR, choose a video mode setting that matches the video standard used in the device.

The Clock Battery The clock-calendar is powered by an independent, rechargeable power source, which is charged as necessary when the main battery is installed or the camera is powered by an optional EH-5 AC adapter. Three days of charging will power the clock for about one month. If the icon ashes in the control panel, the clock battery is exhausted and the clock has been reset. Set the clock to the correct date and time.

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Language (LANG) Choose from the following languages:

Image Comment Add brief text com ments to photographs as they are taken. Com ments can be viewed when the pho to graphs are displayed using PictureProject or Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later. The rst twelve let ters of the comment are also visible on the third page of the pho to in for ma tion dis play ( 52).

Done: Save changes and return to the setup menu.

Input comment: The following dialog will be displayed. Enter a comment as described below.

Keyboard area: Use multi selector to highlight letters, press button to select.

Comment area: Comment appears here. To move cur- sor, press button and use multi selector.

To delete the character at the current cursor position, press the button. To return to the setup menu without changing the comment, press the button.

Comments can be up to thirty-six characters long. Any additional characters will be deleted.

After editing the comment, press to return to the image comment menu.

Attach comment: A comment is added to all photographs taken when this option is checked (). Highlight this option and press the multi selector to the right to toggle the check mark on or off.

De Deutsch German En English English Es Espaol Spanish Fr Franais French It Italiano Italian

Ne Nederlands Dutch

Po Portugus Portuguese Py Russian Sv Svenska Swedish

Traditional Chinese Simpli ed Chinese Japanese Korean

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USB Choose a USB option for connection to a com- puter or PictBridge printer. Choose PTP when connecting to a PictBridge printer or using the Camera Control function in Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 (available separately). See Viewing Photographs on a Computer for information on selecting a USB option for use with PictureProject ( 59).

Folders Create, rename, or delete folders and to choose the folder in which new photographs will be stored.

Select Folder Choose the folder in which subsequent images will be stored.

Current folder NCD50 (default folder)

Other folders (in alphabetical order)

Folder Names On the memory card, folder names are preceded by a three-digit folder number as- signed automatically by the camera (e.g., 100NCD50) Each folder can contain up to 999 photographs. If a photograph is taken when the current folder contains 999 les or a picture numbered 9999, the camera will create a new folder by adding one to the current folder number (e.g., 101NCD50). For the purposes of selection and naming, all folders with the same name are treated as the same folder. For example, if the folder NIKON is selected, pictures in all folders named NIKON (100NIKON, 101NIKON, 102NIKON, etc.) will be visible when Current is selected in the Play- back Fldr menu ( 84). Renaming similarly applies to all folders with the same name. During shooting, pictures are stored in the highest-numbered folder with the selected name.

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New Create a folder with a new name as described in Naming Folders, be- low.

Rename Rename an existing folder. Select the folder from a list of existing folders and rename it as described in Naming Folders, below.

Delete Delete all empty folders on the memory card.

Naming Folders Keyboard area: Use multi selector to highlight letters, press button to select.

Name area: Folder name appears here. To move cur- sor, press button and use multi selector.

To delete the character at the current cursor position, press the button. To exit without changing the folder name, press the button.

Folder names can be up to ve characters long. Any additional characters will be deleted.

After editing the folder name, press to return to the setup menu.

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File No. Seq. Choose how the camera names les. Off (default): File numbering is reset to 0001

when a new folder is created, the memory card is formatted, or a new memory card is inserted in the camera.

File Numbering If the current folder is numbered 999 and contains 999 photographs or a photograph numbered 9999, the shutter release will be disabled. If File No. Seq. is on, turn it off, then format the memory card or insert another memory card in the camera.

On: When a new folder is created, the memory card is formatted, or a new memory card is inserted in the camera, le numbering continues from the last number used. If a photograph is taken when the current folder contains a photograph numbered 9999, a new folder will be cre- ated and le numbering will begin again from 0001.

Reset: As for On, except that le numbering is reset to 0001 with the next photograph taken (a new folder will be created if the current folder already contains photographs).

Mirror Lock-up Lock the mirror in the up position for inspection or cleaning of the low-pass lter that protects the image sensor( 116).

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Dust Ref Photo Acquire reference data for the Image Dust Off function in Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (available separately; for more information, see the Nikon Capture 4 Users Manual).

1 Highlight Yes and press the multi selector to the right. The message shown at right will be displayed, and will be displayed in the control panel and view nder.

To cancel the operation and return to the setup menu, press the button.

2 With the lens ten centimeters (four inches) from a bright, featureless white object, frame the object so that nothing else is visible in the view nder and press the shutter-release button halfway. In autofo- cus mode, focus will automatically be set to in nity; in manual focus mode, set focus to in nity manually before pressing the shutter-re- lease button.

3 Press the shutter-release button the rest of the way down to acquire Image Dust Off reference data. The monitor turns off when the shut- ter-release button is pressed.

If the reference object is too bright or too dark, the camera may be unable to acquire Image Dust Off reference data and the message shown at right will be displayed. Choose another reference object and repeat the process from Step 1.

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Image Dust Off Dust Ref Photo is only available with CPU lenses. A lens with a focal length of at least 50 mm is recommended ( 105). If using a zoom lens, zoom all the way in.

The same reference image can be used for other pho- tographs taken with different lenses or at different apertures. Reference images can not be viewed using computer imaging software. A grid pattern is displayed when reference images are viewed on the camera.

Firmware Ver. View the current camera rmware version.

Image Rotation Photographs taken while Automatic (the default option) is selected contain information on camera orientation, allowing them to be rotated auto- matically during playback( 84) or when viewed in PictureProject or Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (available separately). * The following orientations are recorded:

Landscape (wide) orientation

Camera rotated 90 clockwise

Camera rotated 90 counter-clockwise

* In continuous mode ( 21), orientation recorded for rst shot applies to all images in same burst, even if camera orientation is changed during shooting.

Camera orientation is not recorded when Off is selected. Choose this op- tion when taking photographs with the lens pointing up or down.

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Shooting Options The Shooting Menu

Adjustments to shooting options are made from the shooting menu( 26).

Option Description Optimize Image Optimize images for type of scene. 48, 76

Long Exp. NR Reduce noise at slow shutter speeds. 78 Image Quality Choose le type and compression ratio. 31

Image Size Choose image size. 32 White Balance 1 Adjust colors according to color of light source. 49, 79

ISO 2 Raise sensitivity when lighting is poor. 39

1 Available in P, S, A, and M modes only. 2 Available in P, S, A, and M modes and when Off is selected for Custom Setting 9

(ISO Control) in , , , , , , and modes.

Optimize Image See Optimizing Images( 48) for more infor- mation.

Optimize Image > Custom To make separate adjustments to sharpening, contrast, color reproduction, saturation, and hue, select Custom for Optimize Image.

Sharpening Choose the degree to which outlines are sharp- ened. The default setting is Auto.

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Tone Comp. Choose the amount of contrast. The default set- ting is Auto; a setting of Custom is available to select a user-de ned tone curve downloaded to the camera using Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (available separately). See the Nikon Cap- ture 4 manual for details.

Auto If Auto is selected for Sharpening or Tone Comp, results will vary with exposure and the position of the subject in the frame. A type G or D lens is recommended.

Color Mode Choose the Adobe RGB color pro le when using imaging software to open pho- tographs taken in Mode II. See the software documentation for details. Modes IIIa and Ia are recommended for photographs that will be printed without modi cation or viewed in applications that do not support color management.

Color Mode Choose from the following options for color reproduction:

Option Description III a (sRGB) (default)

Produces nature and landscape shots with vivid colors. Pho to - graphs are adapt ed to sRGB col or space.

Ia (sRGB) Produces portraits with soft, natural colors. Pho to graphs are adapted to sRGB col or space.

II (Adobe RGB)

Photographs taken at this setting are adapted to Adobe RGB color space. This color space is capable of expressing wider gamut of colors than sRGB, making it preferred choice for im- ages that will be extensively processed or retouched.

Saturation Control the vividness of colors. The default set- ting is Normal.

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Hue Adjustment Hue can be adjusted from the default setting of 0 in in cre ments of 3 . Taking red as an example, raising hue introduces a yel low cast, mak ing reds more orange. Low er ing hue in tro duces a blue cast, mak ing reds more pur ple.

Long Exp. NR Photographs taken at slow shutter speeds are subject to noise (randomly-spaced, brightly- col ored pix els that tend to appear predominantly in shadows). If On is selected, photos taken at shutter speeds slower than about 1 s will be pro- cessed to reduce noise before being recorded to the memory card (the default setting is Off). Note that the time required to process images more than doubles when noise reduction is on; during processing, the display shown at right appears in the control panel and view nder. The next photo can be taken when the display stops blinking.

Image Quality See Image Quality and Size( 31) for more information.

Image Size See Image Quality and Size( 32) for more information.

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White Balance See White Balance( 49) for more infor- mation.

White Balance > Preset

Preset white balance is used to record and recall custom white balance set- tings for shooting under mixed lighting, to compensate for light sources with a strong color cast, or to replicate the white balance used in an existing photo. Two methods are available for setting preset white balance:

Option Description

Measure Neutral gray or white object is placed under lighting that will be used in nal photograph and white balance is measured by camera.

Use Photo White balance value is copied from photo on memory card (note that Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later can be used to adjust white bal- ance of existing pictures if desired).

Measuring a Value for White Balance The existing measured value is lost when a new value is measured. The value for Use Photo is unaffected.

1 Place a neutral gray or white object under the lighting that will be used in the nal photograph. For more accurate results, use an 18% diffusion panel to make the reference object appear gray.

2 Select Measure.

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3 Press the shutter-release button halfway to return to shooting mode.

4 Press the (WB) button until a blinking appears in the control panel and view nder.

5 Frame the reference object so that it lls the view nder and press the shutter-release but- ton all the way down. No photograph will be recorded; white balance can be measured accurately even when the camera is not in focus.

To exit without measuring a new value for white balance, press the (WB) button.

6 If the camera was able to measure a value for white balance, will ash in the con- trol panel, while the view nder will show a ashing . White balance is set to the new value, and the new value will be used when- ever Preset > Measure is selected for white balance.

If lighting is too dark or too bright, the cam- era may be unable to measure white balance. A ashing will appear in the control panel and view nder. Return to Step 4 and measure white balance again.

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Copying White Balance from a Photograph Selecting a new source photograph overwrites any white balance values previously selected with Use Photo. The value for Measure is unaf- fected.

2

Display current source photo.

1

Highlight Use photo.

* Select This Image to use white balance value for current photo.

4

Display folder list.

3

Highlight Select Image. *

6

Display images in selected folder.

5

Highlight folder.

Images displayed may include those created by other cameras, but only photo- graphs created with D50 can be used as source for preset white balance.

7

Highlight photograph.

8

Set preset white balance to value for highlighted photograph.

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ISO See Sensitivity (ISO Equivalency)( 39) for more information.

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enu Playback Options

The Playback Menu

Adjustments to playback options are made from the playback menu( 26). Note that the play- back menu is only displayed when a memory card is inserted.

Option Description Delete Delete all or selected photos. 84

Playback Fldr Choose folder for playback. 84 Rotate Tall Rotate portrait (tall) orientation photos for playback. 84 Slide Show Play photos back in automatic slide show. 85

Print Set Select photos for printing. 67, 86 Small Picture Create small copies of photos. 86

Selecting Multiple Pictures To select multiple pictures in the Delete > Selected ( 84), Print Set > Select/Set ( 67, 86), Small Picture ( 86), or Print Select ( 66) menus:

2

Select photo. Selection shown by icon.

1

Highlight photo. *

3 Repeat steps 12 to select addi- tional photos. To deselect, high- light and press multi selector up or down.

* Press and hold button to view selected photo full frame. Thumbnail display restored when button is released.

4

Complete operation.

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Delete Choose from:

Option Description Selected Delete selected photos.

All Delete all photos.

Note that photographs marked with an icon are protected and can not be deleted( 56). More time may be required if the number of pho- tographs to be deleted is very large.

Playback Fldr Choose the folder from which photographs will be played back.

Option Description

Current

Only images in folder currently selected for storage in setup Folders menu are displayed during playback ( 51). This option is selected automatically when photo is taken. If memory card is inserted and this option selected before photos have been taken, message stating that folder contains no images will be displayed during playback. Select All to begin playback.

All View photos in all folders.

Rotate Tall Select Yes to rotate portrait-orientation (tall) photographs for display in the monitor. Pho- tographs taken with Off selected for Image Rotation ( 75)will be displayed in landscape (wide) orientation.

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Slide Show View photographs in an automated slide show (see Playback Fldr for information on choosing the folder from which photographs will be played back; 84).

Start Start the slide show. The following operations can be performed during a slide show:

To Use Description Go forward or back

one frame Press multi selector left to return to previous frame, right to skip to next frame.

View photo info Change photo info displayed during slide show.

Pause Pause slide show (see below). Exit to playback menu End slide show and display playback menu.

Exit to playback mode End slide show and return to single-image or thumb- nail playback.

Exit to shooting mode Press shutter-release button halfway to turn monitor off and return to shooting mode.

The dialog shown at right is displayed when the show ends or when the button is pressed to pause playback. Select Restart to restart the show or Exit to return to the playback menu.

Frame Intvl Choose how long each slide is displayed. The default setting is 2 s.

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Print Set Choose Select/Set to select photographs for printing on a PictBridge printer or DPOF-compat- ible device ( 128). Choose Deselect All to re- move all photos from the current print order.

Small Picture Create small JPEG copies of selected pictures for e-mail or the web. Choose Select Pictures to select the pictures ( 83) and select Choose Size to choose a size from 640 480, 320 240, 160 120. A 640 480 pixel copy is about one- twentieth the size of a Large (3,008 2,000) photo.

Small Picture During playback, small copies are indicated by a gray border. Copies can only be created if suf cient memory is available. Small copies may not display or transfer correctly when viewed on other models of Nikon camera.

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Custom Settings are used to customize camera settings to suit individual preferences.

Custom Settings The Custom Settings Menu

Option R Menu Reset 87 1 Beep 88 2 Autofocus 88 3 AF-Area Mode 89

Option 4 No SD Card? 90 5 Image Review 90 6 Flash Level 38, 90

To display the following options, select Detailed for the CSM/Setup Menu option in the setup menu ( 69):

Option 7 AF Assist 90 8 AF Area Illm 91 9 ISO Control 91 10 ISO Auto 92 11 EV Step 92 12 BKT Set 93 13 Metering 96

Option 14 AE-L/AF-L 98 15 AE Lock 99 16 Flash Mode 99 17 Monitor Off 100 18 Meter Off 100 19 Self-Timer 100 20 Remote 100

R: Menu Reset Select Reset to restore all Custom Settings (including those that are not affected by a two- button reset; 50) to their default values. See pages 101103 for a complete list of default set- tings.

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2: Autofocus Choose from:

1: Beep At the default setting of On, a beep will sound while the release timer is running in self-timer and delayed remote modes ( 22), when a photograph is taken in quick-response remote mode ( 22), or when the camera has focused in single-servo AF ( 88). The beep will not sound when Off is selected. The current setting is shown in the control panel: for On and for Off.

Option Description AF-A

(default) Camera selects AF-S or AF-C mode automatically according to shoot- ing conditions and whether the subject is moving.

AF-S Single-servo AF. Focus locks when shutter-release button is pressed halfway. Use with stationary subjects.

AF-C Continuous-servo AF. Camera focuses continuously while shutter-re- lease button is pressed halfway; AF-assist illuminator turns off. Use with moving subjects.

This option takes effect only in P, S, A, and M modes. The current autofocus mode is shown in the control panel when AF-S or AF-C is selected. No icon is displayed in AF-A mode.

Focus Lock (Continuous-Servo AF) The button can be used to lock focus when AF-C is selected.

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Option Description Single Area 1

User selects focus area manually ( 33); camera focuses on subject in selected focus area only. Use for stationary subjects.

Dynamic Area 2

User selects focus area manually ( 33), but camera uses information from multiple focus areas to de ter mine focus. If sub ject leaves se- lected focus area even brie y, cam era will focus based on in for ma tion from oth er focus areas. Use with erratically moving subjects.

Closest Subjct 3

Camera automatically selects focus area containing subject closest to camera. If sub ject leaves active focus area, cam era will focus based on in for ma tion from oth er focus areas. Works best when there is contrast between subject and background.

1 Default for P, S, A, M, and modes. 2 Default for mode. 3 Default for , , , , and modes.

The current AF-area mode is displayed in the control panel and view nder (icon shows active focus area).

3: AF-Area Mode Choose how the camera focuses in autofocus mode.

AF-Area Mode Choose Single Area or Dynamic Area when using focus lock.

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4: No SD Card? At the default setting of Release Locked, the shutter-release button is only enabled when a memory card is inserted. Choose Enable Re- lease to enable the shutter-release button when no memory card is inserted. Photographs will be displayed in the monitor but will not saved.

5: Image Review This option determines whether photographs are automatically displayed in the monitor after shooting (On, the default option) or only when the button is pressed (Off).

6: Flash Level Adjust ash level (P, S, A, and M modes only; 38). The default setting is 0.

7: AF Assist At the default setting of On, the AF-assist lamp lights automatically when required to assist the focus operation. The AF-assist lamp will not light when Off is selected or when the camera is fo- cusing using continuous-servo autofocus ( 88). This option is not available in and modes.

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8: AF Area Illm At the default setting of Auto, the active focus area will be highlighted in red in the view nder as needed to establish contrast with the back- ground. The active focus area will not light if Off is selected; if On is selected, the focus area will light regardless of the brightness of the back- ground (this may make it dif cult to see the focus active focus area against a bright background).

9: ISO Control At the default setting of On, the camera will au- tomatically adjust sensitivity (ISO equivalency) to help achieve optimal exposure in , , , ,

, , and modes. ISO AUTO will be displayed in the control panel and view nder. Select Off to choose a value for sensitivity using the ISO option in the shooting menu ( 39). This option is not available in P, S, A, and M modes.

ISO Control ISO Auto These settings determine how sensitivity is set:

Mode , , , , , , P, S, A, M

Camera sets sensitivity 9: ISO Control > On

User sets sensitivity 9: ISO Control > Off 10: ISO Auto > Off

10: ISO Auto > Off

User sets sensitivity; camera adjusts for optimal exposure

9: ISO Control > Off 10: ISO Auto > On

10: ISO Auto > On

The sensitivity value displayed when the (ISO) button is pressed is the value selected by the user. Values selected automatically by the camera are not dis- played ( 39).

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Selecting On displays the menu shown at right. In P, A, , , , , , , and modes, the user can choose a maximum shutter speed. If the shutter speed would exceed this value at the sensitivity selected by the user, the camera will au- tomatically raise sensitivity to compensate. Select P, A, DVP mode to choose a maximum shutter speed (the default is 1/30 s). Select Done to exit to the CSM menu.

11: EV Step Choose whether the camera makes adjustments to shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensa- tion, bracketing, and ash compensation in incre- ments equivalent to 1/3 EV (1/3 Step, the default option) or EV.

10: ISO Auto At the default setting of Off, sensitivity (ISO equivalency) will remain xed at the value selected by the user ( 39). If On is selected, the camera will automatically choose a sensitivity between ISO 200 and 1600 if optimal exposure can not be achieved at current settings. An ISO AUTO icon is displayed in the control panel and view nder; this icon will blink when sensitivity is altered from the value selected by the user.

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12: BKT Set In P, S, A, and M modes, the camera offers the following bracketing options:

Option Description Off (default) No bracketing performed.

AE & Flash Camera varies exposure and ash level over three shots, bracket- ing optimal exposure value.

WB Bracketing

Camera creates three images each time shutter is released, bracket- ing current white balance setting. Not available at image qualities of NEF (Raw) or NEF+JPEG Basic.

Exposure and Flash Bracketing

1 Highlight AE & Flash and press the multi selector to the right.

2 Highlight a bracketing increment and press the multi selector to the right. The settings available depend on the option selected for Custom Setting 11 (EV Step).

3 Press the shutter-release button halfway to exit to shooting mode. The display shown at right will appear in the control panel and view nder.

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4 Take a series of three photographs. The rst photograph will be taken at optimal exposure, the second will be underexposed by the selected exposure increment, and the third overexposed by the same amount. A segment will disappear from the bracketing progress indicator after each shot. Repeat Steps 34 to record additional bracketing sequences.

To end bracketing when shooting is com- plete, select Off for Custom Setting 12.

Start

After 2nd shot

Series complete

After 3rd shot

After 1st shot

Exposure and Flash Bracketing In continuous mode, shooting will stop after each series of three photographs. Bracketing is not cancelled when the camera is turned off or the memory card is exchanged. Bracketing will however be cancelled if the user selects a mode other than P, S, A, or M.

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1 Highlight WB Bracketing and press the multi selector to the right.

2 Highlight a bracketing increment and press the multi selector to the right.

3 Press the shutter-release button halfway to exit to shooting mode. The display shown at right will appear in the control panel and view nder.

White Balance Bracketing

4 Compose a photograph, focus, and shoot. Each photograph will be processed to create three images, the rst with unmodi ed white balance, the second with slightly warmer colors, and the third with slightly colder colors. Repeat Steps 34 to record additional bracket- ing sequences.

To end bracketing when shooting is complete, select Off for Custom Setting 12.

White Balance Bracketing The shutter is released only once each time the shutter-release button is pressed, even in continuous mode. Each shot is processed to create three separate images.

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Option Description

Matrix (default)

Camera meters wide area of frame and instantly sets exposure based on composition, distance, shading, and color. Produces natural-looking results in almost any situation.

Center- weighted

Camera meters entire frame but assigns greatest weight to center. Classic meter for portraits.

Spot

Camera meters active focus area only (if Closest Subjct is selected for AF-Area Mode, camera meters center focus area). Ensures that main subject will be correctly exposed, even when background is much brighter or darker.

13: Metering In P, S, A, and M modes, metering determines how the camera sets exposure.

Metering Metering is available with CPU lenses only. If a type G and D lens is used when matrix metering is selected, the camera will set exposure using the full range of information available from its 420-segment RGB sensor (3D color matrix metering II). Color matrix metering II is used with other CPU lenses.

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1 Rotate the mode dial to P, S, or A and select center-weight ed or spot metering (exposure lock has no effect in mode M).

2 Position the sub ject in the selected focus area and press the shutter-release button halfway (when using center-weighted metering, po- sition the subject in the center focus area). With the shut ter-release button pressed halfway and the subject still po si tioned in the fo cus area, press the AE-L/AF-L button to lock exposure. Con rm that the in-focus in di ca tor () appears in the view nder.

While ex po sure lock is in effect, an EL in di - ca tor will ap pear in the view nder.

3 Without releasing the AE-L/AF-L but ton, re- com pose the pho to graph and shoot.

Adjusting Shutter Speed and Aperture While exposure lock is in effect, the following settings can be changed without alter- ing the metered value for exposure: Mode Description

P Shutter speed and aperture ( exible program; 42) S Shutter speed A Aperture

Advanced Settings 14: AE-L/AF-L controls the function performed by the AE-L/AF-L button ( 98). 15: AE Lock controls whether exposure locks when the shutter-release button is

pressed halfway ( 99).

Autoexposure Lock If the subject is not in the metered area when center-weighted or spot metering is used, exposure will be based on lighting conditions in the back- ground, and the main subject may not be correctly exposed. This can be prevented using autoexposure lock:

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Option Description AE/AF Lock (default)

Pressing button locks both focus ( 34) and exposure ( 97).

AE Lock Only Pressing button locks exposure only ( 97). AF Lock Only Pressing button locks focus only ( 34).

AE Lock Hold Exposure locks when button is pressed and remains locked until button is pressed again ( 97).

AF-ON Camera focuses when button is pressed. Camera does not focus when shutter-release button is pressed halfway.

FV Lock Flash level locks when button is pressed and remains locked until button is pressed again (see below).

FV Lock This feature is used to recompose photographs without changing the me- tered ash value, ensuring that ash level is appropriate to the subject even when the subject is not in the center of the frame.

14: AE-L/AF-L Choose the function performed by the AE-L/AF-L button.

1 Highlight FV Lock and press the multi se- lector to the right.

2 Press the shutter-release button halfway to exit to shooting mode. In P, S, A, and M modes, press the button to raise the ash.

3 Position the subject in the center of the frame and press the shutter-release button halfway.

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4 Con rm that the ash-ready indicator is displayed in the view nder and press the AE-L/AF-L button. The built-in ash will emit a low-intensity pulse to determine the appro- priate ash level. Flash output will be locked at this level and an EL icon will be displayed in the view nder.

5 Recompose the photograph and shoot. If de- sired, additional pictures can be taken without releasing FV lock. When shooting is complete, press the AE-L/AF-L button to release FV lock.

15: AE Lock At the default setting of AE-L Button, exposure can only be locked by pressing the AE-L/AF-L button ( 97). If +Release Bttn is selected, exposure will also lock when the shutter-release button is pressed halfway.

16: Flash Mode At the default setting of TLL, the camera adjusts ash level automatically in response to shooting conditions. Selecting Manual allows the user to select the ash level for P, S, A, and M modes from the menu shown below at right (at full power, built-in ash has a Guide Number [m / ft] of 17/56 [ISO 200] or 12/39 [ISO 100]). icons will blink in the control panel and view nder when Manual is selected.

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17: Monitor Off Choose how long the monitor will remain on when no operations are performed. The default setting is 20 s.

18: Meter Off Choose how long the camera continues to meter exposure when no operations are performed. The default setting is 8 s. When the exposure me- ter turns off, the view nder and the shutter speed and aperture displays in the control panel will also turn off to save power. Press the shutter-release button halfway to reactivate the display.

19: Self-Timer Choose the length of the shutter-release delay in self-timer mode ( 22). The default setting is 10 s.

20: Remote Choose how long the camera will wait for a signal from the remote control when no operations are performed in delayed or quick-response remote modes ( 22). The default setting is one minute. Remote mode will end if no signal is received in the speci ed period.

The EH-5 AC Adapter When the camera is powered by an optional EH-5 AC adapter, exposure meters will not turn off and the monitor will only power off after ten minutes, regardless of the options chosen for Custom Settings 17 (Monitor Off) and 18 (Meter Off).

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Camera Settings Available Settings and Defaults

The following table lists the settings that can be adjusted in each mode. P S A M

Shooting m enu

Optimize Image ( 48) 1

Long Exp. NR ( 78)

Image Quality ( 31) 1

Image Size ( 32) 1

White Balance ( 49) 1

ISO ( 39) 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

O ther settings

Shooting mode ( 21) 1

Flexible program ( 42) 1

Autoexposure lock ( 97) 1

Exposure compensation ( 47) 1

Flash sync mode ( 36) 1 3 3 3 3 3

Custom Settings

1: Beep ( 88) 4

2: Autofocus ( 88) 4

3: AF-Area Mode ( 89) 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

4: No SD Card? ( 90) 4

5: Image Review ( 90) 4

6: Flash Level ( 38, 90) 1, 4

7: AF Assist ( 90) 4

8: AF Area Illm ( 91) 4

9: ISO Control ( 91) 4

10: ISO Auto ( 92) 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

11: EV Step ( 92) 4

12: BKT Set ( 93) 1, 4

13: Metering ( 96) 1, 4

14: AE-L/AF-L ( 98) 4

15: AE Lock ( 99) 4

16: Flash Mode ( 99) 4

17: Monitor Off ( 100) 4

18: Meter Off ( 100) 4

19: Self-Timer ( 100) 4

20: Remote ( 100) 4

1 Reset with two-button reset ( 50). 2 Available when Off is selected for Custom Setting 9.

3 Reset when mode dial rotated to new setting. 4 Reset with R: Menu Reset ( 87).

Technical Notes

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The following defaults are restored when a two-button reset is performed: P S A M

Shooting m enu

Optimize Image ( 48) Normal Image Quality ( 31) JPEG Normal Image Size ( 32) L (3008 2000) White Balance ( 49) Auto ISO ( 39) 200 (Custom Setting 9 off) 200

O ther settings

Shooting mode ( 21) Single frame Focus area ( 33) Center Center Focus lock ( 34) Off Flexible program ( 42) Off Autoexposure lock ( 97) Off Exposure compensation ( 47) Off (0.0) Flash sync mode ( 36)

CSM

6: Flash Level ( 38, 90) Off (0.0) 12: BKT Set ( 93) Off 13: Metering ( 96) Matrix

The following defaults are restored with Custom Setting R (Menu Reset): P S A M

Custom Settings

1: Beep ( 88) On 2: Autofocus ( 88) AF-A 3: AF-Area Mode ( 89) Closest Subjct DA * SA * CS * Single Area 4: No SD Card? ( 90) Release Locked 5: Image Review ( 90) On 6: Flash Level ( 38, 90) 0.0 7: AF Assist ( 90) On Off On Off On 8: AF Area Illm ( 91) Auto 9: ISO Control ( 91) On 10: ISO Auto ( 92) Off 11: EV Step ( 92) 1/3 Step 12: BKT Set ( 93) Off 13: Metering ( 96) Matrix 14: AE-L/AF-L ( 98) AE/AF Lock 15: AE Lock ( 99) AE-L Button 16: Flash Mode ( 99) TTL 17: Monitor Off ( 100) 20 s 18: Meter Off ( 100) 8 s 19: Self-Timer ( 100) 10 s 20: Remote ( 100) 1 min

* DA=Dynamic Area, SA=Single Area; CS=Closest Subjct.

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Factory defaults for other menu options are listed below. These settings are not affected by two-button resets or Custom Setting R (Menu Reset).

Shooting menu Long Exp. NR ( 78) Off

Playback menu Playback Fldr ( 84) Current Rotate Tall ( 84) Yes

Setup menu

CSM/Setup Menu ( 69) Simple LCD Brightness ( 69) 0 Video Mode ( 69) Varies with region of sale Language (LANG) ( 70) Varies with region of sale Image Comment ( 70) None USB ( 71) Mass Storage File No. Seq. ( 73) Off Image Rotation ( 75) Automatic

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Optional Accessories

One advantage of digital SLR cameras is the wide variety of accessories available for broadening the scope of digital photography. The following types of accessory are available for the D50:

ML-L3 remote control

Batteries

AC adapters

Flash units (Speedlights)

Filters

Software

View nder accessories

Lenses

Use Only Nikon Brand Ac ces so ries Only Nikon brand ac ces so ries cer ti ed by Nikon spe ci cal ly for use with your Nikon dig i tal cam era are engineered and proven to op er ate with in its op er a tion al and safety requirements. THE USE OF NON-NIKON AC CES SO RIES COULD DAMAGE YOUR CAM ERA AND MAY VOID YOUR NIKON WAR RAN TY.

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Lenses CPU lenses (particularly type G and D lenses) are recommended for use with the D50 (note that IX Nikkor CPU lenses can not be used). CPU lenses can be iden ti ed by the presence of CPU contacts. Type G lenses have no aperture ring and are marked with a G on the lens barrel. Type D lenses are indicated by a D.

CPU lens Type G lens Type D lens

Cal cu lat ing Picture Angle The size of the area exposed by a 35- mm camera is 36 24 mm. The size of the area exposed by the D50, in con- trast, is 23.7 15.6 mm, meaning that the diagonal picture angle of a 35-mm camera is approximately 1.5 times that of the D50.

Picture size (D50)

Picture size (35-mm format)

Lens

(23.7 mm 15.6 mm)

Picture diagonal

(36 mm 24 mm)

Picture angle (35-mm format)

Picture angle (D50)

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The following lenses can be used with the D50:

Camera setting

Lens/accessory

Focus Mode Metering

AF M (with electronic

range nder) M

DVP, P, S, A

M , ,

CPU lenses

1

Type G or D AF Nikkor 2; AF-S, AF-I Nikkor 3

PC-Micro Nikkor 85 mm f/2.8D 4 5 3

AF-S / AF-I Teleconverter 6 7 7 3

Other AF Nikkor (except lenses for F3AF) 8 8 3

AI-P Nikkor 9 3

N on-CPU

lenses 10

AI-modi ed, AI-, AI-S, or Series E Nikkor 9 11 Medical Nikkor 120 mm f/4 9 12 Re ex Nikkor 11 PC-Nikkor 5 11 AI-type Teleconverter 7 11 PB-6 Bellows Focusing Attachment 13 9 11 Auto extension rings (PK-series 11-A, 12, or 13; PN-11)

9 11

1 IX Nikkor lenses can not be used. 2 Vibration Reduction (VR) supported with VR lens es. 3 Spot metering meters selected focus area. 4 The cameras exposure metering and ash con trol

sys tems do not work properly when shifting and/or tilt ing the lens, or when an aperture oth er than the maximum aperture is used.

5 Electronic range nder can not be used with shifting or tilting.

6 Compatible with AF-I Nikkor lenses and with all AF- S lens es ex cept DX 1224 mm f/4G, ED 1735 mm f/2.8D, DX ED 1755 mm f/2.8G, DX ED 1870 mm f3.54.5G, ED 2485 mm f/3.54.5G, VR ED 24120 mm f/3.55.6G, and ED 2870 mm f/2.8D.

7 With maximum effective aperture of f/5.6 or faster.

8 If AF 80200 mm f/2.8S, AF 3570 mm f/2.8S, new- model AF 2885 mm f/3.54.5S, or AF 2885 mm f/3.54.5S is zoomed in while focusing at minimum range, image on matte screen in view nder may not be in focus when in-focus indicator is displayed. Focus manually using image in view nder as guide.

9 With maximum ap er ture of f/5.6 or fast er. 10 Some lenses can not be used (see following page). 11 Can be used in mode M, but camera exposure meter

can not be used. 12 Can be used in mode M at shutter speeds slower

than 1/125 s, but camera exposure meter can not be used.

13 Attach in vertical orientation (can be used in hori- zontal orientation once attached).

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Incompatible Accessories and Non-CPU Lenses The following accessories and non-CPU lenses can NOT be used with the D50: TC-16A AF Teleconverter Non-AI lenses Lenses that require the AU-1 focus-

ing unit (400 mm f/4.5, 600 mm f/5.6, 800 mm f/8, 1200 mm f/11)

Fisheye (6 mm f/5.6, 8 mm f/8, OP 10 mm f/5.6)

21 mm f/4 (old type) K2 rings ED 180600 mm f/8 (serial numbers

174041174180) ED 3601200 mm f/11 (serial numbers

174031174127)

200600 mm f/9.5 (serial numbers 280001300490)

Lenses for the F3AF (80 mm f/2.8, 200 mm f/3.5, TC-16 Teleconverter)

PC 28 mm f/4 (serial number 180900 or earlier)

PC 35 mm f/2.8 (serial numbers 851991906200)

PC 35 mm f/3.5 (old type) 1000 mm f/6.3 Re ex (old type) 1000 mm f/11 Re ex (serial numbers

142361143000) 2000 mm f/11 Re ex (serial numbers

200111200310)

Compatible Non-CPU Lenses Non-CPU lenses not included in the list above can be used, but only in mode M. Aperture must be adjusted manually using the lens aperture ring and the camera exposure meter and TTL ash control can not be used. If another mode is selected when a non-CPU lens is attached, the shutter-release will be disabled.

AF-Assist Illumination The following lenses may block the AF-assist illuminator at ranges under 1 m (33). Note that the camera may not be able to focus using autofocus if the AF-assist il- luminator is blocked. AF Micro ED 200 mm f/4D AF-S ED 1735 mm f/2.8D AF ED 1835 mm f/3.54.5D AF 2035 mm f/2.8D AF-S ED 2870 mm f/2.8D

AF ED 2485 mm f/2.84D AF-S VR ED 24120 mm f/3.55.6G AF 24120 mm f/3.55.6D AF Micro ED 70180 mm f/4.55.6D AF-S DX IF ED 1755 mm f/2.8G

AF assist is not available with the following lenses: AF-S VR ED 70200 mm f/2.8G AF ED 80200 mm f/2.8D AF-S VR ED 200400 mm f/4G AF-S VR 300 mm f/2.8G

AF-S ED 80200 mm f/2.8D AF VR ED 80400 mm f/4.55.6D AF-S VR 200 mm f/2G

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Using the Built-in Flash The built-in ash can be used with any CPU lens with a focal length of 18300 mm. Note that the ash may be unable to light the entire subject if the following lenses are not used at or above the minimum ranges given below:

Lens Zoom position Minimum Range

AF-S DX ED 1224 mm f/4G 20 mm 2.5 m / 82 24 mm 1.0 m / 33

AF-S ED 1735 mm f/2.8D 20 mm, 24 mm 2.5 m / 82

28 mm 1.0 m / 33 35 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF-S DX IF ED 1755 mm f/2.8G

20 mm, 24 mm 2.5 m / 82 28 mm 1.5 m / 411 35 mm 0.7 m / 24

4555 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF ED 1835 mm f/3.54.5D 18 mm, 21 mm 2.0 m / 67

24 mm 0.7 m / 24 2835 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF 2035 mm f/2.8D 20 mm 1.5 m / 411 24 mm 1.0 m / 33

2835 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF-S VR ED 24120 mm f/3.55.6G 24 mm 0.8 m / 27

28120 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF-S ED 2870 mm f/2.8D 28 mm 3.0 m / 910 35 mm 1.0 m / 33

5070 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF-S VR 200400 mm f/4G 200 mm 4.0 m / 131 250 mm 2.5 m / 82

300400 mm 0.6 m / 2

AF-S 1870 mm f/3.54.5G 18 mm 1.0 m / 33

2470 mm 0.6 m / 2

Red-Eye Reduction Some lenses may interfere with red-eye reduction by preventing the subject from seeing the AF-assist illuminator.

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Optional Flash Units (Speedlights) When used with a compatible Speedlight such as the SB-800 or SB-600 (available separately), the D50 supports the Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS), including i-TTL ash control ( 127), Flash Color Information Com- munication, and FV lock ( 98). The built-in ash does not re when an optional ash unit is used.

SB-800 and SB-600 Speedlights These high performance Speedlights have Guide Numbers of 53/174 and 42/138 respectively (m/ft, 35-mm zoom head position, ISO 200, 20 C/ 68 F; GNs at ISO 100 are 38/125 and 30/98 respectively). The ash head can be rotated through 90 above the horizontal, 180 left, and 90 right for bounce- ash or close-up photography. The SB-800 can be rotated 7 below the horizontal. Auto power zoom (24105 mm and 2485 mm, re- spectively) ensures that the illuminating angle is adjusted in accord with lens focal length. The built-in wide panel can be used for an angle of 14 mm (the SB-800 also supports 17 mm). An illuminator is included to assist in adjusting settings in the dark.

Use Only Nikon Flash Accessories Use only Nikon Speedlights. Negative voltages or voltages over 250 V applied to the ac ces so ry shoe could not only prevent normal operation, but damage the sync cir cuit ry of the camera or ash. Be fore us ing a Nikon Speed light not listed in this sec- tion, con tact a Nikon-au tho rized ser vice rep re sen ta tive for more information.

The Accessory Shoe The D50 is equipped with an accessory shoe that allows SB-series Speedlights, including the SB-800, 600, 80DX, 28DX, 28, 27, 23, 22S, and 29S to be mounted directly on the camera without a sync cable. The accessory shoe is equipped with a safety lock for Speedlights with a locking pin, such as the SB-800 and SB-600. Before attaching an optional ash unit, remove the accessory shoe cover.

The AS-15 Accessory Shoe Adapter An AS-15 accessory shoe adapter (available separately) can be mounted on the accessory shoe to allow ash accessories to be attached via a sync cable.

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The following features are available with SB-800 and SB-600 Speedlights:

Speedlight

Flash mode/feature SB-800

SB-800 (Advanced Wireless Lighting) SB-600

SB-600 (Advanced Wireless Lighting)

i-TTL 1 2 2

AA Auto aperture 1 3 A Non-TTL auto 3 4

GN Range-priority manual 5 M Manual

RPT Repeating ash REAR Rear-curtain sync

Red-eye reduction Flash Color Information Communication 3

FV lock 1

AF-assist for multi-area AF 6 Auto zoom 1

ISO Auto (Custom Setting 10) 1 1 Available only with CPU lenses (IX Nikkor lenses

excluded). 2 Standard i-TTL Flash for Digital SLR is used when spot

metering is selected. Otherwise, i-TTL Balanced Fill- Flash for Digital SLR is used.

3 Use Speedlight controls to select ash mode. 4 Available only with non-CPU lenses.

5 Adjusted automatically according to camera aperture setting when CPU lens is used. When non-CPU lens is used, must be adjusted manually to match aperture selected with lens aperture ring.

6 Available with CPU AF lenses only (IX Nikkor lenses excluded).

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The following Speedlights can be used in non-TTL auto and manual modes. If they are set to TTL, the camera shutter-release button will lock and no pho to graphs can be taken.

Speedlight

Flash mode

SB-80DX, SB-28DX, SB-28, SB-26, SB-25, SB-24

SB-50DX, SB-23, SB-29 2, SB-21B 2, SB-29S 2

SB-30, SB-27 1, SB- 22S, SB-22, SB-20, SB-16B, SB-15

A Non-TTL auto

M Manual

Repeating ash REAR Rear-curtain sync

1 When an SB-27 is mounted on the D50, the ash mode is automatically set to TTL, and the shutter-release will be disabled. Set the SB-27 to A (non-TTL auto ash).

2 Autofocus is only avail able with AF-Mi cro lenses (60 mm, 105 mm, 200 mm, or 70180 mm).

, , , , , , and Modes When an optional Speedlight is attached in , , , , , , and modes, the ash res whenever a photograph is taken. The following ash modes are avail- able: , , , and modes: Front-curtain sync and red-eye reduction. If off or auto

front-curtain sync is selected when an optional Speedlight is attached, the ash sync mode selection will change to front-curtain sync. Auto with red-eye reduction becomes red-eye reduction.

and modes: Front-curtain sync is selected automatically. Red-eye reduction can also be selected.

mode: Slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction, and front-curtain sync. Auto slow sync becomes slow sync, auto slow sync with red-eye reduction becomes red- eye reduction, and off becomes front-curtain sync.

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Notes on Optional Speedlights Refer to the Speedlight manual for detailed instructions. If the Speedlight supports the Creative Lighting System, refer to the section on CLS-compatible digital SLR cam- eras. The D50 is not included in the digital SLR category in the SB-80DX, SB-28DX, and SB-50DX manuals.

The shutter will synchronize with an external ash at speeds of 1/500 s or slower.

i-TTL and Auto Aperture (AA) ash control are available only with CPU lenses. Se- lecting spot metering while an SB-800 or SB-600 Speedlight is attached activates standard i-TTL Flash for Digital SLR.

i-TTL ash control is available at all sensitivity (ISO equivalency) settings. If the ash- ready indicator blinks for about three seconds after a photograph is taken with i-TTL ash control, the photograph may be underexposed.

When an SB-800 or SB-600 is mounted on the camera, AF-assist illumination and red-eye reduction are performed by the optional Speedlight. With other Speedlights, AF-assist illumination is performed using the AF-assist illuminator on the camera ( 34).

Auto power zoom is available only with SB-800 and SB-600 Speedlights.

In P, , , , , , , and modes, the maximum aperture (minimum f/-number) is limited according to sensitivity (ISO equivalency) as shown below:

Mode Maximum aperture at ISO equivalent of

200 400 800 1600 P, , , , , , 4 4.8 5.6 6.7

8 9.5 11 13

For each one-step increase in sensitivity (e.g., from 200 to 400), aperture is stopped down by half an f/-stop. If the maximum aperture of the lens is smaller than that listed above, the maximum value for aperture is the maximum aperture of the lens.

When an SC-series 17, 28, or 29 sync cable is used for off-camera ash photography, correct exposure may not be achieved using i-TTL Balanced Fill-Flash for Digital SLR. We recommend that you choose spot metering to select Standard i-TTL Flash for Digital SLR. Take a test shot and view the results in the monitor.

In i-TTL mode, use the ash panel provided with your Speedlight. Do not use other panels such as diffusion panels, as this may produce incorrect exposure.

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Other Accessories At the time of writing, the following accessories were available for the D50. Contact your retailer or local Nikon representative for details.

Batteries/ Chargers/

AC adapters

EN-EL3a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery: Additional EN-EL3a batteries are available from local retailers and Nikon service representatives.

EH-5 AC Adapter: Use the EH-5 to power the camera for extended periods.

MH-19 Multi Charger: The MH-19 can be used to recharge the fol- lowing batteries: EN-EL3a rechargeable Li-ion batteries, MN-30 bat- teries for the F5 camera (with MC-E1), MN-15 batteries for the F100 camera (with MC-E2), EN-4 batteries (for D1 series cameras), or EN-3 batteries for the E3 camera. The charger can charge two pairs of batteries of different types, for a total of four batteries, and comes with a twelve-volt cable for connection to a cigarette-lighter socket.

View nder eyepiece

accessories

Diopter-Adjustment View nder Lenses: Lenses are available with diopters of 5, 4, 3, 2, 0, +0.5, +1, +2, and +3 m1. Use diopter adjustment lenses only if the desired focus can not be achieved with the built-in diopter adjustment control (1.6 to +0.5 m1). Test diopter adjustment lenses before purchase to ensure that the desired focus can be achieved.

DG-2 Magni er: Magnify the scene displayed in the center of the view nder for close-up photography, copying, telephoto lenses, and other tasks that call for added precision. Eyepiece adapter required (available separately).

Eyepiece Adapter: Use to attach the DG-2 Magni er to the D50. DR-6 Right-Angle Viewing Attachment: The DR-6 attaches at a right

angle to the view nder eyepiece, allowing the image in the view- nder to be viewed from above when the camera is in the horizontal shooting position.

Body caps BF-1A Body Cap: The BF-1A keeps the mirror, view nder screen, and low-pass lter free of dust when a lens is not in place.

Remote controls

ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control: Use the ML-L3 as a remote shutter release for self-portraits or to prevent blur caused by camera shake. The ML-L3 uses a 3 V CR2025 battery.

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Filters Nikon lters can be divided into three types: screw-in, drop-in, and rear- interchange. Use Nikon lters; other lters may interfere with au to fo cus or elec tron ic range nd ing.

The D50 can not be used with linear polarizing lters. Use the C-PL circular polarizing lter instead.

The NC and L37C lters are recommended for pro tect ing the lens. When using an R60 lter, set exposure compensation to +1. To prevent moir, use of a lter is not recommended when the sub-

ject is framed against a bright light, or when a bright light source is in the frame.

Center-weighted metering is recommended with lters with exposure factors ( lter factors) over 1 (Y48, O56, R60, X0, X1, C-PL, ND4S, ND8S, A2, A12, B2, B8, B12).

Software Nikon Capture 4 (Version 4.3 or Later): Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later can be used to capture photos to a computer and to edit and save RAW images in other formats.

Approved Memory Cards The following cards have been tested and approved for use in the D50:

SanDisk 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB Toshiba 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB

Panasonic 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB

Operation is not guaranteed with other makes of card. For more details on the above cards, please contact the manufacturer.

Memory Cards Format memory cards in the camera before rst use. Turn the pow er off before in sert ing or re mov ing mem o ry cards. Do not remove

mem o ry cards from the camera, turn the camera off, or re move or disconnect the power source during formatting or while data are being recorded, deleted, or cop- ied to a computer. Failure to observe these precautions could result in loss of data or in dam age to the camera or card.

Do not touch the card terminals with your ngers or metal objects. Do not apply force to the card casing. Failure to ob serve this precaution could dam-

age the card. Do not bend, drop, or subject to strong physical shocks. Do not expose to heat, water, high levels of humidity, or direct sunlight.

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Storage When the camera will not be used for an extended period, remove the battery, and store the battery in a cool, dry area with the terminal cover in place. To pre vent mold or mil dew, store the cam era in a dry, well-ven ti lat ed area. Do not store your cam era with naph tha or cam phor moth balls or in lo ca tions that: are poorly ventilated or subject to humidities of over 60% are next to equipment that produces strong elec tro mag net ic elds, such

as televisions or radios are exposed to temperatures above 50 C/122 F (for example, near a

space heater or in a closed ve hi cle on a hot day) or below 10 C (14 F)

Cleaning

Camera body

Use a blower to remove dust and lint, then wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth. After using the camera at the beach or seaside, wipe off sand or salt with a cloth lightly dampened in distilled water and dry thor ough ly. IMPORTANT: Dust or other foreign matter inside the camera may cause damage not covered under warranty.

Lens, mirror, and view nder

These elements are made of glass and are easily dam aged. Remove dust and lint with a blower. If using an aerosol blower, keep the can vertical to prevent the discharge of liquid. To remove ngerprints and other stains, apply a small amount of lens cleaner to a soft cloth and clean with care.

Monitor

Remove dust and lint with a blower. When removing ngerprints and other stains, wipe the surface lightly with a soft cloth or cham- ois leath er. Do not apply pressure, as this could result in damage or malfunction.

The Monitor Should the monitor break, care should be taken to avoid injury caused by broken glass and to prevent liquid crystal from entering your eyes and mouth.

The Control Panel Rarely, static electricity may cause the control panel to brighten or darken. This does not indicate a malfunction; the display will shortly return to normal.

Caring for the Camera

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The Low-Pass Filter The image sensor that acts as the cam eras picture element is tted with a low-pass lter to prevent moir. Al though this lter prevents foreign ob- jects from adhering directly to the image sensor, under certain con di tions dirt or dust on the lter may appear in photographs. If you suspect that dirt or dust in side the camera is affecting your pho to graphs, you can check for the pres ence of for eign ob jects on the low-pass lter as described below.

1 Remove the lens and turn the camera on.

2 Choose Yes for the Mirror Lock-Up option in the setup menu ( 68). The mes sage, Press shutter-release but ton will be dis- played.

3 Press the shut ter-re lease but ton all the way down. The mir ror will be raised and the shut- ter cur tain will open, re veal ing the low-pass l ter, and a row of dashes will blink in the control panel.

4 Holding the camera so that light falls on the low-pass lter, ex am ine the lter for dust or lint. If there are for eign ob jects on the lter, the lter requires cleaning. See the fol low ing sec tion.

5 Turn the camera off. The mirror will return to the down position and the shutter curtain will close. Replace the lens or body cap and dis- connect the AC adapter.

Use a Reliable Power Source To prevent the camera from powering off while the mirror is raised, use a fully- charged battery or an EH-5 AC adapter (available separately) for prolonged inspec- tion or cleaning of the low-pass lter.

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Cleaning the Low-Pass Filter The low-pass lter is extremely delicate and easily damaged. Nikon recom- mends that lter be cleaned only by Nikon-authorized service personnel. Should you choose to clean the lter yourself, follow the steps below.

1 Raise the mirror as described in steps 13 on the preceding page.

2 Re move dust and lint from the lter with a blow er. Do not use a blower-brush, as the bris tles could damage the lter. Dirt that can not be removed with a blower can only be re moved by Nikon-au tho rized ser vice per- son nel. Un der no circumstances should you touch or wipe the l ter.

3 Turn the cam era off. The mirror will return to the down position and the shutter cur tain will close. Replace the lens or body cap.

Servicing the Camera and Accessories The D50 is a precision device and requires regular servicing. Nikon recommends that the camera be inspected by the original retailer or Nikon service representative once every one to two years, and that it be serviced once every three to ve years (note that fees apply to these services). Frequent inspection and servicing are particularly recommended if the camera is used professionally. Any accessories regularly used with the camera, such as lenses or optional Speedlights, should be included when the camera is inspected or serviced.

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Caring for the Camera and Battery: Cautions Do not drop The product may malfunction if sub ject ed to strong shocks or vi bra tion.

Keep dry This product is not waterproof, and may mal func tion if im mersed in wa ter or ex- posed to high levels of hu mid i ty. Rust ing of the in ter nal mech a nism can cause ir rep a- ra ble dam age.

Avoid sudden changes in tem per a ture Sud den chang es in tem per a ture, such as oc cur when en ter ing or leav ing a heat ed build ing on a cold day, can cause con den - sa tion in side the de vice. To prevent con den - sa tion, place the device in a car ry ing case or a plas tic bag be fore ex pos ing it to sud den chang es in tem per a ture.

Keep away from strong mag net ic elds Do not use or store this device in the vi cin i ty of equip ment that gen er ates strong elec- tro mag net ic radiation or mag net ic elds. Strong static charg es or the mag net ic elds pro duced by equip ment such as radio trans- mit ters could in ter fere with the monitor, dam age data stored on the mem o ry card, or affect the prod ucts in ter nal cir cuit ry.

Do not leave the lens pointed at the sun Do not leave the lens pointed at the sun or another sight source for an extended period. Intense light may cause the image sensor to deteriorate or produce a white blur effect in photographs.

Blooming Vertical white streaks may appear in pho- tographs of the sun or other strong light sources. This phenomenon, known as blooming, can be prevented by reducing the amount of light that falls on the image sensor, either by choosing a slow shutter speed and small aperture or by using an ND lter.

Do not touch the shutter curtain The shutter curtain is extremely thin and easily damaged. Under no cir cum stanc es should you exert pres sure on the curtain, poke it with clean ing tools, or sub ject it to powerful air cur rents from a blow er. These actions could scratch, de form, or tear the curtain.

Handle all mov ing parts with care Do not ap ply force to the bat tery-cham ber, card-slot, or con nec tor cov ers. These parts are es pe cial ly sus cep ti ble to dam age.

Cleaning When cleaning the camera body, use a

blow er to remove dust and lint, then wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth. After using your camera at the beach or seaside, wipe off any sand or salt using a cloth lightly damp ened with pure water and then dry your camera thoroughly. In rare in stanc es, static electricity produced by a brush or cloth may cause the LCD dis plays to light up or dark en. This does not in di cate a malfunction, and the dis play will shortly return to normal.

When cleaning the lens and mirror, re- mem ber that these elements are easily dam aged. Dust and lint should be gen tly removed with a blower. When using an aerosol blower, keep the can vertical (tilt- ing the can could result in liquid be ing sprayed on the mir ror). If you do get a ngerprint or other stain on the lens, ap- ply a small amount of lens cleaner to a soft cloth and wipe the lens carefully.

See Cleaning the Low-Pass Filter for in- formation on cleaning the low-pass lter ( 117).

Storage To prevent mold or mildew, store the cam-

era in a dry, well-ven ti lat ed area. If you will not be us ing the prod uct for long pe ri ods, re move the bat tery to pre vent leak age and store the cam era in a plastic bag con tain ing

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a des ic cant. Do not, how ev er, store the cam era case in a plas tic bag, as this may cause the ma te ri al to de te ri o rate. Note that des ic cant grad u al ly los es its ca pac i ty to ab sorb mois ture and should be re placed at reg u lar in ter vals.

Do not store the camera with naph tha or camphor moth balls, close to equip ment that pro duc es strong mag net ic elds, or in areas subject to extremes of tem per a ture, for ex am ple near a space heater or in a closed ve hi cle on a hot day.

To prevent mold or mil dew, take the cam- era out of storage at least once a month. Turn the camera on and re lease the shut- ter a few times before putting the cam era away again.

Store the battery in a cool, dry place. Replace the terminal cover before put ting the battery away.

Notes on the monitor The monitor may contain a few pix els

that are always lit or that do not light. This is a char ac ter is tic com mon to all TFT LCD monitors and does not in di cate a mal func tion. Im ag es re cord ed with the prod uct will not be af fect ed.

Images in the mon i tor may be dif cult to see in a bright light.

Do not apply pressure to the monitor; this could cause dam age or mal func tion. Dust or lint on the mon i tor can be re moved with a blower. Stains can be re moved by rub bing the surface light ly with a soft cloth or cham ois leath er.

Should the monitor break, care should be taken to avoid injury due to bro ken glass and to pre vent the liq uid crystal from the monitor touch ing the skin or en ter ing the eyes or mouth.

Turn the product off before re mov ing or disconnecting the power source Do not unplug the product or re move the battery while the prod uct is on, or while im ag es are being recorded or deleted. Forc- ibly cut ting pow er to the prod uct in these cir cum stanc es could re sult in loss of data or in damage to product memory or internal circuitry. To pre vent an ac ci den tal in ter - rup tion of pow er, avoid car ry ing the prod uct from one lo ca tion to an oth er while the AC adapter is con nect ed.

Batteries Dirt on the battery terminals can prevent

the camera from functioning. When you turn the device on, check the

battery-level dis played in the con trol pan el to de ter mine whether the bat tery needs to be recharged or replaced. The bat tery needs to be recharged or replaced when the battery-level in di ca tor is ash ing.

When tak ing pho to graphs on im por tant oc ca sions, ready a spare EN-EL3a bat tery and keep it ful ly charged. De pend ing on your lo ca tion, you may nd it dif cult to pur chase re place ment bat ter ies on short notice.

On cold days, the capacity of bat ter ies tends to de crease. Be sure the battery is fully charged before tak ing pho to graphs out side in cold weath er. Keep a spare bat tery in a warm place and ex change the two as nec es sary. Once warmed, a cold bat tery may re cov er some of its charge.

Should the bat tery ter mi nals be come dirty, wipe them off with a clean, dry cloth be- fore use.

After removing the battery from the cam- era, be sure to replace the ter mi nal cov er.

Used batteries are a valuable resource. Please recycle used batteries in accord with local regulations.

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If the camera fails to function as expected, check the list of common prob- lems below before consulting your retailer or Nikon representative. Refer to the page numbers in the right-most column for more information.

Problem Solution Camera takes time to turn on. Delete les or folders. 84

View nder is out of focus. Adjust view nder focus. Use optional diopter adjustment lens.

13 113

View nder is dark. Charge battery or insert charged battery. 14

Displays turn off without warning. Choose longer monitor off or meter of delays.

100

Unusual characters displayed in control panel

See A Note on Electronically Controlled Cameras, below.

Displays in control panel or view- nder are slow and dim

Displays are affected by high or low tem- peratures.

Fine lines around active focus area in view nder

View nder display turns red

These phenomena are normal and do not indicate a malfunction.

Menu item is not displayed. Select Detailed for CSM/Setup Menu. 69

Menu item is unavailable. Choose another mode or insert memory card.

11 101

Image size can not be changed. NEF (Raw) or NEF+JPEG Basic selected for image quality.

31

Shutter release is disabled.

Aperture not locked at highest f/-number. Memory card is locked. Memory card is full. Flash is charging.

7 11 14 18

Troubleshooting

A Note on Electronically-Controlled Cam er as In extremely rare in stanc es, un usu al char ac ters may ap pear in the control panel and the cam era may stop func tion ing. In most cas es, this phe nom e non is caused by a strong ex ter nal stat ic charge. Turn the cam era off, re move and replace the battery, and turn the cam era on again, or, if you are using an AC adapt er (available sep a - rate ly), dis con nect and re con nect the adapt er and turn the cam era on again. If the problem persists, press the reset switch (see right) and then reset the camera clock to the correct date and time ( 68). In the event of con tin ued mal func tion, con tact your re tail er or Nikon rep re sen ta tive. Note that dis con nect ing the power source as de scribed above may result in loss of any data not re cord ed to the memory card at the time the prob lem occurred. Data already recorded to the card will not be affected.

Reset switch

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Problem Solution

Shutter release is disabled (con- tinued).

Camera is not in focus. Non-CPU lens: camera not in M mode. Mode dial rotated to S after shutter speed

of bulb selected in M mode: choose new shutter speed.

17 45 43

No photo taken when remote con- trol shutter release is pressed.

Replace battery in remote control. Choose remote control mode. Time selected for Remote has passed:

reselect remote control mode. Bright light is interfering with remote.

113 22 100

23

Can not select focus area. AF-Area Mode set to Closest Subjct Monitor is on: camera in playback mode.

89 24

AF-assist illuminator does not light.

Mode dial is rotated to or . Continuous-servo AF is in effect. Off selected for AF Assist. Illuminator has turned off automatically.

Illuminator may become hot with contin- ued use; wait for lamp to cool down.

34 88 90

Slow shutter speeds not available. Flash raised (P, S, A, and M modes) 128 Focus does not lock when shutter- release button is pressed halfway.

AF-C selected for Autofocus (P, S, A, and M modes: use button to lock focus.

34 88

Area shown in view nder is smaller than nal photo.

View nder has vertical and horizontal frame coverage of about 95%.

Photos are out of focus.

Rotate focus-mode selector to AF. Camera unable to focus using autofocus:

use manual focus or focus lock. Camera may not focus if focus area contains ob- jects at different distances from camera or subject is low contrast, contains highly detailed or repeating patterns, is much brighter or darker than background, or is much smaller than objects in background.

15 34 35

Recording time increases. Turn noise reductionoff. 78

Randomly-spaced bright pixels (noise appears in photos.

Choose lower sensitivity. Shutter speed is slower than 1: use noise

reduction.

39 78

Blotches appear on photos. Clean lens. Clean low-pass lter.

115 116

Colors are unnatural.

Select P, S, A, or M mode and adjust white balance to match light source.

Select P, S, A, or M mode and adjust Opti- mize Image setting.

49

48

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Problem Solution Can not measure white balance. Subject is too dark or too bright. 80 Image can not be selected as source for preset white balance.

Image was not created with D50. 81

White balance bracketing unavail- able.

NEF (Raw) or NEF+JPEG Basic selected for image quality.

31 93

Results for Optimize Image vary from shot to shot.

Select Custom and choose setting other than Auto for Sharpening and Tone Comp.

76

Metering can not be changed. Autoexposure lock is in effect. 96 Exposure compensation can not be used.

Rotate mode dial to P, S, or A. 47

Continuous shooting ends unex- pectedly.

P, S, A, and M modes: lower ash. Turn bracketing off.

37 93

RAW image is not displayed during playback.

Photo taken at image quality of NEF+JPEG Basic.

31

Tall (portrait-orientation) photos are displayed in wide (land- scape) orientation.

Select Yes for Rotate Tall. Photo was taken with Off selected for Im-

age Rotation. Camera orientation was changed while

shutter-release button was pressed in con- tinuous mode.

Camera was pointed up or down when shot was taken.

84 75

75

75

Can not delete photo. Photo is protected: remove protection. Memory card is locked.

56 11

Some photos are not displayed during playback.

Select All for Playback Fldr. Note that Current will automatically be selected when next photo is taken.

84

Photos are not displayed in moni- tor after shooting.

Select On for Image Review. 90

Can not change print order. Memory card is full: delete photos. Memory card is locked.

84 11

Can not print pictures via direct USB connection.

Set USB to PTP. 71

Can not select photo for printing. Photo is a RAW (NEF) image. Use PictureProject or Nikon Capture 4 Version 4.3 or later (avail- able separately) to print photo.

59

Photo is not displayed on TV. Choose correct video mode. 69 Can not copy photos to computer. Choose correct USB option. 59 Can not use Nikon Capture 4 Cam- era Control.

Set USB to PTP. 59 71

Date of recording is not correct. Set camera clock. 69

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Camera Error Messages and Displays This section lists the indicators and error messages that appear in the view nder, control panel, and monitor when there is a problem with the camera.

Indicator

Problem Solution Control panel

View- nder

Low battery. Ready a fully-charged spare bat tery.

8 14

(blinks) (blinks) Battery exhausted. Replace battery.

8 14

(blinks) Camera can not detect bat- tery.

Insert battery. 8

(blinks) Camera clock is not set. Set camera clock.

10 68

(blinks) No memory card. Insert memory card. 11

(blinks) (blinks)

Memory insuf cient to record further photos at current set- tings, or cam era has run out of le or folder numbers.

Reduce quality or size. Delete photographs. Insert new memory card.

30 84 11

(blinks) Lens aperture ring is not locked at minimum aperture.

Lock ring at minimum aperture (largest f/-number).

7

(blinks) No lens attached, or non-CPU lens attached.

Attach CPU lens (IX Nikkor ex- cluded), or rotate mode dial to M and use lens aperture ring to set aperture.

7 45 105

(blinks)

Camera unable to focus using autofocus.

Focus manually. 35

Subject too bright; photo will be overexposed.

Choose lower sensitivity. Use optional Neutral Density

(ND) lter In mode:

S Increase shutter speed A Choose smaller ap er ture

(larg er f/-number)

39 114

43 44

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Indicator

Problem Solution Control panel

View- nder

Subject too dark; photo will be underexposed.

Choose higher sensitivity. Use built-in ash. In mode:

S Lower shutter speed A Choose larger ap er ture

(smaller f/-number)

39 36

43 44

(blinks)

Flash required for correct ex- posure (P, S, A, M modes).

Flash has red at full power ( blinks for three seconds after ash res) .

Raise built-in ash.

Check photo in monitor; if underexposed, adjust settings and try again.

36

24

(blinks) (blinks)

Speedlight that does not sup port i-TTL ash control at- tached and set to TTL.

Change ash mode setting on optional Speedlight.

110 127

(blinks) selected in mode M

and mode dial rotated to S. Change shutter speed or select mode M.

43 45

(blinks) selected in mode M and

mode dial rotated to S. Change shutter speed or select mode M.

43 45

(blinks) Camera malfunction.

Release shutter. If error per- sists or appears frequently, consult with Nikon-au tho rized service representative.

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Indicator

Problem Solution Monitor

Control panel

NO CARD PRESENT

Camera cannot detect memory card.

Turn camera off and con- rm that card is correctly inserted.

11

THIS CARD CAN NOT BE

USED (blinks)

Error accessing memory card.

Unable to create new folder

Card has not been format- ted for use in D50.

Use Nikon-approved card. Check that contacts are

clean. If card is dam aged, contact retailer or Nikon rep re sen ta tive.

Delete les or insert new memory card.

Format memory card.

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11 84 11

CARD IS NOT FORMATTED (blinks)

Memory card has not been formatted for use in D50.

Format memory card. 11

FOLDER CONTAINS

NO IMAGES

Memory card contains no images.

Current folder is empty.

Insert another card.

Set Playback dr to All.

11

84 FILE DOES

NOT CONTAIN

IMAGE DATA

File has been created or modi ed using a com put er or different make of camera, or le is corrupt.

Delete le or reformat memory card.

11 84

CARD IS LOCKED

,

(blinks)

Memory card is locked (write protected).

Slide write-protect switch to write position.

11

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Appendix

Memory Card Capacity and Image Quality/Size The following table shows the approximate number of pictures that can be stored on a 256 MB card at different image quality and size settings.

Image quality

Image size

File size (MB) 1

No. of images 1

Buffer capacity 2

Long Exp. NR Off

Long Exp. NR On

NEF (Raw) 5.0 33 4 3

JPEG Fine L 2.9 70 9 7 M 1.6 123 10 8 S 0.8 258 19 17

JPEG Normal L 1.5 137 12 10 M 0.8 233 16 14 S 0.4 464 27 25

JPEG Basic L 0.8 258 19 17 M 0.4 423 27 25 S 0.2 770 49 47

NEF+JPEG Basic /L 5.8 3 29 4 3

1 All gures are approximate. File size varies with scene recorded and make of memory card.

2 Maximum number of frames that can be stored in memory buffer. Actual number of photos that can be taken before buffer lls may vary with make of memory card. Additional photographs can be taken as soon as enough memory is available in buffer.

3 Total le size of NEF (RAW) and JPEG images.

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Exposure Program (Mode P) The exposure program for mode P is shown in the fol low ing graph: F (lens focal length) 55 mm 55 F 135 mm F 135 mm

Shutter speed

The maximum and minimum values for EV vary with sen si tiv i ty (ISO equivalency); the above graph assumes a sen si tiv i ty of ISO 200 equivalent. When matrix metering is used, values over 171/3 EV are re duced to 171/3 EV.

Flash Control ( 36, 109) The following types of ash control are supported when a CPU lens is used in combination with the built-in ash or an optional SB-800 or SB-600 Speedlight:

i-TTL Balanced Fill-Flash for Digital SLR: Flash output is adjusted for a natural bal- ance between the main subject and the background. Standard i-TTL Flash for Digital SLR: Flash output is adjusted for the main subject; the brightness of the background is not taken into account. Recommended for shots in which the main subject is emphasized at the expense of background de- tails, or when exposure compensation is used.

Standard i-TTL ash control is used when Spot is selected for Custom Setting 13 (Metering; 96) or exposure mode M is selected when the built-in ash is used. i-TTL balanced ll- ash for digital SLR is used in all other cases.

A perture

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Shutter Speeds Available with Built-in Flash The following shutter speeds are available when the built-in ash is used.

Mode Shutter speed , , , P, A 1/5001/60 s

1/5001/125 s

Mode Shutter speed 1/5001 s

S, M 1/5001/30 s

Flash Range, Aperture, and Sensitivity Flash range varies with sensitivity (ISO equivalency) and aperture.

Aperture at ISO equivalent of Range 200 400 800 1600 m ft 2 2.8 4 5.6 1.07.5 33247

2.8 4 5.6 8 0.75.4 24178 4 5.6 8 11 0.63.8 2126

5.6 8 11 16 0.62.7 289 8 11 16 22 0.61.9 263 11 16 22 32 0.61.4 247 16 22 32 0.60.9 2211 22 32 0.60.7 224

Supported Standards DCF Version 2.0: Design Rule for Camera File System (DCF) is standard widely used in the digital camera industry to ensure compatibility among different makes of camera.

DPOF: Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) is an industry-wide standard that allows pictures to be printed from print orders stored on the memory card.

Exif version 2.21: The D50 supports Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format for Digital Still Cameras) ver sion 2.21, a stan dard that al lows in for ma tion stored with pho to graphs to be used for optimal color re pro duc tion when im ag es are output on Exif-compliant print ers.

PictBridge: A standard developed by in cooperation with the digital cam- era and printer industries, allowing photographs to be output directly to a printer without connecting the camera to a computer.

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s Speci cations

Type Single-lens re ex digital camera with interchangeable lenses

CCD 23.7 15.6 mm; total pixels: 6.24 million Image size (pixels) 3008 2000 (Large)

Effective pixels 6.1 million

Lens mount Nikon F mount (with AF coupling and AF contacts)

Compatible lenses*

Type G or D AF Nikkor All functions supported

Other AF Nikkor All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering II

Micro Nikkor 85 mm f/2.8D

All functions supported except autofocus and some expo- sure modes

AI-P Nikkor All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering II and autofocus

Non-CPU Can be used in mode M, but exposure meter does not function; electronic range nder can be used if maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster

Picture angle Equivalent in 35-mm format is approximately 1.5 times lens focal length

View nder Diopter adjustment 1.6 +0.5 m1

Focusing screen Type B BriteView clear matte screen Mark V with superim- posed focus brackets

Eyepoint 18 mm (1.0 m1)

Frame coverage Approximately 95% of lens (vertical and horizontal) Magni cation Approximately 0.75 (50-mm lens at in nity; 1.0 m1)

Fixed-eyelevel penta-Dach-mirror type

* IX Nikkor lenses can not be used Excluding lenses for F3AF

Re ex mirror Quick return

Lens aperture Electronically controlled with instant return

Focus-area selection Can be selected from 5 focus areas

Lens servo Autofocus (AF): Instant single-servo AF (AF-S); continu- ous-servo AF (AF-C); auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A); pre- dictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status

Manual focus (M)

2256 1496 (Medium) 1504 1000 (Small)

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Autofocus

Detection range 1 +19 EV (ISO 100 at 20 C/68 F) AF-area mode Single-area AF, dynamic-area AF, dynamic-area AF with

closest subject priority Focus lock Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button

halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button

TTL phase detection by Nikon Multi-CAM900 autofocus module with AF-assist illuminator (range approximately 0.53.0 m / 18910)

Exposure Metering Three-mode through-the-lens (TTL) exposure metering Matrix 3D color matrix metering II (type G and D lenses); color

matrix metering II (other CPU lenses); metering performed by 420-segment RGB sensor

Center-weighted Weight of 75% given to 8-mm circle in center of frame Spot Meters 3.5-mm circle (about 2.5% of frame) centered on

active focus area Range (ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens, 20 C/68 F)

0 20 EV (3D color matrix or center-weighted metering) 2 20 EV (spot metering)

Exposure meter coupling CPU coupling Exposure control Operating mode Digital Vari-Program ( auto, portrait, landscape,

child, sports, close up, night portrait), programmed auto (P) with exible program; shutter-priority auto (S); aperture priority auto (A); manual (M)

Exposure compensation 5 +5 EV in increments of 1/3 or EV Bracketing Exposure and / or ash bracketing (up to 2 EV over 3 ex-

posures) Exposure lock Luminosity locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button

Shutter Speed 30 1/4000 s in steps of 1/3 or EV, bulb, remote

Combined mechanical and CCD electronic shutter

Sensitivity 200 1600 (ISO equivalent) in steps of 1 EV

White balance

Bracketing 3 exposures in increments of 1, 2, or 3

Auto (TTL white-balance with 420 pixels RGB sensor), six manual modes with preset white balance

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Storage Media SD (Secure Digital) memory cards File system Compliant with Design Rule for Camera File System (DCF)

2.0 and Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) Compression NEF (RAW): compressed 12-bit

JPEG: JPEG baseline-compliant

Built-in Speedlight

Guide number (m / ft at 20 C/68 F)

ISO 200: approximately 15/49 (manual 17/56) ISO 100: approximately 11/36 (manual 12/39)

, , , , : auto ash with auto pop-up P, S, A, M: manual pop-up with button release

Flash Sync contact X-contact only; ash synchronization at up to 1/500 s

Sync modes , , , : front curtain sync, red-eye reduction : slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction , : front curtain sync and red-eye reduction available

with optional Speedlights P, S, A, M: front curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync,

red-eye reduction, slow sync with red-eye reduction

Flash control TTL TTL ash control by 420-segment RGB sensor (CPU lenses only)

Built-in Speedlight: i-TTL balanced ll- ash for digital SLR, or standard i-TTL ash for digital SLR (spot metering)

SB-800 or 600: i-TTL balanced ll- ash for digital SLR, or standard i-TTL ash for digital SLR (spot metering)

Auto aperture Available with SB-800 with CPU lens Non-TTL auto Available with such Speedlights as SB-800, 80DX, 28DX,

28, 27, and 22s Range-priority manual Available with SB-800

Flash compensation 3 +1 EV in increments of 1/3 or EV

Nikon Creative Lighting System

Supports Flash Color Information Communication and FV lock with built-in Speedlight, SB-800, and SB-600. SB-800 and 600 also support Advanced Wireless Lighting.

Accessory shoe Standard ISO hot-shoe contact with safety lock

Self-timer Electronically controlled timer with 2 20 s duration

Monitor 2.0, 130,000-dot, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment

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Video output Can be selected from NTSC and PAL

External interface USB 2.0 Hi-speed

Tripod socket (ISO)

Power source One rechargeable Nikon EN-EL3a Li-ion battery; charging voltage (MH-18a quick charger or optional MH-19 multi charger): 7.4 V DC

EH-5 AC adapter (available separately)

Dimensions (W H D) Approximately 133 102 76 mm (5.2 4.0 3.0)

Weight Approximately 540 g (1 lb 3 oz) without battery, memory card, or body cap

Operating environment Temperature 0 +40 C (+32 104 F) Humidity Less than 85% (no condensation)

Unless otherwise stated, all gures are for a camera with a fully-charged battery op er at ing at an ambient temperature of 20 C (68 F).

Nikon reserves the right to change the speci cations of the hardware and software described this manual at any time and without prior notice. Nikon will not be held liable for damages that may result from any mistakes that this manual may con- tain.

Firmware upgrades Firmware can be upgraded by user

Supported languages Chinese (Simpli ed and Traditional), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish

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EN-EL3a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Type Rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Weight Approximately 80 g (2.8 oz), excluding terminal cover

Rated capacity 7.4 V/1500 mAh

Dimensions (W H D) Approximately 39.5 56 21 mm (1.6 2.2 0.8)

MH-18a Quick Charger Rated input AC 100240 V, 50/60 Hz

Weight Approximately 80 g (2.8 oz), excluding power cable

Rated output DC 8.4 V/900 mA

Supported batteries EN-EL3a rechargeable Li-ion batteries

Charging time Approximately 135 min

Operating temperature 0 +40 C (+32 104 F)

Length of cord Approximately 1800 mm (511)

Dimensions (W H D) Approximately 58 90 35 mm (2.3 3.5 1.4)

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AF-S 1855 mm, f/3.55.6G Lens Type Type G CPU AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens with Nikon mount

Attachment diameter 52 mm (P=0.75 mm)

Supported cameras Nikon DX-format digital SLR cameras

Focal length 1855 mm

Max. reproduction ratio 1:3.55.6

Construction 7 elements in 5 groups, including 1 ED glass element and 1 aspherical element

Zoom positions 18, 24, 35, 45, and 55 mm

Distance information Supplied to camera body

Zoom Zoom adjusted by rotating lens zoom ring

Focus Autofocus with Silent Wave motor; manual focus

Min. focus distance 0.28 m at all zoom positions

Aperture Auto aperture

Aperture range f/3.522 (18 mm zoom); f/5.638 (55 mm zoom)

Metering Maximum aperture

Weight Approximately 210 g (7.4 oz)

Dimensions (W H D) Approximately 69 mm diameter 74 mm (2.7 2.9)

Lens hoods HB-33 (available separately; attaches as shown below)

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Battery Life The number of shots that can be taken with a fully-charged EN-EL3a battery (1500 mAh) varies with the con di tion of the batteries, temperature, and how the camera is used. The following measurements were performed at a temperature of 20 C (68 F).

Example 1: 2500 shots AF-S DX ED 1855 mm f/3.55.6G lens; con tin u ous shoot ing mode; con tin u ous- servo autofocus; image quality set to JPEG Basic; im age size set to M; shutter speed 50 s; shut ter-re lease pressed half way for three sec onds and fo cus cycled from in nity to min i mum range three times; after six shots, mon i tor turned on for ve seconds and then turned off; cycle re peat ed once exposure meters have turned off.

Example 2: 500 shots AF-S DX ED 1855 mm f/3.55.6G lens; sin gle-frame shoot ing mode; single-ser vo autofocus; image qual i ty set to JPEG Normal; im age size set to L; shut ter speed 50 s; shut ter-re lease pressed half way for ve seconds and fo cus cycled from in nity to min i mum range once with each shot; built-in Speedlight red at full power with every other shot; AF-assist illuminator lights when Speedlight is used; cycle re peat ed once exposure meters have turned off; camera turned off for one minute with every ten shots.

The following can reduce battery life: Using the monitor Keeping the shutter-release button pressed halfway Repeated autofocus operations Taking NEF (RAW) photographs Slow shutter speeds

To ensure maximum battery performance: Keep the battery contacts clean. Soiled contacts can reduce battery performance. Use EN-EL3a batteries immediately after charging. Batteries will lose their charge if

left un used.

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Index

Symbols . See Exposure compensa-

tion . See Flash compensation

. See Flash ready indicator . See FV lock , , , , , . See

Mode, Digital Vari-Program . See Remote control . See Self-timer . See Shooting mode

A A. See Mode Advanced Wireless Lighting, 110 AE-L/AF-L, 98 AE Lock, 99 AF. See Focus mode; Auto- focus

AF Area Illm, 91 AF-Area Mode, 89 AF Assist, 90 AF-assist illuminator, 34 Aperture, 4045

(auto) mode, 14 Autoexposure lock, 97 Autofocus, 88 Autofocus, 33, 88, 89

AF-A, 88 AF-C, 88 AF-S, 88

B BASIC. See Image Quality Battery, 89

EN-EL3a, 8 inserting, 89 life, 135 storage, 118119

Beep, 88 BKT. See bracketing BKT Set, 93 Blur, reducing, 43 Bracketing, 9395. See also Ex po sure bracketing; white bal ance, bracketing

Brightness. See LCD Bright ness Bulb. See long time exposures

C CCD, 129

cleaning, 116117 Clock, 69 CLOCK. See Clock Closest subject priority. See AF-area mode

Color Mode, 77 Color pro le. See Color Mode

Computer, 5961 Continuous shooting. See shooting mode

Contrast. See Tone Comp. CPU lenses, 105106 Custom Settings, 87100, 101

defaults, 87, 102 CSM. See Custom Settings CSM/Setup Menu, 69

D Date. See Date Date, 69 Delete, 84 Deleting, 57, 84. See also Mem o ry card, for mat ting all images, 84 selected images, 84 single-frame playback, 24

Digital Print Order Format, 67, 128

Digital Vari-Program. See ; mode

Diopter, 13 DPOF. See Digital Print Order Format

Dust Ref Photo, 74 DVP. See mode, Digital Vari- Program

Dynamic-area AF. See AF-area mode.

E EL. See Autoexposure lock Electronic analog exposure dis play, 4546

Electronic range nder, 35 EV Step, 92 Exif version 2.21, 128 Exposure bracketing, 9394

Exposure compensation, 47 Exposure meters, 96. See also Meter Off

Eyepiece cap, 13

F File No. Seq., 73 Files. See image les FINE. See Image quality Firmware, 75 Firmware Ver., 75 Flash, 18, 3638, 109112. See also Speedlight bracketing, 9394

Flash Color Information Com- munication, 109110

Flash exposure compensa- tion, 38

Flash Level, 90 Flash Mode, 99 Flash-ready indicator, 18 Flash sync mode, 3637 Flexible program, 42. See also Mode, P, S, A, M

Focal plane mark, 35 Focus. See Au to fo cus; Fo cus mode; Man u al focus

Focus area (focus brackets), 33 Focus lock, 34 Focus mode, 15, 35 Folders, 7172, 84 Folders, 71 Format, 68 FV lock, 9899

H Highlight display, 53 Histogram, 53 Hue Adjustment, 78

I Image Comment, 70 Image dust off, 74 Image les, 3132 Image Quality, 31 Image review, 90 Image Review, 90 Image Rotation, 75 Image Size, 32 ISO, 39. See also Sen si tiv i ty ISO Auto, 92

137

Tech n

ical N o

tes In

d ex

ISO Control, 91 i-TTL ash control, 109110, 127

J JPEG, 31

L L. See Image size Language. See Language (LANG)

Language (LANG), 70 LCD Brightness, 69 Lens, 105108

attaching, 7 compatible, 105108 CPU, 105106 non-CPU, 106107 type G or D, 105108

Long time-exposures, 4546 Long Exp. NR, 78 Low-pass lter, 116117

M M. See Image Size; Manual focus; Mode

Manual focus, 35 Mass Storage, 59, 71 Memory buffer, 21 Memory card, 1112

approved, 114 capacity of, 126 formatting, 68

Menu Reset, 87 Metering, 96 Meter Off, 100 Mirror Lock-Up, 116 Mode, 6

Digital Vari-Program, 1420 P, S, A, M, 4046

Monitor, 115 auto off, 100

Monitor Off, 100

N NEF, 3132. See also Im age Qual i ty; RAW

Nikon Capture 4, 31, 59, 114 Noise, 46

reduction, 78 NORMAL. See Image Quality NO SD Card?, 90

O Optimize Image, 48, 76

P P. See mode P*. See Flexible program PictBridge, 6267, 128 PictureProject, 31,5960 Picture Transfer Protocol. See PTP.

Photo information, 5253 Playback, 5167 Playback Fldr, 84 Playback menu, 8386 PRE. See White balance, preset

Predictive focus tracking, 129 Printing photographs, 6267 Print Set, 67 Protecting images, 56 PTP, 59, 63 71

R RAW, 32. See also Im age Qual i ty; NEF

Red-eye reduction, 36 Remote, 100 Remote control, 2223 Rotate Tall, 84

S S. See Image Size; Mode S. See Shooting mode Saturation, 77 SD. See Memory card Secure Digital. See Memory card

Self-portraits. See Remote control; Self-timer

Self-timer, 2223 Self-Timer, 100 Sensitivity, 39. See also ISO Setup menu, 6875 Sharpening, 76 Shutter speed, 4045

and ash synchronization, 128

Shooting menu, 7682, 101103

Shooting mode, 21 Single-area AF. See AF-area mode.

Single-frame playback, 5153

Single-frame shooting. See Shooting mode

Size. See Image Size Slide Show, 85 Slide shows. See Slide Show Small Picture, 86 Speedlight, 109112. See also ash built-in, 18, 3638 optional, 109112

sRGB. See Color Mode

T Television, 58, 69 Time. See Date Time exposures. See Long time-exposures

Thumbnail playback, 54 Tone Comp., 77 Two-button reset, 50

U USB, 59, 63, 71

V Video device, 58, 69 Video Mode, 69 VIDEO OUT, 58 View nder, 13, 1617

focus. See diopter

W WB. See White balance White Balance, 47, 79 White balance, 49

bracketing, 93, 95 preset, 7982

No reproduction in any form of this manual, in whole or in part (except for brief

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