Nikon D7000 tips

[Jlow13]

Thanks for all the great tips!

[Grandpaw]

Finding a photo on your memory card in the camera

Have you ever gone on vacation for several days and taken hundreds of pictures and want to find one particular picture to look at? Well it can be a real challenge to find one picture out of hundreds that you have taken but there is a few things that you can do to make it easier. First of all you can narrow it down to a few days or even a single day by selecting that dates that you don't want to see and hiding them. Next you can view several pictures at a time by pressing the ISO button to help quickly narrow your search to find the picture you wanted to see. Each time you press the ISO button you will view a bigger selection of thumbnails of pictures you can see. If you want to verify that the thumbnail you have chosen is the correct one all you need to do is press the OK button and you will see it full size.

Here is how you do it.
Go to the playback menu which is the very top menu
Next toggle to the right and down to Hide image and press OK
Highlight Select date and press OK again
Toggle up and down within the dates to highlight the date or dates you want to hide and then press the right arrow on the multi selector button to select each date. As you scroll through the dates press the right arrow to select each date you want to hide.
Next press the QUAL button (Lower button on the left hand side of the camera) to confirm your choices and then press OK to save.

By doing this you will eliminate the days you do not want to see and view the remaining days by pressing the play button. Remember that these days will remain hidden from view until you go back and uncheck them. You can also choose All deselect all in step four above to be able to view all your pictures again. It would have been nice to be able to check the days that you want to see instead of hiding the ones that you do not want to look at but you don't have that option. If you have taken all your pictures in the same day there will only be a single day to choose and not multiple choices, Jeff

[armando_m]

as I have said before, this is a great list, organize with an index and you'll have an
"in depth D7000 guide"

[Grandpaw]

as I have said before, this is a great list, organize with an index and you'll have an
"in depth D7000 guide"

Thanks for taking a look and leaving the encouraging comment. I just never know how many of these posts, if any, are people getting helpful information from. Thanks again, Jeff

[Grandpaw]

I have just added a complete list of the TIPS in the original first post of this thread. I will keep the list in post number one up to date in case you need to return to an individual tip for a reference. Due to the fact that this thread is getting fairly long I added this at the recommendation of Armando to help aid you in finding the topic you are looking for and not have to wade through several pages to locate what you need.

So far there are 43 TIPS and I will post a list here but will only keep the list in post #1 up to date for your convenience and reference, Jeff

Complete list as of NOW. For the updated list refer to post#1
Tip #1 The Virtual Horizon
Tip #2 Nikon built in flash adjustment
Tip #3 Where was the focus point of my picture
Tip #4 Menus driving you nuts My Menu
Tip #5 Manuals hard to understand Digitutor
Tip #6 Saving all your setting for your favorite type of shooting U1 & U2
Tip #7 Reducing noise in your pictures
Tip #8 Need faster FLASH SYNC SPEED than 1/250??
Tip #9 You might consider a battery grip and this is why
Tip #10 Capturing the natural look or mood with photos taken inside by using fill flash
Tip #11 When to use different flash fill modes and what they do
Tip #12 Additional observation or thought for the tip in my post #10
Tip #13 Some reasons to add an external flash to your list of equipment
Tip #14 Ever wish you had access to your camera manual while you were out shooting?
Tip #15 Lighting up the rear LCD display
Tip #16 Easy way to change your ISO setting in aperture mode
Tip #17 Ever need to get your active focus point back to the center quickly?
Tip #18 Nikon ML-L3 wireless remote
Tip #19 Having trouble with the auto focus in low light
Tip #20 Using the auto ISO setting and setting the minimum shutter speed
Tip #21 Discovering blown out areas quickly while you are still shooting so you can correct your mistakes
Tip #22 Getting your own custom look to your pictures
Tip #23 Wanting to compare two or more pictures up close
Tip #24 Customizing your metering system
Tip #25 Adding copyright information to the EXIF data of each of your pictures
Tip #26 Quick check all your settings BEFORE each time you shoot
Tip #27 Getting a custom white balance
Tip #28 Is your camera a pain in the neck?
Tip #29 Viewing your pictures, menus, or info on the rear LCD screen
Tip #30 Saving custom white balance settings
Tip #31 Getting the rear LCD screen to stay on as long as you need it
Tip #32 Another option to navigate menus with, other than the multi selector button
Tip #33 If you use a wide angle lens you may find this tip very helpful
Tip #34 Does part of your pictures disappear when you have enlargements made?
Tip #35 Ever consider trying "Active D Lighting" or "Regular D Lighting"
Tip #36 Getting a custom look to your pictures under many different situations
Tip #37 Resetting your Nikon SB 800 flash back to normal operation
Tip #38 What is the Diopter, where is it and what does it do
Tip #39 Finding a photo on your memory card in the camera
Tip #40 Try converting photos to black and white for a different look & feel
Tip #41 This tip is for people shooting more than one model camera
Tip $42 A simple tip that may save you money and headaches
Tip #43 Setting your camera to take a picture only after focus has been acquired

[Grandpaw]

Beware of UFOs when changing lenses

We all know about being careful when changing lenses in dusty or damp locations but I just read on another forum about a culprit that may be just as bad or worse on your sensor. Remember that it is springtime and the fine pollen is floating and flying everywhere so be careful when and where you change lenses.

TIP... Be sure you are in a safe environment and point the opening to your camera down towards the floor when changing or removing your lens to help prevent something getting on your sensor. Remember that your camera or lens my be coated with pollen and may need to be cleaned BEFORE removing the lens to avoid transferring pollen on to your sensor. You just can't be too careful, Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Sometimes your rear LCD screen lighting up is annoying to others

Have you ever been trying to watch your child's performance on a school play or anything else where the seating area is dark and between you and what you are trying to watch people are taking pictures? If you have, you have experienced all those bright, annoying and distracting LCD screens that light up after each picture to show a review of the picture just taken. Don't be one of these annoying people and simply turn off the rear LCD review option during the show. This LCD screen can easily and quickly be turned "OFF" and the turned right back "ON" after the show. This is another one of those items I would add to the "MY MENU" so it can be accessed very easily.

This is how you do it
Go to the "PLAYBACK MENU" which is the very top menu and press OK
Next scroll down to "Image Review" and press OK again
Next choose "ON" or "OFF" and press OK


If you need to know how to add this to MY MENU it was covered in tip #4 but I will place it here for your convenience
Here is how you do it
Go to MY MENU which is the six menu down on the left side and press OK
Scroll to ADD ITEMS and press OK
Next choose the PLAYBACK MENU and press OK
Next scroll down to IMAGE REVIEW and press OK
Press OK one more time to save it to MY MENU

Treat others like you would like to be treated and just turn off your LCD during the program. REMEMBER..... The only thing you have done by turning off the review option is that it will not automatically show you the picture for review after taking it. You still have the ability to press the play button to view your photos if needed, Jeff
__________________

[Grandpaw]

Sometimes you may not want the flash to fire in AUTO mode

This tip is for those of you that have not gotten off of the auto mode selection yet. You may consider using this in conjunction with the last tip about turning off your auto photo review when shooting at plays or programs so you don't disturb others by your rear LCD lighting up. This only applies to those of you that use the green auto mode. The on board flash only reaches about 10ft. so if you are shooting from a longer distance than that you may want to use the mode selection next to the GREEN AUTO mode between the GREEN AUTO and SCENE modes that looks like a circle with a lightning bolt with a line through it.

This mode selection is full AUTO but just does not allow the on board flash to pop up or fire. This will allow you to use auto mode but eliminate the flash going off and annoying everyone with your flash that is not going to help out your picture taking anyway. In the other modes the flash will not operate unless you specifically turn it on. This Auto mode can be used anytime you want to take pictures in a low light situation and not want the flash to fire.

This feature is not on the D80 or D90 so if you are upgrading up from one of these or the D7000 is your first DSLR you may not be aware of this option. On the earlier models like the D80 or D90 you had to go into the menu to get the flash not to fire.

A lot of you will be using the more advanced modes or something other than FULL AUTO and this will not apply to you but if you use the GREEN AUTO mode this is a good thing to be aware of, Jeff

[gerald]

Thank you for the great tips, I am finding helpful information that I have not found elsewhere!

[Grandpaw]

Thank you for the great tips, I am finding helpful information that I have not found elsewhere!

Welcome to Photography Review!!! I'm glad you can get something helpful out of my thread. I add a new tip about once a week or sometimes even sooner. I am looking forward to you posting some pictures and joining in on the forums. Again welcome aboard, Jeff

[wfooshee]

I don't like moving my eye back and forth to use the green dot. It works, but on moving subjects is extremely difficult.

Nikon, make the focus sensor turn green in the viewfinder so my eye can stay on the image. Thanks.

[Grandpaw]

I don't like moving my eye back and forth to use the green dot. It works, but on moving subjects is extremely difficult.

Nikon, make the focus sensor turn green in the viewfinder so my eye can stay on the image. Thanks.

If you don't like the green light, try activating the BEEP and just place it to volume "1" and you will be able to hear it without being too loud. This way you don't have to look at anything. Try it, you might like it.
Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Be careful adjusting the brightness of the rear LCD screen

When you use your camera out in the bright sun and try and review a recent shot to check it out it is often difficult to see the picture. One of the things that you can do to help this out is to turn the brightness up on the rear viewing screen and many of us have done this. The good thing about adjusting this is that it will allow you to see your photo easier. The down side to making this or any adjustments to the rear screen is that it will brighten up the picture you are viewing and give you an unrealistic impression of your picture and maybe cause you to make adjustments to your exposures that will actually mess up your picture. This will have even more negative effect when viewing inside or in dark places possibly making you think the picture is over exposed and in need of adjustment.

Tip. Making brightness adjustments is totally up to you how the camera is set up but I did want to make you aware of the possible down side of making such adjustments. I will show you below how to check your brightness and set it.

Here is how you do it

Go to the SETUP MENU which is the fourth one down on the left and looks like a wrench and press "OK"
Scroll to LCD brightness and press "OK" again
Use up and down arrows in multi selector button to select brightness and the press"OK" one last time and you are done.


Remember that by adjusting the brightness of the rear LCD screen you will get a false impression of what your picture looks like and may make unnecessary adjustments to a picture that really doesn't need anything done to it. Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Adjusting exposure compensation

The D7000 has a very good metering but it still might need some help in certain situations as due all cameras. After all it is just a piece of equipment and will give you the exposure it thinks you need for the shot and is right most of the time. This means that the camera will average out the light for an entire shot and give you the settings it thinks you need. Sometimes you will find that with certain conditions such as a mostly light or mostly dark situation that the camera may be off a little on the lighting. You can help it out by using the "+ -" plus - minus button on the top of your camera and either adding or subtracting to your exposure to make it correct. Using the exposure compensation will allow you to either add or subtract light as needed to get the lighting right for this particular lighting situation. I will show you how it is done and explain what changes below.

Here is how you do it

To over ride what your camera thinks is needed all you need to do is press and hold down the PLUS MINUS button on top of the camera near the lower right hand side of the shutter button and rotate the rear command dial as needed. If you are in Aperture Priority mode, making adjustments to the Exposure Compensation will change the shutter speed to accomplish what you need so be aware of this when making changes. On the other hand if you are in Shutter Priority mode, adjusting the Exposure compensation will change the Aperture or (F stop) to make the adjustment. You may find you need as little as a 1/3 stop adjustment or in some cases up to maybe a full couple of F stops to get the job done.

Remember that this compensation will remain this way on ALL FUTURE pictures until you set it back to "0" so don't forget to reset this adjustment back to normal. Make sure you read and understand tip #58 first so you are not looking at a altered exposure to judge by. Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Tired of having to hold a button down while turning a dial to make adjustments

There are several adjustments on the D7000 that require you to hold a button down while turning either the command or sub command dial to adjust settings. If you find this awkward or difficult to do you have another option. An example of this is changing the ISO. Normally to do this you would press and hold down the ISO button and turn the rear command dial to make the adjustment. You do have an option in the menu that will allow you to press and release the button to lock the ISO and then turn the command dial separately. If you choose to change this in the menu it will work this way on any adjustment that normally requires you to press and hold down a button while turning a dial. After the adjustment is made you will need to press the initial button one more time to unlock this feature.

This is how you do it

Go to the CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU which is the third one down on the left and looks like a pencil and press "OK"
Scroll down to "f Controls" and press "OK" again
Scroll down to "f7" Release button to use dial and press "OK"
Select "Yes" and press "OK" and you are done

From now on, any function that requires you to hold down a button and turn a dial at the same time will now allow you to press and release the button and turn the dial separately. If you choose this option, remember to go back and press the first button one more time to UNLOCK that feature after the adjustment is made. I myself do not use this feature but for some it might be useful. If you try this and do not find it useful, repeat the above directions and select "No" to turn it off. Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Reversing your "-"minus and "+"plus indicators

Most people, at least in the United States, are accustomed to seeing "-" negative numbers or indicators on the left and "+" positive indicators to the right on a screen or graph like is used for your meter readings. Tip.... Nikon sets theirs the other way around. Did you know if you think that it would look more natural and be more of what you are accustomed to looking at the other way around you can easily reverse these indicators to make it look more like what you are use to seeing.

Here is how you do it

Go to CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU which is the third menu down on the left that looks like a pencil and press"OK"
Scroll down to "f" controls and press "OK" again
Scroll down to "f9" Reverse indicators and press "OK"
Next choose how you would like the indicators to appear, press "OK" and your done

How you choose the way the indicators are displayed is totally up to personal taste and what you might feel more comfortable looking at. If you would like to try it, just remember that this is like all the other options that the D7000 has to offer and that it can easily be changed back if you do not like it this way. This is a small adjustment but one that may make it easier to work with your camera. Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Quick check list to use before shooting

Something that we have all experienced during our time taking pictures and using camera equipment is leaving some or all of your camera settings set the same from the last time you were using the camera. As the cameras become more advanced, and the options increase, the odds of messing up by not checking the settings get greater. I was asked earlier in one of the posts if I had a check check list to go by to help prevent this from happening so I wrote down some of the things I check before shooting each time. No matter how much experience you have or how long you have been shooting it has already happened or will happen to you and mess up some pictures if you do not get in the habit of checking your settings before each use.

In Tip #26 "Quick Check all your settings BEFORE each time you shoot" this was all covered. In this tip I will remind you one more time of the importance of checking and give you a list of things that you can print out and keep with you that may help remind you of settings to look at and check.

Here is my list

Camera & equipment check list

Is my white balance where I will want it
How about that ISO setting
Is you EV compensation set back to normal
Shutter speed not set to very high or very slow speed from last use
If you shoot in Aperture priority, is the F-stop what you want it set on for shooting today?
Image quality set? Raw, JPEG fine, normal, basic
Auto focus set how you want it
Matrix, spot or center weighted OK?
What is the flash set on and is it set on what you will be needing
batteries charged and ready to go and in the camera
enough memory to do the job
Is the lens clean and free of dust and smudges and extra lens cloths with you
If you are new to the camera or photography, do you need the manual

Equipment
All camera bodies and lenses in your bag that you will want or need?
Tripod and quick adapter plates for your camera in the bag
Flash with extra batteries with you. Flash manual along just in case.
Remotes, reflectors and other equipment ready and packed to go
Filters if you plan to use them

You may think of things to add as time goes on but this will give you a good start. Jeff

[bravozulu]

Thanks. That's what I was looking for.

[Grandpaw]

Welcome Gobo Fongo to our site and the Tips thread. Hope you stick around and post some pictures.

As far as knowing how much time you have on a card that is nice to know but if you shoot video and follow tip #55 you will not only know how much video your card will hold you will also always have the even more helpful knowledge of knowing exactly how much time you have remaining on your card. Jeff

[Raymond_K]

Hi there Jeff,

Just a thought (although maybe more for the people who look after this wonderful forum of yours):

As you well know, this forum is starting to get very popular and, in your last post (number 196) you mentioned that in tip #55 we could find more useful information about card capacity for video recording.

Well, to actually FIND tip #55, there doesn't seem to be a way of knowing exactly on which PAGE it is (it's already showing as 8 pages long when I access it) and this involves some guess work to actually find this tip.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the mechanics of this forum (if I am, I apologise) but, if not, I feel that this forum could get too large for easy management and as a referral "data base for hints and tips". Can you imagine when there are around 500 or even 1000 entries (which I feel could easily happen due to the great information that's being posted here) just how complicated it would be to find a particular entry.

Well, once again, I thank especially Jeff and others who have already replied to me on this forum and look forward to reading more very useful information in the near future.

Best wishes to all,

Raymond

[Grandpaw]

Hi there Jeff,

Just a thought (although maybe more for the people who look after this wonderful forum of yours):

As you well know, this forum is starting to get very popular and, in your last post (number 196) you mentioned that in tip #55 we could find more useful information about card capacity for video recording.

Well, to actually FIND tip #55, there doesn't seem to be a way of knowing exactly on which PAGE it is (it's already showing as 8 pages long when I access it) and this involves some guess work to actually find this tip.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the mechanics of this forum (if I am, I apologise) but, if not, I feel that this forum could get too large for easy management and as a referral "data base for hints and tips". Can you imagine when there are around 500 or even 1000 entries (which I feel could easily happen due to the great information that's being posted here) just how complicated it would be to find a particular entry.

Well, once again, I thank especially Jeff and others who have already replied to me on this forum and look forward to reading more very useful information in the near future.

Best wishes to all,

Raymond

There are several ways to show how the posts are viewed such as 1st post shown 1st or the last post shown 1st. There are also other options of how the posts can be viewed and each way makes the posts come up differently so I do not see and way to give you a list of the page each tip shows up on. Out of 69 tips so far I have only referred back to a previous tip maybe two or three times. The only thing I can say is that it may take a few seconds to locate a particular tip that I reference but I can assure you it will take a lot less time than it takes me to think up each tip, research it and write it up. Referencing a tip shouldn't happen that often. I'm glad you and others are finding the tips useful. Jeff

[Raymond_K]

Hi there again Jeff,

And thanks for one of your (very usual) quick replies too!

I can only agree with you that it's not "terribly difficult" to search through and find a particular tip - it's just that I felt that it would be a nice option on this site.

HOWEVER, as you say, I can fully appreciate your time and effort in writing up these tips and, from personal experience, it's certainly more than worth the time searching for a tip for the value that's in each of them as I'm still personally experimenting with them and have not even considered searching other sites for more information.

I have the feeling that others on this forum feel as I do too!!!

Very best wishes - and thanks again for all your efforts here.

Raymond

[Grandpaw]

My camera just went nuts!!!

I have owned the D80, D90, and the D7000 and at one time or another I have been taking pictures and everything just goes nuts. I think all three of these cameras are very nice but all three have caused this same problem while I have been shooting. I will be taking pictures, especially in portrait position, with the camera tilted on it's side, and things will just go nuts on the exposure right in the middle of taking pictures. The problem I have found with all three is that the mode dial turns too easy and can be bumped and turned into a totally different picture taking mode causing me problems. I wish that the dial either was stiffer to turn or had a lock button on it. It also has a tendency to get bumped into a different position while placing in or removing it from your camera bag.

Here is what to do.

Tip... Check it each time before shooting or taking out of your bag to make sure it hasn't been changed to something you do not want. Also remember to check it once in a while during shooting. If you look at you rear screen to preview a picture and the lighting is way off this would be the first thing I would check. Jeff

[Franglais]

That's probably why the professional cameras don't have a mode dial.

The dial is nice for people who don't use their camera often because there are the preset scene types all visible on the dial so they are easy to find and set. On the pro models you only have PSAM modes and you have to press a button and turn a knurled wheel to change modes.

[wfooshee]

Jeff, in looking around to see if I want to upgrade my D5000 to a D7000 (which I do, there's just the small matter of printing - I mean, coming up with - the money) I came across the U1 and U2 settings on the dial, which seems like exactly what you just mentioned.

U1 and U2 are memorized settings. Every setting in the camera is memorized when one of those is stored, giving you a known default to start from. No matter what you've done to the camera, you can go back to one of your stored defaults instantly. It seems like it's a reset, but to your preferences, not a factory default.

That, and the auto-focus adjustment, are lacking on the D5000, and are giving me fits about finding printing ink - I mean, disposable income.