Nikon D7000 tips

[Grandpaw]

I get my focus lock but my shutter button doesn't work

I was recently shooting some indoor shots using my tripod and my remote to take pictures. After I was finished and took my camera off my tripod I decided to just try a few handheld shots to see how they would come out. Well I framed up my shot, the green focus light came on, and I pressed the shutter button and nothing happened. I might add that everything but the shutter button worked just fine. I turned the camera off and then back on with the same results. Then I removed the battery grip and the battery in the camera and put them back in with the same results. At this point I was getting a little excited because everything lit up and seemed to work except for the all important shutter button. I went home and as I was looking at my camera, a little light went on in my brain and I thought, "HEY DUMMY", you still have it turned to remote on the mode dial! After turning it back to the single mode it amazingly worked just fine. The technical term for this problem is called "Operator Trouble".

So my very important tip this week is to remember that when your camera starts doing something weird like this or anything else you need to think back to what you were just doing and you will probably find the answer to your problem. Jeff

[wfooshee]

Just like my self-timer self-dummy issue a month ago.

[wfooshee]

Thought I was editing, to get rid of the "reply" title, guess I pressed reply, so I got two posts.

I'm a bad forum user. Going to stand in a corner, now.

Of course, I blame the new software's extreme quirkiness, and wish a pox on all concerned.
(OK, not really....)

[Grandpaw]

Just like my self-timer self-dummy issue a month ago.

Yes wfooshee, you are right, it was a similar problem to what you had but the the difference is that by me having it in remote mode the shutter did nothing at all when pushed. This gave me no clue at all what was going on as apposed to leaving the timer on that just delayed the picture being taken. I started to mention your problem in my post but I didn't want to get the two confused to members or visitors reading my tip because they are two separate problems. You could actually have your problem occur and not even own a remote where my problem would only happen if you had been using a remote to activate the shutter. Jeff

[wfooshee]

Different behaviors, but both came down to not returning the mode dial to the commonly used position when finished with the special work.

I can feel your panic when nothing happened other than focusing, though!

In my earlier post I was going to criticize the design, putting the other modes on a dial that in effect is a drive mode dial, but my F4 also has the self timer on the drive mode dial. Nikon apparently likes it there, then!

[Grandpaw]

My pictures are all foggy, what is going on?

This tip is something we have probably all experienced somewhere during a photo outing. We are driving along and see a great shot so we quickly pull over, grab our camera and jump out in hopes to catch a great image only to find out that our lens is all fogged up and ruins the picture. This can happen any time you take your equipment quickly from one temperature to another. It can be during the winter time and you have the heat turned up in the car and jump out into the cold with your camera or if it is hot outside during the summer months and the air conditioner is turn to max cooling in the car. Remember that changing temps quickly either way has the potential of making you miss a great shot so you need to keep this in mind any time you are going to expose your camera and lens to these changes. This can be as simple as seeing a great shot in the back yard going from inside your heated house this winter to the vastly different temperature of taking it outside to get pictures of the kids or wildlife.

My tip this time is to remind you that this can happen so you can do your best to acclimate your equipment before the shot comes up so you can eliminate this problem and won't be disappointed. Jeff

This can happen to anyone regardless of their experience level so if you are newer to photography you need to be aware that this can happen and if you are more experienced it sure won't hurt anyone to be reminded of this potential problem.

[Grandpaw]

Start using your speedlite as a remote flash

For years I have had a least one Nikon speedlite and have always used it on my camera and never as a remote. The reason for this is because I was just too intimidated by all the in camera and flash settings that needed to be set. Recently I took a few minutes to play with my flashes, Nikon SB900, SB800 and SB600 only to find out that setting them up wasn't that hard at all. Christmas day when we were opening our presents I took my SB900 and set it to remote and placed it on one side of my 20x20ft den and bounced it off the ceiling. This let me eliminate hot spots and the red eye from my pictures and also eliminated the weight of the flash off of the camera. I used the on camera flash as commander to operate the remote and it worked very well.

So my tip this time is to let you know if you haven't tried using your flashes as remotes due to being intimidated by the settings you really need to take a little time out and play with you camera and flash, using it as a remote light source, because it opens up all kinds of new opportunities with your photography. It really isn't as hard as you might think it would be.

Just a personal note about my flashes........
I have my SB900 set to channel 3 group "A", my SB800 set to channel 3 group "B" and my SB600 set to channel 3 group "C". By having them set up this way if I use one flash on my camera I use the SB900 and all I have to do is turn it on and it is ready to go. If I use one flash off camera I grab the SB900 and flip it to remote and it is ready to go. If more light is needed I just grab the next flash which is the SB800 and it is already set up to go so all that is needed is to turn it on a place it where it is needed. Same goes for when I need a third flash , the SB600 is already set and all that is needed is to take it out of the bag and turn it on because like the other two I just leave them set up all the time. I know that most of you will probably only have one speedlite and do not have the option for multiple flashes but I mention this just to show you one of the many options that you can have with having one or more flashes in your camera bag.

Bottom line is that if you have not tried using your speedlite as a remote, take a few minutes to play with it and figure it out because it is very useful and really not as hard as you might think to set up.

[Grandpaw]

Its time to update your copyright info in your cameras EXIF data

My tip this time is to remind you if you haven't put Copyright info in the EXIF data or even if you have, it is a new year and you need to add it or update the year to 2013. I talked about adding Copyright information and how it is done in tip #25. I will copy and paste it below just in case you need a refresher on how it is done.

I would also like to thank everyone that reads my thread and for encouraging me over the many months I have been writing it. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that 2013 will be you best year ever. Happy shooting. Jeff

I might add that you need to remember to change it on ALL of your cameras.


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Tip #25 Adding copyright information to the EXF data of each of your pictures

Adding copyright information to the EXF data of each of your pictures

On each picture you take the camera records all the settings you used for that shot such as time of day and date the picture was taken, F stop , shutter speed, ISO and a lot more. There is a place in the EXF data that allows you to embed a comment such as Copyright and your name. It is a good idea to add this information in the EXF data of each photo that you take. By setting this up in the camera it will automatically be added to each picture at the time the picture was taken without doing anything additional. This will allow your name and copyright to go along with each of your pictures no matter where the image travels to or ends up.

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
Toggle to the right and go down to Copyright Information and press the right side of the toggle button
Scroll down to Copyright and press the right arrow
Add comment such as COPYRIGHT John Doe 2012
To OK your comment hold down the Eyeglass or "+" plus button at the bottom left of the rear LCD screen and press OK. You need to check the Attach comment then scroll up to Done and press OK.

Use the toggle button with the arrows to choose the letters and numbers you want and press OK. To navigate within your comment section hold down the "-" minus button which is the second button up from the bottom left side of the rear LCD screen and use the toggle button with the arrows to navigate within the comment section. To delete, highlight the letter or number to be deleted and press "Delete".

From now on until you change your settings, every picture taken with this camera will include this comment in the EXF data no matter who is operating the camera, Jeff.

[petero1649]

Reducing noise in your pictures.
To start with this tip applies to pictures taken preferably on a tripod and have a relatively still subject. What you do is to take multiple pictures of the same subject and have "auto gain" on which results in a noticeable decrease in noise by taking either two or three pictures and dividing the exposure between the frames and merging them back together into one image within the camera.

To do this go to SHOOTING MENU
Multiple exposure, select Number of shots, go down to AUTO Gain and turn it on then scroll up to DONE and click OK.

You have a choice of two or three frames and I like to use three to reduce the noise as much as possible. The three ways you can trip the shutter are 1st, manually pushing the button three times, 2nd using a remote to do the same thing, or 3rd by placing your camera on CH burst mode and doing three quick pictures by pressing the shutter button once. You have to pay attention because you will be shooting at 6FPS. I prefer this method because it is the fastest and reduces the chances of movement while taking the three shots. The multiple exposure function automatically turns off and will need to be reset to take additional multiple pictures. If you leave the AUTO GAIN off each of your pictures will be exposed for the full amount needed to take a single picture so make sure the AUTO GAIN is turned on. I have already posted a picture taken with this method and will add it below so you can see it again. Any camera can take multiple pictures that can be merged into one shot using PhotoShop or additional software but the Nikon's will do it quickly IN CAMERA for simple, instant results. Try this and see what you think, you should have a noticeable reduction in the amount of noise that can be seen, Jeff

Note: the noise reduction was off in the camera for this shot and no noise reduction was done in post production. The only method to reduce noise was the method used above. Also I suggest adding the multiple exposure button to your "My Menu" so it can be accessed easily and quickly for additional shots like this.

I have only very recently acquired my D7000, and I am grateful for the time and effort you are putting into this forum. The fact that an experienced user makes suggestions about different settings gives a lot of confidence to new users like myself in altering and using the changes offered. Please do keep on with this labor of love.

I love that water shot. If I have a preferred scene to shoot, it will nearly always incorporate water and preferably taken after dark.

[Grandpaw]

Sometimes when you are out shooting you may pull up to a location and need to wait for some time and end up sitting in the car waiting for a shot. I know I do this and shoot out of my car window with a long lens to get the reach I need. It is helpful to get some camera support to be able to get a good sharp pictures. This tip will give you a cheap and easy way to support that longer lens to help keep your shots steady and sharp.

My tip for this time is to get you a piece of foam pipe insulation that has a slit the length of the insulation, cut it to length and slip it over the top of the glass in the window so your lens can rest on it for support, see picture below. This is a friend of mine demonstrating the use of this tip. This is cheap to buy, easy to store, and supports your camera without scratching your equipment. The support can be easily adjusted just by raising or lowering the window. Jeff

I originally had a picture and it disappeared. I have tried placing it back on this post several times and just cannot seem to get it to work. It shows attached thumbnails but nothing comes up.

[Grandpaw]

A quick and easy way to format your SD cards

You can go into Setup menu and format your SD cards or there is an easier way to do it without using your cameras menu system.

Here is how you do it.

You need to be able to hold town the Metering button found on top of your camera and the Delete button found on the upper left side of the back of the camera. You will note that next to both buttons the word FORMAT appears in RED LETTERS. Look at the LCD screen on top of your camera while holding down these two buttons. You should see the letters FOR start flashing. While they are flashing you can look at the right side of the top LCD screen and rotate the thumb wheel to choose which card to re format, card 1 or card 2. When you have the card selected that you wish to re format just release the two buttons and press them again to start the format. When the FOR stops flashing you are done.

I find that if I use my left thumb and index finger to hold down the buttons that the card slot is easily selected by my right thumb on the thumb wheel. The camera will default to the primary card so to format the second card you will need to choose it with the thumb wheel. REMEMBER when you format a card the pictures will be gone. Personally I tried this with two blank cards to check this out. This is a very quick and easy way to format your cards without using the menus. Jeff

[Grandpaw]

The effects of Depth of Field using different focal length lenses

This is something that photographers that have been shooting for a while will already know through experience. I have been shooting for better than 40 years and I recently had a shot that could have been much if I had paid more attention to my depth of field and the lens I was shooting with. The longer the focal length lens you use the less depth of field you will get and also the closer you are to your subject the less depth of field "DOF" you will have. I will show you in my first example how this photo would have benefited from using a smaller F stop. This first picture of the two birds on the poles was shot at a distance of about 50ft with a F stop of F 5.6 and a focal length of 300mm. First his photo needed more DOF but because i was shooting at a long 300mm focal length it gave me less DOF to start with. Second problem was the subject was only about 50ft away which results in less DOF. Third problem was I was shooting at F5.6 which was to large an opening. With the combination of these three things the first bird came out in focus but the second one did not. This could have easily been fixed by using a smaller F stop like maybe F11. I could have used the 300mm and kept the same distance and just changed the F stop to get a much better picture. I had been shooting single birds and just slipped up and didn't think about it. Check out the photo I am talking about. You can see that the bird and post on the right is in focus and though they are close together the second bird and post on the left is out of the range of DOF I was shooting.


When you with shorter focal lengths and smaller F stops you get much greater DOF. This was shot at 27mm with an F stop of F9. You can see the people up close are in focus and all the way to the castle is also.

My tip for this time is to learn and be aware of how the focal length, distance to subject and the F stop effect your pictures and remember as subjects change so will the settings that you will need to get a proper picture. Jeff

Click on pictures to make them larger

[volks]

This is a neat and so simple idea. Thanks for the tip.

[Grandpaw]

Do you know when to use the "Normal" and "Active" position on a VR lens?

The Nikon VR lenses have a switch on them that can changed for different shooting situations and it is very helpful to know when to use each one. In most conditions you will be using the "Normal" position and that is for when you and your camera are basically stationary and will not be moving. The second position is called "Active" and you will want to switch your lens to this setting if you and your camera will be in motion such as riding in a car, boat or anything else where you and your camera will be in motion. Remember that using a VR lens WILL NOT STOP SUBJECT MOVEMENT. The "Vr" or "Vibration Reduction" is ONLY meant to help you take sharper pictures by helping reduce camera movement. You have the 'Normal " setting that will be used almost all of the time and the "Active" is just like it's name implies and will be used when you and your camera are actively moving much more than in normal situations. You also need to remember to turn off the VR option all together when using a tripod. This switch is located on the barrel of the lens just under the VR "ON" and "OFF" switch.

This tip is to make sue you understand when and when not to use these settings. Always remember to turn the VR back on when finished using a tripod and to switch your lens back to normal when your done using the active mode. Jeff

[Grandpaw]

Learning from other photographers camera settings.

I am always interested in learning what settings were used for images that I see on websites and I have found a way a long time ago that helps me do just that. Have you ever looked at an image and wondered what camera, focal length, F stop or shutter speed and other settings were used to take that picture? I use Firefox as my browser and there is a free add on that will let you right click on any image and select to view EXIF data. Some software will drop this off and some people that post on the internet will remove it but in most cases you will be able to get the data and learn a lot about how the picture was taken. A year and a half ago our family went to Walt Disney World on vacation and I was doing research on photos that had been taken there to find out what lens would be most useful to have with me. After checking the data on many pictures I found out that probably 95% of all the pictures that I checked that were taken down there were between 18mm . and up to 40mm. This let me know that my Sigma 17-50 F2.8 would be the lens of choice that I had in my bag. Of course not everyone will have the same shooting needs but I can tell you that out of all the pictures that I took while we were down there just about all of my pictures were taken with this lens. The point being is that I was able to view that EXIF data of hundreds of pictures and get a good Idea of the equipment that would be needed for the trip. I had taken all of my lenses with me just in case I needed them but found that this lens pretty much did the job. You can learn a lot just by going back and reviewing settings from your own pictures and seeing what worked well for certain situations and what didn't really do the job that well.

My tip this time is to review your own data on your pictures and also others whenever you get the chance and I believe that you can get some very valuable information. If you use Firefox just Google EXIF viewers and you can download them for free and get started learning. Jeff

If you are interested in seeing my Disney pictures taken wth the Sigma 17-50 F2.8 lens they can be seen HERE

[Bagpuss]

Big thanks to Jeff for this fantastic lst of tips for the D7000. It must have taken you days to compile. Well done!

[Grandpaw]

Big thanks to Jeff for this fantastic lst of tips for the D7000. It must have taken you days to compile. Well done!

Thanks for your comment. I have been working and writing these tips since August of 2011, so yes it has been a few days.

[Grandpaw]

Needing a copyright symbol for your watermark

A while back I had a problem with an individual taking my pictures and claiming them as his own on posting them all over the internet on many different sites. Since then I have reduced the size of the files I post and have added a watermark to each of my images. The use of a watermark and re-sizing images to smaller files only slows down the culprits and does not stop them. I did it to hopefully help slow down the problem and eliminate a few of these low life's that do this.

The tip this time is to tell you how to get a copyright symbol that you can add in post processing and use in your watermark. When you go to add the text you can hold down the "ALT" key and press the numbers 0169 and that should give you a copyright symbol to use in your watermark. Remember you can only slow down thieves and not stop the ones that are really determined. In tip #25 I talked about adding copyright information to the EXIF data of each picture and have placed a copy of that tip below in case you missed it. Jeff


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From Tip #25 Adding copyright information to the EXIF data of each of your pictures

On each picture you take the camera records all the settings you used for that shot such as time of day and date the picture was taken, F stop , shutter speed, ISO and a lot more. There is a place in the EXF data that allows you to embed a comment such as Copyright and your name. It is a good idea to add this information in the EXF data of each photo that you take. By setting this up in the camera it will automatically be added to each picture at the time the picture was taken without doing anything additional. This will allow your name and copyright to go along with each of your pictures no matter where the image travels to or ends up.

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
Toggle to the right and go down to Copyright Information and press the right side of the toggle button
Scroll down to Copyright and press the right arrow
Add comment such as COPYRIGHT John Doe 2012
To OK your comment hold down the Eyeglass or "+" plus button at the bottom left of the rear LCD screen and press OK. You need to check the Attach comment then scroll up to Done and press OK.

Use the toggle button with the arrows to choose the letters and numbers you want and press OK. To navigate within your comment section hold down the "-" minus button which is the second button up from the bottom left side of the rear LCD screen and use the toggle button with the arrows to navigate within the comment section. To delete, highlight the letter or number to be deleted and press "Delete".

From now on until you change your settings, every picture taken with this camera will include this comment in the EXF data no matter who is operating the camera, Jeff.

[Grandpaw]

A few more reasons to have an umbrella available when out shooting

I always have a big golf umbrella in my car and have found a few uses for it besides keeping the rain off of me. In this tip I will tell you about two different times that I have found having my large umbrella with me came in very handy.

The first time it came in handy was when I was shooting some big white magnolia flowers that were out in the sun. The problem I was having was the whites kept getting blown out. If I exposed for the flower the background was off and if I exposed for the over all picture my whites on the flower were blown out and I lost all the detail. What I needed was something to block the direct sun to keep my flowers from getting blown out. This made me think about the big umbrella that I carried in the car. It was easy to hold and it provided instant shade from the direct sunlight giving me the picture I was looking for.

The second use I found for it was when I was shooting a bunch of boats at a marina. I was shooting with a wide angle lens and with angle the sun was located at it was causing me to get lens flare in every shot so I got out me trusty umbrella and used it to block the sun hitting my lens. This was a very simple answer to a big problem and all the lens flare was eliminated. Changing the angle that I was shooting from could have eliminated the lens flare also but was not an option at the time.

I have found having my umbrella with me has been very useful on several different occasions. Having any size umbrella will do, I just happen to have a large one that I carry all of the time. Jeff

[dinojeep]

Great tips. Thanks!

[Grandpaw]

Why I shoot single point focus point

Usually I shoot 100% of the time in single point focus so I know just exactly where my focus point will be. I do not like letting the camera choosing what it wants to focus on because it often has different ideas than I do. I had a very big reminder yesterday of why I like the single focus. I was at the nursing home where my mom lives because we were having a birthday party celebrating her 91st birthday. I figured that I would just put my camera on auto so I could hand it to someone standing there allowing us to get some family photos with my mom. Well normally this would not be a problem except they had several helium balloons at the ceiling with ribbons hanging down between our family and where the person had to stand that was taking pictures. The trouble we had was that the auto focus was locking on the little tiny ribbons which made the family come out unfocused. We were pressed for time and I didn't notice it until several pictures had been taken so a bunch of the pictures were bad. Once it dawned on me what was going on I moved the balloons and the problem was solved. Single area focus would have allowed me to put the single point between the ribbons and get the shot anyway.

My tip this time will be to try single point focus if you seem to be having a problem with the subject not being sharp. I have taken tens of thousands of pictures using single point focus and with the exception of when I did not get the point where I wanted it (this being my fault and not the cameras) I have had a 100% accurate focus on my subjects. The multi point auto focus doesn't take much between you and your subject to lock on and mess up what would have otherwise would have been a great picture. Using the single point focus will eliminate this problem. Jeff

[wfooshee]

Depending on the mode, too. Some modes set a preference for closest object focus, assuming that closest objects will be faces.

Screws up birthday pictures, with a table full of presents sharply focused, kids' faces behind the FOD limit.

[Grandpaw]

Looking at things a little different might give you better results

I was brought up taking pictures using film cameras and trying to make each and ever shot count. It seems like the trend with digital camera users is to go out and take several hundred pictures and hope you get a handful of good ones that are worth keeping. Try not and fall into this habit and do a little more thinking than shooting when your out trying to capture an image. It seems to me that there are basically three types of shooters.

First, there is the kind mentioned above that basically shoot a ton of pictures and hope a few come out good enough to keep.

The second group basically points the camera in the general direction of the subject and presses the shutter button and excepts whatever the camera gives them.

The third group takes advantage of having the ability to take as many images as you need but doesn't use it as a crutch for getting a picture worth having.

My TIP or suggestion would be to study your subject a little more and think about the composition before pressing the shutter. If you ever check out the critique forum I am sure you have read some suggestions that maybe the picture being talked about might have had more impact if it had been take from advantage point a few steps to the left or right from where it had been taken. Sometimes the suggestion may be a lower or higher angle. After sizing up your subject and taking your shot it is nice to have the ability to take the image from a few different angles. Sometimes when you get back home and start viewing pictures on your computer you are glad that you have a few options to pick from. Having the ability to shoot as many pictures of a subject is a very handy ability indeed but please don't use it as a replacement to learn how to develope your skills. Many times I have had people tell me they went out and shot several hundred pictures that day but to the best of my recollection the amount of keepers that they had out of the bunch is never mentioned. After all, isn't the point of shooting your camera to get pictures that are worth keeping and NOT running up the shutter count!

Well, this is tip #100 and my thread has been viewed almost 80,000. I would like to thank all of you that have taken the time to read my thread and mention it to others. Reaching 100 Tips is a pretty big milestone for me and it is all do to the support I have received from all of you and I just want you to know that your support is very much appreciated. Jeff Impey

[frankc]

Thanks for this thread it's very useful.

[D.Allison]

Today I am celebrating my thread being viewed over 50,000 times and would very much like to thank all of you that have read it. This thread has gotten much bigger than I had ever expected it to be and it is all due to those of you that take the time to read and recommend it to others. Thank you very much for your support and for continuing to drop in to check out the newer tips. I hope that all of you have managed to find at least a few ideas that you might have found helpful. Thanks again to everyone and your support is much appreciated. Jeff

I joined this site because of this thread. As I was reading this thread I had my camera in one hand and the mouse in the other! Thank you for taking the time and effort to help some of us out!