Nikon 25498B User Manual

Technical GuideTechnical Guide

Introduction

Introduction i

Shooting Techniques

1

Quick Tips 1

The D800E

15

This “Technical Guide” details the principal techniques used
to create two of the more technically advanced photographs
in the D800/D800E catalog. Enjoy this opportunity to admire
the skills of professional photographers who have mastered
the D800/D800E.

While its high pixel count of 36 megapixels gives the D800/
D800E resolution unrivalled by previous digital SLR cameras,
a side e ect is that bokeh and blur are made that much more
obvious. Realizing the full potential of a camera with over
30 million pixels involves a thorough appreciation of bokeh
and blur, careful selection of settings and of tools (such as
lenses and tripods), and working with the best possible sub­jects.

Table of Contents

Introduction iii

Shooting Techniques

Static Subjects ...........................................................................1

Lesson 1: Use a Tripod .................................................................. 2

•

Lesson 2: Use Live View ............................................................... 3

•

Lesson 3: Don’t Stop Aperture Down Too Far ...................... 5

•

Same Shot, No Live View ............................................................. 6

•

Portrait Subjects........................................................................7

Lesson 1: Choose the Right Focus Settings .......................... 8

•

Lesson 2: Choose the Right Exposure Settings ................... 9

•

Learning from Failure: Same Shot, Di erent Focus ......... 10

•

Quick Tips 111

1. High ISO Sensitivity ........................................................... 11

2. Auto ISO Sensitivity Control ............................................12

3. Improving Optical Performance ..................................... 13

4. Backlit Portraits .................................................................. 14

The D800E

1. High Resolution Images with the D800E ....................... 15

2. Adjusting Aperture for Visually Complex Subjects .....16

3. Color Artifacts and Moiré ................................................. 17

15

1

ii

Shooting Techniques

Static Subjects

—Keeping Blur to a Minimum—

1

Shooting Techniques Static Subjects

At the high resolutions o ered by the D800/D800E, even the
slightest camera motion can result in blur. The technique re­vealed in this section minimizes blur through a combination
of live view photography and a tripod.

Technical Data

■ Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED ■ Exposure mode:
Manual ■ Shutter speed: 1 s ■ Aperture: f/8 ■ White balance:
Choose color temp. (5000 K) ■ ISO sensitivity: 100 ■ Picture con-
trol: Standard

Note: This photo was shot in 14-bit NEF (RAW) and processed
using Capture NX 2.

Photo © Benjamin Anthony Monn

Lesson 1: Use a Tripod

Use a tripod to reduce blur when
photographing static subjects. It
should be as sturdy as possible;
avoid extending the legs or center
column farther than necessary. A
large head helps keep the camera
steady.

Tripod Mode

Some lenses, such as the AF-S
NIKKOR 200–400 mm f/4G ED
VR II, o er vibration reduction
with a TRIPOD option that is par­ticularly e ective in reducing blur
at shutter speeds of ⁄–1 s and is
generally recommended when
the camera is mounted on a tri­pod. NORMAL is however preferred
if the tripod head is not  xed or
you are using a monopod.

2

Shooting Techniques Static Subjects

Lesson 2: Use Live View

Live view can be used to improve focus and prevent blur.

Live View Photography

Rotate the live view selector to C and press a to raise the
mirror and display the view through the lens in the monitor.

Live view selector a button

Why Use Live View?

1. The mirror is raised prior to shooting, reducing blur.

At the high resolutions o ered by the D800/D800E, even the
slap of the mirror can sometimes be enough to blur photo­graphs. In live view, the mirror is raised well before the shutter
is released, helping keep blur to a minimum.

Reducing Blur During View nder Photography

If you have trouble seeing the display in the monitor out­doors or in bright ambient light, you can use mirror-up
mode to reduce blur while framing photographs in the
view nder. Press the release mode dial lock release and ro­tate the release mode dial to MUP.

After focusing, press the shutter-release button all the way
down once to raise the mirror and again to release the shut­ter. An optional remote cord can be used to prevent the
camera moving when you press the shutter-release button,
or you can select an option other than O for Custom Set-
ting d4 (Exposure delay mode) to delay shutter release un­til about 1–3 s after the button is pressed. Use of a tripod is
recommended.

3

Shooting Techniques Static Subjects

Why Use Live View?

2. You can focus anywhere in the frame.

In live view, you can use the multi selector to
position the focus point anywhere in the frame,
regardless of the options selected for AF/MF and
autofocus.

The ability to position the focus point anywhere in the moni­tor’s angle of view greatly increases the range of locations on
which the camera can focus.

In autofocus mode, you can focus on the subject in the select­ed focus point by pressing the shutter-release button halfway
or pressing the B button. In manual focus mode, focus can
be adjusted by rotating the lens focus ring.

Why Use Live View?

3. You can zoom in for precise focus.

Press the X button to magnify the
view in the monitor by up to 23×
for precise focus during live view.
You will  nd this particularly ef­fective with manual focus.

X button

A navigation window will appear
in a gray frame at the bottom of
the display. Use the multi selector
to scroll to areas of the frame not
visible in the monitor.

Navigation window

4

Shooting Techniques Static Subjects

Suggested Settings
White balance > Choose color temp.:

White balance can be adjusted in
steps as small as 10 K. To adjust
white balance on the amber (A) –
blue (B) axis, hold the U button
and press 4 or 2 to highlight a
digit and 1 or 3 to change.

Framing guide: Using the R but-
ton, you can display a framing
guide that helps compose pho­tographs during live view.

Virtual horizon: Alternatively, the
R button can be used to display
pitch and roll indicators to help
you keep the camera level during
live view.

Lesson 3: Don’t Stop Aperture Down Too Far

Stopping down aperture in manual (h) and aperture-priority
auto (g) exposure modes increases depth of  eld, bringing
both background and foreground into focus. Stop aperture
down too far, however, and di raction will cause the image to
actually lose de nition. Optimal aperture—the aperture that
produces the greatest depth of  eld with no loss of sharp­ness—varies from lens to lens. In the case of the AF-S NIKKOR
14–24 mm f/2.8G ED lens used in this example, an aperture f/8
will produce the sharpest image.

f/8

f/11

Amount of detail visible in

window leads and frieze is

less than at f/8

5

Shooting Techniques Static Subjects

Camera Control Pro 2

Optional Camera Control Pro 2 software can be used to
access most camera functions from a computer. To use
Camera Control Pro 2, start the computer and connect the
camera using the supplied USB cable as shown below.

Camera Control Pro 2 supports
live view; when used to zoom in
on the view through the lens in
the monitor, it shows more de­tail than can be displayed in the
camera monitor.

Photographs are saved directly to
the computer, where they can be
inspected and retouched using
optional Capture NX 2 software.

Same Shot, No Live View

Live view photography was not used in creating the second
example below; consequently, the mirror was not raised until
the photo was taken and the results are blurred.

With live

view:

Without live

view:

Edges of books

and other details

are blurred

6

Shooting Techniques

Portrait Subjects

—Focusing on a Selected Point—

7

Shooting Techniques Portrait Subjects

Use this method for sharp focus on selected points when
framing portraits in the view nder.

Technical Data

■ Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II ■ Exposure mode:
Manual ■ Shutter speed: ½  s ■ Aperture: f/4.5 ■ White balance:
Auto 2 ■ ISO sensitivity: 640 ■ Picture control: Portrait

Note: This photo was shot in 14-bit NEF (RAW) and processed
using Capture NX 2.

Photo © Cli Mautner

Vibration Reduction (VR)

We recommend using VR lenses
with the vibration reduction
switch in the ON position. Vi­bration reduction takes e ect
when the shutter-release but­ton is pressed halfway, reducing
the e ects of camera shake on
the image in the view nder and
making it easier to frame pictures
and focus.

If the lens has a vibration mode switch, choose NORMAL for
hand-held photography or when using a monopod. Vibration
reduction should generally be turned o when the camera
is on a tripod (exceptions can be made for the AF-S NIKKOR
200 mm f/2G ED VR II and other lenses with a TRIPOD option).

Lesson 1: Choose the Right Focus Settings

Portrait subjects are mobile and more easily photographed
without a tripod, but generally remain in one spot long
enough for single-point, single-servo autofocus. This photo
shoot shows that a portrait photographer must be able to
reliably focus on a selected point; hence the choice of single­point AF, which unlike auto-area and dynamic-area AF, en­sures that the camera always focuses on a point selected by
the photographer.

To choose an autofocus mode,
press the AF-mode button
and rotate the main command
dial.

AF-mode button

To choose an AF-area mode,
press the AF-mode button and
rotate the sub-command dial.

AF-mode button

Note

Even slight changes to composition may result in the cam­era focusing on something other than your intended target.
Choose the focus point after composing the photograph.

8

Shooting Techniques Portrait Subjects

Lesson 2: Choose the Right Exposure Settings

Aperture

Choose a wide aperture for a softer feel.

Set aperture to f/4 or so to capture facial contours.

Enough depth of  eld for the lips and the corners of the

eyes, but focus gets softer from the earrings back.

Shutter Speed

Choose a speed a bit faster than the limit for camera blur.

The superior resolution of the D800/D800E makes small
amounts of focus blur more obvious. Select a shutter speed
slightly faster than you would choose when photographing
the same subject with other cameras.

A fast shutter speed has captured details of the
lace veil and brought out individual eyelashes.

9

Shooting Techniques Portrait Subjects

Light Level and ISO Sensitivity

Adjust lighting and ISO sensitivity appropriately.

After choosing both shutter speed and aperture manually,
you may need adjust lighting or ISO sensitivity.

These photos use soft, nat­ural light instead of  ash
or studio lighting. Out­door lighting can be  ne­tuned by repositioning the
model or photographer
(above), indoor lighting by
raising or lowering blinds

(right).

Learning from Failure: Same Shot, Di erent Focus

With the D800/D800E, you will notice that photos seem to have
less depth of  eld than pictures shot with other cameras under
the same conditions, and that focus consequently requires more
attention. As can be seen from the examples below, changing
the focus point even slightly can blur important details.

Success

Failure

Earring is in focus,

iris and eyelashes

are blurred

10

Quick Tips

1. High ISO Sensitivity

1. High ISO Sensitivity

The following sections introduce useful techniques and
camera options applicable to a variety of situations.

The D800/D800E keeps noise to a minimum for high-resolu­tion results at even the highest ISO sensitivities.

The High ISO NR option in the
shooting menu reduces the ran­domly-spaced bright pixels, fog,
and lines characteristic of high­sensitivity noise, but may leave
edges less sharp. You may  nd
that settings of O or Low o er a
good balance between sharpness and noise even at high ISO
sensitivities. If you shoot in NEF (RAW) format, you can change
the setting later in Capture NX 2 (available separately).

Select the Noise Reduction tool
in the Capture NX 2 “Develop” sec­tion (NEF/RAW images) or Adjust
menu (JPEG and TIFF images) and
adjust Intensity and Sharpness to
achieve the desired result.

Normal

Detail views of a single subject
shot at di erent High ISO NR
settings. Higher values reduce
the noise visible in the sky but
also reduce edge sharpness in
the main subject.

High

Normal

Low

11

Quick Tips

2. Auto ISO Sensitivity Control

2. Auto ISO Sensitivity Control

Auto ISO sensitivity control au­tomatically adjusts ISO sensitiv­ity if optimal exposure can not be
achieved at the value selected by
the photographer. If Auto is se­lected for Minimum shutter speed, the camera will also ad­just the threshold for auto ISO sensitivity control according
to the focal length of the lens (CPU lenses only), a feature you
will  nd particularly convenient when using zoom lenses (see
sample photos at right).

To enable auto ISO sensitivity control, select On for ISO
sensitivity settings > Auto ISO sensitivity control in the
shooting menu.

Maximum
sensitivity

Minimum
shutter
speed

Choose the maximum value available for auto ISO sen­sitivity control (200–Hi 2). The minimum is ISO 100.

In exposure modes e and g, sensitivity will only be
adjusted if shutter speed would otherwise be slower
than this value (¼ –1 s or
Auto). Highlight Auto and
press 2 to choose whether
the camera gives priority
to shutter speed (Slower)
or ISO sensitivity (Faster)
when Auto is selected.

Focal length: 24 mm
Shutter speed: ½  s
ISO sensitivity: 900

Focal length: 70 mm
Shutter speed: ⁄ s
ISO sensitivity: 4500

The S Button

Auto ISO sensitivity control can be
turned on or o by pressing the
S button and rotating the sub­command dial.

Focal length: 50 mm
Shutter speed: ⁄ s
ISO sensitivity: 2500

Focal length: 100 mm
Shutter speed: ⁄ s
ISO sensitivity: 6400

12

Quick Tips

3. Improving Optical Performance

3. Improving Optical Performance

Stopping aperture down increases depth of  eld, making the
foreground and background sharper. Stop aperture down
too far, however, and di raction will actually cause the image
to lose de nition. The e ects of di raction are partly in u­enced by the size of the pixels in the camera image sensor,
but with the D800/D800E’s high resolution the e ects gen­erally become noticeable around f/11. When you need more
depth of  eld, don’t just immediately stop the lens all the way
down; instead, look for the aperture that o ers the best bal­ance between sharpness and depth of  eld. In the examples
on this page, you can see the grid lose de nition as aperture
is stopped down past f/11.

f/8 f/11

f/16 f/22

13

Quick Tips

4. Backlit Portraits

4. Backlit Portraits

With its 91K (about 91,000) pixel RGB sensor, the D800/D800E
o ers improved face detection. Used with the view nder in
modes other than h, it can balance exposure between portrait
subjects and the background even when the subject is backlit.

D800/D800E:

Using face detec-

tion, the camera

meters the

subject’s face for

optimal exposure

Earlier cameras:

The subject is

underexposed; ex-

posure compen-

sation required

Flash Photography

The D800/D800E also automatically optimizes  ash output
for portrait subjects.

D800/D800E:

Flash output

is adjusted

according to

the brightness

of the subject’s

face, producing

optimal results

even with bright

backgrounds

Earlier cameras:

Flash output

is adjusted

according to

the brightness

of the back­ground, and the
portrait subjects

are underex-

posed

14

The D800E

1. High Resolution Images with the D800E

page 11

1. High Resolution Images with the D800E

The D800E is a good choice when you need high-resolution
photos of visually complex subjects.

Case 1: A Subject in Traditional Dress

Preserve  ne patterns in your subject’s hair and clothing.

Improving Resolution

Resolution can be improved by disabling high ISO noise re­duction (

page 11), particularly at low ISO sensitivities.

Case 2: A Japanese Garden

Capture tiles and other  ne details in high resolution.

Case 3: Leaves

Capture individual leaves in crisp detail.

Movies

When recording movies, the D800E o ers similar resolution
to the D800. Choose the camera that best suits your style.

15

The D800E

2. Adjusting Aperture for Visually Complex Subjects

page 13

2. Adjusting Aperture for Visually Complex Subjects

With cameras like the D800E, which are suited to visually
complex subjects, it is important to get as much sharpness
from the lens as possible. Contrast at the periphery of the im­age can generally be increased by choosing an aperture two
or three stops from the maximum, although results will vary
from lens to lens. Below are some of the lenses you can use
for enhanced sharpness:

AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED

•
AF-S NIKKOR 24–70 mm f/2.8G ED

•
AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II

•
AF-S NIKKOR 16–35 mm f/4G ED VR

•
AF-S NIKKOR 24–120 mm f/4G ED VR

•
AF-S NIKKOR 200–400 mm f/4G ED VR II

•
AF-S NIKKOR 24 mm f/1.4G ED

•
AF-S NIKKOR 35 mm f/1.4G

•
AF-S NIKKOR 85 mm f/1.4G

•
AF-S NIKKOR 200 mm f/2G ED VR II

•
AF-S NIKKOR 300 mm f/2.8G ED VR II

•
AF-S NIKKOR 400 mm f/2.8G ED VR

•
AF-S NIKKOR 500 mm f/4G ED VR

•
AF-S NIKKOR 600 mm f/4G ED VR

•
AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60 mm f/2.8G ED

•
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8G IF-ED

•

The D800E o ers better resolution at apertures where dif­fraction (

page 13) is not an issue. The e ects of aperture may

therefore be more noticeable than with the D800, and care
may be required to avoid loss of de nition due to di raction.

f/8 f/22

Note: These pictures were taken with the D800.

16

The D800E

3. Color Artifacts and Moiré

page 13

3. Color Artifacts and Moiré

Color artifacts and moiré are less frequent at the high resolu­tions supported by the D800/D800E, but when they do occur,
they tend to be more noticeable in photos taken with D800E.
Artifacts and moiré are not visible in the camera monitor but
can be viewed by copying photos to a computer and viewing
them at 100% zoom.

The photo on the left was taken with the D800E, that on the

right with the D800. Color artifacts are visible in the sash.

Moiré can be reduced using
Capture NX 2. For NEF (RAW) im­ages, zoom in to 100% and select
Color Moiré Reduction.

O High

Using Di raction to Combat Color Artifacts and Moiré

Although stopping aperture
down makes the e ects of
di raction (
visible, it may also help to re­duce color artifacts and moiré.
Adjust aperture according to
whether your priority is sharp­ness or suppressing moiré.

f/5.6

f/11 f/16

page 13, 1616) more

f/8

17

© 2012 Nikon Corporation

CS SB2B01 (11)