Nikon 950 User Manual

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Fast Track Guide

AUTO

1 9 9 9 . 0 3 . 2 0

2 3 : 0 5

DATE YMD

Focus Lock

The brackets in the center of the viewfinder ( ) show the autofocus position.

Using focus lock to focus on an off-center subject

COOLPIX 950

This Fast Track Guide provides a brief introduction to the parts and functioning of the COOLPIX 950. Please be sure to read all other documentation fully.

5 Adjust viewfinder diopter

The dial next to the viewfinder allows the viewfinder to be adjusted to accommodate individual differences in vision.

Understanding the Control Panel Icons

Current settings are displayed in the control panel on top of the camera.

Image Size

NO ICON

XGA 1,024 × 786 pixels VGA 640 × 480 pixels

Image Quality

HI Fewer pictures, higher quality

FINE ⇑

NORMAL ⇓

BASIC More pictures, basic quality

Focus Mode

NO ICON

1,600 × 1,200 pixels

Autofocus (30cm/12in.–∞) Infinity (∞) Macro close-up (2cm/0.8in.–∞) Manual focus (10cm/4in.–∞)

1 Insert the batteries

The battery compartment may be found on the bottom of the camera. To open the compartment, unlatch the cover, slide it out, and flip it open. Insert four LR6 (AA) batteries as shown on the inside of the compartment, then close and latch the cover.

FYS RM

6 Compose a photograph

Frame your subject in the viewfinder or LCD monitor. When the LCD monitor is on, the camera focuses continuously to give an impression of how the final photograph will look. If the LCD monitor is off, the camera focuses only when the shutter-release button is pressed half way.

Self Timer

NO ICON

Multi-shot Mode

NO ICON

Flash Mode

1/30

2–3

Off On

Single shot Continuous Continuous—16-shot

Continuous—high speed

Auto flash mode “Flash Cancel” (off) “Anytime Flash” (forced on) Slow synchronized Red-eye reduction

ADJ.

ZOOM SW

SET

➔

SHUTTER

➔

2 Insert the memory card

The COOLPIX 950 uses compact flash memory cards to store photographs, in much the same way an ordinary camera uses film. The memory card slot is on the bottom of the camera. Open the cover,

3 Select A-REC

Turn the mode dial to A-REC. Check that the LCD display on top of the camera is on and that the battery indicator is not flashing.

4 Set the time and date

Press the MENU button to display the A-REC menu. Choose DATE and use the zoom buttons and shutter-release button to set the camera’s internal clock to the

current time and date. slide the card in as shown above, and fold the eject button over. Then close the cover.

FYS RM

7 Check the focus and flash

Gently depress the shutter-release button half way and check the autofocus and flash indicators next to the viewfinder. The camera is ready to take a picture when the autofocus lamp (green) glows steadily and the flash lamp (red) is not blinking.

8 Take a picture

To take a picture, fully depress the shutter-release button.

9 Check the results

The picture just taken will be

displayed briefly in the LCD moni-

tor while the camera transfers it to

memory. Press the button to

freeze the display for ten seconds.

If you are not pleased with the

results, you can press to delete

the photo before returning to

shooting mode.

Exposure Mode

Programmed Aperture priority Shutter priority

3–4

Battery Level

Battery fully charged Low battery Battery exhausted

If your subject is not inside the focus brackets, you can use focus lock to focus on the subject while blurring distant details of the background.

The Mode Dial

The COOLPIX 950 offers a choice of three operating modes.

A-REC

You control:

• Zoom

• Flash and focus modes

• Exposure compensation

• Image quality and size

All other settings are made automatically by the camera.

Playback Mode

The zoom buttons and the three buttons under the monitor have special functions in playback mode.

DELETE

Select the current photograph for deletion.

Photo info

When a photo is displayed full size, turn the command dial to display or hide photo information.

To focus on an offcenter subject, position the subject in the focus brackets and depress the shutter-release button half way.

M-REC

In addition to the items listed at left, you control:

• Exposure and metering modes

• Sensitivity

• White balance

• Brightness and contrast

• Multi-shot mode

• “Best-shot” mode

• Color mode (blackand-white or full color)

• Other settings

THUMBNAIL

View nine photographs at once. Use the command dial to page through photos nine at a time. Use the ▼W/T▲ buttons to highlight individual photos. Press the thumbnail button again to view highlighted photograph at full size.

Using the Menus

Keeping the shutterrelease button slightly depressed, recompose your picture, then press the shutter-release button the rest of the way down to take the photograph.

PLAY

This mode allows you to play back and delete previously recorded photographs (see below).

Zoom in on the current photograph. Press once to view at ×2, twice to view at ×3. Use the command dial to view different portions of the image. Press a third time to view photograph at full size.

▼W/T▲

Scroll through photographs one at a time.

MAGNIFY

COOLPIX 950

Separate menus are available for

Metering

Matrix Spot Center-weighted

Sensitivity

NO ICON

Standard (ISO 80 equivalent) Sensitivity adjustment in effect

Compensation

NO ICON

None (±0EV) Exposure compensation in effect

Number Display

Number of exposures remaining No memory card detected Card format error Serial cable connected

Data transfer in progress

each operating mode.

To display and hide the menu

With the monitor on, press the MENU button. In menus with more than one page, you can move between pages by pressing the MENU button. Pressing the MENU button when the last page of the menu is displayed hides the

menu.

To highlight a menu item

Use the ▼W/T▲ buttons to move through menu

items one at a time.

To select a highlighted menu item

Press the shutter-release button. Where several different

settings are possible for an item in the main menu, you can

highlight the menu item and press the shutter release button

to display a submenu of options, or use the command dial to

make changes to settings directly from the main menu.

Using This Guide

This guide is intended as a brief introduction to the parts and functioning of the COOLPIX 950. Please read all other documentation fully. This guide provides cross-references to sections of other manuals where topics are covered in greater detail. The following abbreviations are used:

FYS

For Y our Safety

. Be sure to read these references before use.

Pocket Guide

Reference Manual

(on CD).

11–12

1 Flash mode/

sensitivity button

Press this button to change the flash setting. In addition to automatic, “Flash Cancel” (off), and “Anytime Flash” (forced on), the COOLPIX 950 offers the following settings:

Slow sync

Balances the flash and background lighting. Ideal for low-light photography at night.

Red-eye reduction

Before the flash fires, a red-eye reduction lamp lights up, causing the pupils in the subject’s eyes to contract and minimizing the “redeye” effects a flash can sometimes produce.

Sensitivity

In M-REC mode, sensitivity can be adjusted by turning the command dial while holding down the flash mode button. Sensitivity can be set to a value corresponding to ISO 100, or further increased by factors of +1.0 or +2.0. Select dEF to restore sensitivity to a value equivalent to ISO 80.

Increased sensitivity is useful when you want to freeze motion or capture distant objects under low light conditions. Note however that noise may appear in pictures taken at settings other than dEF.

6ME 40370

COOLPIX 950

7 Autofocus lamp 8 Viewfinder eyepiece

9 Flash-ready lamp 10 Video cable connector 11 Power jack for optional AC

adapter

12 Mode dial 13 Shutter-release button 14 Control panel 15 Serial cable connector 16 MONITOR button (press once

to hide settings, press again to

turn monitor off, press a third

time to turn monitor on)

17 MENU button

Icons in the LCD monitor (A-REC/M-REC)

25 24

23 22 21 20 19

1 User set number 2 Zoom indicator 3 Digital zoom 4 Focus mode/manual focus

distance

5 “Date not set” indicator 6 Flash mode 7 Battery indicator 8 Current folder

9 White balance program 10 Sensitivity 11 Brightness/contrast 12 Image size 13 Image quality

2 3 4

18 LCD monitor 19 Eyelet for camera strap 20 Command dial 21 Lens 22 Viewfinder 23 Built-in flash 24 Red-eye reduction lamp 25 Photocell 26 Connector for external flash 27 Diopter adjustment dial 28 Tripod socket 29 CompactFlash card slot 30 Battery chamber latch 31 Battery chamber cover

10 11 12 13

1415161718

Number of exposures remaining

15 Exposure compensation 16 Aperture (f number) 17 Shutter speed 18 Exposure mode 19 Metering mode 20 Multi-shot mode 21 Best-shot mode 22 White-balance lock 23 Auto-exposure lock 24 Lens converter settings 25 Self timer 26 Auto-exposure target (spot

metering)

6 7 8 9

Focus mode/self-timer button

Infinity (∞)

Captures distant scenes with maximum clarity.

Macro close-up (2cm/0.8in. from lens–∞)

Use this mode when taking photos of small objects at close range. At the middle optical zoom position, you can focus on objects as close as 2cm (0.8in.) from the lens (a yellow icon in the LCD monitor tells you that the current zoom setting is right for close-range photography).

4 Exposure

compensation

Turning the command dial while the exposure compensation button is held down allows you to select a value for compensation of from -2 to +2 EV in increments of 1/3 EV. Higher values create photographs that bring out details in shadows while “washing out” brightly lit objects. Lower values can be used to bring out details of brightly lit objects. The effects of exposure compensation can be previewed in the monitor.

16–17

6 Image quality/

image size

Image quality and size can be selected by turning the command dial while the image quality button is held down. To store more photographs on a single memory card, choose a smaller image size (VGA or XGA) or select an image quality of BASIC. To capture fine details, select an image quality of FINE. For maximum quality, a setting of HI (uncompressed) is available when the camera is in M-REC mode.

13–15

3 Zoom buttons

Self-timer

The shutter is released automatically ten seconds after the shutterrelease button is pressed once (press twice for a three-second delay). A light flashes before a picture is taken. Ideal for selfportraits.

Manual focus

In M-REC mode, focus can be set according to the distance to your subject. Turn the command dial while holding down the focus mode button. Focus distance from the lens will be displayed in meters or feet: a range of settings from 10cm (4in.) to infinity is available.

Exposure mode button

In M-REC mode, exposure mode can be chosen by turning the command dial while the exposure mode button is held down.

Program

Point-and-shoot, full auto exposure mode.

Aperture priority

Turn the command dial to choose from among three apertures. At wide apertures (low f numbers), details of the background are blurred. A small aperture (high f number) brings both background and foreground into focus.

The T button zooms the camera in, increasing magnification and reducing the field of view . Press the W button to zoom the camera out. The amount of zoom is displayed in the monitor when either button is pressed. If the T button is held down for two seconds at maximum zoom, the camera will enter digital zoom mode, allowing you to enlarge the image a further ×1.25–×2.5. Note that the LCD monitor must be on or the camera connected to a TV set for digital zoom to take effect.

Shutter priority

Turn the command dial to select a shutter speed from eight to 1/ seconds. This mode is ideal for controlling action. Use a high shutter speed to freeze motion or a low shutter speed to suggest movement by blurring moving objects.

If the aperture or shutter speed does not change when you turn the command dial, press the mode button once and then turn command dial to change the setting.

Viewing and Printing Photographs on External Devices

SC-EW2 serial cable (PC)

CF card reader

SC-EW2 with SC-EM2 adapter

Parallel, SCSI, IDE, or USB interface

(Mac)

CA-20 PC card adapter

EG-900 video cable

Mac or Windows computer

running

Nikon View 2

Personal computer

Computer with PC card slot

Printer with CF card slot

Television or VCR

E-mail

Electronic publishing

Printer

2–3

18–19

500

COOLPIX 950

Principal Features

● A half-inch, 2.11-million pixel

CCD allowing photographs of up to 1,600 × 1,200 pixels in size.

● Motor-driven ×3 optical zoom.

Digital zoom allows pictures to be enlarged a further ×1.25– ×2.5.

● Nikon’s 256-element matrix

metering and intelligent incamera processing guarantee superb image quality.

● Shutter speed, aperture, and

focus can be set automatically or manually.

● Minimum delay between

exposures and fast switching between record and playback.

● Internal memory buffer allows

continuous, rapid shooting (about ten exposures at an image quality of “normal” and an image size of 1,600 × 1,200 pixels).

● Manual mode offers a choice

of black-and-white or color photography, digital image enhancement, spot metering with auto-exposure lock, “best shot” mode, and a choice of multi-shot modes.

● LCD monitor offers continuous

preview while shooting, allowing evaluation of scene composition and settings. Images are played back after shooting for the user to keep or delete.

● Operation similar to conven-

tional Nikon cameras, including a built-in flash, adjustable viewfinder diopter, and a highquality Nikkor lens.

Fast Track Guide

COOLPIX 950