Complete Guide to the Nikon D200- P16 ppsx

Custom Setting #D5 Shutter Delay Exposure Delay Mode Like the Mirror-up function M-Up frame advance setting, this option is used to reduce vibrations or camera shake caused by the shut

Recommendation:

1 A good idea, but not fully fleshed out There are more things I’d like to be warned about than shooting in black and white And I’d like to control which warnings would appear and which wouldn’t (otherwise you could end up with a lot of overlay icons in the image area) Most users should probably leave the warnings enabled

Custom Setting #D4 Continuous Low Shooting Speed (CL-Mode Shooting Speed)

The D200 is a responsive camera In either of the continuous frame advance settings the camera can rattle off a burst of more images than you might expect from a single shutter press Continuous High always shoots at 5 fps But you can vary the speed at which Continuous Low operates:

4fps 4 frames per second

3fps 3 frames per second [default]

2fps 2 frames per second

1fps 1 frame per second

Recommendation:

1 Keep your camera set at one of the lower speeds (I leave

mine set at 1 fps) This gives you a continuous shooting

option that doesn’t chew through card space and for which it’s easy to keep count of how many images you’re

taking (at 3 fps and above you’ll lose track quickly) It

also means you’re less likely to jab the shutter release hard and get multiple shots

Custom Setting #D5 Shutter Delay (Exposure Delay Mode)

Like the Mirror-up function (M-Up frame advance setting), this

option is used to reduce vibrations or camera shake caused by the shutter press When activated, the camera flips the mirror

up immediately upon shutter release, and then opens the shutter about 0.4 seconds later (the mirror is lowered after the shot)

Off camera works normally [default]

On mirror lifted 0.4 seconds before shutter opens

Recommendations:

1 Remember that exposure will be calculated before the mirror goes up

2 Likewise, flash exposures are calculated before the mirror goes up, so you’ll see a preflash on pressing the shutter release, then the main flash 0.4 seconds later when the shutter opens For most subjects, that’s probably okay, but

be careful of subjects that will be startled by the preflash Some people will blink in response to the preflash and have their eyes closed at the main flash Some insects and animals will bolt on the preflash

3 In general, I prefer this function to the M-Up frame

advance function when I’m handholding the camera and not using a wired remote The timed shutter lag also works best for static subjects (some people and animals react to

hearing the mirror flip) I use M-Up when my camera is on

a tripod, using a remote release, and trying to precisely time the actual picture taking for a particular moment (e.g

in macro shots trying to time when the wind stops

blowing the flower)

Custom Setting #D6 File Number Sequence (File Number

Sequence)

You may remember from the section on filenames (see page

<H169>) that the D200 has two basic capabilities for naming

files: file numbers are reset to 0001 by a number of actions

(formatting, new card, new folder, etc.), or they aren’t reset

until you hit 9999 This is where you set that behavior:

Off File numbering always resets to 0001 [default]

On File numbering picks up after last number

Reset Same as Off but number immediately reset to

highest file number in the current folder plus 1

Recommendations:

1 Set this option to On, otherwise you’ll end up with a lot of

DSC_0001 duplicate filenames on your computer, and if you aren’t disciplined about renaming files or checking for overwrites, you could easily lose images

2 If for some reason you need to set file numbering to a

specific value, use the Reset option for this setting, then

put a file with a file name one less than where you want

to start numbering into the appropriate folder on your memory card (has to be the active folder), insert that card into the camera, then immediately set this option back to

On

Custom Setting #D7 LCD Illumination Control (LCD Illumination)

The top LCD has a yellow-green backlighting that makes it easier to see at night To preserve power, the backlighting isn’t applied unless you specifically tell it to By default, that is done by turning the Power switch to the illumination icon (just past the On position), which provides backlighting for about six seconds You can change this behavior:

Off Backlighting controlled by power switch

[default]

On Backlighting occurs when meter is active

Recommendations:

1 Nikon has made a change since the D2: the alternate setting on the D2 series was triggered by pressing any button on the camera (shutter release partway, and of the control buttons), and was of limited duration (6 seconds) Now, the system simply looks at if the camera is active (metering) and backlights the LCD during the entire time the camera is active For some heavy-handed users (or if you have #C3 set high), that can be very long periods of time The drawback is that battery consumption is

increased by this backlighting, and it is already high when the camera is active Thus, I say you should only set this control for situational conditions (i.e when you need it)

All other times it should be Off

2 Most people don’t realize it, but this function is also linked to external Speedlight LCDs, and it works both ways If you set backlighting to be On for the SB-800 using its options, that setting is applied to the camera, too! Indeed, since I’m usually shooting with a flash on the camera at night, I simply leave backlighting set on my SB-

800 and leave the camera’s #D7 option set to Off Just

remember that you’ve done this

Custom Setting #D8 Battery Type in MB-D200 (MB-D200 Battery Type)

If you use AA batteries in the optional MB-D200, you need to tell the camera what type they are That’s because different types of batteries not only have different voltages, but they also change voltage at different rates as they expire:

LR6 (Alkaline) Use for AA Alkaline batteries [default] HR6 (Ni-MH) Use for rechargeable AA Nickle-Metal Hydride

batteries

FR6 (Lithium) Use for AA lithium batteries, such as the

Eveready Lithium series

ZR6 (Ni-Mn) Use for AA Nickle-Manganese batteries (rare)

Recommendation:

1 You must set this function if you use AA batteries in the

MB-D200; otherwise you won’t get accurate and reliable power indication In some cases, the camera could report the battery exhausted when it is isn’t

2 You don’t have to set this function if you use EN-EL3e

batteries in the MB-D200; the D200 detects those

automatically

3 So what type of battery should you use in the MB-D200? EN-EL3e batteries are the first choice, by far First, they’re rechargeable, which is good for the environment But they’ll also provide the longest shooting time and

ultimately do so at the lowest expense Using AA batteries

in the MB-D200 is there as an emergency capability, in

my opinion Thus, you use what you’ve got For me, that’s NiMH batteries, since I’m always carrying extras for use in

my flash units Lithium AA batteries are expensive, and disposing of lithium isn’t exactly something you want to

do regularly—it’s not a great environmental friend, though it’s better than some of the other materials batteries have been made of Alkaline AA batteries are cheap and

ubiquitous, but they won’t last as long as NiMH or

Lithium batteries

Custom Setting #E1 Flash Top Sync Speed (Flash Sync Speed)

I’m not entirely sure why Nikon thought it useful to include this function There is one useful aspect to the setting that I can see, but I can’t think of any time I might want to set my flash sync speed to 1/80

1/250 1/250 second lower limit [default]

1/250 (Auto FP) 1/250 second lower limit, plus TTL FP with

SB-800 at shutter speeds over 1/250

1/200 1/200 second lower limit

1/160 1/160 second lower limit

1/125 1/125 second lower limit

etc

Recommendations:

1 The most interesting use of this function is to restrict an external SB-800 from going into TTL FP flash mode at shutter speeds above 1/250 TTL FP uses short repeating bursts of flash, and has a maximum power of about 1/8th

that of normal i-TTL Moreover, some photographers feel that the burst of the TTL FP system makes for slightly different edge definition on moving subjects If you have

an SB-800 and TTL flash isn’t working at shutter speeds

above 1/250 (the SB-800’s LCD also won’t show TTL FP),

this is the setting to check Bookmark that in your brain, because it’ll come up some day, especially if you reset Custom Settings banks

2 I said I couldn’t think of a reason to include the slower shutter speed limits That’s not true One reason would be

to force the D200 to operate like a backup camera, which might not have the same top flash sync speed With two cameras shooting the same scene with slightly different shutter speeds you can get different edge effects on

moving objects, which you might not want (if you had two photographers covering a wedding, for example, and were trying to seamlessly integrate the pictures) Still, that’s a pretty weak reason to use this function (and it would probably mean you’d need to be shooting in Shutter-priority exposure mode, as in Program and

Aperture-priority you’d be getting the other end of the shutter speed range)

Custom Setting #E2 Flash Shutter Speed Barrier (Slowest Speed When Using Flash)

The section on flash that comes later in the eBook (see

“Setting Flash Options” on page <H494>) describes an option

called Slow Sync Essentially, the camera places a lower limit

on the shutter speed that can be used when flash is active

unless you tell it to ignore that limit Custom Setting #E2

allows you to modify the limit (and the Slow Sync option allows you to remove the limit):

1/60 1/60 second lower limit [default]

1/30 1/30 second lower limit

1/15 1/15 second lower limit

1/8 1/8 second lower limit

1/4 1/4 second lower limit

Recommendations:

1 I believe everyone should set at least 1/30 Nikon’s 1/60

default is very conservative, and will cause problems in most indoor lighting situations (for the reason why, read the full flash section)

2 I personally set 1/15 because I know I can usually hand

hold the camera to that level when using flash as I

describe, and it’s the slowest speed where subject motion

in the ambient exposure doesn’t become a constant problem (it may be a bit of a problem at 1/15, but I watch for that)

Custom Setting #E3 Flash Mode for Internal Flash (Built-in Flash Mode)

I wish Nikon had set flash mode up differently (e.g put the flash mode control into the Flash Pop-up button in

conjunction with the command dials) Because buried down

in the Custom Settings menus, and requiring multiple settings

for some functions, partially negates a very useful feature Nikon needed a way to control what method the internal flash uses when it’s popped up, and this is where we set that Just

be forewarned that this gets a little involved (especially if you haven’t read the flash section that starts on page <480> yet):

TTL TTL used for flash mode [default]

Repeating Flash Repeating flash mode

Commander Mode Internal flash used to control other

flashes

If you set Manual Flash, you also need to select a power

setting (see the section on Internal Manual flash on page

shutter speed, Times, and Interval that potentially gives you

something other than you want (see my Recommendations, below):

If you set Commander Mode, you’re telling the camera that

want to use the internal flash for wireless flash control You then need to set the flash mode and flash exposure

compensation for each and every flash group, including the internal flash (I’ll have more to say about this in the section on wireless flash on page <H511>):

Recommendations:

1 If you’re going to use Repeating Flash, start by first

establishing a shutter speed you’re going to use Let’s say

your shutter speed will be 1/60 Next, use Interval to

determine how many flashes will be fired a second An interval of 1Hz means 1 times a second, so we need to divide the lower value of our shutter speed (60) into this, which tells us that we could have as many as 1 flash while the shutter is open, which obviously isn’t going to

generate a “repeating” flash effect By contrast, if your

shutter speed was 1/2 and your Interval was 10hz, you

could get as many as 5 flashes into your shot You’ll need

to jigger your shutter speed and Interval until you get a

meaningful potential set of repetitions Finally, set Times

to a value less than or equal to what you just calculated

2 Commander Mode may be where you want to leave

your camera set if you sometimes use wireless flash

That’s because you can still run the internal flash just on its own for TTL at this setting You have to set the flash exposure compensation in this CSM rather than using the Flash Options button and Front Command dial on the camera, though And you need to be aware that you’ll extend the preflash sequence a bit because the camera has to look for other groups, so this might not be a good idea if you’re shooting people or things that react to light But for someone like me, who tends to shoot static objects (scenics) and often, but not always, uses multiple flashes,

leaving my D200 set to Commander Mode with my

usual settings actually saves me a lot of time and fumbling

in the field (especially since it’s usually around dawn or dusk when I’m shooting with flash)

3 If you use visual slaves to trigger studio lighting, try

leaving your D200 set at Manual flash mode at 1/128

power That’s generally not enough flash to do much more than produce a minor catchlight effect on your models, but it’s usually enough to trigger you main studio lighting

Custom Setting #E4 DOF Preview Triggers Modeling Flash (Preview Button Activates Modeling Flash)

The internal flash, SB-600, and SB-800 have a modeling light, which triggers the flash to rapidly pulse the flash at low

power This is handy for seeing how lighting hits your subject and what shadows might be triggered I find this especially useful for estimating shadows in macro photography with flash Normally, you’d have to reach all the way up onto the flash and press the modeling light button to trigger this

function (and you’d have no way of doing it all on the internal flash or SB-600), but this custom setting allows you to not move your hand positions to trigger the modeling light:

On DOF Preview button triggers modeling light

1 Leave it On unless you’re in some situation where you

need the DOF Preview and don’t want your subject to be startled by flash

2 Two types of photographers get the most benefit out of this setting: (a) those who work with flash in a flash

bracket or further off camera (they can’t always

conveniently press the SB-800’s Modeling Light button); and (b) macro shooters who are trying to evaluate how shadows and depth of field interact

3 Surprise, surprise The SB-600, which does not have a modeling light button, does have a modeling light

function I had initially missed that paragraph in the

SB-600 manual, but the D2x’s manual made me test it: it works, both on the D2 series and D200

Custom Setting #E5 Exposure Bracketing Method (Auto Bracketing Set)

Exposure bracketing can be performed entirely with ambient exposure (e.g altering aperture or shutter speed), with flash exposure (e.g using flash exposure compensation), or both This setting allows you to choose how the camera performs this bracketing (it also enables white balance bracketing):

AE & Flash If a Speedlight is attached, exposure

bracketing is performed by using both

flash exposure compensation and ambient exposure alterationF

113

[default]

AE Only Bracketing is performed using only

ambient exposure alteration

Flash Only Bracketing is performed using only flash

want I tend to leave my D200 on AE Only, as I’m using

Standard TTL and setting my own flash compensation value If you use Balanced Fill-Flash, strongly consider leaving the default set

2 White balance bracketing is an interesting option, though Nikon doesn’t document it nearly well enough, and it would be more helpful if we saw real Kelvin values, not cryptic –1 and +1 indicators Also, you only press the

shutter release once when WB Bracketing is set (unlike

bracketing for exposure compensation) You still get your full number of shots, though, each with a different white balance setting If you’re wondering which white balance

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Aperture and shutter speed changes are used for ambient exposure alteration

values are used, well, you need a white balance table handy to figure it out (see Page <H280>) Even then, in Nikon’s documentation it’s not clear what happens What

if, for example, you want a bracket value of +2 but you’re

already set at, say, Flash +2F

114

? Also, note that the

camera doesn’t bracket white balance when WB

Bracketing is set if you are taking NEF images (it won’t

even allow you to make bracketing active) In short: kudos for the idea; thumbs down for the execution

3 If you use Manual exposure mode and are considering

setting Flash Only, see the next Custom Setting (#E6) for

a better option

Custom Setting #E6 Manual Exposure Mode Bracketing (Auto Bracketing in M Exposure Mode)

If you’ve elected to have bracketing change the ambient

exposure (any AE value in Custom Setting #E5), you also can

specify which parameters get bracketed in Manual exposure mode:

Flash/Speed Flash (if active and set in CSM #E5)

and shutter speed are varied [default]

Flash/Speed/Aperture Flash (if active and set in CSM

#E5), shutter speed, and aperture are varied

Flash/Aperture Flash (if active and set in CSM #E5)

and aperture are varied

(I’m wondering if the source for this is page 43 of my Nikon Field Guide) Put a more

useful way, each 10 MIRED shift is equivalent to using an 81 or 82 filter (depends upon which way you’re going) A 20 MIRED shift is like an 81A or 82A, a 30 MIRED shift is like an 81B or 82B, etc

Flash Only Ambient bracketing is not done;

only the flash value is varied

Recommendations:

1 Which option you choose probably depends upon what kind of photographer you are Sports photographers are

likely to pick Flash/Aperture to preserve shutter speeds, while others are more likely to pick Flash/Speed to

preserve aperture and depth of field

2 Flash/Speed/Aperture really is of use only on really long

bracket sequences (e.g nine exposures), as you probably don’t want the extreme changes in shutter speed or

aperture alone that would happen over nine shots

3 Flash Only is probably a better choice than setting #E5 to Flash Only, at least if you’re bracketing often in Manual

exposure mode Why? Because it gives you a quick and dirty way to play with flash and ambient balances (by switching exposure modes)

Custom Setting #E7 Bracketing Order (Auto Bracketing Order)

You can select the order in which the D200 exposes the photographs when automatic bracketing is set (see “Exposure Bracketing” on page <H263>):

Note: Bracketing can set sequences fewer than three exposures

The bracketing order describes what happens when at least three exposures are taken If you’ve set bracketing to two- shot sequences, the orders shown below are still correct, but one of the values is left off For example, if you asked the camera to set bracketing to -2F 0.5, the “overexposed” value is not taken, so just ignore its place in the order If you set the camera to bracket more than three images, the orders shown below are correct: extra – and +