Some tips needed - D7100

DMcL

Senior Member
Hello good folk! Hope everyone is well.

As I get to grips with my D7100 I have a few questions someone might be able to help with.

When using Aperture mode (which I do 95% of the time) it only seems to let me control one focus square/point? I toggle though the various focusing area options and but regardless of which I select it will still only operate in single focus point mode, is this normal or am I being a bit slow!?

I mainly like to shoot landscapes so want to get as much of the picture in focus as possible.

Also, on occasion if family etc ask me to take a picture of them, I usually keep my ISO at 100 and have a relatively low Aperture but find that some people will be in focus more than others. Obviously I can increase the Aperture and raise the ISO but I feel the result is not particularly good, am I just crap or is there a better way of 'shooting' people.

Thanks in advance!
 

Marilynne

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Here are some tips written by fellow Nikonite grandpaw for the D7000. A lot of them are good for the D7100 also. There's a PDF version somewhere, but I forgot where it is.

Nikon D7000 tips
 

nickt

Senior Member
This might help you understand the focus modes.
http://alexdanev.com/forum/Books/nikon/D7000_AF_Explained.pdf
You wont really see more than one focus point selected, although you might see several points flash briefly in auto area mode. Check out that document. It is great info. It sounds like you might be thinking more focus points will let more of the scene be in focus? That is not the case. The various focus modes will acquire focus in different ways and they are all useful in different situations. No matter which mode, the camera will only focus at one precise distance. Forward and back from that distance is covered by your depth of field. Only a higher aperture will give more depth of field for a given focal length and distance. You can experiment with zoom and subject distance to get a greater depth of field for closer subjects. You may benefit from single point focus in a deeper group of people. Rather than focusing on the first row, use single point and focus on someone mid-crowd. Or use manual focus. That will help balance the depth of field front to rear. You will still need an appropriate aperture to cover front to rear focus, but focusing mid-crowd can help. More light or flash will help too.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
Hello good folk! Hope everyone is well.

As I get to grips with my D7100 I have a few questions someone might be able to help with.

When using Aperture mode (which I do 95% of the time) it only seems to let me control one focus square/point? I toggle though the various focusing area options and but regardless of which I select it will still only operate in single focus point mode, is this normal or am I being a bit slow!?

I mainly like to shoot landscapes so want to get as much of the picture in focus as possible.

Also, on occasion if family etc ask me to take a picture of them, I usually keep my ISO at 100 and have a relatively low Aperture but find that some people will be in focus more than others. Obviously I can increase the Aperture and raise the ISO but I feel the result is not particularly good, am I just crap or is there a better way of 'shooting' people.

Thanks in advance!

Cameras can only focus at one point at a time. You control how much of the shot will be in focus with your aperture. Larger aperture (smaller number) and less will be in focus, smaller aperture =more in focus.
Taking landscape shots you would want to use a smaller aperture to have more in focus.

Of course there is more to it, like focal length and distance from the subject, but I'm just giving you the basic jist of it.
 

J-see

Senior Member
I had the same issue when I got the D7200. Regardless which focus method I picked, only the center point showed which is quite different from the FX series that show the whole selection (1-9-21-51) and light up the point that achieves focus.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Are you talking about switching from single point focus to using several focus points at once? If so, take a look at the AF-M button. You need to push in the center of the button, and while holding it down, you rotate the front dial to toggle between the various options. If you are in one of the AUTO modes, I'm not sure it will work. If you are in AF-S or AF-C, it should allow you to change the number of points desired. Below is a web photo that shows the button. Press the recessed dot then rotate the sub-command dial (the dial located on the front of the body).

maxresdefault.jpg



And here is a video explaining it more in depth:

 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Your camera displays the active focus point but if you want to see all the points being used by the camera in focus modes that use multiple focus points (e.g. D9, D21, etc.), also called the focus point array, press and hold the AF/MF button on the camera body while looking through the viewfinder. You'll see all the points of the focus point array light up for as long as you press the button.
 
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