Nikon D5100 Zoom problem

S

stephdmyren

New member
I just got the Nikon D5100 for Christmas which I am very excited about. I am anxious to learn how to use it. The problem I am having is when I zoom in to take a picture and push the button to capture the picture was not zoomed in on it is back to the regular setting. IT does it with both the lenses I have. Lenses I have are DX AF-S 18-55 and 55-200. Thanks
 
K

KWJams

Senior Member
Welcome and congrats on a great camera.

Are you using "Live View" or looking through the view finder? When you say "not zoomed in on its back".

When you look through the view finder and zoom in with the focus ring on the lens (which should be set to A on the side of the lens) there should be an audible chirp when focus is gained plus a green light flashes in the view finder.
 
S

stephdmyren

New member
I have tried it both ways. When I zoom in on the object I see it up close in the view finder or live view. after I capture the photo the photo flashes up or I go back to review it the photo has not been zoomed in on. It is set on A. Thanks for your help.
 
K

KWJams

Senior Member
Pretty difficult to troubleshoot it from this end. Can you post some example shots?
Also on page 32 of your manual it explains focus settings. Have you checked that yet?

It could be something as simple as no contrast or very little contrast between the subject and the surrounding background and the lens can't find a focus point.
 
G

gqtuazon

Gear Head
stephdmyren said:
I just got the Nikon D5100 for Christmas which I am very excited about. I am anxious to learn how to use it. The problem I am having is when I zoom in to take a picture and push the button to capture the picture was not zoomed in on it is back to the regular setting. IT does it with both the lenses I have. Lenses I have are DX AF-S 18-55 and 55-200. Thanks
Click to expand...

Stephdmyren- just for clarification. The D5100 or any DSLR do not zoom in. It requires you, the operator, to zoom in or out by rotating the lens zoom ring. Once you zoom in to the framing that you want when looking at the view finder, press the shutter button half way to allow the camera to acquire the correct focus of your subject.

You must realize as you zoom in with your lens, the aperture also increases all the way to f5.6 which now requires you to increase your ISO, lower your shutter speed or use a flash to get the proper exposure. P mode works well also for indoor and outdoor.

Set your Auto ISO to ISO 2000 as max ISO sensitivity and minimum sensitivity to ISO 100. Get a Nikon SB 700 to get better results especially when shooting indoor or use your pop-up flash.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I believe Glenn nailed it. It sounds as if you're used to point and shoot cameras and are using the Live View function and the +/- buttons then and not the zoom ring on the lens. You can still shoot in Live View, but use the zoom ring on the lens instead. The +/- buttons will help you see if your focus is precisely where you want it, but it will only change the displayed portion of what the sensor is receiving and not the entire image.
 
S

stephdmyren

New member
Thank you both so much for this info. I guess I did expect it to zoom in with the +/- functions. I am really excited about this camera. I might need to take a class. Do you or anyone know if taking the Nikon Beginner class or a class on line would be a better option?
 
Top