New to the forum- needed some quick advice please

Stoney_74

New member
Hello allI recently purchased a D7000 and am about to go on a European trip so I want to make sure in advance I know how to use all the basic features of this camera so I get the best shots possible. My main concern is that there are so many settings on this camera and it gets confusing when I am out shooting sometimes. Most of my shooting on my trip will be during the day. I like to focus on people, candid shots, and architecture.Any tips on which settings i can use for street photography would be appreciated. Also there are various ways to focus on the D7000 and im not sure which settings to useThe 2 lenses I own are the focal length 35mm nikor lens and the 18-200mm VR Zoom lens. I bought the zoom lens refurbished from nikon and i noticed at higher focal ranges the image blurs out a but unless i use center weighted focusingim not planning to bring a tripod on this trip either since i will be moving around a lot.Would appreciate any pointers from you guys. thanks so much! :)
 

pedroj

Senior Member
Hi and welcome...If it were I, I would put the camera in aperture priority from F5.6[for people] to F9 for landscapes...

ISO in auto I believe is what D7000 camera owners use..

Have a look at the shooting modes on You Tube...Aperture...Shutter Priority...Manual....

Hope this helps...
 

eurotrash

Senior Member
I always kept my 7000 in matrix metering mode, shooting in manual a lot of the time. You could make things real easy on yourself on your trip if you set it to Auto ISO, and use aperture priority with matrix metering for those 'general' shots. Anything from landscapes to architecture would work with that. If you're shooting people, you could use shutter priority to blur or freeze motion if you wanted, but I think the easiest way is to enable VR if you have it, set minimum shutter speed to say, 1/250th and set it to auto ISO. That way, you have little to nothing to worry about except what DOF you're trying to achieve with your shot. When you return you can read that bible of a manual and figure out all the other settings and get good at using them, figuring out what situation is best for what etc... but if you're kind of new to the camera, I'd just let it take over as much as possible, mostly.

The biggest issue I see with your inquiry is that WE don't know HOW YOU shoot. So, we can't give you decisive settings, obviously. I wouldn't be right saying, "Use ISO 400, and when it's getting darker, switch to ISO800." That might not be how you want your shots.
I would shoot manual everything of course, but I knew that camera pretty well by the end of my time with it. My 2c!
 
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Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Hello allI recently purchased a D7000 and am about to go on a European trip so I want to make sure in advance I know how to use all the basic features of this camera so I get the best shots possible. My main concern is that there are so many settings on this camera and it gets confusing when I am out shooting sometimes. Most of my shooting on my trip will be during the day. I like to focus on people, candid shots, and architecture.Any tips on which settings i can use for street photography would be appreciated. Also there are various ways to focus on the D7000 and im not sure which settings to useThe 2 lenses I own are the focal length 35mm nikor lens and the 18-200mm VR Zoom lens. I bought the zoom lens refurbished from nikon and i noticed at higher focal ranges the image blurs out a but unless i use center weighted focusingim not planning to bring a tripod on this trip either since i will be moving around a lot.Would appreciate any pointers from you guys. thanks so much!
You should get a book for your camera and start reading up on it... There is much to know.

For a quick start I'd suggest The D7000 Digital Field Guide. This will get you up and running quickly with basic operations of your camera and give you some explanation about when you would want to use what setting. This a FIELD GUIDE, meaning it's quick and dirty, not a PhD thesis on every bit of D7000 minutia.

Another, more in-depth, book would the D7000 Guide to Digital Photography by David Busch.

...
 

DraganDL

Senior Member
"thing is if i use aperture priority wont I require a tripod for stabilization?"

Thing is, using any of the "conventional" shooting modes hasn't got much to do with tripod/no tripod concerns. If I would have been in your shoes, I'd stick to "A" mode (with or without flash), for the time being. About the focus problems with the
18-200mm zoomed in: lenses with such zoom range generally suffer from exactly that problem.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
thanks for the feedback? thing is if i use aperture priority wont I require a tripod for stabilization?

Is this your first DSLR? In the meantime, watch the Nikon D7000 Digitutor video to go through the basics. just google it.

For outdoor shooting, like what the other folks have mentioned, use A or S mode during the day; M for indoors or night time whenever the lighting is constant.

D7000 books from David Busch and Digital Darrell are very good and easy to follow to get to know your camera.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Camera Fun

Senior Member
I started with using auto for everything. Then eventually I started working with aperture and shutter priority. Most of the time I now use aperture priority. The more photos you take, the more you will see how different settings work. Use the U1 and U2 options to set up some different combination of features.
 

egosbar

Senior Member
id shoot aperture priority before you go and practice if not shoot auto , doesnt sound like you have a lot of experience with basic photography so understand iso , aperture and shutterspeed for correct exposure is critical

watch utube videos on this , i would shoot aperture priority , high number aperture more depth of field f22 landscapes lower number f5.6 less depth of field and blurring backround for portraits

use aperture too control shutter speed too suit focal length , basic rule min shutter speed to reduce camera shake blur is equal or better then focal length , ie if your shooting at 200mm with your zoom you need 1/200 shutter speed minimum , shooting at 60mm you can hand hold at 1/60

daylight shooting you shouldnt have a lot of trouble getting the shutter speeds you want so you pick an aperture for depth of field , portraits choose lower number f5.6-f8 or lower if your lens suits to blur backrounds , landscapes choose higher number more depth of field f11-f22 for sharpness all through photo

iso comes into it when you cant get the shutter speed or aperture you want you can crank it up for more light sensitivity so you can get faster shutter speeds or a higher number aperture , the camera your using you could get up too iso 1600 no worries but if you can you should shoot on iso 100 , the trick is too understand what aperture or shutter speed you want , you have too compensate on all three at times , iso shutter speed or aperture all affect one another

you wont need a tripod shooting aperture priority , think tripod when your shutter speed is less then your focal length of your lens

best thing about digitals is you can check your images , if they dont seem too be working then switch too auto so dont be afraid too experiment and delete

i shoot easy iso on my d7100 and set at 100 id think the 7000 would have that setting , this way i can choose the aperture i want and if they shutter speed is lower then focal length i can adjust iso using the back scroll wheel up so the shutter speed suits focal length

hope this isnt too confusing but you have a nice camera and you will need too know these things too get the best out of it
 
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egosbar

Senior Member
I always kept my 7000 in matrix metering mode, shooting in manual a lot of the time. You could make things real easy on yourself on your trip if you set it to Auto ISO, and use aperture priority with matrix metering for those 'general' shots. Anything from landscapes to architecture would work with that. If you're shooting people, you could use shutter priority to blur or freeze motion if you wanted, but I think the easiest way is to enable VR if you have it, set minimum shutter speed to say, 1/250th and set it to auto ISO. That way, you have little to nothing to worry about except what DOF you're trying to achieve with your shot. When you return you can read that bible of a manual and figure out all the other settings and get good at using them, figuring out what situation is best for what etc... but if you're kind of new to the camera, I'd just let it take over as much as possible, mostly.

The biggest issue I see with your inquiry is that WE don't know HOW YOU shoot. So, we can't give you decisive settings, obviously. I wouldn't be right saying, "Use ISO 400, and when it's getting darker, switch to ISO800." That might not be how you want your shots.
I would shoot manual everything of course, but I knew that camera pretty well by the end of my time with it. My 2c!

just thinking about your line on shutter speed min 250 and use vr , doesnt vr only work properly with slow shutter speeds and can actually be worse using it at higher shutter speeds?
 

gqtuazon

Gear Head
just thinking about your line on shutter speed min 250 and use vr , doesnt vr only work properly with slow shutter speeds and can actually be worse using it at higher shutter speeds?

egosbar - it will really avoid these type of questions if you do your part by doing more reading and research on your part instead of questioning what people here have been telling you. Practice with various settings and see if f8 is good enough for your landscape. I'm sure it will be.

Nikon | Imaging Products | Digitutor | D7000
 

eurotrash

Senior Member
1/250th will be fast enough for people jogging....Auto ISO will let more light in means you will get a faster shutter speed..

I guess it would all depend on your focal length, now wouldn't it? :p

1/250th is fast enough to blur anything he's going to see on vacation, honestly. If I were shooting F1 cars, I'd go with maybe 1/500th. But 1/250th should be all you need unless you're experiencing an earthquake or alien invasion. It will also help keep that Auto ISO within reasonable levels and acceptable noise.
 

eurotrash

Senior Member
doesnt vr only work properly with slow shutter speeds and can actually be worse using it at higher shutter speeds?


In a word, 'maybe'. But if you're so new to DSLR shooting, it won't matter enough for you to want to worry about.
You can research all about VR affecting picture quality when you return from having a blast on vacation and taking awesome pictures in aperture priority mode with auto ISO and limiting your shutter speed.

EDIT:
I'm really feeling nice today since I got a new job. I did your homework!
READ:
http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1681073&seqNum=6
 
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pedroj

Senior Member
I guess it would all depend on your focal length, now wouldn't it? :p

1/250th is fast enough to blur anything he's going to see on vacation, honestly. If I were shooting F1 cars, I'd go with maybe 1/500th. But 1/250th should be all you need unless you're experiencing an earthquake or alien invasion. It will also help keep that Auto ISO within reasonable levels and acceptable noise.

He does say he has 2 lens A 35mm and a 18-200mm....In my opinion 1/250th of a sec is sufficient to capture some one jogging with either of these lens...
 

fotojack

Senior Member
If you send me your email address, I can send you the D7000 Setup Guide for the Program Banks of your camera. Just PM me your email address and I'll send it to you. It's in pdf format.
 

egosbar

Senior Member
egosbar - it will really avoid these type of questions if you do your part by doing more reading and research on your part instead of questioning what people here have been telling you. Practice with various settings and see if f8 is good enough for your landscape. I'm sure it will be.

Nikon | Imaging Products | Digitutor | D7000

not sure i understand your answer mate , f8 will be good enough for landscape just trying too get the thought pattern across that higher number fstop better depth of field , really not part of the quote though your answering, my question is about vr , ive read about it and im asking if there is a problem using vr on high shutter speeds , not whether f8 is good enough for landscapes , ok im confused and a little drunk lol
im asking a question not questioning if someone is right or wrong
can you explain what people are telling me????
 
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