D5300 questions after few months of use

So I am using d5300 for few months , I have taken cca .. 2000shots, I think I have tried most of the optins in camera.
I am mostly using M and A mode...I have few questions which I havent found answers, not very important generally but to me it would make it easier..

I supose there is no panorama mode - how to make panoramas then, I mean I can tako some shots in panorama way , one to another, but usually cameras give you that preview in the corner of the screen of the last shot you took, so you can adjust additional images to latter ?

IS there maybe option for taking two shots and stich it in one photo, half of screen each ?

Standard battery - is mine faulty or what, I get arround 100-130shots, no video, very little usage od live view ?
I bought spare one from ebay, its much better..

Your camera does not have a panoramic mode.

Try instead this excellent tutorial: Panoramic Photography Tutorial

hrvojexyz said:

So I am using d5300 for few months , I have taken cca .. 2000shots, I think I have tried most of the optins in camera.
I am mostly using M and A mode...I have few questions which I havent found answers, not very important generally but to me it would make it easier..

I supose there is no panorama mode - how to make panoramas then, I mean I can tako some shots in panorama way , one to another, but usually cameras give you that preview in the corner of the screen of the last shot you took, so you can adjust additional images to latter ?

IS there maybe option for taking two shots and stich it in one photo, half of screen each ?

Standard battery - is mine faulty or what, I get arround 100-130shots, no video, very little usage od live view ?
I bought spare one from ebay, its much better..

Click to expand...

1. Panorama. Use computer software.
Shoot overlapping images, usually horizontal. If you want larger then shoot multiple image ROWS. Use any panorama stitching program to stitch the shots. I use Microsoft free software - ICE, which does a good job. Here are a few precautions that you have to take
. Overlap by at least 30%. That gives the software enough control points to stitch properly.
. Once you have set the aperture, speed and ISO, switch to manual mode. That makes it easier for software to match intensities image to image.
. Avoid very large angles, that is do not try to shoot images which are near you and take up more than 120 degrees horizontally. In case you do so, you will get a lot of perspective errors.
. In case you have a wide lense which can take in the whole scene you have envisaged, use it to take an "overview shot", it will help you if stitching software refuses to align properly.

1b. HDR
Though you have not asked for it, processing HDR images in computer is much better than in camera. With wide DR of the sensor, you do not need more than 3 images in general. The sensor DR is nominally 12. So if you bracket at 5EV you can get a DR of 12+5+5=22. Very few situations demand that DR. In case the scene DR is less bracheting with 3EV is all that you need.

2. Battery Life.
Battery life depends on a lot of things
. How long the camera is on between shots. If you take shots every 10 minutes and the camera is on, you are wasting power. This is similar to having your car engine on in a jam - your average will drop drastically.
. Live View eats up battery power. If you use it a lot, expect battery life to be low.
. Reviewing images also uses up a lot of power.
. Flash will also eat up battery. If you are using flash at maximum power (illuminating at distance of 4m+ at high F number), expect the battery life to drop a lot.
. High or Low temperature, affects battery life. The batteries are designed for a nominal 25 degrees centigrade. If ambient is high (in Delhi it is 35+ from March to November), or very low - 5 degrees or less, the battery life plummets. Read up on the net the capacity drop with temperature.
In my case the D3300 is supposed to give 750 images, in reality I rarely get more than 350. If I use flash extensively, then it drops to 200.

Turn off the beeper and reduce the screen brightness
Tweak the standby mode settings
And as u have a D5300 jus check whether the wifi n gps are switched off

If its in warranty get it inspected..try the ENEL14a...has some extra juice
Sent from my GT-I9070 using Tapatalk 2

This advices dont help, its just the stock battery lasts much shorten time in comparison to the aftermarket one.
In excatly same conditions..I will have to deal with it as it is.

Here are some sample shots indoors .. sometimes I am not fully satisfied with the autofocus , it miss-focuses, that usually happens with moving subjects which is understandable..












Also, sometimes in bright sunny day, If there are many objects/people in the shadows , I find them too dark for my taste..I feel they should be more bright.I dont have right example here, something like this






Here are some random shots I find quite interesting, with very little adjustment, which I can thank mostly to the camera+objective combination










with some incamera tweaking..

If you're only getting 100 shots or so out of your battery, then yes; there's something wrong with your battery.

My girlfriend shoots with a D5300 and she gets hundreds of shots out a single charge. We both use Wasabi batteries and find (from a lot of direct, combined experience) they are just as good as the Nikon-branded battery at half, or one-third, the cost of the factory battery.

Also, the bright sun, water and sand in your beach shots is what is causing the exposure meter to underexpose. Use your Exposure Compensation button in these instances to increase (or decrease) the overall exposure. In the shots you posted, I would have probably adjusted Exposure Compensation to +2/3 of a stop, possibly one a full stop.

....

About the autofocus, for children, try increasing your shutter speed a little. I'm not sure that 1/40 is fast enough.

Gorf said:

About the autofocus, for children, try increasing your shutter speed a little. I'm not sure that 1/40 is fast enough.

Click to expand...

This, plus there doesn't seem to be enough light - add some motion to that and it add the effect of out of focus. Past that, your other shots look pretty fine.

As for the battery, I'm running two Nikon factory batteries, and enough have enough to withstand 400+ shots with GPS on. Something tells me your battery maybe out of wack. Sucks to hear that, though - especially when coming new.

Action shots require higher speed. I would never attempt below 1/250. Secondly I find that AF-C is not as good as AF-S. Former will fire even if there is a no focus acquisition, while latter will not fire till focus is acquired.

To freeze action use a flash, preferably a more powerful external one. Also try using higher F stops to compensate for minor miss focus.

I am using af-s, and lately Ive been using center or even spot metering , when I think there is big difference in the lighting in one scene, and I want to capture something in the middle..

Ive been on holiday , did some shooting.. I am taking bad criticism, too , especially if you have tips to how to be better
(Ive been playing with that starry sky shot for a long time, if there is way to shot better photo, I am listening.
I am using tripod, 30sec, iso100, A 2.8 .

for panorama use Microsoft ice and its free