Nikon D800 Technical Manual
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Nikon D800 Technical Manual

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  • Page 1 Technical Guide...
  • Page 2 Introduction This “Technical Guide” details the principal techniques used to create two of the more technically advanced photographs in the D800/D800E brochure. Take this opportunity to admire the skills of professional photographers who have mastered the D800/D800E. While its groundbreaking 36 megapixels give the D800/D800E...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Introduction Introduction ii i Shooting Techniques Shooting Techniques Still Subjects ................2 • Lesson 1: Use a Tripod ..............5 • Lesson 2: Use Live View ............... 6 • Lesson 3: Avoid Very Small Apertures .........11 • Same Shot with Viewfi nder Framing ........13 Portrait Subjects..............

  • Page 4: Shooting Techniques

    Shooting Techniques Still Subjects —Keeping Blur to a Minimum—...
  • Page 6 Shooting Techniques At the high resolutions off ered by the D800/D800E, even the slightest camera shake can result in blur. The technique re- vealed in this section minimizes blur through a combination of live view photography and the use of a tripod.

  • Page 7: Lesson 1: Use A Tripod

    Still Subjects Lesson 1: Use a Tripod Use a tripod to reduce blur when photographing static subjects. It should be as sturdy as possible; avoid extending the legs or center column farther than necessary. A large head helps keep the camera steady.

  • Page 8: Lesson 2: Use Live View

    Shooting Techniques Lesson 2: Use Live View Live view can be used to achieve sharper focus and prevent blur. Live View Photography Rotate the live view selector to C and press a to raise the mirror and display the view through the lens in the monitor. a button Live view selector...
  • Page 9 Why Use Live View? 1. The mirror is raised prior to shooting, reducing blur. At the high resolutions off ered by the D800/D800E, even the slight movement that occurs when the mirror is raised can sometimes be enough to blur photographs. With live view, the mirror is raised well before the shutter is released, reduc- ing one possible cause of blur.
  • Page 10 Shooting Techniques Why Use Live View? 2. Focus anywhere in the frame. With live view, the multi selector can be used to position the focus point anywhere in the frame, regardless of the options selected for AF/MF and autofocus. The ability to position the focus point anywhere within the monitor’s angle of view greatly expands the range in which the camera can focus.
  • Page 11 Still Subjects Why Use Live View? 3. Zoom in for precise focus. Press the X button to magnify the view in the monitor by up to 23× for precise focusing with live view. This is particularly eff ective with manual focus. X button A navigation window will appear in a gray frame at the bottom of...
  • Page 12 Shooting Techniques Suggested Settings White balance > Choose color temp.: White balance can be adjusted in steps as small as 10 K. To ad- just white balance on the amber (A) –blue (B) axis, hold down the U button and press 4 or 2 to highlight a digit and 1 or 3 to change it.

  • Page 13: Lesson 3: Avoid Very Small Apertures

    Still Subjects Lesson 3: Avoid Very Small Apertures Stopping down the aperture in manual (h) and aperture-prior- ity auto (g) exposure modes increases depth of fi eld, bringing both the foreground and the background into focus. Stop the aperture down too far, however, and the eff ects of diff raction may actually result in images with less defi nition.
  • Page 14 Shooting Techniques Camera Control Pro 2 The optional Camera Control Pro 2 software can be used to control most camera functions from a computer. To use Camera Control Pro 2, start the computer and connect the camera using the supplied USB cable as shown below. Camera Control Pro 2 supports live view.

  • Page 15: Same Shot With Viewfi Nder Framing

    Still Subjects Same Shot with Viewfi nder Framing The second sample image below was captured without us- ing live view. As the mirror was not raised until the photo was taken, the resulting image is slightly blurred. With live view Without live view Book edges and...

  • Page 17: Portrait Subjects

    Shooting Techniques Portrait Subjects —Focusing on a Selected Point—...
  • Page 18 Shooting Techniques This section introduces a technique that achieves sharp focus on a selected point when framing portrait subjects through the viewfi nder. Technical Data ■ Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II ■ Exposure mode: Manual ■ Shutter speed: ½ 00 s ■ Aperture: f/4.5 ■ White balance: Keep warm lighting colors ■...

  • Page 19: Lesson 1: Choose The Proper Focus Settings

    Portrait Subjects Lesson 1: Choose the Proper Focus Settings A tripod is rarely used for portrait photography. Though por- trait subjects can and do move a little, they generally remain still long enough for eff ective use of single-point, single-servo autofocus.

  • Page 20: Lesson 2: Choose The Proper Exposure Settings

    Shooting Techniques Lesson 2: Choose the Proper Exposure Settings Aperture Use a wide aperture for a softer feel. An aperture setting of f/4 captures facial expressions. Depth of fi eld is suffi cient to clearly reproduce the range from the lips to the outer corners of the eyes, but focus gets softer from the earrings back.
  • Page 21 Choose a speed slightly faster than the minimum required to prevent blur caused by camera shake. The superior resolution of the D800/D800E makes even slight blur resulting from camera shake appear more obvious. Choose a shutter speed slightly faster than would be selected when photographing the same subject with another camera.
  • Page 22 Shooting Techniques Lighting and ISO Sensitivity Adjust lighting and ISO sensitivity appropriately. Once the shutter speed and aperture settings have been manually specifi ed, lighting or ISO sensitivity may require ad- justment to achieve optimal exposure. Soft, natural light, rather than fl ash or studio lighting, was used for these photos.

  • Page 23: Learn From Mistakes: Same Shot, Diff Erent Focus Point

    Learn from Mistakes: Same Shot, Diff erent Focus Point Slight shifts in focus are more noticeable in photos captured with the D800/D800E than with other cameras under the same conditions. Thus, greater attention must be paid to focusing with the D800/D800E. As the following sample images show, chang- ing the focus point even slightly may blur important details.

  • Page 24: Quick Tips

    1. High ISO Sensitivity The following sections introduce useful techniques and camera functions applicable to a variety of situations. The D800/D800E keeps noise to a minimum for high-resolu- tion results at even the highest ISO sensitivities. The High ISO NR option in the...
  • Page 25 High Normal Normal Detailed views of the same subject shot at diff erent High ISO NR settings. Higher set- tings reduce the noise visible in the sky but also reduce the sharpness of edges in the main subject.

  • Page 26: Auto Iso Sensitivity Control

    Quick Tips 2. Auto ISO Sensitivity Control 2. Auto ISO Sensitivity Control Auto ISO sensitivity control au- tomatically adjusts ISO sensitiv- ity if optimal exposure cannot be achieved at the value selected by the photographer. If Auto is se- lected for Minimum shutter speed, the camera will also ad- just the threshold for auto ISO sensitivity control according to the focal length of the lens (CPU lenses only), a feature you will fi nd particularly convenient when using zoom lenses (see...
  • Page 27 Focal length: 24 mm Focal length: 50 mm Shutter speed: ½ 5 s Shutter speed: 1⁄50 s ISO sensitivity: 900 ISO sensitivity: 2500 Focal length: 70 mm Focal length: 100 mm Shutter speed: 1⁄80 s Shutter speed: 1⁄100 s ISO sensitivity: 4500 ISO sensitivity: 6400 The S Button Auto ISO sensitivity control can be...

  • Page 28: Improving Optical Performance

    D800/D800E, the eff ects generally become noticeable at around f/11. When greater depth of fi eld is needed, don’t im- mediately apply the minimum aperture;...
  • Page 29 f/11 f/16 f/22...

  • Page 30: Backlit Portraits

    4. Backlit Portraits The RGB sensor with approximately 91K (91,000) pixels built into the D800/D800E off ers more accurate face detection. When used with viewfi nder framing in exposure modes other than h, the camera balances exposure between a portrait sub- ject and the background, even when the subject is backlit.
  • Page 31 Flash Photography The D800/D800E also automatically optimizes fl ash output for portrait subjects. D800/D800E Flash output is adjusted according to the brightness of the subjects’ faces, producing optimal results even with bright backgrounds. Earlier cameras Flash output is adjusted according to the brightness of the background;...

  • Page 32: The D800E

    The D800E 1. High-Resolution Images with the D800E High-Resolution Images with the D800E The D800E is a good choice for those who require high-reso- lution photos of visually complex subjects. Case 1: A Model Wearing a Kimono Reproduce fi ne details in the subject’s hair and the patterns on her clothing.
  • Page 33 Case 3: Leaves Capture individual leaves in crisp detail. Movies The D800 and D800E off er the same level of performance in terms of resolution with movie recording. Choose the mod- el that best suits your needs based on other characteristics...

  • Page 34: Aperture And Complex Subjects

    The D800E 2. Aperture and Complex Subjects 2. Aperture and Complex Subjects With cameras like the D800E, which are suited to photogra- phy of visually complex subjects, maximizing lens resolution is vital. Though results will vary from lens to lens, the great- est contrast all the way to frame peripheries can generally be achieved at an aperture setting two to three stops down from maximum aperture.
  • Page 35 26) is not an issue. As the aperture set- ting has more infl uence on resolution with the D800E than with the D800, D800E users should always keep the possible eff ects of diff raction in mind. f/22 Note: These pictures were taken with the D800.

  • Page 36: Color Aliasing And Moiré

    100%. The photo on the left was taken with the D800E, that on the right with the D800. Color artifacts are visible in the sash. Capture NX 2 can be used to reduce color aliasing and moiré.
  • Page 37 Using Diff raction to Combat Color Artifacts and Moiré Although stopping down the aperture increases the eff ects of diff raction, sometimes resulting in lower resolution (page 26 page 26, 32 32), this same diff raction can also be used to reduce color aliasing and moiré.
  • Page 38 © 2012 Nikon Corporation CS SB2B02 (11)

This manual is also suitable for:

D800e

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