Nikon D5100 Experience Manual page 19

Nikon D5100 Experience
time, but there may be situations where you will want to use it, such as when you are
handholding in low light and want to prevent camera shake when the picture is taken, or when
you are working on a tripod and do not have the optional remote shutter release.
d5: Print date – This setting will imprint the selected information on your images. You can
select Date, Date and time, or Date counter. Date Counter will include the number of days
counting up to or down from a selected date, such as if you were taking a photo a day to
document some type of progress. Leave this Off unless you want this information permanently
imprinted on your images.
Bracketing/Flash
e1: Flash control for built-in flash – This setting is for selecting the mode of the built-in flash.
Generally, leave it on TTL (through the lens) to let the flash automatically adjust itself to the
lighting conditions. You will be able to use Flash Exposure Compensation to adjust the output.
If you wish to exercise more control over the flash power, set to Manual and adjust the output
yourself – anywhere from Full to 1/32 power. If you attach an optional SB-400 flash, this menu
item changes to Optional flash, and allows you to choose TTL or Manual settings for the external
flash. More on Flash later.
e2: Auto bracketing set – Bracketing is when you take a series of images of the same subject
using various exposure levels or other settings such as white balance (WB) or Active D-Lighting.
Typically this is to ensure, often in a critical or difficult lighting situation, that at least one of the
images will have the proper exposure (or WB setting, etc.). For example, you take one image
with what you or the camera believes to be the proper exposure, then one that is underexposed,
and one that is overexposed. This Custom Setting is to select what settings are affected when
you bracket. You can choose to bracket exposure (AE bracketing), white balance (WB
bracketing), or Active D-Lighting (ADL Bracketing). More on Auto Bracketing for Exposure
below.
Controls
f1: Assign Self-timer/ Fn button – This is to set the function of the Self-timer/ Function (Fn)
Button (see Figure 1). By default it turns the Self-timer on or off. For most of the other optional
settings, you press the Fn button and turn the Command Dial to quickly change that selected
setting as it is viewed on the Information Display screen. There are 9 different options, so
choose the function that you most require quick access to for your shooting needs (see Figure
10). Some of the more practical settings may be ISO sensitivity (ISO), White balance (WB),
HDR mode (HDR), or Auto bracketing (BKT), depending on which of these settings you will be
accessing most often. If you are shooting JPEG images and occasionally want a RAW copy,
your can choose the + NEF(RAW) (+RAW) setting. Then when you press the Fn Button, the
next image only will record a RAW copy as well as the JPEG file.
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