Auto Bracketing For Exposure; Active D-Lighting (Adl) - Nikon D5100 Experience Manual

Nikon D5100 Experience
To remember how to compensate – which direction to turn the dial – think of the histogram
peaks on the graph. If you wish to shift the peaks to the left, to the darker side, to make the
image darker, turn the dial so that the exposure compensation level becomes negative (-1, -2,
etc.). If you wish to shift the peaks to the right, to the lighter side, to make the image lighter,
turn the dial so that the exposure compensation level becomes positive (+1, +2, etc). Remember,
set the Exposure Indicator to the direction that makes most intuitive sense to you, in relation to
the histogram, using Custom Setting f5. And you can change the dial rotation direction if you
wish using Custom Setting f3.

Auto Bracketing for Exposure

Exposure bracketing is when you take three pictures in a row: one with the correct exposure, one
of a darker exposure, and one of a lighter exposure. This is sometimes done to ensure that you
get a shot with the proper exposure, or to experiment and see which exposure looks better to you.
Or it is done to create multiple exposures of the same scene that are later combined to create an
HDR, or high dynamic range, image. The D5100 can bracket for you automatically. Using Auto
Bracketing you set it up to take these three exposures in a row and you tell the camera how much
lighter and darker you wish the other two images to be, using exposure value numbers similar to
exposure compensation values above. You then have to take the three photos yourself. You can
do this individually using Single Frame release mode: click, click, click. Or you can set the
camera on Continuous release mode to take them all quickly in a row and it will then stop after 3
shots.
In addition to automatically bracketing for different exposures you can also bracket for different
white balance settings or Active D-Lighting amount. With WB you can bracket the color
temperature along the blue and amber axis, but note that WB bracketing cannot be done if you
are shooting in RAW since you can easily change WB in post-processing. Active D-Lighting
bracketing will take one image with ADL off and one with the current ADL setting, or it will use
Auto ADL if ADL is currently set to Off. To choose which variable you wish to bracket, use
Custom Setting e2. To choose the bracketing amount or increment, access the Bracketing setting
in the Information Display using the i Button. You may wish to put this Custom Setting item in
My Menu for quick access. Remember that you can also set the Function (Fn) Button to control
bracketing.
Remember you need to take the three (or two) images in a row of the same scene before you
move on to the next scene. The D5100 will try to remind you of this with the Bracketing
Progress Indicator displayed on the rear Information Display, and with the BKT notation in the
viewfinder. To cancel bracketing, set the bracketing increment to Off, or turn the Mode Dial to a
setting other than P, S, A, or M.

Active D-Lighting (ADL)

As mentioned above in the Shooting Menu settings, Active D-Lighting (ADL) is an exposure
adjustment to an image that occurs in the camera, and is useful for high contrast situations where
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