Quote:
I had to fiddle a little to get the single point focus, so it would focus on the setting sun, in the other focus, it kept focusing on some tree branches & getting those clear while not the sunset
|
The camera thought it knew best, and became a nuisance. This is why I hate to use point-and-shoot cameras, and why I never let a DSLR have auto modes enabled that make it P&S-like. It's annoying and it hinders my shooting.
The multi-point focus selectors are not that good, in my opinion. I'd much rather use the single point, and move it around as needed with the flat dial on the back of the body. If I need to focus on something that is not on a point, I move the camera to focus on it, hold the AF-lock button, and then move the camera back to my composed position. The AF-lock (and/or AE-lock) button is alterable in the Nikon menus on most modern DSLRs. By default, it tends to be an AE-lock only (auto exposure lock), or an AF+AE-lock that locks both. I never want lock my exposure -- I'll use fully manual mode if I need a specific exposure. I just want to lock AF, so I make changes to menus. It varies on every body, so just read the manual for custom settings.
Quote:
number of focus points, I can choose 11 or 39, which should I choose?
|
I prefer less, I use 11. Of those, I tend to maybe use 7 of them at most. If you have all 39 points active, you cannot quickly move across the screen with your focusing options, and may miss a shot while you're busy twiddling buttons.
My old Nikon F5 has only 5 points, and I shot award-winning images with that legendary film body. Images were in focus.
Having all of these "focus points" is a really a gimmick more than anything else -- a gimmick started by Canon, and Nikon has followed. Stupid numbers games -- "measurbating" as Ken Rockwell calls it.
Quote:
AF-C priority selection, with a mutli grid icon & shutter button icon with release
|
AF-C = AF continuous. The camera can either lock on the first thing it focuses on (AF-S
aka AF-single), or it can continually re-focus every time it thinks something has moved/changed (AF-C). If you use AF-S, you must lift your finger off the shutter, and press it again, to get focused on something else.
Quote:
AF point illumination on or off
|
This is simply whether the viewfinder pinpoints glow when selected and active. I leave these on, as it's helpful to know which AF point is in use.
Quote:
focus tracking with lock on with various levels if one chooses on, & off
AF focus wrap around
easy exposure compensation on or off
shutter release button AE-L
center weighted area with different mm to chose from
|
I don't really know. I'd mostly be guessing here. I would suggest reading the manual that came with the camera, for these specific items.
I wouldn't doubt if these are options/settings I don't use on my own Nikon DSLR bodies. Most of it sounds like "do it for you" options, which I can't stand. I want to control the camera, I don't want it to control itself.
Quote:
I noticed as I zoomed the lens (making it stick out more from the camera body) in the shutter speed increased & when I zoomed out (bringing the lens back to camera body) the shutter speed went down.
|
Your current 18-105mm Nikkor lens has a variable-f/stop aperture. The longer the lens gets, less light reaches the film/sensor.
Only high-end lenses tend to retain constant aperture across the entire zoom range. It should also be pointed out that this is why professional lenses are largely kept to "small" zoom ranges -- 12-24, 17-35, 24-70/28-70/28-80, 80-200/70-210, etc. The "hyper length" lenses cannot possibly retain constant aperture across such a range, such as 18-200mm, 18-105mm or 28-300mm. There are also more aberrations, diffractions and distortions in longer zoom lenses.
The widest the lens gets is f/3.5 at 18mm, but slowly creeps towards f/5.6 as it approaches 105mm. If aperture is fixed at the minimum in "A" mode, and the minimum rises, then shutter will be offset as the mm length changes.
In addition to that, there is simply less light at longer ranges. My Tokina 12-24 @ 12mm f/4 easily gets more light than a Nikkor 80-200 @ 200mm f/2.8 in the same indoor gym. The shutter speed is lower on the Nikkor, even if both lenses are at max aperture (f/4 and f/2.8, respectively).
Quote:
do you use single focal point for moving objects?
|
Yes. I pre-focus on where something is, or where it will be, and then hold AF-lock. AF is not fast enough for the sports, kids and animals I often photograph. I'd never get shots if I had to rely completely on AF. Canon EOS AF is slower than Nikon AF-S, and I get really aggravated when shooting sports with a 5D. I can't even rely on the Canon to assist me, like I can the Nikon D200, D3, or D3s.
Quote:
I read the manual for some of the settings I asked about but am still a little unsure about center weight area & which value to choose
|
Center weighting is a metering type, but I don't know exactly what the setting refers to.
As far as metering goes, there is a matrix/3D "full" scene meter (90-100% of image), which is what I usually choose, as well as center-weighted (25-50% of image) and spot metering (<5% of image). On my D3s, I customize the % covered by center weighting, which is an advanced setting that is editable.
Only when I want to specifically meter overly dark or light subjects will I change to a non-matrix meter.
Quote:
what f stop would be best in aperture priority if I am shooting in low light indoors, outdoors, at night, or if I can't use a flash?
|
The lowest you can go, without pushing ISO into too noisy a range, and without having shutter too slow. Slow shutter results in blurs. High ISO results in noise (ISO 12800+ for you). Low aperture reduces depth -- i.e., "makes the background blurry" compared to subject.
Quote:
With Christmas coming up, I might be shooting Christmas lights at night.
|
The camera will meter the darkness, and overexpose the image. Lights will become too bright, darks/shadows/blacks will go into grays. Spot meter off the lights, and bracket.
"Bracket" is the term for shooting a series of images at different settings. The camera has bracketing modes, but I never waste time using those. I flip the dials myself, and shoot what I want.
For example:
- 500 @ 5.6
- 500 @ 6.3 or 7.1
- 1000 @ 5.6
- 250 @ 5.6
That would cover a range of exposures.
Use your LCD to preview. While I could shoot LCD-less here, I'll cheat and look, see what's going on, and alter myself as needed. Hoping I didn't spend too much time twiddling in the camera, of course, and miss shots. That can happen when you play in the LCD.
A final thought about focusing...
I often find that focusing errors are caused by a person not letting the camera do its job. Focusing takes a portion of a second, and on a DSLR this is performed by gently holding down the shutter button before fully depressing it to take the image. Therein lies the problem -- few people understand what "gentle" means.
Now I know you're female, so forgive the potentially crass example, but I find this to work best...
While focusing, pretend that the shutter button is a nipple. (With the exception of children or somebody into S&M bondage, most people understand what I mean here.) That's how you handle the shutter button when focusing it. Only press the button firmly and entirely when you're ready to take the shot. And the higher end the camera, the less force you have to use to use. My Nikon D3s, for example, is touchy. Taking an image is probably what I'd call "nipple x2" for force required.
Too many people punch on a shutter button like it was a 1970s microwave. This doesn't give the camera time to focus, and long-term breaks the sensitivity of the button. Canon Rebel cameras commonly crap out here, based on what I've seen in the past decade or more. The cheap SLRs, mixed with newbie users, makes for a mess. The worst offenders punch the shutter so hard that the entire camera shakes, creating blurry photos. This is common on P&S cameras, due to their light-weight nature and often hard-to-depress shutter release button.
If I can locate comparable "Christmas lights" photos of my own, that were shot post-film, I'll read the EXIF data, post the images, and give my "how to shoot" advice for you.
Learning yet?