With the announcement of the Nikon D3200 last week, you might be considering a new DSLR. You might be considering the D3200! With 24.2 megapixels, it certainly seems, on paper at least, like the ultimate beginners’ camera.
Whether you’re looking to upgrade or stick with what you got, we thought we would break down one of the key elements of your Nikon DSLR: its shutter speed scale.
Nikon DSLRs enable you to take much more creative photos. But this extra functionality does require you to spend a bit more time getting to know your camera settings. This can be frustrating if you’re keen to get shooting, but it’s the only way to ensure your Nikon camera’s set up properly for the best results.
To help you get started on your journey, here are the key things you should know about how to dial in the best camera settings for your Nikon DSLR.
One thing we consistently hear from people is confusion about aperture and just what exactly those numbers mean. Understanding aperture can take some time for a beginning photographer, but hopefully we can speed this process up for you! Inside is a handy f-stop chart we put together which you can drag and drop on to your desktop.
Print it out – print three out! – and stick it in your camera bag. The sooner you start understanding aperture and f-stops, the sooner you’ll start to get sharper, more creative pictures.
To make an image you expose light-sensitive material to a controlled amount of illumination. Twenty years ago that material was a chemical emulsion coated onto film, and before that it was coated onto a glass plate. These days, you’ll use the CMOS sensor at the heart of your Nikon DSLR.
Nikon DSLRs make it very easy for you to get take command of your pictures, offering a number of exposure controls conveniently located around your Nikon camera body.
Whether you’re shooting star trails or urban light patterns, you’re going to be dealing with exposures that run into several seconds, if not minutes.
Taking long exposures can be daunting, but it doesn’t have mean the death of your night photography ambitions if you learn how to use the Bulb mode on your Nikon DSLR.
In the first part of our beginner’s guide, learn how to master the basics of your new DSLR – unboxing, identifying the different accessories that come with it and a simple guide to the different parts of your new camera
In the second part of our beginner’s guide, learn how to hold your camera and focus on your subject, as well as the basics of good photo composition.
In the third part of our beginner’s guide, learn the meaning of the different camera settings that can affect your photos – we explain ISO, shutter speed, aperture and white balance in simple, easy to understand terms.
If you’re planning on heading out and about with your new DSLR to capture some great shots, it’s worth considering investing a little bit more in some decent kit to help you nail the perfect photo. Here’s what to look for in a camera, memory card, zoom lens and tripod.
In the final part of our Getting Started beginner’s guide, we’re going to look at the next step to take when you’ve mastered the basics and feel comfortable shooting with your DSLR – different lenses. I’ll explain how to change a lens and which lenses should be next on your shopping list.
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