Nikon D3500 For Dummies Book

I get the title is catchy and I always learn something, but geez nothing like feeling stupid 🙂 I’d guess over half the book applies to all photography, not just the Nikon D3500 operation. I did visit Nikon’s own website (Japan) to watch a video, where I learned I’ve been pronouncing it wrong. It’s “knee-con instead of nigh-con” and some even say “Nick-on”.  Seems there are lots of post about how you’re supposed to say Nikon.  Bet they don’t care how you say it as long as you buy their brand.

If you are not a photographer… skip this one. You’ll likely be bored.

Nikon D3500 For Dummies by Julie Adair King is the one I read and David Busch’s Nikon D3500 Guide to Digital SLR Photography by David D. Busch is on my list to look at.

So like I thought, this camera doesn’t seem to do exposure bracketing, or HDR but a full stop of exposure compensation makes a bigger change than it does on my Panys.

and this one confirmed I won’t buy a camera without a fully articulated LCD. I had several times I needed to lay on the floor to see the screen. Also when a DSLR says it has live view that is nothing like live view on my bridge Panasonics. The delay and slowness continue to astound me. Although not using live view does make a battery last way longer.

I am looking forward to trying some landscapes, focus pull on fireworks, and true bulb long exposure night sky

I have a friend who just bought a Pany. It’s funny how we both prefer the camera we know. Although she did remind me we can set the quick menu button to show what we want to adjust on the fly. She was also able to set up her wi-fi on her Fz-1000, which is something I’ve never been able to set up. I think I’ll try again on that and programing some of my function buttons for maybe fast action and slow for waterfalls. I never got around to that.

To sum it up I like the larger sensor with increased mega-pixels and the custom self-timer options. I like the wide aperture but there are still more things I like about the cameras I know. I knew the Pany’s were heavily menu-driven but the D3500 is combo button driven and you have to remember what combo of buttons to press. Like in manual mode if you want to adjust say the aperture. *

Here are a few things I learned from the book. Mostly written so I can go back and look at it after I return the book. But hey, if you have a Nikon you might be interested too.

• Page
  13 Camera has a focal plane mark to document the exact distance to the subject
  14 Flash mode. In advanced exposure modes, ff you operate THREE (flash button, esp compensation, rotating the command dial) all at one time you can easily change the flash.
  24 You buy a DK-4 eye cover for light leak thru the viewfinder during live view.
  25 heat from using live view for too long can damage your pictures AND camera
  26 live view flicker can occur if you’re near certain kinds of lights. It is slow!!! You can press the info button to display the same camera settings you get by doing a half press of the shutter and it uses less battery power.
  32 You can buy an AFP and AFS lens.  AF-S exterior switch for shiting auto to manual. AF-P auto with manual override. My Pany’s let you do manual with override manual focusing. You enable VR when on tripod. I can say I never really took the time to turn IS off when on a tripod with the Pany’s. With the mirror flip it may actually be a good idea on a DSLR.Why is there an info and an i button?35 Nikon offers a lens simulator tool. Right now it’s here.  I knew on SD cards that HC stood for high capacity, that 10 is the fastest but I didn’t know that the UHS (3) is the fastest but the D3500 only goes to UHS1.
  38 no pics with mirror lock up feature enabled for use w. long exposure on the d3500. Has a “dust off” feature
  45 P camera picks A and S but uses auto exposure
  46 *TO SET THE APERATURE ON MANUAL. you have to hold the +/- exposure button while rotating the command dial. That does not seem intuitive to me.
  50 I do like the self-timer options but it resets each time. I’ll have to look into the ML-L3 remote.
  52 I learned pixel, is short for picture element.
  59 I learned about the Nikon Capture NX-D will convert the NEF files to jpg or Tiff. I am either converting to DNG for Adobe or just using On1 that can see and edit the NEF files.
  70 TTL “through the lens” in manual the camera decides the flash. Although I’ve got a lot of flash work to learn
  83 Ok set focus to quickly move the focus box back to the center of the frame
  84 iso autofocuses different with lo than the viewfinder. By deflaut, auto uses AF-A and viewfinder default uses AF-S. This one really surprised me. I don’t think the Pany’s are this way?
  89 There are hidden scenes you get to thru the guide menu then some are in “easy operation” that gives you night landscape and distant subjects which gives your a shallow DOF and puts the camera in sports mode single frame. Odd. And some are in “advanced operation”.  Gives you “bring more in focus”  / increase DOF, “soften backgrounds”  shallow DOF, “Show water flowing” slow SS, and “freeze motion”, fast SS. All things you can set yourself. 
  113 SS displayed as a whole number even when set to a fraction. 80 = 1/80 and 1 second or more gets the ” as in 4″ is 4 seconds. If you are in P and half press the shutter if will show you the f stop and SS. Also a note on this I learned when helping my niece on her canon that the S is Tv for time value, like A is Av for aperture value.
  114 the aperture value changes on the zoom on the non-prime lens just like it does on the fz1000. My fz300 will keep a constant f2.8 throughout the zoom. Nice.
  115 true bulb mode works in manual
  117 you can set the auto ISO max and pg 188 you can turn off noise reduction
  125 Active D looks the closest to an HDR setting
  128 Auto vignette control. This was set to high when I got it. I didn’t know you could set that in camera. I don’t want it set in-camera so I set it to normal.
  135 the different AF. I made a copy of this page. AF-S, AF-C, AF-A, and MF. If I’m not  in M, on my Panasonics I pretty much keep it on single focus because it’s quick to focus with a half press then move slightly to compose. Quicker than moving the point around. About the only time I use multiple points is on landscapes. Cameras can only guess at what you’d like to be the focal point. 
  136 using the i for back button. I’ve never felt the need to use that on my Panys.
  137 Telling this camera what I want to focus on seems more cumbersome to me. Guess it’s all what you get used to. Settings for the focus points. Single, dynamic, 3D tracking, and auto
  145 Range finder is interesting. You swap the exposure meter with the rangefinder. This would’ve been helpful with my photo of the squirrel in the pumpkin. I was low so w/o an articulated LCD I got low and set it on the pumpkin and waited for the squirrel. I knew the squirrel would likely be behind the pumpkin eating the corn I put out. Had I know this was there I could’ve set the focus just behind the pumpkin even though nothing was there when I was setting up. 
  150 AF area modes. I quickly get this by rotating my back dial on my Pany’s but on the Nikon, you set it for wide, or normal. Also face or tracking. 
  169/173 WB preset. Don’t think this even applies to those of us who shoot RAW
  172 Learned something about the underscore placement I didn’t know. _DSC is using Adobe RGB and DSC_ is using SRGB. Who knew?
  240 You can see highlight blinkies but they’re only on review instead of auto review like the Panasonic
  264 wifi is not to send to your computer. Just phone apps
  270 the camera can process jpgs in camera but not sure if you’re going to do that why not just shoot jpg to begin with if you’re going to let the camera trash data
  297 there are a few ‘fun’ things the camera can do where it makes a copy. It has a cross-screen that adds stars, does a not customizable image overlay like a double exposure and a line drawing that are all kinda fun even I prefer to do all that in software.
  310 image comments can be added to photos. I usually just shoot a shot not for print showing where I’m at.

As far as the cover. It’s a “For Dummies” book and sticks to the same look so I see no need to discuss the cover design.

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