D80 Setup and custom options

[bmm]

My D80 arrives today and of course, like anyone with a new toy coming, I'm

full of anticipation.

 

As I'm sure thousands of people do, I've read up on my Ken Rockwell for the

settings and custom options that he uses and recommends. Particularly:

 

- adjusting exposure to -0.7

- vivid colour and saturation settings

- Auto ISO threshold at 1/15

- function button set to operate FV lock

- AE-L/AF-L button set to AE-L

 

But rather than just go with this one opinion, do any of you other D80 (or

other) users have hints and tips, preferred settings, etc to share with me?

Things that make yourr life easier, your pictures better, or that reduce a

particular niggle that you have with the camera?

 

I want to spend a while trying out what other people have experienced and

gradually figure out what works best for me.

 

Many thanks!

[Jerry_]

If you set the camera to -0.7 exposure compensation, be aware that you should also keep the camera meter in the large spot or the small spot setting. Matrix metering and exposure compensation may just confuse the issue (Nikon's matrix metering is based on the entire image in the viewfinder -- it can't tell what part of the image you want compensation made to....)

 

 

 

The color saturation may be set (normal, vivid, more vivid, portrait) which is not really a given when made by adjusting the exposure compensation.

[bruce_margolis]

Bernard, some of those settings (and I stress *some*) might work well for you, others not so well. My suggestion, try them out, then tweak to your heart's content. Find what works best for you and remember the three most important words in photography..... practice, practice, practice.....

 

If you are like many, eventually you will find KR just a bit too, uh, basic and want to go to the next level. But what he says will work fine for you in the beginning.

 

Enjoy the camera. I love mine.

[elliot1]

I have found setting my contrast setting to -2 works for me. I prefer to add saturation in PP. Overall, I find the exposure pretty good with the camera and in general do not need to adjust the exposure compensation except under difficult lighting conditions that can fool any camera's light meter.

[phototransformations]

Overall, so far I've found that using center-weighted works better in high-contrast situations and matrix works better in less contrasty ones or with the fill flash. I also found that Rockwell's opinions did not generally fit my style of shooting, and that buying Thom Hogan's e-book on the D80, which fully explains every setting on the camera, was much more helpful.

[eric_arnold]

hi, KR does have some useful tips on the d80. however, his settings shouldn't be taken as gospel, but rather a reference point. in real-world useage, you may have to vary your exposure comp settings -- i think KR actually suggests -0.3 to -0.7 -- depending on the situation, especially if you are using matrix metering a lot in bright sunlight.

 

there has been much discussion about the matrix metering performance in d80s; some shooters always use CW for this reason. yet matrix can work better in certain modes (it should be the default for P), and if you play with it enough and review your shots carefully, you'll eventually recognize its behavior pattern enough to predict what it will do. this is probably one of the biggest 'learning curve' issues with a d80.

 

let's see, what else?

 

-just dialing in EV and leaving it doesn't work that well w/ a d80 IMO. if you're willing to be hands-on, and tweak settings frequently, you will be rewarded.

 

-Auto ISO works pretty well on the d80, however. unless you have a specific ISO in mind, you can safely dial it in and forget about it.

 

-Auto WB is pretty good for sunlight ( idial it to +3 as per KR). indoors you'll want to familiarize yourself with the different color casts with different settings.

 

-in night shots in low lighting, the overexposure tendency can actually help with high ISOs (400+). for these type of shots, i usally set the exposure comp to O.

 

-try af-c in low light if you are experiencing AF issues.

 

-if you arent using an external flash, sometimes the onboard flash will overexpose in TTL mode. there are two ways to compensate for this: dial down the flash EV or use manual settings, which gives you 1/64 to 1/2.

[diane_madura]

Bernard, my advice would be to shoot RAW and JPEG so that if you don't like Ken Rockwell's settings, it will be easy enough to change your settings using the RAW file.

 

If you don't already use Nikon Capture NX, I highly recommend it. They offer a full trial version that you can use for 30 days. I also have the D80 and I never got better results from my RAW files than when using Nikon Capture NX.

 

I once used Ken's recommended settings for the D70 on my D70 and I found the colors too saturated.

 

Good luck and congratulations on your new D70.

[albertdarmali]

Two things:

 

1. If it rattles like a loose screw inside, that's the camera orientation sensor (or whatever it is inside).

 

2. If you set FUNC button to display grid but it doesn't show up when you press it, that's because you have to press the FUNC button, hold it, and then rotate the back dial.

[Ray House]

I set my function button to spot metering and the AE/AF lock to AE/LOCK and Hold, I can then spot meter and lock the exposure without taking the camera from my eye. I keep the image review set to histogram to check exposures. I keep the grid on at all times. If you do post processing, shoot RAW + JPEG so as to experiment with settings. I like RAW with minimal camera enhancement and sharpening while using color mode II(Adobe). I use single area auto focus. Don't rely on the playback LCD for exposure confirmation...use histogram. I always set my ISO and never use auto. For camera steadiness(landscapes) while useing a tripod, I set the self timer for 2 seconds and the shutter delay on. I suggest the Thom Hogan or Magic Lantern guides, they explain settings in greater detail than the manual. Lastly...you're gonna love this camera! Best regards, Ray

[simon_hickie1]

I shoot in RAW + normal JPEG. When using matrix metering, aperture priority and central focusing point, -0.7EV exposure compensation helps to preserve highlights in contrasty situations. I can need up to -2.0EV in some situations! Recently, I've started using centreweighted metering and manual exposure and no exposure compensation. This is fine when you have time, but a pain in fast changing light and situations. Also have contrast & sharpening set to auto - raw file can easily be fixed in Capture NX if no good.

 

I've never convinced of whether to use Auto ISO - sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

[calarrick]

"- adjusting exposure to -0.7 - vivid colour and saturation settings - Auto ISO threshold at 1/15 - function button set to operate FV lock - AE-L/AF-L button set to AE-L "

 

Well.... those are good settings if you want chronically underexposed pictures as 'insurance' that you'll less-frequently have blown highlights (better to just learn how to meter each scene individually -- sometimes when in a hurry in high-contrast light that 'insurance policy' approach is right, but it is certainly not always the case). Also if you like "Velvia style" (over?)saturation (this will depend on what you take pictures of and how you like them to look. This setting also doesn't matter at all if you post-process from NEF). Oh, and setting the func button to FV lock (which I do) is only useful if you are using flash.

 

I do really suspect that, especially as a beginner, you don't (normally) want to hand-hold down to 1/15, so I'd really question that as an auto-ISO threshold for most applications.

 

I can't speak much to white balance, etc., as I have found it (partly for this reason) actually easier to work from RAW (using Capture NX, which lets you use all the in-camera settings as a starting point). As long as the in-camera jpeg that I use for reference and preview is 'close enough' I can generally have good luck non-destructively tweaking it after the fact.

[calarrick]

One additional peice of advice I feel qualified to give -- when you have the opportunity to "chimp" (look at the lcd and adjust exposure for another shot), do it.

 

Ideally, you will typically (there are exceptions to everything) want to "expose to the right" (on the histogram) as far as you can without pushing anything all the way over the edge -- i.e. as bright an exposure as you can get without blowing highlights. This is because digital blows highlights catastrophically (like slide film, but worse) but lower value areas (or underexposed scenes) are susceptible to 'noise'. If you can take a test exposure of the lighting of your scene before the "real action" happens, it is useful.

 

One very good piece of advice that (I think) Ken Rockwell does give is to pay attention to the histogram values for all three RGB values -- it can be pretty easy to badly blow out some highlight in just, say, red. This can have very bad color-shift effects if you try to bring it back, and is one thing you are trying to avoid if (with what I think is an overabundance of caution) you try to stick to the "always -.7 compensation" approach.