Nikon D90 Tips & Tricks.....? Please Share

[Overread]

In terms of photography, some of the newbies think one setting does it all

it takes time to understand that theory - and I mean really understand it. Its not something that is apparent at the onset of photography, especially today when there are auto modes for everything. Those give people an idea that there is a formula of set of setting which are optimal for a certain kind of photography or subject and its only with further learning and actual practise that you start to realise that its not the case at all. Took me a while to really get to understand this point

As for Ken Rockwell I remember someone once saying that he makes good points, but you have to know what they are first - which makes reading his articles for a newer person rather pointless. Also his style of writing and focus are very much personal and slightly narrow minded (At times) which leads him to make big generalisations in some areas which is not good when starting out.
Still his name seems to really get about !

 

[JerryPH]

Well, Ken Rockwell is known as a bit of a joke of the internet... one cannot really take anything on his site without a grain of salt. Anyone that gets their equipment for free and then puts up a site and asks for donations.. uhhmm... doesn't scream of professionalism.

The little verifiably technically correct info there is not above the level of intermediate status and not something you cannot find in any of a thousand other (better) sites on the net.

There is a lot of misinformation there, however... and that is what makes it a useless site for me. Sprinkle a little good info with a lot of bad, and how is a newbie to know which is which? Now, just the mere mention of KR makes me chuckle.

One thing I will give him... he does take good photographs, but I would NEVER use any technical advice he offered, nor cite him as a knowledgeable source, even if that info was that my camera took pictures... lol

 

[av8er79]

Jerry, lol you are such a looser.. I mean just look at your avatar! Looks like my grandmother took it in her bedroom, scanned it in, & turned the brightness up with elements 1.0! After boring myself with the thousands of pics on your flickr account, it seems that you simply upload every picture you take. Your work says a lot about your overall knowledge. Why would I ever take any advice from you, when most of your photos are lacking creativity, proper exposure, & poor composition??? You probably think this is a personal attack but it’s not. Fact is 90% of your shots are lame and could be taken by a child.

I never asked to be spoon-fed! I simply came here hoping to learn something from experienced photographers. I know that you will be burning to rip on me….and go ahead. But please save us both some time and refrain from passing on your sub par knowledge or any advice relating to photography.

And by the way you should really consider changing your avatar…(may I suggest a cool karate picture)!

 

[anubis404]

Jerry, lol you are such a looser.. I mean just look at your avatar! Looks like my grandmother took it in her bedroom, scanned it in, & turned the brightness up with elements 1.0! After boring myself with the thousands of pics on your flickr account, it seems that you simply upload every picture you take. Your work says a lot about your overall knowledge. Why would I ever take any advice from you, when most of your photos are lacking creativity, proper exposure, & poor composition??? You probably think this is a personal attack but it’s not. Fact is 90% of your shots are lame and could be taken by a child.

I never asked to be spoon-fed! I simply came here hoping to learn something from experienced photographers. I know that you will be burning to rip on me….and go ahead. But please save us both some time and refrain from passing on your sub par knowledge or any advice relating to photography.

And by the way you should really consider changing your avatar…(may I suggest a cool karate picture)!

Woa, calm down. What did jerry do to you? No need to tell people that their photography sucks and that they should trash their avatar for a "cool karate picture" just because you can't get the answers you want right away.

 

[terri]

Check your PM box, av8er79.

 

[tsaraleksi]

Jerry, lol you are such a looser.. I mean just look at your avatar! Looks like my grandmother took it in her bedroom, scanned it in, & turned the brightness up with elements 1.0! After boring myself with the thousands of pics on your flickr account, it seems that you simply upload every picture you take. Your work says a lot about your overall knowledge. Why would I ever take any advice from you, when most of your photos are lacking creativity, proper exposure, & poor composition??? You probably think this is a personal attack but it’s not. Fact is 90% of your shots are lame and could be taken by a child.

I never asked to be spoon-fed! I simply came here hoping to learn something from experienced photographers. I know that you will be burning to rip on me….and go ahead. But please save us both some time and refrain from passing on your sub par knowledge or any advice relating to photography.

And by the way you should really consider changing your avatar…(may I suggest a cool karate picture)!

I don't always agree with jerry, but taking sideswipes at people's photography (especially after he specifically said that his best photos are not even on the site you are attacking) is just a flat out pointless exercise, that will wind up tarring you, not the person you are attacking. Its especially silly looking to make such an attack after that person gave you some good advice.

 

[andrew99]

It's also easy to criticize when they are completely anonymous and have no link to any of their work.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

I think you'll all find that Terri has made the appropriate points to av8er79 via PM and it wasn't an invitation to hop on the bandwagon. If we could perhaps get back to tips that might be of use to D90 owners, then maybe we can avoid a thread lock...

 

[AlexColeman]

Well thanks for all you help guys.... Guess I will hit amazon and order a stack of books... obsovioulsy I am simply wasting our time asking dumbass questions in your forum.

Yeah, that is the attitude to take, ass.

 

[omniumskyz]

It goes without saying but i'll say it anyway.... There was a time (not long ago) when we didnt have the luxury of being able to go out and shoot a thousand experimental photos in order to get better aquainted with our cameras and equiptment without having to spend $500 or more in the developing process...and we had to try and remember the settings we used for each and every photo as well ...Now our cameras remember the settings for each and every experimental photo we take....Trial and error now comes without expense.....take advantage of this and you'll never find yourself asking a "stupid" or "misplaced" question in the wrong forum anywhere...ever!!

 

[omniumskyz]

a reply to my own post!!! Speaking of misplaced....somehow my reply to another post ended up in a strange location....the points valid but the location is mistaken....sorry!! noob mistake!! my bad!

 

[RONDAL]

hate to say it but RTFM!
as a D90 owner a read of the manual will teach you all the little in's and out's you are looking for. all of the questions you asked can be answered via the manual in pretty basic english.

just read it with the camera beside you, and practice doing what it is explaining. Then get out and practice for real with photos.

Reading will only get you so far, eventually you are going to have to pick up your camera and use it

 

[lvcrtrs]

I just got my d90 last week along with the 18-200 vr. I will soon be adding the 50mm 1.8 and a wide angle as well. I am reading throught the manual as well as playing around in the field.

I was hoping that some of you that are more experienced d90 owners would share some advice and or tips?

Any chance the original intent was to find out things we've already "figured" out that might not be spelled out in the manual. Kinda like the 2 odd screws for my bike rack that were no where in the instructions. A user review on-line had figured it out.

Here's a start:
The D90 auto side of the dial produces inherently soft photos. Good work around especially for a noobe would be move to "P" but go into the menu and set the sharpening number a bit higher (I use 7, default might be 5). It's a good place to start (as P will still do everything on its own if you leave it alone) before you move on to A and S etc. The sharpness change stays in effect for all the non auto settings.

OR

Don't be afraid to fool with the EV button/dial. Be brave, try +3 to get your feet wet as it won't make a big difference.

I haven't run in to "problems" (thank heavens) with the camera that have me asking for help but I would be interested if anyone has had challenges that they figured out a work around for or an answer to. Lord knows I have enough other questions for all of you. Boy I hope this doesn't start another 'round of upset.

 

[DScience]

Not sure why it should be in the beginners forum when I hope to discuss exposure methods, bracketing techniques, lighting, control tips, custom white balance settings, AF Modes/tips, metering, flash compensation as well as personal experiences with iso settings... ect. Thanks for the book recommendation. I already own it and I agree that it is a good book.

Beginners.

 

[TJ K]

It goes without saying but i'll say it anyway.... There was a time (not long ago) when we didnt have the luxury of being able to go out and shoot a thousand experimental photos in order to get better aquainted with our cameras and equiptment without having to spend $500 or more in the developing process...and we had to try and remember the settings we used for each and every photo as well ...Now our cameras remember the settings for each and every experimental photo we take....Trial and error now comes without expense.....take advantage of this and you'll never find yourself asking a "stupid" or "misplaced" question in the wrong forum anywhere...ever!!

Why did you reopen a 9 month old thread?