Nikon® D7200™ For Dummies®

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015943335

ISBN 978-1-119-13415-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-13417-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-13416-9 (ebk)

A Quick Look at What’s Ahead

This book is organized into four parts, each devoted to a different aspect of using your camera. Although chapters flow in a sequence that’s designed to take you from absolute beginner to experienced user, I’ve also tried to make each chapter as self-standing as possible so that you can explore the topics that interest you in any order you please.

Here's a brief preview of what you can find in each part of the book:

• Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps: Part I contains three chapters to help you get up and running. Chapter 1 guides you through initial camera setup, shows you how to adjust camera settings, and walks you through the process of taking your first pictures using Auto exposure mode. (Yes, I dissed Auto mode in the first part of this introduction, but with the tips provided in Chapter 1, you can take darned good pictures in Auto mode until you're ready to move on to more advanced options.) Chapter 2 introduces you to other exposure modes and also explains basic picture options such as Release mode, Image Size (resolution), Image Quality (JPEG or Raw), and Image Area (DX or 1.3x). Chapter 3 advances your skills another level by showing you how to use the built-in flash and how to modify flash lighting to get professional-looking results.
• Part II: Beyond the Basics: Chapters in this part help you unleash the full creative power of your camera by detailing advanced picture-taking features. Chapter 4 covers the critical topic of exposure; Chapter 5 explains how to manipulate focus and depth of field; and Chapter 6 discusses color controls. Chapter 7 summarizes techniques explained in earlier chapters, providing a quick-reference guide to settings and strategies that work well for portraits, action shots, landscape scenes, and close-ups. Chapter 8 shifts gears, moving from still photography to HD movie recording with your D7200.
• Part III: After the Shot: This part offers two chapters, both dedicated to tasks you do after you press the shutter button. Chapter 9 explains picture playback, providing details on such tricks as magnifying the onscreen image, changing the display to reveal shooting data, and choosing which pictures you want to view. Chapter 10 topics include hiding, deleting, and protecting photos, downloading images to your computer or to a tablet or smartphone, processing Raw files, and preparing pictures for online sharing.
• Part IV: The Part of Tens: In famous For Dummies tradition, the book concludes with two top-ten lists containing additional bits of information and advice. Chapter 11 details options for customizing your camera, including changing the function of some buttons and entering a copyright notice that the camera embeds into your files. Chapter 12 covers the photo-editing tools found on the camera's Retouch menu and also shows you how to use the Effects exposure mode to add effects to movies and photos as you record them. To close out the book, I show you how to use your smartphone or tablet as a wireless shutter-release unit, connect the camera to an HDTV so that you can view your work on a large screen, and create a slide show featuring your best work.

Practice, Be Patient, and Have Fun!

To wrap up this preamble, I want to stress that if you initially think that digital photography is too confusing or too technical for you, you’re in very good company. Everyone finds this stuff mind-boggling at first. So take it slowly, experimenting with just one or two settings or techniques at first. Then, every time you go on a photo outing, make it a point to add one or two more shooting skills to your repertoire.

I know that it’s hard to believe when you’re just starting out, but it really won’t be long before everything starts to come together. With some time, patience, and practice, you’ll soon wield your camera like a pro, dialing in the necessary settings to capture your creative vision almost instinctively.

So without further ado, I invite you to grab your camera, a cup of whatever it is you prefer to sip while you read, and start exploring the rest of this book. Your D7200 is the perfect partner for your photographic journey, and I thank you for allowing me, through this book, to serve as your tour guide.

Part I

Fast Track to Super Snaps

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Preparing the Camera

Before you can use your D7200, you need to install the battery, attach a lens, and insert at least one memory card. (Your camera can use two cards at a time, but you only need one to begin taking pictures or recording movies.) A few preliminary notes:

• Battery: Use only the MH-25 charger that came with your camera to charge the battery. When the light on the charger stops blinking, the battery is fully charged. See the list at the end of this section to find out how to monitor the current battery charge.
• Lens: You can mount a wide range of lenses on your D7200, but some lenses aren’t compatible with all camera features. Your camera manual lists all the lens types that can be mounted on the camera and explains what features are supported with each type. For maximum compatibility, look for Type D or G AF Nikkor, AF-S Nikkor, or AF-I Nikkor.
• Memory card(s): Like all digital cameras, your D7200 stores picture and movie files on memory cards. It has two card slots, both of which accept only SD (Secure Digital) cards. Most SD cards sold today carry the designation SDHC (for High Capacity) or SDXC (for eXtended Capacity), depending on how many gigabytes (GB) of data they hold. SDHC cards hold from 4GB to 32GB of data; the SDXC moniker indicates a capacity greater than 32GB.

With a charged battery, lens, and memory card(s) at hand, take these steps to get the camera ready to go:

1. Turn the camera off.
2. Install the battery into the compartment on the bottom of the camera.

3. Attach a lens.

   First, remove the caps that cover the front of the camera and the back of the lens. Then align the mounting index (white dot) on the lens with the one on the camera body, as shown in Figure 1-1. After placing the lens on the camera mount, rotate the lens toward the shutter-button side of the camera. You should feel a solid click as the lens locks into place.

4. Insert a memory card (or two).

   Open the card door on the right side of the camera to reveal the two memory card slots, labeled in Figure 1-2. If you're using a single card, install it into Slot 1. Orient the card with the label facing the back of the camera, as shown in the figure, and push it gently into the slot.

   After you close the card door, the memory-card access light, labeled in the figure, illuminates briefly as the camera checks out the card. If the card is damaged, full, or can't be used for some other reason, you see an error message in the Control panel (the LCD panel on top of the camera). You need to solve this issue before going forward; try a different card or visit the section “Working with Memory Cards,” later in this chapter, for trouble-shooting tips.

5. Turn the camera on.

6. Set the language, time zone, and date.

   When you power up the camera for the first time, a screen appears on the monitor asking you to select your language, time zone, date, and time. To adjust these settings, use the Multi Selector and OK button, both labeled in Figure 1-2. Press the edge of the Multi Selector up, down, right, or left to highlight a setting and then press OK to activate the option. Again, press the edges of the Multi Selector to adjust the active option, and then press the OK button to lock in your choice. (See the next section for more details about using camera menus.)

   You don't need to take this step every time you use the camera; an internal battery separate from the main battery keeps the clock ticking for about three months. If you see a blinking clock symbol on the monitor, the clock battery is depleted. Simply charging the main camera battery and then putting that battery back in the camera restarts the clock, but you may need to reset the camera time and date.

7. Adjust the viewfinder to your eyesight.

   This step is critical; if you don't set the viewfinder to your eyesight, subjects that appear out of focus in the viewfinder might actually be in focus, and vice versa. If you wear glasses while shooting, adjust the viewfinder with your glasses on — and don't forget to reset the viewfinder focus if you take off your glasses or your prescription changes.

   You control viewfinder focus through the dial labeled in Figure 1-3. (In official lingo, it's called the diopter adjustment dial.) After taking off the front lens cap, follow these steps:

   1. Look through the viewfinder and press the shutter button halfway.

      In dim lighting, the flash may pop up. Ignore it for now and concentrate on the row of data that appears at the bottom of the viewfinder screen.

   2. Rotate the viewfinder dial until that data appears sharpest.

      The markings in the center of the viewfinder, which relate to autofocusing, also become more or less sharp. Ignore the scene you see through the lens; that won't change because you're not actually focusing the camera.

   3. When you finish, press down on the flash unit to close it if necessary.

8. Set the camera to normal (viewfinder) mode or Live View mode.

   Live View is the feature that enables you to compose photos using the monitor, as you do with most point-and-shoot cameras. To record movies, you must use this option; you can't use the viewfinder to frame movie shots.

   To shift to Live View photography, rotate the Live View switch to the still-camera icon, as shown in Figure 1-4; to set the camera to movie mode, set the switch to the movie-camera icon. Then press the center button (marked LV). The viewfinder goes dark, and the live preview appears on the monitor.

   To exit Live View mode, press the LV button again. The Live View display turns off, and the viewfinder is once again available.

In addition to these initial setup steps, perform the following two preflight checks before each shoot:

• Check the amount of free space on your memory card(s). Where you find this information varies depending on whether you're using the viewfinder, shooting stills in Live View mode, or recording movies, as follows:

  • Viewfinder photography: A number indicating how many photos will fit in the available memory-card space appears in the Control panel on top of the camera, as well as in the Information display and viewfinder. Figure 1-5 shows you where to find the information in the Control panel; Figure 1-6 provides a guide to the Information display and viewfinder.

    Turn the Information screen on and off by pressing the Info button. To wake up the viewfinder, give the shutter button a half-press and then release it.

  • Live View mode: For still photography, refer to the Control panel or the shots-remaining value in the lower-right corner of the Live View display, as shown on the left in Figure 1-6.

    In movie mode, you don't see a shots-remaining value in either display; instead, the maximum recording time appears on the monitor, in the area labeled on the right in Figure 1-7. Don't consider this value a full reflection of the amount of empty space on your memory card. The camera limits the maximum recording time per movie even if your card has oodles of free space remaining. After you reach the time limit for your first recording, the number resets to show you the maximum recording time for your next movie.

    If your displays look different from the ones in the figures, press the Info button to cycle through the various display modes available for Live View shooting. I explain more about each display later in the chapter, in the section “Decoding the Displays.”

  Keep in mind that certain picture- and movie-recording settings affect the size of the image/movie file, so the number of files that can fit in the available card space changes as you adjust those settings. Chapter 2 discusses the photo-related settings (Image Area, Image Size, and Image Quality); Chapter 8 clues you in on movie-recording options.

  When two cards are installed, the shots-remaining number also depends on how you configure the camera to send image data to those cards. For still photography, the camera is set by default to fill the card in Slot 1 and then switch to the second card. For movie recording, files can be stored on only one of the two cards; by default, the card in Slot 1 gets the honors. I explain how to modify this setup in the section “Taking advantage of the two-card system,” later in this chapter.

  One final note: If the shots-remaining number is greater than 999, the initial K appears next to the value to indicate that the first number represents the picture count in thousands. (K being a universally accepted symbol indicating 1,000 units.) The number is rounded down to the nearest hundred. So if the number of shots remaining is, say, 2,004, the value reads as 2.0K, as shown in the figures here.

• Checking battery status: Also confirm the battery status before every outing with your camera. You can check the battery level as follows:

  • Viewfinder mode: Both the Control panel and Information screen display a battery-status symbol; look for it in the areas labeled in Figure 1-5 and on the left in Figure 1-6. When the battery is fully charged, the symbol looks as shown in the figure. As the battery loses power, the bars in the symbol disappear one by one to let you know that you need to find a battery charger or spare battery soon.

    In the viewfinder, you see battery data only when you're running low on power. In that case, an empty-battery symbol appears at the bottom of the viewfinder, as shown on the right in Figure 1-6.

  • Live View mode: When Live View is engaged, battery info appears only in the Control panel.

  For more detailed battery data, choose Battery Info from the Setup menu, as shown in Figure 1-8. (See the next section for help with using menus.) The Charge data shows you the current power remaining as a percentage value, and the No. of Shots value tells you how many times you’ve pressed and released the shutter button since the last time you charged the battery. The final readout, Battery Age, lets you know how much more life you can expect out of the battery before it can no longer be recharged. When the display moves toward the right end of the little meter, it’s time to buy a new battery. (If you attach the optional battery pack, see its manual and the camera manual to find out how to interpret the data that’s reported on this menu screen.)

That's all there is to it — the camera is now ready to go. From here, my recommendation is that you keep reading this chapter to familiarize yourself with the main camera features and basic operation. But if you're anxious to take a picture right away, I won't think any less of you if you skip to the very last section of the chapter, which guides you through the process of still photography. To start shooting movies, flip to Chapter 8. Just promise that at some point, you'll read the pages in between, because they actually do contain important information.

Navigating Menus

One of the first skills you need to learn to take full advantage of your D7200 is how to select options from camera menus. Table 1-1 offers a brief description of what controls live on the various menus.

Here's what you need to know to navigate the menu system:

• Display the main menus: Press the Menu button, labeled in Figure 1-9.
• Select a menu: If the menu you want to see isn't visible, press the Multi Selector left to highlight the strip of menu icons, labeled in Figure 1-9. Press up or down to highlight a menu icon and then press the Multi Selector right or press the OK button to exit the icon strip and activate the menu itself.

• Adjust a menu option: Press the Multi Selector up or down to highlight the option you want to change and then press OK to display the settings available for that option. For example, if you select the Image Size option from the Photo Shooting menu, as shown on the left in Figure 1-10, you see the settings shown on the right in the figure. Press the Multi Selector up or down to highlight your choice and then press OK to return to the main menu screen.

  In some cases, a right-pointing triangle appears next to an option on the settings screen. That's your cue to press the Multi Selector right to display a submenu (although in many cases, you can press OK instead).

  Items that are dimmed on a menu or settings screen aren't available in the current exposure mode. For access to all settings, set the Mode dial on top of the camera to P, S, A, or M.

• Select items from the Custom Setting menu: The Custom Setting menu, represented by the Pencil icon, contains submenus that carry the labels A through G, as shown on the left in Figure 1-11. Each submenu holds clusters of options related to a specific aspect of the camera's operation. To get to those options, use the Multi Selector to highlight the submenu and then press OK. For example, if you choose the A (Autofocus) submenu, you see the options shown on the right in Figure 1-11.

  In the Nikon manual, instructions reference the Custom Setting menu items by a menu letter and number. For example, “Custom Setting a1” refers to the first option on the a (Autofocus) submenu. I try to be more specific, however, so I use the actual setting names. (Really, we all have enough numbers to remember, don't you think?)

  After you jump to the first submenu, you can simply scroll up and down the list to view options from other submenus. You don't have to keep going back to the initial menu screen and selecting a submenu.

• Taking advantage of the My Menu and Recent Settings menus: These two menus, both shown in Figure 1-12, share the bottom slot in the strip of menu icons. You can display only one of the two at a time, however. Each menu contains a Choose Tab option as the last item on the menu; select this option to shift between the two menus.

  Here's what the two menus offer:

  • Recent Settings: This screen lists the 20 menu items you ordered most recently. To adjust those settings, you don't have to wade through all the other menus to look for them — head to the Recent Settings menu instead.

    To remove an item from the Recent Settings menu, use the Multi Selector to highlight the item and press the Delete button. Press Delete again to confirm your decision.

  • My Menu: From this screen, you can create a custom menu that contains up to 20 of your favorite menu items. Chapter 11 details the steps.

• Saving time with the i button menus: In addition to the menus listed in Table 1-1, you can press the i button, labeled in Figure 1-13, to display a menu screen that enables you to quickly access certain shooting or playback settings.

  During shooting, which options the menu contains depends on your exposure mode and whether Live View is enabled. The screen shown in Figure 1-13 appears when you shoot in one of the advanced exposure modes (P, S, A, and M). Dimmed items can't be adjusted in your current exposure mode.

  Things work a little differently in Live View mode: For still photography, pressing the i button displays a column of options along the right side of the monitor, as shown on the left in Figure 1-14. When the Live View switch is set to the movie setting, options on the i button menu relate to movie-recording options. Either way, use the Multi Selector to highlight an option and press OK to display the available settings for that option, as shown on the right in the figure. After you make your selection, press OK to return to the menu. To exit the menu, press the i button or press the shutter button halfway and release it.

  During playback, the i button menu offers items related to after-the-shot functions such as applying Retouch menu tools.

Decoding the Displays

In addition to menus, your D7200 offers several displays to help you keep track of the most critical picture and camera settings. The following provides some details about using and customizing the displays. Note that the data that appears in each display depends on certain camera settings, including your exposure mode. The figures in this section show the screens as they appear in Auto exposure mode. (Don't worry if you haven't a clue as to what some symbols and numbers mean; most won't make any sense until you explore later chapters.)

Which displays are available depends on whether you're shooting still photos or movies and whether Live View is enabled. Here's the scoop:

• Control panel: The Control panel is the LCD display on top of the camera; Figure 1-15 offers a look. This display is a full-time worker. Its readout appears for viewfinder photography, Live View photography, and movie recording.

  If you're shooting in dim lighting and find the readout hard to see, you can illuminate the panel by rotating the On/Off switch past the On position to the light bulb marker, labeled in Figure 1-15, and then releasing the switch. The backlight turns off automatically a few seconds after you release the switch.

  Alternatively, you can set the camera to light up the Control panel any time the exposure meters are activated. If you prefer that arrangement, choose Custom Setting > Shooting/Display > LCD Illumination and select On. Just keep in mind that this setting consumes more battery power than simply rotating the switch to light the display when needed.

  No matter which menu option you choose, the shots-remaining value and icons representing the installed memory cards remain visible even after you turn off the camera. The display only turns off fully if you remove the camera battery. (Don't worry that the display will run down your battery; it consumes very little power.)

• Viewfinder: When Live View is not enabled, you can view a handful of settings in the data display at the bottom of the viewfinder, as shown on the left in Figure 1-16. (If you don't see the data strip, press the shutter button halfway and release it to bring the display to life.)

  You can display gridlines in the viewfinder, as shown on the right in the figure, to help ensure the alignment of objects in your photo — for example, to make sure that the horizon is level in a landscape. To turn the feature on or off, choose Custom Setting > Shooting/Display > Viewfinder Grid Display.

• Information display (viewfinder photography only): Shown in Figure 1-17, this display offers a larger and more comprehensive look at camera settings than the Control panel. To display it, press the Info button. To turn off the display, press the button again or give the shutter button a quick half-press and release it.

  By default, the camera tries to make the data easier to read by automatically shifting from black text on a light background to light text on a black background, depending on the ambient light. If you prefer one style over the other, choose Custom Setting > Shooting/Display > Information Display. Select Manual and then choose either Dark on Light or Light on Dark. In this book, I show the Dark on Light display because it reproduces better in print.

• Live View and Movie displays: In Live View, camera settings appear superimposed over the live scene. The default still photography and movie-recording display modes, officially titled Information On, are shown side by side in Figure 1-18.

  You don't need to press the Info button to bring up these displays; they appear automatically when you turn on Live View. Instead, pressing the Info button enables you to vary the type and amount of data shown. If you don't like the default displays, choose from these alternative screen styles, shown in Figure 1-19:

  • Information off: Shows only the major exposure settings.
  • Framing guides: Displays a grid over the scene to help you ensure the vertical and horizontal alignment of objects in the scene with respect to the horizon.

  • Virtual horizon: This display includes the circular level graphic shown in the lower-left screen in Figure 1-19. A green line through the middle of the display, as shown in Figure 1-19, indicates that the camera is level with the horizon.

    You can access variations of this tool when the camera isn't in Live View mode: Go to the Setup menu and choose Virtual Horizon. You see the same leveling graphic shown in Figure 1-19, but on a blank menu screen. Although you can't see your subject in the monitor, the feature is still a handy option if you're using a tripod and want to make sure that the camera is level to the horizon. (Some tripods also have built-in levels.)

    You also can enable an in-viewfinder guide, the Viewfinder Virtual Horizon, which displays a vertical or horizontal bar along the right and bottom of the framing area, depending on whether you're holding the camera in the horizontal or vertical position. You can access this feature only by assigning a camera button to it; see Chapter 11 for details on button customization. (In the meantime, the viewfinder's grid display, shown in Figure 1-16, should be enough to help you ensure that the camera is level.)

  • Histogram (Movie mode only): The tiny chart shown in the lower-right area of the final screen in Figure 1-19 is a histogram, which offers some exposure information. The chart plots out the brightness values found in the scene, from black (left side) to white (right side). The vertical axis of the chart shows you how many pixels (the squares that make up a digital image) there are at a particular brightness value. A large spike at the right end of the chart indicates that the picture may be overexposed, with some highlight detail being lost. A concentration of pixels at the left end of the histogram indicates the opposite problem, with some shadow detail being lost due to underexposure.

    You can also view histograms during playback mode; I provide more details about interpreting playback histograms in Chapter 9. Chapter 8 shows you how to adjust exposure during movie recording if needed.

All the displays except the Control panel shut off after a specific period of inactivity to preserve battery power. See Chapter 11 for details about altering these auto-shutdown times. (Hint: Start by choosing Custom Setting > Timers/AE Lock > Monitor Off Delay.)