Nikon D3400 For Dummies

Julie Adair King has been covering digital cameras and photography for over two decades. Along with Digital Photography For Dummies, Julie has also written For Dummies guides covering specific Nikon and Canon digital SLR cameras. When not writing, she teaches master classes in photography and digital photo editing.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1How This Book Is Organized 2Icons and Other Stuff to Note 3Where to Go from Here 4Part 1: Fast Track to Super Snaps 5Chapter 1: Getting Up and Running 7Preparing the Camera for Initial Use 7Exploring Basic Camera Features 11Checking out external controls 11Ordering from camera menus 19Switching to Live View mode 23Viewing critical picture settings 25Adjusting settings via the control strip 28Displaying Help Screens 29Familiarizing Yourself with the Lens 30Working with Memory Cards 35Taking a Few Final Setup Steps 37Restoring Default Settings 40Chapter 2: Reviewing Five Essential Picture-Taking Options 43Choosing an Exposure Mode 44Fully automatic exposure modes 44Semiautomatic modes (P, S, and A) 45Manual exposure mode (M) 46Specialty modes (Effects and Guide modes) 46Setting the Release Mode 47Single Frame and Quiet Shutter Release modes 48Continuous (burst mode) shooting 49Self-timer shooting 50Wireless remote control modes 51Checking Image Size and Image Quality 52Considering the Image Size setting (resolution) 52Understanding Image Quality options (JPEG or Raw) 56Setting Image Size and Image Quality 60Adding Flash 62Enabling and disabling flash 63Choosing a Flash mode 64Adjusting the flash output (P, S, A, and M modes only) 70Chapter 3: Taking Great Pictures, Automatically 75Shooting in Auto and Auto Flash Off Modes 75Viewfinder photography in Auto and Auto Flash Off modes 76Live View photography in Auto and Auto Flash off modes 79Taking Advantage of Scene Modes 82Portrait mode 83Landscape mode 84Child mode 84Sports mode 85Close Up mode 87Night Portrait mode 88Part 2: Beyond the Basics 89Chapter 4: Taking Charge of Exposure 91Introducing the Exposure Trio: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 92Aperture affects depth of field 94Shutter speed affects motion blur 96ISO affects image noise 96Doing the exposure balancing act 99Stepping Up to Advanced Exposure Modes (P, S, A, and M) 100Checking the Exposure Meter 102Choosing an Exposure Metering Mode 105Setting Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO 108Adjusting aperture and shutter speed 108Controlling ISO 111Solving Exposure Problems 115Applying Exposure Compensation 115Expanding tonal range with Active D-Lighting 119Eliminating vignetting 122Using autoexposure lock 124Chapter 5: Controlling Focus and Depth of Field 125Choosing Automatic or Manual Focusing 126Exploring Standard Focusing Options (Viewfinder Photography) 127Mastering the autofocusing system 128Focusing manually 137Focusing During Live View and Movie Shooting 140Understanding Live View autofocusing 141Manual focusing during Live View and movie shooting 149Manipulating Depth of Field 149Chapter 6: Mastering Color Controls 153Understanding White Balance 153Changing the White Balance setting 155Fine-tuning White Balance settings 158Creating white balance presets 159Choosing a Color Space 163Taking a Quick Look at Picture Controls 164Chapter 7: Putting It All Together 171Recapping Basic Picture Settings 171Shooting Still Portraits 172Capturing Action 178Capturing Scenic Vistas 181Capturing Dynamic Close-Ups 184Chapter 8: Shooting, Viewing, and Trimming Movies 187Shooting Movies Using Default Settings 188Adjusting Video Settings 193Controlling Audio 197Choosing the Microphone setting (volume control) 197Reducing wind noise 200Exploring Other Recording Options 201Manipulating Movie Exposure 203Screening Your Movies 205Trimming Movies 207Saving a Movie Frame as a Still Image 210Part 3: After the Shot 211Chapter 9: Playback Mode: Viewing Your Photos 213Picture Playback 101 214Choosing Which Images to View 215Adjusting Playback Timing 216Enabling Automatic Picture Rotation 217Shifting from Single-Image to Thumbnails Display 219Displaying Photos in Calendar View 220Magnifying Photos During Playback 221Viewing Picture Data 223File Information mode 224Highlights (“blinkies”) display mode 227RGB Histogram mode 228Shooting Data mode 231Overview mode 232Creating a Digital Slide Show 234Viewing Your Photos on a Television 236Chapter 10: Working with Picture and Movie Files 239Rating Photos and Movies 240Deleting Files 242Deleting files one at a time 242Deleting all files 243Deleting a batch of selected files 243Protecting Photos and Movies 246Taking a Look at Nikon’s Photo Software 247Downloading Pictures to the Computer 250Connecting via USB 251Starting the file-transfer process 252Downloading using Nikon Transfer 2 253Processing Raw (NEF) Files 257Processing Raw images in the camera 258Processing Raw files in Capture NX-D 261Preparing Pictures for Online Sharing 264Prepping online photos using ViewNX-i 265Resizing pictures from the Retouch menu 265Part 4: The Part of Tens 269Chapter 11: Ten Fun (And Practical) Ways to Manipulate Your Photos 271Applying the Retouch Menu Filters 272Removing Red-Eye 275Straightening Tilting Horizon Lines 275Removing (Or Creating) Lens Distortion 277Correcting Perspective 278Adjusting Exposure and Color 279Cropping Your Photo 282Applying Effects to Existing Photos 284Shooting in Effects Mode 288Combining Two Photos with Image Overlay 293Chapter 12: Ten Special-Purpose Features to Explore on a Rainy Day 295Adding Hidden Image Comments 295Adding a Copyright Notice 297Creating Custom Image Folders 298Turning Off the AF-Assist Illuminator 300Adjusting Automatic Shutdown Timing 300Changing the Look of the Information Display 301Keeping the Information Display Hidden 303Changing the Function Button’s Function 303Customizing the AE-L/AF-L Button 304Using the Shutter Button to Lock Exposure and Focus (or Not) 305Appendix: Intro to Nikon Snapbridge 307What Can I Do with SnapBridge? 308Getting Familiar with the SnapBridge App 309Understanding SnapBridge-Related Camera Options 312Glossary of Digital Photography Terms 315Index 323