Customizing shooting and display options nikon d5000

Visit the Shooting/Display submenu (see Figure ) of the Custom Setting

menu to tweak various aspects of how the camera communicates with you,

as well as to control a couple of basic shooting functions. Check out the following

options:

? Beep: By default, your camera

beeps at you after certain operations,

such as after it sets focus

when you shoot in autofocus

mode. If you’re doing top-secret

surveillance work and need

the camera to hush up, set this

option to Off. On the Shooting

Information Display, a little musical

note icon appears when the

beep is enabled. Turn the beep

off, and the icon appears in a

circle with a slash through it.

You can also control the volume

of the beep. Your choices are

High (the default) and Low. Tres cool.

? Viewfinder Grid Display: You can display tiny gridlines in the viewfinder

by setting this option to On. The gridlines are a great help when

you need to ensure the alignment of objects in your photo — for example,

to make sure that the horizon is level in a landscape.

? ISO Display: Normally, the Shooting Information display and viewfinder

indicate how many shots will fit in the remaining space on your memory

card. But if you prefer, you can use this display space to instead show

the current ISO setting. See Chapter 5 for the complete story on this

option.

? File Number Sequence: This option controls how the camera names your

picture files. When the option is set to Off, as it is by default, the camera

restarts file numbering at 0001 every time you format your memory card

or insert a new memory card. Numbering is also restarted if you create

custom folders (an advanced option covered in Chapter 11).

Needless to say, this setup can cause problems over time, creating a

scenario where you wind up with multiple images that have the same

filename — not on the current memory card, but when you download

images to your computer. So I strongly encourage you to set the option

to On. Note that when you get to picture number 9999, file numbering

is still reset to 0001, however. The camera automatically creates a new

folder to hold for your next 9999 images.

As for the Reset option, it enables you to assign the first file number

(which ends in 0001) to the next picture you shoot. Then the camera

behaves as if you selected the On setting.

Should you be a really, really prolific shooter and snap enough pictures

to reach image 9999 in folder 999, the camera will refuse to take another

photo until you choose that Reset option and either format the memory

card or insert a brand new one.

? Exposure Delay Mode: If you turn this option on, the camera waits to

record your picture until about one second after you press and release

the shutter button. What’s the point? Well, a tiny mirror inside the

camera moves every time you press the shutter button to take a picture.

For shots that require a long exposure time, there is a slight chance that

the vibration caused by that mirror movement will blur the picture. So

by delaying the actual image capture a little, the odds of that mirrorrelated

blur are lessened. For normal shooting, leave this one at its

default setting, Off. And check out Chapter 2 for information on using

the camera’s self-timer function as an alternative option when you want

to delay the shutter release.

? Date Imprint: Through this option, you can choose to imprint the shooting

date, date and time, or the number of days that have passed since

you took the photo.

The default setting, which disables the imprint, is the best way to go,

however; you don’t need to permanently mar your photos to find out

when you took them. Every picture file includes a hidden vat of text

data, called metadata, that records the shooting date and time, as well as

all the camera settings you used — f-stop, shutter speed, and lots more.

You can view this data in the free software provided with your camera

as well as in many photo programs. Chapter 8 shows you how.

? Live View Display Options: Use these settings to control the screen

appearance when you use Live View

Juilie Adair

King -Nikon D5000 For Dummies -2009