D40 Settings Questions

[HomeingPigeon]

I just got a tripod for christmas. I know that there is a way to force my shutter to stay open for around 1-2 seconds. I have been reading my manual and cant figure it out. My goal to be able to take some sunset pictures in the low light conditions with a low iso.


thanks

 

[iChaz]

make sure your dial is turned to 'manual setting' then select the shutter speed from the screen and move the wheel to adjust. be sure to adjust the aperture accordingly. for 1-2 seconds you'll probably want it to be at like f7-9 depending on how much light you want.

 

[HomeingPigeon]

That is the thing. I dont have a straight forward menu item that says "shutter speed". The menu items i do have is optimize image, image quality, image size, white balance, iso sensitivity, and noise reduction. Which one do i want to pick or is the right option in a different menu?

 

[PHILIP1193]

hi mate. turn the dial on the top to "S" for shutter, this setting allows u to specifically control the shutter speed and the camera takes care of the aperture and everything else. Use the smaller black dial at the back of the camera to adjust shutter speed. Scrolling is left to right will increase the shutter speed (i.e. for shots of fast moving things) and the right to left will make the shutter open for longer (i.e. for the light trail effect)

On my D40 which i got yesterday i think there is around 20-30 different speed settings, so have a play around to see which ones you need. You can check the speed you ahve selected via the screen at the back by pressing the "i" button which shows u the settings.

Hope that helps

Phil

 

[valdore]

"Tv" is shutter priority isn't it?

 

[HomeingPigeon]

Do i need to need to be in a dark place to try this out. Right now i am sitting in a room with only one light on and my backlight computer and it seems to still have a pretty fast shutter speed.

 

[Clix Pix]

"Tv" is shutter priority isn't it?

"TV" stands for "television!" (j/k) In Nikonland and in most other photography references, the proper terminology is "shutter priority" and "aperture priority," I think Canon is the only one which uses that rather silly "TV." On the Nikon and most other cameras, "S" is for "shutter priority" and "A" is for "aperture priority," while "M" is for "Manual," a mode in which the user sets each (aperture and shutter) to his own specs.

To the original poster: PLEASE take the time to RTFM!!!! You will be amazed at what you can learn there......

 

[Westside guy]

You will almost certainly need to take these kind of photos in fully manual mode.

As Clix Pix said, please read the owner's manual. That sounds like a put-down, but it's not - your manual will discuss aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode, program mode, etc. You need to learn about these things.

 

[valdore]

"TV" stands for "television!" (j/k) In Nikonland and in most other photography references, the proper terminology is "shutter priority" and "aperture priority," I think Canon is the only one which uses that rather silly "TV." On the Nikon and most other cameras, "S" is for "shutter priority" and "A" is for "aperture priority," while "M" is for "Manual," a mode in which the user sets each (aperture and shutter) to his own specs.

Ah, cool. I never thought the "Tv" and "Av" made any sense, and I wasn't sure if Nikon was like Canon in that regard or not.

 

[studentmac]

That is the thing. I dont have a straight forward menu item that says "shutter speed". The menu items i do have is optimize image, image quality, image size, white balance, iso sensitivity, and noise reduction. Which one do i want to pick or is the right option in a different menu?

The menu you want is when you press the small info button behind the mode dial. I think its the one on the left.

Then you can see how rotating the command dial changes the exposure settings. For instance, in shutter priority mode, as you rotate the command dial to the desired value, the aperture automatically sets to whatever is needed in the conditions.

Hope that helps.

 

[HomeingPigeon]

Thanks. I guess i will finish reading the manual then. I have read most of it. It is kinda a boring read most of the time.

 

[termina3]

Ah, cool. I never thought the "Tv" and "Av" made any sense, and I wasn't sure if Nikon was like Canon in that regard or not.

Ya, Canon never made sense to me either. That's why I shoot Nikon

Thanks. I guess i will finish reading the manual then. I have read most of it. It is kinda a boring read most of the time.

You can skip the parts about tv output, troubleshooting, etc... just focus on how to set your camera in manual mode and you'll be able to figure out the shutter and aperture priority from there.

 

[GoCubsGo]

You can also check out this D40 user's guide. (warning that link is a PDF) I could not tell you how great it is but reading the manual sucks and is boring but you will find you will get way more out of your camera by reading the important parts of the manual and then head out and start shooting. If you make it a habit to know your camera you will certainly be able to take those shots you wish to take. You'll also be able to tell a bit easier what went wrong when you see a crappy photo come from a good camera. It does happen.