Darrell Young - Mastering the Nikon Z50 (The Mastering Camera Guide Series)

Darrell Young

Mastering the Nikon Z50

Darrell Young (a.k.a. Digital Darrell)

www.PictureAndPen.com

Editor: Jocelyn Howell

Project manager: Lisa Brazieal

Marketing coordinator: Mercedes Murray

Layout and type: Petra Strauch

Cover design: Aren Straiger

Indexer: Darrell Young

Back Cover Photo: Darrell Young

ISBN: 978-1-68198-622-7

1st Edition (1st printing, August 2020)

2020 Darrell Young

All images Darrell Young unless otherwise noted

Rocky Nook, Inc.

1010 B Street, Suite 350

San Rafael, CA 94901

USA

www.rockynook.com

Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services

Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group UK

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019952598

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.

Many of the designations in this book used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks of their respective companies. Where those designations appear in this book, and Rocky Nook was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. All product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. They are not intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Printed in Korea

This book is dedicated to:

My wonderful wife of many years, Brenda, the love of my life and best friend .. .

My children, Autumn, David, Emily, Hannah, and Ethan, five priceless gifts .. .

My dear mother and late father, Barbara and Vaughn, who brought me into this world and guided my early life, teaching me sound principles to live by .. .

My friends J. Ramn Palacios and Bo Stahlbrandt, who make it possible to belong to Nikonians.org, the worlds best Nikon Users Community .. .

The staff of Rocky Nook, including Scott Cowlin, Ted Waitt, Jocelyn Howell, Maggie Yates, Mercedes Murray, Kelly Reed, and Lisa Brazieal .. .

And, finally, to Nikon, who makes the worlds best cameras and lenses.

Special thanks to:

Brad Berger of www.Berger-Bros.com (800-542-8811) for helping me obtain a Nikon Z50 early in the cameras release cycle so that I could write this book. For 12 years now, I have purchased my camera equipment from Brad Berger, and I highly recommend his store for your cameras, lenses, and accessories. Brad offers the best customer service I have ever experienced, fast shipping, and they even have classes for your photographic educational needs!

Darrell Young (DigitalDarrell) is a full-time author and professional photographer, with a background in information technology engineering. He has been an avid photographer since 1968 when his mother gave him a Brownie Hawkeye camera.

Darrell has used Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses since 1980. He has an incurable case of Nikon Acquisition Syndrome (NAS) and delights in working with Nikons newest digital cameras. Living near Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Cherohala Skyway has given him a real concern for the natural environment and a deep interest in nature photography. Youll often find him standing behind a tripod in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, USA.

Darrell loves to write, as you can see in the Resources area of the Nikonians Online community (Nikonians.org) and on his blog, Master Your Nikon (MasterYourNikon.com). He joined the Nikonians community in 2000, and his literary contributions led to an invitation to become the founding member of the Nikonians Writers Guild.

in the front of this book and use it to become a new Gold Member. The voucher code is for a first-time Gold Membership and cannot be used for membership renewal.

This is the 20th Anniversary of the Nikonians community and the 21st book of the Mastering the Nikon DSLR and Z series books, authored by Nikonian Darrell Young (known to us as DigitalDarrell). This joint venture between Nikonians Press and Rocky Nook has developed a strong following in the camera instruction genre, and Darrells fastidious attention to detail has been the key ingredient in that trend.

The Nikon Z50 is one of Nikons answers to the major paradigm shift that mirrorless photography has become. With its excellent 20.9 MP DX imaging sensor and the powerful EXPEED 6 microprocessor, it has expanded dynamic range and image quality like few other mirrorless cameras today. The Z50 is an advanced digital single lens mirrorless (DSLM) camera with a lightweight, magnesium-alloy and polycarbonate body, 209-point autofocus system, live histogram, exposure preview of images, 11-fps image capture, 4K UHD video recording, and the ability to use not only the amazing new Nikkor Z lenses, but also our dependable F-mount Nikkor lenses via the FTZ adapter. The 14 ounce (395 g) Nikon Z50 is easy and fun to carry wherever you go. Its external control system has been refined so that all controls are within easy reach for various hand sizes, plus it has the new fingertip touch, pinch, and swipe control interface for smartphone-like handling of camera menus and internal settings.

We fully agree with Darrells statement: The Nikon Z50 is a surprisingly affordable and fun camera. Even though I have access to several much more expensive Nikons, I find myself reaching for the tiny Z50 when I go out. It has amazing still-image and 4K video quality, yet its tough little body doesnt weigh me down. In a pinch, the Z50 can even perform like its bigger siblings for some commercial work, such as family events, weddings, baby bump photography, and graduations. I think Nikon has hit it out of the ballpark with this tiny yet powerful mirrorless camera.

We are proud to include Darrells body of work in our ever-growing and never-ending resources for our community, such as the Nikonians forums, The Nikonian eZine, Nikonians Academy Workshops, Nikonians News Blog, our Wiki, Galleries, Members Portfolios, eBooks, and newsletters. Our community continues to grow, as we now surpass 600,000 members on record.