Young - Mastering the Nikon D610

Mastering the Nikon D610

Darrell Young (Digital Darrell) is an information technology engineer by trade. Hes 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 has given him a real concern for the natural environment and a deep interest in nature photography.

He loves to write, as you can see in the Resources area of the Nikonians Online community (www.Nikonians.org). He joined the community in the year 2000, and his literary contributions led to his invitation to become a Founding Member of the Nikonians Writers Guild.

Mastering the Nikon D610

Darrell Young

Darrell Young (aka Digital Darrell)

Editor: Jocelyn Howell

Copyeditor: Jeanne Hansen

Layout: Petra Strauch

Cover Design: Helmut Kraus, www.exclam.de

Printer: Sheridan Books, Inc.

Printed in USA

ISBN 978-1-937538-45-3

1st Edition 2014

2014 Darrell Young

Rocky Nook, Inc.

802 E. Cota Street, 3rd Floor

Santa Barbara, CA 93103

www.rockynook.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Young, Darrell, 1958

Mastering the Nikon D610 / by Darrell Young.
pages cm

ISBN 978-1-937538-45-3 (softcover : alk. paper)

1. Nikon digital cameras. 2. Single-lens reflex cameras. 3. Photography--Digital techniques.

I. Title.

TR263.N5Y684 2014

771.32--dc23
2013044411

Distributed by OReilly Media

1005 Gravenstein Highway North

Sebastopol, CA 95472

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. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author(s) 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.

This book is dedicated to:

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

My Nikonians editor, Tom Bon, without whose assistance I could not possibly write books

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

The wonderful staff of Rocky Nook, including Gerhard Rossbach, Joan Dixon, Jocelyn Howell, and Matthias Rossmanith ...

My copy editor, Jeanne Hansen (www.hansenedits.com), whose eye for detail and knowledge of the English language made this book much nicer for its readers

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 D610 early in its production cycle so that I could write this book. I personally buy from and recommend Berger-Bros.com for Nikon cameras, lenses, and accessories. They offer old-time service and classes for your photographic educational needs too!

Will Thompson of www.atomos.com (503-388-3236) for allowing me to use a powerful Atomos Ninja-2 external HDMI video recorder. The revolutionary Ninja-2 is the go-to Smart Production Weapon for Nikon HD-SLR camera owners who want to record the highest quality, uncompressed video their camera can output.

Michael Tapes of mtapesdesign.com (321-752-9700) for providing samples of their excellent products: WhiBal for white balance ambient light (PRE) readings and accurate white balance control, and LensAlign and FocusTune for calibrating and fine-tuning autofocus in Nikon DSLRs.

Nikons announcement of the D800 in February 2012 was followed by the unveiling of the D600 a short seven months later, in September 2012. Then, a little over a year later, in October 2013, a minor upgrade to the D600 resulted in the release of the new Nikon D610. The upgraded D610 has three main improvements: a new shutter assembly, resulting in a faster picture-taking rate of 6 frames per second (fps) versus 5.5 fps; improved Auto white balance; and a new 3 fps Quiet continuous (Qc) shutter-release mode.

The new D610 is not a D800, nor is it a DX sensor-equipped D7100. It is more like an upgraded combination of the two, making it a very clever merger of a semipro and enthusiast camera with features that surpass some recent professional models.

Imagine the dilemma faced by the author of the past eight Mastering the Nikon DSLR series books. Nikonian Darrell Youngknown to us as Digital Darrellhad just written the Nikon D7100 book, which was preceded by his book on the Nikon D800/800E. Many of the features from both the D7100 and D800 were combined into the amazing Nikon D610. How could Darrell describe this new, powerful, hybrid digital single-lens reflex in a way that would most benefit his readers?

Working with the camera, Darrells first step is the same as the one he recommends to all new Nikon users. He reads the users manual as many times as it takes to understand important concepts. Once he grasps the concepts and the basic directions available through the users manual, he takes those concepts and directions into the field. He makes sure he understands how each feature works in basic photography and how it can be applied to specialty applications such as landscapes, weddings, events, and portraits. Once satisfied that he has mastered each new feature, he then translates his experience in a simple-to-understand sequence of profusely illustrated steps, and goes on to recommend the best initial settings and shooting techniques to match.