of multiple images on the screen and to switch to Calendar display view. Chapter 8 explains these playback zoom features and a few others that are unavailable during shooting.
Using the Touch Shutter (or Not)
Another feature to get to know during your meet-and-greet with the camera is the Touch Shutter. The Touch Shutter enables you to focus and take a picture by simply tapping your subject once on the monitor. The focusing part of the feature assumes that the camera and lens are set to use autofocusing. (If you use the 16–50mm kit lens, that setting is the default.)
The Touch Shutter comes in handy on occasion — for example, when you’re using the Self-Portrait mode, outlined near the end of this chapter. But more often than not, I find myself mistakenly tapping the screen and taking a picture when I had no intention of doing so. Because the feature is enabled by default for photo shooting, my guess is that you’ve snapped a few errant pics as well. too. The good news is that you can disable the Touch Shutter or use it only for autofocusing, which is my choice. To cycle through the available settings, tap the Touch Shutter symbol on the monitor, labeled in Figure 1-24.
FIGURE 1-24: Tap the Touch Shutter symbol to cycle through the settings that determine what happens when you tap your subject on the monitor.
You can choose from four Touch Shutter settings, represented on the monitor by the symbols that appear in the margins here:
Touch Shutter/Touch AF: The camera system sets focus on the spot you touch and then releases the shutter when you lift your finger off the monitor. Again, this setting is the default for photo shooting. It’s unavailable for video shooting.
Touch AF: The camera sets focus on the object you tap but doesn’t release the shutter to take the picture. Instead, you use the shutter button to release the shutter.
Off: Choose this option to disable both tap-to-focus and tap-to-shoot. By default, the camera then chooses the focus point for you; see Chapter 4 to find out how to take over that role.
Position Focus Point: Tapping the screen selects a focus point but doesn’t initiate autofocusing. Press the shutter button halfway to start autofocusing.
Exploring a Few Lens Features
Aside from the basics of attaching a retractable Z-mount lens, which I provide at the start of this chapter, it’s difficult to provide specifics about using your lens, because I don’t know which make or model of lens you own. Features vary from lens to lens, so I urge you to read the lens instruction manual carefully for use and care information. I can offer the following general guidelines about how lenses work with the Z fc, though:
You can mount certain non-Z lenses on the camera by using the FTZ adapter. For example, Figure 1-25 shows a Nikon F-mount lens — specifically, the AF-S Nikkor 18–140mm lens — connected via the adapter. The adapter currently costs about $249. Check the adapter instruction manual to find out how to use it as a bridge between your lens and camera.FIGURE 1-25: Using the FTZ adapter enables me to use one of my older Nikon lenses with the Z fc. Not all lenses that fit the adapter can take advantage of all camera features. Some lenses aren’t compatible with the camera’s autofocusing system, for example, forcing you to rely on manual focusing. To get the scoop on how a lens will work with the camera, check the lens manufacturer’s website: Leading manufacturers provide information on Z-mount compatibility. In some cases, you may need to update the lens firmware (the software that operates the lens), which the manufacturer website should discuss as well.
With most zoom lenses, you zoom in and out by rotating the zoom barrel. The position of this lens component varies. Figure 1-25 shows you where to find it on the AF-S Nikkor 18–140mm lens; Figure 1-26, the Z-mount 16–50mm kit lens. Some zoom lenses have a push/pull arrangement instead, so again, consult the lens manual for specifics.FIGURE 1-26: Here’s a look at the important components of the Z-mount 16–50mm lens.
The angle of view that a lens can capture is determined by its focal length. Focal length is measured in millimeters. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view. As focal length increases, the angle of view narrows, and the subject occupies more of the frame.Generally speaking, lenses with focal lengths shorter than 35mm are considered wide angle lenses, and lenses with focal lengths greater than 80mm are considered telephoto lenses. Anything in the middle is a “normal” lens, suitable for shooting scenes that require neither a wide nor narrow angle of view.Focal length also affects depth of field, or the distance over which focus appears acceptably sharp. The shorter the focal length, the larger the depth of field. (Chapter 4 shows examples.)
Zoom lenses, which offer a range of focal lengths, include a focal length indicator to tell you the current focal length. I labeled the indicator on the 16–50mm kit lens in Figure 1-26 (this is the same line that shows you where to align the lens to fully retract it). In the figure, the lens is set to the 35mm focal length. I also labeled the indicator for the lens shown in Figure 1-25; the focal length in that figure is 50mm.
You have to do some math to determine the actual focal length produced by a lens when it’s mounted on a Z fc. Argh! This issue breaks my longstanding rule that friends don’t let friends do math. Sadly, it’s critical to understanding your lens.Here’s the deal: The angle of view produced by any focal length depends on the size of the camera’s image sensor, which is the component that replaces film in a digital camera. Because sensor sizes vary from camera to camera, the photo industry decided years ago to stick with the original focal-length standard, which was based on the size of a 35mm film negative. Digital cameras whose sensors are the same size as a 35mm negative are called full-frame cameras. With a full-frame camera, the focal length marked on the lens holds true.Full-frame cameras are expensive though, which is why many cameras, including the Z fc, use smaller sensors. For reasons not worth exploring, the smaller sensor means that the lens doesn’t capture the same angle of view as it does on a full-frame camera. The frame area is reduced, as if you took a picture on a full-frame
