to On, this feature doesn’t engage when the camera is in Self-Portrait mode or when it’s connected to a computer or TV.
Slot Empty Release Lock: This option determines whether the shutter release is disabled when no memory card is in the camera. At the default setting, OK, you can take a temporary picture that you can view for a few seconds by pressing the Playback button. The playback display includes the word Demo. When playback ends, the photo disappears forever because the camera has nowhere to store the file. (The feature is provided mainly for use in camera stores, enabling salespeople to demonstrate the camera without having to keep a memory card installed.) As outlined in the earlier section “Decoding photo-shooting data,” the camera displays various alerts when no memory card is in the camera. But I still suggest that you change the Slot Empty Release Lock setting to LOCK (Release Locked). It’s too easy to miss those warnings and the Demo message and think you’ve recorded a picture when you haven’t.
Firmware Version: Select this option to view which version of the camera firmware, or internal software, your camera runs. You see the firmware items C and LF. At the time this book was written, C was version 1.20; LF was 1.01.Keeping your camera firmware up to date is important, so visit the Nikon website (www.nikon.com) regularly to find out whether your camera sports the latest version. You can find detailed instructions at the site on how to download and install any firmware updates.
Restoring Default Settings
To return your camera to its original, out-of-the-box state, the easiest method is to open the Setup menu and choose Reset All Settings, as shown in Figure 1-30. The only settings not affected are the camera language, time zone, date, and time. After you choose the menu option, the camera instructs you to turn off the camera and then turn it on again.
You also can restore defaults for certain menus only. At the top of the Photo Shooting, Video Recording, and Custom Settings menu, you find an option that resets that menu’s functions. Well, almost all functions: Resetting the Photo Shooting menu does not affect the Storage Folder option, which is a concern only if you create custom folders, as outlined in Chapter 10.
FIGURE 1-30: Choose this option to restore all default settings except the language, time zone, date, and time.
Shooting a Photo in Auto Mode
Ready to take your Z fc for a spin? The following steps walk you through the process of shooting a photo using the camera’s easiest Shooting mode, Auto. Don’t be alarmed by the length of the steps — some things just take a a lot of words to explain. My guess is that after you work through the steps once, you won’t need my help again.
The steps assume that you performed the initial camera setup procedure explained at the start of this chapter, and that you’re using the default settings that Nikon established before shipping your camera. If you changed any settings other than the language, time zone, date, and time, some aspects of taking a picture may not work as described here. Choose Reset All Settings from the Setup menu to return the camera to its original setup.
Additionally, the steps show you how to take a picture the old-fashioned way: using the shutter button to set focus and release the shutter. The other option, using the Touch Shutter, involves too many variables to get into here. (I introduce the Touch Shutter earlier in this chapter and discuss its autofocus features in Chapter 4, if you’re curious.)
With that preamble out of the way, here are the steps to follow:
1 Turn on the camera.
2 Rotate the Shooting mode selector switch to the Auto position, as shown in Figure 1-31.FIGURE 1-31: Set the shooting mode to Auto and the Photo/Video mode to photo.
3 Set the Photo/Video mode switch to Photo mode, as shown in Figure 1-31.
4 Make sure that the Exposure Compensation setting is 0.Exposure compensation enables you to adjust the brightness of the next photo you shoot. You use the Exposure Compensation dial, labeled in Figure 1-31, to set the adjustment amount. I detail this feature in Chapter 3; for now, just check that the 0 on the dial aligns with the Exposure Compensation mark, also labeled in the figure. If necessary, rotate the dial to set the amount to 0 (no adjustment).
5 If the lens has an auto/manual focus switch, set the switch to the autofocus position.The switch should be labeled with an A or AF for autofocusing and M or MF for manual focusing. Not all lenses have such a switch; the 16–50mm kit lens featured in this book, for example, doesn’t offer an auto/manual switch. Instead, the focusing method is controlled by a camera setting, with autofocusing selected by default. If your lens doesn’t support autofocusing with the Z fc, the remaining steps for shooting are the same except that you have to focus manually. Check your lens user guide to find out how to do that.
6 Frame your subject so that it falls within the area indicated by the red focus frame marks, labeled in Figure 1-32.At the camera’s default autofocusing settings, these marks indicate the area that the camera will consider when establishing focus. Focus is typically set on the object that’s closest to the lens or occupies the most space in the frame. The figure shows the marks as they appear on the monitor; they look the same in the viewfinder.
7 If you’re shooting a portrait, look for a yellow face-detection or eye-detection focus box, as shown in Figure 1-32.The default settings also enable the Z fc’s human face- and eye-detection autofocusing feature. If the camera detects a face, it places a yellow focus frame over the face, as shown on the left in Figure 1-33. Then it goes a step farther, searching the area in the focus frame for an eye. If the camera detects an eye, the face-detection frame disappears and you see a smaller focus frame over the eye, as shown on the right in the figure. If more than one eye is detected, a yellow triangle appears on the side of the frame, as in the figure. To put the focus frame over another eye, press the Multi Selector in the direction you want the frame to move. Note that you can only move the box over an eye that the camera detects — if that eye is looking away from the lens, it probably won’t be available to use as a focus target. In group portraits, multiple face-detection frames may appear. If so, the frame that has the yellow positioning triangle (or triangles, in some cases) represents the selected face. Again, you can use the Multi Selector to move the frame over the face you want to use as the focus target. After you move the frame over that face, the eye-detection frame may replace the face-detection frame.FIGURE 1-32: Compose the shot so that your subject is within the area bounded by the red framing marks.FIGURE 1-33: In portraits, a yellow box may appear over the subject’s eye; that eye will be used as the focus target.
8 Press and hold the shutter button halfway down.The camera’s autoexposure and autofocusing systems kick into gear. In dim lighting, the AF-assist lamp on the front of the camera may shoot out a beam of light to help the camera find a focusing target.
9 Keep
