Nikon D200 User manual

Advanced Digital Imagery System (ADIS)
Nikon D200 Camera Kit
-Checklist and Operations Manual-
V3.0
2/28/2012
Florida Wing, Civil Air Patrol
Charlotte County Composite Squadron, FL051

2
1.0 Equipment Pre-Mission Check
Open aluminum camera case and verify the following items available:
Nikon D200 camera
GPS cable A –camera connector to D9 male connector
GPS cable B –D9 female to GPS rectangular connector
Garmin etrex GPS
AMOD Data Logger
Nikon quick charger with spare battery
USB cable
Spare AA batteries
Memory Card (will likely already be installed in the camera)
Camera to GPS cables (A& B) Garmin etrex Nikon Quick Charger
USB Cable AA Batteries Camera Memory Card AMOD Data Logger

3
Turn on the Garmin etrex GPS [right side second button from top]
Push Page button until Menu screen appears [top button right side]
At the bottom of the screen there is a battery indicator- it should be grayed in. If not more
than 50% grayed in, replace battery.
Battery is replaced by turning the metal fastener on the back of the unit counter
clockwise 90 degrees and then removing the back cover. Install 2 AA batteries.
When done, push and hold Power button until the unit turns off. [Right side second
button from top]
1.1 Nikon D200 Camera Pre-mission Initiation
Verify that there is a memory card in the camera.
Power Button
Page Button
Battery Indicator
Memory Card –kit includes,
1GB, 4GB and 8 GB cards
Push this button to eject card
Rotate knob to open Memory Card door

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Turn Camera on –See shutter switch on top right of camera
Look at the LCD display on the top-right of the camera. The battery symbol on the right
side of the display should be fully grayed in indicating fully charge batteries. If not fully
charged, remove batteries and charge before the mission. The figure 898 indicates the
number of photos remaining on the camera’s memory card. This number will vary
depending upon camera settings and the number of photos still on the memory card.
Note: a reading of 1.7k means 1700 photos remaining.
Camera Battery Compartment –Push white tab away from battery to release
Erase camera memory
Push Menu button (left back of camera near top of display)
Select Playback Menu using cursor control (to right of display at top)
Select Delete
Push right cursor button
Select All
Select Yes
Push Enter button (lower left of display)
Note: if the memory was erased by the last user, the above steps will not be possible!
On Off
Switch
LCD
Display
Battery
Indicator
+/- Button
Main Command
Dial
Battery Compartment is
located on the bottom of
the camera. Access is
from the rear of the
camera.

5
Reset Camera (push QUAL and +/- buttons simultaneously for 4 seconds)
[Qual button is on the top left of the camera and has a green spot on it. +/- button
is on the right top of the camera and has a green spot on it. LCD display on the
top right of the camera will flicker once during the reset process]
Set ISO Sensitivity to 500
Depress the ISO button on the top left of the camera. The LCD display on the top
right will show the current ISO number. Rotate the Main Command Dial which is
on the top right of the back of the camera until the ISO number reads 500.
Confirm the following camera control settings (see next page for photo)
Focus Mode Selector to C (not S or M) [located camera front lower left]
Metering Selector to Matrix [located right side of view finder, point to middle
icon] Note: When taking photos on the ground at a specific object, such as a person, use
center-weighted metering. Point to the top icon.
Focus Selector Lock to L position [ring adjustment around cursor control, to
upper right of display screen]
AF Area Mode Selector to Single Area [located to lower right of displays screen,
bottom position selected]
Cursor Control
Nikon calls it the
Multi-Selector
Menu
Button
Enter
Button
Battery
Box
Qual
Button
ISO
Button

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Look through viewfinder with lens cover on and shutter button depressed half way,
Illuminated fields should show left to right:
A solid circle inside of a rectangular box [spot metering]
Low f3.5 P
ISO 500 [898] [ISO set to 500 and 898 photos remaining]
Remove lens cover and point camera at a bright outside scene –depress shutter button
half way –look into viewfinder
There should be a bold outlined box with a circle in the center at the center
of the view [auto focus set to matrix metering at center of scene]
The left portion of the line of text will show shutter speed and f stop
[For example 250 f8]
While holding shutter button half down, rotate the Main Command Dial
with your thumb [located upper right of camera back]
Until shutter speed gets to 1000 or largest value less than 1000
[f -stop will get smaller for larger speed numbers]
Important –you will have to set the shutter speed to 1000 for each photo
you shoot (or fastest speed less than 1000 that can be set) using the above
procedure!
Confirm Camera Setup by doing the following:
Press Menu button
Select Recent Settings (using cursor)
Image size to Large [L]
Image Quality to FINE [JPEG Fine]. If it is set to Normal or other
than Fine, use the cursor to select and set it to Fine
ISO Sensitivity 500 [you set it to 500 a few steps ago!]
If settings do not agree, then go into the Setup Page and adjust as required.
Spot Metering Selector
Focus Selector Lock
AF Area Mode Selector

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Take a test photo (adjust zoom as appropriate)
Check the photo
Press the push button to the upper left of the display screen [the one with
the right arrow inside of an outlined box] to view the photo. It should look
good.
Delete the photo you just took
Press the button that has a trash can icon on it [camera back upper left]
Press the trash can icon button a second time to do the delete
The display should now show “Folder Contains No Images”
Synchronize the Camera Clock with GPS Time
All times used during an aerial photography mission are to be in Universal Coordinated
Time (UCT) which is also referred to as Zulu time. This is the time at zero longitude.
The Garmin etrex GPS will already be setup to show UCT time unless someone has
changed it to local time. On the east coast of the US, local time is 5 hours earlier than
UCT during winter months and 4 hours earlier during daylight savings time. Therefore,
the time shown on the GPS should be later than local time by either 4 or 5 hours.
The camera will show the time zone as London, Casablanca UTC 0. See next page.
Synchronize the camera and etrex times as follows:
Menu
Button
Cursor
Control
Photo View
Button
Delete Button

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Go to a place with an unobstructed view overhead.
Take the etrex and camera with you. Turn on the etrex
GPS. Push the Page Button several times until the
SkyView page appears. Wait until the status message
“Ready to Navigate” appears.
Push the Page Button several
times until the Main Menu screen appears.
The time will appear at the bottom of the eTrex Main Menu page. Keep this display
active while the camera is set to the same time.
Push the camera menu button. Press the Multi Selector left button and then press the up
and/or down buttons until the “Setup Menu” appears. Press the right button. Press the up
and/or down buttons until “World Time” is highlighted. Press the right button to bring up
the “World Time” screen. Press the up and/or down buttons to highlight “Date and
Time”. Press the right button to bring up the “World Time Date and Time” screen. Use
the right button to scroll through the settings while using the up and down buttons to set
Year, Month and Day and then Hour, Minutes and Seconds. Set the time a minute faster
than etrex time. Look at the etrex screen. Once the minute increases to agree with the
D90, press the D90 OK button. Return to the World Time screen (time is at the bottom)
to check that the etrex and camera are now time-synchronized.
The Camera and GPS are now ready for an aerial photo mission

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Turn the camera off when you are done using it!
[Turn Camera off –See shutter switch on top right of camera]
1.2 AMOD Data Tracker
Install fresh batteries as follows:
1. Remove the back cover
2. Install three AA batteries as shown.
The AMOD Tracker can use either rechargeable or non-
rechargeable batteries. If rechargeable batteries are used, they
must be charged with an external battery charger.
Fresh batteries will provide approximately 15 hours of use.
Power pushbutton
Take the Data Tracker outside to a place with a clear view overhead. Turn the device on
by depressing the power pushbutton for one second. The three status lights will illuminate
briefly then turn off. The green GPS status light will light continuously until a fix is
obtained. The GPS status light will then blink continuously.
GPS acquisition may take several minutes or more.
The amber Battery Power light will blink when the battery has less than 20% capacity
left.
The red Storage light comes on when the memory is full. When that happens, no further
data logging is possible. At this point the log must be downloaded to a computer and the
memory cleared.

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It is recommended that the memory be cleared before each flight but only after the data
logs for previous flights have been downloaded or considered no longer required.
See the following for how to clear the memory.
Clear the memory by holding the Mark button down for 5 seconds. All
three status lights will illuminate sequentially. After all three lights have
blinked in sequence, release the mark button. The track memory should
now be erased.
Mark Button
It is also possible to erase the memory when the device is connected to a
computer via its USB cable. See the AMOD manual for more detail.
Power Button

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2.0 Pre-Mission Planning
2.1 Identify Customer Requirements
The flight crew needs the following information to assure successful acquisition of the
aerial photographs required by the customer:
Type of mission. The major types are:
Spot Photography
Route Photography
Photographic Mapping
Location
Target location(s) for spot photography
oSpecific type of pattern to be flown at target
Beginning and end of a route (highway, shoreline, river)
oPercent of successive photo overlap
Corner point coordinates defining area for photographic mapping
oAmounts of successive photo overlap and parallel photo overlap
Ground level coverage of each photograph (how many feet wide and how many feet deep)
Camera pointing angle (how many degrees down from the horizontal)
Resolution at ground level at the center of the photograph
2.2 Translate customer requirements into specific photographic shooting parameters to
include:
Altitude above ground (AGL)
Aircraft speed
Pattern at target
Camera pointing angle
Lens focal length
Time between photographs (required for route photography and photographic mapping)
Altitude above ground level (AGL)
1200 feet AGL is an ideal altitude for aerial photography; the closer to the ground, the
less build-up of haze and thus a clearer photograph. Higher altitudes allow for more
ground coverage per picture but at lower ground resolution.
Aircraft Speed
At 90 Knots, the aircraft moves 150 feet per second. This is a good speed for aerial
photography.

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Camera Pointing Angle
Camera pointing angle is the angle below the
horizon.
In a Cessna 182 or Cessna 172 with a photo
window it is not possible to get a pointing
angle much greater than 45 degrees. Smaller
angles result in the photos being greater in
extent perpendicular to the direction of flight
and thus lower resolution at ground-level.
Haze also becomes more significant at smaller pointing angles. 45 degrees is an excellent
choice although 30 degrees is a reasonable compromise.
Setting Camera Pointing Angle
Taking photos with a consistent pointing angle requires the use of a monopod. The
following pictures show how to set the pointing angle using a locally fabricated guide.
The guide shown is for 45 degrees.
Camera mounted to monopod. Mono pod rests on seat. Lens set to 45 degrees
Pointing angle set using guide. Photographer holds
monopod vertical while
assuring the camera
does not rest against
the photo window

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Lens Focal Length
The 28mm to 105 mm lens furnished with the Nikon D200 covers a wide range of
photographic requirements, from wide angle to long-telephoto. Focal length settings less
than 50 mm are not useful when the camera is used in a Cessna 182 or Cessna 172
equipped with a photo window. Taking photos at focal length
settings from 18mm to approximately 40mm results in the picture
including parts of the aircraft (landing gear, wing). Customers do
not want parts of the aircraft in the photo. In addition, when parts
of the aircraft are in the photo field, the camera’s automatic focus
and exposure devices may not work correctly; the landing gear
may be in focus but the scene below may not!
Focal length is set by rotating the focal length ring.
Focal length setting
Choosing the best camera Pointing Angle and lens Focal Length
Consult the following table to select shooting parameters. Data is given for an aircraft
altitude of 1200 feet AGL. The data can be scaled for other altitudes as the scaling is
linear. Example, to fly at 1800 feet AGL, multiply the number in the rows “Horizontal
Image dimension in direction of flight” and below by 1800/1200 = 1.5.
Base upon the customer’s requirement for image size at ground level, go down the table
and find the closest fit. For example, if the customer wants each photo to be about 800
feet by 600 feet, choose the first data column; 812 feet horizontal and 847 feet
perpendicular to the direction of flight is a close fit. From that column, find the required
lens focal length (50 mm) and camera pointing angle (45 degrees). The bottom data entry
in the column indicates that the aircraft will need to be directed to a point 1200 feet from
the target. Resolution at the center of the photo will be 2.3 inches!
Important –Most of the data in the table applies to both the Nikon D90 and Nikon D200
cameras. Resolution values are for the D90; numbers will be reduced slightly for the D200. For
other cameras, the data may be way off as other cameras may have different image sensor
dimensions.

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For shallow camera pointing angles (see the 15 degree entry) the dimensions of each
photograph for a 50 mm lens focal length become very large (approximately 2240 feet
horizontal by 8900 feet perpendicular to the aircraft). Resolution is lower at the center of
the camera axis; it becomes significantly degraded near the edges of the photo.
Telephoto focal length settings (greater than 50 mm) provide increased resolution with
smaller ground-level coverage. See the 100 mm data entries. Where maximum detail is
required, use of a telephoto lens setting adds value.
Maintaining a Focal Length Setting
During route photography and aerial mapping it is important
that the lens focal length setting not change. There is no built-
in mechanism to lock the focal length setting at any value
other than 28 mm. The following photo shows a simple
solution. Wide rubber band
Where overlapping photographs are required, the time between shutter-release must be
determined. A 25% photo overlap is a good choice and will be used as an example.
Horizontal picture dimension should have already been determined in the steps above. If
shooting parameters result in each photo nominally covering 800 feet at ground level,
25% overlap means that a photo should be taken every time the aircraft moves (100%-
25%) x 800 feet = 600 feet. At 90 knots, the aircraft moves 150 feet in one second.
Therefore, a photo must be taken every four seconds. Program the camera timer for four
seconds.

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Determining Number of Photos
For spot photography, take multiple photos as appropriate. More are better than less!
For route photography and aerial mapping, one must determine the length of each leg.
Using a map, determine each leg length in statute miles. Multiply the leg length in statute
miles by 5280 feet per mile. Divide that number by the length of each photo less the
photo overlap (see “Selecting a Time Interval”above). The result is the number of photos
that need to be taken during the leg. Program the Multi Function Timer Remote Control
with the result. For example, for a leg length of 8 miles and a 25% overlap of photos with
each photo 800 feet wide, 5280x8=42,240. (100%-25%) x 800 feet = 600 feet.
42,240/600 = 70 photos.
2.3 Planning the Flight Path
A spot photography mission requires that the target-center be accurately located and that
the flight pattern to be flown around the target be defined. This will require accurate
determination of waypoints which are defined by their latitude and longitude. Those
numbers will be used by the flight crew to program the aircraft GPS accordingly.
An aircraft sectional map can be used to determine the numbers. All qualified flight crew
members know how to do so.
An alternative is to use a computer-based mapping program such as DeLorme Street
Atlas or Google Earth. DeLorme Street Atlas has the advantage that it is self contained on
the computer and does not require an Internet connection to work. Google Earth is a
better alternative where a Web connection is available. Both are on the FL051 ADIS
computers. When using either program, make sure the positional information is displayed
in degrees, minutes and fractional minutes (D M.M) and not degrees, minutes and
seconds. See the program help section for instructions on how to make the change if
required.
The following is a snapshot of a Street Atlas map:

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The Myakka Bridge in Charlotte County, FL was located by scrolling around the map. If
an address is available for the target, it can be entered to find it on the map using the
search feature.
The computer cursor is pointed at the center of the bridge. The longitude
and latitude of the pointer is listed to the right of the map. Move the
cursor to any location on the map to get Lat/Long.
To fly a constant distance circle around the target, have the flight crew enter the Lat/long
of the center of the target into the aircraft GPS. The flight crew then selects “Go To” and
the distance to the target center will appear on the GPS screen. Keep the distance constant
to fly a circle around the target.
Some spot photography missions require that the flight path around the target be a
rectangle. With a computer mapping program the Lat/long of the corner points can be
quickly determined using the Draw tool in Street Atlas to define the flight path.

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The draw tool has
been used to
surround the target
with a square box
with each side 1
mile from the center
of the target. The
cursor is then placed
over each corner
point, in turn, so that
the Lat/long of each
corner point can be
determined for entry
into the flight
planning form.
For Route Photography, Street Atlas can be used to determine the beginning and end
points of the route as well as intermediate waypoints as necessary.
Planning an aerial mapping mission is more complex. Details are beyond the scope of
this manual.
2.4 Mission Planning Forms
See Section 4.0 for spot photography mission planning forms.

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3.0 Flying the Mission
3.1 Pre Engine Start
Take the entire D200 kit with you to the aircraft. Get out the camera, the GPS and
required cables. Put the rest of the kit in the baggage compartment and secure it. You
may need contents of the kit if you have to land somewhere different than mission
base!
Take a picture of the tail number of the aircraft.
Brief the pilot and observer on missions details; altitude, ground speed, target location(s)
and type. Agree on how you and/or the co-pilot will direct the aircraft once in the target
area.
Ask for an “in case of emergency” briefing in the event the pilot has not already done so.
If the flight is to be over water, ensure the briefing includes ditching instructions and that
you, the pilot and the co-pilot are wearing approved life vests.
Connect the Garmin etrex GPS to the camera using the two GPS cables. One cable
connects to the GPS and one to the camera and the two cables connect together.
Be very careful here as cables are easily damaged!
Turn on the Garmin GPS.
Place the GPS below the rear window so that it has a good view of satellites
There is a hanging strap on the GPS that can be clipped onto a fitting just below the
window in the baggage compartment. Verify GPS is tracking. Leave GPS turned on for
the entire duration of the flight.
Note: the aircraft needs to be outside of a metal hanger in order for the GPS receiver to
function correctly.
Remove the lens cap. Store it somewhere where it will not blow around the cockpit.

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Secure the camera strap to you or the airplane so as to assure the camera cannot be
dropped out the window.
Turn on the camera. After a minute or so, verify that the GPS is locked onto the satellite
network. Point the camera out the photo window and take a picture. Verify that the photo
is sharp, properly exposed and that the GPS data has been included in the photo.
3.2 Flight Segment
Tell the pilot you are ready for engine start.
Once the engine is running, make sure your can talk to the pilot and co-pilot using the
intercom. If not, do not proceed until this is resolved. You must be able to talk to the pilot
in order to give steering directions once in the target area.
Once in the target area:
Locate the target(s)
Make sure the camera strap is secured to your or the airplane to assure the camera
cannot be dropped out the photo window
Use the previously determined lens focal length setting or, for spot photography,
zoom as appropriate (make sure aircraft parts will not be in the picture).
It is ok to put the camera lens outside the photo window but make sure the focal
length setting does not change.
Provide instructions to the pilot and co-pilot on flight path.
Direct the aircraft so that the center of the camera view finder is on the target.
Push shutter button down half way and hold for a second before taking the photo
to allow for auto focus to lock-on.
Take multiple photos.
Tell the co-pilot the ID of each photo or group of photos taken so that he or she
can record the corresponding aircraft heading(s) in the photo mission log.
Setting up the camera for automatic shutter release:
Route photography and aerial mapping will require that the camera be setup to
automatically take a photo every few seconds. During mission planning, the time interval
between photos will have been determined. The value will typically be a photo every 3 or
4 seconds.
To setup the camera, press “Menu”, then use the
cursor (multi-selector) to select “Intvl Timer
Shooting”in the Shooting Menu.
Next, press the cursor to the right.

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Use the cursor (multi-selector) right button to move
through the setup parameters. At each entry, use the
cursor up or down button to change the value. A photo
every 3 seconds is shown in the photo on the left.
Continue to scroll right. Select the number of photos you
want to shoot. Put 999 in to assure the camera does not
automatically stop prematurely during a mission.
Continue to scroll right until the “start” screen appears.
Use the cursor down button to highlight “On”. Press the
Enter button. Press the enter button to start the camera
taking pictures.
To stop the interval timer, press the Enter button.
To restart, press the Menu button, use the cursor
(multi-selector) to select “Intvl Timer Shooting” in
the Shooting Menu and then press the cursor to the
right. The screen on the left will appear. Highlight
“Restart” and then press the Enter button.
The same process can be used to stop the entire
process. Select “Done” and then push the Enter
button.