Nikon D3body - D3 Body 12mp FX Digital SLR Camera Quick start guide

En
Professional
Technical Guide

2
Table of Contents
Using the Menus........................................................... 4
Autofocus
Autofocus
Focusing with Autofocus ............................................. 7
Behind the Goal ........................................................11
Tracking erratically moving subjects that are frequently
obscured by other objects
Pitcher or Runner? ....................................................12
Switching instantly between subjects at different dis-
tances from the camera
The Inside Track.........................................................13
Tracking subjects that are obscured by objects passing
in front of the camera
At the Finish Line ......................................................14
Quick shutter response
Poor Lighting or Bad Weather ...............................15
Poorly lit or low-contrast scenes
Exposure
Exposure
Auto ISO Sensitivity Control...................................... 16
A Daytime Stadium Match......................................17
Switching between sunlight and shade
Active D-Lighting (ADL) ............................................. 19
A Daytime Stadium Match Revisited....................19
High-contrast lighting
Easy Exposure Compensation ................................... 21

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Image Quality
Image Quality
FX and DX Formats .....................................................22
Vignette Control.........................................................27
Lens Options
Lens Options
Vibration Reduction (VR)...........................................28
Options for Long Lenses ............................................30
Camera Settings
Camera Settings
Sharing Settings.........................................................31

4
Using the Menus
Use the Gbutton, Jbutton, and multi selector to navigate
the menus.
1: Move
cursor up
2: Select high-
lighted item or
display sub-menu
3: Move
cursor down
4: Cancel and
return to previous
menu
Center: Select
highlighted item
Gbutton
Jbutton Multi selector
1Display the menus.
Press the Gbutton to display the menus.
2Highlight the icon for the current menu.
Press 4to highlight the
icon for the current menu.

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3Select a menu.
Press 1or 3to select the desired menu.
4Position the cursor in the selected menu.
Press 2to position the
cursor in the selected
menu.
5Highlight a menu item.
Press 1or 3to highlight a
menu item.
6Display options.
Press 2to display options
for the highlighted menu
item.

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Using the Menus
7Highlight an option.
Press 1or 3to highlight
an option.
8Select the highlighted item.
Press Jto select the high-
lighted item (some items
can also be selected by
pressing 2). To exit with-
out making a selection,
press the Gbutton.

7
The a Autofocus group in the rst level of the Custom
Settings menu contains a variety of advanced autofocus
options. This chapter details options that can be used to
frame moving subjects at sporting events: a1 (AF-C priority
selection), a3 (Dynamic AF area), and a4 (Focus tracking
with lock-on). These options are best used with the focus
mode selector rotated to C(continuous-servo AF) and the
AF-area mode selector rotated to I(dynamic-area AF).
1Select continuous-servo AF.
Rotate the focus-mode
selector to C.
The camera
will continually adjust
focus while the shutter-
release button is pressed
halfway.
2Select dynamic-area AF.
Rotate the AF-area mode
selector to I(dynamic-
area AF). If the subject
briey leaves the se-
lected focus point, the
camera will focus based
on information from sur-
rounding focus points.
Autofocus: Focusing with Autofocus

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3Choose an option for Custom Setting a1.
Choose whether the camera gives
priority to focus or to shutter re-
sponse in focus mode C.
4Choose an option for Custom Setting a3.
Choose the number of focus
points used for dynamic-area AF.
Select 9 points or 21 points for
track-and-eld events or for sub-
jects that move unpredictably.
Autofocus

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Focusing with Autofocus
5Choose an option for Custom Setting a4.
Choose how quickly the camera
responds when an object moves
between the subject and the
camera.

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Focus tracking with lock-on controls how the camera re-
sponds to abrupt changes in focus distance. It can be used
to prevent the camera from immediately refocusing when
objects move through the space between the subject
and the camera, ensuring that the camera will continue to
track the main subject once the obstacle has moved away.
Choose the length of time before the camera refocuses
from Long, Normal, and Short.
Camera will wait before
refocusing on objects
behind the subject
Camera will wait before
refocusing on objects
behind the subject
Camera will track and
focus on objects the
same distance from the
camera as the subject
Focus Tracking with Lock-On
Autofocus