Nikon D500 Quick start guide

Professional
En
Technical Guide
— Useful Features —

2
Table of Contents
Custom Controls 5
Custom Control Assignments .................. 6
Quick Menu Access ........................................................... 10
Custom Folders ..................................................................12
Taking Pictures 15
White Balance Tips and Tricks ......................................... 16
• White Balance Options .................................................................16
• Auto White Balance for Incandescent Lighting ...18
• Measuring Preset Manual White Balance ................................19
AE with Constant Shutter Speed and Aperture .......... 20
Preserving Natural Contrast ........................................... 21
Multiple Exposure: Overlay Mode .................................22
Burst Photography: Keeping Exposure Consistent .... 23
Flicker Reduction ...................................... 24
Muing the Shutter ......................................................... 27
• Quiet Shutter-Release Mode .......................................................27
• Movie Stills ......................................................................................28
Vibration Reduction: Sport Mode .................................. 29
• What Makes Sport Mode Special ...............................................30
• ”Sport” Versus “Normal” ................................................................31

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Playback 33
Finding Pictures Quickly .................................................. 34
• Starting Playback with Your Right Hand ..................................35
• Finding Pictures Quickly ..................................36
• Quick Focus Check .........................................................................38
• Tagging Pictures ............................................................................40
Upload 43
Adding Text to Pictures .................................................... 44
• Editing Text in HTTP Server Mode .............................................44
• IPTC Presets .....................................................................................45
Checking Upload Status .................................................. 46
Accessories 47
Synchronized Release ...................................................... 48
• Configuring Cameras for Synchronized Release ....................48
• Uploading Photos ..........................................................................51

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5
Custom Controls
As you will learn in this chapter, the
D500 is crammed with features to make
your life easier, including custom con-
trol assignments, quick menu access,
and the ability to organize photos in
folders.

6
Custom Setting f1 (Custom control
assignment) is used to customize
camera controls, starting with the
function (Fn) buttons. Assigning
frequently-used settings to camera
controls lets you access them with-
out using the menus.
Press
You can choose the roles played by the following controls:
0 Pv button
v Fn1 button
x Fn2 button
V AF‑ON button
8 Center of sub‑selector
S Lens focus function buttons
(can be used for the assigned func-
tion only if the lens has a focus func-
tion selector and it is set to AF‑L)
In addition, Custom Setting f10 (As‑
sign MB‑D17 buttons) can be used
to choose the roles played by the
Fn and AF‑ON buttons on optional
MB-D17 battery packs.
Custom Control Assignments

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The functions that can be assigned to these controls are:
D500 MB‑D17
0 v x V 8 S Fn
AF‑ON
APreset focus point 4 4 — — 444—
KAF‑area mode 4 4 —444—4
qAF‑area mode + AF‑ON 4 4 —444—4
qPreview 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
rFV lock 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
BAE/AF lock 4 4 —444—4
CAE lock only 4 4 —444—4
DAE lock (Reset on release) 4 4 —4 4 — 4 4
EAE lock (Hold) 4 4 —4 4 — 4 4
FAF lock only 4 4 —444—4
AAF‑ON 4 4 —444—4
hI Disable/enable 4 4 — — 4 4 — —
1Bracketing burst 4 4 — — 4 — — —
4+NEF (RAW) 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
LMatrix metering 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
MCenter‑weighted metering 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
NSpot metering 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
tHighlight‑weighted metering 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
bViewnder grid display 4 4 — — 4 — 4—
!Viewnder virtual horizon 4 4 — — 4 — — —
cSync. release selection 4 4 — — 4 4 — —
%MY MENU 444 — 4 — 4—
3Access top item in MY MENU 444 — 4 — 4—
KPlayback 4 4 — — 4 — 4—

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Custom Controls
D500 MB‑D17
0 v x V 8 S Fn
AF‑ON
cRating — — 4 — — — — —
JSelect center focus point — — — — 4 — — —
KHighlight active focus point — — — — 4 — — —
None 44444 — 4 4
GSame as camera AF‑ON button — — — — — — — 4
Press + y
The following controls can also be used with the com-
mand dials:
1 Pv button + y
w Fn1 button + y
9 Center of sub‑selector + y
n BKT button + y
Q Movie record button + y
(applies when live view selector is
rotated to C)
Custom Setting f10 (Assign MB‑D17 buttons) > Fn but‑
ton+ y can be used to choose the role played by the com-
mand dials in combination with the Fn button on optional
MB-D17 battery packs.

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Custom Control Assignments
The functions that can be assigned to these controls are:
D500 MB‑D17
1 w 9 n Q Fn + y
JChoose image area 444—4 4
$Shutter spd & aperture lock 444—4 4
v1 step spd/aperture 4 4 — — — 4
wChoose non‑CPU lens number 444 — — 4
yActive D‑Lighting 4 4 — — — 4
zExposure delay mode 4 4 — — — 4
nPhoto shooting menu bank 444 — 4 4
vExposure mode — — — — 4 4
tAuto bracketing — — — 4 — —
$Multiple exposure — — — 4 — —
2HDR (high dynamic range) — — — 4 — —
None 44444 4
9ISO sensitivity — — — — — 4
EExposure compensation — — — — — 4
wMetering — — — — — 4
“Press” and “Press + y”
Certain roles can not be assigned simultaneously to both the
“press” and “press + y” functions for some controls. Assigning
such a role to “press” when it is already assigned to “press + y”
sets the “press + y” option None, while assigning such a role
to “press + y” when it is already assigned to “press” sets the
“press” option None.

10
If Access top item in MY MENU is
selected for Custom Setting f1 (Cus‑
tom control assignment) > 0Pre‑
view button, pressing the Pv button
will display the top item in My Menu,
letting you access functions that
cannot otherwise be assigned to a camera control. Here is
an example of how this could be used to congure the Pv
button to display the Storage folder menu.
1 Add Storage folder to My Menu.
In My Menu, select Add items>
PHOTO SHOOTING MENU and
then highlight Storage folder
and press J.
2 Move Storage folder to the top of My Menu.
Select Rank items and move
Storage folder to the top (you
can reorder the items as desired
at any time).
Quick Menu Access