Nikon D5300 User manual

Nikon®
D5300™
J. Dennis Thomas
Digital Field Guide

Nikon®D5300™ Digital Field Guide
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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ISBN: 978-1-118-86726-6
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Credits
Acquisitions Editor
Aaron Black
Project Editor
Cricket Krengel
Technical Editor
George Maginnis
Copy Editor
Kim Heusel
Director, Content Development &
Assembly
Robyn Siesky
Vice President and Executive Group
Publisher
Richard Swadley

About the Author
J. Dennis Thomas is an Austin, Texas-based photographer and the author of 20 Nikon
Digital Field Guides by Wiley Publishing, as well as the author of Concert and Live
Music Photography: Pro Tips from the Pit and Urban and Rural Decay Photography:
Finding the Beauty in the Blight, published by Focal Press. He is also a frequent author
of articles on photographic theory and technique for Digital Photo Magazine,
MasteringPhoto.com, and his own website, the Nikon Digital Field Guide Online
(http://NikonDFG.com).
He is represented by Corbis Images and has done freelance photography for Rolling
Stone, SPIN, and Veri.Live magazines. His photographs have been featured in many
notable publications including Rolling Stone, SPIN, People, Us Weekly, Elle, W maga-
zine, Thrasher, Ebony, New York Post, Veri.Live, and many more.
When not out photographing or in front of his computer writing about photography, he
can be found gracing the stages of the Live Music Capital of the World and popping up
randomly in lms and television shows.

As always, to my girls Henrietta and Maddie…

Acknowledgments
These books wouldn’t be possible without the great team at Wiley working behind the
scenes to put out a great product. My name is on the cover, but there are so many
folks behind me that contribute to these books and I’d like to thank them all.
I’d also like to thank the folks at Precision Camera and Video in Austin, Texas, Jack and
Monica Puryear at Puryear Photography, and Sigma USA for making great lenses.

Contents
Introduction xiii
About theDigital Field Guide.............xiv
CHAPTER 1
Exploring the Nikon D5300 1
Key Components of the D5300............ 2
The top of the camera ................ 2
The back of the camera ............... 4
The front of the camera ............... 7
The left side of the camera............. 8
The Viewnder Display ................. 10
The Information Display................. 14
CHAPTER 2
Nikon D5300 Essentials 21
Exposure Modes ...................... 22
Automatic modes ................... 22
Programmed auto mode.............. 23
Aperture-priority auto mode ........... 24
Shutter-priority auto mode ............ 25
Manual mode ...................... 26
Scene modes......................... 27
Special Effects Modes.................. 33
Night Vision ....................... 33
Color Sketch ...................... 34
Toy Camera effect .................. 34
Miniature Effect .................... 35
Selective Color ..................... 37
Silhouette ......................... 38
High Key .......................... 38
Low Key .......................... 38
HDR Painting ...................... 39
Metering Modes ...................... 40
Matrix metering mode ............... 40
Center-weighted metering mode ....... 41
Spot metering mode................. 42
Autofocus ........................... 42
Phase detection .................... 42
Contrast detection .................. 43

Focus Modes......................... 43
Auto Servo AF mode ................ 44
Continuous Servo AF mode ........... 44
Single Servo AF mode ............... 44
Manual focus mode ................. 45
Autofocus Area Modes ................. 45
Auto-area AF mode.................. 46
Single-point AF mode ................ 46
Dynamic-area AF mode .............. 47
Release Modes ....................... 48
ISO Sensitivity ........................ 50
Auto ISO .......................... 50
Noise reduction..................... 51
White Balance ........................ 53
The Kelvin scale .................... 53
White balance settings ............... 53
Picture Controls....................... 55
File Formats, Size, and Compression ...... 62
NEF (RAW) ........................ 63
JPEG............................. 63
Image size......................... 65
Image quality ...................... 66
Wi-Fi ............................... 67
GPS ................................ 69
CHAPTER 3
Setting up the NikonD5300 71
The Playback Menu ................... 72
Delete ............................ 72
Playback folder ..................... 73
Playback display options.............. 74
Image review ...................... 75
Rotate tall ......................... 75
Slide show ........................ 75
DPOF print order.................... 76
Rating ............................ 77
Select to send to smart device......... 77
The Shooting Menu.................... 78
Reset shooting menu ................ 78
Storage folder ...................... 78
Image quality ...................... 79
Image size......................... 80
NEF (RAW) recording ................ 80
White balance...................... 82
Set Picture Control .................. 84

Manage Picture Control .............. 84
Auto distortion control ............... 86
Color space........................ 86
Active D-Lighting ................... 87
High Dynamic Range ................ 87
Long exposure NR .................. 88
High ISO NR ....................... 88
ISO sensitivity settings .............. 89
Release Mode...................... 89
Multiple exposure................... 89
Interval timer shooting ............... 90
Movie settings ..................... 91
The Custom Setting Menu .............. 92
Reset custom settings ............... 92
Custom Setting menu a: Autofocus ..... 92
Custom Setting menu b: Exposure...... 94
Custom Setting menu c:
Timers/AE lock................... 94
Custom Setting menu d:
Shooting/display.................. 96
Custom Setting menu e:
Bracketing/ash .................. 97
Custom Setting menu f: Controls....... 98
The Setup Menu ..................... 100
Format memory card ............... 100
Monitor brightness ................. 101
Info display format ................. 101
Auto info display ................... 101
Clean image sensor ................ 102
Lock mirror up for cleaning........... 102
Image Dust Off ref photo ............ 103
Flicker reduction ................... 104
Time zone and date ................ 104
Language ........................ 104
Auto image rotation ................ 104
Image comment ................... 104
Location data ..................... 105
Video mode....................... 105
HDMI ........................... 106
Remote control.................... 106
Wi-Fi ............................ 107
Eye-Fi upload ..................... 107
Conformity marking ................ 107
Firmware version .................. 107
The Retouch Menu ................... 107
D-Lighting ........................ 109

Red-eye correction ................. 109
Trim............................. 110
Monochrome ..................... 110
Filter effects ...................... 111
Color balance ..................... 112
Image overlay ..................... 112
NEF (RAW) processing .............. 113
Resize ........................... 114
Quick retouch ..................... 115
Straighten ........................ 115
Distortion control .................. 116
Fisheye .......................... 116
Color outline ...................... 116
Color sketch ...................... 116
Perspective control................. 116
Miniature effect ................... 117
Selective color .................... 117
Edit movie........................ 118
Recent Settings / My Menu .......... 118
CHAPTER 4
Selecting and Using Lenses
with the Nikon D5300 121
Deciphering Nikon Lens Codes .......... 122
Lens Compatibility.................... 123
The DX Crop Factor ................... 125
Third-Party Lenses.................... 127
Types ofLenses ..................... 129
Wide-angle lenses ................. 129
Standard zoom lenses .............. 133
Telephoto lenses .................. 135
Close-up/Macro lenses .............. 137
Fisheye lenses .................... 139
CHAPTER 5
Controlling Exposure 141
Dening Exposure .................... 142
ISO ............................. 143
Shutter speed ..................... 144
Aperture or f-stop .................. 147
Fine-Tuning Your Exposure ............. 150
Exposure compensation ............. 150
Using histograms .................. 151

CHAPTER 6
Working with Light 157
Lighting Essentials.................... 158
The quality oflight ................. 158
Lighting direction .................. 160
Natural Light ........................ 163
Continuous Light ..................... 165
The D5300 Built-in Flash ............... 166
Built-in ash exposure modes ........ 167
Flash sync modes.................. 168
Flash Compensation .................. 171
Light Modiers ...................... 172
CHAPTER 7
Working with the Live View
and Video Modes 175
Live View Mode...................... 176
Focus modes ..................... 177
AF-area modes .................... 178
Using Live View mode .............. 180
Shooting and Editing Video ............. 184
Frame size and frame rate ........... 187
In-camera video editing.............. 188
CHAPTER 8
Real-World Applications 191
Abstract Photography ................. 192
Equipment ....................... 193
Technique ........................ 193
Action and Sports Photography.......... 194
Equipment ....................... 195
Technique ........................ 196
Concert and Live Music Photography ..... 198
Equipment ....................... 200
Technique ........................ 201
Macro Photography ................... 203
Equipment ....................... 204
Technique ........................ 206
Nature and Landscape Photography ...... 208
Equipment ....................... 209
Technique ........................ 210
Night and Low-light Photography ........ 211
Equipment ....................... 212
Technique ........................ 214

Portrait Photography .................. 216
Equipment ....................... 217
Technique ........................ 218
Still-life, Product, and Food Photography... 220
Equipment ....................... 221
Technique ........................ 222
Street Photography ................... 225
Equipment ....................... 225
Technique ........................ 227
CHAPTER 9
After Capture 231
Viewing Your Images.................. 232
Downloading Your Images ............. 234
File Management and Workow ......... 235
Folder structure ................... 236
Editing........................... 236
Filenames and metadata............. 237
Tonal Adjustments and Color
Corrections ....................... 238
Sharing Your Images Using Wi-Fi ........ 242
APPENDIX A
General Composition Tips 245
APPENDIX B
Accessories 251
Glossary 255
Index 263

Introduction
Once again Nikon pulled a shocking move when they announced an update to the
D5200, which was a little over a year old and, to be quite honest, a very capable
little camera especially for the price point. But Nikon seems to use the mid-range 5000
series cameras to test out their newest features because just as the D5200 was
upgraded with features that weren’t available on even the newest cameras, the D5300
is arriving hot on the heels of the brand new D610 and has some impressive features
that aren’t included on the more advanced camera.
Of course the D5300 retains the real hallmark of the 5000 series cameras, which is
the Vari-Angle articulated screen, but the screen has seen an increase in both size and
resolution. The screen is 3.2 inches and an impressive 1,037,000 dots, which gives the
Nikon D5300 unsurpassed clarity.The outside the camera remains relatively unchanged
with the exception of the removal of the drive button that was added to the D5200.
This is a shame because that was a handy feature which now has to be accessed
through the menu system.
The real changes to the D5300 are on the inside. Most notably, the D5300 has inher-
ited a feature from the more expensive D7100 — a 24MP CMOS sensor without an
Anti-Aliasing blur lter, which promises sharper more detailed images. Another leap in
technology is the brand new Expeed 4 imaging processor that expands the D5300’s
native ISO all the way up to 12,800 and promises at least one stop better low-light
performance in a camera that is already very capable in low light. The other thing the
Expeed 4 imaging processor brings to the table is the ability to record video 60fps at
1080p, which allows perfect integration of slow motion effects into your HD videos.
A couple of other exciting features that have been included that many Nikon users
have been wanting are integrated Wi-Fi and GPS. In the past you had to buy relatively
expensive add-ons to get these features. Now you can record the location where all of
your images are taken without a bulky GPS-1 in your hot-shoe or hanging from your
camera strap. The Wi-Fi feature allows you to transfer images to your smart phone or
tablet so that you can share them with your friends and family nearly instantly. The
Wi-Fi also allows you to shoot tethered wirelessly as well as enabling you to control
your camera using your Smartphone as both the controller and Live View source using
Nikon’s free app.

The D5300 retains the state of the art Multi-CAM 4800DX 39-point autofocusing
system and the 2016-pixel Color Matrix Metering II metering system that was
introduced with the D5200.
The D5300 is a camera at its own level within the Nikon system, having many features
that even the much more expensive professional models don’t have. It is more com-
pact than more expensive models too, which is great for travelers and people who
don’t want to be encumbered by a huge professional camera, but want high-end
professional features.
About theDigital Field Guide
The Nikon Digital Field Guide book series is intended to act as an adjunct to the manual
that comes with your camera. While the manual gives you a great overview of the
camera, a photographer didn’t write it. The Nikon D5200 Digital Field Guide gives you
all the information you need about the camera from a working photographer’s
perspective.
The goal of this guide is to help photographers — from novice to advanced amateur —
grasp all of the features of their new camera. It includes tips learned from working with
the camera in the eld, as well as some basic information to help newer photographers
get up to speed quickly.
This full-color guide walks you through setting up your camera, offers insight about
which settings to use, and tells you why each setting is useful in particular situations.
Full-color images demonstrate different photography concepts, and show you some of
the things the D5300 is able to accomplish.
The Nikon D5300 Digital Field Guide will help you familiarize yourself with your camera
more quickly, so that you can not only navigate and handle it better, but also more
easily achieve your photographic vision.

CHAPTER
Exploring the Nikon
D5300
Nikon’s 5000 series of cameras occupy a special niche within the Nikon line of
cameras. The D5300 is the only camera in Nikon’s current lineup to feature the
articulating Vari-angle LCD monitor. To make room for this handy feature the D5300 is
designed differently from all other Nikon cameras, and the result is that there are
fewer buttons and dials; many common features are accessed through the D5300’s
menu.
Because the camera has been streamlined, many of the buttons and dials have
more than one function, and it’s important to familiarize yourself with the layout and
use of these buttons so that when you’re shooting, you’re not fumbling around trying
to find the right button to access the features that you need.
1
Image courtesy of Nikon, Inc.
The Vari-angle LCD monitor is specific to the 5000 series of Nikon dSLR cameras.

Nikon D5300 Digital Field Guide
2
Chapter 1 Exploring the Nikon D5300
Key Components of the D5300
As I mentioned previously, the D5300 doesn’t have the plethora of buttons and dials
that other Nikon camera models do, so the few controls the camera does have are
very important. Most of them perform numerous duties depending on the camera
mode, so understanding how each control functions is key to controlling your camera
quickly so that you don’t miss a shot.
The following sections break the camera features down into segments and go over
each control.
The top of the camera
Most of the important buttons are on the top of the D5300. This makes it easier to find
them, especially when you have your eye to the viewfinder. This is where you find the
dial to change the shooting modes, as well as the all-important shutter-release button
and the Movie record button.
The following list includes the controls/buttons on top of the camera:
▶On/Off switch. Located concentric to the shutter-release button, this switch
turns the camera on and off. Push it to the right to turn the camera on or to the
left to turn the camera off.
▶Shutter-release button. This is the most important button on the camera. It is a
two-stage button. Pressing this button halfway activates the camera’s autofocus
and light meter. Fully depressing this button releases the shutter, and a photograph
is taken. When the camera has been idle, and has “gone to sleep,” lightly pressing
the shutter-release button wakes it up. When the Auto info display is set to On,
half-pressing and holding it turns the Info Display off, while releasing it turns the
Info Display on. When the image review is on, lightly pressing the shutter-release
button turns off the LCD screen and prepares the camera for another shot.
▶Movie-record button. When the camera is in Live View mode ( ), you press
this button (which has a simple red dot on it) to start recording video. Press it a
second time to stop recording.
▶Exposure compensation ( )/Aperture ( ) button. Press this button while
spinning the Command dial to modify the exposure set by the D5300 light meter
when it is in the Programmed auto ( ), Shutter-priority auto ( ), or Aperture–
priority auto ( ) modes. Turning the Command dial to the right increases the
exposure, while turning the dial to the left decreases the exposure. When set to
Manual exposure mode ( ), you can press this button and rotate the Command
dial to adjust the aperture settings.

Nikon D5300 Digital Field Guide Chapter 1 Exploring the Nikon D5300
3
1
Image courtesy of Nikon, Inc.
1.1 The controls on top of the camera.
▶Info button ( ). Press this button to display information on the LCD screen. The
information display shows all of the exposure and camera setting options.
NOTE If you’re stepping up from the D5200 you may notice that the shutter-
release mode button has been moved to the bottom left side of the cam-
era near the lens mount.
▶Live View mode switch ( ). Of all Nikon cameras, the D5300 has my favorite
implementation for Live View mode ( ). A quick flick of the Live View mode switch
( ), which is right next to the Mode dial, puts the camera in Live View mode ( ),
so you can shoot stills or videos using the LCD monitor as a viewfinder.
▶Mode dial. This is an important dial. Rotating the Mode dial allows you to change
your shooting mode quickly. You can choose one of the scene modes, the
Special Effects mode, one of the semiautomatic modes, or Manual expo-
sure mode , which lets you pick the exposure settings.
CROSS REF For a detailed description of all exposure modes, see Chapter 2.

Nikon D5300 Digital Field Guide
4
Chapter 1 Exploring the Nikon D5300
▶Hot shoe. This is where you attach an accessory flash to the camera body. The
hot shoe has an electronic contact that tells the flash to fire when the shutter is
released. A number of other electronic contacts allow the camera to communi-
cate with the flash, enabling the automated features of a dedicated flash unit
such as the SB-700.
▶Stereo microphone. The D5300 employs a built-in stereo microphone for
recording sound with your movies.
▶Speaker. This small speaker allows you to hear the sound of the video playback.
The fidelity isn’t very good, but it gives you a close approximation of what you
will hear during playback.
▶Focal plane indicator. This marks the plane where the front of the sensor lies.
Nikon uses this as the mark of the closest focus length of a lens and when mea-
suring distances for manual flash calculations this is where the measurement to
the subject from the camera should start.
The back of the camera
The back of the camera is where you find the buttons that mainly control playback and
menu options, although a few buttons control some of the shooting functions. Most
of the buttons have more than one function. Additionally, you use many of them in
conjunction with the Command dial or multi-selector. On the back of the camera, you
also find several key features, including the all-important LCD screen and viewfinder.
The following are the controls on the back of the camera:
▶Vari-angle LCD monitor. This is the most prominent feature on the back of the
camera. This 3.2-inch, liquid crystal display (LCD) is a very bright, high-resolution
screen with 1,036,000 dots. The LCD is where you view all of the current camera
settings and review your images after shooting. It also displays the video feed for
Live View mode ( ) and video recording. The Nikon D5000 series cameras are
the only ones that feature this type of display, which allows you to position and
swivel the screen to help in composing photos at odd angles when shooting pho-
tos or video. The biggest difference between the LCD on the D5300 and previous
incarnations of the 5000 series is that the aspect ratio of the screen has changed
from 4:3 to 3:2, which is the native format of the imaging sensor.
▶Viewfinder. This is what you look through to compose your photographs. Light
coming through the lens is reflected from a series of five mirrors (called a pentam-
irror), enabling you to see exactly what you’re shooting. The rubber eyepiece
around the viewfinder gives you a soft place to rest your eye and blocks any extra
light from entering the viewfinder as you compose and shoot your images.