Nikon D5100 Experience Manual

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Nikon D5100 Experience Manual Manual pdf 52 page image

Nikon D5100 Experience51To remember how to compensate – which direction to turn the dial – think of the histogrampeaks on the graph. If you wish to shift the peaks to the left, to the darker side, to make theimage darker, turn the dial so that the exposure compensation level becomes negative (-1, -2,etc.). If you wish to shift the peaks to the right, to the lighter side, to make the image lighter,turn the dial so that the exposure compensation level becomes positive (+1, +2, etc). Remember,set the Exposure Indicator to the direction that makes most intuitive sense to you, in relation tothe histogram, using Custom Setting f5. And you can change the dial rotation direction if youwish using Custom Setting f3.Auto Bracketing for ExposureExposure bracketing is when you take three pictures in a row: one with the correct exposure, oneof a darker exposure, and one of a lighter exposure. This is sometimes done to ensure that youget a shot with the proper exposure, or to experiment and see which exposure looks better to you.Or it is done to create multiple exposures of the same scene that are later combined to create anHDR, or high dynamic range, image. The D5100 can bracket for you automatically. Using AutoBracketing you set it up to take these three exposures in a row and you tell the camera how muchlighter and darker you wish the other two images to be, using exposure value numbers similar toexposure compensation values above. You then have to take the three photos yourself. You cando this individually using Single Frame release mode: click, click, click. Or you can set thecamera on Continuous release mode to take them all quickly in a row and it will then stop after 3shots.In addition to automatically bracketing for different exposures you can also bracket for differentwhite balance settings or Active D-Lighting amount. With WB you can bracket the colortemperature along the blue and amber axis, but note that WB bracketing cannot be done if youare shooting in RAW since you can easily change WB in post-processing. Active D-Lightingbracketing will take one image with ADL off and one with the current ADL setting, or it will useAuto ADL if ADL is currently set to Off. To choose which variable you wish to bracket, useCustom Setting e2. To choose the bracketing amount or increment, access the Bracketing settingin the Information Display using the i Button. You may wish to put this Custom Setting item inMy Menu for quick access. Remember that you can also set the Function (Fn) Button to controlbracketing.Remember you need to take the three (or two) images in a row of the same scene before youmove on to the next scene. The D5100 will try to remind you of this with the BracketingProgress Indicator displayed on the rear Information Display, and with the BKT notation in theviewfinder. To cancel bracketing, set the bracketing increment to Off, or turn the Mode Dial to asetting other than P, S, A, or M.Active D-Lighting (ADL)As mentioned above in the Shooting Menu settings, Active D-Lighting (ADL) is an exposureadjustment to an image that occurs in the camera, and is useful for high contrast situations where