Nikon D90 Guide

[Elwanda Menhennett]

Thisguide is going to assume you have some familiarity with photography and DSLRs and/or mirrorless cameras, but that you may be new to the world of film photography. The F100 is a great place to start with 35mm, as it will feel far more familiar to digital shooters than older mechanical manual-focus SLRs and will give you reliable exposures.

The main compatibility issue to look out for is AF-P lenses. For some reason, Nikon made a handful of AF-P lenses at the very tail end of the F line. Despite looking and working mostly the same as AF-S, AF-P broke compatibility with all Nikon film cameras. Dumb. AF-S, AF-D, and AF all still work, as well as most of the manual focus lenses that came before.

AF and AF-D lenses will have an aperture ring on them, but the smallest aperture unit on the ring (usually like F22 or something like that) will be orange. To properly control aperture with these lenses, set the ring there and control aperture through the camera itself.

To attach the lens, line up to white dot on both the body and lens, insert it, then twist it counter clockwise until it clicks in. Sometimes lenses with aperture rings will have a little white line at the top center that acts as this white spot.

Finally, on the top left of the camera is where you can select drive mode (how fast the camera will take photos). Since this is 35mm and film is costly, I keep this on S, which is for single photo (this will prevent you from accidentally taking multiple photos if you hold down on the shutter too long). If you want to take lots of pictures fast, C and Cs are continuous and Continuous (slow) for the spots/wildlife photographers wild enough to be using film.

The F100 operates very similarly to a modern mirrorless/DSLR body. Pick your mode (program, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, manual), point your camera at your subject, press down halfway on the shutter button to focus, all the way down to take your photo. The F100 will automatically advance the film. Easy!

Once in a mode, you can use the dials to adjust aperture and shutter speed. Manual will allow you both, priority modes will give you control over one, and program will change ratio between them while keeping exposure where the camera wants it to be.

When you reach the end of a roll, the camera will no longer let you take photos and blink with a notification. The Nikon F100 is nice in that it will use up every bit of a film roll, often allowing you to go over 24 or 36 photos on a roll (though keep in mind you might only get half or 2/3rds of a frame on the last photo on a roll).

The battery holder is delicate, and something you should check if at all possible when getting your hands on one of these cameras. There can be damage from previous alkalines on the contacts or the latch can break. In either case, you may have to find a replacement. Just handle it with as much care as you can.

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Today is Thursday 12 May 2022. The forecast for this morning is the same as it was yesterday: clear with the breeze from the NW. I will head down to the lake early to check things out. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about three hours and two months (of working on the guide) to prepare and makes sixty-two days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard-to-get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a 1, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

This image was created by Warren Hatch. He used the handheld Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens with the Nikon TC-14E II 1.4x Teleconverter for D-AF-S & AF-I Lenses Only and the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless camera body with the FTZ II Adapter Kit. ISO 1600: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 ISO.

Enjoy and be inspired by just a few Homer Bald Eagle highlight images. Hand holding intermediate telephoto lens will always yield slightly different compositions. Learn more about that topic in this short (3:14) video.

You will learn to get the right exposure when it is sunny, when it cloudy-bright, when it is cloudy, when it is cloudy-dark, or when it is foggy. Not to mention getting the right exposure when creating silhouettes.

One four hour or two two-hour boat trips every day (weather permitting), all boat fees and boat-related expenses (excluding tips), ground transportation to and from the dock and back to the hotel each day, in-the-field instruction and guidance, pre-trip gear advice, small group post-processing and image review sessions, and a thank you dinner for all well-behaved participants.

On great days, the group may wish to photograph for more than four hours. If the total time on the boat exceeds 20 hours for the five-day trips, or 24 hours for the second trip, the group will share the additional expense at a rate of $225/hour.

A $3000 non-refundable deposit/trip is required. You may pay your deposit with credit card or by personal check (made out to BIRDS AS ART) and sent via US mail only to Arthur Morris. PO Box 7245. Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. Your balance, due 90 days before the date of departure, is payable only by check as above.

I have been going to Homer off and on for close to two decades. Every trip has been nothing short of fantastic. Many folks go in mid-March. The earlier you go, the better the chances for snow. The only way to assure that you are on the best of the three trips is to sign up for all of them. Can you keep up with me? If you have any questions, or are good to go for one, two, or all three trips, please let me know via e-mail or give me a call on my cell phone at 863-221-2372.

I decided to dissect the menu of my trusty D3s and share my personal settings while discussing a few in detail so that other sports photographers can use them as a point of reference. As the old adage goes, please remember that these are my own personal settings and opinions and should be used as a guide only. No one set of rules (or in this case, settings) should be considered the absolute only way to go. I highly recommend taking the time to experiment and come up with a few of your own favorites.

Long exp NR (ON) This setting comes into play automatically for exposures longer than 1 second. Note that when this option is turned on, the processing time equals the exposure time. For example, an 8 second exposure will take 8 seconds to process before the camera is ready to fire again.

I found that if I set the focus tracking too short my selective focus tends to jump too easily to other objects. For example, say a base runner is stealing second base and the umpire moves in front of the runner to get in position to make the call. If focus tracking with lock-on is set too short, the focus point may jump from the subject (the runner) to the umpire. When working under conditions when other objects can easily interfere with maintaining focus on your intended subject, I highly recommend keeping the focus tracking lock-on setting on Normal. Experiment for personal taste.

Shooting mode: RESET: Select center focus point. This great tool allows you to quickly reset the focus point back to center after moving it elsewhere when composing and focusing off center. Try it and see for yourself. You will probably make more on the fly focus point adjustments now that you know this feature exists.

Playback mode: Zoom on/off: Medium Magnification. One push of this button and you will have an instant image preview at a magnification similar to viewing at 100% magnification during post-processing. Another push of the button returns the image preview back to normal. Forget pressing and holding two controls and progressively (and slowly) adjusting the magnification level to inspect focus. Bang, bang, done. When shooting sports, every time saver helps. This is a big time saver.

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