How To Set Up Camera For Self Portraits

Beginner

How to Customize Your Z Series Camera

Tailoring the camera to your shooting needs and manner

One of the great things about the Z series mirrorless cameras is the ability for you to customize the layout of options and settings in such a way that you can spend less fourth dimension scrolling through menus to achieve settings and more fourth dimension thinking about what you're capturing or actually shooting. This allows you to truly make the camera yours. If you shoot both stills and video, you can customize the camera differently for each. Or customize your camera based on the type of photography you exercise—event/portrait or landscape or sports. Not merely can you customize what the Function Buttons practise (Fn1/Fn2), only you lot can also customize the i button and which settings it houses—including dissimilar options for still vs. video vs. playback. The i button's options show upwardly on the rear LCD when you press the i push, and they also show upwardly in the EVF (electronic viewfinder) as well. You can access them and switch between them in either location. There are also other buttons that you tin change what they practice from the default. These include the AF-ON button, the center of the sub-selector and the sub-selector itself, F-mount NIKKOR Fn push button (on those lenses that feature one), Z NIKKOR control rings and the flick record button while in still photography style. Significantly setting up the camera to how you desire to piece of work will make your life easier—just pick up the photographic camera—access the controls you need—and go to work. Less navigating through menus and sub-menus to reach the features you use on a regular basis. There are literally dozens of ways to set upwardly your camera so its unique to how you want to exist able to shoot—including the popular My Menu setting. Like changing up the format from square to 16:9 or DX; or exercise yous often shoot HDR; or possibly yous want to be able to alter the camera's white residuum while in the middle of shooting; or do you want piece of cake access to switch between the 20 unlike Motion picture Controls; or peradventure you need to conform the flash style/bounty settings often? You can ready upwardly your camera to chop-chop access each of these types of settings and so many more! We couldn't listing every pick in this article—so check out your camera's user'due south manual to meet exactly what customization options the Z series cameras can offer you.

One of the bully things almost the Z series mirrorless cameras is the power for you to customize the layout of options and settings in such a style that y'all can spend less time scrolling through menus to reach settings and more than time thinking about what you lot're capturing or actually shooting. This allows you lot to truly make the camera yours.

If you shoot both stills and video, you lot can customize the photographic camera differently for each. Or customize your camera based on the type of photography y'all do—effect/portrait or landscape or sports.

Not just can you customize what the Office Buttons do (Fn1/Fn2), only you can besides customize the i button and which settings information technology houses—including dissimilar options for still vs. video vs. playback. The i button's options show up on the rear LCD when you press the i button, and they as well testify up in the EVF (electronic viewfinder) equally well. Yous can access them and switch between them in either location.

There are also other buttons that you tin can change what they do from the default. These include the AF-ON button, the center of the sub-selector and the sub-selector itself, F-mount NIKKOR Fn button (on those lenses that feature one), Z NIKKOR control rings and the moving picture tape push while in nevertheless photography mode.

Significantly setting up the camera to how you want to work will make your life easier—just pick up the camera—access the controls you need—and get to work. Less navigating through menus and sub-menus to achieve the features you use on a regular footing.

There are literally dozens of ways to ready up your camera then its unique to how you want to exist able to shoot—including the pop My Carte setting. Similar changing up the format from square to xvi:ix or DX; or practice yous often shoot HDR; or maybe you lot want to be able to alter the camera's white balance while in the middle of shooting; or do you want easy access to switch between the 20 different Picture Controls; or maybe yous need to conform the wink mode/bounty settings often? Y'all can gear up your camera to chop-chop admission each of these types of settings and and so many more! We couldn't listing every choice in this article—so check out your camera's user's transmission to encounter exactly what customization options the Z series cameras can offer you.

The Function buttons Fn1 and Fn2 are located to the left of the front grip, easily assuasive you to accomplish over with your fingers while holding the camera and shooting.

On the rear of the Z serial cameras are some of the buttons that tin be customized including the AF-ON button, the sub-selector button but beneath that, the i Carte du jour button further downwards and the OK button even further down.

Customizing the i Button

Customizing the i button is a great way to access the settings y'all utilise regularly. And, considering you can change out what you see when you lot press the i push button, y'all can supervene upon those features you rarely need with ones you lot're more likely to utilize on a regular basis. No more wasting time scrolling through menus when those features you lot want are correct at your fingertips.

Modify thei Push

Become to Custom Settings > Controls > f1 Customizei Menu. Once y'all're done swapping out the options you want to appear in the i Menu, just click the Carte button (Washed) to save the changes.

Modify the Function Buttons and other buttons

To modify what the Function buttons do for still photography, go into Custom Settings > Controls > f2 Custom Control Assignment. Then simply select Fn1 or Fn2 and choose which role you want played past that button, and salvage your changes.

To modify what the Role buttons do when in movie mode, utilize Custom Settings > g2 Custom Command Consignment which yous'll find under Custom Settings > Controls > Moving picture.

Under Custom Settings, go to f2 to alter what the camera does when using the following buttons: Fn1, Fn2, sub-selector, sub-selector center, AF-ON, movie record push button, (F-mountain NIKKOR) Lens Fn button and lens control ring. When you're done changing those settings, just press the Card push (Done) to save and leave out of that menu.

Modify the Command Ring on NIKKOR Z Lenses

On the NIKKOR Z lenses that feature a control ring, yous can also change the default setting of what turning it volition practise. The default setting is focus. Yous can set it to control exposure compensation or discontinuity if yous'd like instead.

Modify the OK button

Nether Custom Settings, go to f3 to cull what y'all want the OK button to do when in still shooting way and for playback. You'll notice g3 lets you change what the OK push does in movie mode.

You tin can customize what the command dials do via Custom Settings f5.

Customizable buttons visible when looking at the height of hte Z series cameras are the User 1, User two and User 3 buttons on the far left style dial and the video record button (its the red push just to the lower left of the on/off lever). The NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/iv South lens which is attached to the camera shown has a control band betwixt the markings for the name of the lens and the zoom range markings.

User settings

There's one more feature of the Z series cameras that allow to y'all farther personalize your set-up—User 1, 2, 3. These are attainable by the fashion dial. A diversity of often used settings tin be saved to the User settings. For instance, maybe the way you lot set up your camera up for mural shooting differs from how yous like it set for portrait shooting vs. how you shoot sports. You can save each user setting for a specific type of photography or video shooting.

To change User settings, rotate the style punch to the style you want, then choose your focus point, adjust your shooting way, exposure and flash compensation, aperture and settings in the photo shooting, movie shooting and custom settings menus. Then become into the Setup Menu and select Salvage User Settings, and highlight Save to U1 or Relieve to U2 or Save to U3. If y'all find you don't similar what you've prepare as a User setting, you can select Reset user settings and showtime over. Simply note that some photograph shooting items and a couple movie shooting items tin can't exist saved to the User settings, so check your user's manual to run across which ones you tin can use.

Read the user'south transmission and play around with the various controls that can be modified to fill your needs or shooting style. You may find that depending upon the type of piece of work yous're doing or the season of the year that y'all'll want to motility settings around.

We asked a few of the Nikon folks and Nikon Ambassadors to tell us how their cameras are gear up. Read on…

Lindsay Silverman (Former Sr. Product Manager and a frequent contributor to L+E):

I've ready my camera with the following items in the i Menu for stills: Moving-picture show Control / Focus Fashion / AF Area Fashion / Silent photography / Peaking Highlights / Motorcar Bracketing /
White balance / Flash Modes / Choose Image Surface area / Electronic Front Curtain / VR / HDR.

And I've ready up the i Bill of fare for video this way: Picture Control / Frame size and rate / Choose epitome area / VR / Electronic VR / AF Expanse mode / White rest / Mic Sensitivity / Peaking / Highlight Display (Zebra) / Wind Noise / Focus Manner

The Control Ring is gear up for manual focus. Fn1 has the default setting of AF Area Modes and Fn2 is gear up to the top Item in My Carte (to access Grouping Flash Options).

Wedding, portrait & fashion photographer and Nikon Ambassador Jerry Ghionis's Z 7 set up:

I oasis't customized the i button every bit I have everything I need in camera with the power to access My Menu through the EVF.

I proceed the command ring on the native (NIKKOR Z) lenses set for manual focusing.

What has made my shooting process then much more faster and more efficient is the ability to admission MY MENU via the Fn1 (Function) button, the ability to assign the preview push button to the Fn2 (Function) button and 100% magnification via my AF-ON button. This means that whilst keeping my eye to the camera and holding the weight of the camera in my left hand, with my correct hand I tin can change card items, press the shutter, preview the shot and check focus by pressing the 100% magnification push within a couple of seconds. It has truly revolutionized the way I shoot.

I have also customized at least one of the User settings. In essence these settings are a shortcut to a recipe of settings you want quick admission to. I shoot nearly exclusively on the transmission setting. That beingness said there are times where I would honey quick access to aperture priority like photographing a recessional at a wedding where you lot're in a dark environment with tungsten lighting then you must speedily walk outside to capture the couple exiting the church in directly sunlight. By the time you accept to change your ISO, aperture, shutter speed and white balance under the pressure level, you may miss the shot or screw upwards the exposure. For situations like these, I have set my User Setting #iii (U3) to assistance. Why number 3? Because it'south closest setting to the manual setting on the dial. The custom settings I use are discontinuity priority at f/4, Matrix metering, Auto white balance — AUTO2, Automobile ISO with a minimum shutter speed at 1/200sec and a maximum ISO of 12,800.

Joseph (JC) Carey, professional photographer:

Fn1: fix to access the height detail in My Card. The superlative item for me is Group Flash Options so that when I'yard using the WR-R10 or fifty-fifty have a flash on the hot-shoe I can quickly and easily change the ability and settings for my flashes from my camera. Equally a wink user this takes a lot of steps out of trying to change power when using the Advanced Wireless Lighting system.

Fn2: opens My Menu which has format, bombardment info, Airplane mode and a few other items in it which I employ regularly.

One of the things I enjoy most the Z 7 is the customizability of the i Menu. I prepare mine upward from correct to left in order of importance to me with my AF settings being to the far right. Focus manner on lesser right with AF Area way just to a higher place it. These are the 2 items I am nigh likely to alter during a shoot so the cursor is at that place 95% of the time when I hit the i push. Next to those are Picture Controls and WB and so Silent On/Off and Metering. The side by side cavalcade is flash fashion and multiple exposure (I'm moving toward things I will utilize rarely but don't desire to dig into the menus to find) Prototype Quality and Epitome Size are next. In the by I would never become away from RAW just with the appearance of SnapBridge being a viable tool and larger XQD cards I tend to spend a bit more time on my Picture Controls and making sure that I take a small JPG shooting side by side with the RAW so I can export images to social media quickly. Vibration Reduction and Electronic Forepart-Drape shutter are my terminal row.

The Sub-Selector Center is set to image expanse and so I can quickly move to 4:five, square or 16:9 ratios without taking my eye away from the viewfinder.

The movie record button is gear up to grid display while in photo mode considering I have a hard time holding a straight epitome.

Michael Corrado, Nikon's Sr. Director; Pro Relations & Marketing Business Development sets up his camera like so:

The Fn1 push is playback in tandem with the AF-ON push button, which is set to zoom into playback or the live prototype. The Fn2 button is ready to phone call up My Menu.

The 1 Item that I've replaced in the i carte du jour is Active D-Lighting, which I don't often use, with Silent Shooting which I practice apply.

I've kept the default setting of manual focus on the lens control ring. It engages focus peaking, which is fundamental when I'm photographing birds that aren't out in the open.