In this lesson, we examine the basic features of the Nikon D-50 digital SLR camera. We will start with the set up procedure, installing the batteries, the memory card and the lens. We will then go over the basics of the camera's menus and how to start shooting and saving images.

Charging and Installing the Batteries

The D-50 comes with a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. Although you can expect to capture and play back many images for each charging, we recommend that you invest in at least one more Lithium-Ion battery so that when you run out of power, you won't have to suspend shooting until your only battery fully charges. In figures 1 and 2, we show insertion of the battery onto the charging unit. It is recommended that you fully charge the battery before you install it into the camera.

When the battery is installed on the charger properly, the charge indicator light will come on and start to flash. When charging is complete, the light will stop flashing and stay on.

Once the battery is fully charged, you may install it into the camera. To do this, remove the charged battery from the charger. On the bottom of the D-50 you will find the battery access door. With your fingertip, push the locking mechanism to the open position and open the door (figure 3).

Once you have the door open, orient the battery in the proper direction and slide it into the battery port, then press it into place (figures 4 - 7).

Interchangeable Lenses

The D-50 is just like a traditional SLR in that it allows you to use interchangeable lenses. Here, we demonstrate how to attach an 18–55mm zoom lens to the D-50.

To attach a lens to the camera body, first align the lens with the camera by lining up the white dots on the lens and the body (figure 8).

With the dots inline, carefully insert the lens into the camera body and rotate it counterclockwise until the lens “clicks” into place (figures 9 and 10).

To remove the lens from the camera, press the release button located next to the lens then rotate the lens clockwise until the white dots line up. Then carefully remove the lens (figures 11 and 12).

Then, carefully remove the lens from the camera body (figure 13).

Installing the Media Card

The D-50 accommodates the SD Card (Secure Digital) format to store and transfer images shot from the camera, and can be used over and over again. No more film and processing costs, and the capacity of these cards keeps growing. Presently you can get an 2GB SD card that can hold hundreds of images depending on the quality setting you apply (figure 14). The SD card will soon be available in 4 GB and 8 GB capacities.

To install the media card, first open the media bay door located on the back right side of the camera. To open the media bay, push the door back and swing the door open. On the inside of the bay door, there is a graphic that shows how to orient the card before installation (figures 15 and 16).

With the card properly oriented, insert it into the media port and gently press until it “clicks” into place. A green light will come on when the card is properly seated into the camera (figures 17 and 18).

Once you have the card installed, close the access door. The camera is now ready to fire up and program.

Note: To remove the media card from the camera, open the media door and press the card in and it will pop up, releasing it from the bay so that you can remove it (figures 19 and 20).

Powering up the D-50

To power up the camera, simply flip the power switch to the ON position. The power switch is located under the shutter release button (figure 21).

Setting the Language

When you first turn on the D-50, you will be prompted to set the language, the time, and the date settings on the LCD screen on the back of the camera. To do this, use the multi selector located to the right of the screen, press the Up/Down buttons to scroll through the selections, then press the Enter button to set your selection (figures 22 - 25).

Setting the Time and Date

Now that we have set the language, use the Up/Down Multi Selector to scroll to the Date selection, then press the Right Multi Selector button to open the Time/Date window (figures 26 – 29).

Once you have the time and date values set properly press the Enter button to set your selections.

Focus Settings

There are two focus mode switches to set on the D-50, one on the camera and one on the lens. The switch on the lens allows you to choose either a Manual setting or a Manual/Auto setting (figures 30 and 31).

Just under the lens release button on the camera is the camera's focus switch with two setting options, Auto or Manual (figures 32 and 33).

When the camera is set to the manual focus setting, you must make any focus changes to the lens. When the camera is set to Auto, the camera and lens work together to make focus changes. For the Auto Focus to work, the lens must also be properly set to the Auto/Manual setting.

The Mode Dial

The D-50 offers several shooting modes accessed through the Mode Dial located on the top left of the camera, opposite the control panel screen. In the following figures, we will briefly go into the functions and controls of each of the modes.

Auto:

When the focus is also set to auto, this setting turns the D-50 into a “point and shoot” camera. The camera will do all the thinking setting the best exposure for the situation, and will activate the flash automatically when it is needed. In this setting, the only menu functions you have are to adjust the image quality and size. The white balance and the ISO will be set by the program (figure 34).

P/Program:

This is also a point-and-shoot mode and functions much the same as the Auto mode. But in the P mode you have full access the camera's white balance, image quality and size, and the ISO settings (figure 35).

S/Shutter Priority:

In this mode, you choose the shutter speed you wish and the camera will choose the aperture that will give the best exposure. This is most commonly used for sports/action/dance photography when freezing the action is the goal. You also have access to the cameras white balance, image quality and size, and the ISO settings (figure 36).

A/Aperture Priority:

In this mode, you choose the lens aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed. This is the setting you use when depth of field is the critical issue for the image. Again you have full control over the white balance, image size and quality, and the ISO in the A setting (figure 37).

M/Manual Exposure:

In this setting, you have all the controls over the camera's exposure settings, both shutter speed and aperture, as well as the white balance, ISO, image size and quality (figure 38).

Night Portrait:

This is a point-and-shoot setting that provides a natural balance between the subject and the surroundings in low light shooting situations. A tripod is recommended for the best results when you use this mode (figure 39).

Close Up:

In this point-and-shoot mode, setting the camera is optimized for small close up shots of flowers, insects, and any other small objects. The reds and greens are captured vividly in this mode and a Macro focusing lens is recommended to get the most out of the setting (figure 40).

Sports:

In this point-and-shoot mode, the camera sets fast shutter speeds to capture action and allows the aperture to fall where it may. In function, it works much like the S setting, but you can adjust the ISO. The Sports mode offers no access to the white balance settings (figure 41).

Child:

This point-and-shoot mode is set up to shoot kids at play or in portrait situations, giving great detail and skin tones for natural looking shots of the kids (figure 42).

Landscape:

In this point-and-shoot mode, the camera sets for vivid colors and enhanced outlines and contrast when shooting mountains, skyscapes and forests (figure 43).

Portrait:

In this point-and-shoot mode, the camera sets for shallow depth of field, allowing the subject to be clearly defined while the background details are softened adding depth to the composition (figure 44).

Setting up the Main Menu

In this section we will look at the menu basics of the D-50. In particular, we will go through the image quality and size settings, the white balance pre-sets, and setting the ISO. As we have mentioned, the availability of the settings is dependent on the setting of the Mode Dial. For this section, we set the dial to the M (manual mode).

Setting the Image Quality

To access the Main Menu, first press the Menu button located next to the LCD screen on the back of the camera. Then use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to highlight the Camera menu selections, then press the Right Multi Selector button to open the settings window (figures 45 and 46).

Next, press the Down Multi Selector button to highlight the Image Quality window, and then press the Right Multi Selector button to open the Image Quality selections (figures 47 and 48).

To select the Image Quality you want, use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to scroll through the choices. Then press the Right Multi Selector button to select and set the image quality (figures 49 and 50).

Setting the Image Size

Once you have chosen the image quality, you can set the size of the image to Small, Medium or Large within that setting.

To set the Image size, press the Menu button to activate the menu screen, then with the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons highlight the Camera menu icon. Then press the Right Multi Selector button to open the camera menu selections, and then use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to highlight the image size selection (figures 51 and 52).

Now, use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to scroll and choose the size you wish. Then press the Right Multi Selector button to set your choice (figures 53 and 54).

Setting the White Balance

The D-50 has several pre-sets you can choose from to set your white balance to match most of the lighting situations you will find in normal shooting.

To set or change the white balance selection, first press the Menu button to activate the menu screen, and then press the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to select the camera icon. Next, press the Right Multi Selector button to open the camera selections, and then use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to highlight the white balance settings (figures 55 and 56).

Next, press the Right Multi Selector button to open the white balance menu selections. Then use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to choose the desired white balance setting (figures 57 and 58).

Then press the Right Multi Selector again to set your selection (figure 59).

You are now ready to move on to the last menu set up.

Setting the ISO

The ISO controls the light sensitivity of the camera. Higher ISO numbers allow you to shoot in lower light levels. The draw back to this is that as ISO settings increase, so does the noise or grain of the shot.

The D-50 offers a range of ISO settings from 200 to 1600. To set or change the ISO settings, first press the Menu button to activate the main menu window, then use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to scroll and select the ISO menu. Then press the Right Multi Selector button to open the ISO selections (figures 60 and 61).

Next, press the Right Multi Selector button to open the ISO selections, and then use the Up/Down Multi Selector buttons to scroll and select the desired ISO (figures 62 and 63).

Now, press the Right Multi Selector button to set your selection, and you are ready to start shooting (figure 64).

Shooting Portraits Outdoors

Taking good portraits outdoors can be easy if you have some basic light modifiers on hand. A bright sunny day can render beautiful, vibrant colors but can also present a high degree of contrast, a primary concern when shooting portraits.

To illustrate more effectively, we set up a typical backyard portrait set-up with our model. We set the D-50 Main Dial to the P Mode, the ISO to 200, the white balance to the sun icon or the Daylight mode, and the image size and quality to Fine and Large. Once we had the camera dialed in we set our model into a pose and shot an image (figures 65 and 66).

Here's the contrast we talked about. Notice how bright the model's forehead is compared to the sharp shadows cast from her nose and chin in this result shot. And since she had the sun in her eyes, she couldn't help but squint into the lens.

To reduce the contrast (and squinting), our assistant held a Photoflex 12" Translucent LiteDisc up to diffuse the sunlight falling on the model's head and shoulders. This eliminated the harsh shadows, but also decreased the overall light level by about 1 f/stop. To adjust for exposure, we simply opened the aperture a full stop from its original setting and took another shot (figures 67 & 68).

In the result shot, notice how much more we can see the model's eyes, and that the shadows have diminished drastically.

For a final touch, we had the model hold a 22" White LiteDisc just under her face to bounce sunlight up into the shadow areas. We took another shot and then viewed it on the playback mode of the camera (figures 69 & 70).

The lighting is now very even with almost no shadows creating lines on her face.


Downloading

In order to download your new images onto your computer to manipulate, email, or print them, you'll need to install the Nikon software included with your camera onto your computer. Afterward, you can import the images to your computer.

Once you have the software loaded you can download the camera with the USB cable included with the camera or you can buy a card reader. The advantages of a card reader is that you can, if you have more than one memory card, have one downloading while you keep shooting with the other one.

For this lesson we will use the included USB cable. First turn off the camera, then locate and insert the USB cable into the camera (figures 71 - 73).

With the camera's USB cable installed, plug the other end into a USB port on your computer and then power up the camera. On a PC the camera icon will appear in the My Computer window as an external hard drive, on a Mac the icon will appear on the desktop as an external drive.

Prepare a new folder as the destination for the images then drag and drop the folder from the camera to the new folder. You have now saved the shot to the computer for later use.