Better than an unboxing video…
I see a lot of ‘unboxing’ videos on social media - as if taking something out of a box required some sort of special skill…!
This article doesn’t involve any cardboard boxes, but it does tell you a few neat tricks to customise your Nikon camera.
(If you want to see a list of ALL my recommended menu settings for the D810 and D850, you can read my article here.)
Back button focus
Back button focus is pretty much essential for wildlife photography.
It allows you to track subjects in motion by keeping your thumb pressed on the AF-ON button, and it also allows you to lock the focus and exposure when you take your thumb away.
This means you can happily recompose your shot any number of times until either the animal moves or the lighting conditions change.
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select Autofocus
Select AF activation
Select AF-ON only
Select Enable Out-of-focus release
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
Continuous focus - 3D-tracking
Continuous focus allows the camera to update its autofocus constantly - even when your subject is in motion.
There are many different versions of what Nikon calls AF-C, but the one I prefer is 3D-tracking, which - as you might expect - tracks your subject in three dimensions.
All you need to do is place the focus point in the viewfinder on the eye of your subject and then pan across as it moves - the camera will do the rest.
Press the Autofocus button on the left-hand side of the camera
Turn the Main command dial to select AF-C on the top LCD screen
Turn the Sub-command dial to select 3D top LCD screen
If you find it too difficult to keep the single focus point on the eye of the animal or bird, then you can always use one of the group settings, such as Group-area AF or Dynamic-area AF (9 points).
Viewfinder virtual horizon
I’m a great believer in getting as much right in camera as possible, and setting up your Fn1 function button to show the virtual horizon in the viewfinder is a very neat trick that avoids hours spent in post-processing checking all your horizons are straight.
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select Controls
Select Custom control assignment
Select Fn1
Select Viewfinder virtual horizon
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
You can do the same with your MB-D18 or other battery grip if you have one.
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select Controls
Select Assign MB-D18 buttons
Select Fn button
Select Viewfinder virtual horizon
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
Zooming to 100%
I’m a big fan of sharpness, and it’s much easier to check if you customise the Multi selector centre button so that you can zoom in to 100% by pressing it when you’re reviewing your photos.
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select f Controls
Select Multi selector center button or OK button (depending on your camera model)
Select Playback mode
Select Zoom on/off
Select 1 : 1 (100%)
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
Scrolling through 10 images at a time
The Multi selector will allow you to move from one image to the next, but there’s a handy shortcut that lets you scroll through 10 images at a time using the sub-command dial - which is a great time-saver if you take lots of slow pan bursts like me and need to find the one where the eye is sharp…!
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select Controls
Select Customize command dials
Select Menus and playback
Select On
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
Changing ISO using the Movie Record button
I have an old Nikon D810 as well as my D850, and there is no ISO button next to the shutter release.
This is a bit of a pain, but I’ve now set the Movie Record button to do the same job. This means that I can change the ISO settings while still looking through the viewfinder, which is crucial.
All I need to do now is press the Movie Record button and then either change the ISO value using the Main command dial or toggle the ISO mode between Auto and Manual using the Sub-command dial.
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select Controls
Select Assign movie record button
Select Press + command dials
Select ISO - ISO sensitivity
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
Remembering focus point by orientation
This sounds complicated, but all it means is that your camera will ‘remember’ where the focus point should be for landscape and portrait shots and switch between the two automatically.
This is very handy when you’re taking a number of shots in different aspect ratios as it’s a real pain to have to use the nubbin or Multi selector to move the focus point back to where it was only a few seconds earlier!
The other benefit is that the camera also remembers the autofocus area mode (such as single point AF or group AF), so that’s yet another thing you don’t need to worry about if you’re switching between subjects…
Press MENU
Scroll down to the Customs Settings Bank (ie the ‘pencil’ menu)
Select Store by orientation
Select Focus point and AF-area mode
Press OK (or the Multi selector center button)
Formatting memory cards
It’s better to format your memory cards rather than manually deleting all your shots, so that’s something you’ll end up doing A LOT!
I always used to get frustrated digging through the menu to find the right option until I discovered this shortcut.
Press and hold the two buttons with the red Format label next to them (the bin and the ISO)
When the FOR message pops up on the top LCD screen (short for ‘Format’), use the Main command dial to choose the memory card you want to format
Press and hold the same two buttons again to format that memory card
If you’d like to order a framed print of one of my wildlife photographs, please visit the Prints page.
If you’d like to book a lesson or order an online photography course, please visit my Lessons and Courses pages.