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Nikon D90 User's Guide:
Custom Setting Menu: Shooting/display


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Nikon D90

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September 2008    Top of D90 Users Guide    D90 Review    More Nikon Reviews

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d1 - d12 Shooting/display

How to Get Here

Press MENU, go to the left and select up and down to the pencil icon. You'll then see CUSTOM SETTING MENU on the color LCD. Click down to d SHOOTING/DISPLAY and click to the right.

What it Does

This menu is a random jumble. These ideally belong in other menus.

What I Change

I change d1, d3, and d7. CHanging d7 is very important.

I'm sorry that Nikon put a menu called Shooting inside a menu called Custom Setting, since it has nothing to do with the larger Shooting Menu. This is something else that needs to be reorganized. Sorry.


d1 Beep        top

This is the annoying "Look at me, I'm an idiot" confirmation beep.

The D90 is an amateur camera, so this defaults to ON.

For God and man's sake, please set this to OFF. Otherwise you annoy everyone with your camera beeping for no good reason.

Like all Nikons, you know if you've got good focus by looking at the screen, and if you're blind, see the Focus OK dot on the lower left of the finder.


d2 Viewfinder grid display       top

This activates hairlines in the finder.

Set them ON to help keep everything straight and level, or OFF to clean up the finder.


d3 ISO display and adjustment        top

This lets the ISO show in place of the frame bufer counter when your finger is off the shutter button. I use this option.

It returns to the frame counter as you hold the shutter.

You also have an option to allow setting ISO just by turning a dial, called "Show ISO/Easy ISO.


d4 Viewfinder warning display        top

This sets whether or not the low battery icon shows in the finder when needed. I have no idea why you'd want to turn this off.


d5 Screen tips        top

Leave this on. It helps highlight what's going on when you're setting things with a double-press of the INFO button.


d6 CL mode shooting speed        top

This selects the maximum frame rate of the CL (continuous low) frame advance setting.

I leave mine on its default of 3 FPS.

You may select 1FPS, 2 FPS, 3FPS or 4 FPS.


d7 File number sequence       top

This ensures your file numbers keep counting up.

Nikon goofed, and left it OFF by default. Left this way, you'll start from DSC_0001 every time you reformat a card. Over time you'll have hundreds of photos on your computer all called DSC_0001. It will drive you crazy and it will be too late to do anything about it.

Please reset this to ON for sanity's sake.

If you ever do want to reset to DSC_0001, use the Reset option.


d8 Shooting info display        top

Auto lets the D90 light up the 3" rear LCD with your shooting data in black on light cyan in daylight, or gray on dark blue at night.

Manual lets you fix it at either kind of display.


d9 LCD illumination       top

At default, the top LCD only lights up when you spin the light button located with the power switch.

I leave it this way.

If you choose ON, the top LCD lights up all the time, even in daylight.


d10 Exposure delay mode       top

This makes the D90 wait about a second after the mirror flips up to release the shutter.

Try this if you're using a long lens on a tripod with exposures of between 1/60 and 1/2 second, where mirror shake is the biggest problem.

Use the superb $17 ML-L3 remote release for best results.


d11 Flash Warning        top

Leave this on.

This lets the flash bolt blink in the finder when the subject's dynamic range from light to dark is too great, and the D90 knows you need to use flash, even in daylight.

It also lets the bolt blink in the dark.

This is a very clever feature and the blinking bolt ha never bothered me. If it bothers you. turn this off, but be warned, the D90 is extremely intelligent when it comes to lighting, and it knows when you need to use flash fill in daylight, even if you don't.

If the HDR weirdoes would pay attention to this warning, it would save them countless hours of hacking.


d12 MB-D80 battery type       top

Forget this if you use the usual gray rechargeable EN-EL3e battery packs in the grip.

Leave this alone if you're using throw-away AA alkaline batteries or the EN-EL3e.

If you use other kinds of AA batteries, set this and you'll get more accurate battery level readings.

Change it if you're using throw-away AA lithium, Ni-MH AA, or crappy throw-away "heavy duty" AA cells, which Nikon graciously calls ZR6 (AA Ni-Mn).


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Ken


Back to Top of D90 User's Guide or Top of Nikon D90 Review

KNOBS and BUTTONS

     FRONT

     TOP PANEL

     BACK

MENUS

     PLAYBACK   

     SHOOTING MENU

     CUSTOM SETTING MENU

          a Autofocus

          b Metering/Exposure

          c Timers/AE&AF Lock

          d Shooting/Display

          e Bracketing/Flash < < NEXT

          f Controls

     SET UP MENU

     RETOUCH MENU

     MY MENU MENU

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