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Nikon
D90 User's Guide:
Recent Settings/My Menu Menu
© 2008 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
September 2008 Top of D90 Users Guide D90 Review More Nikon Reviews
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How to Get Here
Press MENU, scrolling to the left and selecting the bottom option which has an icon resembling another menu with a check. You'll see RECENT SETTINGS or MY MENU on the color LCD.
What it Does
The Recent Settings/My Menu menu lets you put all the menu items you actually use in one place.
You also have the option of using Nikon's older Recent settings menu, which automatically update to contain the items you've used recently.
You select which of these two menus are used (My Menu or Recent settings) with the Choose tab option at the bottom of this menu.
What I Do with It
This feature helps immensely, since Nikon hides so many important menu items in weird locations.
I have my My Menu menu programmed to: top
Top Item: a1 AF-area mode
This lets me select between the different AF modes fast, since there is no lever as there is on the D300, D700 and D3. See more at How to Use the D90's AF System.
This is also the item to which I go when tapping the FUNC button when it is programmed to take me to the top item in My Menu.
Getting here via the FUNC button, I can click left and get to the entire menu system, all with the D90 in my right hand. This lets me shoot with only one hand, a huge advantage over the D300 and D3.
Set Picture Control
This lets me select among the various picture controls. I use my VIVID setting with +3 saturation for photos of things, and NEUTRAL with +1 saturation for photos of people.
I also get to this setting along the bottom of the INFO screen, reached by hitting the INFO button.
ISO sensitivity auto control
I turn ISO AUTO on and off here as I go between auto and manual exposure. I'll be able to remove this whenever Nikon patches the firmware defect that leaves AUTO ISO active in manual exposure mode.
ISO sensitivity settings
Here I set the lowest shutter speed depending on what I'm shooting, and with what lens I'm shooting it.
I set 1/100 if shooting people, 1/250 if shooting a long tele, and 1/8 if shooting wide landscapes.
Active folder
I use this to create new folders for each subject I shoot.
Image review
Sometimes I want to see each shot when shooting slowly, some times when shooting bursts I don't want the monitor popping in by itself. Here is where I set this.
Ideally Nikon needs a firmware improvement whereby we can switch between these by holding the Play button for several seconds, but Nikon hasn't gotten there yet.
Battery info
If you're the sort of person like me who watches your digital clocks to be sure they count up properly, this menu lets you read your battery power to the nearest single percent. It also tells you how many shots you've already made on this charge, which can help you predict how many shots are left. You'll need Algebra to calculate remaining shots; the D90 doesn't do it for you.
To calculate, remaining shots = (pic meter) / (1-(bat. meter/100))
Charging life is the health of your battery. I've made many tens of thousands of shots on my many Nikons, and have never seen it read anything other than 0 (new). See How to Keep Your Batteries Healthy.
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Thanks for reading!
Ken
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