Introduction

The Nikon D3200 is amazing. It’s a camera designed for the photographer who is just starting out with a digital single-lens reflex camera (dSLR). But Nikon has packed this camera with the latest, greatest technology. It packs a huge new, Nikon-designed 24.2 megapixel sensor that shoots both great stills, and full HD video into a compact camera body.

The Nikon D3200 is a major update to the D3100 with a brand-new image-processing engine, the EXPEED 3. This is the same image-processing engine that comes in the Nikon D4, the top-end Nikon professional camera. This processing engine creates photos with great color, and produces low-noise images at high resolutions. The D3200 can photograph using ISO settings ranging from 100 to 6400, and can be pushed to Hi-1 (ISO 12800 equivalent), which allows great images to be taken in low light without a flash.

The purpose of this Digital Field Guide is to help you get the most out of this camera. It starts with a Quick Tour, which is designed to get you out and about capturing images without too much reading. Chapter 1 covers all of the external controls on the D3200 (and there are quite few of them). Many of the buttons and dials have different functions depending on which mode the camera is in. Chapter 1 also covers what is displayed when you look through the viewfinder, the information display, and the Guide mode. Chapter 2 covers the exposure, scene, and focus modes, as well as other important settings on the D3200, including the ISO and white balance settings.

The camera has a full menu system that allows you to set everything on it. Chapter 3 covers the Playback, Shooting, Custom Setting, and Setup menus. This is a great chapter to refer to when setting up your camera for the first time, or when you want to change any of the settings.

The Nikon D3200 is part of the whole Nikon system, and Chapter 4 covers lenses, flashes, microphones and the new wireless adapter. Photography is all about capturing light, and no Digital Field Guide would be complete without a discussion about it. The direction of light, its quality, and how to measure it in a scene are all covered in Chapter 5. The basics of exposure (including aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings) and composition (including Rule of Thirds and Leading lines) are covered in Chapter 6.

One of the most exciting advances in photography is the ability to shoot full HD video. Chapter 7 covers the Live View function of the D3200 and, not only how to shoot still images with it, but also the very cool video-recording options. The different focus modes available in Live View are also covered.

Chapter 8 helps you use your D3200 in a variety of photo situations, including when taking abstract images, action and sports photography, and much more. Each situation is explored, and most include sample photos, along with the shooting data.

The Nikon D3200 has an impressive Retouch menu and can be connected to a variety of output devices. Chapter 9 covers viewing your images on the camera or a television, as well as the retouching capabilities.

This book also has three appendices. The first covers postproduction, including how to use some of the most popular photo-editing software packages and your choices for video editing. The second appendix covers the accessories available for the Nikon D3200, including remote releases, video accessories, tripods, and more. The print version of this book comes with a gray card and color checker, and Appendix C covers how to use these correctly to get the best color and exposure.

As the name implies, this book is designed to be taken with you when you are out in the field photographing. It is meant to be marked up and highlighted—and go ahead and dog ear a page or two. It fits in your camera bag, so you can pull it out to check a setting, or just to review a subject.