I hope you did enjoy reading part 1 of this series. In this 2nd part I will share another 3 very important features which are very useful. These features shared could either help in terms of photography technique or in producing unique images.
BRACKETING
Nikon has always had a very easy to use and effective in-camera bracketing feature since the D3 days (which was more than 10 years ago). For those that are not aware of what this feature does , bracketing enables the camera to automatically capture images sequentially with different exposures.
When the bracketing feature is OFF , the display will show 0F. In the illustration on the right , 3F indicates the number of frames being captured (3 Frames) and 2.0 on the right indicates the difference in exposure between frame which is 2 stops.
The D850 has a fully featured bracketing tool (improved from the D800) and I like the fact that I can:
- bracket in one direction , either underexposed (-) or overexposed (+) (-2F , -3F , +2F , +3F)
- bracket in both directions which is the normal way most would use (3F , 5F , 7F , 9F)
- bracket in 0.3 , 0.7 , 1.0 , 2.0 and 3.0 stops apart between frames
- bracket with various exposure options including white balance
- bracketing also works in SILENT mode and when using LIVE VIEW
- most importantly , I can set the bracketing requirements by holding down the BKT button & rotating a dial. Very fast and efficient.
I prefer to bracket using 2 frames (-2F or +2F) and I also use the bracketing feature hand-held by shooting off the frames with the DSLR's fastest burst rate which is 9FPS. This is great for hand-held bracketing.
I use bracketing for two different reasons :
1. to get the optimum exposure - normally 2 frames bracketing , 1 stop apart between frames
2. for digital blending during post production - 2 or 3 frames , 2 stops apart between frames
Multiple Exposure
This built-in feature is one which I normally like to use when I want to produce uniquely different images.
In the D850 , the improved multiple exposure feature now allows the photographer to decide whether he or she wants to keep all exposures captured to create the final multiple exposure.
It also lets you define how the DSLR combines the frames captured in the Overlay mode options.
I also use this feature hand-held on many ocassions and it works great. Hand-Held Multiple-exposure images shared below.
This is one feature that you can use to produce really cool & creative images be it in portraiture , still life or even sports genres.
Interval Timer Shooting (built-in Intervalometer)
This is one of my most used feature especially when I am on a night sky / astro photography trip , when I am capturing a lightning storm , when I want to manually create a timelapse or when I want to capture a large series of images at a programmed starting day & time.
The built-in intervalometer of the D850 has been upgraded with new features :
1. Silent Mode (using e-shutter and completely silent)
2. Capability to rename the file sequence & storing images a a seperate folder
These are very useful and important improvements especially the capability to use Silent Mode and the e-shutter as it does not add to the wear of the mechanical shutter and it helps conserve battery life.
3. The delay between shots has also been improved to provide 0.5 seconds option between exposures i.e. smoother looking trails.
Allowing the photographer to keep the images captured in a separate folder is a brilliant idea as it makes it simpler to isolate and examine the images and it also improves my overall workflow.
So having this built-in intervalometer in my D850 makes it so convenient for the photographer , I don't need to worry about bringing or forgetting to bring a seperate interval timer or loosing it on my trips.
So three very important and useful features that you should look out for if you have not tried them or when you are out shopping for a new DSLR or even a mirrorless camera.
Lookout for the last and final part of the series where I will share the remaining key features which I use and my insights on them.
Till then , cheers
Andrew