Ask Matthew...
Our resident Nikon expert Matthew Richards answers your questions and solves your problems. If you have a Nikon-related question, email it to mail@nphotomag.com
Q I get a red band across some of my images when I use a Lee Big Stopper filter with my D810. What might be causing this?
Anne Peck
The Lee Big Stopper filter cuts the A amount of light entering the lens by the equivalent of 10 f-stops, so you need to be careful that light doesn’t enter the camera from other areas. Lee says the filter must always be used in the rearmost slot (closest to the lens), with the foam gasket sealing the filter against the holder body to the rear. Ensure that the foam gasket around the edge of the filter is fully intact and undamaged.
The other thing that’s important while using a DSLR is that the viewfinder is covered during the exposure, to stop light entering the camera through the viewfinder. More surprisingly, Lee says that it can also be necessary to cover the electronic viewfinder of mirrorless cameras; the company suggests covering the viewfinder and lens mount areas with a dark cloth.
Q My Nikon camera has 12-bit and 14-bit options for Raw files, plus two types of compression, or no compression at all. Which is the best setting?
Jim Johnson
Compared with 8-bit JPEGS, A 12-bit Raw files can hold a lot more pictorial information; 14-bit Raw files go even further. Raw files can be a huge help in stopping bright highlights washing out to white, and for bringing out detail in dark shadows.
The regular compression option is slightly lossy, a bit like using a very high-quality JPEG mode, so some image information is lost. Lossless compression is similar to the LZW option for TIFF image files: all image information is retained, but files have larger data sizes. With no compression at all, saving Raw files is less intensive for the camera, so you may notice an increase in battery life. Personally, I find 14-bit Compressed is the best option.
Q I tried my hand at motorsport photography, but I wasn’t happy with the results. Which shutter speeds would you suggest for panning and head-on shots?
Mark Fowler
Good panning technique can A require a lot of practice. Try easing yourself into it with a shutter speed of 1/250 sec. This should enable a reasonable success rate, while giving moderate motion blur to spinning
wheels and the background. Slower shutter speeds down to 1/60 or even 1/30 sec help to convey a real sense of speed in the background, but it’s harder to keep fast-moving motorcycles reasonably sharp.
If the bike is coming directly towards you, you’ll need a much faster shutter speed of 1/1000 sec or quicker, to freeze it in its tracks, otherwise it’ll just look blurred. Selecting a relatively wide aperture can help to isolate the bike against the background, thanks to these apertures’ tighter depth of field. Under dull lighting, try using Auto ISO to avoid underexposure.
Q I love the quick access of my Z 6’s ‘i’ menu, but hate that it doesn’t have some of the settings I often like to use. Is there any way of customizing it?
David Matheson
The ‘i’ menu is great for quick A access to a range of shooting settings, but I find I don’t need fast access to some options, like turning Wi-fi on and off.
You can customize the ‘i’ menu for both photo and video shooting modes, using the ‘f1’ and ‘g1’ options respectively in the Custom Setting menu. After entering the ‘Customize i menu’ setting, use the directional pad on the back of the camera to select a function you want to change. Press OK and you’ll see a list of possible alternatives. Highlight the function you want to use instead, then press OK again. Press the Menu button to save your changes.