Nikon D1The D1 WonderCam!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Amazing Flash Unit!>> Page 6:ExposureReview First Posted: May 12, 2000 |
Exposure
Wow! In keeping
with the rest of its rich feature set, the D1 gives you a tremendous amount of
exposure control and multiple options that can get quite involved. Bear with us,
lots of explaining to do here...
First of all, the D1 gives you a choice between Program AE,
Manual, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority exposure modes with shutter
speeds from 30 to 1/16,000 seconds available, as well as a Bulb setting for
longer exposures. A very nice touch is that, while in Program AE mode, you can
rotate the command dial to select different combinations of aperture and shutter
speed than the automatic program would choose. (That is, if the automatic
program would have chosen 1/125 second and f/5.6, you could instead direct the
camera to use 1/60 at f/8 or 1/30 at f/11, to get greater depth of field.) This
is a very handy option for those times when you need some measure of increased
control, but still want the camera to do most of the work for you.
An interesting feature when using
Manual exposure mode is the electronic analog exposure display visible in both
the optical viewfinder and the top-panel data readout. This shows the amount an
image will be over or under exposed, based on the settings you have selected and
helps you find the best exposure for the subject. We also liked the Command Lock
feature (the "L" button on the back panel, under the little protective flap next
to the rear data readout) which locks the shutter speed and/or aperture setting
so that it is not accidentally changed when using the command dial for another
purpose. (If you set either the shutter speed or aperture while holding down the
L button, a "lock" icon will appear next to the corresponding setting in both
the viewfinder and data readout displays, and that setting can't be changed
until you again depress the L button.) There's also a Capture Preview Mode which
allows you to view captured images on the LCD monitor before deciding whether to
save them to the memory card or delete them. A Custom Settings button (also on
the back panel) provides quick access to a *vast* range of special camera
settings. Pressing the button and rotating the command dial shows the item
number and the option currently selected (for example, "1-0" means option 1,
item 0). A full list of items and options is outlined in the manual and we'll go
into a little more detail on these later on.
ISO can be set to values of 200, 400, 800 or 1600 via the
ISO button on the back panel, and to values of 3200 or 6400 by using the
"sensitivity up" option on the custom settings menu (options 31-1 and 31-2). We
found the 3200 and 6400 values of little value though, because image noise was
so high. White balance can be set to Auto (useful from 4200K to 7000K),
Incandescent (set to about 3000K), Fluorescent (4200K), Direct Sunlight (5200K),
Flash (5400K), Overcast (6000K), Shade(7000K) and Preset (which allows you to
manually adjust the white value by using a white card or object as a reference
point). All white balance settings can be adjusted from -3 to +3 units on an
arbitrary scale by turning the sub-command dial (on the front of the hand grip)
while holding down the white balance button. Higher values correspond to a
decrease in the camera's white point, in degrees Kelvin (meaning the images
become "cooler" in appearance). This is a very nice feature, as we often wish we
could use one of a camera's standard white-balance settings, just a bit warmer
or cooler. To be sure, some experimentation would be required to familiarize
yourself with the impact of these "tweaked" white balance settings, but having
them available is a definite plus. The table below shows approximate color
shifts in degrees Kelvin for the various adjustments in each of the major white
balance settings. (Figures obtained from the Nikon Europe tech site.)
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| Direct Sunlight |
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| Shade |
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| Overcast |
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| Incandescent |
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| Fluorescent |
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| Flash |
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Three metering options are available on the D1: Color 3D Matrix, Center-Weighted
and Spot. The Color 3D Matrix setting uses a 1005 pixel CCD sensor (separate
from the main image sensor) To avoid exposures due to light entering the rear
of the viewfinder during long exposures on a tripod, to meter exposure based
on several areas in the frame (useful when brightly colored or very dark subjects
occupy a significant portion of the frame). This is the same Color 3D Matrix
metering system used on the Nikon F5. Center-Weighted metering measures light
from the entire frame but places the greatest emphasis on a circular area in
the center (which you can determine the size of via custom settings menu option
14, a nice touch). Spot metering is pretty self-explanatory, taking a reading
from the dead center of the image (best when using the AE Lock function). The
D1 has a nifty trick with spot focus though: With D-type lenses, and in the
proper focus-area mode, the spot metering actually centers on the focus area
selected, giving you the option for off-center spot metering!
Exposure compensation
on the D1 is adjustable from -5 to +5 EV(!) in 1/3 EV increments and is controllable
in all exposure modes. The Auto Bracketing feature takes up to three shots of
the same subject with varying exposure values determined by either the photographer
in Manual mode or by the camera in all other modes. Exposure settings for bracketing
can vary from -2 to +2 EV (values are added to the already chosen exposure compensation
value), with step sizes of 1/3, 1/2, or 1EV units, and the bracketing biased
toward either underexposure, overexposure, or centered about the main exposure
value.
On a more mundane level, the D1 has a self-timer feature that allows you to
set the time interval anywhere from two to 20 seconds and that is activated
by fully pressing the shutter button.
Another interesting feature is the Anti-Vibration Mode, which delays the exposure
until after the mirror shock has subsided and is available through the Custom
Settings Menu. (Obviously meant for times when the camera is on a tripod.) The
default setting allows for the image to be exposed as soon as the shutter is
released. By activating this function, the image isn't captured until a fraction
of a second after the shutter is released, giving time for vibrations from the
mirror actuation to damp out before the shutter is opened. Also through the
Custom Settings menu, you can adjust the image sharpness, tone compensation
and contrast, although we didn't experiment much with these settings. Pressing
the Quality button while turning the sub-command dial also accesses a black
and white monochrome shooting mode. As mentioned earlier, when reviewing images
in Playback mode, you can pull up a histogram and a highlight function to give
you a complete readout on the exposure. This is a useful tool to examine your
exposure in the camera instead of waiting to download and then deciding to reshoot.
Continuous Shooting Mode
The D1 offers a Continuous Shooting mode that shoots up to approximately 4.5
frames per second (up to 21 consecutive shots), depending on the amount of image
information and available CompactFlash space. Once the 21 frame limit is reached,
the camera is unable to record any more photographs until at least one of the
images is transferred from the buffer memory to the memory card. As the photos
are being transferred, the number of available consecutive photographs is displayed
in the viewfinder and on the status display panel when the shutter button is
halfway pressed. Through the Custom Settings menu, you can alter the frames
per second rate to three, two or one, as well as set the camera to save each
image directly to the memory card instead of filling up the buffer. The latter
option will significantly increase the amount of time between each exposure,
but extends the length of continuous sequences to equal whatever the capacity
of the memory card is. Likewise, you can also change the maximum number of exposures.
(See Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests below for an important tip on getting
the fastest performance out of the D1!)
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