eBook Nikon ™ Mastering Compact Digital Cameras Coolpix Series including CP950, CP990, CP995 and CP775 a high resolution eBook in PDF format to be viewed with Adobe Acrobat™ on Macintosh and Windows Computers By Peter iNova photographs made with CP950, CP990, CP995, and CP775 by the author Combined images from CP995, Getty Center, and CP 950, cloudy sky. www.digitalsecrets.net PHOTOeBOOKS.com Page i iNova, Peter, 1944– Mastering Nikon Compact Digital Cameras By Peter iNova Includes CD with software programs for image manipulation, demonstration, and eBook display for both Macintosh and Windows computer platforms. Text editors Marian Inova, Robert Jeantet, Joan Kunter, Anita Dorich Contributing Gallery photographers Ruth Happel, Taki Bibelas, Tom Deagle, Mitchell Silver, Rex Stayskal, Furrukh Khan ISBN 1-882383-15-6 Mastering Nikon™ Compact Digital Cameras. Version 3.0 © Copyright 2001 by Peter iNova. All rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, file duplication, or by other electronic, logical, or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author and Graphics Management Press, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. Graphics Management, Inc. P.O. Box 241811 Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 475-2988 E-Mail: [email protected] The author and publisher assume neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any direct or indirect loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, by the information, data, software, or computer files contained herein, or for errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or any other inconsistency within these documents, pages, programs, or files, or for unintentional slights against people or organizations. Book design, layout, and CD preparation by Peter iNova All photographs, diagrams, and artwork within the text by Peter iNova unless noted otherwise. Additional photographs in the Gallery by the photographers cited. Copyrights belong to the participating photographers. Published in the USA Page ii Foreword/Forward Why this eBook? January of 2000. Certainly the new model would tronic publication. become a topic of the book, right? When I started this project in 1999 it was because It is also coming to you from a more progressive I wanted someone else to produce it and make it I put the project on hold and held my breath. publishing source, Graphics Management Press, available to me. But the world wasn’t doing that. So ~ o ~ ! ~ o ~ who have embraced new technologies where the I guess that meant I’d have to do it myself. larger publishers fear to tread. (Their design and pro- As soon as the new Coolpix 990 appeared, I started duction of the 1991 book, Witness to War: Images of With a “bell that cat” mind-set and my trusty Nikon back into the project again. A large new chapter for the Persian Gulf War, garnered a Pulitzer Prize for Coolpix 950 in hand, I set out to dig into its secrets the new camera would be needed, and the form of their client, The Los Angles Times.) and find out how to unravel them. I knew that the the book changed to accommodate the larger print camera was capable of some fairly amazing things, potential of the newer camera. I wanted the book to The PDF files you are reading in Adobe Acrobat™ and a book would be a nice addition. Add my own unambiguously display the big, sharp images from can be zoomed-in to 300% without passing the experiences with the digital tools of media produc- the 990 in a form that could be immediately appreci- pixel-level of the reproduced images. That’s like tion and special effects, and this quickly-produced ated. sticking your face WAY into a page in a printed book book could be the result of a marriage made in Hol- to see the detail. But here, the images aren’t broken In July, with the revised manuscript nearly finished, lywood, if not in Heaven. That was June, 1999. up with printing dots. It’s rather like having pages the publisher from the autumn of 1999 e-mailed that were photographically printed. By September, 1999, I had contacted no fewer than back. “The reviewers are ecstatic. Let’s talk!” We nine publishers, all of which had shown interest talked. The software has evolved, too. In a marathon in the topic of digital photography. Some bailed session of filter writing, tweaking, and perfecting, In one of the most enlightening, if not frustrating, out upon hearing that the book was targeted at a the number of Photoshop™ action filters that are conversations of my life, I witnessed a publisher single product and others jumped ship when they included has passed the 300 mark. A huge chapter of books confronting a writer of immediate, topical realized the difficulty of drilling into the photo- on camera operation has appeared with sections on material while they teeter-tottered on the pivot of graphic market which, they perceived, was very the 950 and 990 models. the Internet over the realities of life and how it is different from their other digital pursuits. A few It’s not a manual, exactly, but you still need to know practiced. The publishers were prepared to announce remained. Three showed various degrees of curios- what secrets lie behind each feature. Other books the publication of a first run of 2,500 black and ity, but only one wanted to see some chapters “right exist to give you the “improved manual” experience. white, manual-sized books next March (2001) if I now.” would simply accept the realities of the publishing If I’ve done my job here, you’ll be taking better It was getting late in the year. The book had been business on their terms. pictures, and you will know why they are better. conceived from the start as part text, part CD, and You’ll be printing, correcting, improving, and finess- Never mind that the book, from the beginning, part Internet. I Fedexed the manuscript to the pub- ing your shots through a greater experience base, had been composed using full-color images, graph- lisher so their crack team of reviewers could dive in and you will be enjoying Photoshop instead of think- ics, and examples throughout. And never mind on it immediately. ing it’s just too hard to learn. That camera in your about their own reviewers’ positive comments which Immediately, I was to learn, has different meanings included the book’s marketing plan, Internet connec- hand is a fabulous instrument that beckons you to to different people in different fields: tion, and overall vision. take pictures. It has a lot to teach you and you have a lot to teach it. Immediately in Internet terms is, “Excuse me, I’ll The publisher’s executive committee, it seems, knew get back to you with... ah, here it is.” in its heart-of-hearts that a book of this type is the Let the exposures begin. Immediately in the world of special effects produc- size of a software manual, black ink only, and prob- -Peter iNova, November, 2000 tion usually means, “As Soon As Possible!” ably won’t find an audience, so spending money on it was not something they’d wish to invest in heavily. Immediately, it turned out, in the world of book Addendum for Version 3.0 publishing meant, “Sometime next summer.” Certainly, they had a point. But so do I. (And if I brush my hair just right, it doesn’t show.) The The eBook has proven to be a success. It is perhaps By November, 1999, I knew the 950 book was not options of this Internet Age are larger than pages the most complex eBook on the market. Nikon digi- going to happen in the twentieth century. The soft- made of paper. This is the i-age, the e-age. The year tal photographers all over the world are enjoying its ware for the CD was nearly finished, the text had of the eBook. Sure, most of them are simply text, text and software. been through several drafts, and I had figured the but that isn’t the end of the chain of possibilities, With two new cameras, the Coolpix 995 and 775, the publisher just didn’t like what they had seen, or else now, is it? number of camera operation chapters has grown to they would have gotten back to me. eBook, eh? Well, if Stephen King can do it, why four. Photoshop has progressed to V6.01, and Test Sigh. I bought a book on self-publishing and started not me? Yeah, that’s the spirit! Who needs those Strip is now in its third generation. Both are included talking to printers. Lesson number two: Publishing big publishers, anyhow? What did they ever do for on the CD in tryout versions. costs an arm and a leg. Especially for a 200+ page me except waste my time? Humph, humph! (New The iNovaFX filters have grown into new areas. full-color book. author, remember.) One set takes 4 different images, lays them out for Double sigh. One publisher called in December with But seriously, how do I really feel about it? immediate printing on either US letter or A4 paper. an offer to bring the book out in September. My Another performs extreme image rescue. New ideas So this eBook concept was formed. It isn’t paper attitude was, “September!? The 950 would be Very are sprinkled throughout the text, and InfoBites have pages with four-color printing, but it has features Old News by then! Fugeddaboudit.” (New author. reached new levels of proliferation. no paper book could contain. Interactivity. Immedi- Thinks he knows something. Hah. I should have ate access to the CD full of software, demos, and Bon aperture... listened better, perhaps.) examples. And a feature I had not anticipated earlier; -Peter iNova, September, 2001 Besides, the next models would be introduced at the big, sharp, clear color photos that are probably much Photo Marketing Association show in Las Vegas in sharper than anything you have seen from an elec- Page iii Getting the Most from this eBook This eBook is a text, a number of computer elements on CD, and an extended experience on the Internet. Acrobat Viewing As you read these pages in Adobe Acrobat™, the page is taller than your screen, most likely, and the distance from your eyes to the screen is greater than your normal book-reading distance. In order to adjust for that, the page image will likely feel best to you at 125% or 150% scale, as set by Acrobat in the lower left corner of the display. With the page at 140% magnification, it works well on a 14- or 15-inch screen such as is found on many portable computers. You can have Acrobat show you one page at a time, pages laid out like an open book, or as one following the other in a continuous scroll. Thumbnail Browsing The thumbnails running down the left side of the page work well as a single column of images. They give you a chance to browse the chapter or lower-resolution entire eBook pages fairly quickly. Any page you can see is accessible by simply clicking on it. Immediately the new page will appear. The header bar has a control to turn the thumbnail images on and off. Interactivity You will find a certain level of Acrobat interactivity in some places. Generally, clicking the title of a topic can take you to a parallel or expanded topic if an interactive link is in place. This exists in the high resolution chapters only. Click on a chapter in the Table of Contents and the chapter will immediately appear. In the text, a citing of another chapter’s information on the subject will also link to it. Note that the Acrobat reader behaves much like an Internet browser and the solid arrow triangles in the header will navigate forward and backward through a string of interactive jumps. Zooming In The images in this book are usually made from full-size files from the CP950, CP990, CP995, and CP775. In general, you can zoom into them with as much as a 300% magnification without seeing pixels. Some images can be viewed even closer in the high resolution chapter files. The lower-resolution file is faster to move through, but its images are best viewed at 150% magnification. If you are inspecting images closely, the selection box on the thumbnail image will show you the portion of the page you are currently viewing. Clicking the cursor on any other image in the stream of thumbnails will jump to it instantly while maintaining the current magnification. This makes it easy to compare similar-sized images and peer into their details unusually quickly. Without printing dots to break up the pixel structure, the details stay more photographic. Printing Out You can print out ranges of pages from this book in black and white, as with a laser printer, or in color, as with an inkjet printer, any time you wish for reference. Some files are included in the Appendix for that purpose expressly. The color charts and test images are there for easy access. iNovaFX filters Included on the CD are the Photoshop action filters under the iNovaFX brand. These are 100% original procedures, manipulations, and helpful orchestrations of Photoshop’s myriad features, all of whitch are specifically designed to achieve three things: 1. Correction, perfection, and performance enhancement of Nikon Coolpix images. 2. Demonstration of, and experience with, the Photoshop Menu of Plug-ins. 3. Artistic, impressionistic, and graphic interpretation of your photographs in original ways. Included in the first group are the iBC barrel distortion filters, the iCrAb chromatic aberration reduction filters, the iCF color-repair filters, the B&W film- look filters, the JPEG artifact-supressing filter, the ISO-boosting filters, the iFF denoise filters, and several others. They’re all created to work particularly well with the images from these Nikon cameras. Some, like the iBC and iCF filters are tuned so specifically to these particular cameras and their individual optical systems, that using the filters on the images from other cameras will almost never give ideal results. New filters have joined the collection with this eBook version. Some last-minute instructions may be found in the ReadMe documents. Internet Updates It is inevitable. Data in a timely document like this may give way to new information, become obsolete, or acquire new meanings as technology progresses. After reading through this eBook you may wish to visit our special site holding updated information, links, special offers, new techniques, and the latest information about these cameras. www.digitalsecrets.net Page iv Contents Chapter 1 Nikon Digital Photography..............................................1-1 Chapter 2 Digital Color and the Photoshop Connection..............2-1 Chapter 3A Camera Operation Coolpix 950................................3A-1 Chapter 3B Camera Operation Coolpix 990.................................3B-1 Chapter 3C Camera Operation Coolpix 995............................... 3C-1 Chapter 3D Camera Operation Coolpix 995................................3D-1 Chapter 4 How Do I?..........................................................................4-1 Chapter 5 Learning Digital Photography.........................................5-1 Chapter 6 Printing Digital Photographs............................................6-1 Chapter 7 Special Effects ..................................................................7-1 Chapter 8 Vexing FAQs ......................................................................8-1 Chapter 9 iNovaFX Filter Operation..................................................9-1 Appendix .............................................................................................A-1 Index...................................................................................................... I-1 Digital Visions: A Gallery of Coolpix Photography .......Bonus Volume Shooting for Effect .......................................................................Booklet Page v A Note to Film Photographers Darn it. Just about the time you got real comfortable with Velvia and Plus-X, somebody came along and connected a battery to the film! What were they thinking? Not to worry, film isn’t dead. But it may be time for you to start thinking about digital image capture and these recent-generation cameras from Nikon may be just the thing for you to use to get your digital feet wet. A growing number of your contemporaries, and probably even you, too, have embraced a large part of the digital photographic revolution. Slide and negative scanners, ink-jet printers, Photoshop manipulation, CD-R storage—these have all become natural parts of the contemporary film photographer’s world. It’s gotten so digitally thick these days, that customers and clients are beginning to feel cheated if there isn’t that D-word associated with the current project. How much of a jump could it be to digital acquisition? Well, in the case of the cameras about which this eBook is concerned, the price of admission starts under a thousand dollars, US. The price of accessories will add half-again as much to the bottom line, but by starting with a Nikon 9xx you will have bought into a multi-lens, unusually configured, highly versatile system that brings new opportunities and experiences. Yes, the film is free, but when did the cost of film ever stop you? The big deal here is Time. Instant results. Not Polaroid’s minute or film’s hour: Now! And with a TV hooked to your Nikon, the whole agency can watch the shot coming together on the big screen (and won’t that be fun). But seriously, you can use a Coolpix as the world’s most sophisticated light meter, if you calibrate it to the film you are using. With controls in these cameras that let you adjust contrast, color temperature, ISO, and all the normal numbers of shutter speed and f-stop, you can have a light meter that tells you how to set other equipment or shows you unambiguously how your lighting is performing. A light meter that takes pictures, now that’s a new one. In this eBook, you will see images that are obviously studio shots and many that are captured in the field with existing lighting or little extra lighting. That little speedlight on the camera is a good flash-fill for outdoor images, but that’s about it. The twist-design of these cameras will seem odd at first, but will grow on you. It has saved my fanny hundreds of times but has never prevented me from getting a shot. You’re going to love the fact that the film cartridge holds not just a few more than the 36 exposures you’ve been using—it holds HUNDREDS of shots, if you let it. In all, the jump into digital is a personal journey that will provoke a whole lot of questions. Questions that you can answer yourself by playing with the camera and trying new ideas. As has happened to more than one film photographer, the experience could be a turning point in your career. Good shooting. Page vi Acknowledgements An eBook like this is the product of many hands, many hours, many re-thoughts, and many mistakes. I speak with typographical errors, sometimes, so it came as no great surprise to me that I write that way. Robert Jeantet, Ph.D., deserves a particularly emphatic kudo for pointing my grammar in the right direction and for sending me a year’s supply of commas and hyphens. Among the many hands are the ones of the models and actors who participated in the photos throughout these pages. Thanks go to actors Molly Kiley (right), Austin Vulich, Ellen Heuer, and models Lisa Dennis, Tim Wilder, and the people of Califor- nia, New York, Japan, and Oz who appear in many of my images. G’day. Thanks, too, to my friends who have suffered enough hearing about this project, appearing in images, and yet, were encouraging throughout. Then there is a special thanks to Marian iNova who helped by serving as fresh eyes and valued editor while my rants took shape. Thanks, babe. Mmm-mm-m. Will Guest, you know how much you helped this thing be born, and so do I. Here’s to more sushi lunches! Lori Bender, you not only posed for shots but helped make the final eBooks. How stunningly versatile! As noted in the Foreword, the path to this eBook was Gordian: The shortest distance between two points, it was knot. A particular badge of courage should be extended to William Dorich, the publisher who took a deep breath, rolled his eyes, and decided to embrace this new publishing medium with an open mind. Your counsel and fearlessness are appreciated. Page vii Meet the Cameras Nikon CoolPix 950 (mfg 1999-2000) Eyepiece diopter adjustment Millennium Edition shown Camera swivel Flash sync cover & socket External power & Video out sockets & cover Flash sensor Command Dial Indicator lamp / Anti red-eye light Shutter release: 2-stage Flash tube Mode switch: Off-Auto Rec- Manual Rec-Playback Optical viewfinder port Flash function button & ISO Zoom lens selector (in combination with 28mm rigid accessory ring Command Dial) LCD data screen Focus mode button: Infinity / Macro / Self-timer / Manual focus (in combination with EV +/– button (in combination Command Dial) with Command Dial) & Trash selector (in Play mode) Data I/O socket & cover Exposure regime button: Pro- gram / Aperture priority / Monitor On-Off button Shutter priority (in combina- Menu On-Select-Off button tion with Command Dial) Zoom control Optical viewfinder Live monitor Flash & Focus ready lights Serial number Quality / Image Size button Neck or wrist strap loop High-tech plastic tripod socket Battery door & latch CF door Nikon CoolPix 990 (mfg 2000-2001) Western Hemisphere Version shown Eyepiece diopter adjustment Camera swivel Flash sync cover & socket Shutter release: 2-stage Flash sensor Mode switch: Off-Auto-Manual- Playback Indicator lamp / Anti-red-eye light External power socket & cover Flash tube Function 1 button (exposure regime selector) Optical viewfinder port Function 2 button (EV +/–) Zoom lens Data I/O & Video out sockets & 28mm rigid accessory ring cover LCD data screen Command Dial Focus mode button: Infinity- Monitor On-Off Macro-Self-timer-Manual focus (in combination with Menu On-Select-Off Command Dial) Zoom control Flash mode button: Auto-Anti- Selector button red-eye-Forced Flash-SLOW flash-Off Live monitor Optical viewfinder Neck or wrist strap loop Flash & Focus ready lights CF door Quality / Image-size button Serial number Metal tripod socket Battery door & latch Page viii Nikon CoolPix 995 (mfg 2001—2002 ) LCD data display US Market Version shown External power socket Pop-up flash Magnesium shell Flash sensor Robber grip surface Flash latch Color inset Optical viewfinder (dark lavender for US) Anti red-eye & signal lamp Optical viewfinder diopter Battery compartment adjustment (under) (under) Flash sync socket (under) Metal tripod socket 28 mm threaded accessory ring (under) 8.2 ~ 31 mm lens (4:1 coverage) Swivel lock switch (under) Quick Review button Two-stage shutter release Menu button Rotary Auto record-Manual record-Playback-Off switch Monitor button Func1 and Func2 buttons Molded plastic shell Command dial Camera monitor Zoom / magnify buttons Focus / Self-timer / Trash button Neck or wrist strap loop 1 ISO/Flash mode button CF card / data socket door Qual / Image Size button Multi-selector Neck or wrist strap loop 2 Nikon CoolPix 775 (mfg 2001-2002) Power On-Off switch Flash tube (around shutter release) Optical viewfinder port Finger grip Extending Zoom lens 3:1 Anti red-eye & signal lamp Internal lens cap (when closed) Battery compartment door Video out and Battery compartment lock computer data socket High-tech plastic tripod socket Serial number Shutter Release (center) Wrist strap socket Flash ready LED Scene-Auto-Play selector Optical viewfinder eye port CompactFlash™ card door Focus lock / standby LED Scroll up / go back / monitor On-Off button 1.5-inch color monitor Multi-selector 4-way switch Focus range / delete button Zoom tele / scroll right button Flash select: Auto-Auto anti red- eye-Force flash- Night portrait External power in socket flash-Off / review thumbs Scroll down / go ahead button button Zoom wide / scroll left button Menu On-Off button Transfer/select images button Quick review / magnify button Page ix Chapter 1 Here’s Nikon Digital Photography 1-1 CHAPTER 1 HERE’S NIKON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM PHOTOGRAPHY WAS IN PROFOUND EVOLUTION. DIGITAL SENSORS AND COMPUTER MEMORY TOOK THE PLACE OF FILM. COMPUTER PROGRAMS TOOK THE PLACE OF SPRINGS, SPROCKETS, MOTORS, AND MECHANISM. IF YOU WERE A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY, LIFE WAS GOOD. W hen Nikon introduced its first digital, million-plus-pixel camera in the spring of 1998, they had a few things in mind that other digital camera makers missed. The camera included the normal features of advanced digital cameras of the day, zoom lens, live viewing monitor, removable storage, and battery power. But the Coolpix 900 was marked by a novel basic feature seen only in a The Nikon Coolpix 900 was few other cameras. The split-body, swivel design. Nikon’s first megapixel camera. 1,228,800 sensors Here was a camera that isolated the lens, optical viewfinder, and imaging chip from added together to make a the computer, monitor, storage media, and batteries. Connecting the two modules was a picture. Life is harsh for rapidly evolving technologies. The rotating pivot. A few cameras had played with this notion in the preceding months, but 900 is already a museum none of them included an optical viewfinder with the “camera” part of the design. piece. The Nikon could be used in two basic ways. You could frame the scene through an optical viewfinder or watch through the lens on the color monitor. The camera looked like it was housed in a slab of extruded aluminum. Unfortunately, this digital camera design left much to be desired. For every good feature, there seemed to be issues which were not addressed. Power consumption was so great that alkaline batteries were more costly than film for a similar number of exposures. Power-up took a leisurely 15 seconds and by that time, the emu would have e-moved. After power was established, the photographer had a 30-second window of opportunity to get the shot or push some button to extend the time, otherwise a shut-down would occur, and startup would be another 15-second wait. Its good features included the live monitor viewing, the ability to shoot quite nice pictures capable of being printed at 6 x 8 inches while looking very non-digital, and the ability to shoot extreme close ups without extra attachments. With 1280 x 960 pixels it found adventurous photo enthusiasts all over the world as early adopters, but other cameras seemed to have prettier designs, faster ergonomics, higher pixel counts, and better images. Six months after its introduction, a Coolpix 900S (also called the 910 in some countries) was introduced in time for the Christmas holiday market, and it featured slightly faster operation and longer battery life, but it was too little, too late. Besides, Nikon had other things in mind...