Nikon D3100 For Dummies [Paperback]

Julie Adair King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 21, 2010

Unlock all the secrets of the powerful new Nikon D3100 DSLR camera

Author Julie King knows how to teach newbies, and in this handy guide she?ll help you get the very most out of the powerful new Nikon D3100. Say you?re already an experienced photographer? The helpful tips and tricks in this friendly book will get you quickly up to speed on the D3100?s new 14-megapixel sensor, continous video/live focus, full HD video, expanded autofocus, and more. As a seasoned instructor at the Palm Beach Photographic Center, Julie anticipates all questions, whether you?re a beginner or digital camera pro, and offers pages of easy-to-follow advice.

• Helps you get every bit of functionality out of the new Nikon D3100 camera
• Walks you through its exciting new features, including the 14-megapixel sensor, continous video/live focus, full HD video, expanded autofocus, and the updated in-camera menu
• Explores shooting in Auto mode, managing playback options, and basic troubleshooting
• Explains how to adjust the camera?s manual settings for your own preferred exposure, lighting, focus, and color style
• Covers digital photo housekeeping tips?how to organize, edit, and share your files

Tap all the tools in this hot new DSLR camera and start taking some great pix with Nikon D3100 For Dummies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Make the most of that amazing camera! Learn all it can do and create pix with pizazz

So you have the super-cool Nikon D3100 — how do you make the most of it? Read this book! Learn what all the controls do, what you can do with the auto modes, and how to gain full control of your camera with advanced exposure modes. Then you'll learn to play back, download, and share your photos, and how to unleash your creativity!

• Get a quick start — try the Scene and Guide modes to automatically capture top-notch portraits, close-ups, and night shots

• Get creative — master exposure, focus, color, and depth of field to create unique, artistic images

• Focus in — harness the power of the autofocus system to achieve sharp focus on your subjects

• Prepare to share — find out how to get the best prints of your pictures and how to get them ready for online viewing

• Record movies — capture high definition digital movies, with or without sound

Open the book and find:

• A guided tour of your camera's controls and buttons

• Advice on setting flash and picture quality modes

• Steps to shooting portraits,landscapes, and sports

• The controls that manage aperture, shutter speed, and ISO

• Tips for manipulating focus and color in your photos

• How to shoot people, places, and close-ups

• Filters and features that create unique photo effects

Learn to:

• Take creative control of exposure, focus, and color

• Step up from Auto mode to advanced photography options

• Shoot full HD videos

About the Author

Julie Adair King has been writing about digital cameras and photography for more than a decade. She is the author of several books on various Nikon and Canon cameras as well as Digital Photography For Dummies, and she teaches beginning digital photographers at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (December 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118004728
• ISBN-13: 978-1118004722
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Equipment
  • #75 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Digital Photography
  • #92 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Photography & Video

More About the Author

Julie Adair King is the best-selling author of many books about digital imaging, including Digital Photography For Dummies, Shooting & Sharing Digital Photos For Dummies, and Digital Photography Before & After Makeovers. When not writing, she teaches at various locations, including such noted photography schools as the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in Florida.
A native of Ohio and a graduate of Purdue University, King now resides with her furboy, Mocha the Wacky Wheaten Terrier, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book covering all the basics, December 31, 2010

By 

Surgery100 "ADJ" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nikon D3100 For Dummies (Paperback)

A great simple, straight to the point, easy to understand book covers all the basics. Although the camera comes with a manual this book does a great job covering all the basics and where to find them in your camera. It also discusses which settings are more important to play with and which can be left to run on Auto (the camera has 1645 possible controls so this information is invaluable). Covers the basics for artistic creation as well. Between this book to learn to operate the camera and the Ken Rockwell site ([...]) is all you need to cover all the basics.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent manual. Full-color photos and easy to read., March 20, 2011

By 

KC Shocker "KC Shocker" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nikon D3100 For Dummies (Paperback)

This book was really helpful to me. It covers in excellent detail all of the features of the camera. The full-color photos are essential and greatly beneficial. I have not once thought, "I don't understand," while reading. The entire book has been really easy to follow, even for a beginner. The topic arrangement of the book is nice too.

The first five chapters are designed to get you familiar with the controls, buttons and features and also to get you started shooting using auto modes. This may sound straight forward, but there is alot of camera terminology that I didn't know before this book that is essential to understanding even basic controls. This book does a great job at explaining these terms in clear, everyday language. Even better, there is just enough repetition to remind you of things without being annoying.

The remaining chapters deal with advanced shooting modes. I haven't gotten to this part (I'm currently on Chap. 5), but I am assuming that it is just as good as the rest of the book. It should be noted, however, that I've ready 130ish pages already and I want to finish the rest. It is an easy-to-read, enjoyable book.

One thing this books doesn't do is discuss photography in general. It doesn't, for instance, go into color theory. I'm glad it doesn't; that would be way too much all at once! It is intended to introduce you to the camera, not the art of photography.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful, January 31, 2011

By 

ReneK - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nikon D3100 For Dummies (Paperback)

I found this book to be very helpful to the first time SLR owner. Easy to understand and follow.