FOTOSTAN Loc: Ca..NYC..Fla.

Why worry about "techniques".. go on your trip to Italy with a p&s type camera.. shoot many many pix, and enjoy your visit there, not worrying about camera settings.

buckwheat Loc: Clarkdale, AZ and Belen NM

I may be considered a heretic, but the d40 is a fine camera, and there is no crime in using it on full auto. A once in a lifetime trip is no time to be fussing with unfamiliar camera settings. Use auto, a tripod when possible, and enjoy your trip.

rpm Loc: Houston, TX

Dear Denise,
I shoot with a Nikon D40X and absolutely love the thing. Try to "spin the dial' according to the type of photograph you are trying to take. The symbols are pretty self explanatory, but try to familiarize yourself with what each one of them does. Shoot and then review as you go. Histograms are neat and should look like a bell curve but I rarely look at them until afterward. Try not to change lenses too much as you may get dust on the low pass filter. Just be careful & do it in a clean environment. "And if your pictures aren't good enough, your not CLOSE enough." Shoot and review, and shoot some more...
(One thing I do is wrap the camera strap around my wrist several times and hold it down by my side kinda outta site. Please, do not hang the strap around your neck. It's not a gold metal, and that way you won't look like a tourist but a professional.) Good Luck (Bueno Suerte) And Have FUN! i.e. below

Juneau Alaska (w/dust on filter )


El Capitan, Guadalupe Mnts. TX


Apache Squaw w/basket getting H20

Shutter Guy Loc: New York

I have to agree with MT Shooter & buckwheat, one week is not enough time to get professional with your camera. Also fussing with manual settings that you are not familiar with can ruin your trip. I have owned my D40 for almost 5 years and am still finding stuff Nikon put in there. I love that camera and it is an excellent traveling camera because of it's light weight and relatively small size. Better to shoot in auto and have a lot of good pictures than mess up trying for great pictures. Now a few practical suggestions. Shoot large, fine jpeg. + RAW. Bring extra memory cards (at least 6) minimum 8 GB. with a speed of 10. format all in your camera. Bring two extra batteries and charge before you leave home. Check if you need an adapter to use your charger where you are going. And finally HAVE FUN!

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

I've had a D40 for several years. For a 6.1 mp, it produces some pretty good images. As already mentioned, go to the ken rockwell site and set the exposure compensation as he suggests. Using the auto mode in the default factory setting, I've found that images usually turn out too light and lack contrast and detail. With the compensation set at -.7, sometimes they are still a bit light. Using the P works better and also lets you turn up the color to vivid, which is great for scenery and buildings. However, if you're taking close ups of people where a lot of skin is showing (not as in nude!), you will want to set the color back to normal because people's skin will have a tendency to turn out too orange. Basically it's over saturated. When using the P, S, A and M modes, you can also set the white balance. While the auto setting is usually sufficient, I've found that in very bright sunlight, setting the white balance to direct sunlight often helps retain more lifelike colors.

Below the AUTO mode setting is a little lightning bolt with a line across it. Turning to it will operate the camera in auto mode, but disables the flash, which can come in very handy inside of a building (like a church) when using natural light. If the color comes out wrong, try using the A,S or M mode and set the white balance to shade, incandescent or whatever looks right. When in low light situations without a tripod, if possible, look for something solid to hold the camera against, say the top of a pew, against a door jamb, wall, etc.

When in P-M modes, try to get by using ISO 200 or 400. The image quality starts to deteriorate at 800, especially if the image is too dark and you try to lighten it up using a computer photo program. If you can get the exposure right the first time using 800, you will be ok in most circumstances. Try to stay away from 1600 and 3200, although remember that a photo with poor image quality is better than no image at all. And you can also get some blur in the photo with an ISO too low.

Also keep in mind that the display screen on the back is smaller than on newer cameras and it can be tough to see exactly how sharp or how much blur you have in the image. Also, when displayed on a computer screen or printed, the image appears brighter than on the display screen. Therefore, don't worry if the image the camera displays is a bit dark. If it appears right on, then it is probably going to be a bit light after you download it. Sometimes the auto focus hunts or focuses on the wrong thing, so learn how to quickly switch to manual and operate the focus ring.

You might consider getting the ML-L3 infared remote trigger and one of those little pocket sized tripods. That way you can get yourself into the picture. The remote is good for approximately 15-25 feet away. Or wait, I guess that's 3-8 meters to you.

I'd get memory cards of at least 2gig, which are usually good for 750-800 images when using jpeg at the best quality. Normally a fully charged battery is more than enough for one 2gig card, even if you are using the flash a fair amount. If you are changing lenses in dusty conditions, you might want to invest in one of those little air blower bulb. Also learn how to get the camera to lock the mirror up. That function is pretty well hidden in the camera menu and not where you'd expect it to be.

The D40 is actually a pretty good camera considering its age and cost. Mine has bounced around in a motorcycle saddle bag all over the US and has operated flawlessly in wide temperature extremes, much wider than you will probably ever experience in your part of the world. These are just a few of the things I've learned in 25,000+ photos with the D40.

Robeng Loc: California

Hi Denise,
Italy is a beautiful country to take pictures of. My opinon, if you don't have time to learn how to use your camera and lens in manual mode then I suggest you practice in P mode or Auto mode before you go on your trip. If you want go to my website www.robeng.smugmug.com and check out my Italy pictures. If there is any picture you like, get back to me and I'll tell you where I took it and try to give you the settings. Have a great trip and enjoy yourself.

Rob

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Well yes, that pretty much is what Manual is - if you throw in white balance as well.

As for RAW - you do not have to take pics for your skill set now.
Your skill set will grow and improve.
You can never go back and take exactly the same pic again
But you will be able to work on todays pic in 5 years time when you "have that program" or "know how to process that type of image" or "recover that data from that area"
If you take a jpg with blown highlights you will never be able to do that. If you take a RAW and everything is on the histogram then you can.
I took pics 3 and 4 years ago that I am only just now learning how to process effectively because I have only just now been able to buy the programs to do it.

elise3

I started with a D50 and took it to Italy for a wedding. Don't worry if you have to use one of the presets or Auto. Like the others have said it is better to get the picture and enjoy your vacation than to spend time adjusting settings and letting the great shots and moments pass you by. If you do shoot in RAW and aren't used to it make sure you use also shoot in JPEG.

I took photos at my step sisters wedding here in the states to an Italian man just because I had my camera and a bunch of people had their point and shoots out and were shooting. They ended up liking mine and using a couple of the shots for thank you cards and and one was used as a label for the wine bottles they gave at at the official wedding in Tuscany. Anyway they ended up inviting me to come and take pics at the one in Italy, I shot just candids as they had a professional for the rest, and without the software to convert them on my laptop, it made for a long stressful week when I couldn't get the RAW pics to load. It was a great time, I took a ton of pics, mostly on the presets, but I love to go back and look at them.

Where are you going to be?

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

The D40 was my first DSLR and I still use it regularly. It's a great camera and you'll take excellent photos with it. I might suggest that you get a wide angle zoom for it because you're not going to be able to walk back far enough to get some of the buildings you want in the total photo.

I would also suggest shooting either in auto or p(riority). Before you go, experiment in S(hutter priority) mode. In that way you can set the shutter speed (as fast as possible) and let the camera work the aperture.

One of the reasons I would suggest about going to Auto, I am an old film user (started using SLRs in 1972), DSLRs don't work the same way as the old SLRs! I went out, took a ton of photos in Manual (didn't know what I was doing!), came home and downloaded a bunch of black boxes to my computer! Went to using Manual, started reading articles and watching Youtube and began to learn how to manipulate my camera. The owner's manual did not clearly explain how to set the aperture setting in manual mode!

Until you can semi-master your settings, use M(anual) and P(riority) modes!

denise64 Loc: Southampton UK

I would just like to thank you all so much for your views, advice and opinions, it has helped me a lot and I'm not going to worry too much now about using Auto. I am very excited about visiting Italy, I am going with my husband to Bologna, it looks amazing and there is plenty to see & do there. Robeng, your photo's of Italy are brilliant, the colours are beautiful, I love them all.
I will post a few photo's when I return and hope that you guys can give me your opions, good or bad.

Robeng Loc: California

Hi Denise,

You are more than welcome for everything. Have a great time and takes lots of wonderful pictures.

Rob