Beginner Help! I hate my D700!!!

[Wormwood]

Hello wonderful photographers. If you are reading this I’m super thankful for any help you can offer.

So, my MIL gifted me a Nikon D700 with a couple lenses.... and I hate it. Well, actually I hate my absolute inability to use it.

I have absolutely ZERO camera knowledge, I’ve only ever used my smartphone (I know, terrible). But after the birth of my son she gave me the camera and told me to use..... to be fair I have taken a handful of truly incredible photos (per my bad photographic eye) and it’s sparka flame within me.

it’s made me absolutely love photography but I’m really put off with the actual camera. I only ever photograph my dog and my baby. I live a wild life. And I’m finding I never get the camera out as it’s so heavy and complex and only ever shoot in auto (which she told me specifically not to do and even took it out of auto mode and I spent so much time on YouTube trying to figure out how to get it back.... this is the knowledge level you are dealing with), but when I do use it I love the output it gives me.

so, I thought I’d try and get myself a beginners camera. Which is why I’m writing on here. So if you are still with me I thought I’d make a list of what I’m looking for and gain some expert knowledge as I’ve spent weeks reading reviews, comparing cameras, trying to learn and I feel a bit lost.... so here goes....

My perfect camera:

- weight is key, I want to be able to take it with me when I’m out at play dates with my son or walking my dog

- quick photo ability (I guess there is a technical term). Something that can capture the worlds fastest crawling baby and his 4 legged friend

- selfie ability. It sounds vain but if you too are a mother you’ll probably know that you have the square root of 0 pics of you and your child, so I’d like to actually photograph the 2 of us

- touchscreen - or easy controls. I say this as I live on my smartphone so I feel like I would warm to a touchscreen camera better

- WiFi/ Bluetooth downloading. I have hated having to download all the pics not m laptop etc. With the D700.

- price sub £500

I was thinking about an entry level Nikon DSLR as the lenses are interchangeable and it could help me learn the D700, but they seem so bulky

then I considered a Sony a6000 as it’s super compact, and I can change the lenses as I learn and I like the stuff I’ve read about mirrorless, but the lack of touchscreen and selfie puts me off...

then I was thinking that I didn’t need changeable lenses as I have the D700 when I’m ready for that level of photography, so maybe just something digital with touch and flip screen would be good.....

then I worried that I should just stick to my iPhone

then I panicked and wrote on here... HELP!!

 

[Harlequin565]

then I worried that I should just stick to my iPhone

There are many photographers taking great images with their phone. If you love photography but hate the process, you're going to eventually hate photography.

My advice would be to stick with your phone until you start to get to the point where it's limiting you. That's the time to look at something else. Consider doing some research on phone cameras and picking a phone *because* of the camera.

I'm sure others will chime in so take what you like and leave the rest. And welcome to TP!

 

[gad-westy]

It won't help with the selfies but it's worth mentioning that the D700 really is a very capable camera. The biggest problem is maybe that it doesn't really have a quick green button auto mode like many cameras have. It was marketed to professionals and that doesn't necessarily make it the most accessible. But it wouldn't take that much learning... You could do a crash course or binge on youtube or buy a book, whatever way you feel most comfortable learning. It's true that there are other cameras (particularly newer ones) that might make a life a little easier for you but some of the knowledge that can turn good photos into great ones will still be missing. The rewards come quickly if you put some time into it...

If you do decide to go for another camera, give plenty of consideration to the lens or lenses in your budget too. You'll likely want something quite wide for selfies at arm's length but maybe you want something longer for portraits. In many ways the camera is the lesser part of the equation, though granted make sure it has the features you need.

Oh and one tip that is so often missed but makes such a difference with kids, try to get the camera down to their eye level rather than shooting down over them. It's so much more engaging.

 

[gad-westy]

Can i speculate that maybe you're using the D700 in A mode? That isn't a full auto mode as such. The D700 doesn't have one. I think you're maybe encountering exposure issues where the camera is having to use long shutter speeds because it cannot dial up the iso. This would be the camera's default behaviour. I know that might all sound like gobbledygook but in simple terms, the results you're not happy with, is it because they're blurry by any chance? And maybe when you have nailed nice images you were in quite good light?

 

[Wormwood]

Consider doing some research on phone cameras and picking a phone *because* of the camera.

Thanks for this feedback and I totally hadn’t considered this as an option so I will definitely do some phone related camera research thanks!

 

[Wormwood]

Can i speculate that maybe you're using the D700 in A mode? That isn't a full auto mode as such. The D700 doesn't have one. I think you're maybe encountering exposure issues where the camera is having to use long shutter speeds because it cannot dial up the iso. This would be the camera's default behaviour. I know that might all sound like gobbledygook but in simple terms, the results you're not happy with, is it because they're blurry by any chance? And maybe when you have nailed nice images you were in quite good light?

you have hit the nail on the head with this. a mode and waaaay too much light exposure and blurry images.

If I’m honest I feel totally clueless with how to use it. I’m willing to invest time to learn but I’m wondering if I’m better to start off learning with something a bit more beginner friendly? I really struggle with the weight of it mainly. I feel it needs a bit of set up and stuff first which my knowledge let’s me down on for 1 but also by the time I think I’m there the image I was intending on capturing (ie my LB) is probably half way up the stairs or splashing around in the dog bowl.

 

[TCR4x4]

A mode on the d700 is aperture priority mode, so you have to manually set the aperture.
The closest thing the d700 has to auto mode is actually P mode, but even that requires some learning and knowledge of photography.

I'm really not sure buying another camera will help with learning. It will do all the same things the d700 does, just by itself which doesn't teach you much.

Either get a decent phone camera and enjoy the fully autoness of it, or spend a bit of time learning the principles of exposure and use the d700.
They were the pinnacle of technology when they came out and were very, very expensive (I know I bought two!) It's still highly capable in the right hands.

 

[gad-westy]

you have hit the nail on the head with this. a mode and waaaay too much light exposure and blurry images.

If I’m honest I feel totally clueless with how to use it. I’m willing to invest time to learn but I’m wondering if I’m better to start off learning with something a bit more beginner friendly? I really struggle with the weight of it mainly. I feel it needs a bit of set up and stuff first which my knowledge let’s me down on for 1 but also by the time I think I’m there the image I was intending on capturing (ie my LB) is probably half way up the stairs or splashing around in the dog bowl.

What lens are you using? I/we could probably recommend some quick settings you could apply that will get you what you want for many situations. You wouldn't learn anything but you may feel better about the D700 and might be able to put off spending the cash. It won't make the camera any lighter though!

 

[andrewc]

The D700 is worth perservering with.

I presume it has P A S M modes,
Program is closest to fully automatic mode
Aperture - you choose aperture and it fills in the blanks
Shutter - you set shutter speed and it fills in the blanks
Manual - you have full control

If shooting a dog, I'd use shutter priority and use a fast shutter speed, say 1/500 - 1/1000 and put the camera into continuous focus mode. I'm a canon user so not familiar with Nikons modes.

 

[Scirocco_09]

Just to echo the above I’d stick with a phone for selfies and use the D700 for proper portraits - it’s fairly old but would still seem the wrong move to downgrade to an entry level camera which aren’t very usable once you have some more experience. Shutter priority mode would be a good choice for children and especially animals with the speeds advised above. If your child is quite still you could probably use 1/250th or a bit slower depending on your steadiness. What lenses did it come with?

 

[tijuana taxi]

If you want to pursue photography which can be a great hobby you need to start with the basics.
First fundamental bit is understanding the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and iso.
This is the building block for everything else, once it clicks you are on your way

Google "exposure triangle" and numerous guides written and video will come up
Pick one you are happy with, we all have our own favourite way of learning hence the lack of a recommendation.
Get to grips with this triangle and it should make using your camera a much more rewarding exercise

Most importantly enjoy, its meant to be fun, not a frustrating test of your patience

 

[Wormwood]

Firstly, I just want to say thank you for how lovely you all are. I appreciate the advice and you have given me more confidence to get to know the D700 more.

attached is a pic of the 2 lenses I have. I have never even attempted to use the larger one as I have no idea what to use it for.

Also attached a pic of the settings I literally leave the camera in.

Also attached a pic that I’m proud of to get your feedback.

 

[andrewc]

So, camera is in aperture priority mode with a fairly wide aperture leaving to a narrow depth of field. Would recommend you take the same photo of various things going to the aperture range from f/3.5 upwards to F/16 or further and look to see how the picture changes - what is and what isn't in focus. The bigger the f/ number the smaller the hole, and the less light going in, so camera will try and lengthen shutter speed which could introduce motion blur - but this is all part of the learning exercise.

 

[gramps]

I have never even attempted to use the larger one as I have no idea what to use it for.

As a Nikon 24-120 f4 AF-S it is a modern lens of good quality and it makes a super 'walkabout' lens where you might want to take a wider view or zoom in a bit on a subject. If I had those two lenses with the D700 and was (as I am) prone to walk around the area looking for photo opportunities it would be my lens of choice.
The range lends itself from landscapes to portraits, zoos, wildlife parks etc.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Firstly, I just want to say thank you for how lovely you all are. I appreciate the advice and you have given me more confidence to get to know the D700 more.

attached is a pic of the 2 lenses I have. I have never even attempted to use the larger one as I have no idea what to use it for.

Also attached a pic of the settings I literally leave the camera in.

For general photography those two lenses will cover 99% of the pictures you are likely to want to take. The one on the camera is great for indoors, the big lens better for outdoors and places with good light indoors. Although that's not set in stone. Stick to the one on the camera to start with as that one is simpler.

Photography is really very simple and I'm going to assume that you want to use your camera pretty much as you would a phone and not put it on a tripod. Especially for subjects which move around a lot!

The way I used my D700 (every camera I use, actually) was to set it up so I didn't have to worry much about the settings to get in focus subjects which aren't blurry.

Put the camera in M, dig into the menu to set the ISO to Auto, and look up how to make sure the camera will only take a shot when the subject is in focus. This sounds complicated, but once done can be forgotten about. Set up like this you can forget about the ISO part of the exposure triangle.

Concentrate on keeping the shutter speed as high as possible - minimum 1/250th of a second (1/100th at a pinch) to reduce the chances of the subject movement causing blur, or your own movements through the camera doing the same. Too slow a shutter speed is the most common cause of blurred photos I see from people who have bought a DSLR thinking it will make their pictures better.

With that set all you have to think about is the aperture adjustment to vary how much of the picture (front to back) is in focus. The larger the aperture number the more is in focus, the smaller the number the less.

All you have to do now is put the focus spot on the subject and press the button!

The first thing to get to grips with is making sure your pictures are sharp. One step at a time. When you have got making sharp pictures nailed you can start thinking about controlling ISO and aperture and getting creative with composition and exposure, and then using the other lens.

HTH

 

[mike weeks]

I would suggest auto ISO

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NN4Ew9TZ2Eg


You then need to use 1/100 for static objects and maybe 1/800 for action like the dog running as lowest settings- the higher the number under the / the more likely it is to freeze action
All whilst in A aperture priority and remember small A number small amount in focus and large A number lots in focus

That is all to start the journey as it lets the camera do most of the work

Mike

 

[TCR4x4]

I would suggest auto ISO

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NN4Ew9TZ2Eg


You then need to use 1/100 for static objects and maybe 1/800 for action like the dog running as lowest settings- the higher the number under the / the more likely it is to freeze action
All whilst in A aperture priority and remember small A number small amount in focus and large A number lots in focus

That is all to start the journey as it lets the camera do most of the work

Mike

Good choice of video