Run down of the Nikon mode dial... (Based on the D70 and what it says in the manual)

AUTO-TASTIC MODES

Auto (Picture of camera)- Sell your SLR and hang your head in shame

Portrait (Woman in hat)- Reduces depth of field to make the background drop out of focus behind the subject

Landscape (Mountain) - Enhances images to improve outlines etc, and turns off the speedlight so you don't ruin the photo by thinking your camera can illuminate a mountain.

Close-up (Flower) - Macro in photospeak; bit of an odd mode, as you can't really do macro without using a suitable lens, with a short focal distance. Bumps up contrast.

Sports (Runner) - Turns on AF-C, which alters the focus of the camera continuously as you change the subject of the photo, even with the shutter release half-pressed - essentially, it won't beep and pre-focus, as it does when set to AF-S. Again, the onboard speedlight is turned off, but this time, it makes no sense - you cannot use the speedlight to freeze a rider whilst panning... use manual and get saving for a speedlight, sportsfan!

Night Landscape (Building with moon above) - Drops the shutter speed, and turns off the speedlight, again preventing the user from assuming the flash can light up buildings, or large geological objects. Unless you're a brain surgeon, you'll be wanting a beanbag or tripod to stick your camera on here, and a remote shutter release would be an idea too.

Night Portrait (Person with star) - Meters the light levels of both foreground and background to try and allow normal photos at night. Flash still fires if needed.

As has been said, these are carry-overs from compact cameras, and allow newcomers to get to grips with the camera. But you should really learn how to use the semi manual, and full manual modes on your camera if you're serious about improving your photography.

MAGNIFICENT MANUAL MODES

P (Auto Multi-Program) - A more complex version of Auto mode, which essentially lets the camera decide aperture and shutter speed - the flash can be used if the user turns it on; the camera will re-calculate the shutter and aperture values. The camera is always trying to obtain the same level of lighting in an environment by balancing the aperture and shutter speeds - if it can't, it will let you know. You need a CPU lens (i.e. modern Nikon or compatible) for this mode to work.

S (Shutter Priority) - Set the shutter speed, and the camera will work out the correct aperture setting to produce a correctly exposed image; High shutter speeds in sport will freeze the action, slow shutter speeds, combined with panning to follow the subject, will produce a sense of motion by blurring the background, and isolating the subject in sharp focus. Again, a CPU lens is needed.

A (Aperture Priority) - Set the aperture, and the camera will work out the correct shutter speed to produce a correctly exposed image; Large apertures (small F number) allow in more light and isolate the subject by making the depth of field shallower, whilst small apertures (large F number) allow in less light, but increase the depth of field, bringing the background of the photo into focus. Again, a CPU lens is needed.

M (Manual) - You're doing it all (except metering, and focusing, unless you're shooting with a manual lens). You set the aperture, you set the shutter speed, and the camera will let you take duff photos regardless of how you've set up; it will help you out though. In the D70, there is an Analogue exposure meter in the viewfinder, which will tell you whether you're under or over exposing what's in frame.

Hope that helps the Nikon users!

One more thing - SHOOT RAW. It may be tempting to just shoot high res jpegs on camera, but if you shoot RAW, you're essentially getting an unaltered digital negative of what you've taken. You can manipulate a RAW file, and the JPEG created from it, a lot better than you could a JPEG that's produced in-camera. There is excellent FREE software out there (RawShooter Essentials immediately springs to mind) that allows you to convert to JPEG after applying exposure correction, sharpening etc - it also allows these changes to be applied in batch mode.

RAW is a file format, which is an uncompressed dump of all the sensor information from the camera, unprocessed. It essentially acts as a digital version of a film negative. It allows exposure and other properties to be altered in post processing (Photoshop etc.), prior to the image being converted to a JPEG - this reduces image degradation that normally results from editing JPEGs, and gives you an un-altered original of the image which you can produce more JPEGs from.

RAW files are generally bigger than even the largest JPEG that you can produce on your camera, as there is no compression, so you'll not get as many photos on a memory card as you would shooting JPEG. There will be a setting on the camera that can be altered through the menu system (if your camera supports RAW), so have a read of your manual (you can usually get them online somewhere if you can't find the original).

Different camera manufacturers sometimes use their own version of RAW, which can make post processing in some packages a pain in the arse - Nikon, for example, call their proprietory format NEF (Nikon Electronic Image Format)

Shooting in RAW, you'll need to download the RAW plugin for windows to allow you to view the files through Windows picture and fax viewer, and if you want to make it easier to process the images, then get RawShooter Essentials (Google it!) - this is a free version of the excellent RawShooter software that is very functional, and allows batch processing of RAW images.

Hope that helps.

I've recently downloaded rawshooter essentials and have had mixed results, at 100% with no sharpening etc... some detailed areas of pictures look like they are pixellated or the squares you get in jpeg compressed (they aren't), hard to explain, but there is definately something weird and a lack of detail.
100% crop


Also one picture taken with a polarising filter, looks odd, like I have edited it in photoshop even processed with no adjustments bt processed through a different program it looks fine. There is almost a highlight to the trees which wasn't there, and alos a lot of noise in the sky which should not be there (it isn't in a camera processed jpeg or raw through a different program.)
100% crop



Anyone explain either of those?

you can get the win beta of light room now. It seems ok but it is very slow (even on my top end machine). Adobes aperture seems alot better

yeh sorry my mistake, i actually downloaded rawshooter essentials last night and it is excellent considering it is free!

A D70?

What you hear is BS by Canon fans

I use my D200 a lot and it blows everything else out of the water. I use it extensively for portrait work, press work, wedding work, some landscape work (including time-lapse) and covered a few races with it

Roughly speaking it is supposed to be equivalent to the 5D (with 1.5 crop over FF, I rate DX format better anyway) from Canon but it is more like the 1D. Personally I rate it better than the D2X, high ISO noise response is much better, size is smaller (without the grip - I use the grip and it's actually bigger then the D2Xs but it feels purposeful) until the D3 is introduced

Just pair it up with a good lens (I use a nice wide angle 18-50, a prime 50mm f/1.4 for portrait work and a 70-200 f/2.8 mostly)  for most stuff and you're guaranteed to work through any situation. For people like me who shoot with people who are getting paid by the hour, and at weddings, I can't afford to have to go through menus to adjust things like ISO, WB etc... I need the adjustments there and then, in fact I needed them 5 minutes before I thought about it. The D200 is a pro camera and you'll feel it when you get your hands on one, it does the job and it does it FAST with consistent beautiful results. Personally I tweaked the picture output a bit to give more saturation and different colour tones but that's just my preference, and one of the benefits of having high adjustability

And Nikons professional member support (free membership when you buy a D200 or D2X) is second to none, I destroyed my D200 and ripped the hot shoe clean off (freak accident), with a wedding to cover the next week. Nikon had me fully back on my feet the next day and ready to shoot again, when the camera accounts for your income, you need it that way

Go to a shop and try some cameras, I think you'll be impressed by the D200

Unfortunately so, you need to own one of the bodies or an F6 if you shoot film. The 70-200 is classed as a pro lens (and a stunner it is) but you still need the body to be covered The SB-800 is considered a pro speedlight as well (not the 600) so you should've got a pro sticker on that too

More info from Nikon here: http://www.nikon.co.uk/professional/