NIKON COOLPIX P50 DIGITAL CAMERA
TO TURN THE CAMERA ON/ OFF:
1) Press the On/Off button on the top-right of the camera.
TO TAKE A PICTURE:
Photography Tip 1: Try to get as close as possible to the subject, even if you have a Telephoto button to enlarge the image.
Photography Tip 2: Use a tripod or monopod or set the camera down on a flat, stable surface in low-light situations to reduce blurring.
1) Turn the dial on the top of the camera to the green Camera icon.
2) If you want to see the various settings on the screen, press the
Display On button at the top left on the back of the camera. (Press the
same button again to get rid of the settings.)
3) You should now be able to see the following settings at the edges of the screen:
Flash setting = Automatic Red-eye Removal, Backlighting Fill Flash, No Flash, etc.
ISO = the film sensitivity is increased in low-light situations.
F-stop = Aperture setting – for example, F 2.8 or F 5.6 (the larger the number, the smaller the lens opening and the greater the depth of field). "Depth of field" is the distance from the camera lens that remains sharply focused.
Shutter speed = the higher the number, the faster the picture is taken – for example, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125 seconds etc. Higher numbers [denominators] are better for action shots, because they will stop movement without blurring.
Resolution = see below.
Number of shots left on the internal memory or the removable SD Camera Memory Card.
Shooting mode = Sunset, Night landscape, Party/indoors, Fireworks show, Backlight, etc.
4) To change the resolution of the pictures:
1) Press the Menu button, then press the Down Arrow part of the Ring button once to highlight Image size.
2) Press the Right Arrow part of the Ring button to see the list of resolutions, such as:
Resolution (Megapixels) Width X Height of pictures (in pixels)
8M 3264 X 2448 = great for large poster-size printouts.
5M 2592 X 1944
3M 2048 X 1536
2M 1600 X 1200 = good for general photography and printing.
1M 1280 X 960 = also good for general photography and printing.
PC 1024 X 768 = best for uploading pictures to web sites or e-mailing.
TV 640 X 480 = good for displaying pictures on a regular TV screen, on a web site or in e-mail.
3:2 3264 X 2176 = good for displaying pictures in the same aspect ratio as on a TV screen.
16:9 3200 X 1800 = good for displaying pictures on a movie screen or widescreen TV set.
Note: The higher the pixels (for example, 3264 X 2448 or 8 Megapixels), the sharper the picture and the larger you can print the picture without seeing any fuzziness. However, the higher the pixels, the larger the file size in Megabytes, which is not good for e-mailing pictures or uploading your pictures to a web site.
3) Press the Down Arrow part of the Ring button to the resolution you want, such as: 1M 1280 X 960.
4) Press the center OK button.
5) Press the Menu button to exit the menu.
5) Point the camera toward the subject.
6) Press the Wide Angle-Telephoto button at the top-right on the back of the camera to either zoom out or zoom in on the subject.
7) Center the subject, then press and hold the Shutter or Picture-Taking button on the top-front of the camera halfway down to lock the focus distance. You will see the green AF light above the LCD display on the back of the camera light up and the Focusing Brackets [ ] in the center of the LCD display change from white to green.
8) Move the camera slightly so that the subject is off-center, because it usually makes a better composition if the image is asymmetric. Hold the camera absolutely steady, then press the Shutter button the rest of the way down to take the picture. If the flash is necessary and you have AutoFlash turned ON, you should see a bright red light come ON to illuminate the scene before the flash fires. (See the section below on how to change the Flash setting, if you need to change this setting.)
Tip: Silently count to 5 before you move the camera after you press the Shutter button all the way down to avoid blurring the image.
9) Wait for the green AF (Autofocus) light to stop blinking, then take the next picture.
TO VIEW THE PICTURES YOU HAVE TAKEN:
1) Press the Playback button. This button has a Right Arrow 4 on it and is found just above the Ring button.
2) Scroll through the pictures by pressing the Left Arrow or Right Arrow part of the Ring button.
Tip: Press the W-side of the Wide Angle-Telephoto button (the W – T button) to see tiny “thumbnails” of the pictures you have taken. You can then scroll through the thumbnails using the Left, Right, Up and Down Arrow buttons. Press the OK button to see an enlargement of the thumbnail that is highlighted, which will have a yellow rectangle around it.
TO DELETE A PICTURE:
Caution: Be sure you have successfully transferred the picture(s) to your computer before you delete the picture(s) or erase all images on the camera, if the pictures are important to you!
1) Press the Playback button, which has a Right Arrow on it 4 and is found just above the Ring button.
2) Press the Left Arrow part of the Ring button to go back to the just-taken picture or to a picture that you have previously taken. (Or use the Right Arrow part of the Ring button to go forward.)
3) Press the Trash can button at the lower right on the back of the camera.
4) Press the Down Arrow part of the Ring button to highlight “Yes.”
5) Press the center OK button.
TO ERASE ALL PICTURES:
1) Press the Menu button.
2) Press the Up or Down Arrow part of the Ring button until “Delete” is highlighted.
3) Press the center OK button.
4) Press the Up or Down Arrow part of the Ring button until “Erase all images” is highlighted.
5) Press the center OK button.
6) Press the Menu button to exit the menu.
TO CHANGE THE FLASH SETTINGS:
1) Press the Flash part of the Ring button (it’s the Top or Up Arrow part).
2) Use the Down Arrow part of the Ring button to select one of the following:
1) AutoFlash = flash automatically fires when needed.
2) Auto with Red-eye reduction = flash automatically reduces red-eye in subjects’ eyes.
3) No flash = disables the flash (use a tripod/monopod or set the camera down on a flat surface).
4) Slow sync = AutoFlash combined with a slow shutter speed to lighten the background behind the subject.
5) Rear-curtain sync = camera fires the flash just before the shutter closes (creates a stream of light behind moving subjects) .
3) Press the center OK button.
TO CHANGE THE “SCENE” SETTING:
1) Turn the top dial to Scene.
2) Press the Menu button.
3) Select the appropriate scene. The camera will then automatically change the settings to create a better picture for that particular type of scene.
Sports
Party/indoor
Beach/snow
Sunset
Dusk/dawn
Night landscape
Close up (you can take a picture as close as 1.9 inches from the subject, such as a flower)
Museum
Fireworks show
Copy (for taking pictures of black & white copy, faxes or printouts)
Backlight
Panorama assist (you can seamlessly stitch together multiple shots of a landscape like a mountain range or a beach scene to create one large panoramic picture)
4) Press the OK button.
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NIKON TRANSFER PROGRAM
Note: To install the Nikon Transfer program, insert the CD that came with your Nikon Coolpix into your CD-ROM Drive and follow the directions on the screen.
1) Turn OFF the camera.
2) Open the small, black rubber flap on the right side of the camera.
3) Insert the tiny USB connector into the USB port under the rubber flap. Insert the other end of the USB cable into any free USB port on your computer.
4) Turn ON the camera.
5) If you see the “P50” (or whichever Nikon Coolpix model you have) window appear on the screen, click on Nikon Transfer under “Select the program to launch for this action:” Click on ¤ Always use this program for this action if you always want the Nikon Transfer program to automatically start when you attach the USB cable. (Or you can leave this unchecked if you want to use another program, such as Picasa or Windows Photo Gallery.) Click on OK.
6) Wait for the Nikon Transfer window to pop up on the screen.
7) Click on the Source tab at the upper left.
8) Click on the large P50 (or whatever your Nikon Coolpix model is) button on the window.
9) Click on the Start Transfer button at the lower right-hand corner of the window.
10) Wait for the pictures to be transferred to your computer.
11) The pictures will be found in the following folder (this folder may automatically pop up on the screen when the transfer process is finished):
C:\.....\My Documents\My Pictures\Nikon Transfer\001 or equivalent.
Note: This means, first, open the My Documents folder, then find the My Pictures folder and open it, then open the Nikon Transfer folder, then open the 001 (or equivalent) folder.
12) Each picture will have a file name like: DSCN0068.jpg.
Note: See our instructions for the Windows Photo Gallery program if you want to use this program to edit, e-mail, copy, etc. your pictures.