With
your camera in hand, try out the following steps, and in no
time, you will have mastered bracketing with your D2x:
1.
Press
and hold the BKT button
2.
Rotate the REAR thumbwheel main command dial one notch to
the right. (See Figure 3 below) You will note on the top LCD
that you now have a horizontal exposure line showing between
+/- signs. Notice just below the exposure line that there
are three small vertical lines. One of the vertical lines
is below the 0 position of the exposure line. Another is to
the left of it on the “+” side, and the other
is to the right of it on the “-“ side.
This
means that we will have three frames exposed in our bracketing
series. (Each vertical line represents a separate image) That
is also noted by the “3F” notation above the exposure
line as in Figure 3 above.
3.
With the BKT button still held down, rotate the sub-command
dial on the FRONT of the D2x. You will see the top LCD change
the exposure bracket value between 0.3 stop and 1.0 stop.
Select the value you want to over and underexpose the image
(See Figure 3 above).
4.
Release the BKT button.
At
this point, you are ready to take your pictures. This is where
it gets really cool! If you have your motor drive set to CH
or CL (Continuous High or Low) you can simply compose the
image and hold down the shutter. The D2x will take the three
images in rapid succession and then stop. If you then recompose
and press the shutter down again, it will take three more
pictures and stop. The motor drive only works long enough
to expose those three bracketed exposures then ceases.
Each
time it is making one of the three exposures, the D2x is changing
the exposure value by the amount you selected in # 3 above.
The first exposure is at the suggested meter setting. The
second is underexposed, and the third is overexposed, in that
order. (normal, under, over)
If
your motor drive is set to S (single) then you will have to
take three separate exposures yourself, by pressing the shutter
three times.
The
camera will stay in bracketing mode until you change it by
holding down the BKT button and rotating the rear main command
dial until the small vertical lines go away.
One
can vary the number of exposures, and whether they are under
or over exposed, by rotating the rear command dial in varying
degrees with the BKT button held down. (i.e. you'll change
the rotation direction in step # 2 above). There is a chart
on pages 100 to 101 of your D2x manual that shows the amazing
variety of ways one can vary the bracketing.
Remember
that the default for the camera is to bracket both the AE
exposure and Flash exposure at the same time. If you only
want to bracket the AE exposure and not the Flash, the Flash
only, or the White Balance only, you will need to set Custom
Setting e5. (See Figure 1 above)
On
pages 98 through 105 of your D2x manual there are detailed
instructions on setting the Custom Function e5, and very detailed
information on AE, Flash, and White Balance bracketing.
Nikon
is making our favorite cameras more flexible all the time.
Learn to use features like exposure bracketing to give yourself
more power in your photography.
Keep
on capturing time…
