Lessons
Class Introduction
06:20 2Photo Basics
05:31 3Basic Controls: Top Of Camera
04:45 4Basic Controls: Auto Modes-
09:24 5Basic Controls: Manual Modes
23:47 6Basic Controls: Back Of Camera
20:29 7Basic Controls: Flash Modes
14:05 8Basic Controls: Live View
13:10Basic Controls: Left And Right Of Camera
06:21 10Basic Controls: Bottom & Front of Camera
03:03 11Nikon D3400 Lens Options
07:25 12Menu Functions Overview
02:51 13Playback Menu
05:02 14Shooting Menu
21:46 15Setup Menu
23:52 16Setup Menu: Connect to Smart Device
17:01 17Camera Operation Overview
09:19Lesson Info
Nikon D3400 Lens Options
Talk real quickly about some of the different lenses, and something you need to know about the Nikon lenses is that they have two lineups of lenses. They have the FX Series, and the DX Series. And here's the unusual thing. The DX lenses are labeled as DX. The FX lenses are not labeled as FX. And so if you see a DX, you know what it is. If you don't see anything, it's an FX lens. The difference is, is that the FX is designed for full-frame sensors, the largest sensors that Nikon makes. And so they produce a very large image circle that covers the entire image area of those full circles. The DX lenses produce a smaller size image circle, that is designed to fit the smaller image area of the DX sensor. These lenses are often a little bit smaller, a little bit lighter weight, and a little bit less money. Where things get interesting is when you start swapping lenses to different systems. You can put a DX lens on a full-frame camera. So if you were to upgrade this camera to one of the highe...
r-end Nikon cameras, you are not gonna be able to get image onto the full corners of your sensor area, because the lens is not designed to do that. If you however, were to purchase an FX lens, and put it onto this camera, it's gonna work just fine. You are recording only the middle portion of that image circle, but you're gonna get a nice, clean, very good image, albeit it's a cropped image, which is why we call it a cropped camera. So the FX lenses are designed for those full-frame sensors, and they're fine on your camera. I would look to see if there's a DX lens for your camera, because the DX is what was designed for your camera in size, but if you plan to move on to full-frame, then you wanna get the FX lenses. So be aware of those two. Now there is a third choice to be aware of, which is something you don't want to choose is the Nikon 1 Series. It's a Mirrorless Camera, that uses a much smaller sensor, and does not mount on your camera, and will not work in any way, with any adapter on your camera. So just because it says Nikon, doesn't mean that you can totally make full use of that particular lens. Now, we don't have time to get into all the special designations that they put on all the different lenses, but the most important features will often get a letter that they put a badge on the lenses, and this has to do with various communications, and compatibility of the lenses. So the basic lens that it comes with, the 18 to 55 AF-P lens, where it's gonna have those CPU contacts, the Lens mount mark that we talked about before. Lens information about the focal length and aperture. And then you're gonna often have on most of the zoom lenses, you're gonna have a big old Zoom ring, and you'll have a Focusing ring as well. If you are auto-focusing, that ring isn't gonna do anything for you. But if you do wanna manually focus, that is the ring that you would turn. Each lens has its own specified Lens Hood. This has its own particular one, that's gonna help block light that is coming from outside, that might cause flare or contrast problems. And so in general I would recommend using a hood most all the time. The one time that I wouldn't recommend using it, is with using the built-in flash, because when you use the hood it will block the light from illuminating your subject, and so if you are planning to use the flash, you might be wise to take that hood off of the lens. Different size filters for different size lenses. This one uses 52 millimeter filters, if you are interested in a protecting filter, or a polarizing filter perhaps. And of course this lens has the Lens Retraction button so that it is as small as possible when its not being used. Now there's a lot of different letter designations, and the most important one that you need to know about is the G/E Lenses, versus a Non G or E Lens. And so you wanna make sure that your lens either ends in a G or ends in an E. And the reason is, is it's fully compatible with your camera, and you'll see that right after the aperture in this case, the 1:1.4. So G or E is good. A Non G Lens would be something like a D Lens, or one that doesn't have any letter at all. And you'll also notice this, because it has a big old Aperture ring on it, which is not the Stylus system. It's an older style of lens, which is only partially compatible with your camera. And so the G/E Lenses have full compatibility with focus and exposure and so forth. These older lenses do not have auto-focus capabilities. You can still use them on your camera, but you're gonna have to manually focus them. And so let's take a look at some of the lenses that you need to be aware of. So this camera is coming with a new lens from Nikon, called the AF-P, and the P part of it is a new type of focusing system that Nikon has put in this lens, so that it works a little bit better with video, as well as working with still photographs, so it's a little bit smoother when shooting video, than other Nikon lenses. So it's actually superior in that aspect, to many other fancier, more expensive lenses. They make two versions of this. One without, and one with vibration reduction, the VR system. And so the vibration reduction system of course would be preferred, but it's about an extra fifty dollars. Now there are older versions of this lens, which do not have that smooth focusing motor for video in there, and they may or may not have VR built into them as well. And so you will see previous versions on other similar cameras that are available on the market. Probably the lens that most people are interested in getting beyond the basic kit lens, would be something that has a little bit more telephoto. If you wanna keep size to a minimum, look at the 55-200, it's gonna be the smallest of the lenses that reach out a pretty good distance, and it's good enough for most uses. If you want a little bit more reach, the 70-300, and there's two versions, one without, and one with VR would probably be the biggest lens that you would wanna use with this particular camera. Something that I would highly advise, is looking at getting a Prime lens. This is a lens that does not zoom, and so there's a number of very good choices. All of these are relatively inexpensive. The far left, the 35 1.8 is right around $200, and is great for doing general photography, if you're wanting to learn manual photography, if you're shooting pictures indoors, if you do a lot of people photography, that 35 1.8 is a really nice image. But the other 50's and 85's are also very good portrait lenses and so, getting a lens that lets in more light, is one of the great benefits of having a camera with interchangeable lenses and so, these are some not too expensive options, that you might wanna take a close look at to see if they fit your needs. If you would like to learn more about Nikon lenses, I have a lengthy class where I get into all the Nikon lenses, and so if you really wanna learn about lenses, and how to use them, take a look at the Nikon Lens class. It's the complete guide. We go through every lens that Nikon makes. Tells you everything you need to know about it.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Jan
I just purchased my first DSLR which is a Nikon D3500. There are few changes from the 3400 and this class has helped me tremendously with the transition from point and shoot and phone cameras. I am planning two once in a lifetime trips coming up and along with John's other courses on here I hope to be ready to capture some great memories. Would highly recommend his classes as he is a great teacher. I have tried other courses online and this and his Beginning 3 hour course so far have been the most helpful. Look forward to diving into his Fundamentals class.
Tuan Hoang
John Greengo is a great instructor. He is indeed an expert. 1) Great voice ( clear tone) 2) Extremely friendly look ( must be a humble person) 3) Is indeed an expert ( know what he's talking about) 4) Have a passion teaching the secrets ( some instructors tend to hold back the information but not John) 5) And many more...
Andrea
Great course to help an amateur get familiar with this camera. As a first time DSLR owner, and new to photography in general, there are settings and abilities of this camera that I find to be intimidating at times because they are over my head as a newbie. John explained settings and buttons in a way that cleared up some confusion left from reading the camera manual. I highly recommend this class to every owner of a D3400! John is a great instructor and I look forward to watching more videos of his.
Student Work
Related Classes
Camera Guides