Lessons
Introduction to Nikon D5600
10:01 2Photo Basics
07:10 3Top Deck: Mode Dial
25:46 4Top Deck: Additional Buttons and Flash
13:19 5Backside: Live View & Movie Mode
20:38 6Backside: Viewfinder Display
06:33 7Backside: Additional Buttons
11:56 8Backside: I Button Top Row
13:26Backside: I Button Bottom Row
16:10 10Left & Right Sides of Camera
10:14 11Bottom & Front of Camera
03:26 12Lens for Nikon D5600
17:45 13Menu Overview
03:54 14Playback Menu
07:05 15Shooting Menu: Reset Shoot-White Balance
15:16 16Shooting Menu: Picture Control-High ISO NR
08:31 17Shooting Menu: Vignette Control-Manual Movie Settings
13:20 18Custom Setting Menu
19:52 19Setup Menu
11:22 20Setup Menu: SnapBridge & Wireless Controls
19:05 21Retouch Menu & Recent Settings
06:41 22Camera Operations
11:53Lesson Info
Introduction to Nikon D5600
Hello, welcome, everybody, to the Nikon D5600 class. My name is John Greengo. I'm gonna be your instructor for this class. I've been in photography for about 30 years and as anyone who's seen many of my classes here at CreativeLive knows, I love the tech side of photography. I love cameras that have a lot of features which means I really like the Nikon D 'cause they have really packed a lot of features into this camera. And this class is all about going through this camera and figuring out what all the buttons and dials do and then, we're gonna be diving into the menu system and going through all those different features. I got lots of great examples, so if you own this camera, if you plan on using this camera, this class will really serve as a replacement for the instruction manual which any of you who have been through and have struggled with, you're not alone. I understand that. All right, so let's go ahead and dive into this class here. Let me talk about what we're gonna be getting...
into in this class. We've got it broken up into a couple different sections as we make our way around the camera and into the menu system. So to start with, I wanna do a little overview on this camera itself. We're gonna do just a few minutes on basics and then we get into the good stuff, which is the camera controls and that's all the dials and buttons on the outside of the camera. And then in the second half of the camera, we go through the menu system. And at the end of the whole thing, we're gonna get to the camera operation, where I'll talk about my suggestions on how to set the camera up for different types of shooting scenarios. Now, in the menu functions, what you will probably wanna have ready, and I believe we have this live on the web page right now, is the PDF that comes with this class. Now, this is something I've put together and I'm a very visual person and I get lost in the menus. As well as I know these cameras, I, too, get lost in there, wondering where did they put this? 'Cause it moves around on camera to camera. So what I do is I take the entire menu system and I break it down and I put it all on one sheet of paper. So, you can see all of the options, quickly scanning back and forth, so you don't get lost in different pages and sub pages and so forth. Now in here, I also put on recommendations for basic users and advanced users on how I would set the camera up. Now, I know you are gonna be setting in up in your own way, so I also provide a second page where I don't have any suggestions. This is where you can put in all of your own settings and how you like to have things set up. And it's just the PDF, it's called Recommended Settings and you can download that now or anytime you want with the class. All right, let's talk a little bit about this camera. Now, it does come with that instruction manual that I said is a little bit difficult to get through, but there is some important information in there. And this class is gonna be notably shorter than it would take to get through the instruction manual. I'm concentrating on the features that are most important to still photography. Those that are most important to getting the highest image quality out of your camera. We're not gonna deal as much, there's some playback options where you can do raw editing. I'll talk a little bit about it, but you can add all sorts of crazy filters to your photos and we're not gonna spend a lot of time on that sort of information. Inside the instruction manual is some important information about technical details and compatibility with different types of older Nikon equipment and so, you may need to reference that at some point, so don't throw it away. You may wanna take a peruse through it, but, hopefully, this class will be a good replacement for that. Now, if you are kind of new to photography, you might be wondering, after watching this class, what about lighting and composition and all those other aspects of photography? And those are all very important. We just don't have time to address them in this particular class. This is a class on a camera and so, we're gonna be staying concentrated really on this Nikon D5600. If you are looking for some other classes, there are some great classes here at CreativeLive by many different instructors. I have a couple of classes out there. I have a short one and I have a really long one, depending on where you are and what you're looking for in photography. Now, Nikon, of course, has been around for a long time. They are celebrating their 100th birthday this year, so, yes, they've been around for a long time. They started with rangefinder cameras and, you might say, the great great granddaddy of this camera is the Nikon F because it shares the same lens mount, albeit they've made some changes to it and it's not 100% compatible with that. But, it is the same basic lens mount that they've been evolving over the years into this camera right here. One of the biggest changes that came was in when they added auto focus and so, that's kind of a big delineation. Using manual focus lenses on this camera, while possible, not highly recommended they do. It's a little bit more difficult to use 'cause not everything's totally compatible on that. 1999, they brought out their first digital camera, the D1, which had 2.7 megapixels and this guys has 24, so we've come a long ways in that time. So, as far as the Nikon system, the way it sits today, they have a full range of cameras, which is one best reasons for getting into the Nikon systems, so as you grow or you need a second camera body, there's lots of different choices out there. Tons of lenses and a really, really good flash system. Very comprehensive set of tools available for you. Now, as far as the D5600, it is kinda what I would consider the upper of the entry level. The D3400 is their kind of base, stripped down model. This is a basic camera, but they have added a lot of features from many of their higher end cameras and so it is a very tech savvy camera, you might say. And it is a camera that has been evolving and changing over the years and so, some of the predecessors to this, you can see right here on there time frame, they usually update it about every 18 to 24 months, and it's not a huge difference between this and the previous model or even two generations ago. But, they keep tweaking it, making the camera a little bit better in every case and this is the best of this particular version of the camera, you can say. Now, if you do dive into the instruction manual, you will find there's all sorts of warnings and restrictions about things that you shouldn't do and they could probably replaces that all with just the phrase, "Don't be stupid with it." This camera is not waterproof and so, you do need to be a little bit more careful with this than some of the higher end Nikon or other brands of cameras. And so, it is not weather sealed, it doesn't have the gaskets around all the openings. And it's a plastic camera, for the most part, but there's good plastic and there's cheap plastic and this is the good plastic, which does keep it very lightweight. So, do be careful out in the rain. It is not good in that scenario. Now, there's also warnings in there about using non Nikon accessories and so, for the most part, you are gonna not damage anything by using a Sigma or Tokina or Tamron Lens. In many cases, they will make a lens that Nikon doesn't that works totally fine on here. There may be a couple of features when we dive into the menu system that you'll find don't work with those other lenses and they are, what I would consider, very minor issues when it comes to the setup of the camera. So, if I found one of those other brands of lenses that did auto focus and I really liked it and it did what I needed, I'd be more than happy to use it on there. I do recommend sticking with the Nikon flash. Flash is one of the most complicated areas of photography and the Nikon flashes, they just have a better way of communicating back and forth. It's a little bit simpler to use and so I really recommend those. I usually stick with the Nikon batteries, although if you need a backup battery that you're not gonna use very often, then I could see getting an aftermarket one. I haven't heard of any of those damaging the camera, but Nikon, of course, prefers that you buy their products. So, let's make sure that your camera and my camera is ready for today's class. You're gonna wanna charge that battery. Takes a couple of hours and you should get around 1,000 shots on that. You'll need to attach that lens and install a memory card, so you can shoot some practice photos. Of course, you're gonna have your camera turned on, which I'm gonna do right now. Turn the mode dial on the top of the camera to the green AUTO mode. That is the simplest, most basic mode for shooting on the camera. And then, go ahead and press the shutter release to take a picture. And I can't do that on my camera because my lens is currently retracted, so this is something I wanna give you a close look at 'cause this is something kind of new on some cameras. And this camera has a button on the side of it that you have to press to extend the camera's lens out into its shooting position. And so, it has its retracted travel position, you might say, and then when you wanna shoot, you gotta press that button in and get it into its normal shooting position. If you do not have it in this extended position right here, you will not be able to shoot pictures and on the back of your camera, you're gonna get some sort of warning, lens retracted, in there. And so, be careful about that. So, just make sure that when it's time to shoot, you press this and extend it out. Now, if you wanna leave it extended out all the time, that's perfectly fine. Lens sticks out a little bit further, but there's no harm in doing that. And they've done that just so that they can have the smallest size camera possible when you're not using it, so you can pack it into a fairly small bag. And so, I'm gonna go ahead and point my camera at our little test subject over here and shoot a test photo. Make sure my camera's working, flash is firing, focusing is working, and I think I'm ready to go with my camera. Hopefully you are as well.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Margaret Lovell
I received my D5600 as a Christmas gift, and while I picked up a few things on my own, this class was wonderful. I learned more than I would have picked up just by reading a book about the camera. Thank you, John!
John Acklen
John is a fabulous teacher. So clear and easy to follow. I will take many of his classes as I learn photography! Thanks John!
Adrian Todd
Really great review as there was some features of my d5600 I wasn't too sure about. It's probably one of the best instructors I have come across as he's explains things in simple terms that I am able to understand.
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