When you purchase lenses for your camera, make sure they’re for the Nikon F mount. If you’re graduating from a Nikon camera that uses Dx lenses, you can use those lenses on your D780, too.
Dx lenses are for cameras with a sensor smaller than a 35mm film negative. The D780 camera sensor is full frame, the same size as a 35mm film negative. When you use a Dx lens on a full-frame camera, the lens doesn’t capture the full frame — it captures only a portion of it, which is the equivalent of zooming in.
If this is your first DSLR, read this article. Here, you learn how to attach and remove lenses. Get to know the benefits of vibration reduction lenses and zoom lenses and show you how to use a lens hood.How to attach a lens to the Nikon D780
The beauty of a DSLR is that you can attach lenses with different focal lengths to achieve different effects. Your Nikon D780 accepts a wide range of lens, from super-wide-angle lenses to long telephoto lenses that let you fill the frame with objects that are far away.To attach a lens to your camera, follow these steps:
- With the front of the camera facing you, twist the body cap to remove it. If your camera already has a lens on it, you’ll instead have to remove the lens currently on the camera by following the steps in the next section.
- Remove the rear cap from the lens you want to attach to the camera.
- Align the white dot on the lens with the lens mounting mark on the camera body (see Figure 3-1) and gently insert the lens into the body.
- Turn the lens counterclockwise until it locks into place.
Don’t force the lens to twist. If it doesn’t lock into place with a gentle twist, you may not have aligned it properly.
The lens mounting mark on the camera body.How to remove a lens from the Nikon D780
Removing a lens and attaching another lens can be a bit of a juggling act. To remove a lens from your camera, follow these steps:- Press the lens release button. The lens is unlocked from the camera.
- With the front of the camera pointed toward you, twist the lens clockwise about a quarter of a turn and then gently pull the lens out of the body.
To minimize the chance of dust getting on your sensor, always turn off the camera when changing lenses. If you leave the power on, the sensor has a slight charge that can attract dust floating in the air. For this same reason, don’t change lenses in a dusty environment; if you do, dust may blow into your camera. I also find it’s a good idea to point the camera body down when changing lenses. Dust on the sensor shows up as little black specks on your images, which isn’t the look you’re going for.
Never store the camera without a lens or the body cap attached. If you do, pollutants may accidentally get into the camera, harming the delicate mechanical parts and possibly damaging the sensor.
Using a vibration reduction lens on the Nikon D780
Many Nikon and third-party lenses that fit your camera feature vibration reduction, which is a feature that enables you to shoot at a slower shutter speed than you’d normally be able to use and still get a crisp image. How slow a shutter speed you can use when employing vibration reduction depends on the focal length of the lens and how steady you are when handling the camera.When using a longer focal length, you need to shoot with a faster shutter speed to ensure a blur-free image.
To enable vibration reduction, follow these steps:1. Locate the VR switch on the side of your lens.
On Nikon lenses, you’ll find the switch on the left side of the lens when the camera is pointed toward your subject (see the following figure). If you’re using a third-party lens, look for a switch that reads VR or IS, or refer to the lens manual for instructions.
The VR switch on a Nikon lens.2. Push the VR switch to ON to enable vibration reduction.
Vibration reduction uses the camera battery to compensate for operator movement. So, it’s a good idea is to turn off this feature when you need to conserve battery power and don’t need vibration reduction.
Some lenses have two vibration reduction switches: one that stabilizes the lens in a horizontal and vertical plane, and another that stabilizes the lens when you pan to follow a moving object. Refer to your lens’s instruction manual for more information.
3. Use the VR mode switch to choose Normal or Active.
You should leave it on Normal for most photography. Switch it to Active if you’re shooting from a moving vehicle.
Always take a couple of pictures to determine if you need Normal or Active VR mode and if the shutter speed you’re shooting at is fast enough to capture a sharp image. If your test images are blurry, try switching from Normal to Active and shoot a few more images. If they’re still blurry, switch to a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) or increase the ISO to be able to use a faster shutter speed.
When using a tripod to stabilize the camera, disable vibration reduction; otherwise, the feature may actually induce image blur because it’ll try to compensate for nonexistent camera motion.
How to use a zoom lens on the Nikon D780
The kit lens that comes with the Nikon D780 has a focal length range from 24mm (wide angle) to 120mm (telephoto). You can purchase additional Nikon or third-party zoom lenses from your favorite camera supplier. Zoom lenses come in two varieties: the kind that you twist to zoom in or out, and the kind that you push or pull to zoom out or in, respectively.To use a zoom lens with a barrel that twists to change focal length, follow these steps:
- Grasp the lens barrel with your fingers.
- Twist the barrel to zoom in or out.
- Grasp the lens barrel with your fingers.
- Push the barrel away from the camera to zoom out and pull the barrel toward the camera to zoom in.