After you press the shutter button, the AF-assist lamp on the front of the camera starts to blink, and the camera emits a series of beeps (assuming that you didn't disable its voice via the beep option on the Setup menu). A few seconds later, the camera captures the image.
By default, the camera waits 10 seconds after you press the shutter button and then records a single image. But you can tweak the delay time and capture as many as nine shots at a time. Set your preferences by using the Self-Timer option, found on the Setup menu. Here's what you need to know about the two settings:
- Self-timer delay: Choose a delay time of 2, 5, 10, or 20 seconds. The selected delay time appears with the self-timer symbol in the Information and Live View displays. (Refer to the figure for help locating the symbol in the displays.)
- Number of shots: Specify how many frames you want to capture with each press of the shutter button; the maximum is nine. When you record multiple frames, shots are taken at 4-second intervals.
Two more points about self-timer shooting:
- After the specified number of shots are captured, the camera resets the Release mode to Single Frame, Quiet, or Continuous. Turning off the camera also resets the Release mode. Either way, the camera selects the Release mode you used before self-timer mode.
- Cover the viewfinder during self-timer shooting. Otherwise, light may seep into the camera through the viewfinder and affect exposure. You can buy a cover designed for your camera for under $5; the Nikon part you need is DK-5. To use it, remove the rubber eyepiece that surrounds the viewfinder and then insert the cover in its place. As an alternative, you can just cover the viewfinder with a piece of cloth or card stock — even hanging the camera strap over the viewfinder can work if you're using a tripod.