New to Nikon-Bought D40

[cmarie313]

Hello,
I am so happy that I found this forum!!!! I just purchased the D40 and am SO OVERWHELMED!!!! I don't even know where to start. I have always had a Sony point and shoot camera so this seems so different. My biggest reason for getting this camera is I have a 13 month old daughter and I was constantly missing her "special moments" because the camera was taking too long to take the picture and I wanted to be able to take continuous pics of her. Did I make the right decision with this camera...I am FAR from a professional photographer:)
My first big question is...I want the date to print on my pictures so how do I go about doing that? I always was able to have my pictures with the date from my Sony camera(I didn't have to do anything special, I just would put in my memory card and upload my pictures and there was the date).
Thanks in advance for any insights or help!
cmarie

[ANP !!!]

You made a perfect decision, D40 being cheap has a great low light performance and is quite fast, I love mine, and will never sell it even if I upgrade to high end versions. D40 is great for starters, if you might have got a mid range 450D or 40Ds or D80s, then it would have been a overkill for you.

I don't think D40 has the feature of Date printed, you have to do it manually.

[cmarie313]

Thanks! What do you mean I have to do it manually? I can't open the camera box or else I can't return it so I want to know for sure if I can somewhat easily have the date on my pics...have you ever put the date on your pics?

[Tomcat]

Here is a link for the D40 manual.
http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/D40_noprint.pdf
I will take a look when it gets done down loading.
I think you can have the date put on your pictures by the camera.

[Screenclutter]

I normally don't put the date imprint on my point-and-shoot pictures since it is difficult to remove from the picture once added. But I don't think the D40 has this feature.

The jpeg or raw file that you take with the D40 has the date and time information stored within it.

If you switch memory cards, be aware that the D40 by default restarts the numbering of its files in the new inserted memory card. This feature can be changed somewhere in the menus.

A year after getting my D40, there are still functions I keep discovering in the menus...

[Tomcat]

It will print the time and date on your picture. Look on page 57 under Time Stamp.

[Screenclutter]

It will print the time and date on your picture. Look on page 57 under Time Stamp.

Another thing I didn't know...though I don't see it on page 57, maybe page 59 instead?

[Tomcat]

It was page 59. My bad.

[cmarie313]

Thanks for all your help! I am kind of bummed because I realized I have to do it picture by picture to have the date on them...what a PAIN!!! Each month I take around 500 pics of my daughter and this just seems like so much work. I know most people who have the SLRs don't want this feautre but I really did. If I return the camera now that I opened it I will have to pay a restocking fee:(

[Visual Reality]

At that rate you are going to have 6000 pictures / year of your daughter. That seems excessive...your next step is going to be learning how to organize/sort/manage your photos. Most people go through a sorting process where only the best are kept.

[SpecialK]

Thanks for all your help! I am kind of bummed because I realized I have to do it picture by picture to have the date on them...what a PAIN!!! Each month I take around 500 pics of my daughter and this just seems like so much work. I know most people who have the SLRs don't want this feautre but I really did. If I return the camera now that I opened it I will have to pay a restocking fee:(

Page 59 is part of printing individual pictures. The next page shows how to print a batch at a time. But, are you really going to print them all?

I'm sure there are lots of cheap or free software (photo editors), that will put the date on a print.

This is not exactly what you want, but there is a free program called "renamer" that I use all the time to a rename a batch of files at one time. Basically, I replace the IMGP prefix of my images with the date in YYMMDD format. Takes about 10 seconds. At least you would be able to see the date in any software that displays the file name or can print the file name on pictures.

http://www.download.com/File-Renamer-Basic/3000-2248_4-10306538.html

Once installed, go to near the bottom to the "find and replace" tab, type the "find" part in one spot and the "replace" with part in the other.

[swpars]

Thanks for all your help! I am kind of bummed because I realized I have to do it picture by picture to have the date on them...what a PAIN!!! Each month I take around 500 pics of my daughter and this just seems like so much work. I know most people who have the SLRs don't want this feautre but I really did. If I return the camera now that I opened it I will have to pay a restocking fee:(

Read the D40 owner's manual again.

You can set the camera to print the date on every picture that you take. I don't do this, because the RAW or JPEG image file saves the date (according to the camera's clock) and that's sufficient enough for me to organize my pictures by date taken.

[tizeye]

While I have had my D40 for years, I have the older Picture Project software that came with it and have not done the free download for the newer View??? software. While not certain how the current software does it, but PP organized each download, naming the file folder according to the date of the download. Thumbnails is what gives me a hint as to the content of the 09/22/2007 file folder.

The irony is that Windows Explorer DOESN'T show the file folders as a date, but as sequenced downloads 001, 002 etc. PictureProject shows the same folders as a date, but not the sequence # - go figure. While I don't use the embedded date on each of my pictures, I did notice 3 options in PP for printing "selected" pictures with various amounts of info BELOW the photo, and an additional option for printing the date/time ON the picture. That last option also gave you the choice of color from the default black - which may blend in on certain pictures/backgrounds. As PP is Nikon older software, check the one that came with your camera as it probably has the same features. To me, that the best of both worlds - keep the image clean, but add it if you want at the time of printing. Hopefully the newer software has it as I can get the free upgrade, but current owners can't get the older PictureProject software.

[ANP !!!]

I didn't knew you can print dates on D40, I will activate it now.

[tizeye]

I didn't knew you can print dates on D40, I will activate it now.

Before you activate it in the camera as the new default for all pictures (requiring cloning post processing to remove it) may want to check ViewNX (or PictureProject) as I noted in the post above. Go to one of your existing images (or select several) for printing. On the printing menu look for advanced features. That's where I found the 3 "below" options and 1 "on" option for printing data with the photo.

That creates the best of both worlds. The info is recorded but not showing as the default, but can be made to show on those where you deem it important (i.e. birthdays). That is far better than showing on the picture by default, then having to load PaintShop, Photoshop or some other advanced photoediting software to remove it. There is no automatic removal that I am aware of, so it is the laborious cloning.

[tizeye]

Congratulations on the D40! While we have been concentrating on the embedded date issue, here is a hint on something else...

Focusing.
You probably won't have this problem with centered person/subject shots that have focusing detail/contrast. When the camera endlessly searches for focus - here's how to override/trick the camera.
Place one of the 3 focus points (i prefer the center one) on an object about the same difference away, press til you hear the beep of the focus lock, then holding the shutter button steady to maintain the lock swing the camera around an frame the picture, then press the shutter button the remainder of the way.

Examples. 1) I'm a Realtor and in empty rooms experience difficulty focusing on blank walls - solution, look down at the floorboard area for the floor/wall (or wall/wall corner) contrast to lock the focus, then compose the frame. 2) photos of small objects like spider's in a web invariably focuses on the tree in the background - if the spider is 5' away, focus on something else 5' away. 3) While switching over to manual can be used for both of those above, it was the obvious choice for a space shuttle launch - I didn't want the camera searching for focus during the short launch window when I knew the focus would be infinity. There, switch the lens over from "A" to "M" and use that little ring at the end on the lens.

Hope that helps.

[cmarie313]

WOW!!!...thank you all so much for the help...It seems that I have SO MUCH to learn about this camera. I feel so stupid when it comes to most of the things you are all talking about when it comes to not only the camera but also taking pictures. I see I have a lot to read up on:) I have never had a camera with attachable lenses so I am just not used to it at all...I am used to picking up my tiny little point and shoot Sony and snapping the pic...I never did much more than that besides zoom the darn thing:) Oh, well, I am so excited to figure out how to use the camera.

Do you have any advice on where to start for such a beginner like me???? I hope I wasn't foolish for getting a camera like this!

[XaiLo]

WOW!!!...thank you all so much for the help...It seems that I have SO MUCH to learn about this camera. I feel so stupid when it comes to most of the things you are all talking about when it comes to not only the camera but also taking pictures. I see I have a lot to read up on:) I have never had a camera with attachable lenses so I am just not used to it at all...I am used to picking up my tiny little point and shoot Sony and snapping the pic...I never did much more than that besides zoom the darn thing:) Oh, well, I am so excited to figure out how to use the camera.

Do you have any advice on where to start for such a beginner like me???? I hope I wasn't foolish for getting a camera like this!

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson Revised Edition. Under twenty dollars it's a lite and easy read that I could not recommend it enough to someone starting out.

The D40 is a great camera for a beginner 'auto' can be your friend. Just remember you're not going to learn everything in a day that's just not realistic. Photography is much more than the camera which happens to be in use at the time.

There's a great bunch here that will help you through this rough patch. No reason to put undo pressure on yourself. You had to learn your abc's before you could spell and read same principle and welcome to photography 101. :) check out the "Some D40 Pics" thread you'll see some great images from beginners.

[swpars]

The D40, D40x, and D60 FAQ on the D40 Flickr group is an excellent resource. I would advise spending some time reading it, and possibly printing relevant portions of it.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/d40slr/discuss/72157604109651134/

I would also advise searching the discussions in said group as many DSLR beginners have had their questions addressed, which may pertain to issues that you run into.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/d40slr/

[Tomcat]

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson Revised Edition. Under twenty dollars it's a lite and easy read that I could not recommend it enough to someone starting out.

This is a great book.

[XaiLo]

Two thumbs up, Tomcat.

[johnnybogey]

Congrats on your purchase. I am currently waiting for my first ever digital slr as well. My bday is next week and I have a hunch that my wife got me a Nikon D40 or D60. I say hunch because I've been dropping hints to her. :)

Can't wait to get it.

Also, thanks Xailo and Tomcat for the book recommendation. I need all the help I can get as I am a complete noob.

[cmarie313]

Welcome Johnnybogey!!! Hopefully your wife will get you your camera and we can try to figure these cameras out:) Everyone here has been SO helpful so far so you found a great place!!!!

I will definitely be purchasing the book you all recommeded. Hopefully it can shed some light since photography is kind of a new thing to me. I am really excited though. :D
cmarie

[tim11]

I just glimpse through the posts in this thread and I don't see anyone mentions the meta data embed with every digital photo. This is recorded in exif data stating the type of camera, time and date the shot was taken along with a lot more information such as camera settings. You can always access these data with the computer anytime you want to. On Windows just right click on the image file and go to properties.
I know a lot of parents aren't happy without date stamp but date on prints look too amateurish.
Congratulations for the baby and the new camera.