Art and Photography

Need help with D90 - calling all Nikon owners!

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  • May 20th, 2010 12:24 pm
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Deal Expert
May 30, 2005
49009 posts
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Richmond Hill

Need help with D90 - calling all Nikon owners!

Hey guys, just bought a new D90 and played with it the moment I got home, make sure it all works and stuff. Looks good. The battery came half full so I charged it overnight.

Fast forward to this morning, I put the freshly charged battery into the camera, played with it some more, took a few pictures, and noticed that all my pictures are underexposed. Everything I take that is faster than 1/100s shutter speed gives me a black screen on my 18-105mm Nikkor AF-S. Using flash helps, but it limits my shutter speed to 1/200s at the fastest.

I double checked all the exposure levels on my camera and they were all set to 0. I tried using auto mode, and it would set my shutter speed anywhere from 1/4 to 1/20s. On the "info" screen, the exposure bar tells me that the picture will be very underexposed (the arrow goes all the way to the right) for any setting above 1/100s or so. I tried resetting the camera with the two green dotted buttons as well as resetting the custom settings but nothing changed.

I'm thinking I probably messed with some setting while I was playing around with the buttons, but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have any clue what's wrong? BTW I'm referring to indoor shooting. Outdoor shooting is okay, although it still tells me my picture will be partially underexposed, with the exposure bar in the middle of the right side, but at least I don't get a black picture.

Thanks.
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16 replies
Sr. Member
Mar 31, 2010
832 posts
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Cowgary
That's because you're shooting low-light with a fast shutter speed. Turn your dial to Aperture priority (Av) instead.
Deal Expert
May 30, 2005
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Richmond Hill
omgreo wrote: That's because you're shooting low-light with a fast shutter speed. Turn your dial to Aperture priority (Av) instead.
I've tried that and it would set my shutter speed somewhere between 1/1 and 1/20s at max aperture.
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Member
Jun 2, 2003
299 posts
5 upvotes
North York
kit lens is too slow to shoot poorly lighted indoor pictures.. you need flash.. or change to Auto ISO.
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Mar 20, 2008
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it doesn't sound like you messed with anything...yet...

in case you didn't know, zooming in and out will affect your aperture.

So lets take it back to step 1...set it to the widest aperture which in this case F3.5 @ 18mm. Take a shot, if it's too dark, then adjust the ISO sensitivity to suitable levels like 640, 800 until you get something right. Or, you can choose Manual mode, adjust your own shutter speed to something slower...however you'll most likely get a blurry picture so Aperture priority is right.

Just make sure you don't set the ISO setting at auto, it won't get stuff right.
Sr. Member
Mar 31, 2010
832 posts
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Cowgary
Jon Lai wrote: I'm not an expert but I think I know what shutter speed and aperture does.
Then why are you trying to use a fast shutter speed in a presumably dark area?
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May 14, 2007
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Scarborough / Markha…
etam wrote: kit lens is too slow to shoot poorly lighted indoor pictures.. you need flash.. or change to Auto ISO.
+1 bump the iso, and as 1337rice said, zooming your lens changes the max aperture. For the 18-105mm it is 3.5-5.6. Which means at 18 your max aperture is f3.5 whereas at 105mm the max aperture is f5.6. And when you had flash on the fastest the flash can catch up to is 1/200, which explains why thats the highest you could go.
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Jun 16, 2007
366 posts
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Jon - Just to do a quick test to see if the camera is defective. Try some shots in "auto" with some nice lighting. If that turns out OK then you just need to get used to your new DSLR. I'm not sure how much experience you have with DSLRs, but trust me, no matter how good the camera, it's still possible to take bad pictures :)

If you really don't want to read through the manual, at least take a look at http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90/users-guide/index.htm

I say give it a week of playing around and you'll get the hang of it. I know that f stops and shutter speeds can sound backwards at first to some.

Bluecrane also has nice video tutorials on the D90
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
1139 posts
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how about a sample? and show the exif data?
Sr. Member
Jun 11, 2003
511 posts
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Toronto
Try resetting it and they take some pictures that way you know your settings aren't affecting the final image.

Ken Says..
1.) Reset: Hold down the +/- and AF buttons (next to the green dots) for a few seconds, and the D90 comes out of whatever crazy mode it was in and returns to sanity. The top LCD blinks and everything is back to normal.
Deal Addict
Nov 9, 2003
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Toronto
1/100 of a second is likely too fast of a shutter speed for that lens to take a decent picture indoors. There's just not enough light.
Sr. Member
Feb 13, 2008
606 posts
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Hamilton
Yep, sounds about right.
Just tried my D90 - on auto, no flash, exposure is 1/30, ISO bumps up to 1400, wide open.
If I go to shutter priority and 100, I am very underexposed. If I bump ISO up to HI1, I assume 6400, exposure looks about right.

I'd say your camera is working fine.
Member
Oct 12, 2004
240 posts
18 upvotes
Toronto
It doesn't seem like there is anything wrong with your camera. Just something wrong with you! Just kidding, but it seems like you do have a lot to learn. :D

It's hard to tell what settings you are using exactly from your post.. but i'm assuming you're in manual mode.. probably with a low ISO like 100 or 200 and you have your shutter set @ 1/100.

You said your shutter speed on aperture priority is reading 1 second, meaning that's the shutter speed needed given the max. aperture of your lens and the ISO you are on. Try increasing your ISO, with your lens, you'll probably need to be at around ISO 1600 or higher when you're indoors/lowlight to get a fast enough shutter speed.
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Dec 23, 2003
18021 posts
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Toronto
check the ISO settings and set it to Auto mode. If you have set it to Low (i.e. ISO 100) and taking night shots, that could do it.

Also check the max ISO setting and set it to around ISO 1600. I remember having similar issues at a Blacks store when I was trying it out. Someone had set the ISO settings wrong.

I sent you a PM, and can help you out if needed (I had the D90, D5000, D80, etc. cameras)

Worse case scenario, do a factory reset. Go to this link and look at the RESET steps:
http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90/users-guide/index.htm
Deal Fanatic
Apr 15, 2004
5264 posts
125 upvotes
Nepean
1. use a tripod
2. buy a lens that has f/1.2-f/1.8 aperture, and use it wide open
3. buy a few flashes
4. increase your iso to 3200
5. goto amazon.com and buy the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson

You could probably do these in the opposite order as well, it will probably be the better solution.
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Deal Fanatic
Dec 11, 2003
8556 posts
1056 upvotes
I think your Auto ISO is set incorrectly.

You basically select the slowest shutter speed and highest ISO allowed. Maybe your minimum shutter speed is set to 1/100 and highest ISO not high enough. Change the AUTO ISO setting or don't use it.

See here:
http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d90/users- ... ng.htm#iso
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