Nikon 40D and family

Auto

  • It's good for regular daytime shots, but not for astrophotography
  • Turn dial on top of camera to green camera Icon
  • If lens has a "VR" switch, turn it to on to reduce vibration
  • Turn "A/M" switch on lens to "A" to get auto focus

Manual

  • This is needed for Astrophotography and to get the perfect settings for artistic shots.
  • Turn dial on top of camera to "M" 
  • If lens has a "VR" switch, turn it off to get sharper images
  • Turn "A/M" switch on lens to "M" to get manual focus554

Focus 

  • Need to look through the view finder to focus
  • Zoom in as close as possible to check focus
    • Turn the larg middle ring on the lens
  • Focus with the smaller ring on the end of the lens
  • Adjust zoom to your liking, the lens will remain in focus

Exposure

  • For astrophotography you will often need long exposures. Generally you should keep exposures less than 30 seconds to avoid star trails. If you use a tracking mount you can have longer exposures than 30 seconds.
  • Turn dial just below and to the right of the top dial to adjust the exposure.
  • The screen will have a meter that shows you if the exposure will result in a good image. 
    • Bars to the right indicate over exposure. Reduce by lowering the exposure time.
    • Bars to the left indicate under exposure. Increase by increasing the exposure time.

Aperture

  • The lens has a mechanical diaphragm that reduces an opening in the lens. When the opening is smaller, less light enters the camera so you will need longer exposures. For astrophotography you will want the diaphragm fully open to let in as much light as possible.
  • To adjust, first hold down the "+/-" button on top of the camera and turn dial just below and to the right of the top dial to adjust the exposure. This is the same dial used to adjust the exposure. It adjusts the aperture when the "+/-" button is held down.

ISO

  • ISO adjusts the sensitivity of the CCD image sensor. Higher numbers make the chip more sensitive to light. Higher numbers also make the image less sharp, so generally try and use the lowest ISO setting that will still capture an image. 
  • To adjust ISO use the same dial that is used to adjust the Exposure and Aperture, but hold down the "Fn" button on the front left of the camera next to the lens. 

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