My experience guide into the world of DSLR with the Nikon D5200

There are a lot of guides on the Internet regarding the usage of DSLR cameras and all but more or less there are technical in language and not easy to understand for a first timer so here is my guide into the world of DSLRs in a very simple language. Please note that I’m no expert in DSLR so what ever I have written here is as per my hands on knowledge and this post might be updated in the future. You may or may not agree with my views. 

I have the Nikon D5200 with me and whatever I would be telling would be the basis of this blog post, it might/might not be applicable to your camera as well. 

· Please don’t shoot a DSLR with the mentality of a point-and-shoot camera. Even the auto mode in a DSLR is a bit complex than your point-and-shoot with a tons of buttons and functions so it would take you time to actually get used to the camera. 

· This is one expensive piece of equipment and subsequently of expensive piece of hobby as apart from the camera body in the future all your investments would be in the lenses so please bear in mind that as you go forward to new lenses according to your interests or requirements, be prepared to spend money. 

· In order to save money I have never purchased lenses either from third companies or compatible ones. Whatever lenses I have are all original Nikons. 

· It would take you time to develop your interest and requirement of lenses. It’s up to you whether you want to switch to a new lens after you have mastered an existing one or you want to have a variety of lenses and then try out your full shooting potential and likes and dislikes. I got the standard 18-55 kit lens with the camera and over the course of one year while shooting I realised the fact that I needed to go beyond the standard lens because it was restricting what I wanted to really shoot. It could not shoot a wide canvas into a single frame nor it could zoom very much. During my planned vacation to Malaysia and Bali I realised that I needed a wide-angle lens to capture as much of a landscape as possible in a single frame and I bought it before I ventured out. Similarly, before the Diwali of 2018 started I had decided that I needed a zoom lens to capture close-up shots at night or even in the day. Both these lenses have cost me a bomb but I don’t mind it now that they fulfil its purpose. 

· As a newbie its okay to use the screen to point-and-shoot but as you get slowly familiar with your camera, you would slowly switch to the standard view by the camera. 

· As you handle a DSLR, be prepared to use your mind on different things all at once. The learning never stops with this camera. You’ll be adjusting the zoom, while working out with the ISO, shutter speed and various things if you’re operating that in manual mode or the subsequent not automatic modes. 

· It would take you time to actually develop your most favourite mode. It can be the manual mode, aperture priority, shutter speed. As you go deep into the automatic mode you will actually realise that what is the limitation of each of the preset automatic modes and how much creativity can those manual modes give you. 

· Depending on the space in the memory card keep the image quality in the setting as normal, image size depends on you but medium is okay, I haven’t used the high dynamic range is in yet so I keep it off, same with active de-lighting. 

· A lot of people get confused with ISO, in technical terms too its might seem a bit confusing so here it is in simple language. It’s a setting which determines how much sunlight is exposed to the sensor to develop that frame finally which are taking. If you’re shooting in very bright sunlight then ISO 100 or 200 is more than enough. The brighter the sunlight or artificial light in the day the lesser ISO is good, otherwise as the light fades you need to notch up the ISO counter to compensate for the drop in sunlight or light available. 

· White balance is all about giving the balance of white light in the picture. Prefer to keep it on auto but you can tinker around with it to give a creative feel to your pictures instantly depending on the position of the subject. For example I shot a bird which was in sunlight, I was in the shade and I chose white balance as shade and click the picture, the resulting picture was this the bird in a brown shade background. 

· Keep the focus mode as autofocus automatic if you’re not sure about the movement of your subject, let the camera decide. Choose autofocus S if the subject is a still, C or continuous if it’s a moving subject and manual focus if you want to determine yourself that what you’re going to do. This manual focus mode is good when you want to take that bookeh effect and want to focus each and everything and not let the camera interfere. 

· Exposure compensation is used when the need to make the frame light or dark according to the light available. You would use this mostly as you get used to the manual modes and feel the need to control the exposure of light. 

· Capturing those moving objects in a still frame is every person’s interest and that is achieved by a either the sports mode in automatic or the shutter mode in manual. Capturing moving objects with a fast shutter speed would capture the subject in a single frame and it would appear as if the subject has stopped, capturing the same in a slow shutter speed or would leave a trail of either your subject or its lights if you’re shooting at night. So choose what you want to shoot and then adjust the shutter accordingly. 

· There is nothing definite setting wise to know that what is the perfect setting and it takes a few test shots to get everything perfect for the click. Don’t be afraid to experiment or practice. 

· The camera views colours a bit differently than what human eyes can see so if you love the dark monsoon clouds the camera would shoot it quite a lot darker than what it is actually. Factor in mind that you need a contrast of colours to make the frame beautiful. If you’re taking a shot of a hill then try taking a green tree in the frame to highlight the object and the colour. Same colour background and foreground would come out terrible in the final shot. 

· With the more advanced entry-level DSLR from Nikon, the new AF - P lenses might be your answer to cheaper affordable lenses. Majority of these lenses are compatible with the D 5200 also in the regards that they don’t come with the automatic/manual focus and vibration reduction switch on the lens itself. These settings would have to be controlled from the camera itself. These are fully compatible with the D 5300 onwards and so models. For the compatibility, check out the Nikon website. 

· If possible invest in neutral colour filters as well to protect your camera lens from dust and all sort of things while shooting outdoors. 

· Enroll yourself with Nikon workshops to understand the working of the cameras and to be more familiar with them 

The investment in DSLRs and the learning, both never stop.