Nikon 8700 User Manual
Page 29
19
Basic Photography
During Recording
While pictures are being recorded to the memory card, a
( recording) or ( wait) icon
will be displayed in the monitor or electronic viewfi nder. The camera can continue to
take pictures until the icon is displayed. Do not turn the camera off, eject the
memory card, or remove or disconnect the power source while the
or icon is
displayed. Cutting power or removing the memory card in these circumstances could
result in loss of data or in damage to the camera or card.
Low Battery
If the fl ash fi res when the low battery icon is displayed, the monitor will turn off while
the Speedlight recharges.
The AF-Assist Illuminator
If lighting is poor when the shutter-release button is pressed
halfway, the built-in Speedlight will pop up and the AF as-
sist illuminator will light, allowing the camera to focus even
when the subject is poorly lit. The AF-assist illuminator has
a range of about 1.2 m (3´11˝). The AF-assist illuminator will
not light if:
• The built-in Speedlight is obstructed, preventing it from popping up (note that the
AF-assist illuminator may light even when the fl ash is off; be careful not to obstruct
the Speedlight while shooting)
• Focus mode (
37) is set to
(infi nity)
• (Portrait), (Night Portrait), or
(Close up) or is selected in scene mode (
24–26)
or Manual is chosen for Focus options > AF area mode (
93) and the center focus
area is not selected
• (Landscape), (Night landscape), or
(Fireworks show) is selected in scene mode
(
25–26)
• A setting other than Time-lapse movie is selected in movie mode (
49)
• Manual is selected for Speedlight opt. > Pop up (
96) and the built-in Speedlight is
lowered
Getting Good Results with Autofocus
Autofocus performs best when there is contrast between the subject and the back-
ground and the subject is evenly lit. It does not perform well if the subject is very dark
or moving rapidly, if there are objects of sharply differing brightness in the scene (e.g.,
the sun is behind your subject and their features are in deep shadow), or if there are
several objects at different distances from the camera at the center of the frame (e.g.,
your subject is inside a cage).