We are truly living in the future. We may not have flying cars but we do have a smart camera that teaches its users photography. This smart camera can ask you what kind of photo you want and then adjust its settings to capture it. So users don't need to know much about photography to get really professional looking photos. And for users who want to learn about photography, this futuristic camera's Guide Mode will show you how to set up these kinds of shots yourself.
This "smart camera" is the Nikon D3000 DSLR Digital SLR Camera and is Nikon's newest entry level camera for people wanting to upgrade from their point and shoot cameras. It is also for those wanting to learn more about photography. With its in-camera Guide Mode it actually teaches users about aperture, shutter speed, infinity and all that other technical stuff that allows the professionals to get those amazing shots.
The Nikon D3000 DSLR Digital SLR Camera not only teaches photography, it also lets users edit photos right inside the camera. And it comes with some really awesome editing abilities. One that I find really fun in the "Miniature effect" feature under the Retouch Menu. This lets you make any photo look like a miniature model. How fun is that! Turn your house into a miniature, your backyard, your cat, etc. etc. Think of all the fun photographs you can create with this little effect.
Another fun feature of the Nikon D3000 is the Stop Motion capability. Say you're taking photos of your dog jumping up to catch a freesbie and you've captured him in sequence shots. The camera will let you paste those images together to create a stop motion video segment. And all of this is done inside the camera. You don't even need to go near a computer. And all of the editing functions are applied to a copy of the image, leaving your original image unaltered. Edit all you want and still have the original.
But don't think that because this is a starter camera that it is cheaply made or disposable like so many point and shoot cameras. This camera is a professional camera. It uses interchangeable lenses, and has a hot shoe for a detachable flash (but still come with a pop-up flash). Once you've outgrown the Nikon D3000 DSLR Digital SLR Camera, all of your lenses and accessories can be used on an upgraded, more high-end camera body.
Here are some of the setting modes worth mentioning:
Programmed Auto Mode: this mode chooses the best settings in aperture and shutter speed when you're just starting out so you don't have to mess with it.
The Shutter-Priority Auto Mode: you get to choose what shutter speed you want and the camera sets the aperture automatically.
The Aperture-Priority Auto Mode: you pick the aperture setting you want and the camera selects the shutter speed.
(If the above 3 modes seem redundant or like overkill, they're not. It is all part of letting you be really creative in exactly what effects you want to capture. You'll understand after you've used the Guide Mode for awhile.)
Manual Mode: this mode give you complete control over aperture and shutter speed once you have learned what those are and how to use them to create great photos.
The Portrait Mode and Child Mode: these modes are similar in that they both soften skin tones. And the Portraiture mode blurs the background while the Child Mode makes the background more vivid.
The Close Up mode: this is a really fun mode that lets you take close-up shots of tiny things, like flowers and insects.
There are other modes as well including a night mode, sports mode and landscape mode which are all self explanatory.
In creating the Nikon D3000 DSLR Digital SLR Camera, Nikon has come up with a really unique way to help regular people become better photographers. And therefore, have better, higher quality family photographs on their walls and in their photo albums.