Nikon Camera Coolpix L840 Reference Manual

							21
Basic Shooting and Playback Operations
When the shooting screen is displayed, you can press the multi selector H(m ) 
J (n ) I (p ) K (o ) to set the functions described below.
• m Flash mode
You can select a flash mode to matc h the shooting conditions when the 
flash is raised.
• n Self-timer
The camera releases the shutter 10 seconds or 2 seconds after you press the 
shutter-release button.
• p Macro mode
Use macro mode when you take close-up pictures.
• o Exposure compensation
You can adjust overal l image brightness.
The functions that can be set va ry depending on the shooting mode.
Display the shooting screen and press the  b 
( e  movie-record) button to start recording a 
movie. Press the  b(e ) button again to end 
recording.
• To play back a movie, select a movie in full-
frame playback mode and press the  k button. 
Using the Flash, Self-timer, Etc.
Recording Movies 
						

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Shooting Features
Shooting Features
The camera automatically recognizes the shooting scene when you frame a 
picture, making it easier to take pictures using settings that suit the scene.
When the camera automatically recognizes the shooting scene, the shooting 
mode icon displayed on the shooting screen changes accordingly.
* One image is captured at a slow shutter speed.
BNotes About  o (Scene Auto Selector) Mode
•Depending on shootin g conditions, the camera may not select the desired scene 
mode. In this case, select  another shooting mode ( A20).
• When the digital zoom is in effect, the shooting mode icon changes to  d.
Functions Available in  o (Scene Auto Selector) Mode
•Flash mode ( A43)
• Self-timer ( A45)
• Exposure compensation ( A47)
• Image mode ( A77)
o  (Scene Auto Selector) Mode
Enter shooting mode M  A  (shooting mode) button  M o  (scene auto 
selector) mode  M k button
e Portrait (for taking close-up portraits of one or two people)
b Portrait (for taking portraits of large 
numbers of people, or images in which 
the background takes up a large portion of the frame)
f Landscape
h Night portrait* (for taking close-up  portraits of one or two people)
c Night portrait* (for taking portraits of 
large numbers of people, or images in 
which the background takes up a large portion of the frame)
g Night landscape*
i Close-up
j Backlighting (for taking pictures  of subjects other than people)
d Backlighting (for taking portrait pictures)
d Other scenes 
						

							23
Shooting Features
When a scene is selected, camera settings are automatically optimized for the 
selected scene.
* The icon of the last scene selected is displayed.
1The camera focuses at infinity.2The camera focuses on the area in the center of the frame.3Use of a tripod is recommended, because the shutter speed is slow. Set  Photo VR 
( A 110) to  Off in the setup menu when using a tripod to stabilize the camera 
during shooting.
Displaying a Description of Ea ch Scene Mode (Help Display)
Select a scene and move the zoom control 
(A 1) toward  g(j ) to view a description of 
that scene. To return to the previous screen, 
move the zoom control toward  g (j ) again.
Scene Mode (Shootin g Suited to Scenes)
Enter shooting mode M  A  (shooting mode) button  M b  (second icon 
from the top*)  M K  M  HI  M  select a scene  M k  button
b Portrait (default setting) jNight landscape1, 2 (A 25)
c Landscape1, 2kClose-up ( A25)
d Sports2 (A 24) uFood ( A25)
e Night portrait ( A24) mFireworks show1, 3 (A 25)
f Party/indoor2 (A 24) oBacklighting ( A26)
Z Beach2pEasy panorama2 (A 29)
z Snow2OPet portrait ( A27)
h Sunset2, 3LMoon ( A28)1, 2
i Dusk/dawn1, 2, 3lBird-watching ( A28)1, 2
Landscape 
						

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Shooting Features
Tips and Notes
dSports
•While the shutter-release button is held  all the way down, the camera shoots up 
to about 7 images continuously at a rate of about 7.4 fps (when  Image mode is 
set to  P4608×3456).
• The frame rate for continuous shooting may vary depending on the current 
image mode setting, the memory card used, or shooting conditions.
• Focus, exposure, and hue are fixed at the values determined with the first image 
in each series.
e  Night portrait
•Raise the flash before shooting.
• On the screen displayed when  e Night portrait  is selected, select  Y Hand-
held  or Z Tripod .
• Y  Hand-held  (default setting):
-While the  e icon on the shooting  screen is displayed in green, press the 
shutter-release button all the way to ca pture a series of images which are 
combined into a single image and saved.
- Once the shutter-release button is pressed all the way, hold the camera still  until a still image is displayed. After taking a picture, do not turn the camera 
off before the monitor switches to the shooting screen.
- If the subject moves while the camera is shooting continuously, the image  may be distorted, overlapped, or blurred.
• Z Tripod :
- One image is captured at a slow shutter speed when the shutter-release  button is pressed all the way.
- Vibration reduction is disabled even when  Photo VR (A 110) in the setup 
menu is set to  On.
f Party/indoor
•To avoid the effects of camera shake, hold the camera steady. Set Photo VR  
( A 110) to  Off in the setup menu when using a tripod to stabilize the camera 
during shooting. 
						

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Shooting Features
j Night landscape
•On the screen displayed when  j Night landscape  is selected, select 
Y Hand-held  or ZTripod .
• Y  Hand-held  (default setting):
-While the  j icon on the shooting  screen is displayed in green, press the 
shutter-release button all the way to ca pture a series of images which are 
combined into a single image and saved.
- Once the shutter-release button is pressed all the way, hold the camera still 
until a still image is displayed. After taking a picture, do not turn the camera 
off before the monitor switches to the shooting screen.
- The angle of view (i.e., the area visible in the frame) seen in the saved image is 
narrower than that seen in the monitor at the time of shooting.
• Z Tripod :
- One image is captured at a slow shutter speed when the shutter-release 
button is pressed all the way.
- Vibration reduction is disabled even when  Photo VR (A 110) in the setup 
menu is set to  On.
k Close-up
•Macro mode (A46) is enabled and the camera automatically zooms to the 
closest position at which it can focus.
• You can move the focus area. Press the  k button, use the multi selector 
HIJK  to move the focus area, and press the  k button to apply the setting.
u Food
• Macro mode (A46) is enabled and the camera automatically zooms to the 
closest position at which it can focus.
• You can adjust hue by using the multi selector 
HI . The hue setting is saved in the camera’s 
memory even after the camera is turned off.
• You can move the focus area. Press the 
k button, use the multi selector  HIJK to 
move the focus area, and press the  k button to 
apply the setting.
m  Fireworks show
•The shutter speed is fixed at four seconds.
1 7 0 017002 5 m   0 s25m 0s 
						

							26
Shooting Features
o Backlighting
•On the screen displayed when  o Backlighting  is selected, select  o or k  
to enable or disable the high dynamic range (HDR) function based on the type 
of image you want to capture.
• k  (default setting): The flash fires to prevent the subject from being hidden in 
shadow. Raise the fl ash before shooting.
- When the shutter-release button is pressed all the way down, one image is  captured.
• o : Use when taking pictures with very bright and dark areas in the same frame.
- When the shutter-release button is pressed all the way, the camera shoots  images continuously at high speed,  and saves the following two images:
- A non-HDR composite image
- An HDR composite image in which the loss of details in highlights or  shadows is minimized
- If there is only enough memory to save one image, an image processed by D- Lighting ( A64) at the time of shooting, in  which dark areas of the image are 
corrected, is the only image saved.
- Once the shutter-release button is pressed all the way, hold the camera still  until a still image is displayed. After taking a picture, do not turn the camera 
off before the monitor switches to the shooting screen.
- The angle of view (i.e., the area visible in the frame) seen in the saved image is  narrower than that seen in the monitor at the time of shooting. 
						

							27
Shooting Features
BPet Portrait Auto Release
•Press the multi selector  J (n ) to change the  Pet portrait auto release  setting.
- Y : The camera detects a dog or cat face  and automatically releases the shutter.
- k : The camera does not release the shutte r automatically, even if a dog or cat 
face is detected. Press the shutter-re lease button. The camera also detects 
human faces when  k is selected.
• Pet portrait auto release  is set to k after five bursts have been taken.
• Shooting is also possible by pressing the  shutter-release button, regardless of the 
Pet portrait auto release  setting. When V Continuous  is selected, you can 
take pictures continuously while holding  down the shutter-release button all the 
way.
BFocus Area
• When the camera detect s a face, the face is 
displayed inside a yellow border. When the 
camera acquires focus on  a face displayed inside a 
double border (focus area), the double border 
changes to green. If no  faces are detected, the 
camera focuses on the subject in the center of the 
frame.
• Under some shooting conditions, the pet face 
may not be detected and other subjects may be displayed inside a border.
O  Pet portrait
•When you point the camera at a dog or cat, the camera detects the pet’s face and 
focuses on it. By default, the camera detects a dog or cat face and automatically 
releases the shutter (pet portrait auto release).
• On the screen displayed when  O Pet portrait  is selected, select  U Single  or 
V Continuous .
- U  Single : The camera captures one imag e when a dog or cat face is 
detected.
- V  Continuous : The camera captures three images continuously when a dog 
or cat face is detected.
1 7 0 017002 5 m   0 s25m 0s 
						

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Shooting Features
L Moon
•You can adjust hue by using the multi selector 
HI . The hue setting is saved in the camera’s 
memory even after the camera is turned off.
• Adjust the brightness with exposure 
compensation ( A47) according to shooting 
conditions such as the waxing and waning of 
the moon and shoot ing requirements.
• At the wide-angle zoom position, the framing 
border is displayed to indicate the angle of view 
equivalent to that of 855 mm lens (in  35mm [135] format). The angle of view 
becomes equivalent to that of  855 mm lens by pressing the k button.
l Bird-watching
•From the screen displayed after  l Bird-
watching  is selected, select  U Single  or 
V Continuous .
• U  Single : One image is shot each time the 
shutter-release button is pressed.
• V  Continuous  (default setting): While the 
shutter-release button is held all the way down, 
images are captured continuously.
- The frame rate for continuous shooting is  about 7.4 fps and the maximum number of  continuous shots is about 7 (when 
image size is set to  P4608×3456).
• At the wide-angle zoom position, the fram ing border is displayed to indicate the 
angle of view equivalent to that of  440 mm lens (in 35mm [135] format). The 
angle of view becomes equivalent to  that of 440 mm lens by pressing the 
k button.
1 7 0 017002 5 m   0 s25m 0s8 5 5m m855mm
22
1 7 0 017002 5 m   0 s25m 0s4 4 0m m440mm 
						

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Shooting Features
Shooting with Easy Panorama
* The icon of the last scene selected is displayed.
1Select W Normal  or X  Wide  
as the shooting range and press 
the  k button.
•When the camera is readied in the 
horizontal position, the image size (width × 
height) is as follows:
-W  Normal : 4800 × 920 when moved 
horizontally, 1536 × 4800 when moved 
vertically
- X  Wide : 9600 × 920 when moved horizontally, 1536 × 9600 when 
moved vertically
2Frame the first edge of the 
panorama scene, and then press 
the shutter-release button 
halfway to focus.
• The zoom position is fixed at wide-angle 
position.
• The camera focuses in the center of the 
frame.
3Press the shutter-release button 
all the way, and then remove your 
finger from the shutter-release 
button.
•KLJI  are displayed to indicate the 
direction of camera movement.
Enter shooting mode M  A  (shooting mode) button  M b  (second icon 
from the top*)  M K  M  HI  M  p  (easy panorama)  M k  button
Normal
1 7 0 0 1700
2 5 m   0 s
25m 0s 
						

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Shooting Features
4Move the camera in one of the 
four directions until the guide 
indicator reaches the end.
•When the camera detects which direction it 
is moving in, shooting begins.
• Shooting ends when the camera captures 
the specified shooting range.
• Focus and exposure are locked until 
shooting ends.
Example of camera movement
• Using your body as the axis  of rotation, move the camera slowly in an arc, in 
the direction of the marking ( KLJI).
• Shooting stops if the guide does not reach the edge within about 15 
seconds (when  WNormal is selected) or within  about 30 seconds (when 
X  Wide  is selected) after shooting starts.
BNotes About Easy Panorama Shooting
•The range of the image seen in the saved image is narrower than that seen in the 
monitor at the time of shooting.
• If the camera is moved too quickly or shaken too much, or if the subject is too 
uniform (e.g. walls or darkness), an error may occur.
• If shooting is stopped before the came ra reaches the half-way point in the 
panorama range, a panora ma image is not saved.
• If more than half of the panorama range is captured but shooting ends before 
reaching the edge of the range, the range not captured is recorded and displayed 
in gray.
Guide