How do I change things like shutter speed and aperture?

cosmicchild1961

Hi Moose, this might sound like a dumb question but how do I access the menus on the D3100 to experiment with changing the shutter speed and aperture? Thanks in anticipation, Caro.

Moose

Howdy @cosmicchild1961 - If you're interested in experimenting with Shutter speed and Aperture, I recommend starting with Shutter priority (S on the mode dial) and Aperture priority (A on the mode dial).

When shooting in Shutter priority, you select the shutter speed and the D3100 selects the appropriate aperture. Likewise in Aperture priority, you select the aperture and the D3100 selects the appropriate shutter speed.

You can adjust the shutter speed or aperture by rotating the small command dial next to the thumb rest, when a 'priority' mode is enabled. Hope that makes sense and happy shooting! :)

cosmicchild1961

Thanks Moose, yes, that makes perfect sense! I have the 18-55 kit lens and have discovered that I can only go down to a certain f stop (5.6 I think). I wanted to try some pictures with more blurry backgrounds, so wanted a wider aperture than this. I am guessing this is something to do with the focal length of the lens, but I can't seem to understand this concept. I wondered if there was a simple explanation you could give me or if you could point me in the direction of a resource that explains this concept, maybe diagramatically? Thanks! :)

Moose

Howdy @cosmicchild1961 - The lowest available aperture is determined by your lens. The 18-55mm kit lens can only go down to f/3.5 when shooting towards the wide end (18mm) and f/5.6 when shooting towards the long end (55mm).

In order to get lower aperture f/numbers, you'll need a "brighter" lens like the
Nikon 35mm f/1.8G. This lens will allow you to obtain an aperture of...you guessed it...f/1.8, allowing you to capture an extremely shallow depth of field (short area in focus). Hope that makes sense. Happy shooting! :)

JohnPaulPatton

Cosmic child, in manual mode I have discovered that you use the control dial to change the shutter speed, then if you hold the +/- button at the top you can also change aperture, getting right combination combined with ISO is another matter! Therein is the art I guess... ;)

maTer

I can't thank you all enough for all the great information. I am sitting here practing with my camera.

narsibvl

CosmicChild - On an additional note, you can get a shallow depth of field by either opening up the aperture big or by going close to the subject. Just an FYI.