Moose's Cheat Cards for the Nikon D5100

Moose

Woohoo! The wait is finally over...I'm proud to finally announce (after many months) my 1st ever Cheat Cards for the Nikon D5100.



If you've ever been in a situation and wondered which settings to use with your camera, these nifty little cheat sheets will tell you exactly which settings I would start with.

My settings are specific to the Nikon D5100 and select Nikon lenses. This allows me to provide very detailed settings which will improve your odds of capturing a keeper.

Sound good? Click here for more info.

For this first pack, I created 17 Cheat Cards specifically for the D5100 and the Nikon 18-55mm kit lens combo. In the next few weeks, I'll be rolling out additional packs for other popular Nikon lenses mounted to the D5100.

In case you're wondering, these Cheat Cards can be printed at home or viewed digitally on an iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire or desktop computer. If you have more questions, check out the F.A.Q.

The funds I earn go directly to supporting my young family (wife & baby boy). Thanks for your love and support!

ejl

Will these work with my other lenses as well?

Moose

@ejl - This current pack is specifically for the Nikon D5100 and 18-55mm lens combo. I'm working on additional packs for other popular lenses. I'll announce them once they're available. Happy shooting! :)

ejl

Awesome, thanks. I'm finally figuring out ISO so I'm not so much in auto anymore. :)

surjasphotos

Hi Moose, I feel that if you provided a sort of preview as to what you are offering then it would be better for us to understand your offerings. Just a thought.

Thanks,
Surjasama

Moose

Howdy @surjasphotos - Here's a sample of what each Cheat Card looks like...



The front of the card lists out the initial settings, like Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, etc... The back of the card has more detailed instruction as to what I would do in that particular situation. Hopefully that clears things up...happy shooting! :)

surjasphotos

Thank you.

tristaned

Hello Moose! I am really interested in buying your cheat cards, but on the sample picture wherein you are showing the food and products (low light) cheat card, it says, zoom to 35mm and choose f/4. When I tried it on my D5100, the 35mm zoom can only give an f/5. Is it affected by ISO, because you suggest ISO 100 and I used a high ISO? Please clarify as I really need your cheat cards. When you say low light, what are the situations (indoor, night)? Daylight is outdoor in direct sun, right? Thanks in advance!

Moose

Howdy @tristaned - With the Nikon 18-55mm kit lens it's not possible to achieve an aperture of f/4 at 35mm. When shooting 'Food/Products' in low light, I suggest adjusting the zoom to 24mm with the aperture set to f/4. When shooting 'Food/Products' in daylight, I suggest adjusting the zoom to 35mm with the aperture set of f/5.

To answer your question...low light is for situations indoors or in studio type situations. Daylight is for situations outdoors in direct sun or under shade with indirect sunlight.

All the best and happy shooting! :)

tristaned

Hi @Moose. I just bought your cheat cards and I believe it will help me in developing my photography skills. They are awesome.

I noticed that the settings for white balance is not mentioned. Does this mean we can use auto WB or preset WB? Which is to be used in daylight and which is to be used in lowlight?

Thanks again and will wait for the cheat cards for the 55-200mm and 35mm f/1.8G.

Moose

Howdy @tristaned - I sent you an email, but I'll post my response here so everyone can see it...

For the most part, I would stick with Auto WB. You may run into situations indoors, where the artificial light is throwing off the color balance and you end up with yellowish skin tones.

If that's the case, I would first try the Tungsten or Incandescent WB options depending on what type of light you're shooting under.

If the coloring is still off, then it would be best to enable Preset Manual WB, which is essentially a custom white balance. The D5100 will take you through a series of steps to get an accurate WB measurment. Once it's set, then that WB will apply to the conditions you're shooting in. Just remember to change it back to Auto if you step outdoors the following day.

Irideon

I purchased the cheat cards today for the D5100. I printed them out and I'm going to laminate them double sided and clip them together with a ring in one corner. As someone new to photography as well as the D5100, I think they will save me a lot of frustration and give me a good baseline to start learning from. Anything to make it easier :)

Irideon

Bummer! They don't print out 2.5 x 3 inches, they print out 3.5 x 4 inches. I didn't find out until I purchased lamination for the smaller ones.

Moose

Hey @Irideon - You're correct, when printed each card is 4 x 3.5 inches (single sided), however, they're meant to be folded in half which would result in a final dimension of 2 x 3.5 inches, which is the standard size for most business cards. Hopefully that makes sense. If you need some additional help, email me directly at support @ cameratips.com. All the best! :)

ACBart

I also have the cheat cards, which I've printed, laminated and put on a ring. I have already seen improvement with my bokeh. Truly worth the purchase! I have one question, though. There is a card for kids/pets in bright light, but what about low light? While I plan on doing most of my photography outdoors, there will be times that I'll want to get great indoor shots, too. I am using the 18-55mm kit lens. Thanks!

Irideon

Thanks Moose. I wound up laminating them the full size and still love them. I will definitely recommend them to others.

Moose

Hey @ACBart - Thanks so much for the kind words! I'm glad they're working out for you!

I intentionally left out a 'Low Light' variation for the 'Kids, Pets & Fast Action' cheat card, primarily because the kit lens isn't great for capturing subjects that move in low light situations.

If your subject can remain somewhat still (impossible with small kids), you can try using the Portrait (Low light) cheat card.

I'm in the process of creating packs for the 35mm and 50mm f/1.8G lenses which are fantastic in low light. Those particular packs will have cheat cards for shooting kids, pets and fast action in low light.

All the best!

Moose

Thanks so much @Irideon!

ACBart

Thanks for the tips @Moose. If I can get the dogs to sit fairly still, I'll give it a shot. It's easy with my dog, but that's not the case everywhere. The 50mm f/1.8G is on my wish list too.

Moose

Sure thing @ACBart! Just give your dog a spoonful of peanut butter. Always good for a laugh and great for capturing priceless memories. :)

Irideon

Hi Moose. I am hesitant to ask a question because after I asked my last one I noticed that had I read all the info on the cheat sheets the answer was there, so I feel kind of embarrassed but here goes anyway. I noticed on the "Quick Reference" sheet that there is a page number listed after each tip. What pages is it referring to?