New to Photography

dino020467

Hello All! I have a few questions that I was hoping ya'll could help me with. I just bought a Nikon D3100 with an 18-55mm lens that came without an owners manual. Sorry to ask so much, but please help. When I zoom into a subject, and then out of curiosity, I hit the button with the magnifying glass icon on the lower left and wow - it zooms REALLY close in. After taking and reviewing the picture, it seems as if that is not really a zoom feature for pictures? Also, on top of the camera, to the right of the big dial is a slide switch with 4 icons. One is a square with s, the next one looks like stacked files, the next one looks like a watch and the last one, I have no idea! Again, sorry for the long questions but I am just learning and I am really interested in photography. Thank you all so much for your help.

Danny Lewis

ohyeahar

Download your camera's manual here:
http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/kie88335f7869dfuejdl=-cww2/D3100_EN.pdf

The zooming thing you described is normal. It's designed to help people focus manually while in Liveview (especially when shooting video). Try not to use Liveview for shooting stills. Using the optical viewfinder will give you better auto-focus.

There's no "zooming" function. Only way is to get a longer lens or crop your shots afterwards.

For your other question, you are describing the Release Mode. The square with the S is single shot, the stacked files is continuous shot, the watch is timer, and the other thing is probably for remote trigger.

Anyway, read your manual and have fun!