✦ Aperture ring: The kit lens, as
well as many other newer lenses,
use the camera’s electronics exclu-
sively to set the shooting aperture.
These lenses, which include a G
suffix in their name, have no aper-
ture ring at all, and are compatible
only with cameras that can set the
f-stop through a control on the
camera. Other lenses maintain
compatibility with earlier cameras
by including an aperture ring and a
pair of aperture readouts (the
numbers from f/32 down to f/2.8
in figure 1-7). The second, outer-
most readout is required by some
cameras. These lenses include a D
suffix in their name. Both G- and
D-type lenses work fine with the
Nikon D70 digital camera.
✦ Aperture lock: When using a D-
type lens on the D70, you’ll need
to set the aperture ring to the
smallest f-stop, and then lock it in
that position using the aperture
lock. Set it once and then forget
about it, unless you need to mount
the lens on an older camera or
you’ve mounted the lens on an
accessory such as a bellows or
extension ring.
The top panel has relatively few controls.
They include:
✦ Mode dial: This knurled wheel is
turned to change from the various
exposure and scene modes, dis-
cussed later in this chapter.
✦ Flash accessory shoe: Mount an
external electronic flash unit (Nikon
calls them Speedlights), such as
the Nikon SB-600 or SB-800, on
this slide-in shoe. The multiple
electrical contacts shown in the
photo are used to trigger the
flash and to allow the camera and
flash to communicate exposure,
distance, zoom setting, and other
information. You can also attach
other flash units made by Nikon
and other vendors, but not all
functions may operate.
✦ Monochrome LCD control panel:
This LCD readout provides informa-
tion about the status of your
camera and its settings, including
exposure mode, number of pic-
tures remaining, battery status, and
many other settings.
Chapter 1 ✦ Exploring the Nikon D70 21
Lens thread
Aperture lock
Focus ring
Auto/manual focus switch
Aperture ring
Limit switch
1.7 Key components of a typical Type D lens.
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