No  reproduction  in  any  form  of  this  manual,  in 
whole or in part (except for brief quotation in critical 
articles  or  reviews),  may  be  made  without  written 
authorization from NIKON CORPORATION.
En
The Nikon Guide to Digital Photography
with the
DIGITAL CAMERA
(
E
n
)
Printed in Japan
SB4B00800401(11)
6MBA0511-A
Product Documentation
 
The documentation for this product includes the manuals listed below.  
Please be sure to read all instructions thoroughly to get the most from your 
cam era.
Quick Start Guide
The Quick Start Guide takes you through the process of unpacking and 
set ting up your Nikon digital camera, taking your fi rst photographs, and 
trans fer ring them to your computer.
Guide to Digital Photography
The Guide to Digital Photography (this manual) provides complete op er at ing 
in struc tions for your camera.
Nikon View Reference Manual
The Nikon View Reference Manual can be found in electronic format on 
the ref er ence CD provided with your camera.  For information on view ing 
the Ref er ence Manual, see the Quick Start Guide.
CAUTION: Foreign Matter on the Low-Pass Filter
Nikon takes every possible precaution to pre vent foreign matter from com ing into 
con tact with the low-pass fi lter during production and ship ping.  The D2H, how ev er, 
is designed to be used with interchangeable lens es, and for eign matter may enter the 
camera when lens es are removed or exchanged.  Once inside the camera, this for eign 
matter may adhere to the low-pass fi lter, where it may appear in photographs tak en 
under cer tain con di tions.  To prevent foreign matter from entering the camera, do not 
exchange lenses in dusty environments.  To pro tect the camera when no lens is in place, 
be sure to replace the body cap pro vid ed with the camera, being care ful to fi rst remove 
all dust and other foreign matter that may be ad her ing to the body cap.
Should foreign matter fi nd its way onto the low-pass fi lter, clean the low-pass fi lter as 
instructed on pages 238–239 of this manual, or have the low-pass fi lter cleaned by 
authorized Nikon ser vice per son nel.  Pho to graphs affected by the presence of for eign 
matter on the low-pass fi lter can be re touched us ing Nikon Capture 4 (available sepa-
rately) or the clean image options available in some third-party im ag ing software.
How to Read This Manual
First, be aware of the warnings, cautions, and notices on pages ii–vii.
Next, read “Overview” and “Getting to Know 
the Camera” to fa mil iar ize your self with the con-
 ven tions used in this man u al and the names of 
cam era parts, then set up your cam era as de scribed 
in “First Steps.”
Now you are ready to take photographs and play 
them back.
Once you have mastered the basics of dig i tal 
photography, you can read these sections for 
complete in for ma tion on when and how to use 
camera controls.
Refer to these chapters for more on thumbnail play-
 back, playback zoom, and photo information…
…on recording and playing voice memos…
…on cam era menus and cus tom settings…
…on connecting to a com put er or TV…
…and on op tion al ac ces so ries, camera care, and 
trou ble shoot ing.
 
Overview
Getting to Know the Camera
First Steps
Basic Photography
Basic Playback
Image Quality and Size
Sensitivity (ISO Equivalency)
White Balance
Image Adjustment
Choosing a Shooting Mode
Focus
Exposure
Flash Photography
Interval Timer Photography
Self-Timer Mode
Non-CPU Lenses
Two-Button Reset
More About Playback
Voice Memos
Menu Guide
Connections
Technical Notes
i
For Your Safety
 
To prevent damage to your Nikon product or injury to yourself or to others, 
read the following safety precautions in their entirety before using this equip-
ment.  Keep these safety instructions where all those who use the product 
will read them.
The consequences that could result from failure to observe the precautions 
listed in this section are indicated by the following symbol:
This icon marks warnings, information that should be read before using this 
Nikon product to prevent possible injury.
WARNINGS
 
  Do not look at the sun through the view-
 fi nder
Viewing  the  sun  or  other  strong  light 
source  through  the  viewfi nder  could 
cause per ma nent visual im pair ment.
  Turn  off  immediately  in  the  event  of 
malfunction
Should you notice smoke or an un usu al 
smell  coming  from  the  equip ment  or 
from  the  AC  adapt er  (avail able  sep-
 a rate ly),  unplug  the  AC  adapt er  and 
re move  the  battery  im me di ate ly,  tak-
ing  care  to  avoid  burns.    Con tin ued 
op er a tion  could  re sult  in  injury.    After 
re mov ing the bat tery, take the equip ment 
to a Nikon-au tho rized service cen ter for 
in spec tion.
  Do  not  use  in  the  presence  of  fl am-
 ma ble gas
Do not use electronic equip ment in the 
presence of fl ammable gas, as this could 
result in ex plo sion or fi re.
  Do not place strap around the neck of 
an infant or child
Placing  the  camera  strap  around  the 
neck of an infant or child could result 
in strangulation.
 
 
  Do not disassemble
Touching  the  product’s  internal  parts 
could  result  in  injury.    In  the  event  of 
a  malfunction,  the  prod uct  should  be 
re paired only by a qualifi ed tech ni cian.  
Should the product break open as the 
re sult of a fall or other ac ci dent, re move 
the battery and/or AC adapt er and then 
take the prod uct to a Nikon-au tho rized 
ser vice cen ter for in spec tion.
  Observe proper precautions when han-
 dling batteries
Batteries  may  leak  or  explode  if  im-
 prop er ly handled.  Observe the fol low ing 
pre cau tions when handling bat ter ies for 
use in this product:
• Be  sure  the  product  is  off  before  re-
 plac ing the battery.  If you are using an 
AC adapter, be sure it is un plugged.
• Use only batteries approved for use in 
this equipment.
• Do  not  at tempt  to  insert  the  battery 
upside down or back wards.
• Do  not  short  or  disassemble  the  bat-
 tery.
• Do not expose the battery to fl ame or 
to excessive heat.
• Do not immerse in or expose to wa ter.
 
 
 
ii
• Replace the terminal cover when trans-
porting  the  battery.    Do  not  transport 
or  store  with  metal  objects  such  as 
neck lac es or hair pins.
• Batteries  are  prone  to  leakage  when 
fully  discharged.    To  avoid  damage  to 
the prod uct, be sure to remove the bat-
tery when no charge re mains.
• When the battery is not in use, at tach 
the terminal cover and store in a cool 
place.
• Immediately  after  use,  or  when  the 
prod uct  is  used  on  battery  power  for 
an  ex tend ed  period,  the  bat tery  may 
become hot.  Before re mov ing the bat-
 tery, turn the camera off and al low the 
battery to cool.
• Discontinue use immediately should you 
notice any changes in the bat tery, such 
as dis col or a tion or de for ma tion.
  Use appropriate cables
When connecting cables to the in put and 
output  jacks,  use  only  the  ca bles  pro-
 vid ed or sold by Nikon for the pur pose, 
to  main tain  com pli ance  with  prod uct 
reg u la tions.
  Keep out of reach of children
Particular care should be tak en to pre vent 
infants from putting the bat tery or other 
small parts into their mouths.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Removing memory cards
Memory  cards  may  become  hot  dur-
 ing  use.    Observe  due  cau tion  when 
re mov ing  memory  cards  from  the 
cam era.
  CD-ROMs
The  CD-ROMs  on  which  the  soft ware 
and manuals are dis trib ut ed should not 
be played back on audio CD equip ment.  
Playing CD-ROMs on an audio CD play er 
could cause hear ing loss or dam age the 
equip ment.
  Observe caution when using a fl ash
Using a fl ash close to your sub ject’s eyes 
could cause tem po rary vi su al im pair ment.  
Par tic u lar  care  should  be  observed  if 
pho to graph ing in fants, when the fl ash 
should be no less than one meter (39˝) 
from the sub ject.
  When using the viewfi nder
When operating the diopter ad just ment 
control with your eye to the viewfi nder, 
care  should  be  tak en  not  to  put  your 
fi n ger in your eye ac ci den tal ly.
  Avoid contact with liquid crystal
Should the monitor break, care should 
be tak en to avoid injury due to bro ken 
glass and to pre vent liq uid crystal from 
the mon i tor touch ing the skin or en ter ing 
the eyes or mouth.
iii
Caring for the Camera and Battery
 
Do not drop
The product may malfunction if sub ject ed to 
strong shocks or vi bra tion.
Keep dry
This  product  is  not  waterproof,  and  may 
mal func tion if im mersed in wa ter or ex posed 
to  high  levels  of  hu mid i ty.    Rust ing  of  the 
in ter nal  mech a nism  can  cause  ir rep a ra ble 
dam age.
Avoid sudden changes in tem per a ture
Sud den chang es in tem per a ture, such as oc-
 cur when en ter ing or leav ing a heat ed build-
 ing  on  a  cold  day,  can  cause  con den sa tion 
in side the de vice.  To prevent con den sa tion, 
place the device in a car ry ing case or a plas tic 
bag be fore ex pos ing it to sud den chang es in 
tem per a ture.
Keep away from strong mag net ic fi elds
Do not use or store this device in the vi cin i ty 
of  equip ment  that  gen er ates  strong  elec-
 tro mag net ic  radiation  or  mag net ic  fi elds.  
Strong static charg es or the mag net ic fi elds 
pro duced by equip ment such as radio trans-
 mit ters  could  in ter fere  with  the  monitor, 
dam age data stored on the mem o ry card, or 
affect the prod uct’s in ter nal cir cuit ry.
Do not point the lens at strong light sources 
for extended periods
Avoid pointing the lens at the sun or other 
strong  light  sources  for  extended  periods 
when using or storing the camera.  Intense 
light  may  cause  deterioration  in  the  image 
sensor,  producing  a  white  blur  effect  in 
photographs.
Do not touch the shutter curtain
The  shutter  curtain  is  extremely  thin  and 
easily  damaged.    Under  no  cir cum stanc es 
should  you  exert  pres sure  on  the  curtain, 
poke it with clean ing tools, or sub ject it to 
powerful air cur rents from a blow er.  These 
actions  could  scratch,  de form,  or  tear  the 
curtain.
iv
Handle all mov ing parts with care
Do not ap ply force to the bat tery-cham ber, 
card-slot, or con nec tor cov ers.  These parts 
are es pe cial ly sus cep ti ble to dam age.
Cleaning
• When  cleaning  the  camera  body,  use  a 
blow er to remove dust and lint, then wipe 
gently with a soft, dry cloth.  After using 
your camera at the beach or seaside, wipe 
off  any  sand  or  salt  using  a  cloth  lightly 
damp ened with pure water and then dry 
your camera thoroughly.  In rare in stanc es, 
static  electricity  produced  by  a  brush  or 
cloth may cause the LCD dis plays to light 
up  or  dark en.    This  does  not  in di cate  a 
malfunction,  and  the  dis play  will  shortly 
return to normal.
• When  cleaning  the  lens  and  mirror,  re-
 mem ber  that  these  elements  are  easily 
dam aged.  Dust and lint should be gen tly 
removed  with  a  blower.    When  using  an 
aerosol blower, keep the can vertical (tilt-
ing  the  can  could  result  in  liquid  be ing 
sprayed  on  the  mir ror).    If  you  do  get  a 
fi ngerprint or other stain on the lens, ap-
ply a small amount of lens cleaner to a soft 
cloth and wipe the lens carefully.
• See  “Technical  Notes:  Caring  for  Your 
Cam era” for information on cleaning the 
low-pass fi lter (
 238).
Storage
• To prevent mold or mildew, store the cam-
 era  in  a  dry,  well-ven ti lat ed  area.    If  you 
will not be us ing the prod uct for long pe-
 ri ods, re move the bat tery to pre vent leak-
 age and store the cam era in a plastic bag 
con tain ing a des ic cant.  Do not, how ev er, 
store the cam era case in a plas tic bag, as 
this may cause the ma te ri al to de te ri o rate.  
Note that des ic cant grad u al ly los es its ca-
 pac i ty  to  ab sorb  mois ture  and  should  be 
re placed at reg u lar in ter vals.
• Do not store the camera with naph tha or 
camphor  moth  balls,  close  to  equip ment 
that pro duc es strong mag net ic fi elds, or in 
areas subject to extremes of tem per a ture, 
for  ex am ple  near  a  space  heater  or  in  a 
closed ve hi cle on a hot day.
• To prevent mold or mil dew, take the cam-
 era out of storage at least once a month.  
Turn the camera on and re lease the shut-
 ter a few times before putting the cam era 
away again.
• Store the battery in a cool, dry place.  Re-
place  the  terminal  cover  before  put ting 
the battery away.
Notes on the monitor
• The monitor may contain a few pix els that 
are always lit or that do not light.  This is 
a  char ac ter is tic  com mon  to  all  TFT  LCD 
monitors and does not in di cate a mal func -
tion.    Im ag es  re cord ed  with  the  prod uct 
will not be af fect ed.
• Images in the mon i tor may be dif fi  cult to 
see in a bright light.
• Do not apply pressure to the monitor; this 
could cause dam age or mal func tion.  Dust 
or  lint  on  the  mon i tor  can  be  re moved 
with  a  blower.    Stains  can  be  re moved 
by rub bing the surface light ly with a soft 
cloth or cham ois leath er.
• Should the monitor break, care should be 
taken to avoid injury due to bro ken glass 
and to pre vent the liq uid crystal from the 
monitor touch ing the skin or en ter ing the 
eyes or mouth.
• Replace  the  monitor  cover  when  trans-
 port ing  the  camera  or  leaving  it  un at -
tend ed.
Turn the product off before re mov ing or dis-
connecting the power source
Do  not  unplug  the  product  or  re move  the 
battery  while  the  prod uct  is  on,  or  while 
im ag es are being recorded or deleted.  Forc-
 ibly  cut ting  pow er  to  the  prod uct  in  these 
cir cum stanc es could re sult in loss of data or 
in  damage  to  product  memory  or  internal 
circuitry.  To  pre vent  an  ac ci den tal  in ter -
rup tion of pow er, avoid car ry ing the prod uct 
from one lo ca tion to an oth er while the AC 
adapter is con nect ed.
Batteries
• When  you  turn  the  device  on,  check  the 
battery-level dis played in the con trol pan el 
to  de ter mine  whether  the  bat tery  needs 
to be re placed.  The bat tery needs to be 
re placed  when  the  battery-level  in di ca tor 
is fl ash ing.
• Ready  a  spare  bat tery  and  keep  it  ful ly 
charged when tak ing pho to graphs on im-
 por tant oc ca sions.  De pend ing on your lo-
 ca tion, you may fi nd it diffi cult to pur chase 
re place ment bat ter ies on short notice.
• On  cold  days,  the  capacity  of  bat ter ies 
tends to de crease.  Be sure the battery is 
fully  charged  before  tak ing  pho to graphs 
out side  in  cold  weath er.    Keep  a  spare 
bat tery in a warm place and ex change the 
two  as  nec es sary.    Once  warmed,  a  cold 
bat tery may re cov er some of its charge.
• Should the bat tery ter mi nals be come dirty, 
wipe them off with a clean, dry cloth be-
 fore use.
• After removing the battery from the cam-
 era, be sure to replace the ter mi nal cov er.
Memory cards
• Turn  the  pow er  off  before  in sert ing  or 
re mov ing  mem o ry  cards.    In sert ing  or 
re mov ing cards with the pow er on could 
ren der them un us able.
• Insert  mem o ry  cards  as 
shown in the il lus tra tion 
at right.  In sert ing cards 
up side  down  or  back-
 wards could dam age the 
cam era or the card.
v
Notices
 
• No  part  of  the  manuals  included  with 
this product may be reproduced, trans-
mitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval 
system, or translated into any language 
in  any  form,  by  any  means,  without 
Nikon’s prior written permission.
• Nikon reserves the right to change the 
specifi cations of the hardware and soft-
ware described in these manuals at any 
time and without prior notice.
• Nikon  will  not  be  held  liable  for  any 
damages resulting from the use of this 
product.
• While  every  effort  has  been  made  to 
ensure  that  the  information  in  these 
manuals  is  accurate  and  complete,  we 
would  appreciate  it  were  you  to  bring 
any errors or omissions to the attention 
of the Nikon representative in your area 
(address provided separately).
FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE
Tested To Comply
With FCC Standards
Notice for customers in the U.S.A.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Radio Frequency Interference Statement
This equipment has been tested and found 
D2H
to comply with the limits for a Class B digi-
tal device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC 
rules.  These limits are designed to provide 
reasonable  protection  against  harmful 
interference  in  a  residential  installation.  
This equipment generates, uses, and can 
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not 
installed and used in accordance with the 
instructions,  may  cause  harmful  interfer-
ence to radio communications.  However, 
there  is  no  guarantee  that  interference 
will not occur in a particular installation.  
If this equipment does cause harmful in-
terference to radio or television reception, 
which can be determined by turning the 
equipment off and on, the user is encour-
aged to try to correct the interference by 
one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient  or  relocate  the  receiving  an-
CAUTIONS
Modifi cations
The FCC requires the user to be notifi ed 
that any changes or modifi cations made to 
this device that are not expressly approved 
by Nikon Corporation may void the user’s 
authority to operate the equipment.
Interface Cables
Use the interface cables sold or provided 
by Nikon for your equipment.  Using other 
interface cables may exceed the limits of 
Class B Part 15 of the FCC rules.
Notice for customers in the State of California
WARNING:  Handling  the  cord  on  this 
product will expose you to lead, a chemical 
known to the State of California to cause 
birth defects or other reproductive harm. 
Wash hands after handling.
Nikon Inc.,
1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, New York
11747-3064, U.S.A.  Tel.: 631-547-4200
tenna.
• Increase  the  separation  between  the 
equipment and receiver.
• Connect  the  equipment  into  an  outlet 
on a circuit different from that to which 
the receiver is connected.
• Consult  the  dealer  or  an  experienced 
radio/television technician for help.
vi