There is a message in front of my picture on the monitor

Set the exposure mode to "M" (Manual). You'll have to set both the aperture and shutter speed yourself.

You'll also get no exposure assistance from the camera's light meter. You can review the picture after taking one and/or use the histogram to tune the exposure.

On right hand top of the camera there is a Mode dial. Move the dial to Av (aperture priority) then rotate the wheel in front of this dial to set the F stop. The shutter speed will automatically adjust by the light meter.

The N2000 has Program, Program Hi, Aperture-priority, and Manual exposure modes, with exposure lock and exposure compensation capabilities. It can TTL auto and manual with flash. The meter is full-aperture and center-weighted.
The Program mode sets both the shutter speed and aperture for optimum exposure. You can adjust the exposure if you want to emphasize shutter speed or aperture. The Program Hi mode tries to set a higher shutter speed for action and/or long lenses.
You can download a copy of the manual here if you want to know more about this camera.

Solution 1 • Unlock focus area selector. • Auto-area AF selected for Custom Setting 2 (AFarea mode): choose another mode. • Press shutter-release button halfway to turn monitor o?¬? or activate exposure meter • Memory card is full, locked, or not inserted. • Flash is charging. • Camera is not in focus. • CPU lens with aperture ring attached without locking aperture at highest f/-number. • Non-CPU lens is attached: rotate camera mode dial to M. • Mode dial rotated to S after shutter speed of bulb selected in mode M: choose new shutter speed • P, S, A, and M modes: lower ?¬? ash. • Digital Vari-Program modes: turn ?¬? ash o?¬? Turn long exposure noise reduction o?¬? Turn long exposure noise reduction o?¬? Press multi selector up or down or rotate sub-command dial to choose photo information displayed Select All for Playback folder. Note that Current will automatically be selected when next photo is taken • Select On for Rotate tall. • Photo was taken with O?¬? selected for Auto image rotation. • Camera orientation was changed while shutter-release button was pressed in continuous shooting mode. • Camera was pointed up or down when photo was taken Use Nikon-approved card. • Card may be damaged. Contact retailer or Nikonauthorized service representative. • Delete unwanted ?¬ les or insert new memory car

Steve - the Nikon dSLR cameras are very capable. Check the position of the mode dial:



The image above has it set to "P" or Program mode. Change it to "AUTO" and take a picture of a well lit scene (preferably outside in the daytime). You should get a properly exposed image. If the mode dial is set to "M" or Manual mode, the shutter speed is probably too low, and the aperture either too small or large if the image is dark or light, respectively. You'll have to turn the knobs on the front AND rear to adjust BOTH shutter speed and aperture (f-stop) to find the right combination of exposure time and aperture opening allowed into the camera to suggest motion (more blurry with a slow shutter - or more sharp with a fast shutter), in addition to DOF or depth of field.

You may have a similar issue when set to "P". If you are in this mode, the camera will attempt to determine the best shutter and aperture settings for you. You can veiw the settings chosen in the view finder. Likewise, you may override either shutter speed or aperture changing the aperture OR shutter speed control knobs. The camera will automatically change the other - to provide a properly exposed image.

Review the manual here. Page 39 details the mode dial and how it works. Page 18 discusses the
"Digital Vari-Program" modes depicted by the icons, and the "AUTO" label. These modes should be avoided, unless you are happy with "snapshot" type pictures. The most creativity will come from using the camera in one of the other modes: M,A,S or P. Taking the time to learn them will greatly increase your enjoyment of the camera and resulting images.

I hope this was a good starting point for you & good luck!

Photographing is matching the shutter speed and aperture to the ambient lighting conditions to create the effect you want. 'Auto'- and 'P'-mode should match those automatically. 'S' will choose the aperture and 'A' the shutter speed according to the other. In 'M' -mode the operator is able to choose any combination of the aperture and the shutter speed.

Blank pictures are result of under-exposure, where not enough light has entered the camera to 'burn' the picture. Try to learn to use the exposure meter to define the right exposure or use the 'Auto' -mode.

Quite right too. When the M42 adaptor is fitted there is absolutely no exchange of information between the lens and the body: M42 lenses pre-date all of those later developments. Your camera will also be unable to stop down the lens automatically when taking the picture, most M42 lenses don't even stop down automatically when connected to an M42 body.

You need to do things the old-fashioned way. Your camera needs to be set to meter manually, shutter priority mode may also be used. In manual mode you focus the lens as normal with the aperture ring set to the lowest aperture number (i.e.aperture is wide open).
You then make sure that the lens in in manual mode as well and stop down to whatever you want, if the image remains bright enough then you can adjust the precise focus using the hyperfocal principle if you like which takes advantage of the increased depth of field of a stopped down lens.
In manual mode, you then tell the camera what aperture you have set (read it from the lens barrel) and set the shutter speed using the camera's light meter to guide you. If using shutter priority mode then the camera will choose the shutter speed for you.
Check everything is set as you intend and press the shutter.

It all sounds long winded but is exactly how many of the world's greatest photos were taken and soon becomes second nature. You also learn far more about the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings and will be able to talk about reciprocity like you know about it!

OM-20 was basically a upgraded OM-10 with the manual adapter built in and a number of other refinements.

The viewfinder has LED's to show the shutter speed recommended by the camera's lightmeter for the ISO and aperture selected. It also has an exposure compensation indicator (the +/- symbol) and an indicator for flash ready which doubles up as a post-exposure flash confirmation. There is also the indicator lamp to show manual mode has been selected. OM-10 lacks the manual mode lamp and the +/- indicator.

Like the OM-10, the OM-20 is primarily an aperture priority automatic camera. In this mode you set the ISO film speed, choose which aperture you wish to use (with the ability to use the lens depth of field preview button) and then the camera selects the correct shutter speed. The +/- exposure compensation control allows the user to tell the camera to modify the recommended shutter speed by up to two stops either way.

In manual mode, there is no manual metering. The light meter behaves exactly as it does in aperture priority mode and the viewfinder shows the recommended shutter speed and not the manually selected one. Correct metering is therefore a case of adjusting the aperture first, and then choosing the correct shutter speed indicated in the viewfinder. If the user then decides to select a different shutter speed, then the aperture ring must be adjusted to maintain the correct exposure. For example the aperture is set to f8 and the camera recommends 1/60th of a second. The user decides that a faster shutter speed is required and chooses 1/250th, but the viewfinder remains showing 1/60th. In order to keep the same exposure value the user must open the aperture by two full stops to f4. The camera's light meter will detect the new aperture setting and providing the light on the object is unchanged the viewfinder shutter speed display should now show 1/250th as well to confirm the correct adjustment. Alternatively, the user can choose the shutter speed first by looking at what has been set on the control ring (or by turning the ring to the end of its travel and then counting the clicks from there as all experienced OM users do) and then turning the aperture ring until the shutter speed shown in the viewfinder matches what's been manually set.

It all sounds clumsy and complex but is done far more quickly than I've taken to type this and becomes second nature.

Aperture priority metering is selected on the camera by choosing AUTO on the mode selecter. In this mode the shutter speed ring has no effect and the viewfinder always displays the automatically selected shutter speed.

1) turn the mode switch/knob on the left of the camera to M ( manual mode ) 2) turn your lens to the highest f-stop ( 22 or 16 depending on your lens ) 3) in front of shutter release button you have control for your aperture : turn until the desired aperture is displayed ( view finder or the LCD monitor on the top ) 4) your shutter speed setting is controlled with your thumb with the control situated next to the strap lug on the right hand side of the camera. 5) press shutter release half way and look through viewfinder and see light meter reading and adjust either shutter speeds or the aperture as explained being guided by the l.meter.

s I understand it from what I have seen on the Web, the 3000Z can operate in several modes: 1. Fully automatic (camera select both 2. Manual (user sets both aperture and shutter speed). 3. Aperture Priority mode - user sets aperture and camera chooses correct shutter speed to get a good exposure Apparently there is no Shutter Priority mode (user cannot set only the shutter er speed and allow the camera to set the aperature to get a good exposure). This option is available on the Epson 850Z camera and this seems like a silly ommision to make on a "high-end" camera like the 3000Z.