This is a very quick tip on how to change aperture on Nikon D80 and D90 DSLR cameras.
How to change aperture on Nikon D80 and Nikon D90 cameras
- Make sure that your lens aperture can be changed through the camera. If you are using an older lens with an aperture ring, make sure to set the aperture on the lens to the largest number. There should be a lock on the lens to keep it at that number. If you are getting an error on the top screen of the camera with the lens mounted, you should go back and make sure that the aperture ring is set correctly. This is not an issue on most new lenses and the latest generation of the Nikon lenses labeled with a “G” do not have this ring at all. For example, neither the Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G VR nor the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G lens have the aperture ring.
- Set your camera on “Aperture Priority” mode by rotating the dial on the top of the camera to “A” position. In Aperture Priority mode, you set the lens aperture manually, while the camera picks the right Shutter Speed for you.
- Rotate the front dial of the camera located under the camera shutter release to change aperture. Rotating to the left will decrease the aperture, while rotating to the right will increase the aperture.
When you decrease the aperture, the aperture setting will stop at the maximum aperture the lens allows. For example, on the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G lens, aperture will stop at f/1.8. There is also a limit on minimum aperture on each lens and you cannot go higher than that limit as well. Typical minimum lens apertures are f/16, f/22 and f/36.
Lens apertures work a little differently on zoom lenses and the minimum/maximum aperture depends on what focal length you are using on the lens. For example, if you are using the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5 lens and you are zoomed out at 18mm, the smallest aperture number you can use is f/3.5. However, if you zoom in to 55mm, the aperture will be limited to f/5.6 and you will not be able to go lower than that. The same principle works on all other variable aperture zoom lenses.
By the way, you can also change the camera to “Manual” or “M” mode on the camera dial to change the lens aperture. However, you will then have to manually choose the camera shutter speed and you will need to have a good understanding on how to photograph in manual mode and how to use the built-in light meter of the camera.