Home > Digital Camera Blogs > Nikon CoolPix 5400 > Hints & Tips
Gail's Nikon CoolPix 5400 Blog
Hints & Tips
Low contrast focusing
The 5400 has trouble focusing, even sometimes in bright light, when there is lack on contrast in a subject. In these situations, try to lock in focus and exposure on something of equal distance that has contrast. Depress the shutter-release button down half-way, recompose your shot and then fully depress the button.
Additional suggestions for low-contrast focusing:
Some have reported that the 5400 focuses better in low-light by shooting by using thesea settings or modes:
Macro Mode
- AF area - OFF (otherwise keep on manual)
- Use Center weighted or Spot metering
- Shoot with a relatively wide focal length
Memory cards
24x and 24xWA seem to be the highest speed recommended by Nikon. Many users suggest 12x is the max while others use the higher speed cards.
Formatting memory cards for the Nikon 5400
According to Nikon's Digital Knowledge Database, reformat a memory card in the camera only. If you've formatted using Windows XP and have problems, here's what Nikon says:
The default format for a disk in Windows XP is "FAT32", (File Allocation Table 32) Nikon Digital Cameras only accept cards formatted as "FAT "or "FAT16".
Please reformat the card and select "FAT" or "FAT16" from the format dialog box menu or simply format the card in the camera.
Quick Response
Turn this Monitor ON when fast response is needed. It Minimizes the delay between pressing the shutter-release button and taking a photo. The trade-off: a slight drop in the quality of an image displayed on the LCD. There is no difference in the way images appear when reviewing in Quick View or Play modes and no degradation in image quality.
Blinking focus light
If the green focus light keeps blinking (no AF lock) and you take the shot
anyway, the camera will set up for a flash shot focused at short range, and can
produce a sharp photo within the flash range
