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No matter how extensive your experience level is, you don’t need to fret about wading
through a manual to find out what you must know to take those first few tentative snaps.
I’m going to help you hit the ground running with this chapter, which will help you set
up your camera and begin shooting in minutes. You won’t find a lot of detail in this
chapter. Indeed, I’m going to give you the basics, accompanied by some interesting tid-
bits that will help you become acclimated. I’ll go into more depth and even repeat some
of what I explain here in later chapters, so you don’t have to memorize everything you
see. Because I realize that some of you may already have experience with Nikon cam-
eras similar to the D7000, each of the major sections in this chapter will begin with a
brief description of what is covered in that section, so you can easily jump ahead to the
next if you are in a hurry to get started.
First Things First
Chapter 1 ■ Nikon D7000: Thinking Outside of the Box 7
This section helps get you oriented with all the things that come in the box with your
Nikon D7000, including what they do. I’ll also describe some optional equipment you
might want to have. If you want to get started immediately, skim through this section and
jump ahead to “Initial Setup” later in the chapter.
The Nikon D7000 comes in an impressive gold box filled with stuff, including con-
necting cords, booklets, a CD, and lots of paperwork. The most important compo-
nents are the camera and lens (if you purchased your D7000 with a lens), battery,
battery charger, and, if you’re the nervous type, the neck strap. You’ll also need a mem-
ory card as one is not included. If you purchased your D7000 from a camera shop, as
I did, the store personnel probably attached the neck strap for you, ran through some
basic operational advice that you’ve already forgotten, tried to sell you a memory card,
and then, after they’d given you all the help you could absorb, sent you on your way
with a handshake.
Perhaps you purchased your D7000 from one of those mass merchandisers that also sell
washing machines and vacuum cleaners. In that case, you might have been sent on your
way with only the handshake, or, maybe, not even that if you resisted the efforts to sell
you an extended warranty. You save a few bucks at the big box stores, but you don’t get
the personal service a professional photo retailer provides. It’s your choice. There’s a third
alternative, of course. You might have purchased your camera from a mail order or
Internet source, and your D7000 arrived in a big brown (or purple/red) truck. Your
only interaction when you took possession of your camera was to scrawl your signature
on an electronic clipboard.