How do I take better indoor pictures with my Nikon D40?

Question

I've had a D40 for over a year. I love the outdoor pictures the camera takes. The color, clarity, everything is really great outside. But, when I take indoor pictures they just do not look good. My old point & shoot looks so much better! I'm really disappointed. I've used D50s and D80s in the past, and have never had this problem. Any suggestions???

Answer 1

Set white balance to tungsten or fluorescent (depending on what internal lighting is present) or custom off of something that's really white.

The built-in flash on the D40 is underpowered, so think about investing in an SB-600.

Answer 2

Put de ISO to 400.  Use A setting.  I like f/8.  Use a flash if possible.  If U cannot get good indoor shots with D40, U R doing something wrong.  What is wrong with shots now?  If U use a SB-600 or SB-800, set to TTL, not TTL-BL.

Answer 3

What's wrong with the indoor shots? Too dark? Bad color? Blurry? Out of focus?

Are you using flash? The D40 takes decent pictures using the built-in flash. If your trying to use the built-in flash, does the flash head pop up? If it doesn't, then you need to manually pop the flash head up. The flash only pops up automatically in the Auto mode. Programmable and other non-auto modes require the flash to be manually enabled by pressing on the button just below the flash head on the left side of the camera.

Be sure that the flash compensation is set to zero. See page 48 or 76 in your manual.

Be sure that the flash is set to TTL mode. See page 78 in your manual.

If you're trying to shoot objects more than 10 feet away, you may need to use an external flash like the SB400 or SB600. Use a Nikon flash for best results as the Nikon flashes use TTL metering which provide excellent results. External flashes allow you to use bounce flash which gives more pleasing results.

If it's dark inside, then the camera needs to have the AF-assist turned on. This will shine a little light on the subject so the camera can focus. If it is disabled, the camera will have a hard time focusing in dark areas.

Or, are you trying to use ambient lighting (no flash)? If so, you generally will need to shoot at a fairly slow shutter speed which means holding the camera steady to prevent motion blur. You may need to manually set the white balance to match the type of lighting that is used indoors (tungsten, fluorescent, ...) to make the colors turn out right.

Answer 4

It might be the built-in flash of the camera. Try turning off the flash and taking the white balance off "auto." Experiment with that, and you'll find you have much better results. You might want to invest in a real hotshoe flash that will really light up your images.