What's the best setting for Nikon D90?

Going to iceland soon and I'm not knowledgeable about dslrs. Anyone can suggest one good setting?

Auto.

Auto

If you don't know what you are doing then use full auto!

If you are going to Iceland soon then get some practice.

One good setting is "on". After that it depends on so many factors (time of day, sunny, cloudy, indoor, outdoor, long exposure [northern lights, waterfalls] … )… Asking for a good camera setting is like asking for a good setting on a microwave when you don't know what you are going to cook.

Stick with, "P," until you get a bit more confident.

While not a Nikon (or Canon) user myself, I can understand why the D90 is regarded as a legend in some circles, and is difficult to beat even now. Do yourself a favour, and borrow a couple of books on technique from your local library, so you can get the best out of this superb machine.

Have you even read the camera's Instructions Manual?

Best setting for you: Auto Program with Auto White Balance, Auto Focus.

If you're going to even OWN a DSLR, you should know how to use it. If this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, the last thing you want to do is figure out how to work your camera when a photo opportunity arises. You need to find someplace local (camera stores would be a great start) that teaches introductory classes in photography. The main thing you want to focus on is learning the "exposure triangle", ie the 3 things that affect exposure… Aperture, shutter speed, and sensitivity (or ISO). Once you learn how these three things affect an image (larger and smaller apertures, slower or faster shutter speeds, and varying sensitivity levels) you can use that knowledge on any camera anywhere. This is the most important thing you can learn. The rest is minutia.

And to say a word about equipment, if I may. If you're doing non-professional travel photography, build a small kit that covers most bases. If I had my choice of 2 lenses with light weight being the constraint, I think I would choose the 24-70mm f2.8 for close to mid telephoto, the 70-200 f4.0 for mid to long telephoto. Ideally I'd rather have my 70-200 f2.8 IS II, but it's godawful heavy to lug about on vacation. You'll learn to figure out what you're going to need lens wise for where you're going to be shooting.

Auto mode, auto ISO, auto WB, auto flash. There's no such thing as one good setting. It always changes. If you don't know what you're doing, trust the camera. Auto everything.

"P"

AUTO - If you have no idea what you're doing, then just use full auto with the metering system set to Matrix.

Do yourself a huge favor and watch some YouTube video on understanding exposures. You should know what an aperture is, and how the various settings affect the image. You should know what depth of field is. Once you have an understanding, you could easily get better shots in Aperture Priority than in full auto with the D90, or any SLR for that matter.

You should also watch videos on shutter speed and how it affects the image, too.

And most definitely download and read the user manual for the D90.

Since you're going to Iceland, you're likely to be taking landscapes 90% of the time. To this right, you will likely need a tripod and slow film like ISO 50 or 100. If you don't want to or can't take a tripod with you, then go with ISO 400. You won't get the lack of grain or the punchy colors that low ISO films produce, but if you don't have a tripod, you're likely to get a lot of camera shake (blurry shots due to you moving the camera during the exposure) in your shots.

Because there are so many different things to photograph and even more ways to photograph them, it's impossible to say that there's one "best" setting for photographing in any country. You must do some homework and learn about the basics of exposure and composition prior to going on your trip. You must try these new concepts out BEFORE you go to Iceland to ensure that you understand what you're doing and to ensure that your camera is in good working order. If you're not willing to do any of this, then just put the camera in full auto and forget about it.