Beep signal for AF

<p>Last weekend I was discussing the pros and cons of using the beep signal the camera can produce while focussing.<br>

Personally I think the sound is annoying. My friend said it helped him a lot.</p>

<p>Out of curiousity: I was wondering what setting you good people use? Beep or silence?</p>

<p>The very very very first thing I did when I bought my D50 and then my D90 was to turn that annoying sound off.</p>

<p>Wanna scream "AMATEUR NEWBIE" to everybody around you? Then leave it on.</p>

<p>imho, ymmv, etc...</p>

<p>When I buy a new camera the first things to turn off are: AF assist and the beep, both are telling: I'm gonna make a pic.<br>

I, normally, look never at the green dot, the camera always focus right, only when it won't, dark and low contrast, focus I use it to focus.</p>

<p>Put me in the amateur newbie group - I leave it on. I suppose Nikon knew some would like it and some would not - so they give the photographer the option to leave it on or turn it off. How convenient!</p>

<p>Hans, just aiming the camera in the direction of your subjects tells them you are going to take a picture.</p>

<p>Count me in the "newbie" group as well...(Been doing this for 25+ years). While I agree that the beep is annoying I definitely find it to be an advantage when I can't see thru the viewfinder...Low angle shots especially. If it is a feature that is available on a camera and it's helpful to your photography I could care less what anybody thinks.<br>

Mark</p>

<p>I turn all camera beeps off, the same as with the beeps on my flash units and nearly all the sounds that PCs make. But the ringer on my cell phone is set to be loud, and I find it useful to have beeps or bells on our oven, microwave, uninterruptible power supplies, doorbell and alarm clocks. Go figure.</p>

<p>If I am around a group of people I turn it off...I don't want to bother others, I like to show respect for my surroundings. I do use it when I am alone or in a crowd of a scattered bunch of people where it wouldn't bother them as much. I find it helps me out a lot and I am proud to be a newbie.</p>

<p>My beep is very much off. I happen to spend a lot of time photographing tiddlywinks tournaments (yes, really - although I sound slightly less mad if I point out that I also play in them), which take place in relatively quiet surroundings, and can be quite tense. I try to stay out of the player's line of sight (and I can't always be a long way off), focus and frame, and press the shutter only as the player actually plays his shot. The shutter going off is annoying enough that I don't dare use it while someone is lining things up - although it's a D700, so it's quite loud. The only shutter that hasn't bothered me is the leaf shutter on a Rollei TLR. I usually have the autofocus assist light turned off, too.<br />

<br />

I mention the tiddlywinks because a friend of mine also takes photographs at tiddlywinks events. He has the beep turned on and often uses flash. I'm amazed nobody's killed him yet - it annoys <i>me</i> even when I'm just trying to line up a photograph.<br />

<br />

If you're somewhere loud, or where nothing can be disturbed by the noise (landscapes without moving wildlife), I can see it might be useful - but the viewfinder gives more information about where the focus point is and whether it's locked on. With autofocus, it's usually obvious if there's no lock because the lens keeps hunting. Still, far be it from me to tell people how to use their cameras.<br />

<br />

However, if I'm ever in the position where I spend hours stalking a rare piece of wildlife and someone scares it off with an autofocus beep, I may express an opinion. My vague plan to get a 400 f/2.8 does allow for how similar it looks to a club.</p>

<p>I'm no pro but I turn both my beep and autofocus assist lamp off because I find them annoying. The green dot in the viewfinder is enough for me because more often than not, my D90 finds focus quickly and accurately, even in low light.</p>

<p>I turn off all sounds too. As far as focusing goes, there's the dot in the viewfinder, and the shutter won't fire anyway if the dot is flashing.</p>

<p>OK, Now I have to go and find all of the controls for these sounds that you all are talking about. I can't hear any beeps but then again I can't hear that good anyway so they could be on. People have told me my cell phone is extremely loud when ringing I can barely hear it.<br>

I have a D 90 .... where do I start looking?</p>

<p>phil b<br>

benton, ky</p>

<p>Phil: Option d1: Beep in the d: shooting/display part of the custom settings menu.</p>

<p>Off Topic: Adrew, Thanks! My world just broadened itself. Tiddlywinks, never heard of it before and I am stunned that it is played on an international scale at University level.</p>

<p>On topic, the AF assist light I find somewhat annoying, yet very helpful so I kind of leave it on. I do agree with Hector on the flash department. Yesterday I used two flashgun as slaves. They beeped the hell out of me. I have to look up how to shut them up.</p>

<p>Thanks for your replies so far!</p>

<p>All audio sounds turned OFF! I'm not addicted to ring tunes, and the joys of audio indicators.</p>

<p>It was the very first thing I did since my very first "beeping" camera... to turn it off.</p>

<p>Arthur: I'm glad I've broadened your world! A <a href="http://www.zen60163.zen.co.uk/Private/Photonet/DSC_7570_plain.jpg">few</a> <a href="http://www.zen60163.zen.co.uk/Private/Photonet/DSC_8305.JPG">rough</a> <a href="http://www.zen60163.zen.co.uk/Private/Photonet/DSC_8347.JPG">images</a> (still need processing), if you're interested. I have the world's most bizarre excuse for a 200 f/2.<br />

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I generally leave the AF assist light off, not least because it often just lights up the back of the lens. I'll enable it if I'm using a small lens and the autofocus is really hunting, but the D700 rarely struggles. When I'm really shooting in the dark, it's usually something too far away for the AF-assist light to work anyway (e.g. stars...). The main problem I have is that when I turn it on, I don't notice I've left it that way - you can't see it from the back of the camera, so it annoys everyone <i>but</i> me.<br />

<br />

On the other hand, it could be worse. I went to see the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables recently. Some people - who had already seen an earlier show - turned up in the middle of one of the more famous songs, sloshing wine bottles. This I could cope with. Taking photos with a point and shoot (in spite of the "no photography" rule) I could cope with - I deliberately refrained, myself. Having the beep and the flash turned on (we were on a dimly-lit balcony a good hundred feet from the stage), and refusing my offer to turn off the flash for them because "it wouldn't help" - <i>that</i> was annoying. Especially since the tickets cost over a hundred quid, and I was there to commemorate the death of my mother (who'd been to see Les Mis with me shortly before she died). I'll generally sympathise with any photographer, but some people need a lesson in etiquette. They were also talking quite audibly. Still, it could have been the Wimbledon final...</p>

<p>I should add: my first digital camera (indeed, first camera that I used extensively) was an Agfa ePhoto 1680. It beeped, and you couldn't turn it off. I took most of my photos with a thumb over the speaker grille. It was very tempting to attack the speaker connections with wire cutters. When I've had a phone that's not officially allowed me to silence the shutter sound, I've made a point of hacking it to silence, too. I don't take photos of kids in changing rooms (the alleged reason for making it hard to turn off the noise); I <i>do</i> photograph jumpy wildlife, occasionally when I don't have a decent camera with me.</p>

Amateur newbie here; I leave the beep on. I could care less what others think...

<p>Brad - I'd never object to someone having the beep on if they actually needed it, and unless we were in circumstances that were very noise-sensitive (wildlife, a show, a tiddlywinks tournament). Even then, it'd be down to timing. I'd only rant if you left the beep on <i>and ignored it</i> - i.e. if the slight annoyance to others wasn't outweighed by its benefit to you.<br />

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That said, I wonder how often it's actually useful. Even in the case Mark suggested - low angles where looking through the viewfinder is tricky - I can't imagine how it helps to have a focus confirmation beep without knowing what you've focussed on: I only use auto-area AF because I can see which focus points it's picked. The only time I could see it being useful is when using a zoom angle finder that crops out the focus confirmation LEDs from the viewfinder. Those who are using it: do you think it's just habit that you don't look for the confirmation light, do you have trouble seeing it without losing sight of your subject, or is there another reason you want the audio confirmation?</p>

<p>Beep is off, AF Assist lamp is usually off (but sometimes it's quite useful!). What drives me crazy is I think Nikon AF Assist lamps are getting brighter and brighter. I've had some people, pose for a portrait, then they shield their eyes with the mini white searchlight smacks them in the face.</p>

<p>The AF assist lamp on the flash however... that's just awesome.</p>

<p>Off.</p>

<p>I usually use continuous focus mode with AF activation disabled (okay, I primarily shoot sports) - so there is no beep. Otherwise I leave the beep on -- didn't realize that it was that loud...</p>

<p>Off. I'm hiking near Mt. St.Helens and enjoying the natural beauty. And here comes this dude with a Canon AF SLR and every 5 seconds it's beep! click! Yikes, I wanted to grab his camera and throw it off a cliff. There is usually a focus confirmation light in the viewfinder folks, use that instead of the beep.</p>

Andrew thanks for the images. I think Tiddlywink is too violent for me to try. I wouldn't mind a 200mm F2 though.

<p>Electronic devices are way too intrusive. Off. Not just on my DSLR but on point and shoots as well.</p>

<p>See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_pollution</p>

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FNoise_pollution&rct=j&q=noise%20pollution&ei=ioz-TK2DA4OClAem74nPCA&usg=AFQjCNEc6iGDMkXjK_Entcg7oRUhHSGaRg&cad=rja