Nikon D7200 Live View/ Mirror Lockup Question

[allan_jamieson2]

I bought a D7200 recently to supplement my D800 and have been experimenting with it recently doing some macro photography with my

Sigma 150mm lens. Overall it seems pretty good compared to the D800 and the actual Live View seems much better when you zoom into

it for critical focus.

 

However, it does seem to behave a bit differently to my D800 in terms of taking an image with Live View and mirrorlockup engaged. Press

the shutter release and screen goes black, that's fine, press shutter release again and it often clicks like you've taken an image but

screen stays black and then you press the shutter release again and this time it takes an image and Live View image comes back. That

doesn't seem right at all, the D800 is much more positive used that way with no inbetween steps with either a cable release or manually

touching the shutter release. At other times pressing the shutter release on the D7200 it will work normally, seems kind of odd to me. I

haven't got a cable release for it yet but might well still have the simple Nikon wireless type that I used to use on my D90 years ago, if I

can actually find it that is! If I can't find it, I will buy a separate cable release for the camera soon, just a pity that the D800 type won't fit

this camera.

 

Just curious if anyone else has seen this kind of behaviour on their D7200? Overall I do like the camera but that behaviour is kind of

annoying with macro as the delay in actually taking the image from when you first thought that you had could actually completely change

the image particularly if there is a bee or butterfly in the frame, as they don't hang around!

 

Only other thing which is very noticable is that the camera is very prone to over exposure, one image can be perfect, turn around slightly

and take another similar image and the exposure is way over, not something I've ever seen to any great extent on the D800 or my D90

when I still had it. I've seen this with landscape type views, wildlife and with macro images.

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>With the D7200, I found there's an unacceptably long delay between pressing the button and the shutter being released when Live View is zoomed in to magnify focus. If the full-screen view is used the delay isn't excessive. This is entirely different behaviour from my D800, and I'm sure it's not necessary on the D7200.</p>

<p>Perhaps if enough people complain to Nikon they'll bring out a firmware update to fix it. As a workaround Allan, you could press the centre button of the "joystick" controller to flip the view back to full-screen just before pressing the fire button.</p>

<p>The D7200 can be fired with the cheap ML-L3 IR remote BTW. 3rd party clones of which can be had for around £3 UK (~$5 US).</p>

<p>WRT overexposure: Haven't noticed it on the D7200, but I did notice that my D700 "held" the previous exposure reading for a second or two. Such that if you pointed it up at the sky and took a shot, then quickly pointed it down at the ground, the exposure would be severely under. This was with fully releasing the shutter button between exposures. Likewise if you pointed the camera at a dark area to take a shot and then swung round to something light the exposure would be heavily over. I pity anyone tracking a football match or the like with that camera. Luckily I'm not a great sports fan.<br /> That D700 was returned to Nikon for that very metering problem, but was returned (after several weeks) saying that its metering was "within specification". Hmmm!</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>Rodeo Joe, I'm curious, not having a D7200 at all, and no D7100 to look at (traveling, wife left hers at home). On some models such as the D3200, use of the IR remote in Live View causes LV shutter button autofocusing under all circumstances, including back button setting. Is that the case in the D7200 too? I meant to try it on the D7100 but forgot.</p>

<p>I'm considering eventually upgrading, but find that particular feature greatly annoying, and I'd hesitate to jump from frying pan into fire if it's the same.</p>

[allan_jamieson2]

Thanks Joe, that wireless remote does sound very much like what I had for my D90 years ago, I know I still have it, the

question being where exactly! I'll check out Live View to see if the amount that you zoom into an image affects the way

that it works, pretty sad that Nikon couldn't have also allowed you to change aperture in Live View on the D7200. It seems

like a fairly basic function which someone taking macro images is going to want to do, just to get the aperture which gives

the most appropriate depth of field for that image. Honestly, they launched the D800 with a fantastic sensor and awful

Live View, then improve Live View in newer models but take away some of the functions which make it user friendly!

 

As for the overexposure, it is troubling me a bit, never experienced a digital camera so prone to over exposure. The

camera handles well, has great resolution and autofocus but stumbles far too often with what I regard as fairly simple

scenes to expose for, where the D800 would work flawlessly and even the relatively simple D90 could do it far better. I did

try a D80 before that and it had a slight tendency to overexpose but nothing like the D7200. I'm using the D7200 in

Aperture Priority controlling the ISO to keep it as low as I possibly can, might need to use Manual more with this camera

to see if I can regain control of exposure, so much for technology!

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Matt, I can't answer the question about the ML-L3 and Live View because my D7200 is still away for warranty repair (good advert for it eh?), and the manual isn't specific about that point. Maybe Allan can test it and chime in.</p>

<p>Allan, WRT exposure, while my D7200 was working properly its exposure seemed pretty good. No worse than what I get from the D800 in matrix mode and in fact much more consistent than what I get from the D700. However I have -0.7 EV exposure fine-tuning permanently dialled in for matrix metering on both those bodies. I'd rather have my exposure a bit under than have unrecoverable blown highlights. I can always dial up the "exposure" in post. Incidentally - don't be offended - but you do have the metering set to matrix on the D7200 don't you? The un-ergonomic positioning of the metering button on the D7200 makes it too easy to change metering mode accidentally, while attempting to change shutter speed.</p>

<p>Doesn't the preview button work in Live View to stop the lens down to working aperture Allan? That's a feature I can't remember using before my camera had to go off for repair - 5 weeks ago now! Pretty sure I remember focusing the camera at working aperture in LV.</p>

[allan_jamieson2]

Joe it is set to Matrix Metering but as I'm using Aperture Priority it should hopefully still be set there! What I find is that it is very easy to

accidentally change the ISO as the smallest touch on the rear wheel control will change it. The D7200 may not be an exact replacement

for the D300 but there is no question that I far prefer the control layout of my D800 to the D7200, it is far too easy to alter settings that you

really don't intend or want to alter.

 

From what I've seen when you have Live View engaged you can't change your aperture without first turning Live View off, then changing

the aperture and then turning Live View on again. I'm guessing that the designer who thought that this was a good idea doesn't like

photography! Surely this could be fixed with a firmware update?

 

As for the metering, I find that my D800 can be left in Matrix Metering with very good results for virtually all of the time, sure you can

under/ over expose according to what you are trying to achieve photographically. The equivalent metering on the D7200 does not behave

at all in the same way, it is consistently inconsistent but loves to over expose. Maybe mine is faulty, I'm not sure, that could be awkward if

it is as I bought it new from eBay UK but although the camera came in UK packaging intact except that there wasn't a UK or any

warranty card with it. The camera seems to have come into the UK via Hong Kong, the seller says it is guaranteed by them for a year, I

did complain that this wasn't made clear in their listing, they actually gave me a small refund because I gave them Neutral Feedback

because of the missing warranty card. No question that it is a new camera, this seller has sold lots of them on eBay, maybe I should ask

Nikon UK where my camera is actually meant to be under warranty, it's barely a month old.

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>You have my sympathy about the lack of warranty card Allan. I'm in a similar situation. My D7200 was an unofficial import warrantied by the seller. However the seller is an established UK retailer, and I should be covered by UK consumer law/contract-of-sale, which makes it the retailer's duty to ensure that goods are of merchantable quality and that they stay that way "for a reasonable period of time". In UK consumer-protection law there's no fixed warranty period - unlike the 12 months maximum that most manufacturers and retailers would like you to believe. I think most reasonable people would expect an expensive camera or lens to last longer than 12 months, given careful amateur use.</p>

<p>Anyway, my past experience with Nikon UK's "service" is that they'll do anything to wriggle out of a warranty repair obligation, and only fix or exchange something as a last resort. Their major ploy seems to be to sit on your item twiddling their thumbs until you're glad to get it back at all! There's an independent Nikon authorised service centre in Stoke-on-Trent that can deal with warranty repair claims - H. Lehmann Ltd. I've no experience with them, but they can't be any worse than the official mob in Richmond IME.</p>