D7200 Top Control Panel issue

[erik_christensen3]

We have a D7200 camera, which some family members asked for but never use, so I have decided to include it as a backup together with D700 for my D810. I have therefore looked at the settings and noticed that the Mode icon is blank instead of P,M,A,S and cannot find anything in the manual , which should give that situation. I note that an X can replace the above icons in connection with flash synch, but even that I cannot get.

 

I have updated to the latest firmware and reset to factory settings and made my own preferred settings, and still it appear with a blank space – both immediately after update and after my own settings. I can get every information by using the “info” bottom and see the icon on the LCD screen on the back, but it is a little cumbersome, even if I do not change mode from M that often during a shoot.

 

Is there somebody with a solution to this issue??

[erik_christensen3]

We have a D7200 camera, which some family members asked for but never use, so I have decided to include it as a backup together with D700 for my D810. I have therefore looked at the settings and noticed that the Mode icon is blank instead of P,M,A,S and cannot find anything in the manual , which should give that situation. I note that an X can replace the above icons in connection with flash synch, but even that I cannot get.

 

I have updated to the latest firmware and reset to factory settings and made my own preferred settings, and still it appear with a blank space – both immediately after update and after my own settings. I can get every information by using the “info” button and see the icon on the LCD screen on the back, but it is a little cumbersome, even if I do not change mode from M that often during a shoot.

 

Is there somebody with a solution to this issue??

[rodeo_joe1]

Does it really matter Erik?

'Cos if you cast your eye to the other side of the camera, you can immediately see where the mode dial is set.

 

Does the mode reveal itself on the LCD if U1 or U2 is selected?

[ShunCheung]

Sorry, I don't quite understand Erik's question. I still own both the D7100 and D7200, but since I have captured images of the D7100, I'll use an old image of the D7100 below, instead of taking a new picture of my D7200, as they look almost identical.

 

Both the D7100 and D7200 have a knob on the top, left side to select M, A, S, and P. Why do you still need that indication on the LCD?

 

[Andrew Garrard]

More explicitly, what "mode icon"? Unlike the "pro" bodies, there isn't one in the control panel LCD, as far as I can tell from the manual, and I'm not sure (other than P* when you're program shifted) that there's even one in the viewfinder. When you change mode by pressing a button and spinning a dial, you need the result on an LCD, and ideally also in the viewfinder - there's no tactile feedback and it's reasonable to want to change exposure mode while you're in the middle of shooting something without recomposing (I've certainly done this). My impression - not least because of the mode dial being top-left in the "unreachable position" - is that you're not expected to do this on the "non-pro" interface bodies - you're supposed to take the camera away from your eye and change the mode. At which point, you should be able to see it while handling the camera.

 

This has caused me a few problems on my D90 when the mode dial (which doesn't have a lock like the D7x00) has got nudged. Fortunately I tend to chimp with it, because switching an IR-modified camera with a custom white balance from manual mode to one of the scene modes has an exotic effect on the image...

 

Or I could be missing something?

[Matthew Currie]

I actually looked at a D7200, and confirm that there is no mode icon there, as there also is not on the D7100, either in the LCD display or the viewfinder display.

 

There is a meter bar which appears only when the settings in the selected mode cannot satisfy the meter. It disappears entirely when not called for.

 

I note that on the D3200, which has no top LCD screen, there is also no mode indication in the viewfinder. I suppose on reflection it might be handy to have one, but never missed it on either camera. The aperture,ISO and shutter speed are shown, and the meter when needed, so if they are what you want it does not really matter what mode you're in.

[Andrew Garrard]

Agreed, Matthew. I think it's most useful on the D700/D8x0 series because the means of changing mode is different (and potentially more dynamic - yes, I have my D850's rec button set to change mode, FWIW). I only miss it on the D90 because of the lack of a dial lock, which is probably the better solution anyway.

[erik_christensen3]

I thank everybody for their comments. I admit, that for me it was more a “cosmetic” issue, as I am aware, that I easily can see on the Mode Dial, but I obviously have a habit not looking to the left, as my Nikon have been D200,300,700 and now 810, and a very short period D90, so my first camera with a Mode Dial on the left. When I turn on the camera the other day it showed a X, which I found an explanation for the manual, so my simple mind just assumed that space on the control panel was for the Mode icons.

 

Rodeo_Joe|1 - I have not yet touched the U1 and U2 mode, may be later, as this camera is a backup only, I definitely prefer my D810 and and hopefully soon the replacement for the D850 with 2 cards -:)

 

I thank all of you for your contribution to teach me a lesson.

[Andrew Garrard]

Understood, Erik - I've been lucky that most of my Nikon bodies have had essentially the same handling (D700, D8x0). I suspect I'd be scrambling around finding things on a single-digit body, I do struggle a bit on my IR D90 (mode dial on the left, btw), and it's taken me a while to find out how to change settings on a D3400 that someone handed me. (Oh, it's in a menu...) It's one thing that always put me off the "D750-as-backup" idea.

[mike_halliwell]

Do any of the current Nikon's have the '2 level menu' system any more?

 

Basic and Advanced... ;)

[Andrew Garrard]

Do any of the current Nikon's have the '2 level menu' system any more?

 

Basic and Advanced... ;)

 

I'm not aware of it; did they use to? I've long thought that the ability to turn off sections of the menu would be the best way to make the system quickly navigable, add full flexibility, and not scare off people who don't like having a movie record button. I could believe a company could get burnt by the results of implementing it poorly, though.