danny_weber
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Posts posted by danny_weber
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I'm a bit confused by this not belonging in the Nikon forum, since every piece of kit referred to in the OP is Nikon!
I think Ed meant that his reply doesn't belong here.
Danny W.
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Of course, the trick to copy in camera from an XQD card to an SD card is only possible when the camera body has both type of card slots. Currently only the D500 has both type of slots, and of course the D500 is the subject in this thread. This trick also works with images captured onto an XQD card using a different Nikon body other than the D500.
Rumors about new Nikon bodies suggest there might be more with XQD/SD, but they're just rumors.
Using the D500 to copy other XQD camera cards to SD is a good idea.
Based on the above: It may well be quicker, or at least no slower, to copy files to a spare SD card in the camera, and then transfer those files using the SD port of the HDD. However, personally I'd feel more reassured doing the transfer directly from a card reader plugged into the slow USB host port. At least that way the transfer can be monitored and there's no 2nd generation copy issue. Even though it's darned slow.
What do you mean by "2nd generation copy issue" ?
Danny W.
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An easy, if slow, way to transfer to a laptop is to copy in-camera to an SD card and pop that into the laptop.
Danny W.
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Sorry to sort of hijack the thread, but copying the contents of the XQD to the SD, while producing a backup in case of XQD failure, does not protect your files if your body is lost, stolen or destroyed. So for backup, I prefer to back up the cards to an external drive daily to protect against all eventualities. My set up is to write raw to the QXD (because it is so fast on the upload/download) and write jpegs to the SD card for easy end of day review and organization. I first determine which are my keepers from the easy to read jpeg and then develop the corresponding raw file when I am in the office.
Of course I copy files to an external device as soon as I can, but not when I'm actually out shooting. :-)
Danny W.
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I have a fast XQD card and fast SD UHS-II (both Sony 64GB) in mine, with the XQD being primary storage and the SD set for overflow. If I have time, I copy files from the XQD to the SD, so I have a backup without affecting the camera's operation.
Not sure what info about XQD cards you're looking for--they work fine, don't slow the camera down, are more robust and less easy to lose than SD cards, and copy really quickly into my computer.
Danny W.
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I picked up a 16-80 unused out of a kit for about half price to replace my 17-55, primarily for the weight savings but also for the improved range and VR. I've been very happy with it so far. The image quality is fine and the smaller aperture is a non-issue for me.
Thom Hogan wrote a good, balanced review of it:
Nikon 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR DX Lens Review | DSLRBodies | Thom Hogan
Danny W.
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I like that idea Danny. Except Nikon speedlights are too clever for their own good! They have a switch that detects when they're tilted or swivelled, and that turns off any distance calculation mode. That may well feed through to the camera and change its exposure.
In order to keep the same ambient exposure, I think you'd have to leave the flash pointed forward and just blank it off with a piece of card.
That sounds like a plan.
Danny W.
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The first photo is overexposed overall, so it could be Matrix metering calibration, A simple test would be to turn off the flash, take a photo, make sure the overall exposure is about right regardless of dark shadows on the subjects, turn on the flash and aim it straight up or to the side and shoot again, then aim it at the scene and shoot again.
Danny W.
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The OP has a problem with overexposure. If the flash is keeping the shutter speed too low, that could be a cause. Using Auto FP eliminates that possibility.
Danny W.
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About ten years ago I used a CS 5000 to scan about 60,000 slides and several hundred strips of negatives. Although it was probably the best scanner available, it has a reputation for accenting grain because of its hard light source. I found this to be true, so I scanned to TIFFS to allow post processing.
Danny W.
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Danny, setting 1/250 s (Auto FP), or 1/320 s (Auto FP) in menu e1 doesn't fix the flash shutter speed. All it does is tell the camera+flash at what shutter speed to change from X-synch to FP (HSS) mode.
As far as I can see there is no way to command the camera to fix the flash shutter speed at 1/250th. You can set a lower limit at 1/60th (menu e2) and a high limit at 1/250th, but in any auto mode the camera can, and will, vary the flash speed between those limits.
The only way to be sure the camera uses 1/250th or 1/320th is to set the speed manually in M or S mode. In A or P mode the camera is free to choose any old shutter speed it likes above the minimum speed set in menu e2. That's if an FP capable speedlight is fitted. With a non-FP flash the camera is capped at 1/250th or 1/320th.
In low light the camera will default to 1/60th, or whatever speed has been set in menu e2, when a speedlight is fitted or the BI flash is popped up.
In short, the only way to be certain of a high synch speed is to use manual or shutter-priority mode and set the speed yourself.
When you set Auto FP, there is no upper limit to shutter speed when the flash is on--especially outdoors, this is important to prevent your ambient exposure from overexposing. I don't want the shutter speed to get stuck at a top of 1/250, in fact, exactly the opposite.
The downside is that you lose power at higher shutter speeds, but this is a better result than having a limit to the shutter speed.
Danny W.
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I always have great results using Nikon automatic fill flash. On the flash set compensation to -1.7 as a starting point and the flash mode to iTTL BL. On the camera select Matrix metering and set the sync speed to 1/250 FPS (Custom Setting e1). The latter is important to prevent overall overexposure due to a low shutter speed. On cameras with pop-up flash, be sure the flash comp on the body is set to zero
That's pretty much it. I've never used a D600, but it's worked for me with the D2h, D200, D300, D500, D750 and D7200. The only Nikon DSLR I've used that had flash issues was the D1, in which the flash implementation was widely acknowledged as being broken.
Danny W.
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I'll hit 20 in five months.
Danny W.
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DX.
As a senior citizen, weight has become a consideration, so I'm not into the BIG lens and body any more. The 18-140 DX lens saves quite a bit of weight for a general purpose lens, vs a FX equivalent. So the DX body does good enough for me. Although the D7200 was a weight increase from my D70.
Would I like to go FX, yes, but I have my doubts I can make use of the image quality increase over my D7200.
And I do not look forward to the increase in weight of the big FX zooms like the 70-200/f2.8 VR. I would rather have a smaller and lighter 70-200/f4 DX VR lens (which will likely never happen).
There is no reason to think that a DX 70-200/4 would be any smaller or lighter than the current one, so you might as well enjoy the FX version. It's a great lens and noticeably lighter than the f/2.8 version, which I used for years before deciding I had gotten too old to want to carry it around. ;) The f/4 works really well on my D500.
Danny W.
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One advantage of third-party publications is that they'll tell you what works and what doesn't, while the manufacturer will claim it's all good.
Danny W.
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John, I posted my reply without reading the part where you said you already had third-party books--sorry about that. I agree with Ilkka, though, I find Nikon's literature on the D500 better than they usually publish, and the D500 Menu Guide does a much more thorough job of explaining what everything is for, if not how best to use it. As Ilkka said, I do my own tests and apply my findings to my own shooting situations.
Danny W.
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I'm a left-eyed shooter too and find the sub-selector to be perfectly placed for me. You might give thought to the fact that you are just one user out of many and that everything is a compromise. Meanwhile, rather than exhort Nikon to produce training materials to your liking, it would be worth buying one of the existing guides if you're struggling with how best to use the D500.
Danny W.
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<p>Drop-in filters are typically found only in lenses where a front filter would be impractical. I doubt they'll make the next version that large, but perhaps they'll prove me wrong in five or six years.</p>
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<p>Shun, I assumed that the parts you filled in would have been obvious considering the discussion, but perhaps I should have known better, so thank you. I’ve been posting explanations here about using Nikon fill flash for probably eighteen years and by now I figured that everyone understood how it works. Note that I was the first person in this thread to point to flash sync speed—it should be really obvious to any Nikon flash user.<br>
<br />BeBu, the way you’d like the camera to work makes absolutely no sense at all with a focal plane shutter. If you don’t understand why, it would be worthwhile reading an article on the subject. I doubt that any modern camera with an FP shutter allows you to use shutter speeds higher than the sync speed when flash is on, unless you have selected a sync mode like Nikon’sAuto FP, which fires the flash multiple times to constantly illuminate the photo frame while the shutter slit travels across it. As I said earlier, this causes you loss of flash range, but it’s better than not having the flash operate at all.<br>
<br />As for your you belief about the F5, believing doesn’t make it so. I haven’t used an F5 since the year 2000, but you don’t have to take my word for it—here’s what the F5 manual says for Manual exposure mode on page 114:<br>
<br />“If you set the shutter speed at 1/500 sec. or faster, camera automatically shifts to 1/250 sec. as soon as the Speedlight is turned on. The manually set shutter speed indication blinks in the LCD panel, while the viewfinder shows 25o.”</p>
<p>Danny W.</p>
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<p>You can't set a shutter speed higher than the flash sync speed in any exposure mode. It's designed that way so that you don't wind up seeing your shutter edges in your photos. It's been that way since the first Nikons with auto fill flash in the film days. However, if you have a camera and flash that supports Auto FP and set the sync speed to Auto FP, you have no limit on the shutter speed, but the flash range will fall off above the top sync speed. The only reason not to use this setting is if you are using non-compatible flash.</p>
<p>Danny W.</p>
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<p>Flash sync speed?</p>
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<p>Funny you should mention ISO. I bought my first digital camera, a D1, in 2000. At the time I went out daily with three F5's, often with different film type in each one. The first day with my D1 I went from shooting surfers in full sun to dancers at an outdoor pavilion long after the sun set I was completely sold on digital. Finished off whatever film was in my cameras and never shot a film frame again.</p>
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<p>Custom Setting C4 is monitor off delay.<br>
As for the "old fashioned way" of changing settings, I've been using the "Release button to use dial" method on my D300 since 2007 and I think it was on Nikon cameras before that. The real old-fashioned way would be having a dedicated knob for each function. In any case, it's a great feature for those complaining about the location of the mode button.</p>
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<p>I can't find a setting on mine that lets you toggle through the Mode settings just by pressing the Mode button. The "Release button to use dial" setting (f6) allows you to press & release a button and then turn the dial to make the setting. Half press on the shutter clears it.<br /> The metering pattern can be assigned to a button for one-finger operation--press & hold to switch from your current selection to another one. <br /> There are a number of custom settings that allow you to change the control operation to more closely match your style of shooting. I've had mine for three weeks and am still evaluating all the possibilities.<br /> </p>
XQD Cards with D500
in Nikon
Posted
I think the chance of this happening on an in-camera copy is minute, plus the original is still on the XQD card. I have never had a file garbled in a copy operation or even in many-generation copy operations. I could argue that my suggestion is safer, since the original is untouched in case there's a problem, but either argument is specious in my view--it just doesn't matter in reality.
Danny W