blumesan

<p>Joe-<br> Thanks for the reassurance. I'm happy to know that I'm not the only luddite in this forum.</p>

<p>Many thanks to all for your advice and recommendations.</p> <p>One of the most frequent questions in this forum goes something like this: <br> I have a NikonDxxx and I really like the camera. But it is time to upgrade; should I get the Dxyz or the Dabc?</p> <p>After a bit a respondent will post the obligatory question: <br> In what manner have your needs / desires changed such that your current camera cannot deliver?</p> <p>Does anyone see a parallel here?</p>

<p>One of the most attractive features of the SB26 is the ability to fire it wireless and off camera, by triggering it with a weak flash of the camera's built-in speedlight. </p>

<p>Peter & Dan<br> Thanks for your replies. My preference for the SB26 over the newer iTTL speedlights was not based on budgetary considerations. When I shoot flash I am almost always in manual mode. I want to control all of the variables and do not wish the camera + speedlight "logic" to be making decisions for me. In this case the SB26 provides all the functionality I need. Also its maximum light output is only marginally less than the newer speedlights.</p>

<p>With my Nikon D700 (and the D200 before that) I happily used an old SB-26 Speedlight for my flash photography. This Speedlight worked just as expected in both manual (M) and auto (A) mode as long as one was careful to manually set the aperture and ISO on the Speedlight. Naturally none of the more esoteric Nikon flash modes (TTL, iTTL, etc.) were available, but I never found that to be a significant hinderance. When mounted on the camera and switched on, the viewfinder flash indicator became visible and the shutter speed was automatically set (if necessary) to not exceed the maximum sync speed.</p> <p><br /> I have now just tried the SB-26 on my <strong>D800</strong>. The viewfinder flash indicator does not appear, and the shutter speed is not adjusted for flash. Does anyone know if there are other, perhaps more significant, changes in the behavior of the Speedlight when used with this camera? Yes, indeed, the flash does fire when taking a shot and the exposure is not obviously different from what one might expect.</p>

<blockquote> <p>Jos wrote:<br> Most macro lenses go to a magnification of 1:1, meaning that the image on the sensor will be the same size as your subject (on full frame, <em><strong>on your camera you even get a 1.5 magnification</strong></em></p> </blockquote> <p>Surely that can't be so. The ratio of the size of the image on the sensor to the size of the object itself does not depend on the size of the sensor. Otherwise micro-photography would be best performed on the smallest sensors available.</p> <p> </p>

<p>The quality (and thus the cost) of a scanner will depend heavily on what you intend to do with the scanned images. If you intend to just view the images on your computer monitor, or post them on the web, almost any scanner will suffice (including flat bed types). If you intend to make large prints (e.g. 12"x18" or larger) the scanners you mention may be problematic.</p>

<p>Hi Andrew..<br> I am certainly not suggesting that the long delay in updating the bios was part of a PR conspiracy. However it does seem that, if PR were high on Nikon's agenda, the proper response to the many complaints which followed the D800 release would have been forthcoming a bit sooner. And surely the early response, firmly denying that the changes were a bug or code error, has left a bit of egg on their face. At any rate I am glad Nikon has retreated from that position and have now made the update available.</p> <p>I am still a bit pissed off with Nikon for their total failure to support the software for their (very high priced) line of scanners when changes to the O/S rendered the hardware totally inoperative. Turned out that a very simple hack (first revealed here in pnet: http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00Ryck) solved the problem. This was a fix that Nikon could have provided with little or no effort. </p>

<p>Andrew,<br> Thanks for the reply. Pity, but I think we have lost Ilkka.</p> <blockquote> <p>3) Wait, with the D700 (and presumably the D800 with new firmware) you can hold AF-On in AF-S and effectively disable trap focus even when in focus priority? That actually makes perfect sense - but also means there's even less argument for the older D800 behavior!</p> </blockquote> <p>Yes, this was the recommended method for "focus-lock focus-recompose" when in AF-S mode.<br> It really does put the lie to Nikons assertion that the change in the D800 was intentional and a "feature". I guess they postponed the firmware update so long to allow us to forget their original claim/excuse. </p>

<blockquote> <p>While it is not necessary to use a clean memory card for the firmware transfer, a common mistake is indeed not putting that binary (bin) file at the top-most folder level. Therefore, if you format the card first, the only place you can put the bin file is the very top level.</p> </blockquote> <p>Shun,<br /> Unfortunately not the case, at least with my D800. See screengrab of card just after formatting it in the camera. Note the presence of the DCIM folder under NIKON D800 (E:). A common mistake is to save the bin file into the DCIM folder. It must be saved in NIKON D800 (E:).</p><div></div>

<blockquote> <p>I have tried their update several times over the past few days but all that is extracted is a VLC media file (ending in the .bin). This media file does not update the camera (I did try putting it on a card).</p> </blockquote> <p>As pointed out above, the .bin file is the one to COPY to your card. No need to OPEN it.<br> The most common mistake made when updating firmware is putting this .bin file in some subfolder on the card (been there; done that). Be certain it is copied to the root directory: "X:\" where X is the drive letter associated with your card reader.</p>

<p>Hi Andrew,</p> <blockquote> <p>I <em>do</em> interpret Ilkka's post to suggest that he believes "release priority" causes the autofocus process to abort when an approximate focus is achieved - that it <em>does</em> make a difference to the probability of perfect focus being achieved. Of course, I could be misinterpreting him. [ilkka - are you still reading?]</p> </blockquote> <p>I am really sorry that Ilkka has abandoned this thread and left us to speculate. I have experimented at some length (D800 with original FW).</p> <p>Method: Press & release of AF-ON to achieve focus; then recompose. Examine focus of initially focused subject; compare focus vs. release priority in both AF-S and AF-C modes.<br> I find that, with reasonable care that recomposing does not change the distance to the initial subject, there is no systematic difference in focus under these conditions.<br> Of course one cannot perform exactly this same test with the D700. See below.<br> ---</p> <p>"If one acquired focus by a press and release of the AF-ON button, the shutter would fire without delay whether or not the initial focus was perfect, near perfect, or completely out of focus; and neither the choice of AF-S or AF-C, nor the choice of Focus or Release Priority mattered one whit."</p> <blockquote> <p>Well, I believe AF-S vs AF-C would make a difference to what happened <em>before</em> you let go of AF-On. But I agree that what happened afterwards was unaffected by the choice.</p> </blockquote> <p>Indeed, in AF-C mode the focus does not lock until you release the AF-ON button. As long as the button remains pressed autofocus remains active. <strong><em>And it is under these conditions that one sees a difference between Focus and Release Priority</em></strong>. With Release Priority the shutter will fire without delay whether or not perfect focus had been achieved. It is not a case of autofocus being prematurely terminated; it is a case of the shutter firing too soon. With Focus Priority the shutter release will be delayed (albeit briefly with a fast autofocus lens) until "perfect" focus is achieved. Could this be the distinction that concerned Ilkka?<br> ---</p> <p>"To focus and recompose (with the D700 or updated D800) you must keep the AF-ON button pressed while recomposing. With the D800 (orig. FW) you could release the button before recomposing."</p> <blockquote> <p>Now <em>I'm</em> confused. (Okay, now I'm <em>knowingly</em> confused.) I've lost track of which situation you're describing.</p> </blockquote> <p>Yes, it does get confusing when trying to describe the behavior of two different cameras (FW implementations). I was trying to emphasize the difference between the D700 and the D800 with original FW, when attempting to focus, lock focus and recompose.</p> <p>With the D700 in AF-S mode (default = Focus Priority) you must keep the AF-ON button pressed while recomposing and until the shutter is released. Otherwise the camera reverts to the trap focus function and the shutter may fail to release. Alternatively one can switch to Release Priority OR switch to AF-C mode (default = Release Priority), where a simple press and release of the AF-ON button allows focus and recompose.</p> <p>Regards.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Andrew, thanks for your reply.</p> <blockquote> <p>"Mike: The distinction, however dubious, that I make is that in AF-S, the focus will stop when the lens is in the right place - be that perfect focus or - if Ilkka is correct about release priority and I'm understanding him correctly - nearly perfect focus."</p> </blockquote> <p>I am struggling with this and I feel a bit stupid. "...focus will stop when the lens is in the right place..." ?? <br> I assume we are talking about using press and release of AF-ON to achieve focus. If the camera is operating as advertised, and if you keep the button pressed long enough for focus to be achieved (probably one second or less with a good AFS lens) perfect focus should be achieved. Whether it is or not, neither experience nor logic suggests that perfect focus is more likely depending on whether one is in release priority or focus priority mode. Do you interpret Ilkka's post to suggest otherwise? </p> <p>I had the impression that Ilkka preferred the original FW in the D800. In that configuration, if one acquired focus by a press and release of the AF-ON button, the shutter would fire without delay whether or not the initial focus was perfect, near perfect, or completely out of focus; and neither the choice of AF-S or AF-C, nor the choice of Focus or Release Priority mattered one whit. As I mentioned previously, I was not (am not) really sure what problem Ilkka encountered, or under what conditions.</p> <p>Of course, when one transfers autofocus to the shutter button, in AF-S, focus priority mode the camera will enforce autofocus before releasing the shutter, but that defeats the purpose of focus and recompose. If you want to focus and recompose you must maintain a half-press of the shutter to keep focus locked, and this approach gives no additional assurance that initial focus was perfect.</p> <blockquote> <p>"In AF-C, the focus will move for as long as the AF-On button is held down. My argument against this was that the camera can decide to focus on something other than the main subject (if something moves in front of the focus sensor, or if the subject moves slightly out of the way) at any point. I'd typically notice this, if the focus point moves significantly. However, with AF-C, the focus can have just started to move to a different distance at the exact moment I let go of the AF-On button - and the loss of sharpness may be small enough that I wouldn't notice until I took the shot. Some of my lenses move fast. I do mostly use AF-C, but not when I'm worried about the AF system hitting the wrong target.<br> But with this, I was addressing your argument that there was no benefit to AF-S in release priority, not Ilkka's concern about whether the autofocus aborts. Apologies for the confusion. I think Ilkka is worried about autofocus stopping early (because it's "close enough"), not failing to stop when you release the AF-On button."</p> </blockquote> <p>It seems to me that there is a simple solution to this problem (in today's jargon, "there is an App for that"). Custom Menu Option: Focus Tracking with Lock On. Setting this to <Long> will delay refocusing in the circumstances you describe. <br> Of course if you want additional insurance that no refocusing can occur, you can always switch to AF-S mode; I certainly have no quarrel with that choice (but switching is a real pita with the D800). To focus and recompose (with the D700 or updated D800) you must keep the AF-ON button pressed while recomposing. With the D800 (orig. FW) you could release the button before recomposing. </p> <p>Regards, Mike.</p>

<p>Use the same trick as the previous owner. Glue it to a step-up (or step-down) ring whose threads fit your lens's filter ring.</p>

<p>Late edit:<br> It provided no functionality that was not easily available in <strong>AF-C</strong> mode</p>

<blockquote> <p>I am in AF-C 99% of the time, so this change doesn't affect me much. I was curious, though, about what problem this revision was intended to solve when in AF-S, and the robust discussion here has proved very illuminating. My thanks to all.</p> </blockquote> <p>With the D800 (<strong>original FW</strong>) there was <strong>absolutely no reason to be in AF-S mode</strong>. It provided no functionality that was not easily available in AF-S mode. (This is the reason why some of us considered this change from earlier cameras to be a bug or coding error, rather than a "new feature".) With the updated FW one needs to switch to AF-S mode only to enable trap focus. I, for one, am very happy with the change.</p>