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John Di Leo

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Everything posted by John Di Leo

  1. That could be because even with the solar filter the sun is still very bright compared to the sunspots—two smudges near the center and to the LL—and the background sky. If I drag the right edge of the histogram to the right, to fill the hist window, all shadow detail of those sunspots are lost. I'm open to suggestions.
  2. just a bit more. Attached are two screen shots from Lightroom showing a z8 shot through the 1200 of a partial phase during the Oct 2023 annular eclipse along with the histogram. the three shots show the difference in frame coverage of the solar disk between 1200 and 32mm.
  3. @Ilkka I am not going to take any chances with my eyes (or my sensors), but solar glasses during totality would, without debate, cause a complete and utter blackout. You would NOT be able to see totality—or anything, at all. Totality is the only safe time during the eclipse to remove the glasses and filter. Totality is the star of the show. The ambient light during totality is that of deep twilight. Thanks for the info there is not a way to do what I propose. I'll use in camera bracketing, or manual, or maybe both. 4.5 minutes goes VERY quickly. It is a very exciting time, often beautifully emotional, during totality and fiddling with a camera is challenging because of the spectacle overhead. You want this as smooth as possible to minimize disruption. There are no do overs. @mike_halliwell@ilkka_nissila There is no right exposure during totality as long as not totally black or totally white. Multiple exposures are taken to show different things often over 6 stops in increments. The shortest exposures will show the solar prominences — flames at the sun's limb sometimes 10s of thousands of miles long, an orange red color usually and filimentary in structure. As the exposures get longer, more and more of the sun's corona becomes visible as its light drowns out the light from the prominences. Depending on exposure the corona, which has the form of streamers and is beautiful, will be more or less visible. Solar coronas can extend out multiple solar radii, like 5 or more. I don't think there is anything else in photography that is similar to shoot. The main thing is focus, f stop is usually fixed, iso is fixed, so the shutter changes to vary exposure. Anyone can do it poorly, but doing it well is a challenge I don't think the histogram will be helpful at all, it's not a landscape but rather a black hole, the moon, surrounded by the eerie white light of the corona, surrounded by the dark of the sky, bright stars and planets are visible. As exposure decreases, blacks will get blacker, less corona, and as it increases, whites will get whiter, more corona...nature of the beast. Some people try to capture shadow detail of the moon, but doing so will burn out the corona. However, a composite can be made from that to show both coronal detail and moon detail. Those pics are rare. The z8 will be mounted to a not very good (but owned!) 1200mm telescope and it will be on a clock drive. The d810 will be probably on my 24-70/2.8 on interval shooting, or maybe a 35/1.8? and taking a picture every 5 minutes for a composite of the eclipse. I did that for the annular eclipse last October and made a composite (attached). For this I will be shooting manual the whole time—unless I bracket. There is no reason or visual advantage in bracketing the partial phases; get a good setting and stick with it until totality. The filter comes off and the sequence is shot. In the past what I have done is just change the shutter manually, run it up to my end exposure and then shoot back down to the original, so full stops. Doing 1/3 stops probably won't show that big of a difference, and would result in more time on the camera rather than enjoying the sight—probably the last one in my lifetime. Seeing a total solar eclipse is a unique experience, leaving you wanting more, and should be on everyone's bucket list. Yes, I am a junkie. 😎 Thanks for the support and discussion! Clear skies.
  4. There are many sources for exposure recs, but typically one would shoot a number of different exposures to capture more and more, or less of the corona. You might shoot everything from 1/4, or slower, to 1/250sec more or less. Typically an ISO of 100 is used to minimize noise. Changing the shutter manually would require looking at the camera to change the shutter speed, that time would be spent NOT looking at the eclipse. It is widely rec'd to take time and actually look at the eclipse because it is beyond magnificent to view. That is why I would look to automate the process of exposures during totality, all of 288 seconds if we see it where we are planning to. I suppose I could set the shutter for 1/60 and bracket with 7 or 9 frames and then get 3 over and 3 under, but I was curious to know if one could set a sequence to start at one shutter speed and only get faster or slower. Sounds like no, can't do that. @Ilkka. yes, big time filters specially made for looking at the sun through a telescope visually, so a camera sensor would be fine. Solar filters go way beyond NDs and are made by astronomy optical houses. I am using 2 Thousand Oaks solar filters, one on the z8 and one on the d810. The filters stay on until nearly "second contact" (or C2) and that is when the moon completely covers the sun. At that time it is safe to look directly at the eclipse. Third contact, C3, is when the moon starts to leave the sun and the filter must be back on at that point, as well as eclipse glasses. Fourth contact, C4, is when no part of the moon any longer covers any part of the sun and the eclipse is over. This will be my 6th and every time it is VERY hectic during totality, so minimizing fooling around with settings is of paramount importance. This is a somewhat longer one being almost 4.5 minutes. Everything has to go like clockwork, there are no do-overs
  5. I will be shooting the upcoming eclipse. During totality lots of different exposures are called for to capture different parts of the sun's corona. I will probably use bracketing for that. I will be shooting through a small scope that has a fixed aperture of f/12 (1200mm). My choices are changing exposures manually, looking at the camera instead of the eclipse—not preferred— or do a 7-8 frame bracket changing probably 0.7EV with each shot, I haven't worked out those details yet. I will be at a higher shutter speed just before totality than what I will use during totality. Is it possible to program the camera or the bracketing so that the changes in exposure only go in one direction,to only increase exposure rather than a + and - arrangement, ie only +? I could do a bracket centered on a middle ground exposure and let the camera do the plus minus, but logistically it may be simpler during the hectic 4 minutes of totality to set the exposure and let the camera progressively increase exposure. Thanks in advance
  6. he bought a used 18-140 (I think) from KEH Thanks for the input, appreciated
  7. A bit of followup...since I updated the firmware to 2.0 and made the box perimeter thicker, I can see it much more easily. I may turn focus lock off and see how I like it now that the focus box is visible.
  8. I'm loving the more visible focus box with 2.0, ie the thicker lines. In my shooting it makes for a huge difference in ease of focus.
  9. Thanks for all the responses. I agree with all of the comments about the setup and the advisability of repair vs replace. Just get a better lens, golden opportunity. But, before I "spent his money" I looked for a second opinion. KEH has used ones also.
  10. I'm writing for a friend. He has a D5200 with the 18-55 nikkor. It was on a tripod and the tripod was knocked over. The lens snapped off the body. The plastic flanges on the lens mount have broken off. I tried one of my F mount lenses on his body and there seemed to be no problem with the body, so just the lens was damaged. B&H has this lens for about $250. Would it be cost effective to have it repaired at Nikon, or better to just replace the lens? He wants to stick with that lens. Anyone with experience with this type of repair? Thanks in advance.
  11. @Shun I think I have it. When I copied the bin file to the sd card, I think nikon said to put it in a certain folder. I first tried it in the DCIM folder—no go; then I put it in the Nikon...Z8 folder—still no go. I then just copied it to the folder "naked," ie, not in any folder, and it is recognized and updating as I write this. Thanks for making me persist!
  12. Thanks for the insights. It has happened so rarely, that I wonder if it is user error. It has happened with quick shots, as in Mardi Gras, as well as still shots, meaning careful composition, like shooting camellias in a garden in a more controlled situation. My release setting is focus + release I'll just keep an eye on it and report back as necessary. I am going on a big? camellia shoot Friday so I'll be putting the z8 through some paces. I think I am loving the ruggedness of the camera and the sensor and the dynamic range and the colors, etc etc, and the camera in general. Getting used to a mirrorless and the attendant "quirks" has been a long learning curve for me, after 50+ years of slr and dslr, but I love the results. I am still trying to decide the best white balance setting. Right now I am using natural light auto, and sometimes the images are a little cool, just a little. Also, I think I have settled on Neutral picture setting. With this image processing computer, that the z8 is, I can find myself almost paralyzed by the infinite choices of settings and the interplay among them. Thanks
  13. Any ideas on the dropped images? User error? Known issue? Card issue? Or does it get filed under "who knows" and always chimp your shots?
  14. When I tried that last night it didn't work. On the Nikon website it states the bin file should be in Slot One, and that seems to be the CFX slot. I also tried using Snapbridge and kept running into obstacles, things like "cannot connect," requesting "PIN," enough to make me give up. Finally, somewhat frustrated and spending way too much time on it, I ordered a CFX/SD card reader from B&H and it should come Thursday.
  15. With my recent posts, one could get the impression that I am whining about the z8...I am not. It is a remarkable camera. The sensor is great in capturing colors, the focus system is spot on, it feels good in the hand, it is a rugged workhorse, however... It has some limitations and they are likely physics and not a fault, but they are there. I suspect these limitations likely are applicable to all mirrorless cameras. The major issue is the lag between putting the camera to your eye and being ready to shoot. Most of the time it is not an issue, and for most of photogs, prob a complete non issue, but I just experienced where it IS an issue and that is shooting revelers at Mardi Gras in New Orleans (and to a lesser extent shooting street in NYC). The commonality is that you have to be quick on the draw and the shoot; the camera can't slow you down. Sometimes revelers will be isolated and you can have the time it takes for the camera to awaken, no big deal. But sometimes, the pace is frantic and people are walking past quickly. With my old d810 I could always just pull the camera up to my eye, get focus relatively quickly and shoot, then everyone moves on. With the z8, or likely any mirrorless, the camera has to be awake, then put up to the eye find focus and shoot. A gross estimate is that it adds about 1-2 seconds to the process over a dslr. It could be less than that, but it seems LONG to me and sometimes to the subject. This can be a problem because the people being shot may not have that much patience to await the camera to awaken, then find focus. Most of the time they do, but not always, especially if they are on their way somewhere. I know 1-2 seconds doesn't sound like a lot, but in the circumstance described it feels for all concerned that it is. And if the subject is only willing to give you 3-4 sec to get the shot, it makes for missed shots. It they are patient...non issue, but patience is a virtue not all possess. So, I started riding the shutter button, to be sure the camera was always awake and that helped but not completely. Next, the sub selector joystick moves the focus point inadvertently too easily and unbeknownst to the user until you put the camera to your eye and try to find the sometimes hard to find focus box—often down in the corner somewhere. This prompted my forum question about how to lock the box into place (f4 menu item does this), but being able to just turn off that function in the sub selector(only) would help a lot—can that be done? That function could still be controlled by the multiselector. the new firmware version makes the focus box easier to see, and that will help. Next, sometimes even though it appears that you took a picture, nothing shows as a captured image after the "click." This may not be related to quick action and occurs rarely, but I've seen it happen, ie I trip the shutter, hear the click, and nothing was captured. Also when this happens it seems that the camera locks up in a way. I can still see a live view through the LCD or VF, but that is the only thing that is working, no shutter availabity, no effect when exp comp is pressed, and I cannot scroll through my images. It is obvious quickly, and turning the camera off then back on restores all functionality (Delkin Devices Black 150gb CFX card). I've only seen this 4-6 times in 2500 + captures. I do not think it is user error. These are issues that I can live with considering the quality of the images produced and the WOW dynamic range and the colors, but they prevent this camera from functioning as a grab and shoot quickly camera. I know that is not something to aspire to in a $4k camera, but honestly, sometimes you just need that functionality. On the attached image, I had all the time I needed. This is reduced 50% from the original. Again, do want to start any kind of war of words, but just some observations and may as I mature with the z8 I can learn better how to address these things.
  16. more info. I didn't see the Options menu choice because it is not located there. There is a tab labeled preferences and that is where the option to not open NX Studio is located. Found it, though, so thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
  17. I thought I figured out a workaround with my old card reader, but I believe I was wrong. I thought I could load the firmware update on to an SD card, then insert it into the camera and upgrade. Nope. It needs to be in card slot 1 and that is the CFExpress slot it would appear? And I do not see a way to copy the bin file from the SD card to the CFE card.
  18. Is a dedicated card reader required for the upgrade? It appears so on my MAC or can it be done in camera?
  19. Thanks, I'll look for that. I didn't see "options" before. Appreciate the response.
  20. yeah, but that requires mental discipline. :-) I would think that if I went out with a newly formatted card the "k" number, mentioned by bgelfand, would start at 0, but it does not. It appears to show number of exposures taken by the camera from the beginning of time. The next Mardi Gras is a year away, and the issue will not arise again until then, and by then I may be mature enough to use Shun's method. All good points raised though. Thanks.
  21. I am using Nikon's Transfer 2 app to move images from my Z8 to my computer to process in Adobe software. When I close the Transfer app, the NX Studio app opens, and that is useless to me. I've looked in the preferences of NXStudio to see if it is controlled there; don't see anything. I do not see prefs for Transfer.app. Anyone know how to stop this? Thanks
  22. By that I mean, can the focus box be set to be fixed in one place, like the center of the frame? Being old school, or maybe just old, I can focus in the center of the box and then reframe. The problem I am having with the z8 is the "sub-selector." It moves the box, and that is a good feature until it isn't. The multi selector does this also, but it is far less likely to happen to me because it is out of the way and doesn't stick out. The sub selector does stick out right near where my thumb rests and it gets inadvertently moved, then when shooting you have to look around to see where the box is and deal with that one way or another. Firmware 2.0 helps it by making the box more visible, but I did not want to upgrade before MG day. Later, I will have more to comment on using the z8 for street, especially the fast moving crowded "street" of a celebration like Mardi Gras.
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