Nikon D800......

Ozei said:
Do you mean the DK-17M?
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DK17M is a 1.2X eyepiece. I use one with the rubber eyecup fitted.

DG2 is a 2X eyepiece. Think it needs some sort of adaptor to make it fit (could be wrong about that). Intended for close up work.
 
Hi guys, it was the DK-17C +2 Dioptre. They sell it for D2/D3 but it also fits on the D800. I'm far-sighted (old age) and to see things really sharp in the viewfinder, I would have to use my glasses. However, since in the distance I see everything perfectly, I don't wear them outside. So I'd have to put them on for looking through the viewfinder, and then take them off again for everything else.

With the DK-17C +2, after some adjustment on that notorious knob, I get to see everything perfectly sharp again in the viewfinder, without glasses.
 
Aghhh Nikon... why didn't you make the REC button assignable when on still camera mode. Such a great feature on the D4 - have mine assigned to ISO. Surely this was just a firmware decision?
 
I think the record button is nicely placed. Or maybe I just got used to it?

Anyway, since there's not much to talk about, I used my D800 in the ****es of rain in London last week. And she behaved admirably. No silly plastic covers or even a brolly for me.


DSC_5300 by Cagey75, on Flickr


London rain by Cagey75, on Flickr
 
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Great pictures Cagey...

I'm still a bit new to the d800e but I can't help feel the colours are a bit flat, does anyone have any info on any specific settings I can check ? I have tried the WB and yes it makes a difference but after forking out for a d800e I would like not to have to edit all my photos to make them look real.. (or is it me)
 
Side by side against the D3s and D700, the D4 and D800 seem to have less contrast but richer colour.
 
+1, nice pics. When I saw the first one I thought 'wow, sharp. That Sigma works really well' - but then I saw it's the 85mm f1.8. I assume it's the Nikon? I bought that too. A great lens.

For the brolly, I thought that's an image printed on it! :)

rowland, I don't know how experienced you are so apologies for mentioning this, but these images above may have been processed moderately in Lightroom and Photoshop to bring the colours back to what you are seeing now.

I have to say that I'm quite happy with the colours my D800 produces - but sometimes the colour just is lost a bit due to type of light. But it can easily be brought back in Lightroom.

30 years ago I had an analog Contax SLR, it took wonderful pictures. The colours were always so bright, vivid and natural, I loved it. No matter whether I used Agfa, Fuji or Kodak - the colour characteristics were a bit different, but the resulting colours were always beautiful. Even a cheap film offered by a local photography franchise shop produced great pictures.

Then I had to replace the camera, I bought the exact same model, I used the same films, the same lenses, the same filters (in those days UV filters were common), but no luck - the colours always looked somewhat pale, bland.

I sent the camera to Contax for checking and adjustment, and they did what they could, but it didn't change, the colours in the images taken with this camera never reached the quality of the colours of the previous Contax.

From that I conclude that apart from the light in which you take pictures, there simply is some variance within the cameras of the same series. I don't know where it comes from, but I think it exists. Some cameras within one series will take nicer pictures than others, IMHO.
 
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decigallen said:
Side by side against the D3s and D700, the D4 and D800 seem to have less contrast but richer colour.
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I'd agree with that (though I haven't used a D700 or D4). D800 has great colours at the expense of a small amount of contrast. If I have to shoot a picture and show somebody on the LCD immediately I'd pick the D800.

There's a contrast adjustment in the menus. Turn this up if you prefer it.
 
thanks Guys for your advice, I'll adjust / experiment with the contrast and the WB, I will also swap to the 14-24 and see if it's my 28-300 that's the cause
 
Steve, I have the 28-300 as well, it is no slouch on the D800, but seems a lot happier on the D700, especially for landscape type stuff at the wider end.

Try it with your 14-24, results should improve.
 
AchimT said:
+1, nice pics. When I saw the first one I thought 'wow, sharp. That Sigma works really well' - but then I saw it's the 85mm f1.8. I assume it's the Nikon? I bought that too. A great lens.

For the brolly, I thought that's an image printed on it! :)


.
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Yeah it was the 85mm 1.8G - cracking lens. Didn't bring the 35 as I had the fuji with me, which done the job for wider shots, and the 300mm for shooting into the distance

Oh, and turns out it is a print on the brolly, lol. I was a bit sleep deprived last few days and thought it was reflection.
 
@AchimT - thanks, I read up on "set picture control", changed to landscape and the pictures look a lot better (changed from Neutral), trees look more realistic rather than greyish. Owning a d800e is a journey (well it is for me) loving it, but really want to learn to get the best from it.

Experimenting with the WB and swapped to the 14-24 ... getting better, before long I will have a couple of shots worthy of the forum !

thanks all for your help

Steve
 
rowland said:
@AchimT - thanks, I read up on "set picture control", changed to landscape and the pictures look a lot better (changed from Neutral), trees look more realistic rather than greyish. Owning a d800e is a journey (well it is for me) loving it, but really want to learn to get the best from it.

Experimenting with the WB and swapped to the 14-24 ... getting better, before long I will have a couple of shots worthy of the forum !

thanks all for your help

Steve
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Those modes only apply to jpegs, including embedded jpegs that are part of RAW files. If you want to shoot landscape, you are better off doing it in RAW due to how unpredictable the lighting can be.
 
James J said:
Those modes only apply to jpegs, including embedded jpegs that are part of RAW files. If you want to shoot landscape, you are better off doing it in RAW due to how unpredictable the lighting can be.
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thanks James, - I'll give that a go too :thumbs:
 
AchimT said:
Hi guys, it was the DK-17C +2 Dioptre. They sell it for D2/D3 but it also fits on the D800. I'm far-sighted (old age) and to see things really sharp in the viewfinder, I would have to use my glasses. However, since in the distance I see everything perfectly, I don't wear them outside. So I'd have to put them on for looking through the viewfinder, and then take them off again for everything else.

With the DK-17C +2, after some adjustment on that notorious knob, I get to see everything perfectly sharp again in the viewfinder, without glasses.
Click to expand...

I have to admit I'd forgotten Nikon made these correction eyepieces. Does the +2 version have the same effect as a DK-17M?

Also, do you find yourself having to 'look round corners' to see the edges of frame with it? I've got a DK-17M and find I can't see the edges of frame in the viewfinder without shifting my eye/head position from side to side. Do you find the same thing happens with the DK-17C +2?
 
Thinking of buying the Nikon 70-300f4.5 lens but have just seen an advert for the Tamron 70-300, quite a bit cheaper.
Any one use the Tamron if so what is your opinion of it.
 
swiftflo said:
Thinking of buying the Nikon 70-300f4.5 lens but have just seen an advert for the Tamron 70-300, quite a bit cheaper.
Any one use the Tamron if so what is your opinion of it.
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Hi, The Tamron lens is good but not in the same class as the Nikon lens. I've used both on my D800.

Hope this helps.
 
Ozei said:
Does the +2 version have the same effect as a DK-17M?

Also, do you find yourself having to 'look round corners' to see the edges of frame with it?
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I have no experience with the DK-17M, but the 17C +2 is not a magnifier. It is like glasses, ground to provide +2 Dioptres for farsighted people like myself.

It is also physically not 'deep' like the DK-17M, it is flat like the original eyepiece. I guess that's why 'looking around corners' is not required with the 17C +2.
 
Ozei / swiftlo - take your discussion away to the classifeds please. Any more discussion of this lens in here, and further infractions may ensue...
 
Bought a d800 recently for a series of commercial jobs. Has anyone else had problems with back-focusing? I've been critical of the D800 for its technical specs in the past (specifically the high mp count which for 95% of my shooting I don't need)but my previous D800 (which i sold after a month) was tack sharp and had no focusing issues.

Haven't had time to calibrate lenses with it yet but from experience, it will take a lot of adjustment to get it even close to an acceptable level of AF. Strangely, in the viewfinder everything appeared in focus when it was out but when it was in focus the VF didn't look as sharp. :bang:

I've had similar issues with the D4 but no problems whatsoever with the D3s/D700 using the same lenses. The issue seems to be exacerbated at certain distances from subject (shooting primes). I borrowed a friends D4 for a week and doing similar shooting with the same lenses I had no problems at all with backfocusing or softness. With her camera, when it was out on the VF it was out on the pic etc.
 
Cagey75 said:
I think the record button is nicely placed. Or maybe I just got used to it?
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Sorry I should explain further; It's superbly placed, but when you're in stills mode it's a redundant unused button. On the D4 you can assign it to ISO which makes changing it on the fly a simple one-handed job. It's a simple but superb feature on the D4 and I'm surprised it hasn't been added across the range - even in a firmware update.
 
AH righty, I don't use video much, I guess it would a nice option to assign something else there.

The only back focus issues I experienced was with the first copy of the sigma 35mm I purchased. I had it changed and not had any such issues since, any other lens I've tried has been fine also. I've tried about 10 various lenses on it. I currently own 5, 4 primes one zoom.

Sounds more like a lens issue, maybe the older bodies were not showing it up as much?
 
Cagey75 said:
Oh, and turns out it is a print on the brolly, lol. I was a bit sleep deprived last few days and thought it was reflection.
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Phew. I was trying to think of a polite way of raising the other panels on the brolly...... :)

My D800 is off at the menders with a broken latch on the SD slot. Anybody want to guess when it will be back and how much it will cost?

I'm assuming Thursday and £200 :(
 
Haha, yeah, I got a bit excited thinking I'd caught a great reflection! In my defence, Big ben was actually right behind us and we had just passed a red phone booth :D It was an after thought, the image was just a rainy day pic as I was walking, so that would have just been a bonus ;)

£200!! Yikes. Better be more careful with mine, it's had a few close calls.
 
Cagey75 said:
AH righty, I don't use video much, I guess it would a nice option to assign something else there.

The only back focus issues I experienced was with the first copy of the sigma 35mm I purchased. I had it changed and not had any such issues since, any other lens I've tried has been fine also. I've tried about 10 various lenses on it. I currently own 5, 4 primes one zoom.

Sounds more like a lens issue, maybe the older bodies were not showing it up as much?
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I don't think its a lens issue as the same lenses had no probs on my old D800 nor my friends D4 (and that's without calibration). I phoned NPS and they think it might be something to do with Mirror alignment but I'll have to send them both in to be sure. I'm using good glass too. All top range nikon primes and zooms.
 
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decigallen said:
Bought a d800 recently for a series of commercial jobs. Has anyone else had problems with back-focusing? I've been critical of the D800 for its technical specs in the past (specifically the high mp count which for 95% of my shooting I don't need)but my previous D800 (which i sold after a month) was tack sharp and had no focusing issues.

Haven't had time to calibrate lenses with it yet but from experience, it will take a lot of adjustment to get it even close to an acceptable level of AF. Strangely, in the viewfinder everything appeared in focus when it was out but when it was in focus the VF didn't look as sharp. :bang:

I've had similar issues with the D4 but no problems whatsoever with the D3s/D700 using the same lenses. The issue seems to be exacerbated at certain distances from subject (shooting primes). I borrowed a friends D4 for a week and doing similar shooting with the same lenses I had no problems at all with backfocusing or softness. With her camera, when it was out on the VF it was out on the pic etc.
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My D800 back-focused from new in June last year. AF fine tune was always negative and averagely around -12. I found that irritating, but lived with it. Finally, a couple of months ago, with one lens (20mm AF-D) it was beyond maximum -20 adjustment. The body went back to Nikon under warranty and came back forward focusing to an equal extent - Albeit the 20mm lens was now closer to zero AF Fine Tune! I assumed they had set focus to use with that specific lens which wasn't what I wanted! Back to Nikon again after telephone call where they stated that it would have been set to factory focus standards, not to compensate for my lens. After second repair, average is slight front focusing that you wouldn't normally notice. Maximum fine tune over all my lenses at all zoom settings tested is around -10 (70-200 @ 200 short distance) and most are now well within that to the extent that there wouldn't be much point trying to adjust. I found Nikon service department very helpful - Especially the second time around! Fast turn-round both times - Less than 7 days door to door second time!
 
JonathanRyan said:
Usual rule with ERR is that if it happens once, ignore it. If it happens twice, send it to Nikon.

It's a general error fault - technically Err means "something is wrong that isn't covered by any other error code". The reason for the fault is logged in an area of memory only Nikon can access.

Incidentally the thunk is part of the error code. The camera locks the shutter and you ned to press the release hard to free it. When you do this you'll get a thunk and the code clears.

Send it in to Nikon :(

In other news, my D800 is broken. Must be the season. Latch on the SD card slot won't engage. Even duct tape won't hold an SD card in.
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It seems the firmware update has fixed it. Haven't had any issues since and its been with me on quite a few shoots. So fingers crossed it will stay that way. If it happens again I will send it away to Nikon.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Phew. I was trying to think of a polite way of raising the other panels on the brolly...... :)

My D800 is off at the menders with a broken latch on the SD slot. Anybody want to guess when it will be back and how much it will cost?

I'm assuming Thursday and £200 :(
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Well, I lose.

Nikon are unable to recreate the fault. They have had a fiddle, cleaned it, checked all the settings and are sending it back. No charge for the labour and 6 quid for postage :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Well, I lose.

Nikon are unable to recreate the fault. They have had a fiddle, cleaned it, checked all the settings and are sending it back. No charge for the labour and 6 quid for postage :)
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They're unable to fix the broken latch on the door?
 
I think what Jonathan means is that Nikon says the latch still works properly. I assume it's not really physically cracked, but just doesn't work properly anymore?
 
Yes. It's the SD latch. The one that stops the really strong spring firing the SD card out.

Nikon say it works fine. Not back yet so I may have it tomorrow then we'll see.
 
Possibly been a foreign body preventing normal function and it has since been dislodged.
 
arclight said:
Possibly been a foreign body preventing normal function and it has since been dislodged.
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Who knows? I did all the obvious stuff like jabbing it with a penknife and shaking it around a bit. Maybe the courier was less gentle than I was.

Anyway, DPD just texted me so I suspect it will be here tomorrow. Hope it works.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Who knows? I did all the obvious stuff like jabbing it with a penknife and shaking it around a bit. Maybe the courier was less gentle than I was.

Anyway, DPD just texted me so I suspect it will be here tomorrow. Hope it works.
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I bet its that ;).

When I sent my first D800 back to Nikon for repairs I was horrified to see the DPD man throwing the well wrapped box in the back of his van as if it was a ball. :'(:nono:
 
Dont fancy reading through 100+ pages here, so apologies for basic questions...

- Where is ISO performance? 1 stop better than the D700, or even better? On a par with D3s or even better?

- Does this in DX mode give you a 1.5 crop (i.e. at 200mm its 300mm)?

Having a crazy thought of chopping D700 for one!!
 
cambsno said:
Dont fancy reading through 100+ pages here, so apologies for basic questions...

- Where is ISO performance? 1 stop better than the D700, or even better? On a par with D3s or even better?

- Does this in DX mode give you a 1.5 crop (i.e. at 200mm its 300mm)?

Having a crazy thought of chopping D700 for one!!
Click to expand...


I'd say its about the same as the D3 possibly a tad better, certainly not D3s performance and certainly not better :)

Yes it does give you 1.5x in DX mode.
 
If you downsize D800 images to same as D3simages, they're about the same when it comes to noise at higher ISO levels. Otherwise the D3s maybe a stop better, above ISO 2000 or so. The D800 will have the better image quality below.

And yes, the DX crop mode gives 1.5x, there's also a 1.2x mode and a 5:4 crop mode.
 
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