Hey guys, I am renting the D3S for a wedding this weekend and the time i have spent with it makes me want to buy one even more! However I was shooting a sunset tonight and doing a lot of handheld stuff and I noticed that even though I was in Manual mode and set it to say 1/50th @ f5.6 I would take a some shots but when would chimp em for a sec when I went to take more shots the settings were at 1/800th @ f/(random stop) or other settings that I didn't choose. Which though it wasnt a big deal I am not extremely comfortable with that for a wedding. I also noticed that when I am in P mode sometimes it refuses to let me change the aperture with the thumb dial. Usually it is fixed by switching camera on and off or changing modes though so its not THAT big of a deal but yeah I am just curious. Oh and when I use the 105mm f/2.8 VR lens many times it wont let me change the aperture any faster then f/3-4, is that a lens error or something to do with the VR? I have never owned a VR lens nor have the time to properly research all this stuff before the wedding or else I would do some more digging...
I haven't memorized the manual(slash novel!? dang haha) but I basically changed all the settings so they matched(as best as I could) my D7000 and it seemed to be pretty close. So I don't know if this is a faulty body or something...
Anyone got any clue regarding my issues? Also the battery they sent me has an age of 2, does anyone know how many shots that will capture before it dies?
If you are in M mode on the top dial, there shouldn't be any changing of the settings unless you are doing it.
I wouldn't worry about a battery indicator of 2, I have a couple with that showing and I can shoot for a week on them doing assignments.
Matt
BTW the issue with the 105 is normal once you get inside a certain focus distance on it, it won't stay at F2.8, when I had mine that always threw me off.
Yeah I thought I was doing it but I never touched the dials(unless all it takes is a touch) enough to change it from 1/50th to 1/1250th... I will hopefully have some more time to play around to see why it changes so much. Any idea why in P mode it wont let me change settings?
Thanks for the info on the 105, its a beautiful lens that I wish I could keep a little longer hahaha
Make sure you aren't in too dark of an area, and your ISO is too low. I think once it gets to a point it won't let you change it because it can't change the other to keep what it thinks is an acceptable shutterspeed/aperture.
Crank the ISO way up and see if it will let you . Maybe even point the lens at a light.
P-Mode, yes its Professional mode right?
I honestly had been in manual mode or at least Aperture/Shutter priority and though I enjoyed it, after watching Joe Buissink's workshop at creativelive I switched my views and shooting. I am quick at manual focus but compared to Pmode i cant think that fast. For an example I am shooting the bride in her room getting ready with a window in front of her and i am getting great shots of her, but then her father walks in behind me with a completely different lighting situation I am not fast enough to get that first second or two of his expression...
So yeah unless I am shooting landscapes or certain portrait photography I am Pmode all the way(never thought I would hear myself say that or see myself type that...)
Ok last main issue that I looked through the menus pretty closely and couldnt find it... Image rotation, I found the setting that rotates it in the camera, but I want it where it stays normal in the camera but when imported to lightroom it auto rotates it. I know I could do that in my D7000 but I just don't know if it is a function that wasnt available on the older cameras...
Steve Brandt wrote:
P-Mode, yes its Professional mode right?
I honestly had been in manual mode or at least Aperture/Shutter priority and though I enjoyed it, after watching Joe Buissink's workshop at creativelive I switched my views and shooting. I am quick at manual focus but compared to Pmode i cant think that fast. For an example I am shooting the bride in her room getting ready with a window in front of her and i am getting great shots of her, but then her father walks in behind me with a completely different lighting situation I am not fast enough to get that first second or two of his expression...
So yeah unless I am shooting landscapes or certain portrait photography I am Pmode all the way(never thought I would hear myself say that or see myself type that...)...Show more →
I don't understand what P will do for you that A won't, except confuse you with random f-stops and shutter speeds.
I shoot 75% M and the rest A. Haven't fired a single frame in P I don't think.
If you are in "M" mode, you should be in full control of aperature and shutter speed. If you are getting "random" settings, exposure bracketing could be activated. The last person who rented the D3S could have turned it on and never turned it off. Bracketing doesn't get turned off when the camera is powered off. If you aren't sure how to deactivate the function, do a two button reset. That will deactivate bracketing.
The "P" mode on the D3S is basically Auto on other cameras. The D3S will determine the settings to obtain the proper exposure. "Flexible Program" allows you to change the f/stop or shutter speed and the D3S will do the rest.
I don't think it applied in this particular problem but you can set Manual mode and allow auto ISO sensitivity to adjust exposures automatically. The shutter speed stays fixed for the motion stopping that you need, the aperture stays fixed for the DOFthat you need, and yet you still get correct exposures. Better than P mode because you retain more control within the ISO range of the camera.
More likely the OP's problem was that he accidentally moved the controls that affected the shutter speed and aperture after the metering had timed out, whereas before it times out those controls could be used to select a different AF sensor. Or, he could have been using them to select different I images while chimping but if the review times out then they affect exposure instead. Or, he could press the play button to activate the review mode and start scrolling around only to find that because the camera was already in the automatic review mode, pressing play cancelled the review mode and changed the response of the command dials.
The D3s allows those timers to be tweaked in a way that a new user may not be familiar with.
