backdoorhippie Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
After 5 weeks with two separate D500's I've come to the conclusion that the D500 touch screen is a touch too touchy. What I mean is that it is ultra-conductive and will reacts to things on its surface that aren't fingers as if they were. My first clue came when I, as documented elsewhere, came to the conclusion that static-based screen protectors act in a way that leads the screen to believe it is being purposefully touched, so during image review it would remain on until the shutter (or other control button) was touched and the rear screen turned off. This was a rather ignoble end to a month long search for what I assumed was an issue with the camera, but I took my lumps and took off the screen protector.
I then proceeded to shoot with the camera all weekend - without any screen protector - and the rear screen timeout issue continued to occur.
I knew I had experienced this before I added the screen protector to the second body, but I couldn't be 100% certain with the first. But now I know for certain that it's not simply the screen protector that's at issue, it's the screen. It seems that the screen is very sensitive to surface conduction, and it would seem that skin oils - the ones my nose produces in abundance on a humid summer day, in particular - are remarkably conductive. I can start with a freshly cleaned screen and within 10 raises to my face to shoot I've deposited enough oil on the surface to cause the screen to believe there's something touching it, even though I can barely see the oil on it. With Image Review turned on I can use only the multi-selector and control wheels (I don't touch the screen with my fingers) and the image will continue to display on the screen and not time out until I either touch the shutter button to disengage image review or wipe the screen clean. When I do the latter the screen will remain on for the prescribed timeout period and then turn off normally.
So I have the answer to my puzzle and it's not simply operator error. Is there something "wrong" with the camera? Not specifically. But it would be nice to be able to tweak the sensitivity of the screen so that this doesn't occur all the time. Perhaps Nikon may want to adjust the sensitivity in a firmware update down the road even if they can't add a menu option, though I suspect that adjusting it too much would have the opposite effect and on a cold, dry day actual fingers might not be able to affect a reaction (which is why the adjustment would be nice).
The good news for me is that I haven't developed a fondness for using the touch functionality for image review, so I will simply turn it off until I want to use it with Live View shooting where it's a great tool. Minor PITA, but it's nothing like the pain of not understanding why something is happening. I'm going to try and document this in a video this week if I have time, and I'll be contacting Nikon tech support to see if they're aware of this yet. Otherwise, this'll be the last time I mention it lest someone think I'm merely complaining.
|