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Archive 2017 · D850 Ergonomics

  
 
Hillrg`
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · D850 Ergonomics


I'm a long time Nikon shooter that took a 3 year hiatus shooting Canon and Olympus. I bought the D850 and find there is a lot to like but there are still a few Nikon things that could use some tweaking in my opinion.

The ability to customize buttons to specific AF/ON area options is a real improvement. However, the arbitrary selection of options is irritating. Why limit custom options on different buttons? I've always found Nikon's limiting user options to be a little bit patronizing.

The location of the AF area mode button is awkward when shooting with telephotos. That should be a custom option for other buttons + command dial.

I just don't understand why Nikon is still using their banks without sticky settings. There are many settings that cannot be saved in a bank. There is no way to change banks quickly without multiple key presses and taking your eye away from the viewfinder. I like the Canon implementation on the 1DXMKII where each press of the top function button cycles through the custom setups you have enabled. Fast and ergonomic.

I like using the viewfinder level but there does not appear to be a way to turn it on permanently. It can only be activated by customizing a button, and not just any button of course. This means using a custom button that could be doing something else.

There does not appear to be any way to always show EV adjustments in the viewfinder without pressing the EV adjustment button. It's easy to forget you've made an EV adjustment and a reminder in the viewfinder would be helpful.

Peaking in live view is very useful but it only works in manual focus. Why not when the lens is set to M/A? Olympus shows peaking whenever you manually change the focus eliminating the need to flip the focus switch. This would be useful when shooting with super teles.

The implementation of focus stacking is okay, but I would like to choose the near and far focus limits, and I would like to see the previews of each shot on the monitor as the stack burst occurs. You can see it in the viewfinder but in low level setups the idea is to use the tilting monitor. By watching the progress you can choose when to end the stacking sequence.

The implementation of focus tuning requires pressing two buttons simultaneously to initiate. It should be hands free by using the timer to eliminate the shake, which is particularly obvious when tuning super teles with converters.

I'm interested in any workaround solutions to any of these first world problems or setups I missed and any other ergonomic tweaks Nikon should consider.





Oct 01, 2017 at 12:03 PM
Spectro
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · D850 Ergonomics


The one thing I was hoping to do that I haven't found a one button solution to is to change the Image Quality.
My dilemma is this. If I'm shooting a sport like hockey from the rink corner boards with a 70-200 and the play moves up ice I have set up the Movie record button to change quickly to DX mode giving me a FL equivalent crop of 300mm at 19mp. That's great.
The problem is if the play comes back quickly and I want to move back to full frame I don't want to be shooting at 45mp since I will be shooting short bursts. I want to move the full frame down to the medium setting at 25mp. So far the only option I have found is to set a fn button with the top choice of My Menu which I have programmed for Image Quality. It still requires me to make a choice in that setting of which IQ setting I want which is too time consuming on the fly.
This will mean leaving it in DX mode until a break in the action lets me make that change. Not the end of the world but it could result in being in too tight for some shots when the play is in close. My other option is to leave it in DX and use two cameras which is cumbersome when sitting on a small stool shooting through the corner photo hole.

I've only had the camera for a couple days so there may be an option I haven't discovered yet. If anyone knows of one please feel free to share.



Oct 01, 2017 at 02:08 PM
Hillrg`
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · D850 Ergonomics


This is a good example of what I mean by limiting the user options. I don't know of an in-camera work-around for you. I'd be tempted to leave it full frame and crop / reduce size in post. Less to worry about while shooting and you should be able to automate the size reduction and streamline the cropping.


Oct 01, 2017 at 02:19 PM
Spectro
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · D850 Ergonomics




Hillrg` wrote:
This is a good example of what I mean by limiting the user options. I don't know of an in-camera work-around for you. I'd be tempted to leave it full frame and crop / reduce size in post. Less to worry about while shooting and you should be able to automate the size reduction and streamline the cropping.

I understand your suggestion but 500-1000 images from a single game at 45mp creates its own set of workflow issues. I think I’d be better to keep it in crop mode and use the D5 for full frame and just stick to the two camera system. It’s not a deal breaker. I replaced a D810 and D500 with this camera and am very happy with it so far. I just hoped to be able to do as I described previously but it looks like I won’t be able to. For sports the D5 will remain the primary camera.



Oct 01, 2017 at 08:35 PM
arbitrage
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · D850 Ergonomics


Spectro wrote:
The one thing I was hoping to do that I haven't found a one button solution to is to change the Image Quality.
My dilemma is this. If I'm shooting a sport like hockey from the rink corner boards with a 70-200 and the play moves up ice I have set up the Movie record button to change quickly to DX mode giving me a FL equivalent crop of 300mm at 19mp. That's great.
The problem is if the play comes back quickly and I want to move back to full frame I don't want to be shooting at 45mp since I
...Show more

You may be able to do what you want with the Photo Shooting Memory Banks. They are a confusing thing to set up. If the banks can store those separate modes (and keep everything else equal) then you can set the Movie Rec button to swap between the A-D banks with the rear control dial.

On my D500 I can have the banks have different settings for the crop mode and RAW/Jpeg settings so I think it would work. If you want your exposure values to stay the same between the banks then don't use the Extended banks. If separate exposure values are beneficial then turn on Extended banks.

Edited on Oct 01, 2017 at 09:27 PM · View previous versions



Oct 01, 2017 at 09:23 PM
Vinnie_VdB
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · D850 Ergonomics


I wish one day Nikon decides to build their GUI from the ground up and in charge of an experienced UX expert. Nikon, as many Japanese companies, are not that brilliant in designing a GUI that is making sense (not just photography). I wish there was indeed a lot more flexibility on tweaking a button to do what you want it to do and not limiting on what Nikon things is OK.
One day ...



Oct 02, 2017 at 01:03 AM





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