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  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Just so nobody wonders

Dierk Haasis

pro member
... if no Nikon users are here. Yes there are. Well, one at least, me. Either we don't have much to talk about our gear or I am the only one.

Anybody else hoping for a nice firmware update to include all of what is possible through software from the D2xs to the D2x? I especially ike to have the new definition capabilities for the FUNC button.
 

Joel Schochet

New member
Hey, Dierk, I'm here!

I've never had a problem with the HSC corners being highlighted; but I think shading the outside area is an improvement. I wonder if a firmware upgrade can do that. I love the screen on my D200; but I'm pretty sure a firmware upgrade could NOT do that.

I have not looked at the new definition possibilities for the function button. I've always had spot metering on mine. But now you've got me interested. So... Thanks!

Joel
 

Josh Liechty

New member
I'm a Nikon user... I only have a D200 and beat up D1 (purchased used) for backup (actually, it was my primary DSLR until the D200) and a meager collection of Nikon and Tamron lenses. It's enough for now, though, as I am certainly the limiting factor in the quality of my photography!
 

Dierk Haasis

pro member
Joel Schochet said:
I've never had a problem with the HSC corners being highlighted; but I think shading the outside area is an improvement.

[...]

I have not looked at the new definition possibilities for the function button. I've always had spot metering on mine.

When I read the new specs the new shading was the one thing I didn't go for, I really like the D2x way [had to leave out the genitive-s for clarity]. Only later when I saw Rob Galbraith's extensive preview it dawned on me that both ways have their merits. While the red blinking corners work very good in low light but not so good in bright sunshine, with the new paradigm it is exactly the other way round.

Would be good to have both but this is surely a hardware implementation. Nikon may actually be able to put this mask into the D2x on a regular inspection.

The FUNC button can now be programmed for two functions, one is invoked by simply pressing it the other by pressing and turning a command dial, IIUIC. That way one could put in the flash value lock and the crop-mode; currently I use two different banks for this.

Most of the new features - not the mask, not the wide angle LCD - should be implementable via FW update. Nikon, however, haven't said anything for or against it, yet.
 

sdai

New member
Although I mainly shoot with a Canon right now, I always preferred joining the discussion with Nikon guys. Glad to see you guys around, Dierk, so this is our place on the web? cheers!
 

Dierk Haasis

pro member
Hah, just as I thought: Rob Galbraith's reports on a news in a Japanese Web magazine (RBB Today) that Nikon is working on the very firmware update I hoped for. Nothing more than rumour, yet, but promising.
 

Dierk Haasis

pro member
Reinhard Pfaff said:
[...] only 34% of the professional digital camere users were using Nikon. (Canon is 47%).

Should give Nikon something to think about. It cannot be that hard for Nikon to improve upon some vital elements leading photographers astray: better quality control (first series almost always having problems?), better supply (months after officially hitting the market cameras or lenses are still not available in volume?), better service and support (at least the top-range pro and semi-pro cameras should come with better suited software).

Let's not forget that Canon's marketing department is very good, they easily surpass Nikon's advertising and special contracts with agncies or newspapers and magazines. And Canon has the dough to spend, not necessarily from camera and lens sales; bet office equipment brings in much more money than highly specialised optical equipment for laboratories.
 

Michael Tapes

OPF Administrator/Moderator
While not meant as a Nikon bash, let's also concede that Canon has done a superlative job with their noise control at high ISO. if the D200 had the same noise levels as the Canon cameras, I would definitely own one.

The D200 has so much to offer over the Canon bodies (auto-ISO is enough for me!), but then again the Canons have their advantages as well. It is great to have both companies fig thing so aggressively for the market. It only helps us as photographers, no matter which camp we are in.
 

Kjeld Smed

New member
Dierk Haasis said:
... if no Nikon users are here. Yes there are. Well, one at least, me. Either we don't have much to talk about our gear or I am the only one.QUOTE]
Hi Dierk,

Sure, we have lot´s of Nikon users here.
I have the D2H and I´m happy with that workhorse. Just sold my old D1.

Concerning Firmware updates take a look at history:

D1 No updates . Hardwareupdate D1H
D1H No updates
D1X Update by Nikon- bigger buffer
D2H 1 update- Not much:Meny changes. Hardwareupdate D2Hs
D2Hs No updates
D2X No updates . Hardwareupdate D2Xs

Just as I recall the updates at this moment but any new policy are wellcome.
I would like a Firmware update for D2H with more substance than the one mentioned.
Kjeld
 

Joel Schochet

New member
Dierk Haasis said:
Hah, just as I thought: Rob Galbraith's reports on a news in a Japanese Web magazine (RBB Today) that Nikon is working on the very firmware update I hoped for. Nothing more than rumour, yet, but promising.

Dierk,

Thom Hogan also reports that Nikon has said that the non-hardware features will be availabe in a firmware upgrade. www.bythom.com

While Nikon is updating bodies (and Thom believes a replacement for the D70s is in the works), I wish they would udpate some lenses. We've seen a glimpse of a new 70-300 AFS VR, but I would love to see them add AFS to the 80-400 VR. That is one lens I know I would get. But I'm getting blue in the face from holding my breath. ;~)

Joel
 

Dierk Haasis

pro member
See see, Mr Hogan changed the wording; IIRC, originally he had written that Nikon has not said anything about firmware upgrades.

As you point out, Nikon's lens roster lacks a bit lately. I am not sure if it was Thom Hogan or Björn Rörslett looking into the lens line and finding that some of the more interesting lenses have been discontinued with no (announced) plans to supplant them with new designs. At the same time Nikon's new 'haste' to come up with new camera bodies - even with only minor changes - shows they have learned a lesson from Canon and the computer industry: customers are lured by the label 'new'.

I am not quite sure if it is unfortunate that Nikon looks more to the consumer market than to the amateur and pro segment. Let's not forget that the market is still changing rapidly, digital imaging already annihilated many traditional photography companies in favour of electronics specialists. Let's see what Sony brings to the market, with their expertise in electronics and marketing and Minolta's history and developmental team they oculd be on to replace Nikon from second place ...
 

Lisa Nikodym

New member
Hello all -

Brand new forum member here, and another happy Nikon user (D200, plus a D70 converted to infrared, with a 18-200 VR lens I switch back & forth between the bodies).

I met up with a group of ~10 local photogs yesterday, and, other than one expensive MF setup, everyone but me used Canon.

I've never followed the crowd... ;-)

Lisa
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Lisa,

Welcome to the forum! I looked at your pictures. I enjoyed your photography. The pictures in Turkey, were they scanned from film? I tried to click through to more. Am I doing something wrong?

I do hope that you will bring with you a strength in images and an ability to increase our Nikon forum presence.

I think it is so important that Nikon users have a strong place here. We need Nikon even more than Canonians need wide angle lenses!

Asher
 

Mike Funnell

New member
Hi Lisa.

I think you'll enjoy the forum. It has a different "flavour" to the others I've seen. I think you'll like the taste.

Asher Kelman said:
I think it is so important that Nikon users have a strong place here. We need Nikon even more than Canonians need wide angle lenses.

So true. We (collectively, though I'm in the Canon camp) also need Olympians, Pentaxicals (??) etc. etc. I think that in these early(ish) days of digital there are a number of experiments in all sorts of areas, so whichever system you're with "the competition" is bound to drive you towards better technology as different players come up with ideas that work. Note, for example, Canon's recent adoption of sensor cleaning (idea from Olympus) and Pentax adopting the KM/now-Sony approach to image stabilisation.

And Sigma (et al) may even provide some wide angles where Canon hesitates to tread. I like it when good companies come out with good products that advance the art - whether its Canon's CMOS sensors, or Nikon's wonderful feature/function package with the D200 (and 18-200VR!), the price-point attack from the Pentax K100/K10 line or the Kodak/Leica sensor for combatting angle-of-incidence vignetting.

Whatever happens, we as photographers will get the benefit downstream.

...Mike
 

Lisa Nikodym

New member
Hello, Asher et al -

Re your questions on my web site: Yes, the Turkey pictures are scanned film from an earlier trip; before I got my D70, I used a Canon SLR with negative film that I scanned myself in a desktop film scanner. I'd never go back to film, though - between having histograms, no grain, and no endless time scanning, digital has been a *huge* win for me.
Did you find the three Turkey photos from the "Click here for new photos" link? There are plenty more photos if you go back up to the top-level page and click on the photos from the individual regions. Then you'll get pages of thumbnails that you can click on to get larger versions (and then use your browser's "Back" button to get back to the thumbnail pages). It's not a very fancy web site - rather than using any software package, I wrote the html code from scratch, learning html coding as I wrote it. The current crop of "New Photos" isn't very interesting, IMO; I just got back from a trip to Switzerland a week or two ago, and a much better batch of Swiss photos will be likely showing up in about another month or so. :)


And thanks for the welcome!
Lisa
 

Brian Simonseth

New member
HMMM

Im a Nikon user (x2)

Sprint Cars is my game

DSC_0130Custom.jpg
 

Dawnne Gee

New member
Another Nikonian

D2X, D70, D100 here, with various lenses. Nikon is all I use for digital. Hopefully a D200 or D2Xs on upcoming budget. I almost didn't get my D2X back from my assistant when I let him cover a mini-shoot a while back....
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Lisa Nikodym said:
Hello, Asher et al -

Re your questions on my web site: Yes, the Turkey pictures are scanned film from an earlier trip; before I got my D70, I used a Canon SLR with negative film that I scanned myself in a desktop film scanner. I'd never go back to film, though - between having histograms, no grain, and no endless time scanning, digital has been a *huge* win for me.
Did you find the three Turkey photos from the "Click here for new photos" link? There are plenty more photos if you go back up to the top-level page and click on the photos from the individual regions.

And thanks for the welcome!
Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Did I miss answering you? Well I am going back to your website to look at the rest of your turkey pictures. I have a whole buch to scan. The Turks really are amazingly honest! Many times we were about to give the worng bank not for a taxi or to buy some small thing and we would be politely told that this is the wrong bill ad we were reshown the differences between things that looked so similar. I guess oone has to count the number of zeros.

I can't remember excess money being so readily returned anywhere else!

We're so happy to see the Nikon community increase. Not only that, it's the quality of work that is impressive.

Asher

BTW, what flatbed scanner do you use and software. Do you scan in one go or do one for highlights, shadow and combine?
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Charles Stirling said:
I'm another member who uses Nikon, D2x and for underwater a D70. Just haven't had Nikon specific issues of late.

Charles what case do you use for the underwater and do you use flash too? Also can we see your pictures?

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Brian Simonseth said:
HMMM

Im a Nikon user (x2)

Sprint Cars is my game

DSC_0130Custom.jpg

Brian,

I'm bad! Another treasured Nikonian that slipped pass me!

I like the speed shots. What about the riders?

A belated, "Welcome!", glad you're here!

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Dawnne Gee said:
D2X, D70, D100 here, with various lenses. Nikon is all I use for digital. Hopefully a D200 or D2Xs on upcoming budget. I almost didn't get my D2X back from my assistant when I let him cover a mini-shoot a while back....

Hi Dawnne,

Greetings to South Dakota from Los Angeles! What do you use for non-digital and is this you working time occupation?

Why is it that Nikonians seem to slip by with stealth, bypassing the jealous eyes of the Canonintes and come straight here? Don’t do that! Please! We like to welcome you too!

Glad you joined. This is a special community that cares about everyone getting the image in the in mind to a final print. We discuss everything from lenses, of course, to photogWe hope will enjoy every bit of it!

This goes especially to Nikon users. I see the growing strength of the Nikon group as an important reflection of the healthy invigoration of Nikon by the latest very capable and economical cameras and a benefit to our community.

Asher
 

Dawnne Gee

New member
Hi, Asher.

Well, truth told, I really don't do film much anymore. An old Nikon F3, when the mood strikes me or when someone's got really nice film on sale for cheap (g'bye Kodak!), but I've been a PhotoShop guy since the mid-1990's, so I find MUCH more processing flexibility with digital than I do film. Plus, no more stinky chemicals around for the kids to knock over....

I do photography professionally (weddings, portraits, events, sports, nature). Got my first "opportunity to excel" back when I was doing some Internet-server programming for an ad agency and their lead photog walked out on them in the middle of a shoot about ten years ago. Having miraculously passed muster on that, I decided to stick with it, and eventually went full-time photography when we moved to South Dakota in August 2004. The programming gig as a freelancer was getting more and more "can you fix our crappy code", anyway. I actually started shooting back in the mid-1980's as part of my responsibilities for a forward-area reconaissance team in the US Army.

All of which makes for a relative non-conformist who occasionally responds acerbically (but with all due respect) on public forums....

I think we (Nikon shooters) sneak by with stealth, bypassing the jealous eyes of the Canonites because everyone wants our glass. And if my 18mpx DSLR only looked "about as" resolute as a 12mpx Nikon DSLR, I'd sure hate for some Nikonian to be rubbing it in all the time. ;-)

Darn, I said that out loud. Sorry. :-D I won't mention that all my old Nikkor lenses work just fine with my digitals, either.....

Okay, okay, sometimes I have to tweak the files a bit.

Sorta.

Actually, I think we're all slightly embarrassed, in this bizarre political climate of the past few years, with how much money goes to Japan on our behalf. And I don't know that on the professional level, Nikon will ever equate to latter portion of "capable and economical". Still, I have no desire to dump over a decade's worth of Nikkor lens-snatching and start all over again.

Literally everything I've learned has been by trial-and-error, so if I can be of any assistance to anyone, do let me know. As a rule of thumb, I roll over the number-sequencing on each new camera before I ever use one for a client. I seriously hope to learn here as well. Most of my other forum participation is on the programming and software-development side of the house. Browsing through here over the past couple of evenings, I'm pleased to see what a nice group of non-flame-baiting people you all are. Please don't take my little Canon digs as well....canonical. To be perfectly honest, I originally went Nikon DSLR instead of Canon largely because of how they fit in my hand.
 

Louis Doench

New member
also a Nikon User

Also a Nikon user w/ D1x. Although if I were going digital right now, I'd prolly go back to Pentax, the K10d looks tasty...
 

Howard Leigh

New member
Nikonians galore

Greetings and salutations to all Nikon users. I'm new here.

I have a D80 with Nikon 18-200 VR, a D100 with a Sigma 18-125, and a SB800 flash. I'm also lucky enough to still have a working Coolpix 995, and access to a CP 4500 and a CP 5400.
My son also has a CP 4300, but my daughter sadly went for Canons.

I am a (semi-retired) teacher of photography, after a career teaching maths and science. My job is wonderful, my students are adorable! And Friday we're off to Paris to take 100s, no 1000s of photos and enjoy a great Capital city.

My homepage is
http://www.howardleigh.me.uk
and the School site is (still being reprocessed!)
http://www.cdarwin.com

Howard
 

John Brewton

New member
I have a D200. Probably the best ergonomics going today. The only time I go into the menu is to format the card. It's still too heavy, though. I'll probably sell it soon to assist in buying an M8 if Leica ever gets all the bugs out. Of course now with their dropping the DMR it makes me wonder if Leica will still be around in a year or so. As an old rangefinder shooter the appeal of a digital rangefinder is attractive.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Hi, Asher.


I actually started shooting back in the mid-1980's as part of my responsibilities for a forward-area reconaissance team in the US Army.

That soundsscary but exciting. I'd be always in fear that the enemy would steal my camera!

I think we (Nikon shooters) sneak by with stealth, bypassing the jealous eyes of the Canonites because everyone wants our glass. And if my 18mpx DSLR only looked "about as" resolute as a 12mpx Nikon DSLR, I'd sure hate for some Nikonian to be rubbing it in all the time. ;-)

I'm interested in learning more of the Nikon "Stealth" factor. Is this uniquely your own feeling or is this idea held by others. I'm not challenging it, but I'm fascinated to know.

I have never longed for Nikon glass, since ASFIK, Canon works as well, except wide angle. The speed and integration of flash, however, is impressive.

And I don't know that on the professional level, Nikon will ever equate to latter portion of "capable and economical". Still, I have no desire to dump over a decade's worth of Nikkor lens-snatching and start all over again.

This I didn't understand!

I'm pleased to see what a nice group of non-flame-baiting people you all are. Please don't take my little Canon digs as well....canonical. To be perfectly honest, I originally went Nikon DSLR instead of Canon largely because of how they fit in my hand.

Thanks! We've tried to establish a tone by example and this has set in as our culture here. Partly because we use real names and are accountable. Then because there's no rude confrontations, we can discuss the actual pictures.

All in all we are about sharing excpereience on the getting to a fine picture to deliver and for people tro be utterly impressed with. Our challenges are part of this.

We could care less what gear is used, unless it is relevant to the process or opens up new possibilities.

We especially want to support the widest sources of imaging, from Minox to LA. from Platinum to Polaroid and all the Digital that can be found.

Nikon is one of the mopst important camera companies providing industry leading inventions and putting competitive pressure to drive forward choice of great cameras.

We're delighted to have an we treasure every single experience you share.

More so, we overjoyed to be greeted with Nikon images. So post all you can! Also if you have RAW files to share, contribute to our Library.

I myself tested a D2H and was knocked over by the beauty of the 60mm Macro with the ring flash as an integarated system.

Asher
 
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