A D500 owner accuses Nikon of false advertisement of its Wifi function

[Hugh_3170]

This might be an alternative to the lack lustre D500 WiFi function: 

http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,4233.msg65585/topicseen.html#msg65585

[Frank Fremerey]

I talked to many people having used several remote control aka tethering solutions

It all comes down to CamRanger. If I reallly needed this function with Nikon I would put 350 Euros
on the table for CamRanger.

But. I only do it via cable in the studio so ControlMyNikon is my solution.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

A question about Camranger (sorry, not related to the D500 specifically). I'm trying to get a larger screen for easier manual focusing for video applications for use with my DSLRs. I don't at present need the full capability of an external recorder. I am thinking that since with the Camranger, one can use an iOS device for LV, but this works through a wireless connection, is the live view shown on the iOS device screen (via Camranger) really synchronous with the live view on the camera, or would there be a noticeable additional delay?

If the screen is reasonably real time and has adequate resolution for focusing, this would mean that I can avoid for the time the additional cost and weight of an external recorder. One reason I don't want an external recorder is that I would like to have a reasonably light weight screen (my iPhone 6 is 129g, whereas external recorders weight from 300g to 1000g, roughly speaking). Another reason is that external recorders that support 4K through HDMI tend to be larger (7" screen, weight approaching one kg) than HD recorders (5" screen, ca. 400-600g) and of course, more expensive as well.  A HD only  recorder cannot to my knowledge take 4K output and downsample it, and the D5 (or D500) outputs 4K through HDMI when recording 4K. In a way I would like to maintain a smaller and lighter screen (but still bigger than the camera LCD) for focusing, but record 4K internally, and then resize  the video in editing to FullHD so as to preserve a larger tonality (the bitrate is higher in 4K than FullHD, thus there should be more tonal information in FullHD generated by resizing 4K original data). Does this make sense? I have limited knowledge of video but I would like to experiment with it.

Perhaps the FullHD output is sufficient for all my purposes, and should be faster to post-process. In that case, just having a FullHD recorder with 5" would do it. However, I would like to try Camranger as it would allow me to use whatever screen I have in terms of mobile devices, if there is no significant additional lag. Camranger also advertise that the screen can be color calibrated, or this is how I understood it. I read about a green cast in Blackmagic's video assist recorders in user reviews. If there is a delay with wireless transmission of live view, then would a corded setup (connecting the iOS device directly to the camera via a cord and using an appropriate application) work better?

Thanks for any help.

[Frank Fremerey]

Very interesting question, Ilkka.

Only one side note: The live view output seems not to feature the same color and quality as a recorded video stream
or single picture of same resolution. How can I tell? I use my 24 inch screen as VF for table top shots with my Sinar.
To judge white balance I have to take a picture, download and view it on a calibrated computer.

[bjornthun]

My guess is that you would need a specialized/professional video screen that offers focus peaking for video, else I think you are going to have a hard time focusing. AF-S lenses may not be optimized for video AF, and Nikon has no PDAF or dual pixel (Canon) in video/LV mode.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I would be using manual focus lenses for video. Many of the external recorders offer peaking, and according to the manual, so does Camranger.  With AF-S zooms I think I'd lose my hair trying to focus them manually especially if the subject is moving. But higher end AF-S primes and true manual focus lenses should be easier.

[bjornthun]

I've seen that Nikon Ai lenses can have a longer focus throw than their Nikon Ai-S counterparts. Maybe something to look into and see which fits video use best. I think it should be possible to de-click manual Nikkors.

On the other hand, you may be using specialized focus gears designed for video?

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I don't have specialized lenses for video but I have a set of Zeiss lenses with quite good manual focusing movement and reasonably long throw. Only one of them is modern enough to have the de clicking feature. But at least they didn't cost as much as their dedicated video lenses.

The PC 35mm also has a declicked aperture ring ;-) Though I am sure it wasn't designed for video.

[bjornthun]

Have you seen these from Zeiss, http://www.zeiss.de/camera-lenses/de_de/cine_lenses/slr/lens-gear.html
Seems they aren't for the Classic series, but I guess there are third parties who make gears for the classic series.

The 35PC was made in another time.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Well the geared focus systems weigh quite a lot, they're not so practical for me. I will try to manage without.

[David H. Hartman]

From what I've seen and read lately Snap bridge was created as a bridge for young photographer who have little or no experience with a "proper camera" but with cell phone cameras. I'm led to understand that Instagram [does] not offer a method for uploading photos from a computer. With Snap bridge a D500 user could shoot NEF + JPG (small) and have their phone instantly upload the photo to social media sites like Instagram. Snap Bridge was never intended to replace professional WiFi options.

That's my understanding. I scarcely use my cell phone camera and have never visited Instagram or similar sites.

I hope Nikon is successful with Snap Bridge as I now believe it is important to the health of the company.

Dave

[David H. Hartman]

A bit slow but...

Snap Bridge is named as it is because it bridges the gap between a dSLR through a smart phone to social media Websites that only communicate with smart phones.

Dave