Nikon D500 announced with 20.9MP and 10fps!!!

[peroo]

Sten:

Thanks for the info.  Could the AF fine tune be done for different distances, or would it only remember one distance setting?  I might shoot birds between 20 feet and 30 yards, all with same lens/camera combo, so being able to fine tune at different distances would be tremendous.

Thanks

Randy

It was only one af fine tune setting for each lens.

[stenrasmussen]

I wonder if the size/shape of the D500 focusing screen is the same as for D7100/D7200 and/or D300s?

I wonder the same thing. But given the new AF sensor, mirror/submirror and 1.0x viewfinder it may be that the focusing screen is different as well.

[arthurking83]

I'll see if I can mate the D500 with my Holux GPS unit.

That would be awesome!

I use the AOKA bt receiver on my cameras .. but the D800's 10 pin port just collapsed inwards the other week. 
It'd be nice if the native bt could read a bt GPS device.

On the Nikon website somewhere I noted that there was a marketing material created that specified that location data could be embedded via this bt connection with a smartphone.

This is quoted directly from the Snapbridge section of the D500 marketing blurb:

You can also use the smart device to browse images stored in the camera, as well as embed images with its location and date/time information.

[stenrasmussen]

Another interesting thing about 4K recording with the D500:
If recording to memory card the 29'59" limit will be made up of 10x3min files. Nikon said that the camera automatically keeps recording but the 29'59" session will consist of 10 files. This is of course not the case with direct video out.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

This is a work-around to cater for the 4GB file limit of the file system used on the memory cards.

[stenrasmussen]

Here's how "Automatic" AF-fine tuning works:
On a tripod in good lighting condition, engage LV.
Focus, the press and hold the AF mode button + (halfpress?) the shutter release simulataneously, a message is displayed on the screen, hit OK. The lens is now calibrated (this is how I remember the procedure).
For zooms there is still only one focal length adjustment possible so a best average is all one can do.

[Erik Lund]

Here's how "Automatic" AF-fine tuning works:
On a tripod in good lighting condition, engage LV.
Focus, the press and hold the AF mode button + (halfpress?) the shutter release simulataneously, a message is displayed on the screen, hit OK. The lens is now calibrated (this is how I remember the procedure).
For zooms there is still only one focal length adjustment possible so a best average is all one can do.

Thanks, that's rather nifty

[David H. Hartman]

That would be awesome!

.. but the goddam D800's 10 pin port just collapsed inwards the other week. 

The 10 pin port collapsing inward is a known problem with early D800(s). If you check you may find there is a "secret warranty" in your region. If you haven't done so already I'd contact Nikon. There have been threads on this problem in various Nikon groups on Flickr. Here are a couple of links...

https://www.flickr.com/groups/1567431@N22/discuss/72157643680808984/?search=10+pin+connector+failure

https://www.flickr.com/groups/1567431@N22/discuss/72157631533186623/?search=10+pin+connector+failure

Hope this helps,

Dave

[Bjørn Rørslett]

For some obscure reasons Nikon designed the 10-pin terminal with just a plastic locking tab on the inside. On some cameras a play could develop eventually to make the tab wear down and thus allowing the terminal to rotate. This would in turn damage the solder points on the inside.

On the camera's first maintenance service, ask the Nikon repair tech to encase the internal part of the terminal in liberal amounts of epoxy.

[Frank Fremerey]

On the camera's first maintenance service, ask the Nikon repair tech to encase the internal part of the terminal in liberal amounts of epoxy.

How comes they always save on Epoxy? Pity!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Can't have enough of that stuff - just make sure they agree it's OK to cover a particular spot with epoxy with later disassembly in mind.

Out of Oslo by now otherwise I would post a close-up of how the port looks on the inside. I have a parts camera ready for demonstrating the terminal issue. (the Nikon techs gave me a D3X in complete deconstruction in a plastic bag - comes in handy when I need to test stuff, for example, whether a modified lens clears the reflex mirror)

[Erik Lund]

Sten:

Thanks for the info.  Could the AF fine tune be done for different distances, or would it only remember one distance setting?  I might shoot birds between 20 feet and 30 yards, all with same lens/camera combo, so being able to fine tune at different distances would be tremendous.

I have newer heard of fine tuning for individual distance for an AF camera / lens set up... I have a hard time seeing where there would be any issue if the inherent design of the lens is ok...

Yes some lenses are better at distance or close up but for the AF to do anything like this is pushing it...

Sure it would be nice with focal length intervals and for an added TC or not

[stenrasmussen]

As it stands now with the "issues of focus accuracy" of PDAF I recommend keeping a small table at hand where various AF fine tune values are kept. This enables a relatively quick way to dial in needed AF fine tune values. Although Nikon has progressed on the issue, AF is still a bit confused when incandescent lighting prevails resulting in (typically) back focus. I've tried Focal and other devices but in the end knowing your camera/lens combo is the best and quickest way to deal with focus inaccuracy.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Well, my D800 had this kind of issue where many of my fast primes required a different AF fine tune setting to get good results for different distances, this was a major pain. Nikon adjusted the camera and that didn't affect this characteristic. I then later on moved to D810 and this problem is largely absent now, as is the problem of wavelength dependent AF error. This latter Nikon actually acknowledges and advertises having been fixed in the D810 and the newly announced cameras.

I don't know what the cause of the problem was but it was not a small effect, it was considerable. Since it occurred on several lenses and seemed particular to one camera I didn't take the lenses in.  However, I think this is something Nikon should sort out internally; it gets very complicated if you have to do AF fine tune settings for different focal lengths (the effect many not be linear between wide and tele ends of a zoom) and distance.

I find that in the lenses I've purchased in the last few years and newer bodies there are fewer problems and focus problems seemed to peak at 2004 (D70, yikes!) and 2011-2 (D7000, D800) and nowadays my kit works very nicely, even though I still have to fine tune some of my fast lenses. I'm happy to see some automation in the latest bodies for fine tuning.

[tommiejeep]

Sten , Peroo,
Many thanks.  May not be quite there yet but looks a step in the right direction  .  I'll see how you guys are using it once you have them.  I'm with Erik on wanting the zooms to record FLs.

 Ilkka, I've noticed with the Df and D750 the problem is not nearly as pronounced.  My D7100 is a bear and I bought it just for long distance.  I think I have it dialled in and get very sharp then shoot at a substantially different distance and not there.  Not sure Nikon can do much about it.  I try to tune for a median distance and then hope .  TCs also make a difference.  At one point I had two 1.4 E II and two 1.7 E II and had them marked for individual lenses but that was with the D300/D300s/D3s.  At those MPs it was not as big of a problem when I look back at images. I now often shoot the D300s instead of the D7100.

Tom