Nikon D3400 - The Cupcake camera

[dslater]

No, it is the graininess of the stock screen that breaks up the aerial image to allow accurate focusing. With the limited depth of field of a fast lens the ability of the screen to shatter the 3-D aerial image is critical.

 I see. SO a quick check reveals that while both the F100 & Df have a B type focusing screen, the F100 has a Mark II version while the Df has a Mark VIII version. So does the F100 version of the screen lack the graininess that the Df version has?
  Is the problem with slow lenses the fact that the DoF is large enough that the image doesn't break up quickly the way a fast lens does? Or is it just that the image is too dark to judge?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Mostly the latter. Or, for some very short focal length lenses like the 14 & 15 mm kind, probably the combination.

The 15/5.6 QDC, first Nikkor in the 15 mm class, was notoriously difficult to focus even with the otherwise excellent coarse-grained F2 screens. Thus Nikon provided a special screen, type R, for it. It was excellent with the 15 mm and pretty much useless for anything else.

[David H. Hartman]

I have an R screen or maybe two in a drawer. I'm wondering why an R screen would not work well with any f/5.6 lens? As I understand the R screen it's like the A screen except the slop of the split image rangefinder is lower and the rangefinder base is narrower so it look through the smaller aperture of an f/5.6 rather than looking at the barrel of the lens.

I found an f/4.5 lens like the 80-200/4.5 a bit troublesome as I had to very carefully center my eye in the viewfinder or one side or the other would black out. I didn't use the R screen much except with my 15/5.6 AI.

Best,

Dave

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I used a dedicated F2 body for the 15 mm f/5.6 at that time, so I could avoid swapping screens. Also tried the R camera with  400/5.6, but the centre half of the split image tended to black out so focusing had to be done on the off-centre part of the screen.

[Matthew Currie]

I used a dedicated F2 body for the 15 mm f/5.6 at that time, so I could avoid swapping screens. Also tried the R camera with  400/5.6, but the centre half of the split image tended to black out so focusing had to be done on the off-centre part of the screen.

I had (still have actually) the original 400/5.6 AI, and eagerly acquired an R screen for the F to go with it, and like others, was very disappointed.  The plain ground glass was easier to use. 

[David H. Hartman]

I've never tried the R screen with a 400/5.6 ED AI. Now I won't have to.  I must have tried it with others, shorter but I don't remember. Maybe the R screen is useful for shorter lenses and f/4.5 lenses which give me trouble with an A or K screen.  I got pretty settled on an E screen with most cameras from the F2 to the D2H.

Here is what Photography in Malaysia has to say...

Type R: Same as Type A but with rangefinder prisms of sloping surfaces at a smaller angle and horizontal and vertical lines to aid proper composition. Works best with lenses having maximum apertures from f 3.5 to f /5 6.

If I put a candle on top of my F2 or F3 can I call it a cupcake camera?

Dave

[Akira]

Sorry if someone has already mentioned.

I just realized that D3400 cannot auto-focus with the D type AF-S (like AF-S 300/4.0 or 17-35/2.8 ) or AF-I lenses, even though they are not the older screwdrive AF lenses, according to Nikon website.

[Akira]

It is good that D3400 still make wifi function at all usable.  The wifi function of D750 is virtually abandoned...

I just noticed that D3400 DO NOT HAVE WIFI.  It only has the Bluetooth for its wireless connection, and thus can offer the limited function of SnapBridge. 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The D3400 is essentially the dumbed-down Nikon. What a pitiful evolution.

[Akira]

The D3400 is essentially the dumbed-down Nikon. What a pitiful evolution.

Indeed.  Both D3400 and D5600 are disappointing new products.

[David H. Hartman]

I wonder which camera will be the first to offer a feature by which the picture is uploaded, then automatically deleted in camera?

I wonder which dSLR will offer a built in cell phone so people can drive down the road holding the camera to their head with one hand while steering with the other? 

Dave

[Hermann]

Indeed.  Both D3400 and D5600 are disappointing new products.

Definitely. I see both cameras as a step backwards, particularly the D3400. The only good thing is that I got a D3300 body at a bargain price when the D3400 arrived in the shops, well below 300 €. Also a dumbed-down body, but not as dumb as the D3400.

Hermann

[Akira]

Yes, D3300 has at least the dust shaker.