D810 successor in the pipeline?

[Akira]

The smaller (and thus shorter) mirror indeed allows shorter back focus, and Canon uses this very method to offer EF-S linup which is incompatible with full-frame models.

A DX lens on an FX body would be handy for the video when you want larger DOF.  D750 allows videos of the same formats both for FX and DX formats to choose from.  The problem of Nikon cameras is the substandard AF speed in the live view and video modes.

[chambeshi]

fyi https://photographylife.com/nikon-d820-wishlist

https://photographylife.com/nikons-100-year-anniversary-what-i-hope-to-see-in-2017#more-138420

[Ilkka Nissilä]

EFCS does work with live view (in M-UP mode) and the shutter is open in Live view and doesn't close before the shot is taken if you have EFCS in use (it does close and open after). With the D810 you do need to press the remote release button twice; in the D5 one press does it if EFCS is used in Live View. Still, the point is that the shutter doesn't close and open unnecessarily in either camera. The reason for restricting the user to M-UP mode for activating EFCS is likely that Nikon doesn't want it to be used casually for every shot since there are issues like uneven exposure (with some lenses such as PC-E) and rolling shutter (and possible other issues we may not be aware of) which the user would encounter and possibly complain about if EFCS were always in use.  Tying it to M-UP suggests to the user that the camera should be on tripod and a cable or radio remote control should be used to trigger the shot (with mirror up on the first press) to get the most benefit from EFCS and reduce the likelihood of problems at fast shutter speeds since one typically uses M-UP at relatively slow speeds and tripod. At fast speeds you don't necessarily need to use mirror lockup and so the artifacts of EFCS use at fast shutter speeds are naturally avoided by using other release modes. EFCS might be useful for some hand held photography as well and there it would be useful to allow its use in S mode for example, but then you'd run into rolling shutter etc. I think Nikon's design makes some sense, they are just being careful. It might annoy some though.

And given the history of Nikon's built in wifi, maybe it's best to leave it out of a serious camera such as the D810's successor.

I believe the sensor moving image stabilization causes heat issues in the sensor (there is no way to efficiently transfer heat off the sensor if there is no fixed assembly with large effective heat transfer area) and additional noise. Many cameras who have this type of technology are reported to have additional noise at long exposures at night,  and some user reports suggest the heat during 4K video recording can cause shutdown.

[Danulon]

(...)
And given the history of Nikon's built in wifi, maybe it's best to leave it out of a serious camera such as the D810's successor.
(...)

Such a generalising statement could be misleading.
I heard from D500 users how badly Wifi was implemented in their cams.
On the other hand I couldn't be happier with the D750 style of implementation.

Of course satisfaction with this feature depends on your requirements.
I don't to tethered shooting but I enjoy the ability of my D750 to share some shots quickly via Wifi to smartphone.
I just scroll through the pictures and easily select those pictures I want to transfer via info button.
Upon connecting cam and smartphone by wifi all pictures previously marked for transfer are being sent to the smartphone, couldn't be easier.

For serious editing of pictures I need the RAW files and I wouldn't want to transfer files of that size (RAW @36 MP!) via Wifi.
Did you mean that aspect?

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Such a generalising statement could be misleading.
I heard from D500 users how badly Wifi was implemented in their cams.
On the other hand I couldn't be happier with the D750 style of implementation.

I found the D750 wifi useless to my purposes since it disconnects if the camera is turned off and is turned back on, the connection has to be re-established from the phone (settings / wifi etc.). IMO the connection should be established once and then the devices should stay paired until the user explicitly request disconnection (data doesn't necessarily have to be transferred while the camera is off but it should start transmitting when the camera is turned back on). I don't want to select images to transmit; I need to have the latest images transmitted in the background so I can always show and evaluate them as soon as possible. Furthermore the mobile device should preferably stay connected to the internet at the same time and this connection should not be affected by the connection to camera. If I connect the mobile device to D750 wifi all internet access from the phone or tablet seems to be lost.

I do not need transfer of high resolution or raw files to the phone or tablet; what I want to do is shoot in the studio and display the images at the same time on a larger screen (iPad, 2K images suffice or slightly bigger would be fine, but not full resolution if it slows the transmission) so that I can evaluate the lighting when setting up and doing test shots and also so that the subject or client can see the images with a good display (the iPad retina display may not be calibrated but it's close enough to do this job better than using the LCD on the back of the camera). I don't want a wired connection since my experience is that tripping from cables is more likely than not and it could lead to substantial damage. I just need the connection to be totally transparent when I'm shooting and it must not be disconnected if I turn the camera off for a while.

I have read that Android devices are capable of automatically reconnecting to the phone if the camera power is recycled. However, this doesn't seem possible on iOS devices which is what I use.

Nikon is trying to solve these problems with the Snapbridge implementation where the bluetooth is supposed to stay active and trasmit (if slowly) small images while the camera is off. The faster wifi is reported to be disconnected but since I do not need high res images on the mobile device this would be fine. What's crucial to me is that I don't have to explicitly go to the device menus to reactivate the connection all the time. This totally kills the user experience for me. The images should simply appear on the mobile device while I use the camera normally.

If I want high resolution images then I would  use a laptop and a cabled connection and  inform the people at the shoot how important it is not to touch the cable when moving around at the set at any time. However, I don't typically need to see fine details at this point. I have a Manfrotto digital director which is great for using an iPad as a live view screen (e.g. for video) but I find usability problems with that as well. The camera controls do not work if the digital director is active. With Camranger I find the screen lag to be too long.  None of the solutions for the tethered display I've worked with have been good, to be honest. For camera remote control, several products seem to work well though, but this is not my main interest in tethering. I have not tried WT-6A for the D5. I read that on the D4 the WT-5 connection is not only lost if the camera is turned off, but also if the camera goes into standby mode! (I'm rolling my eyes.)

[Akira]

When I had iPad Air 2, I tried to transfer JPEG files of my D750 to iPad with the Nikon Mobile Uility installed.  I was totally disappointed by their (low) quality.  They suffered from the mosquito noise caused by the excessive compression.  The image taken with my iPhone SE offers noticeably better quality.

The airnef I briefly tried on a Win10 tablet was much better.

[David H. Hartman]

Such a generalising statement could be misleading.
I heard from D500 users how badly Wifi was implemented in their cams.
On the other hand I couldn't be happier with the D750 style of implementation.

Not being a Nikon D500 owner I could be mistaken here but isn't the Snap Bridge WiFi intended for social media where a computer cannot be used to upload images?

My understanding is that for serious WiFi the D500 user needs to use the Nikon WT-7A Wireless Transmitter.

To sum this up the users complaining about the Snap Bridge WiFi are probably trying to use a cellphone like toy implementation for serious WiFi and they need to belly up to the bar and buy the WT-7A.

Dave Hartman

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Not being a Nikon D500 owner I could be mistaken here but isn't the Snap Bridge WiFi intended for social media where a computer cannot be used to upload images?

Yes and no. A computer can be used to upload images on most social media sites i.e. facebook etc., also e-mailing small jpgs is a very common way of privately sharing images meant for viewing on a screen and file sizes often need to be small. The 2K images should be fine for both facebook and e-mail in many cases if the intention is not to print the images.  If the quality is poor then it is a question of Nikon developing its firmware to give proper results.

My understanding is that for serious WiFi the D500 user needs to use the Nikon WT-7A Wireless Transmitter.

I understand but the discussion was about built in wifi and its usefulness in Nikon cameras, not the expensive professional add on wifi systems that Nikon also makes available. WT-7A is also quite large and it seems to require a USB cable on the left side of the camera to operate. "The camera connects to the WT-7A Wireless Transmitter via the supplied USB cable. " This may be fine if the camera is on a stand and used for remote photography at a large stadium but for hand held everyday photography, the cable is likely to get in the way and again if set on a table, it will be easy for someone to accidentally pull from the cable.

The WT-6A offered for the D5 seems a much more sensible option as it uses its own port, doesn't require a cable and is small. Again I don't have experience using the WT-6A but the wireless connection being shut off if the camera goes into standby seems very inconvenient and disruptive, if it is true of the D5+WT-6A as is reported for the D4+WT-5A.

For me the cable free operation is important for safety reasons in the studio. The D810 can  use the WT-5A through the UT-1.  Likely its successor will be able to use the faster WT-6A. This would be something I could consider for studio use if they solve the standby issue (I suppose I could turn the standby timer off while working in this way but I dislike modal operation as the modes tend to be forgotten in the wrong setting). However, this means two additional (expensive) units are needed.

[John G]

With the Nikon Centenary Year and a Centenary being a celebration of a significant event,
maybe with the entry into the second Centenary period, there will be by a surprise offering to surprise us all.
Hoping there are some free models for a few lucky Nikon Devotees.

[BW]

The airnef I briefly tried on a Win10 tablet was much better.

Airnef is the way to go if you fast access to the RAW-files.

[David H. Hartman]

... I understand but the discussion was about built in wifi and its usefulness in Nikon cameras, not the expensive professional add on wifi systems that Nikon also makes available. WT-7A is also quite large and it seems to require a USB cable on the left side of the camera to operate. ...

I just downloaded the manual and the WT-7 doesn't appear to have a tripod fitting?? The manual shows a cable in the side of the D500 and WT-7 in all configurations. These oddities weren't apparent or noticed by me in a quick look at B&H Photo. A quick look at  Nikon USA and again at B&H and there is only one photo of the back of the unit. One would need to find a review of the WT-7 with photos to see more. Not too appealing to me.

Dave

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I just downloaded the manual and the WT-7 doesn't appear to have a tripod fitting??

That would be quite amazing as Nikon advertises wireless remote control as one of the features. How does one mount the camera with WT-7 attached if there is no tripod socket? 

Can someone who has seen the unit confirm this? Thanks.

At least the WT-6 doesn't interfere with tripod use, requires no cable and seems to cost about 50% less than the WT-7 in Finland ...

[David H. Hartman]

Here is a review. The only one on page one of Google...

https://www.truetoad.com/Reviews/ArtMID/414/ArticleID/2172/Nikon-Wireless-Transmitter-D500-WT-7

I haven't read this review, just looked at the photos. No tripod fitting on the bottom. This is what I expected after looking at the manual illustration. This to me is incredible (as in lacking credibility).

Dave

The cable arrangement is really bad. Nikon should re-brand these WT-7(s) and sell them on eBay.

I'm really disgusted and I wish I'd never mentioned the WT-7. I had too much faith in Nikon.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Earlier add-ons for wireless communication to FTP server (for the D2) had a tripod mount ? I feel utterly amazed that such a vital feature is removed.

[Akira]

Just downloaded the manual.  No tripod mount for WT-7.