"Nikon D800 drives me nuts

[RalphLambrecht]

I didn't think this could ever happen to me but, my D800 is starting to winagainst me. after giving me a new surprise and delight evewry day,the camera is slowly driving me nuts.it started with thr 'brkt' function':simple enough;push the 'brkt' button and use the two dials to set the #OF frames and the exposure intervals;yeah right;one day it works;the next day:nada;turn it off for a few hours;and it works againf###.; then; sometimes some menues aren't even selectable;today;this happens to be HDR.Apparently,there are better manuals available for purchase;what the heck it up with that.So far,I spent for time learning this camera than using it and it hass been a year.I could blame this on mebut, for some reason,I thought,Ishould be able to handle it;mabe I should get a D600 instead.Or should I hang in thereanh hope that one day human intelligence is stronger than artifical stupidity? Your thoughts,experiences?

 

[Chan Tran]

I still don't understand what you said Ralph! Was the camera malfunction or you didn't know how to use it?

 

[Pioneer]

Don't you know Ralph, you aren't supposed try to out-think the camera. It is supposed know more than you do about taking pictures. You just put it in Program and let it do its own thing.

I jest, but only a little bit. In my opinion it really has gotten out of hand. If intend to control the camera on your own then it takes a very long time to learn what you need to know, and the finer points will almost always require that you have the manual close by to provide a reference.

But...good luck.

 

[Chan Tran]

Don't you know Ralph, you aren't supposed try to out-think the camera. It is supposed know more than you do about taking pictures. You just put it in Program and let it do its own thing.

But...good luck.

Oh I am sure Ralph has no problem using the camera in Program or in full manual. I think he ran into problems when he tried to figure out exactly how the 920,000 point matrix meter does it calculations. He would try to use his trusty Pentax Spotmeter trying to make 920K measurements .................. You get the picture?

 

[Pioneer]

Oh I am sure Ralph has no problem using the camera in Program or in full manual. I think he ran into problems when he tried to figure out exactly how the 920,000 point matrix meter does it calculations. He would try to use his trusty Pentax Spotmeter trying to make 920K measurements .................. You get the picture?

I am quite certain he can. But it isn't often that I get to poke fun at him so I could not resist.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

when I push the 'brkt' button, the display looks nothing like the one in th manual.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I thought 'P'mode meant professional.

 

[Pioneer]

I thought 'P'mode meant professional.

Of course! That is exactly what I meant.

 

[Alan Klein]

P=Pretty Good.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

and M=mess it up yourself.

 

[Pioneer]

And A = Aww Sh...ucks

 

[Hatchetman]

i have a Canon 5Dii. The rigamarole to get to the mirror lock is absurd.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

s=oh you know.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I still don't understand what you said Ralph! Was the camera malfunction or you didn't know how to use it?

mostlikely operator errorbut, my Hasselblad instructions manual has 32 pages;my Nikon manual has several hundred.Isn't that a dead give-away of complexity?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

when I push the 'brkt' button, the display looks nothing like the one in th manual.

it does now!self repaired itself by taking out the battery and left it in the closet for a day; Nikon's equivalent of a cold start.

 

[L Gebhardt]

mostlikely operator errorbut, my Hasselblad instructions manual has 32 pages;my Nikon manual has several hundred.Isn't that a dead give-away of complexity?

Yes, it's complex. But I'd rather have it complex than having to live with bunch of bad decisions. For example I find tying the autofocus to the shutter release to be frustrating. So I now have the camera setup to only focus when I press the AF-ON button.

There are many bracketing modes because there are many reasons to bracket. I'm sure the people doing HDR have different requirements than I do.

Each of these options takes many pages to fully explain.

The Hasselblad 501CM I have doesn't have any automation features, AF or even a meter. So it doesn't need many pages to document it. I love the fact that i can pick it up after a few months and remember easily how to use it. But at times I wish it could do some of the things my D800 can do, especially with the AF for fast moving subjects. But the advantage of fewer features is there is no need to make it do each of those features in several different ways.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I thank you guys for your replies and agree with them.I think,my wife figured it out for me.She stated that the fifference between the two cameras is not the difference in hand books but my romantic relation ship with my Hasselblad.As always;I'm sure she's right.

 

[indigo]

I thank you guys for your replies and agree with them.I think,my wife figured it out for me.She stated that the fifference between the two cameras is not the difference in hand books but my romantic relation ship with my Hasselblad.As always;I'm sure she's right.

Well she knows, the Hassy is much prettier and we all go for the one that is pretty.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Oh is that why the Hassy is kissed more often?

 

[jeffreyg]

A few years ago my children gave me a D300s as a gift. The instruction book that came with it is about 400 pages not to mention the instruction book for the flash. I've got so many pages thumbed down that it became meaningless so I started using post-its with a note sticking out as bookmarks. Fortunately I still prefer film and the darkroom and mainly use the digital for snapshots and family gatherings. with the advances in phone cameras we may soon not need the other digital gadgets.

HOME

 

[Richardk550]

Ralph - I occasionally have problems with my D300 not doing what I've told it to do. The problem seems to be that it gets hit with static (or something) that causes a problem with the camera's firmware. Try re-installing the firmware and see if that doesn't help get what you need.

 

[Chan Tran]

Oh is that why the Hassy is kissed more often?

Yeah but I guess you only kiss the older Hassy not the new H series as they are young but not pretty.