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ScottinPollock's Content

There have been 121 items by ScottinPollock (Search limited from 29-March 23)



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#65022 eBay scammed by buyer? Returned camera scam? Thoughts

Posted by ScottinPollock on 24 October 2019 - 05:45 PM in Beginner Questions

Small numbers, or big?



#65018 eBay scammed by buyer? Returned camera scam? Thoughts

Posted by ScottinPollock on 24 October 2019 - 01:20 PM in Beginner Questions

Just curious... what was buyer's feedback like?



#64970 D-Lighting

Posted by ScottinPollock on 18 October 2019 - 03:01 PM in Beginner Questions

BTW... D-Lighting does (or can) have an impact on exposure, which does affect RAW images, but the result is fairly minor.



#64635 What is happening with my OEM Nikon EN-EL3e batteries?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 03 October 2019 - 04:02 PM in Technical Troubleshooting

Been planning to write an article on this for quite some time. Instead, I posted a video that should hopefully answer any questions you may have.

https://youtu.be/W8gOFNRy_9Y



#64391 Setting manual focus to infinity

Posted by ScottinPollock on 18 September 2019 - 04:13 PM in Beginner Questions

Most modern lenses focus beyond infinity. I have no idea whether there is a valid reason for this, or it is just laziness in the calibration of focus mechanisms.

So the short answer to your question is "you can't".



#64198 Nikon Warranty Question

Posted by ScottinPollock on 06 September 2019 - 05:36 PM in Beginner Questions

If you have opened an issue with Nikon within the warranty period, you're covered... regardless of delays in shipping/delivery.



#64196 Nikon SB910 vs Yongnuo

Posted by ScottinPollock on 06 September 2019 - 04:17 PM in Bags, Tripods, and Accessories

It really is about what you want to do with flash. Any camera mounted flash is going to be less than ideal for just about anything. And IMHO, TTL auto flash is not as consistent as I would prefer.

For what I do, I much prefer one or more manual flashes with modifiers such as umbrellas, soft boxes, and reflectors. It may require a light meter, or a couple of shots to chimp, but once you have it dialed in it will be more solid in manual than TTL.

Given you can pick up two Yongnuo manual flashes and a trigger for under 200 bucks, and light stands and modifiers for another hundred, that $300 investment will give you amazing light compared to an on camera flash.

Of course, if your need is additional illumination in a run and gun scenario, on camera TTL flash may be a better choice even though the end result won't be great.



#63621 Your Best Photo, Week Ending 4 August 2019

Posted by ScottinPollock on 01 August 2019 - 11:06 AM in Mini-Challenges, Member Contests, and Games

An early morning vistor... experimented on with DxO FilmPak (Ilford HPS 800 with sepia/selenium)

earlyMorningVistor.jpg



#63544 Electronics + High Heat = ?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 28 July 2019 - 02:56 PM in Beginner Questions

I'd listen to Peter here. If I had a choice of cooking my gear at 140°F for an hour or two versus having a State or Federal employee mop it down with Clorox wipes, I'd go for the former.

Electronics are good to 190°F+, and LiIon batteries can actually be used up to 140, and stored at 158+.

Have no experience with oil/grease in lenses so caveat emptor in this regard.



#63458 Light Meter

Posted by ScottinPollock on 25 July 2019 - 06:18 AM in Beginner Questions

Can I ask does anyone use a light meter with there equipment. Would one of these give a more accurate figure than the camera?

 

No... and no. Meters were built for film. Digital has ISO variances from camera to camera (despite what the specs say). Couple that with Fstop/Tstop variances in glass and you'll discover that only the camera can get it right as it is the only scenario where the actual ISO and amount of light falling on the sensor are known.

 

Good light meter = Big waste of money. 




#63401 Leaving the VR of lens on as well as the Inside VR on. What consequences?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 20 July 2019 - 04:06 PM in Nikon Z Mirrorless Cameras

You should never use two shake reduction systems simultanious. They will fight each other.


While I can't speak for Nikon, in m43 this is simply not true. Lumix cameras offer a dual IS mode that is at least one stop better when using lens OS with IBIS. The lens deals with XY axes, while the IBIS deals with the other 3. Olympus has a similar situation with some of their lenses.



#63303 d3400

Posted by ScottinPollock on 13 July 2019 - 08:18 AM in Technical Troubleshooting

The stupidity and strangeness that is Nikon, at least for the entry-level models. It is a good thing for the future that Snapbridge seems to be a parenthesis in Nikon history.


Unfortunately, it isn't just SnapBridge. I remember buying what I think was Nikon's first WiFi enabled camera, a nifty little shirt pocketable P&S. On OS X it required an app that used a proprietary kernel extension to communicate with the camera. 6 months later when the next version of OS X shipped (and changed the kext architecture) their app was dead in the water, and they never bothered to address the issue.

A proprietary kext to connect over 802.11g. Wow!



#63300 d3400

Posted by ScottinPollock on 13 July 2019 - 05:19 AM in Technical Troubleshooting

I stand corrected.

Bluetooth is all that is necessary for shutter release (without liveView), and preferred over wifi to conserve power. And, the considerably higher bandwidth of wifi is much better suited for file transfer.

So Nikon decided to include BT, but use it only for file transfer? Wow! Just... wow!



#63297 d3400

Posted by ScottinPollock on 13 July 2019 - 04:43 AM in Technical Troubleshooting

It works with SnapBridge over BlueTooth.
 
I remember something about the removal of the infraRed receiver from this camera... turns out it was just the one on the back. So the ML-L3 will also work, provided you can point it at the front of the camera



#63295 d3400

Posted by ScottinPollock on 13 July 2019 - 01:28 AM in Technical Troubleshooting

I believe your only option is your phone via SnapBridge.




#63233 D810 new user

Posted by ScottinPollock on 08 July 2019 - 02:37 PM in Beginner Questions

Open the folder in Adobe Bridge to sort and cull before editing, move files for editing to another folder.

Yuk... it's no secret I have not been a fan of Adobe bloatware since the early days of OS X. So... if I may offer an alternative to Bridge for culling, and that is FastRawViewer. It is stupid cheap at $20, blazing fast, shows real RAW histograms and hilight/shadow recovery, has a great interface that uses mouse or keyboard, and the developer is amazing regarding bug fixes, camera support, and feature requests.



#63230 D810 new user

Posted by ScottinPollock on 08 July 2019 - 01:13 PM in Beginner Questions

Profiles are in camera processing settings. To the best of my knowledge, you can only assign the exact same settings to a RAW file with Nikon's software (although I have not used Adobe software in many years).

 

I suppose it is a good enough starting point, and Nikon Capture NX-D is a very good RAW developer, and although I find its interface ugly, I got good results from it.

 

But a couple of years ago I stumbled on to DxO Optics Pro (now named PhotoLab). Their vast database of lens/camera corrections, smart lighting, and the best noise reduction I have seen have made it my number 1 tool for post. Their default "Standard" preset is many times all I need.

 

If you're not getting the "pop" you'd like to see in your images using LightRoom, you might want to give their free trial a spin. With that said, millions of folks use LR and get great results so it obviously is doable.




#63207 Why is my lens hood off 10 degrees?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 07 July 2019 - 01:44 AM in Beginner Questions

It is a genuine noname Chinese lens hood with "HB-N106" printed on it.

 

Well... you takes ya chances on Chinese hoods on the 'Bay. I have purchased several which did not fit properly. The good news is the seller will usually refund your money to avoid negative feedback. Then I just try another vendor 'till I get one that is right.




#63202 Why is my lens hood off 10 degrees?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 06 July 2019 - 04:13 PM in Beginner Questions

Is it a genuine Nikon lens hood?



#63200 D810 new user

Posted by ScottinPollock on 06 July 2019 - 12:54 PM in Beginner Questions

Because they are unprocessed. The in camera JPEGs are processed by the camera profile that is selected (which includes sharpening, contrast, noise reduction, color saturation, and more). 

 

But once processed, the data pool that was used by the in camera processing is thrown away, making additional processing quite difficult without artifacts. This is why RAW is most desirable, but does require some work in post. Note that Nikon's software is able to apply the in-camera picture profiles to a RAW image with a single step.




#63135 Aperture Priority

Posted by ScottinPollock on 02 July 2019 - 03:10 PM in Beginner Questions

It is only going to reach f3.5 at 28mm. Any focal length longer than that will automatically close the max aperture down to eventually 5.6.



#63097 D3500 and HSS on Yongnuo YN685N?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 29 June 2019 - 03:08 PM in Nikon DX DSLRs

I'm pretty sure the D3xxx series cameras don't support HSS with any flash unit.

Nikon's long standing practice of disabling software enabled features in entry level cameras to get users to upgrade to more expensive models (but to be clear, everyone does it to some extent).



#63081 Those Articulating View Screens--Well Built?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 29 June 2019 - 06:09 AM in Nikon DX DSLRs

They seem reasonably robust, but have to admit I treat them gently. I can't remember seeing any topics online about problems with them.
 
They have the advantage of a bit more angles and being able to close it to protect it. But with that said, I prefer the ergonomics of the tilting screen.



#63042 D3500 worth it?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 26 June 2019 - 04:06 PM in Nikon DX DSLRs

I have no doubt the D3200 will be better than the Fuji. The big question is whether you will miss the features that were pulled from the 3400/3500. If not, go with the newer camera.



#63033 D3500 worth it?

Posted by ScottinPollock on 26 June 2019 - 11:32 AM in Nikon DX DSLRs

The D3500 will have better image quality and lower noise, but at the cost of sensor cleaning, acc. terminal, audio in, and support for the ML-L3 remote.

 

If you can, look for the D3300, which maintains the above features (they were pulled from the D3400) and has better image quality and lower noise.