Is it my eyes: Hey all.....I have several digital cameras....ok, more than several! I have used a refurb Nikon D50 for over 10 yrs. All is stil good except there is something...

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Is it my eyes

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Jun 21, 2015 13:21:22 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

Hey all.....I have several digital cameras....ok, more than several!
I have used a refurb Nikon D50 for over 10 yrs. All is stil good except there is something developing in the viewfinder....like a silver thread around a part of the pic, almost pulsating. I am guessing the LCD is going OR the picture sensor......eventually.
W/ that in mind I just got a refurb Nikon D3200. So far all is well BUT....I have a Nikon 35mm lens on the camera and I can BARELY SEE THE FOCAL POINTS....when I 1/2 press the button and you see the red focal pt......If the lighting is bad, I can not tell if its central, or off to the side......
My question, are these focal points suppose to be so DARK?...AND SMALL? ALL my other camera have a square in the center that lights up briefly, at least you can see it....these pts are almost minuscule in size.
Is there some adjustment for this? Thanks for imput

Jun 21, 2015 15:19:37 #

JD750 Loc: SoCal

On my Nikons is a setting called focus point illumination but it does not appear to control the viewfinder focus point brightness. I do seem to remember them lighting up briefly. So maybe check that setting.

However I think the message is if you can't see to focus in the viewfinder, then the camera probably can't "see" enough to focus either.

In that case maybe the built in auto-focus assist illuminator should be used or else plain old manual focus.

Jun 21, 2015 21:02:22 #

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Chicopee wrote:

Hey all.....I have several digital cameras....ok, ... (show quote)

I'm sure you know that your viewfinder diopter has to be adjusted properly. If the focus points are difficult to see, you might want to set it to a single center point. At least you will know where it should be!

Jun 22, 2015 02:03:01 #

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Chicopee wrote:

Hey all.....I have several digital cameras....ok, ... (show quote)

I took another read through my Nikon Manual and I would like to amend my earlier post. Take a look and see if you have a setting called "AF Point Illumination". It is in the Custom Settings Menu on my camera.

If you have it, try the different settings under the condition that causes the problem, and see if changing that setting helps.

Jun 22, 2015 04:32:36 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

Thanks JD but I don't find 'custom settings' in my 3200. I have a menu and have set all thats in there, have enen ck'd on line and nothing is saying 'custom'....'illumination'. Perhaps your model is different.....

Which leads me to another thing I've noticed.

There is no aperature wheel when you hit the 'i' button. I generally keep my camera in aperture mode. No wheel. All you tube videos show a wheel that is a visual readout as you change the aperture.....not in mine.

AND....on the shutter readout?...in "S" mode....what I have seen is 1/100 etc....
BUT in my "A" mode mine looks like its in inches....5".....etc.....I have followed this on you tube videos and all are 1/over something not the " mark.........I'm beginning to wonder if because this is a refurb unit, they put different 'inner workings'....smile....
So what am I doing wrong?
Thanks folks.....

Jun 22, 2015 04:36:32 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

Yes I did adjust that in the viewfinder....I did fine tune it a tad after you mentioned it.....I will give that another try....

Having used a nikon D50, canon 350xt the focal pts were more defined, esp the center.

I have also olympus and panasonic 4/3rd and there focal pt is more defined.

I decided to upgrade to the D3200 only because the LCD is larger and my eyes......are not as good!
Thanks

Jun 22, 2015 10:39:28 #

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Chicopee wrote:

Thanks JD but I don't find 'custom settings' in my... (show quote)

Don't know anything about Nikon, but I can help with the speed mode bit. The settings which look like inches are in whole seconds. The example you gave would be 5 second exposure, not 1/5. With Canon, you get 5" for a 5 second exposure, and just 5 for 1/5th of a second.

Jun 22, 2015 11:11:55 #

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Bloke wrote:

Same with Nikon.

Jun 22, 2015 11:45:05 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

Hey folks, thanks for imput..........here's the deal.........
ready?
I got so frustrated I called Nikon. Seems the ONLY SD cards approved to work are Sandisk, Toshiba, Panasonic and Lexar...CLASS 10. No where in the booklet did it mention this so I spent countless hrs of frustration myself and seeking all your help, when this could have been mentioned in the booklet!I was using a Transcend and it wouldn't allow everything to display correctly. So I bought a Sandisk 10/8gig to test this and sure enough, there is the aperature display in the "i" window!!!!
I can't say it has helped by making larger the focal points or the boxes but she did tell me there should be a box, so I will continue to look into this.
Thank you all for taking some time to help me w/ this....and the ' 5" ' thing.........good grief! I always thot the standard view re: shutter was 1/something.........

Jun 22, 2015 12:38:10 #

MtnMan Loc: ID

Chicopee wrote:

Thanks JD but I don't find 'custom settings' in my... (show quote)

You can choose from a couple of modes the format for the I display. It is on the Setup menu on your camera. Choose Graphic Display under info screen.

Nikon refurbs come better than new. There shouldn't be anything that dosen't match your manual. Get the Nikon Viewer or PDFs manual and search for what you need.

Jun 22, 2015 12:47:41 #

MtnMan Loc: ID

Chicopee wrote:

Hey folks, thanks for imput..........here's the de... (show quote)

It will work fine with any card that fits. Class 4 is fine for still photos but you want class 10 for video.

Jun 22, 2015 12:56:14 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

Any of the cards will probably 'work' but they won't display everything.
I couldn't get the aperture wheel to view.....UNTIL I used the SD cards recommended.

Jun 22, 2015 14:00:00 #

MtnMan Loc: ID

Chicopee wrote:

Any of the cards will probably 'work' but they won't display everything.
I couldn't get the aperture wheel to view.....UNTIL I used the SD cards recommended.

I don't believe that the aperture wheel (Graphic) view has anything to do with the image storage card. You must have somehow changed the setting while fussing with the cards.

Jun 22, 2015 14:59:18 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

..........all I did was change the card....no settings. They must have it rigged somehow cause she immediately asked what kind of card I was using then told me it was not recommended by Nikon....gave me the list that would work w/ the camera....and....they.....did.
Thats all I know.
I use all different cards in my other cameras but....this one is different and I suspect probably not the only one.
I'm thinking its like what they have done w/ there batteries....putting a chip in it so no 3rd party batteries can be used.....well now the 3rd party folk have gotten smarter.
I'm sure you know how the game is played....
Thanks for imput!

Jun 22, 2015 16:38:10 #

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

Mtnman....Nikon just sent me this link. While this what they hope we will use, I can tell you that in using something other....all the displays did not work.
Otherwise, I would agree w/ you completely....

https://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/18128

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