Arrival of my D500 (Page 3): Can this "tip" work also on the D7100/7200? Kind of a PITA to have to put the camera down and look at the dial when in poor lighting such as at night.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

CO wrote:

I have a tip for the D500. The video record button to the left and behind the shutter button can be reprogrammed to execute Mode. Mode is in the group of the four buttons on the top left of the camera. It's much more convenient to have it next to the shutter button. You can switch between program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual mode much faster. I did that with my D500's.

Can this "tip" work also on the D7100/7200? Kind of a PITA to have to put the camera down and look at the dial when in poor lighting such as at night.

blthomas438 Loc: Lewisberry Pennsylvania

Enjoy your new D500 I have had mine for 3years, Best Nikon camera I've ever owned. It's dose a fantastic job when I shooting. Never had a problem, I have a D7500 as a 2nd body. Both are great 👍

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

You will love the D500. It would be all the camera I would want if it were full frame. I have one and use it right alongside my D850. It does a few FPS faster than the D850, so it's my Bird in Flight camera usually. It has the same advanced focus system that the D850 does (separate chip dedicated to autofocus). Not quite as good in low light as the D850, but pretty close! As good as it is, it's not full frame, and I love full frame. At least until I can get into full frame digital.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I have my d500 set up for bbf with the AE button set for area mod. The joystick press for group mod and the PC button for single point all set for af-c. I don't need af-s with bbf because when I use single point and let off the pv button it locks focus where it was when I let off. So I don't ever really need to use the mod button.

CO

kb6kgx wrote:

Can this "tip" work also on the D7100/7200? Kind of a PITA to have to put the camera down and look at the dial when in poor lighting such as at night.

I'm not sure if it will work. I have a D7500 which has the same control layout as the D7100/D7200. I will have to look into it tomorrow. I have my D500's set up that way. It's much faster and convenient than using the Mode button on top of the camera.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

CO wrote:

I'm not sure if it will work. I have a D7500 which has the same control layout as the D7100/D7200. I will have to look into it tomorrow. I have my D500's set up that way. It's much faster and convenient than using the Mode button on top of the camera.

Thanks.

tdozier3 Loc: Northern Illinois

gmontjr2350 wrote:

Bought used from KEH Camera

Works as expected so far.

George

Nice. I managed to aquire a new one in March of this year from Adorama. Awesome camera.

old poet

Love my D500, mirror and all!

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

CO wrote:

I have a tip for the D500. The video record button to the left and behind the shutter button can be reprogrammed to execute Mode. Mode is in the group of the four buttons on the top left of the camera. It's much more convenient to have it next to the shutter button. You can switch between program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual mode much faster. I did that with my D500's.

Thanks for that info, CO!

George

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

Thanks everybody for the comments and tips!

I think I will do something, if I can, about that ISO button. It's right next to the EV button...

George

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

luvmypets wrote:

Nice!! Congrats on the new camera and I hope you have many years together recording great memories.

I love Steve Perry's videos and have learned from him. I just wish his books were actually printed. I just don't like ebooks. I know printed books are more expensive but I really prefer them....just one of my quirks.

Dodie

FYI, I take eBooks I want to use a lot, download them in a pdf format, take the pdf to Kinko’s/Fedex to print off in 8.5 X 11 and spiral bind (so the pages can easily lay flat). I do this for the Owners Manuals of my cameras, for example. Costs approx. $15-20, depending on the number of pages.

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

Fredrick wrote:

FYI, I take eBooks I want to use a lot, download them in a pdf format, take the pdf to Kinko’s/Fedex to print off in 8.5 X 11 and spiral bind (so the pages can easily lay flat). I do this for the Owners Manuals of my cameras, for example. Costs approx. $15-20, depending on the number of pages.

No copyright issues, then. I'll bear that in mind. The spiral-bound option sounds good.
Thanks!

George

jimpitt

I have had a D500 for 4 years and quite happy.
However, I STILL have difficulty with autofocus.
Are there any tricks for this amateur?
Thanks.

gmontjr2350 Loc: Southern NJ

jimpitt wrote:

I have had a D500 for 4 years and quite happy.
However, I STILL have difficulty with autofocus.
Are there any tricks for this amateur?
Thanks.

It looks like the AutoFocus is not so simple:
1. AF-S: focuses when shutter button is pressed and locks when focused, take shot. Still subjects.
2. AF-C: focuses when shutter button is half-pressed and continues to focus until shot is taken. Moving subjects.
3. AF-F: Live View use. Seeks focus until shutter button is half-pressed. Battery hog.
4. AF-M: manual focus.
Now that a focus mode has been chosen, we move on to:
1. Single-Point AF: Critical Focus use, e.g., macro
2. Dynamic Area AF: 25, 72, or 153 points. Used in combination with AF-C Mode. Moving subjects.
3. Auto-Area AF: Focuses on closest subject. Prioritizes faces and people.
4. 3-D Tracking AF: Initial focus on a subject, then tracks that subject as it moves. Used in combination with AF-
C Mode. Moving subjects.
5. Group-Area AF: Group of focus points is used as a single focus point, but is less accurate.
Whew...

George

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

Autofocus is tricky - and that is great information from George.
Two things. First pick up Steve Perry's book on Nikon Auto-focus. Goes into pretty good depth on how the systems work and suggestions on what to use and when.

Next - if you are having issues we'd need to know more about the environment. The environment would include what do you have selected on your menus and what are you targets. Also need to know the lighting and aperture. Usually I shoot mid day, aperture wide open and relatively high shutter speeds. My D500 has very rarely let me down, usually getting lost in a flat sky. But when there is good contrast, it is fast. I'll bet in lower lighting, maybe not so fast. Or if I closed my aperture down.

But if you get Steve's book, you will probably get more insight that will help you help the camera.