larryepage Loc: North Texas area

First and most important...like my last post, the purpose of this one is not to make anyone feel put upon or to feel that anyone is being judgmental. So please be nice with your responses.

In that post, I said that if I had to select only one camera, I'd pick my D500 over my D850. I also acknowledged several times that I wasn't 100% comfortable with that choice, but that there were several reasons for the choice. And based on those misgivings and comments from some folks, I've been seriously considering that choice. In the course of doing that, I've learned some things that not only have been helpful to the choice, but have motivated me to do a better job of not only learning, but also trying and using, the capabilities of those two cameras. Things that surprised me have prompted me to raise this question.

Photography is clearly intended to capture history or create art. Content and representation are clearly the goals. But it is necessary to understand the craft and the materials in order to create the best result. In the world of digital photography, the camera and lens not only is the center of the craft, but since we no longer use film, the cameras in particular have also assumed a large part of the role of the materials. That means that knowing how to use them to best effect defines much of how well the final result can be captured.

It's important to understand that I consider myself to be pretty fluent in the usage of my cameras. I have not found the manuals to be "garbage," as some folks think. They are, though, very comprehensive, containing tons of information about a lot of different capabilities and functions. With apologies to some of our distinguished members here, I've found them to be better than outside books for learning "everything," since those outside books so many times focus on functions important to the author(s) and ignore those functions which the authors may find not useful or which they may not yet fully understand. They usually do lack context, simply because there is no space for it in a manual that is already 400 pages long. So my approach is to have the manual handy, but to start from what I already know and to have no fear around pushing buttons and turning dials. It works very well for me, but it doesn't always guarantee that I touch on everything. That's really OK, because it means that there is always something else new to learn.

Anyway...I've been doing a lot of "backyard workshop" activities during this time that getting out and about is not as easy or as smart. Earlier, I was working on composition for flower pictures, then working on metering choices (matrix vs center weighted vs highlight weighted...I still don't use my in-camera spot meter). The last couple of days, I've been working on late-evening shots and using Exposure Compensation to improve golden hour and blue hour initial exposures.

Now remember...a lot of my exposures get used as JPEGs and I also have LightRoom set up to use "As Shot" parameters as my starting point when I do edit raw images, so having the best capture is important to me. (Of course, there are exceptions, like capturing night sky images with low contrast so that a usable image is available for presentation on the rear LCD.)

Here are some things that I have learned about my D850 during my intense investigation comparing it to my D500:

--Live View by default will attempt to display a viewable image even in lowest light situations.
--Live View by default displays an image based on the camera White Balance setting
--Pressing the "i" button while in Live View provides directly adjustable access to a number of parameters.
--Pressing the "Info" button while in Live View provides access to a number of other adjustable parameters.
--"i" and "Info" interact with each other. Be aware of that if some functions seem to mysteriously disappear.
--Pressing the "OK" button while in Live View displays an image based on exposure settings as set.
--Pressing the "OK" button while in Live View displays the 'match needle' metering view, including EC.
--Pressing the "Image Lock" button (the Key icon) in Live View provides direct access to Image Control options.
--Focus Peaking is a very useful tool which can help with compressed distance scales on autofocusing lenses.
--Auto Focus works pretty reliably even when it is too dark for me to focus reliably through the viewfinder.

Some of these I knew at one time, others were new to me. Many of these functions can be reprogrammed or adjusted, but I find them pretty useful in their default locations. Most of them have been very helpful in achieving exposures captured well after dusk. The point of this post is to encourage each of us to take some time to learn some of the lesser-known functions of our cameras. Not just so that we can know them, but because they can help us. Each of these little tidbits can help make captures possible (or at least much easier) under specific difficult conditions.

Bottom line here is that most of us can probably benefit from learning more about our cameras. A little at a time is best. Trying to do too much can lead down paths that may be difficult to reverse.

Some of you may be curious where I now am on the D850 vs. the D500. The answer? Leaning more strongly right now toward the D850. (For instance, the D500 does not have Focus Peaking.) But before finalizing the choice, I still have to complete an intensive look at lesser-known capabilities of the D500.

Let's see what new things you might learn.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Just read Steve Perry’s book on the Nikon mirrorless camera’s autofocus system (for my Z6). I thought I knew it all but read it anyhow. I had no idea what I didn’t know!

He has a DLSR version too.

Quixdraw Loc: x

You lost me at live view. I often see my photos for the first time on the computer monitor. I will sometimes check / chimp at the start of a shoot, or at a strange (or expensive to visit) location, otherwise not. I'll file live view next to must use a tripod, can't use a protective filter, mirrorless is the way to go, etc.

BebuLamar

I don't use liveview as i use a DSLR not mirrorless.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I have felt the same way about Live View dating all the way back to my D300s. Turns out, I now realize that was very short-sighted of me. I still don't use it all the time...for one thing, it is a big battery drainer...but now realize that it can be a powerful tool under some circumstances.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Can't imagine what that "power" might be. I had to use quite a good camera without a finder for work for several years. Eventually, I began bringing my own cameras to record the work, even though their loss or damage would have been at my expense. Basically I take lots of photos, the best that I can produce, work to improve daily and leave the philosophizing and theorizing to others. Whatever floats your boat.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Liveview is the screen on DSLRs. Mirrorless users need it less because the viewfinder serves the functions.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I know my camera well enough to verify that it takes a lot of terrible pictures

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Err...

A bit similar but a caveat... The camera takes better images than I do.

BebuLamar

The EVF is the same as live view but enclosed and magnify. All mirrorless have live view any way. I use DSLR because I don't want live view or EVF.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

OK...we've kind of gone off the rails here. The point of this discussion was absolutely not whether to use Live View or not, but to encourage all of us to learn some new details around our cameras while we were limited on other photographic opportunities. I momentarily forgot the extent of one-track minds here and the inability to use specific examples to drive general conversations.

We re probably best off to just chalk this up to my error and retire the discussion. I'll be "Unwatching" and not checking back further.

BebuLamar

My point is that since I don't use liveview I don't care what my camera does with liveview. There are a lot of features on my camera I wouldn't care for. They are there because if I insist that they are not there I would have to go for a more expensive model.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Uh?

BebuLamar

Like the scene modes and the built in flash.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your camera is only as good as you can use it.