Nikon reduces manuals even further
Dec 17, 2020 13:57:07 #
Z7 II manual half the size of the Z7 I, so basic it even skips the usual 1st section showing all the parts of the camera. Have to use online digital to find out anything more.
Dec 17, 2020 14:00:36 #
Probably if you download the PDF you'll find a manual a few hundred pages long, including all the traditional details and graphics.
Dec 17, 2020 14:01:55 #
Not a smart way to reduce costs. Piss off factor vs real $ savings. Seems to be the norm now.
Dec 17, 2020 14:21:34 #
Dec 17, 2020 14:34:33 #
Gasman57 wrote:
Not a smart way to reduce costs. Piss off factor vs real $ savings. Seems to be the norm now.
Welcome to the twenty first century...Dec 17, 2020 15:28:24 #
Reading manuals on smartphones and tablets is the future. Most of the younger generation don't even want the clutter of hard copy manuals. They prefer manuals that are highly portable, searchable, and can be neatly organized on their electronic devices into virtual folders; the hard copy manuals end up either left sitting in the box untouched or shoved in the back of some drawer to be forgotten.
A few years ago I also wanted printed manuals for all of my gadgets. Now, not so much. They are too easily misplaced.
A few years ago I also wanted printed manuals for all of my gadgets. Now, not so much. They are too easily misplaced.
Dec 17, 2020 15:50:36 #
Dec 17, 2020 18:08:02 #
Why is this a problem? You could probably order a printed one from someone if you want that...they are thick and hard to look through. The online version is so easy to use.
Dec 17, 2020 19:00:43 #
via the lens wrote:
Why is this a problem? You could probably order a printed one from someone if you want that...they are thick and hard to look through. The online version is so easy to use.
What do you mean order a printed one from someone? You mean a third party manual? I never want that.
Dec 17, 2020 19:03:06 #
I've had several excellent third party manuals that I prefer over the one from the manufacturer.
Dec 17, 2020 19:04:11 #
I have the electronic PDF manuals of numerous cameras, including many for brands and models I did not and never will own.
Dec 17, 2020 19:05:22 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
I have the electronic PDF manuals of numerous cameras, including many for brands and models I did not and never will own.
The pages don't bend and I can make the print larger! 
Dec 17, 2020 19:07:32 #
DaveO wrote: The pages don't bend and I can make the print larger!
The pages don't bend and I can make the print larger! I can text search for the relevant topic.
Dec 17, 2020 19:14:52 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
I can text search for the relevant topic.
I'm not that smart!
I have a few excellent ones by David Busch, Doug Klostermann and Darrell Young that have been well received on the forum.
Dec 17, 2020 20:16:17 #
Not including a comprehensive PRINTED manual with expensive, high-end equipment is a disservice to the customer.
Besides photographic equipment, I set audio-visual conference rooms for some of my corporate/commercial clients. Just last week, I installed $50,000 worth of audiophile-grade sound gear and a giant screen in a conference room/training classroom. The user manuals were pathetic- or even a detailed layout of the back panel of a $5,000 amplifier. Some of the latest manuals packed with the new cameras are equally inadequate.
Sure, I can access this material online and perhaps print out a 300 page PDF- but why should I need to do that. So-there was in a crawl space in the back of this conference room with 30 odd wires and cables, a connection panel with numerous RCS, HDMI, USB, optical and some stage stuff that I never saw before, so what am I supposed to do, set up a computer with a monitor or a laptop in the closet-like space. The silk-screened labels on the un itself have tiny letters, on the computer screen, they are even smaller. A real schematic would have been a godsend- so I had to make one! A comprehensive manual with maintenance information. After the monster is finally wired there are numerous setup procedures that are electronically controlled through the remote.
The attached image is just half of that back panel- imaging that with a cable in every socket and no manual- not fun!
Cameras? Cameras used to have a shutter speed dial, an aperture setting, a means of focusing and a film advance mechanism, Nowadays the menu in a DSLR or Mirrorless cameras looks like the control center at the Brookhaven National Laboratories. A manual for beyond the quick setup would be nice.
I am old but I am pretty darn tech-savvy so their "welcome to the 21st-century" business is nonsense. Why- we are not allowed to READ anymore, or have some reference material for future use. troubleshooting, problem-solving? De wh have to keep a laptop in our camera bags or the glove box in our cars just to solve an issue, review a procedure, teach somehow the use their camera, lens or another accessory.
You spend 20- grand+ on a camera a d a few lenses and the manufacturer can afford some paperwork- give me a break!
Hey- I got a great recipe book with my $300. electric mixer!
If I want to buy a third-party user manual by a prominent user of my kinda gear, but again, why shud I have to after spending all that hard-earned money on top-of-the-line equipment.
Oftentimes, right here on this forum, someone posts a question about an issue with their gear and someone usually answers "look at page 56 in your user manual" or just, " Read your manual! Waht manual?
Besides photographic equipment, I set audio-visual conference rooms for some of my corporate/commercial clients. Just last week, I installed $50,000 worth of audiophile-grade sound gear and a giant screen in a conference room/training classroom. The user manuals were pathetic- or even a detailed layout of the back panel of a $5,000 amplifier. Some of the latest manuals packed with the new cameras are equally inadequate.
Sure, I can access this material online and perhaps print out a 300 page PDF- but why should I need to do that. So-there was in a crawl space in the back of this conference room with 30 odd wires and cables, a connection panel with numerous RCS, HDMI, USB, optical and some stage stuff that I never saw before, so what am I supposed to do, set up a computer with a monitor or a laptop in the closet-like space. The silk-screened labels on the un itself have tiny letters, on the computer screen, they are even smaller. A real schematic would have been a godsend- so I had to make one! A comprehensive manual with maintenance information. After the monster is finally wired there are numerous setup procedures that are electronically controlled through the remote.
The attached image is just half of that back panel- imaging that with a cable in every socket and no manual- not fun!
Cameras? Cameras used to have a shutter speed dial, an aperture setting, a means of focusing and a film advance mechanism, Nowadays the menu in a DSLR or Mirrorless cameras looks like the control center at the Brookhaven National Laboratories. A manual for beyond the quick setup would be nice.
I am old but I am pretty darn tech-savvy so their "welcome to the 21st-century" business is nonsense. Why- we are not allowed to READ anymore, or have some reference material for future use. troubleshooting, problem-solving? De wh have to keep a laptop in our camera bags or the glove box in our cars just to solve an issue, review a procedure, teach somehow the use their camera, lens or another accessory.
You spend 20- grand+ on a camera a d a few lenses and the manufacturer can afford some paperwork- give me a break!
Hey- I got a great recipe book with my $300. electric mixer!
If I want to buy a third-party user manual by a prominent user of my kinda gear, but again, why shud I have to after spending all that hard-earned money on top-of-the-line equipment.
Oftentimes, right here on this forum, someone posts a question about an issue with their gear and someone usually answers "look at page 56 in your user manual" or just, " Read your manual! Waht manual?
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.