Thanks, I just discovered the adjustment for f number.

My camera is a Nikon with AF-S, 18-140mm zoom lens. It evidently goes only up to f5.6. That’s because the iris is not independently adjustable, but is mechanically slaved to the zoom out. I would like to close up the iris more, which on bright day would give a sharper image and more DOF. Am I misunderstanding this? Is the f number independently adjustable somehow? One problem I was having with auto-focus was the focus “hunting” at times.

Thanks guys, a lot to think about.

I am a relative newbie. I want to make movies of aircraft with my Nikon 5600. I suspect, that because the aircraft are on the runway, taking off, or already in the air, that they are all essentially “at infinity”. Thus my guess would be to not use auto focus, but just manually focus once for a sharp image, and then just leave it there. Any suggestions ?

My D5600 apparently uses the Live screen, not the viewfinder for taking videos. Is there a way to shoot video using the viewfinder ?

@bipod
Some are overly sensitive about “rants”. (Isn’t everyone overly sensitive these days?). Personally, I enjoyed your rant. It had a lot that is factually true, and was done with lots of sardonic humor. This keeps UH from becoming a dull place. Keep up the good work!

This is rude and out of order here, just name calling. The points made were very reasonable. (I’m not refereeing the absolute correctness of everything, but the post was at least mostly correct). Large formats such s 12” x 12” WILL have Superior resolution. That’s why the CIA, U2 aircraft, etc. used VERY large film in their surveillance operations. If size didn’t matter, we would all use tiny sensors.

Is it confirmed that 32 bit apps will not run ? This doesn’t sound right to me. First of all, the distinction between hardware and software should be made. We are talking about an OS, which is software. It may be entirely true that it will only run on full 64 bit HARDWARE machines. But what I question is whether, if you have a 64 bit hardware platform, the new OS will not support 32 bit APPS (software). That seems unlikely, given the history of backward compatibility of 32 bit programs running on 64 bit hardware in the PC world. I suspect 32 bit apps (software) WILL run on the new OS. Does it really make sense that Apple would cut off so much legacy software, just from a business viewpoint ? Just guessing on all this.

The simple truth is that Macs are a lot smoother to operate. All the stuff about Intel and Arm processors, Apple being “ risky” is a distraction. Apple isn’t going out of business anytime soon. As has been said many times, few who switched from PCs to Macs have regretted it. OTOH, there are legions of frustrated Windows users. BTW, it’s not PC hardware that is frustrating, it is the MS Windows OS that has been painful for so many years. The ease of use comparison is between the OSs, not the hardware. Yes, you will pay more, but that is to be expected-better products tend to cost more.

This is progress ???

I support the view that, in principle, and all other things being equal, a mirrorless camera will potentially produce sharper images. The mirror and its mechanism is an additional complication of the optical path and also may induce vibration. The technology is still developing and mirrorless and even shutterless are still changing.

There is a viable way to use the LCD instead of the viewfinder. If you hold the camera against your tummy or chest with your elbows firmly against your side,
the position is very stable. Then look down to the LCD, which should be tilted to be seen from above. Of course this requires a tiltable LCD. This is just an option you might use in some situations.

There are reputable dealers selling refurbished cameras and lenses. But what exactly does refurbished mean? Some questions:

1) Where do the items come from? Open box returns? Damaged upon receipt by customer?
2) What process does an item go through?
3) What about shutter counts? Is that disclosed? Is there an upper limit? Etc.
4) Who does the refurbishment?
5) What does “certified refurbished” mean?

Thanks for any info.

I have seen so many posts about shots being out of focus. But If one can directly see the image produced by the sensor itself, that allows the best focus. Sometimes the AF picks the wrong thing to focus. Or won’t lock onto the desired object. Or maybe the light is too low. Or maybe a lens where AF doesn’t work or has errors. Yes, of course fast action shots don’t allow time for manual focus. I never suggested eliminating AF, but having easy MF based on the actual sensor image is a good option to have.

You are right in doubting that most cameras can go 400,000 clicks or more. The shutter stats at the link (I think further down on this thread) have FAR lower average shutter counts at failure than 400,000, except for the most high-end pro cameras. Most are under 100,000. A sort of bell-curve occurs for time to failure, as would be expected.

@fotoman150

What do you mean?