Sign In



Join the largest online community for nature
photographers. An account to participate in
our forums is free! We also offer other
membership options.



Please enter the email address associated with your account. If you have not edited this in your
profile then enter the email address that you used when creating your account.

Trouble Signing In?

We apologize if you are having problems signing in. With our latest website upgrades there have been some changes that may cause a sign in problem until cookies are cleared using the steps below.
  1. Navigate to Forums Home in the website navigation bar and click on the link Delete all board cookies located under the Browse Forums page title.
  2. Close all NatureScapes tabs/windows and exit the browser entirely.
  3. Open the browser and make sure it's not opening up any NatureScapes pages.
  4. Delete the NSN-specific cookies in your browser or, if you don't have an objection, delete all cookies. The NSN cookies have either .naturescapes.net or .www.naturescapes.net as part of their name. For help with deleting cookies in your browser please check out this helpful guide on www.aboutcookies.org.
  5. Exit the browser again, reopen it, and try to sign in again.
If deleting board and browser cookies does not resolve your issue please send us an email at editors@naturescapes.net with the following information: We are committed to providing quality customer service and website support. We will respond to your email as quickly as possible.

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Packed with articles, tips, workshop news, store coupons, sales alerts and more!

We respect your privacy—your email address will not be shared or sold. You may unsubscribe at any time and control which
newsletters you receive.

  
« Previous topic | Next topic »  
Reply to topic  
 First unread post  | 4 posts | 
by Steve Fines on Tue May 08, 2012 3:54 pm
User avatar
Steve Fines
Lifetime Member
Posts: 1277
Joined: 10 Dec 2006
Location: Minnesota
Member #:00984
Hi,

In another thread I had noted one issue I'd had with the D4 was that when the rear button (AF-ON) was used to focus instead of the shutter button it would only fire in "release priority" mode and not "focus priority" mode.

Even if a1 and a2 are set to "focus priority", when focusing with the AF-ON button the camera will fire the shutter when there are no objects in focus.

When focusing with the shutter button by using a half press, focus priority works just fine, so it seems the camera is capable of this.

Anyway I wrote Nikon about this and their response was:

"Thank you for contacting Nikon USA customer support. The behavior that you describe it the correct performance for the D 4 the camera is designed to function that way."

I thought surely someone had just made a mistake, so I submitted the question again, very clearly outlining the issue. Today's response was:

"Yes that is correct, focus priority is not available when custom menu item a4 is set to AF-ON"

So what I was sure was a firmware bug is, in fact, a feature.

There is nothing I could find in the manual to indicate this. As well, typically when something isn't an option it is greyed out on the camera menus - so I'd expect that if a4 was set to "AF-ON" then 'focus priority" should be greyed out in menus a1 and a2.

Anyway, I can work around it, but this whole thing struck me as a little odd.

by E.J. Peiker on Tue May 08, 2012 4:24 pm
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 68568
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
Every Nikon camera, before the D4, D800 and D800E perform as you say, not as Nikon responded. The D4 and D800/E seem to have changed this. If you assign the AF to the AF button only, it seems Focus Priority is overidden. This is a bug, not an intended operation IMHO. Customer support will always give you that kind of response. i bet if you talked to a technical person that understands the camera, they would say, you you are right, that's different then intended.

by Anthony Medici on Tue May 08, 2012 4:41 pm
User avatar
Anthony Medici
Lifetime Member
Posts: 6154
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Location: Hackensack, NJ
Member #:00012
On the D1 list I follow, some would disagree that it is a bug. They have always contended that when the AF Button is not being pressed, then the photographer is essentially in manual focus mode and the camera should fire when you press the shutter button. They also state that not allowing the camera to fire when the button is not being pressed is the bug. I can see that point of view and maybe Nikon's engineers decided that that group was correct.

Now talk to me about actively using the AF-Button while using focus priority mode. I'd think it should confirm focus prior to firing but Nikon stating that the setting and the AF-Button having nothing to do with each other could also be intended. I agree it would have been better if the setting couldn't be selected after having set to AF-Button only.

Anyway, that's why you need to learn how to use a new camera when you get it. Every camera tends to act differently for better or worse.

by E.J. Peiker on Tue May 08, 2012 5:36 pm
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 68568
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
I guess I can see that side of the argument but it is bizarre to have a different way that the AF system works depending on which button you use to AF. And it is also a change that appears to be undocumented. I believe it is not an intended change but who knows. Regardless, it doesn't much matter to me either way.

Display posts from previous:  Sort by:  
4 posts | 
  

People Who Like This:
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group