VG-D 70 Pics here.

Joe B T · Mar 15, 2005

The main shutter works the same yes. I'm wondering if the two battery combo helps to improve any other function like Continuous Auto Focus, or perhaps auto focus? It appeared to focus faster to me.

The Vertical grip on the E-1 increases the Continous Auto Focus function because of the increased supply of power. Again, I'm just speculating right now, but I will be heading out to shoot at the National Zoo today.

jeminijoseph said:
Thanks
Jemini

Joe B T said:

I actually have a fully operational Vertical Grip on my E-1, and I
rarely use it to take pictures in the vertical orientation. I do it
so infrequently; I find it easier to use the regular shutter
release. Therefore, it does not inconvenience me on the D-70 at all.

jeminijoseph said:

Thanks in advance
Jemini

Joe B T said:

I'm curious to see how long the battery last now with them both in
there.

Mark Roberts said:

Check the online manual...

http://www.harbortronics.com/VGD70_Manual.pdf

Harbortronics... home of the DigiSnap!

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

--
Jemini Joseph

'Neither be proud or ashamed of your
religion, race or sex because none of
the above was not your achievement, but
just a donation by the GOD'.
http://www.color-pictures.com

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

--
Jemini Joseph

'Neither be proud or ashamed of your
religion, race or sex because none of
the above was not your achievement, but
just a donation by the GOD'.
http://www.color-pictures.com

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

r.kleineisel · Mar 15, 2005

BairPhoto said:
Now I'll have to begin convincing my wife that it is a necessity
(we're 3 1/2 months pregnant with our first, so these days I have
to petition even harder for more gear, but that is the way it
should be I guess).

You need this gadget only to be able to shoot better photos of your newborn, don't you? ;-)

thomas1973 · Mar 15, 2005

Is this the one-in-all eyepiece, or did you get the F100 eyepiece with an adapter? Looks great!

Thomas.

Joe B T said:
Here is the link to the site to order the eye-cup.

http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonacc.htm

ktran11 said:

Joe B T said:

My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

jeminijoseph · Mar 15, 2005

Thanks again Joe

If it improves the AF then I will think about it. Otherwise just for the feel of better hand holding $165 is not worth for me.

Please let's know how the AF speed and continuous shooting stuff..

Joe B T said:
The Vertical grip on the E-1 increases the Continous Auto Focus
function because of the increased supply of power. Again, I'm just
speculating right now, but I will be heading out to shoot at the
National Zoo today.

jeminijoseph said:

Thanks
Jemini

Joe B T said:

I actually have a fully operational Vertical Grip on my E-1, and I
rarely use it to take pictures in the vertical orientation. I do it
so infrequently; I find it easier to use the regular shutter
release. Therefore, it does not inconvenience me on the D-70 at all.

jeminijoseph said:

Thanks in advance
Jemini

Joe B T said:

I'm curious to see how long the battery last now with them both in
there.

Mark Roberts said:

Check the online manual...

http://www.harbortronics.com/VGD70_Manual.pdf

Harbortronics... home of the DigiSnap!

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

--
Jemini Joseph

'Neither be proud or ashamed of your
religion, race or sex because none of
the above was not your achievement, but
just a donation by the GOD'.
http://www.color-pictures.com

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

--
Jemini Joseph

'Neither be proud or ashamed of your
religion, race or sex because none of
the above was not your achievement, but
just a donation by the GOD'.
http://www.color-pictures.com

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

--
Jemini Joseph

'Neither be proud or ashamed of your
religion, race or sex because none of
the above was not your achievement, but
just a donation by the GOD'.
http://www.color-pictures.com

ktran11 · Mar 15, 2005

Joe B T said:
Here is the link to the site to order the eye-cup.

http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonacc.htm

ktran11 said:

Joe B T said:

My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Joe B T · Mar 15, 2005

This is the Universal rubber eyecup for Nikon. And yes, it makes a difference when looking through the viewfinder for me.

thomas1973 said:
Thomas.

Joe B T said:

Here is the link to the site to order the eye-cup.

http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonacc.htm

ktran11 said:

Joe B T said:

My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

BairPhoto · Mar 15, 2005

r.kleineisel said:
BairPhoto said:

Now I'll have to begin convincing my wife that it is a necessity
(we're 3 1/2 months pregnant with our first, so these days I have
to petition even harder for more gear, but that is the way it
should be I guess).

Click to expand...

You need this gadget only to be able to shoot better photos of your
newborn, don't you? ;-)

That's what I think! I showed her your post, and she just laughed...I don't thinik she's quite convinced yet.

Stephen
--
http://www.BairPhoto.com
http://www.BairArtEditions.com

thomas1973 · Mar 15, 2005

Joe B T said:
thomas1973 said:

Thomas.

Joe B T said:

Here is the link to the site to order the eye-cup.

http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonacc.htm

ktran11 said:

Joe B T said:

My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

tschorer · Mar 15, 2005

Joe B T said:
Joe B T said:

reason you bought yours is for the extra battery and the weight
balance?

Click to expand...

Yes! I need the stability and the battery life. If you shoot all
day using a VR lens, the battery goes quick. This lens soaks up
some juice.

so you're carrying a second battery anyway, you're just attaching it to the camera full-time? And how can the AF improve simply by adding another battery? you're not increasing the voltage drawn by the cam. bizarre.

David H Lewis · Mar 15, 2005

Thanks for that tip, Joe. I just ordered the eye cup from that site.

David

Joe B T said:
Here is the link to the site to order the eye-cup.

http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonacc.htm

ktran11 said:

Joe B T said:

My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

--
David in Arkansas
Proud FCAS Member, PBASE supporter
http://www.pbase.com/arkie5700

I know art. I just don't know what I like.

Joe B T · Mar 15, 2005

I'm not sure how it works or if in fact it does work. However, it does on the E-1. I just came from using this thing all day at the zoo and it works flawlessly. I had no problems at all.

In fact I went to my local camera store to get a top loader bag to put my D-70s in with the 70-200mm VR lens attached. I pulled my D-70 out and set it on the counter, and walked around the other side of the bag rack to look at my options. When I came back there was a small crowd gathered around my camera, and they were all looking at it and scratching their heads. They finally came out and asked me " where in the hell did you get this done at?" I told them it was the New D-70S. I had them going for a while.

tschorer said:
Joe B T said:

tschorer said:

reason you bought yours is for the extra battery and the weight
balance?

Click to expand...

Yes! I need the stability and the battery life. If you shoot all
day using a VR lens, the battery goes quick. This lens soaks up
some juice.

Click to expand...

so you're carrying a second battery anyway, you're just attaching
it to the camera full-time? And how can the AF improve simply by
adding another battery? you're not increasing the voltage drawn by
the cam. bizarre.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

tschorer · Mar 16, 2005

Joe B T said:
The main shutter works the same yes.

woah, hold the phone! In the manual it says in remote mode the shutter button will not take the photo. Is this not the case? will the shutter on the body and the grip work without navigating menus...or have you had the mod done at harbortronics?

Joe B T · Mar 16, 2005

I have not had any modifications done. The remote may not work if you attach the wire to the sensor, but I have not chosen to do so. My camera works the exact same with the exception of being easier to hold and handle, and double the battery life.

tschorer said:
Joe B T said:

The main shutter works the same yes.

Click to expand...

woah, hold the phone! In the manual it says in remote mode the
shutter button will not take the photo. Is this not the case? will
the shutter on the body and the grip work without navigating
menus...or have you had the mod done at harbortronics?

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

rustedborg · Mar 16, 2005

Joe,

Would you be kind enough to do a real world battery life test with and without the VG-D70?

I mostly shoot weddings and I go through two batteries at every wedding (5-7 hours, 600+ images). So having a grip that improves the size of the D70 grip, adds balance for big lenses, and provides longer battery life is appealing.

Finally seeing images of the production version of the VG-D70, my only concern is how much improvement in battery life it offers (1.5 times more or a full 2 times more?) and how easy/difficult is it to remove the grip and change batteries?

Even with the extended battery life the grip offers, I occassionally shoot two weddings in the same day (11-14 hours of photography, 1200+ images) so I suspect that even with the extra life of the battery grip I will still need to go through 4 batteries on days where I shoot 2 weddings.

So, how easy/hard is it to change batteries in the VG-D70 and how much increase do you see in battery life?

Joe B T said:
My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

tschorer · Mar 16, 2005

But the grip doesn't ADD battery life, it simply lets you attach two batteries to the cam...so you're still using four batteries in a day. ..IF the voltage cutoff is the same as the cam. I guess the purpose of your test would be to figure if the voltage cutoff before switching batteries in the grip is the same as in-camera, yes?

For weddings the grip and the release-mod seem to make alot of sense!

rustedborg said:
Would you be kind enough to do a real world battery life test with
and without the VG-D70?

I mostly shoot weddings and I go through two batteries at every
wedding (5-7 hours, 600+ images). So having a grip that improves
the size of the D70 grip, adds balance for big lenses, and provides
longer battery life is appealing.

Finally seeing images of the production version of the VG-D70, my
only concern is how much improvement in battery life it offers (1.5
times more or a full 2 times more?) and how easy/difficult is it to
remove the grip and change batteries?

Even with the extended battery life the grip offers, I
occassionally shoot two weddings in the same day (11-14 hours of
photography, 1200+ images) so I suspect that even with the extra
life of the battery grip I will still need to go through 4
batteries on days where I shoot 2 weddings.

So, how easy/hard is it to change batteries in the VG-D70 and how
much increase do you see in battery life?

Joe B T said:

My VG-D 70 arrived today. It looks good, so first I would like to
say a job well done to Harbortronics, and to Mark for keeping us
informed. I was able to put 2 D-70 batteries and the door inside
and attached to the D-70 with not trouble at all. I'm no product
shooter but I know you all would like to see pictures. I have to
say it will be a real inconvenience to change batteries in the
field, but with 2 D-70 batteries, you should be able to go a long
time between changes.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Click to expand...

rustedborg · Mar 16, 2005

tschorer said:
But the grip doesn't ADD battery life, it simply lets you attach
two batteries to the cam...so you're still using four batteries in
a day. ..IF the voltage cutoff is the same as the cam. I guess
the purpose of your test would be to figure if the voltage cutoff
before switching batteries in the grip is the same as in-camera,
yes?

For weddings the grip and the release-mod seem to make alot of sense!

Yes, you said it better than I did. Thanks for rephrasing. I just want to make sure that the VG-D70 will allow me to only have to replace the batteries once instead of three times during a full day of shooting.

I recall someone mentioned in one of the threads talking about this grip a few months ago that the grip "might" not give you the full life of both batteries, that it might give you more like 1.5-1.75 worth of battery life instead of 2 full batteries worth. It was something to do with how the power goes from two batteries at the same time instead of one.

Anyway, a test would put my mind at ease.

tschorer · Mar 16, 2005

from my understanding of the specs...the power does NOT go from both batteries at once, but once one batt is drained down, it switches to the other.
so here's my non-engineers take on it.

if the D70 operates on say, 7.0 volts....the cam chugs along with a full batt showing until it hits, say, 6.5 volts then goes to "half battery" display. then shuts off at say 6.3 volts. (again this is just for illustration).

The grip HAS to set the voltage it switches batteries at a higher voltage than the camera shutoff. It doesn't matter in grip use because the battery will show full until the end of the second battery...but you're not running that first battery all the way down.

I guess it doesn't matter as most people switch batt's when it goes to half anyway! But in theory you wouldn't be getting as much battery usage as two batts run all the way down.

Evan Fusco · Mar 16, 2005

There seem to be some issues in clarifying this optical vertical shutter.

Plugging the optical wire in alone does not change the function of either shutter release and does not enable the vertical shutter.

To activate the vertical shutter you push the button on the back of the camera with the 3 overlapping rectangles and turn the main command dial until the picture of the remote without the timer appears on the LCD.

At this point the vertical release will fire the camera, but will not focus. The main shutter release will focus the camera, but will not fire it. This, to me, is completely useless.

If you pay the additional $135 plus shipping both ways you can get the camera modified to take a cable that will give full function to the vertical release, but then there's a visible external cable and the little rubber door stays open (unless you take it off).

Joe B T · Mar 16, 2005

I have been using the VG/D-70 for two days now. I have taken 400+ pictures, using the 70-200mm VR lens activated for every shot. I have not lost a bar on the battery meter yet.

Also keep in mind, the the extra battery life will come in hand for long exposure shots and cleaning the sensor with MLU.

tschorer said:
from my understanding of the specs...the power does NOT go from
both batteries at once, but once one batt is drained down, it
switches to the other.
so here's my non-engineers take on it.
if the D70 operates on say, 7.0 volts....the cam chugs along with a
full batt showing until it hits, say, 6.5 volts then goes to "half
battery" display. then shuts off at say 6.3 volts. (again this is
just for illustration).
The grip HAS to set the voltage it switches batteries at a higher
voltage than the camera shutoff. It doesn't matter in grip use
because the battery will show full until the end of the second
battery...but you're not running that first battery all the way
down.
I guess it doesn't matter as most people switch batt's when it goes
to half anyway! But in theory you wouldn't be getting as much
battery usage as two batts run all the way down.

--
If Photography is a crime, may God forgive me!

Mark Roberts · Mar 16, 2005

The addition of the VG-D70 does not change the way the camera works at all! When the camera is set for IR Remote mode, the VG-D70 emulates an IR Remote controller. If you have a modified camera, the VG-D70 will exactly emulate the shutter release button on the camera.

Lets examine the way the camera works in a couple of different shutter release modes...

A) Single Picture Mode

A1) ----- Two Step Release (Standard operation)

When you lightly press (half-press) the camera’s shutter release, the camera activates the auto focus (unless set to manual), and enables the metering (exposure, white balance). Performing these steps ahead of time reduces the delay from when you fully press the shutter release and when the camera actually takes the picture. This is very useful for action photography, and even for portraits… you set the camera focus with the half-press, wait for just the right moment, and fully press the shutter release.

A2) ------- One Step Release

If you quickly press the shutter release button all the way down in one step, the camera still goes through the same processes, but it then trips the shutter immediately afterward. It works fine obviously, but there a bit of a delay between the press of the button and the shutter release, as the camera sets the focus, and metering.

A3) ------ VG-D70 with Modified camera

If you have a modified camera, using the jumper cable, you can half-press and full-press the shutter release, giving you the same flexibility as with the camera's shutter release button, because those buttons are essentially wired in parallel.

Note in Single Picture mode, the camera ignores all IR Remote signals, so it's irrelavant if the fiber optic cable is installed.

B) IR Remote Mode

Enabling the IR Remote mode on the camera (pressing the continuous mode button on the back, and rotating the dial) changes the way the camera shutter release functions.

B1) ----- Two Step Release (IR Remote)

Half pressing the release button on the camera will work OK... the camera auto focus is activated (if not set to manual) and the metering is enabled.

Fully pressing the shutter release button on the camera is ignored when the IR Remote mode is selected. The camera is waiting for an IR trigger, not the shutter release full press. I personally think the camera should still respond to the full press as well, but that's not the way Nikon designed it.

When the IR remote signal is received, the camera will take the picture with very little delay, as the camera is already focused, and metering is active.

Lets be honest, nobody is going to use an IR remote in a Two Step Release operation... One hand is used to hold the half-press, and the other hand is used to then trip the shutter with the IR Remote. It's clunky and hard to imagine a scenario where this would be needed.

B2) ------- One Step Release (IR Remote)

The normal use for the IR remote is to perform all shutter release actions in one step. You touch the IR Remote button, the camera auto-focuses, sets the exposure, and takes the picture. The set up operations can take a little bit of time, so there is a short delay between pressing the IR remote button and the camera's shutter release. This delay is probably identical to that of A2 above.

B3) ------- IR Remote using the VG-D70

On any D70, the grip can work as an IR Remote controller. The camera responds to the VG-D70 IR output just as it does to the Nikon ML-L1 / ML-L3 or any other comaptible IR remote control.

The only difference is that if you hold the VG-D70's shutter release button depressed, the VG-D70 will re-send the command several times a second, allowing you to take pictures in a continuous manner without having to quickly press and re-press the shutter release button. Again, this doesn't change the way the camera works, it just acts like you've pressed, released, and re-pressed an IR Remote's button.

I hope this helps!

-- Harbortronics... home of the DigiSnap!

VG-D 70 Pics here.

Senior Member

Leading Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Veteran Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Active member

Senior Member

Leading Member

Similar threads

Keyboard shortcuts