In your opinion, which is right or wrong most of the time ???

Dear Yves,

Yves P. said:

I read a lot of threads regarding exposure problems, focus problems,
image quality problems and so on.

Click to expand...

Regarding exposure problems, are you shooting a lot of JPEGs? How much time do you spend tweaking camera settings, like in-camera sharpening, saturation, curves, etc.? Do you use matrix metering indiscriminatingly?

Regarding focusing problems, what would you do if you encounter a misfocus and after examining the image are sure it was not your mistake? Would you do a cleaning of the camera chamber, AF sensors, contact groups, the lens; and then after doing a proper testing if AF problem is confirmed - send the lens and maybe the camera to repairs?

How do you handle your stuff, do you have dirt in the camera, dust on the lenses, do you through your lenses and camera bodies into a bag in a careless manner? Do you have a lot of play in the mount? Do you use cheap "protective" filters in front of the lens?

--
no text

It's almost always user error. What was the last serious mechanical bug--such as the canon 1Dm3 problems--that you saw in a nikon camera? There's been a few failures, such as the D70 battery and BGLD, and the D2h meter dying, but that's been an all-or-nothing problem. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but nikon puts out a pretty mature product with good quality control.

It's like I said in another post: people think a $5000 camera ought to make a better point-n-shoot than a $500 camera. But that's like thinking that a $300,000 sports car is going to be easier to drive than a $30,000 sports car. Not likely.

There are lots of other factors that get thrown in. Nikon changes matrix metering behavior between models. TTL flash systems are somewhat undocumented and/or poorly explained. I've yet to see a clear explanation from nikon of when 3D AF should or shouldn't be used. And so on. (Of course, those that truly practice the craft will test and try until they figure it out, rather than making a post about how their camera's broken, nikon screwed up, etc.)

One of the tough things that is seen a lot on this forum is people not knowing what they don't know. Nikon's lack of documentation (e.g., changes in matrix metering) doesn't help. But people seem to be genuinely under the impression that you can point a camera at a scene and it will just know how to expose it. Wow.

is the key. The camera doesn't always do what
we want or expect. That doesn't make the camera
wrong. Our job is to learn to squeeze the highest
performance from the camera.

The D3 has an excellent AF system.
Sometimes I have had trouble in low light
focusing on faces. I think its because of
the smaller size of the AF reticule. I am compensating
by carefully picking my AF target. Seems to be working.

This is not a camera problem or a photographer
problem, but one that comes from their interaction.

Every new complex machine requires effort to learn
to use effectively.

Hey: Photography is not easy!

maljo

i work with a lot of photographers at the amateur and advanced hobbyist level. its usually the photog, sometimes the lens and sometimes the body (usually dirt in the box or aperture lever adjustment issues). the number of verified, send my camera in for repair issues is a distinct minority.

battery issues used to be a problem source but almost none lately...dav
--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you

I am right, the camera is wrong... .. oops.. got that backwards..

I think in truth, if people really take the time to educate themselves and really get on the ball and really learn what it is the camera does, how the camera 'thinks', people will be better able to exploit their gear and get much better results than those who have not done so..

By simple example, If you are not aware of cameras by default accepting 18% light as normal exposure, and you go out and shoot bright snow on a clear sunny day, don't blame the camera when your shots end up underexposed.. know the situation and overexpose to compensate. Likewise, when shooting darker scenes / subjects, underexpose to compensate. In those situations, the camera is not faulty.. the user is..

I think that technical faults in the camera aside (as yes, there are some cameras with manufactured issues), I think educated people will fair better.. just hand over your 'faulty' camera to a pro and watch what he / she does with it.. You'll end up scratching your head wondering how is it that someone can squeeze such great results while you can't (assuming you can't). It's so easy to blame technology.. but like in society, not many people have the gumption to blame themselves.. always easier to point the finger at something / someone else it seems..

That concludes my public service announcement.. now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Cheers,

NRG
--
f/8 and be there!

simply because I have proven that the cameras I own produce superb images when I make no mistakes (or fewer ones LOL)

I think if you can consistantly make bad images, it may be the gear. But if it is random and you DO GET SOME GREAT output from your gear, chances are the gear is not at fault. Statistics will be more of an answer than other factors...
--
Manny
http://www.pbase.com/gonzalu/
http://www.mannyphoto.com/
FCAS Member - http://manny.org/FCAS

--
Rick Q.
http://www.pbase.com/wyatt/galleries

...sure it's user error, but that is understandable. In my film days, I used 4x6 prints or slides to evaluate my results. Now I use a 24 inch monitor. No wonder I suddenly notice that I cannot get a sharp shot using my 85mm lens at anything less than 1/160sec. I now see faults in my shots that would either have escaped unnoticed or been 'corrected' in processing.

As technology changes, we have to relearn things, even some basic things that we thought we had figured out. And yet, sometimes it still is the technology.

After learning to shoot my 85mm lens above 1/160, I still had problems. Now, I am not one to second guess Nikon's manufacturing tolerances, but sure enough, I needed to adjust my 85mm lens using the camera's focus adjust feature to +17.

Question everything, but start with the things that are easy to change first.

Good question, but so obvious IMHO.

A lot of users don't even read the manual.

For example, the D300 AF... Some users try to track something with the 3D 51 points AF mode, whereas the manual clearly says that this should be used in a completely different situation.

I guess marketing comes into play here... and grabs some dummy users with it. (mostly new comers)

--
Christian
http://www.megafolie.com

...because there is clearly explained in the manuals that f.i. in difficult or very special AF situations you should focus manually. Metering idem, WB as well...

No camera does a perfect job if the one behind it can't handle it or doesn't understand "light"...
--
Kindest regards,
Stany
I prefer one really good picture in a day over 10 bad ones in a second...

http://www.fotografie.fr/

Apart from some famous occasions were there has been a fault with the camera that has taken a lot of postings to gain credibility I agree that most of the time the photographer is at fault. Having said that 'at fault' is not always the right way of putting it.

When a new camera comes out it takes time for users to become familiar with its features and design and they come to this forum for advice and analysis.

Photographers learning or trading up also have problems that deserve helpful advice from more experienced photographers.

Occasionally some find a problem which comes from not reading the manual but then the manuals are not universally comprehensive and a lot of camera behaviour can only be learnt by use and experiment. They should be treated respectfully

All these scenarios are IMO what this forum was created to serve but only acheives about half of the time.

If those that receive genuine help voiced their appreciation and those that just want to denigrate others or the brand stayed away the forum would be a much better place.

Yves P. said:

I read a lot of threads regarding exposure problems, focus problems,
image quality problems and so on.

Excluding typical defects and problems (broken or card not writing
and so)

In your most honnest opinion:

Do you think that the CAMERA is doing something wrong most of the
time OR the PHOTOGRAPHER is making a mistake most of the time ???

I will be bluntly honnest, when I get a bad performance from the
camera, I AM wrong 99.9 % of the time. Except for very isolated cases
where for some reasons, the camera did not acquire focus properly
right from the start (and that would be so rare, I wouldn't remember
the last time it happened.

What's your take ...

--
Yves P.
Share the Knowledge

NPS Member
PBASE Supporter

Some pictures I like:
http://www.pbase.com/yp8/

Click to expand...

--
Brian
Fine Art Print sales of the Isle of Skye at:
http://www.eyeofskye.co.uk/
Pbase gallery Pictures from Isle of Skye
http://www.pbase.com/xrdbear

the expectations are the problem, not the camera. It's just a machine, doing what it's doing.

In all fairness I think often the "headline" (subject text) in discussions here make it sound like there is a camera problem when it's really just someone who wants to hear if others have similar experiences.

--
-------David-------
http://flickr.com/photos/childish/

Iliah Borg said:

Iliah Borg said:

I read a lot of threads regarding exposure problems, focus problems,
image quality problems and so on.

Click to expand...

Regarding exposure problems, are you shooting a lot of JPEGs? How
much time do you spend tweaking camera settings, like in-camera
sharpening, saturation, curves, etc.? Do you use matrix metering
indiscriminatingly?

Regarding focusing problems, what would you do if you encounter a
misfocus and after examining the image are sure it was not your
mistake? Would you do a cleaning of the camera chamber, AF sensors,
contact groups, the lens; and then after doing a proper testing if AF
problem is confirmed - send the lens and maybe the camera to repairs?

How do you handle your stuff, do you have dirt in the camera, dust
on the lenses, do you through your lenses and camera bodies into a
bag in a careless manner? Do you have a lot of play in the mount? Do
you use cheap "protective" filters in front of the lens?

Click to expand...

This sounds like a jolly good case for a forum FAQ facility.
--
Brian
Fine Art Print sales of the Isle of Skye at:
http://www.eyeofskye.co.uk/
Pbase gallery Pictures from Isle of Skye
http://www.pbase.com/xrdbear

Jim Keye said:

There are lots of other factors that get thrown in. Nikon changes
matrix metering behavior between models. TTL flash systems are
somewhat undocumented and/or poorly explained. I've yet to see a
clear explanation from nikon of when 3D AF should or shouldn't be
used. And so on. (Of course, those that truly practice the craft will
test and try until they figure it out, rather than making a post
about how their camera's broken, nikon screwed up, etc.)

One of the tough things that is seen a lot on this forum is people
not knowing what they don't know. Nikon's lack of documentation
(e.g., changes in matrix metering) doesn't help. But people seem to
be genuinely under the impression that you can point a camera at a
scene and it will just know how to expose it. Wow.

Click to expand...

A good case in point seems to be 51 point 3D AF for which there is very little satisfactory documentation. I've never used the facility but from reading posts in this forum there seems to be an enormous spectrum of opinions on how it's supposed to work and when it should be used. The result seems to be almost universal disappointment. Healthy discussion and a few months of experience will no doubt resolve this and this is what this forum is all about.

--
Brian
Fine Art Print sales of the Isle of Skye at:
http://www.eyeofskye.co.uk/
Pbase gallery Pictures from Isle of Skye
http://www.pbase.com/xrdbear

Ilkka Nissilä said:

I have different experiences. Focusing with 1.5x sensor cameras (two
of which I've used) was arduous and erratic. With my current
full-frame DSLR and my older 35mm film cameras, as well as medium
format, I practically never have trouble with focusing.

Click to expand...

Ilkka, what reason(s) do you blame for that experience?
--
regards, eric

Yves P. said:

Do you think that the CAMERA is doing something wrong most of the
time OR the PHOTOGRAPHER is making a mistake most of the time ???

Click to expand...

Yves,

When the camera is working to spec, it is what it is. It is not always perfect. It does not always do what I want it to do...but neither does a hammer or a saw.

The camera is a tool and to get good results with it I have to know how to get the best out of it. I have to know how it will react in a given situation. Using a hammer to pound nails in drywall is different than in a 1 inch oak board. Do I ***** at the hammer if I pound hard enough that the head crushes the drywall or am I just a bad carpenter?

If a camera keeps over exposing in a given situation, it is either not functioning correctly and I should send it in to get it fixed, or I have to realize that it is functioning as designed by the manufacturer and I simply have to recognize the situation and compensate.

If you keep crushing your drywall, buying a new hammer will probably not make you a better carpenter.

--
John Cote
http://www.johncotephotography.com

'Cameras are just cr@p we have to lug around because there is no direct brain to printer connection...yet!'

if the shot comes out looking good its a lot of luck

if it comes out looking bad.... my bad... ;-)
--
Harris

PBase/DPReview/NTF supporter
Egret Stalker #4, WSSA #29

http://www.pbase.com/backdoctor

lovEU said:

Ilkka Nissilä said:

I have different experiences. Focusing with 1.5x sensor cameras (two
of which I've used) was arduous and erratic. With my current
full-frame DSLR and my older 35mm film cameras, as well as medium
format, I practically never have trouble with focusing.

Click to expand...

Ilkka, what reason(s) do you blame for that experience?

Click to expand...

The larger viewfinders of 35mm and MF SLRs (and FX of course) show more detail in the image overall than the VFs of DX cameras, which makes manual focusing easier. The AF systems have a tolerance for acceptable focus accuracy, which was initially similar in 35mm and DX cameras, but the DX cameras with any given FL, aperture, and distance have shallower depth of field. This means that the manual focusing as well as autofocusing needs to be able to adjust the lens in finer steps than in 35mm/FX systems to get acceptable focus. Some early inexpensive DX bodies had just a weak autofocus system and a poor viewfinder (notably the D70). With AF-S lenses, some problems are less severe since the manual focus turn is greater (than AF lenses, though not as good as with manual focus lenses), and the AF-S autofocus has no mechanical slack - so there is less hunting and greater final accuracy.

The D3 is so much fun to use after all these years with DX.

--
regards, eric