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D700 VF out of focus when battery out

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KVirtanen

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Hi there,

This is not a problem, just a question regarding something interesting I just can't figure out.

I just put the battery of my D700 to a charger and casually glanced through the viewfinder. It's seemed to be out of focus, so I thought I had the dioptre setting wrong. Nope.

With every lens I tried I could not focus, everything looked REALLY blurry trough the viewfinder. I thought that I had dropped the camera and the mirror had detached or something.

But then I put back the battery and tried the auto-focus. Tack sharp again! Took out the battery, blurry again.

Then I simultaenously put the camera on, and while looking through the viewfinder, I took out the battery.

What happens is that the focus point grid appears, fades away and then the VF dims and blurs at the same time. Insert the battery again, the viewfinder becomes brighter and everything comes into focus again.

Actually, the camera doesn't even have to be on for this to happen (well, it's never QUITE off anyway).

So, out of interest, what part of the camera that has to do with correct focusing is sustained by the battery? Is it the mirror that lowers to a 'sleep state' or something else?

--
http://kvirtanen.deviantart.com/
http://kimmovirtanen.filetap.com/
 
The lens will manual focus Its just the foolproof way in telling you, you havent a chance of taking a photo without power
--

My wife and I could'ent help but notice That I have a far more expensive looking camera than you
 
Benwellhopper said:
The lens will manual focus
Click to expand...
Could you clarify this a bit more please? The AF doesn't work when the camera is off, I realize that, but even focusing manually 'misses the focus' when the battery is out.

Something moves out of place when there's no battery and thus affects focusing. Is it the mirror going to some sort of a 'sleep state'?

I cannot focus even manually when the battery is out. When I turn the focus ring, things start to near the correct focus point but never reaching it. The focus never reaches the sharp point. It's like holding the lens away from the body that would indicate that the focal point misses the mirror or the focusing screen.

Some component must be moving inside the camera and that makes the focus point miss its target and also affects the light passing through the camera, thus making the viewfinder dimmer.
 
M Lammerse said:
The camera needs to be on to give you a clear view through the viewfinder.
Click to expand...
Not actually... The camera needs the battery inside it to give me sharp image through the viewfinder, be it on or off (D700 is never fully off, though). I don't have to turn the camera on to e.g. try different angles and focus when shooting. I turn the camera on when I need to take a picture.

BUT. As soon as I take out the battery, the once sharp, correctly focused view finder image blurs and dims. Try it out :)

It surprised me because I had never looked through the viewfinder when there's no battery inside the camera.

Why is that? What is moving inside the camera to cause that?
 
I believe it has to do with the focusing LCD in the viewfinder, the one responsible for the grid lines and focusing points. When it loses power it is only partially transparent.
 
It's the transparent LCD-derived screen on top of the focusing screen inside the camera that contains the 51 AF-points. The one you see when you power on the camera and look through the viewfinder.

The viewfinder quite frankly turns gray and semi-opaque .

When you take the battery out, the liquid crystals (correct me if I'm wrong) go to a non-powered state that seems to be something in between transparent and solid black. That makes the viewfinder dim and apparently makes the viewfinder appear blurred.

Making the viewfinder "LCD" 100% transparent or 100% black seems to require power, but the state in between doesn't.

--
http://kvirtanen.deviantart.com/
http://kimmovirtanen.filetap.com/
 
dont worry about it. the battery also keeps the clock topped up and your settings locked. If you take the battery out for three months the camera will revert back to the factory settings. This is a feature that lets you know rhe camera has no battery power to maintain the internal battery for more than three months, Like ships in port they rot when not used
--

My wife and I could'ent help but notice That I have a far more expensive looking camera than you
 
There's a screen in the VF that is used to display gridlines, focus points, etc. This screen is controlled electronically, like an LCD (in fact it may be an LCD without the lamps, etc). So without the battery in there it looks really bad. It's the way it is. Nothing wrong with your cam.

--
I Reject Your Reality And Substitute My Own

Web Site - http://www.visual-journeys.com/
 
Hans Giersberg said:
There's a screen in the VF that is used to display gridlines, focus points, etc. This screen is controlled electronically, like an LCD (in fact it may be an LCD without the lamps, etc). So without the battery in there it looks really bad. It's the way it is. Nothing wrong with your cam.
Click to expand...
;) Thanks ..!

> This is not a problem, just a question regarding something interesting I just can't figure out.
*
 
...requires battery power to maintain its display matrix. When there is no power, the liquid crystal becomes diffuse, scattering light coming from the mirror so that the view is dim and soft/OOF.

It's normal for cameras equipped with this technology, and nothing at all to be concerned about.
KVirtanen said:
Hi there,

This is not a problem, just a question regarding something interesting I just can't figure out.

I just put the battery of my D700 to a charger and casually glanced through the viewfinder. It's seemed to be out of focus, so I thought I had the dioptre setting wrong. Nope.

With every lens I tried I could not focus, everything looked REALLY blurry trough the viewfinder. I thought that I had dropped the camera and the mirror had detached or something.

But then I put back the battery and tried the auto-focus. Tack sharp again! Took out the battery, blurry again.

Then I simultaenously put the camera on, and while looking through the viewfinder, I took out the battery.

What happens is that the focus point grid appears, fades away and then the VF dims and blurs at the same time. Insert the battery again, the viewfinder becomes brighter and everything comes into focus again.

Actually, the camera doesn't even have to be on for this to happen (well, it's never QUITE off anyway).

So, out of interest, what part of the camera that has to do with correct focusing is sustained by the battery? Is it the mirror that lowers to a 'sleep state' or something else?

--
http://kvirtanen.deviantart.com/
http://kimmovirtanen.filetap.com/
Click to expand...
--
- -
Kabe Luna

http://www.garlandcary.com
 
Kabe Luna said:
...requires battery power to maintain its display matrix. When there is no power, the liquid crystal becomes diffuse, scattering light coming from the mirror so that the view is dim and soft/OOF.

It's normal for cameras equipped with this technology, and nothing at all to be concerned about.
Click to expand...
Correct. There is nothing mechanical moving in the camera, and the lens doesn't actually go out of focus. It's just the de-energized LCD in the viewfinder optical path making it appear so. Another reminder for us, that even when the camera's "off," as long as a battery is installed, the micro-power portions of its electronics are working around the clock.
 
Yes,

My apologizes
so the camera is powered but not...on
Michel
KVirtanen said:
KVirtanen said:
The camera needs to be on to give you a clear view through the viewfinder.
Click to expand...
Not actually... The camera needs the battery inside it to give me sharp image through the viewfinder, be it on or off (D700 is never fully off, though). I don't have to turn the camera on to e.g. try different angles and focus when shooting. I turn the camera on when I need to take a picture.

BUT. As soon as I take out the battery, the once sharp, correctly focused view finder image blurs and dims. Try it out :)

It surprised me because I had never looked through the viewfinder when there's no battery inside the camera.

Why is that? What is moving inside the camera to cause that?
Click to expand...
--

Disclaimer: Posts written by me are my views, ideas and opinions only, and should not be taken as facts, unless stated otherwise. :-)

Light is eveything

http://www.fotopropaganda.com
http://www.pbase.com/photopropaganda
 
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