Is my D70s done for already?
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New member Username: GeashworthBrighton, East Sussex United Kingdom Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-05 | Hey there I bought the Nikon D70s about 6 months back, and then got real adventurous one afternoon and played with loads of settings, ever since then the camera hasn't taken photo's properly when set to Sports mode, It seems fine on Auto, but for some reason, when I turn the dial to sports mode it seems like the shutter speed goes screwey! I mean it shouldn't blur my shots on sports mode, should it? I have done 2 different tipes of reset on it too, the 2 button and the menu reset. Anyway, I am absolutely mortified at the thought of sending it in to nikon for the old once over, especially since I am off on Safari to Africa in 4 weeks time... Please help, if anyone can figure out what I have done, you can defnately have a selection of my pics when I get back! - lol. Regards Grant |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4326 Registered: Dec-03 | What do you mean by your shutter speed going screwy? There are different reasons why some of your shots will be blurry even in sports mode. If you are not panning properly or if your hands are shaking it will be blurry. The camera only measures the speed of the subject but it will not compensate for shaky hands. The reason the shutter speed seem screwy is because it is adapting to your subject's speed/movement and it is tracking so it will change constantly. Not a very good feature of the camera. The predictive focus is nice but it leaves a lot to be desired. Try using shutter priority or learn the basics of photography and you'll do better. It is also hard to make a determination without detailed information. I am only working on the info you have given me, plus the shooting mode that you have indicated. In order for you to learn, be more adventurous and forget the Automatic pre-sets. Learn what you can about Programmed Auto (P), Shutter Priority (S), Aperture Priority (A) and Manual (M). Go here https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/photography/120095.html and peruse the last page of the discussion. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4327 Registered: Dec-03 | I have to ask...What is your photographic experience? Are you well versed with 35 mm SLR photography before going to digital? I doubt very much that your camera is done for already. And yes you are not the first one I've encountered that gets confused with the sports mode. It is usually not the camera. I do not mean to insult you, so please pardon me if I seem to do so, but I've met a lot of people who got their hands on an inexpensive digital SLR and they were so disappointed when they could not take pictures any better than when they were using point and shoot cameras. The Nikon D70 is not for the inexperienced and you will definitely be very disappointed if you use it as such. |
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New member Username: GeashworthBrighton, East Sussex United Kingdom Post Number: 2 Registered: Nov-05 | Thanks for the honesty and wake up call. I do intend to take a great leap into the P; S; A & M! you are absolutely right about my typical amateurish slant of: better camera better photo's, philosophy. I have been scowering the msg boards in search of clues as to what I could have done, so far it looks like I may have put the AE-L/AF-L lock on and it is now focusing on the background more than on the intended moving object in the foreground. To reitterate, I find that if I am following a moving object in the view finder (albeit a car or person or even a ferret!) I half depress the fire button and keep focus on the moving object, and fire off a few rounds, the priority seems to shift from the foreground object to the background (even though through the view finder I receive confirmation that my subject is the intended focus area (via the flashing red markers)) Hopefully I have given more information, I will persevere today, and make posts as I find. So far you have been very helpfull, do not think that your strong tone is being misconstrued, I think I need a good roasting every now and then! Regards G |
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New member Username: GeashworthBrighton, East Sussex United Kingdom Post Number: 3 Registered: Nov-05 | Hey Berny I just got an Email from Nikon Support: "Thanks for your mail, i would recommend you to try and reset your camera. you can do that by pressing the tiny button on the bottom of the camera. This will hopefully resolve the issue. If it does not then i would recommend you to take it back to the shop you bought it off and ask them to have a look at it. As the camera may have developed a fault and may need to be sent into our service centre for repairs." I tried that and it worked!!!! I had no Idea there was a button on the base!!!!! Thanks anyway, I think I will spend sometime on these forums, I see there is a wealth of user experience and technique that I need to absorb. I got the D70s as an upgrade to the F55, which I really enjoyed, but never used to its full capability, being a bit of a scrooge when it comes to developing films. This way I can put them on my PC and print them out when I want them! Thanks Again Grant |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4328 Registered: Dec-03 | That is a wonderful attitude! With that in mind, you are in for a great learning experience and will no doubt expand the knowledge that you have with the D70. The thing with "Predictive Auto-Focus", is that it can track mostly objects that are moving towards you. It has an algorithm that calculates the speed of your subject and it will try to focus on the area in which the subject will be positioned the moment you release the shutter. It is very accurate to a certain degree but it is not perfect. It will have trouble with subjects that are moving from one side to the next. When you are shooting on this mode you are probably on "Closest Subject" Auto Focus mode. Unfortunately this mode has trouble tracking moving subjects. This is a great addition to the D70, however, I find it totally useless and would been happier without it as it is taking space. When shooting sports on this mode you want to go to your menu...#3 "AF-Area Mode...choose "Single Area". This will now prompt your camera to stay focused on the center of your viewfinder. You can easily track your subject in this manner without having to worry about the camera changing its focus to another object. Practice this and see the results. When shooting in this mode try to keep your hands as steady as possible, when you have to move your body, move at the hips and keeps your arms as close to your body as possible. Take a deep breath, hold it in and shoot. Now take a look at the results...only after shooitng a few frames. Do not constantly try to check the photograph that you have taken. Sometimes one is too eager to check the results and they move the camera before the it has done its job taking the picture. I take it then that you fancy sports shooting? If that is the case, then get your camera off the sports mode and in to Shutter Priority. This is one thing that you need to concentrate on for now. Practice first what you have just learned and we shall move on. Did you check the thread I have recommended? I am in a discussion with "Kevin Brooke". you may want to take a look at that as we are discussing metering and focus modes. |
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New member Username: GeashworthBrighton, East Sussex United Kingdom Post Number: 4 Registered: Nov-05 | Hey Berny, Thanks for the encouragement! Great conversation with Kevin, followed it even though some people tried to hijack the conversation. (some classic rebuffs from thee Sir) I really enjoy taking pictures at horse shows, as my other half is a bit of an Equine Guru, and aspiring Equine Osteopath (2nd year) Here is a link to some shots we (collectively) took at the Hickstead horse show this year. http://community.webshots.com/album/431200154EgBFKB Enjoy the shots, they are real amateur stuff, but one or two have the makings of where we want to go, (apart from covering our house in life size photos of horses!) (also all these photos were taken on Auto-Pilot in Sports mode) We tried going out today to take some shots, but unfortunately nothing was moving as we are expecting snow here in the UK any day now! I will look into the metering, I think that is a whole day's practice to perfect, right now I have some Ideas with the tripod and shutter priority at the beach! G |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4333 Registered: Dec-03 | You have some nice photos in there. What lens were you using for these shots? |
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New member Username: GeashworthBrighton, East Sussex United Kingdom Post Number: 6 Registered: Nov-05 | I got the old Nikon Nikkor 70-300mm G lens from my F55 & AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm DX Most were taken with my 300mm lens (the old silver/Grey looking one) RE: my newer post, Do you know if which 2x Tele converter would work with these to get a better zooming distance? G |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4335 Registered: Dec-03 | Grant, Do not get a teleconverter for your current lens. The 300mm lens that you presently own will not work well with a teleconverter. It will function but the light fall off and exposure will be horrible. The prices on decent glass is never cheap, so be prepared to shell out some money for any good lens. Some of the good lenses from Nikon cost more than the camera bodies so beware of cheap lenses specially those from a third party manufacturer. A teleconverter is a good way to extend your reach but you also have to take in to account the lens you are using it for. The best way is to buy a more powerful zoom such as the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR AF Zoom-Nikkor. |
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New member Username: GeashworthBrighton, East Sussex United Kingdom Post Number: 7 Registered: Nov-05 | Duly Heeded. I will scrimp my pennies and faithfully post my results! I don't think I will be getting better maginfication before my Safari then, but then again thats why I have the Godsend of "Crop" and 6.1MP to play with. lol. Thank Berny Cheers for now Grant |
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Silver Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 240 Registered: Sep-04 | The really long telephotos can get frighteningly expensive. For a longer reach, you might want to look into the Sigma 50-500mm; there are a lot of Canon shooters I know that like it a lot (it's been given the nickname 'Bigma') and it doesn't cost a house--Adorama is listing it for just under $1k. |
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New member Username: Randy15Post Number: 1 Registered: Dec-05 | Having the same problem with focus on sports--- except I shoot Competitive Cheer where all girls are moving all the time-----any suggestions on what I can do on my Canon d70s to stop the blur? |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4502 Registered: Dec-03 | What lens are you using for the cheerleaders? What do you want to achive? Do you want to stop total motion or do you wnat something that will show dynamic movement? If there is a lot of dynamic movement and you want to stop all motion, you may want to use a high shutter speed. If you are using the kit lens you may want to go on shutter priority and set it from 1/250 and higher. |
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New member Username: Randy15Post Number: 3 Registered: Dec-05 | Berny---thanks I would like to freeze the motion-the pictures I took today had great color---but all were blurred, used the SPORTS setting----using the Nikon 55-200. Dynamic movement? excuse my ignorance---some blurring? |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4504 Registered: Dec-03 | Use the Shutter Priority setting and set it to 1/500 or higher. Dynamic movement. This is when the photograph shows everything else as totally still but the main subject is blurred or anything else that is moving. An example:  This example shows a slow shutter speed, which captured objects not in motion to be still and everything else that is moving to be blurry. |
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New member Username: Randy15Post Number: 4 Registered: Dec-05 | Got ALOT of that today!-----VERY dynamic!----Thanks! I'll try that! What about ISO? |
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New member Username: Randy15Post Number: 5 Registered: Dec-05 | tried to post a picture from today---but it says its to large! |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4505 Registered: Dec-03 | Depends on the lighting. You can keep at 200 or 400 ISO unless it is dark, thne you may have to bump it to 800. |
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Silver Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 252 Registered: Sep-04 | I actually go the other way around. I typicall go with Aperture priority & open the lens up. Then adjust the ISO as necessary to get a decent shutter speed (the rule of thumb is 1/focal length & include the crop factor-1.5 for Nikon-to be sure). If I'm a little shot of the desired shutter, I'll do a bit of exposure adjustment to bring it up; I can get away with that since I shoot RAW & can bring the exposure back in post processsing. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4521 Registered: Dec-03 | The very first thing that needs to be done is take some basic photography classes. Or the very least do a lot of reading. Randy, you may want to learn more about exposure. |
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New member Username: Randy15Post Number: 7 Registered: Dec-05 | Berny: Thanks! Took your suggestions and shot a b-ball game last night---shots much better---shot at 1/200 and iso 1000----dark in gym----got ride of blur! also set focus area at dynamic----seems to help! Camera has tons of features--I'm used to a Canon T70! Will try cheerleaders next! |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4534 Registered: Dec-03 | That's good to hear Randy! Now keep shooting and experiment with different settings  |
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New member Username: Randy15Post Number: 8 Registered: Dec-05 | Chris----I will try that too------------Thanks! Randy Is there any forums that just deal with the D70S? That I should be watching? |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4537 Registered: Dec-03 | do a google search on nikonians.org |
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Silver Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 256 Registered: Sep-04 | The nikonians site is the best Nikon-centric site I've run across. I hang out at fredmiranda.com a lot; there is a stronger Canon presence there, but there are a lot of Nikon shooters as well. Beyond that, the skill level at that site is awesome & they are all happy to help out a noob regardless of what equipment you use (heck all the LA area guys put up with me & my litle 995 a couple of years ago at a meet). You might want to look into Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure book; that one gets recommended a lot (I'll pick it up soon to see if there's any nuances I've missed). I have some of his other books & they are excellent. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 5003 Registered: Dec-03 | Grant, How was the safari? |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 5004 Registered: Dec-03 | Grant, How was the safari? |