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Author Topic: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.  (Read 10711 times)

FredBGG

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D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.

Live view with studio strobes just got way better with the D800.
Set to manual mode you can now toggle between exposure simulation(preview) or corrected viewing... brightened or darkened to see the subject better.

Previously the if you set your exposure for strobes you would get very dark viewing in live view with your pilot lights.
That has been solved. It's quite remarkable that Nikon did this despite studio flash users (pro studios) not
being the majority of D800 users and live view not being used with strobe by that many of them.

I had sent emails to Nikon asking for the fix... seems Nikon came through.
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kers

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2013, 08:11:19 am »

Also the 100% view has become better if find...

@Fred; I had to find the toggle you are referring to but now i see it - the OK button does the trick - very nice
The viewing aperture stays the same ( the one you have chosen).  That i also like for judging depth of field ( especially when using tilt)

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Pieter Kers
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MrSmith

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2013, 09:30:11 am »

"t's quite remarkable that Nikon did this "

 it's remarkable that it was not implemented from day 1.

i find the stopped down live view an odd concept, surely it's better to have it wide open for critical focussing then just hit the stop down preview (and get instant added gain so it doesn't go dark)?
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kers

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2013, 10:25:15 am »

i find the stopped down live view an odd concept, surely it's better to have it wide open for critical focussing then just hit the stop down preview (and get instant added gain so it doesn't go dark)?

Being able to choose from both options would be best i guess.

But for me the stopped down method works;

1 for judging sharpness at the aperture you are going to use- at 36MP you see all the problems lenses have : like not being sharp in corners when focussed in the center.. now you can choose the best focus for your purpose- that is a compromise always...( focus distance often changes when stopped down - especially with wide angle lenses)

2 and you can open the aperture if you like- takes a split second - so you just have more options. (the gain-problem you refer to is real indeed, but this problem arises only in darker then studiowork light conditions)


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Pieter Kers
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2013, 05:25:08 pm »

Being able to choose from both options would be best i guess.

But for me the stopped down method works;

Same here, changing the aperture manually is not an issue for tripod work at least.

Now at 36mp you start to realize that most lenses, Nikon, Zeiss, Leica,... Suffer from some degree of focus shift.

So it really takes testing to figure out what aperture it is best to focus at to obtain the best results.

In that context, the option chosen by Nikon to default with shooting actual aperture makes sense.

Cheers,
Bernard

MarkL

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2013, 05:57:46 pm »

VERY pleased they did this. Oversights like this make me wonder if any of these manufacturers actually use any of these cameras before releasing them since the internet is full of things like this within hours of the first cameras arriving.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2013, 06:33:09 pm »

VERY pleased they did this. Oversights like this make me wonder if any of these manufacturers actually use any of these cameras before releasing them since the internet is full of things like this within hours of the first cameras arriving.

Indeed. I believe it really is the result of the approach used to validate camera specs/behaviors.

Plus, the reality is that most companies actually don't know how the current generation of their products are used.

Cheers,
Bernard

geesbert

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2013, 01:56:53 am »

That was the reason for me to skip on the 800 for studio/strobe work. So which software for mac does support live view best?
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HarperPhotos

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2013, 02:33:06 am »

Hello,

Since I have installed OS X Mountain Lion into my work station Imac and my Mac Book Pro Nikon Camera Control has been solid as a rock. It have not frozen once sine I installed the new Apple soft wear.

Unfortunately Phase One Capture 7.0.1 still freezes and losses connection with both my Nikon D800 and D800E cameras plus other very annoying problems.

In my opinion I think the technicians at Phase have over engineered there soft wear. If they just made a teethed only soft wear without all the image process crap and was reliable I would by it in a flash

Cheers

Simon
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Simon Harper
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geesbert

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2013, 03:39:53 am »

how about Controlmynikon+Fusion/Parallels? Last time I tried the Nikon software it was a underwhelming experiense....

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FredBGG

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #10 on: April 07, 2013, 04:07:07 am »

That was the reason for me to skip on the 800 for studio/strobe work. So which software for mac does support live view best?

The best quality live view will be on an HDMI monitor. I use a Sony flat screen broadcast monitor that I also use for Motion work.

Live view over USB on a computer is lower res.

For tethered through USB Pro Nikon Camera Control is rock solid on both my workstations and Samsumg Slate tablet PC.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 04:12:36 am by FredBGG »
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Conner999

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2013, 08:43:24 am »

Tethered capture with NCC2 is rock solid with 800e and 3s. No drops, will pick up camera immediately if power-off/on, etc. Using MBP, Snow Leopard and TetherTools cables.

C1 Pro and LR4 are/were always problematic with either camera (and with Canons before) - dropped connections for no bloody reason, very slow reconnect if had cable pop, etc. LR4 is also glacially slow when going direct.  Found if removed any Thunderbolt or USB backup drives while shooting (reconnecting to backup during breaks) reliability went way up on C1 and LR, but far from 100%. As for LR4 tethered speed - NCC2 imports a tethered D800e file faster than LR4 will a 12MP D3S one. 

PITA, but use NCC2 to a drop folder and then LR4 auto import. Experimenting using NX2 + NCC2, but still not ready to go live with same with clients (my own learning curve).
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geesbert

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2013, 09:59:07 am »

Does NCC allow overlays in live view? Very important in my work, theregore Hdmi output us not working for me....
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Conner999

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Re: D800 Firmware update vastly improves live view with studio strobes.
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2013, 12:10:00 pm »

Don't believe NCC offers any overlay ability. NCC is strictly just basic import/remote camera control (vs. NX2 which is processing).

You could have C1 Pro watch a folder that NCC imports the images to so you could have that overlay and get fast reliable tethering - but won't solve your overlay+LV requirement.   I've used C1's overlays on tethered captures, but never in live view - have to give it a try.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2013, 12:15:02 pm by Conner999 »
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