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Focusing disasters with the D500!
#11
Well as long as the camera can be calibrated, it's not a big deal, however if it is not 100% repaired it's a useless camera.

Using live view is the focus accurate? If it isn't I think we have serious problems.

I really feel sorry for what you had, have been through this, ten years ago I had ordered 17-55f2.8 IS from US ( at that time its price was merely twice my student salary) and waited for weeks to end up with a lemon totally non functional with the zoom often locking at 35mm.

Luckily they had extended return for Christmas and it was replaced by a fantastic sample that is still till now my prefered lens, it's the reason I left the full frame body at home and now I am traveling with it as my main lens, for all those years it almost never left my bag
#12
Quote:Haven't you been the one who "never had problems with my Nikons, so I take the chance and order a grey market camera"? It's only a question, not an accusation. Somehow Priceminister has also to make money and I really wonder, if those bodies sold by them just are classified by Nikon to go to "lower expectation markets". Of course, they would never admit that and maintain, all D500 are outstanding no matter how cheap they were.

 

But it's a tempting idea, to sell an "close to borders of spec"camera instead of demolish it or try to adjust it.

 

Also I wonder how many D500 to whatever comparisons were made without lens calibration? Anyway, I made my experiences with DSLRs and Nikon in particular and somehow I prefer not to bother with systematic issues anymore.

 

How long did it take you to check this 9 lenses? It's a rhetoric question, don't answer, because I already doubt the Tamron will have it's AFMA throughout the range of FL and distance.

 

No, I'm not happy about the unlucky D500 body and it doesn't show much more than "mistakes happen".
 I know it easy to think that they could be the rejects, but think, they are just cameras for Asian markets coming in from different countries, to supply a market with defective cameras just wouldn't be possible or feasible. This is the forth grey market product I've had, the K3 and the D750 were fine (the K3 had problems later but so did many non grey versions) the D750 has been great, many US versions haven't. The Tammy had to be returned de-centered, the second grey one is fine. (normal for lenses).

   You know yourself how it is with PDAF , you've high-lighted it's problems many a time JoJu, that's the whole thing with DSLRs they are as good as their calibration!

   In fact this is the best presented DSLR I have had, the seal and the box were perfect and not a trace of even being touched, I think I got the one that was being assembled on Friday at two minutes to six! I Nikon is not what it was since it move it's production!

 

PS. The D500's shutter is superbly damped and quiet, the noise is also short. Using the Tammy's VC used to blur the image at 600mm, I was using it this afternoon at the river with VC on, no blurring, it's now my guess that the VC was trying to compensate for the vibration of the older clacky shutters that was causing the problem, not so with the D500's one.

#13
It's tempting to believe that grey market stuff is second or third choice, but I've no evidence and I think as you, as soon as "somebody would leak this information" it was rotten business. For Nikon's bean-counters sold bodies are sold bodies.

 

What you tell otherwise about your little gem is the same I felt when arriving at D7000 from Pentax plastic (K-m, K-x) to something more decent. Then again with D800 and the best so far is D810. Regardless how many days I spent with calibrating, it feels sooo solid. I still like to grab it when I want to feel something heavy, large and bulky in my hands  ^_^ .

#14
Sorry to read about your AF issues, Dave.

It must have taken you a lot of time to test all these lenses!

 

Life is much simpler on the mirrorless-side of the fence. Believe me, not having to worry about AF accuracy/calibration issues is truly a game changer (in fact, it's the greatest strength of mirrorless IMO). It makes the whole photography experience much more enjoyable :-)

 

Of course given how many Nikon lenses you own, a switch wouldn't make much sense unfortunately.

 

Good luck.

--Florent

Flickr gallery
#15
Plus, there's no lens like his 500/4 available on mirrorless APS-C ... the Oly 300/2.8 goes close to 10.000 $, but it's smaller sibling 300/4 is a bargain for 3 k$ Huh And the 75-300 is around 600, but I doubt if it's competitive to Tamron 150-600.

 

Also, Dave still has the D750 and if that has a better adjusted AF-module, it would be good since the rest of the lenses is FF already.

#16
   It's certainly all about the tele lenses, that super shallow DOF, the same as macro, shooting wide apertures at long FLs makes for an "intimate" photo with which you can isolate the subject totally from the rest of the world, it's addictive. Ironically it's that very shallow DOF that makes PDAF so accurate with long focal lengths. At the moment it's uniquely DSLR territory!

 

  It would be interesting to see the Tamron or the Sigma tele-zoom in the Fuji mount, that would send a shock wave through the photo world.   If Fuji could nail  AF in tele mode, it could be the final nail in the coffin of the DSLR, but and it's a big but... we need the lenses!  300mm just doesn't cut it.

  Sports and nature photography has grown enormously in the last five years with the latest budget zooms, but little is there for MLCs.

 Oh and M4/3rds, has to small a sensor for anything more than bright daylight shooting, and precious little margin in the shadows.

#17
300 mm at µ 4/3 is equivalent 600 at FF. DoF aside, it's f/2.8 and you will have problems to find a 600/2.8. Now forget about equivalence - it's about speed, nothing else matters for small sensors to bring down the ISO.

 

But there's still an advantage for DSLR: While looking thrugh the EVF will suck the battery empty, no matter if bird at home or not, with the DSLR you always can watch without battery consumption.

 

And if the AF misses the shot and the tail of that little vulture is sharper than the eye, you still can comfort yourself "but I could watch the nest a whole day long and have still battery power. Maybe next time the AF will guess better"

 

Tongue

 

Did I mention the easy power connection? With a power bar you can transfer energy via USB to the X-T2, you can use solar panels and other stuff. Unlike Nikon, who milks you for each gram of copper they put in their "Made in china"-cables. So power consumption IS an issue for mirrorless - but AF inaccuracy is no problem.

 

I would not like to have a Sigron 150-600 for mirrorless, it's far too heavy and the motors are too big to save energy. Of course, for birds you can't have enough reach. But I never managed to track a predictable duck with the Sigma handheld, so for me heavy tele is something I leave to you.  Rolleyes

#18
 The thing about life JoJu, is we are all different.

  

I know from the amount of bird shooting I do, that M3/4rds wouldn't cut it for me, F2.8 or not, you say that the lens is $10,000?  You won't find many S/H then.

 FF is what I like shooting best if I can get close enough, Apsc if I need to get even closer, the noise difference is still quite a lot I still think it's around a stop and a half, and the images are sharper and cleaner.

So ML still remains something I can't use for birding, as you say you can wait several hours for a shot and camera has to be on and ready, battery life is key, I think I've only run down a battery a couple of time in a few years.

 

 I got my first birding shot of an egret yesterday down at the river, so that cheered me a little, nothing great but I had put it up on Flickr.  Tamron@600mm.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124690178@N08/

#19
I see, I can stay at home with my silly ducks...  :wacko:

 

Big Grin

#20
  The plot thickens!  I've just received this message after sending Nikon three images from three lenses with no AFMA as asked by Niko France:

 

Bonjour Monsieur Manze,
 
Merci pour ces images.
 
Suite à leur visionnage, je constate effectivement un fort back focus. Aussi, il semble que votre D500 nécessite d'une intervention au niveau de notre centre SAV.
 
Pour nous faire parvenir votre appareil photo, je vous invite à suivre la procédure ci-dessous
 
 
Being Swiss I'm sure you understood it, they want me to send it in for calibration, I now have to wait and see how  Priceminister react, for the immediate moment there's no super rush it shoots fine with the teles!
  


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