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Nikon D500 novice - settings question (1 Viewer)

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Winterdune

Well-known member
Hi all,

I have been a long time Canon 7d user and I have just taken the plunge and bought a D500, 300mm pf and 1.4 converter. I am a birder and walkabout bird photographer. On my Canon I switched between two user defined presets, one for terrestrial birds and one for birds in flight. I had it on the terrestrial settings and switched quickly to the bif settings if I see something interesting flying over.

I did my homework enough to know that the D500 does not have U1/U2 like the D7200 but I figured that the settings banks would be configurable to do what I wanted.

I've now had the camera for a day and on top of the effort of "de-Canoning" my aging brain in relation to the layout and controls, I am getting truly puzzled about how to set it up.

So for the sake of my sanity, could someone talk me through how to set up the D500 so that I can switch from shutter priority, single point af, auto iso to manual, area af, fixed iso with the minimum of button presses/dial turns? It was one dial turn on my Canon.

Many thanks,

Sean
 
G'day Sean.
I've quite recently changed ship and gone from the Canon 7D to Nikon D500 but with the new Sigma 500 mm f/4 and TC-1401 which I occasionally use. Certainly found the 7D easier to configure but the Nikon Technical Solutions D500 Tips site on the web is very handy. Look at Custom Control Assignments to set things up how you would want.
Hope this is of some help , it's a great camera with great results .
Regards
Ken
 
Thanks for the reply Ken. I see that you can assign buttons for various settings but it still seems that I have to change af area, iso settings and shooting mode all separately. It's driving me nuts. Surely there is a way to get this set up in the photo shooting memory banks, otherwise what's the point that of them??
 
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I hope you get sorted ime not sure how, i gave up and shoot manual with auto iso for everything and have metering modes and focus modes programed to buttons,if you find a good tutorial please give us a link.
 
Hi Nikonmike. So far my best workaround is to do the same as you but assign group af to the Pv button so that when a bird flies over I just press that to go from single point to group. But that does not overcome the exposure problem - maybe the best and quickest way is just to underexpose the bif shots and correct afterwards in Lightroom or similar?
 
If i get time i put in exposure compensation for the BIF.

I use single center point,don't use BBF so AF-ON is set for 25 point,at the moment my standard metering mode is center weighted 8 and my PV button brings spot with highlight protection in.
 
Hello Sean,

If you are still wondering, Moose Peterson gives a "crib" sheet for his settings and Steve Perry has a useful video. To be found on their respective web sites. Or you could buy Thom Hogan's guide.

I don't want to be wandering around the menu when I'm out and about so, I try and keep it simple. Shoot manual with auto iso maxed at 3200 (usually). Group focus by default and the Pv button set to single point and Fn1 button to 25 Dynamic. It seems to work for me and, I have to say I'm very impressed with this focus system.

Regards

Colin
 
How do you deal with underexposed birds against the sky with this setup Colin? I often shoot small passerines as they fly overhead.
 
Point taken, Sean.

I confess that I rarely shoot small passerines flying overhead unless it's for a record shot and then rely on the DR of the D500 to pull back some detail.

But, you can set the camera to change the exposure compensation when you press 11 (page 1 of the manual) using the main command dial just as you would in one of the semi auto modes.

You can preset a compensation but, in manual, you need to press and hold the exposure comp button whilst focussing and shooting to maintain the compensation. That's a three finger operation if you use BBF.


Regards


Colin
 
I also switched from 7D to D500, though I use it with 200-500. On switching shooting modes, may I suggest back-button AF? Usually (slightly) more accurate and faster, allows for a better composition by locking the AF point and makes switching between shooting modes AI-S and AI-C. Press once, it's AF-S. Keep pressing, it's AF-C.
I have also assigned group AF to AF point selector, which is below the AF-ON button.
 
Thanks all. I use BBF but can't get my head round the three finger exposure comp adjustment! Colin I may be being daft here but what do you mean by "you can set the camera to change the exposure compensation when you press 11 (page 1 of the manual)"?
Thanks
Sean
 
Oh no don't worry Colin I understand now. You are just saying that I can use the +-ev button. I'm actually thinking about using A mode so I can turn on easy exposure comp which means not having to press the button. But I do like manual more...
 
seanofford said:
Hi all,

So for the sake of my sanity, could someone talk me through how to set up the D500 so that I can switch from shutter priority, single point af, auto iso to manual, area af, fixed iso with the minimum of button presses/dial turns? It was one dial turn on my Canon.

Many thanks,

Sean
Click to expand...

To the OP - Just wondering if you ever found the functionality that you were looking for here. Or perhaps a good work-around?

Thanks.
 
My work round is to use exposure compensation on the button and dial,as ime shooting raw compensation is only made in drastic situations so i have the increments set to full stops thats makes it easy and quick, never normally need 1/3 or 1/2 stops.
 
I have af modes programmed into various buttons so I can go instantly from single point to group or to area af. I'm shooting manual with floating iso and just whacking up iso a couple of stops when I aim at the sky. Nikon Mike I've tried setting the iso to whole stops but it doesn't seem to make the wheel change iso any faster it just seems to affect the display. Can you confirm that each click on the wheel moves the iso up by a whole stop rather than a third? If so I'm doing something wrong....
 
Have you been to custom settings/exposure/B3 and set it for 1 stop, i haven't got the camera here at the moment so i hope my memory is working.
 
Actually it was B1 I was changing - ISO sensitivity step value. Can see what the point of that menu item is. B2 changes exposure control so it goes up in whole steps - eg shutter speed 500, then 1000, then 2000. Why would anyone want to do that either??
 
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