I think my new D200 is broke.

[Touchdown]

Bright, and hot... VERY HOT 104 degrees on Sunday at the Colorado RenFest. Not a cloud in the sky and when I checked, I was shooting at 1800 ISO. I used a Sigma 100-300 with Aperture locked in at f22 since it isn't DX compatible. Did I screw up a setting and don't know about it, or is my metering system broken, my sensor shot, or what? I got a 5 year warranty, but Nikon's is still on now. I also think I have some dead pixels too. Anyone with some blow up software wanna check for me?

I know I haven't been around lately. I was kidnapped by a cult of albinos and force fed tofu at a Chinese Dry Cleaner (hint, the ancient secret is NOT Calgon). Actually, I've been working on interviewing state candidates for AFL-CIO endorsements, and pretty busy...so this camera also sat neglected as well. Sorry about disappearing like that.

THESE WERE THE D200 at about high noon and 2pm.





This was taken with my Coolpix 8700 the same hour as #2.



This is the best that Apple's $300 Aperture can do with #2

[Ms. Toad]

1. Dead pixels...

Probably digital noise:

"With High ISO NR Off, image noise becomes detectable in shadow areas at ISO 400, detectable in highlight areas at ISO 800, and noticeable throughout the image at ISO 1600." http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/d200_pg11.html

You were at 1800.

When I played with the image to try to lighten it there was a substantial amount of what I assume is noise - which might also look to you like dead pixels.

As for darkness - dunno. I'd have to read the manual. My guess is that somehow you fixed both shutter speed and aperture, even though it looks as if you intended to fix only aperture.

Disclaimer: I've never even held a digital SLR - just saw what looked to me like high ISO grain and started to look to see if there is a similar problem with high ISO digital images.

[Touchdown]

5. Dead Pixels...

Hopefully my compression didn't make them dissapear (It did, so let me try again)...(compression fuzzies it out). Primary colors usually (this one's green, but I've seen cyan as well)

Digital's equivalent of grain is noise. These are speckles that are drastically different colors than what's supposed to be there.

My high ISO NR was on.

2nd try.

[Ms. Toad]

11. Those sure look dead.

Didn't see those when I blew up the other pictures - just lots of noise/grain.

[F.Gordon]

2. Nope. Not broke. Looks fairly typical for a Nikon

:rofl:

Canon has an Emergency!!! Emergency!!! Danger!!! reset button that can be accessed from the Menu. I had to use it once on that same day but I wasn't whimping out and takin' snaps in the shade. Camera got funky on me. Removed the battery and put it back in then went to the Menu and pressed "Clear All Camera Settings". Fixed it. Didn't have any other probs' the rest of the day.

Oops. Forgot. We're talkin' a Nikon here. You're going to need to send it in to the Factory. ;-) ISO1800 at f/22 your shots should be almost pure white if you're using aperture priority. Have you tried a reset and putting a Nikon Lens on it?

I don't see any missing pixels but when I blew it up I did see a naked guy sitting in a tree eating a Turkey Leg. Sheeeshh. And you missed that shot?

Is the Ren thing worth the effort? (traffic and all) I've never been. Looks like you should be using a Flash, if you had a camera that works.

How'd your Weddings go? Good to see ya' back. Now get over in sub' thread and get a Portal photo entered. Or are you too good for everyone with your fancy Nikon that only works some of the time.
:hi:

[Maestro]

4. Nice to see you back F. Gordon.

With such a high aperture setting, shouldn't his shot be dark? I thought the high ISO just made the sensor more sensitive to the light, but with the small aperture value, very little light is hitting the sensor. Obviously I have got something wrong. However, I thought that the shot was normal given the settings. Please learn me teacher. :)

[F.Gordon]

19. I aint' no teacher.

:dunce:

Sorry. I should not go online these days. Stuff going on... I get sidetracked....what were we talking about? :crazy:

No, the shot shouldn't have been dark. It was because Gremlins got into TD's camera and turned the EC dial. All kinds of mystical things effect the exposure and there are only 3 people on the planet that understand it and none of them will return my phone calls.

Most snaps use Exposure "averaging". Take TD's first photo. At ISO 1800 and f/22, the originally stated specs, to properly expose the background (using my handy dandy exposure chart.. don't leave home without it) would have required a shutter speed of about 1/60 second. People/Things in the foreground IN THE SUN would have required a shutter speed of around 1/2000 second. If you "average" you get more background detail but then you blow up the sun people/things. If you lock the exposure or you spot/priority exposure you are going to go blow up white somewhere or you are going to go to the dark side. No way to avoid it. IMHO

I snapped that same horrible day and would go f/11 once in awhile but even with a Polarizer to stop the f' a bit I never had to go higher than ISO 400 to get a decent handheld exposure. But to each their own. How I snap sure the heck' (I'm trying to cut back on my use of the word 'fuck') shouldn't be a guideline for others. You can try it.. but learnin' should be a personal thing. Let me see if I can go grab an example....
:hi:

[Touchdown]

6. Oooh burn! Canon fanboys never get off it do they?

"My camera can beat up your camera. And yes, Mine does have a reset to default button. I just thought I couldn't see any pics in the VF since it was so bright outside. And... MY camera sounds like a Greeek Island. Yours sounds like a machine of war and oppression...and pirates!:P

My wedding shots? Well, aside from 16 whole damn bridesmaids and groomsmen in a small back yard in Genessee, I think I did pretty well. Oh' yeah, and the album? I'm charging $200 extra for that.:D

BTW: My problem started getting noticeable at this wedding with excessive blue cast, so you can marvel at my photoshop skills salvaging it.

[Touchdown]

14. Renfest was extended one more week.

Thanks to the rainy 4th of July (Wanted to take pics of the fireworks, didn't. :grr: ), they are closing shop up in Aug instead of next weekend. closing ceremonies are fun.
It's a snappy's dream. Actors mug for the camera more than politicians do. Some of the costumes are elaborate, and the shows are fun. It's not shakesperian, more like Vaudeville/Burlesque. They have no problem with the inuendos in front of children. Not for the sanctimony crowd. The Jousters/duel to the death for honor knights spit packets of blood at 5:30 pm. We were too hot and tired to stay.:cry: The place is huge, about 80 acres, and half of it up hill, so bring a hat and good shoes. If you dress up, go as a hooker, cause the pumps work well on dirt slopes.:rofl:

Traffic isn't that bad, and Larkspur and Renfest folks just signed a 4 year deal to come back. Negotiations were not going well recently. Larkspur needs them though. 60% of their revenue comes from the Fest.

Get your tickets at King Soopers though, they're cheaper...and NO ENTERING THE PHOTO CONTEST. Give some amateurs a chance...or those with broken cameras.;)

[Maestro]

3. Self-delete

Edited: I read F. Gordon's explanation and he knows infinitely more than me.

[Touchdown]

7. What? He didn't give me anything but a "Your Ford truck sucks!" response

What gives?:shrug:

Chevy Drivers!:eyes:

[Maestro]

8. I don't know.

My response was completely contradictory to F. Gordon's so I deleted it since he seems to be more knowledgeable than me and I didn't want to confuse anyone. I asked him a question about the whole thing up-thread.

Edit: There seems to be something going on here between you and F.Gordon, perhaps friendly, I can't tell. Anyhow, what I had originally stated was that I thought given the high aperture value and subsequent small opening in the lens that it produces then a dark picture could be expected. The ISO value is also used primarily in low light situations since it makes the sensor in your camera more sensitive to light but at the same time can lead to some grainy shots or "noise." So I didn't think the camera was broken. If you shutter speed was 1600 with an ISO of 800, your shot seems pretty "normal." Hey, but I could me missing something very important.

[bvar22]

9. Check your EXIF Data.

On pic #1,
ISO=800
Shutter 1/1600
Aperture= F/25
Exposure Compensation= -3EV

Have you tried it with a Nikon lens?
reset the EC to Zero and everything else to AUTO.

Bob
St Paul


On Edit:
Looks like a "Hot Pixel" in post #5.
I believe Nikon will repair.
Check their website, or Nikonians.

On Edit Edit:
Its not difficult to live with a hot pixel. I have one in my Olympus.
It usually disappears in resizing for the net, or a quick paintbrush one pixel dab will do the trick. It has become a simple post processing step in my regular routine for that camera.

[Touchdown]

10. I saw the e-comp. Thanks.

Thought I had it at 0.:shrug:

Sometimes I work fast, and wanted to stop it down to F5.6 or 8 for portraits. I guess my button pushin and dial twisting got screwy. I have a big problem with this camera insisting that everything be in focus. I lost my manual, my Capture CDs and don't know if I have it on matrix metering, cuz the icon is now different from my older cameras. Where is the reset to factory opption? didin't see it in the tools or the camera menus. I'm a mess!

One problem I have with this camera is there's no idiot settings with the little icons. I got pretty fast with them on my older film cameras, and even that Coolpix.

The Jousting Match was too far away for 70mm, but some of the shots I took with the Nikkor DX look almost as dark. I'm waiting for Nikon's new 100-300mm...it's rumored to have VR in it. That's why most stores are out of stock.

[bvar22]

12. Here is a list of the default settings and RESET options.

Living with Hot Pixels:
Its not difficult to live with a hot pixel. I have one in my Olympus.
It usually disappears in resizing for the net, or a quick paintbrush one pixel dab will do the trick. It has become a simple post processing step in my regular routine for that camera.

[CC]

13. You can download a new manual

here http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_prods=19%2C217&p_pv=2.217&p_cats=187&p_cv=1.187 and there is info on the camera with nice easy to follow pictures here http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/d200.html
It really sounds more like user error than a broken camera so try a reset first. Nikon will fix the hot spots if you want to send it in to them. But you will be without it a couple of weeks.
Also F.Gordon is a pretty good guy if a bit of a curmudgeon. That is part of his charm and usually has us laughing.
Whispers- Besides he is the one with the wrong camera. Don't tell him I said that. :evilgrin:

[Touchdown]

15. Oh I know. I rib him too.

That didn't come through? :shrug:

I've been in the group for a while, just not so frequent lately. F.Gordon is practically a neighbor of mine. He lives in the next burb. He keeps promising to take me out, but he has to stay with "Wifey" instead.:P

Thanks for the links.:hi:

Of course he is.:evilgrin:

[regnaD kciN]

16. To raise the obvious question...

...have you tried it with any lens other than the Sigma? If you have (particularly with whichever Nikon "kit lens" you bought with your D200), and got the same results, there might be something wrong with your camera. If the other lens works fine, I'd be suspicious with the non-DX-compatible Sigma's interface with the camera.

And don't let F.Gordon get you down...all those Canonites act that way! :evilgrin:

[ConsAreLiars]

17. The answer was given by bvar in msg #9.

If you under expose by 3 stops you're going to get rather dark pix, unless you happen to be shooting a polar bear strutting across glare ice with the sun at midframe.

[regnaD kciN]

23. Well, then, I'm sorry for having wasted DU's time by posting...

:eyes:

[Touchdown]

24. Hey. I liked the kick, and any help is appreciated.

:hug:

[ConsAreLiars]

26. Sorry. No offense was intended.

[NV Whino]

18. Download a trial version of

Nikon Capture DX. It's awesome. I did a similar thing with my D100. Shut down the aperture to stop moving water, which left the trees along the stream too dark. PhotoShop couldn't do a thing with it. I tried Capture DX and have a pretty darned good shot now.

[bvar22]

20. I have Capture 4.4, and agree. Powerful.

The only complaint I have is that this software in not included FREE with every Nikon camera.
I haven't seen an Upgrade price yet.

Another very cool program by Nikon is Nikon Control which lets you operate your camera from a computer via USB cable (or infrared). Wonderful for studio work.

[NV Whino]

22. Didn't know about Control

Thanks for the info.

[NV Whino]

21. Correction

This is Nikon Capture NX, not DX.

This is the newest version and it's amazing. It converts jpegs to raw format, but doesn't permanently alter your original image. I was not too impressed with the original Capture. This version is spectacular.

[Gregorian]

25. According to the manual, 105F is the max operating temp.

That could be it. I haven't read this thread. I'm watching the Tour de France and posting at the same time. Sacrebleu!

Edit- Exposure Compensation= -3EV

That's part of the prob. I think this website has a discussion on D200 EV. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm


Also, this Excell spreadsheet is the quintessential D200 settings list. I started out with the defaults, then tried a few recommended settings, and then used these, and the improvement was remarkable.
Hm, I can't seem to figure out how to save the file. So here's the forum post with the spreadsheet. It's probably better anyways.

http://www.nikonians.org/dcforum/DCForumID202/17033.html

[Touchdown]

27. That spreadsheet is just what I need!

I printed it out at work, and my camera's in the car trunk, BUT!.. I'm not allowed to bring it into my workplace (some security of computer screens bullshit :eyes: ), anyhow, I'll try to smuggle it in, smuggle it out and commandeer a co-worker to be a model on breaktime.

I miss those shooting modes on a dial. I got to using them a lot with my N60 and Coolpix. I guess I relied on them too much, since this semi-pro camera doesn't have them. Don't know why though. Nikon has been into photography long before I picked up my first camera. I trust them to know more about exposure modes than I do.

I should have checked the exposure compensation variable. :dunce: Problem is, that I never used it on any of the 6 over my lifetime cameras... ever. So, it never occured to me. When you learn 20 years ago on a fully manual Minolta, that doesn't have it, and the teachers don't teach it, you tend to accept that it's not necessary. I'm beginning to see how it's useful, when I learn what situations require what....maybe.:shrug:

BTW: THat Nikonians site has a wealth of info. Bad black message board interface. They don't seem to take Ken Rockwell seriously though. :rofl:

[Touchdown]

28. I'm going to send it in.

The Nikon Rep said they have to look at it for the dead pixels. It's still under warranty, so at least I should do it now. :cry: I just don't want to be two weeks without it.

Get this. They do NOT want me to send it back in the original camera box, but another FedEx box, really packed or something, no battery, lense or card, just the camera body. It's going to El Segundo California. They say it's usually 10 days to get it back. This is the first camera I've ever needed repair on. I've had 2 Minoltas, 1 Polaroid, a little Olympus Stylus and 2 other Nikons, and none of those others gave me a bit of trouble.

I downloaded the NX software, but as with all things Apple/Intel, no patch to work on the new chips yet, so it drags. I played with it, but it looks like it has a bit of a learning curve to it.

Thanks for everybody's help.

[F.Gordon]

29. I get dead pixels on the 20D at high ISO's (1600 & 3200)

Annoying but easy to fix. Bummer about the "send it back" thing.

When you get your friggin' camera back PM me. I've always wanted to do a "Denver at Night" snaparoo, or anything that yanks your chain. Or, the Grand Prix. Not sure if you're into things that are loud and go very fast. That is.... if I can get Wifey Poo to let me out of the house.;)

Love your Wedding Pic up thread. Nice exposure shooting into very bright background.
:hi:

[Touchdown]

30. Sounds cool.

I had an idea for a project myself. Neon. On the Rocky Mountain News a couple of months ago, there was a pic of the Oriental Theater at dusk, and that reminded me of all the neon around town...with the Bluebird, Mayan theaters, all those rides at Lakeside Park, the old Denver Diner, lots of things. Thought it would make a fun project. :hi:

Took some this weekend, and the ISO was 560. Still dead pixels, but not as large. The sharpness is probelmatic as well. The high ISO noise reduction, seems to drop the photo quality, and make it look "videoey" when viewed up close. Maybe a new sensor is what I need. When I get it back, I'll cap it at 800 and turn the NR off, like I capped my Coolpix at 160 ISO. That little thing is noisy anywhere above that.

[insane_cratic_gal]

31. My guess

is White balance ... maybe place it on Auto?

I've had problems with that before usually my pictures usually look like yours, my problem? my white balance was off.