D700 Tips and Tricks - Official Thread

[Peter Zack]

To double-check sharpness in a hurry, I find the zoom button just not fast enough while shooting a wedding. I have image review turned off as well to speed up the shot to shot process.

So in custom settings menu, f2, select "playback mode," scroll down to "zoom on-off," select either medium or high magnification, I like medium. Click the OK.


Also if you review an image and use the multi button to zoom in to check for sharpness, you can use the command dial (rear e dial) to scroll back though earlier images and they all stay zoomed to the focus point. Great to see if a sequence of shots worked, maybe when the shutter speed was questionable.

It's also handy to see what a high ISO shot is doing to add noise, maybe you need to add a little Ev comp to keep noise down in a dark region of the shot.

Of course there's no D700 spell check button for my error filled forum posts. :wink:

 

[p w ryan]

I am a new D700 owner, and just read through all nine pages of tips. Such helpful advice. I have my camera in hand and have read though and made changes already! Thank you!

 

[socrdude]

how do I use the high iso on the D700... do I need to set the ISO manually as on Auto, it does not seem to bump up when I need it. thanks

 

[lovecolt]

how do I use the high iso on the D700... do I need to set the ISO manually as on Auto, it does not seem to bump up when I need it. thanks

Do you mean how to let the camera auto adjust the iso?? If yes, it can be done by editing the "iso sensativity" settings on the menu.

 

[Joseph]

Custom Setting Banks and Shooting Menu Banks explained

I posted this very detailed instructions on how to use both the CSB and SMB on the D700/D300 as a reply to another member. I figured I should also post here so everyone could benefit from it :wink:

Using the Custom Setting Bank (CSB) and Shooting Menu Banks (SMB)

The Custom Settings Bank controls what the camera does BEFORE releasing the shutter while the Shooting Menu Bank controls the output properties of the picture AFTER the shutter is released.

The CSB has things like AF settings, metering/exposure settings, etc. The SMB has things like image quality, color space, white balance, 14-bit/12-bit RAW, Active folder, etc.

You can use ANY combination of CSB and SMB.

ME personally, since I only shoot 100% NEF, I don't use SMB-- I just set it to A and that's it. However, I use CSB quite a lot......

1. I assigned my Fn key to bring up the top item on MyMenu. Next, I placed the CSB on top of the MyMenu so basically I can switch to different banks quickly by pressing the Fn button.

2. I have 3 settings on my CSB: (A)Focus w/ Shutter (B)Focus w/ AF-ON and (C)Newbie mode

=======================
How to set your custom banks:
=======================

On the Custom Setting Bank....

Go to bank A
Then go to a5 AF Activation ->AF-ON ONLY ->(hit OK)
Note you're still on Bank A. Now rename this bank to "Focus w/ AF-ON"
Done.

Go to bank B
Then go to a5 AF Activation ->choose "Shutter/AF-ON" (hit ok)

(this setting enables you to AF by half-pressing the shutter button OR use your AF-ON button) Now rename this bank to "AF with shutter"
Done.

Remember... the way it works is you choose the bank FIRST, then MAKE the changes. The bank "remembers" the changes as you go. Switching to a different bank means you are in that bank and every change you make NOW will be recorded in THAT bank. Clear as mud? :biggrin:

On my "newbie mode", I set up the D700 so it beeps after acquiring focus and is set to half-press the shutter button. I switch to this mode when I give my D700 to my wife or mother in law :wink:

TIP: You can also set your AF-C and AF-S priority release modes on the CSB. This and the "Focus tracking with lock-on" is very important for action tracking. All these can be set on the Custom Setting Bank (not the shooting bank!)

Now once everything is set, go to the wrench icon (spanner icon) aka SETUP MENU and select -> Save/Load Settings -> Save Settings -> OK.

This will save your NCSETUP1.BIN on your CF card. Copy this file to your computer and keep it as backup. If you mess up your settings again, you can simply load this file using the same menu. (or you can load your settings on a different D700)

Hope that helps. Any Q's? Feel free to post or PM me. Always glad to help.

 

[bluelake_boy]

If you assign custom function f10 "Release button to use dial" to ON, you can press and release an assigned button for bracketing, and use only the shutter release for the bracketing sequence.

This mimics the Nikon DSLRs with the dedicated bracket button.

I prefer this setting for button press and dial setting of functions.

 

[Triggaaar]

Little bump here for some advice.



I've had my D700s for ages, but don't take many photos of moving subjects. When taking shots of people moving straight towards the camera I'm using:
AF-C set to release priority
spot focusing
a4 - 'Focus tracking with lock-on' set to OFF (so there's no delay in adjusting focus)
a5 - set to AF-ON only

but it's not keep focus as well as I'd expect. Are there better settings to use?

TIP: You can also set your AF-C and AF-S priority release modes on the CSB. This and the "Focus tracking with lock-on" is very important for action tracking.

a4 is important, but set to what?

Thanks

 

[Joseph]

Little bump here for some advice.



I've had my D700s for ages, but don't take many photos of moving subjects. When taking shots of people moving straight towards the camera I'm using:
AF-C set to release priority
spot focusing
a4 - 'Focus tracking with lock-on' set to OFF (so there's no delay in adjusting focus)
a5 - set to AF-ON only

but it's not keep focus as well as I'd expect. Are there better settings to use?
a4 is important, but set to what?

Thanks

When you said "spot focusing", did you mean single area AF? I don't do a lot of BIF, but recently, I found out that I've had better results when I use AF-C and auto area mode (on AF-C, you won't see any focusing points) This has been very reliable for me. I find that it's somewhat difficult to reliably track focus with single point, especially with long lenses.

 

[Triggaaar]

When you said "spot focusing", did you mean single area AF?

Yes, sorry, that's what I meant. I don't think it's casuing the problem as I can keep it on the subject's face - we're only talking people here, not BIF. I could try different modes, I know 51-3D works well in general, but I like to use a single point so I can focus on a subjects eye if they stop moving.

 

[jaypeeverdaguer]

Thank you for the tips and guide everyone!

 

[RoyC01]

For those that make in camera settings changes often, many can be directly accessed from the info screen. Just press the info button twice and high-lite any of the setting in the bottom two rows on the info screen and press OK. You are taken directly to that setting in the menus.

 

[heiko]

Thanks for all the good advice - I'll be trying out some of your suggestions.

Here is one setting that I use:

I assigned the Fn button to activate spot metering. Whenever I'm in a difficult lighting condition, or when shooting portraits, I can quickly spot meter e.g. the face and take it from there.

The same Fn button is also programmed to activate and adjust bracketing via the dials. Since my camera is always in high speed shutter release mode, snapping 3 bracketing shots takes less than a second.

Another thing mentioned before is the use of the AF-ON button for focusing (not the shutter release button), in conjunction with the AF selector switch to AF-C (the one on the front of the camera). This allows to quickly focus on a static object and reframe to get the DOF etc. I want. Or to track moving subjects and fire away.

 

[heiko]

Another one: When using flash (especially external flash), try use the M setting to adjust the aperture and shutter speed to your liking (shutter speed within flash sync range) and let the flash do its magic.

 

[daveg]

I use BANKS for example for General Shooting, Auto ISO and Flash.

In Auto ISO Bank I have the PREVIEW Button on SPOT.

In Flash Bank I have the PREVIEW Button on FV Lock.

DG

 

[Logic 7]

This thread is a HUGE help to a new D700 owner. Thank you all.

 

[coop5885]

This thread is a HUGE help to a new D700 owner. Thank you all.

Did you get one too?? Congrats if so.

 

[Logic 7]

Did you get one too?? Congrats if so.

My wife wanted my D90 really bad, so it was a total win win situation.Thanks.

 

[NEF Said]

Awesome thread. I just got a D700 on Friday and have been pouring through the menus setting up things. There is way more flexibility, than the D90.

I do need to set a P&S mode, for lending out the camera (briefly for a quick shot by newbies.

Regards,

 

[heiko]

Awesome thread. I just got a D700 on Friday and have been pouring through the menus setting up things. There is way more flexibility, than the D90.

I do need to set a P&S mode, for lending out the camera (briefly for a quick shot by newbies.

Regards,

You can use the settings Banks for that. I have a newbie mode for just that (I use the AF button for focusing, which confuses newbies). You can access them via the Info button (press twice and change the bank). Unfortunately the settings you can recall are limited (you can't change the entire setup, just some of them). Nevertheless it helps.

 

[jaypeeverdaguer]

Hi everyone! Can you please share your settings with Picture control and White balance? Is it advisable to use D2X mode optional picture control for my D700? Thanks in advance.