Nikon | Fixation

Jonny Helm News August 24, 2017October 11, 2023 0 Comments

Pushing the boundaries | The Nikon D850

When Nikon unveiled the full specification of the highly anticipated D850 they set a new benchmark for high resolution photography.

The 45.7 megapixel CMOS sensor approaches medium format-level resolution and forgoes an optical low pass filter to harness the maximum sharpness of Nikkor lenses, with fantastic fidelity, tonality and clarity. This is also Nikon’s first DSLR to incorporate a back illuminated CMOS sensor, which captures light more efficiently, resulting in a wider dynamic range and low-noise image capture.

Beyond the incredible resolution, the Nikon D850 offers photographers superior performance:

High-Speed Capture
The D850 is capable of shooting up to 7 fps at full resolution, with full AF/AE or 9 fps at full resolution with the addition of an optional battery grip (MB-D18) and EN-EL18a/b battery.
Wide ISO Range
The D850 offers a wide ISO range from 64-25,600 (Expandable down to ISO 32, up to 102,400).
Flagship Focus System
The D850 uses the Nikon D5’s 153-point, Multi-Cam 20K AF system, which features 99 cross type sensors.
EXPEED 5
Nikon’s most powerful engine yet, allowing for fast data readout and swift image processing, improved low light performance, high speed shooting, full-frame 4K UHD video capture and greater power efficiency for longer battery life.

In addition to its phenomenal performance, the Nikon D850 boasts a range of innovative new features that professional photographers and videographers will appreciate:

Tilting LCD Touchscreen
The 3.2” high resolution (2359k-dot) LCD monitor offers Nikon’s most extensive touch functionality ever.
Silent Shooting
The D850 offers the ability to operate with an electronic shutter in Live View. When in this mode, users can shoot in complete silence. The electronic shutter operates at up to 6 fps (AF/AE locked) at full resolution, while an additional mode enables 8.6-megapixel capture in DX image area mode at up to 30 fps.
Radio Flash Control
Like the D5 and D500, the D850 also supports Radio-controlled Advanced Wireless Lighting with the optional SB-5000 Speedlight and WR-A10 and WR-R10 accessories.
RAW File Options
Users can choose from 3 sizes of RAW files to enhance workflow, including Large (45.4MP), Medium (25.6MP) and Small (11.4MP).
Bright Viewfinder
The 0.75x viewfinder magnification is the highest ever for a Nikon DSLR, and offers a wide and bright view of the frame to easily track and compose subjects.
Battery Performance
Battery performance has been increased considerably allowing up to 1,840 shots at full resolution or approximately 70 minutes of video on a single charge. Users who opt for the additional control and handling benefits of the optional battery grip can expect up to 5140 shots.
Dual Card Slots
The D850 features dual memory card slots — XQD for high-speed capture and transfer, as well as SD.
Focus Stacking
Ideal for macro, product and landscape photographers, this feature lets the user automatically shoot up to 300 shots at adjustable focus step intervals to infinity which can be easily assembled into a focus-stacked image using third party software.

Videographers will also appreciate the significant improvements over previous models:

Full-frame 4K UHD at 24/30 fps
The D850’s FX BSI CMOS sensor allows 4K UHD output at a full-frame width at 16:9, to increase lens options and provide a full field of view.
Slow Motion
Capture Full HD 1080p at up to 120fps for dramatic slow-motion video capture.
Focus Peaking
When shooting Full HD or in Live View for stills, focus peaking can be enabled which highlights in-focus subjects in the frame to ensure sharpness.
8K / 4K Timelapse
Users can create 4K UHD timelapse videos easily in-camera, or can use the built in intervalometer to capture images for an ultra-high resolution 8K time lapse that can be assembled in post for those who want the ultimate in video quality.
Zebra Stripes
The D850’s highlight display mode uses zebra patterns to quickly spot overblown highlights. What’s more, the zebra patterns come in two varieties, selectable according to the patterns and textures of the subjects.
HDMI Output
Using HDMI, users can record uncompressed, broadcast quality 4:2:2 8-bit 4K UHD footage, directly to an external digital recorder while simultaneously recording to a card.

Jonny Helm Tips & Tricks August 16, 2017October 6, 2023 10 Comments

Tips & Tricks | IS & VR Lens Care

Image stabilisation is a common feature on modern lenses, giving up to 4 stops advantage, and we’ve all enjoyed the benefits in those tricky low light situations where we don’t want to push the ISO too far.

The principle behind the technology is similar, regardless of manufacturer. A group of floating elements positioned near the rear of the lens are held in place by a series of electro-magnetic coils. Two gyroscopic sensors detect horizontal and vertical movements, and corrective adjustments are relayed to the electro-magnets which in turn steady the floating elements, resulting in a much sharper and steadier image.

The IS unit from a Canon 100-400mm ƒ/4.5-5.6L IS lens.

Now with all this electronic technology sitting in the lens – effectively a mini computer – it goes without saying that care should be taken with your glass, especially as the stabilisation systems can be easily damaged if care isn’t taken when removing the lens.

When the lens is attached to the camera and powered on, the electro-magnets release the elements, ready to stabilise the shot once the AF is activated. But when the camera is turned off, the power to the electro-magnets is deactivated and the elements lock in place to minimise any damage if the lens is knocked.

However, if the lens is removed before the elements have a chance to lock, they can float around freely and are susceptible to damage. The golden rule here is to ensure the camera is turned off and wait a couple of seconds to allow the elements to lock before removing the lens. On some lenses an audible click can also be heard when locking.

In some Nikkor lenses, the VR unit can be replaced without having to replace the floating element group. This example is from a 70-200mm ƒ/2.8G (1st Gen).

Lenses with damaged stabilisation units are something we see every week in the workshop and replacing these units can run into several hundred pounds, depending on the lens.

Fixation Team | Nikon Technicians (Part 2) image

Jonny Helm Feature August 2, 2017February 7, 2024 0 Comments

Fixation Team | Nikon Technicians (Part 1)

Our Nikon technicians are a dedicated team of specialists and can turn their hands to almost any repairs on bodies, lenses and speedlights.

Yusuf

Yusuf’s interest in computers and electronics began at an early age and he unofficially ran his school’s IT department. He completed his degree in Computer Aided Design in 1996 and became a Field Engineer, later QA engineer, for Bromcom computers. In 1999 he joined Motorola GSM Systems as a De-bug Engineer and in 2001 joined Alcatel Submarine Networks, working on their under-water fibre-optics. He joined Fixation in 2002 and until 2016 performed our IT support as well as carrying out repairs. These days he repairs Nikon film scanners and Quantum products, as well as Nikon’s mid-range and semi-pro bodies and lenses. In keeps his hand in with computers by volunteering as IT Consultant at his local library. Yusuf has a reputation within Fixation for enjoying his food, although his diet is going well. He’s a fan of Stephen Hawking, whose theories he finds fascinating and his guilty pleasure is any film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Noz

Chocoholic Noz joined Fixation as a trainee in March 2002 and the first camera he ever repaired was a Nikon FM2. Two years later he had progressed to repairing Pro digital products like the D1 and D2 series and he remains the go-to technician for Nikon’s flagship cameras like the D4 and D5. He rivals Melanie as a contender for Fixation’s loudest sneezer (please guys, it’s NOT a competition!) and as well watching his beloved Arsenal, he enjoys F1, running and cycling. In fact, he has completed the annual London to Brighton 55 mile bike ride three times with a pretty impressive PB of 2 hours 43 minutes. It’s certainly one way to burn off all that chocolate.

Chris

Chelsea fan Chris was originally employed by Melanie in 2002 when she supervised the Customer Support team at Nikon UK. But having always had an interest in how things work, when an opportunity came up to join Nikon’s workshop as a trainee in 2005, Chris swapped the telephone for screwdrivers and soldering irons and hasn’t looked back. He joined Fixation in May 2012 and continues to repair Nikon pro and semi-pro cameras and lenses. Chris has a strong interest in history, particularly the engineering feats of the industrial revolution. But if you want to chill with Chris, don’t suggest a night in watching Game of Thrones – he’s very resolutely not a fan!

Joy

When Joy left college in 1982 she knew that pen-pushing was not for her and was determined to find a manual or technical career that suited her. A visit to The Job Centre introduced her to the Government’s Youth Opportunities Program, specifically a chance to train as a technician at Luton camera Repairs where she remained for years repairing multiple major brands.

She joined Fixation in November 2011 and specialises in the repair of Nikon lenses. As well as being dextrous, she’s green-fingered, plays tennis and keeps chickens. She currently has two named Ginger and Sooty, both apparently eggcellent layers!

Jonny Helm Tips & Tricks August 2, 2017October 6, 2023 5 Comments

Tips & Tricks | Keep a close eye on your Nikkor lenses

Here’s a useful tip for Nikon users: You see this screw? This 2mm screw that can be found tucked on the side of the bayonet on all Nikkor lenses? Well, if it falls off it can cause a lot of expensive damage!

It’s designed to stop the lens from over-turning when it’s being attached to the camera, and occasionally these screws have a tendency to work loose and fall out.

A Nikkor 50mm ƒ/1.4G with the screw missing

Its actual role is to physically stop the lens from being rotated too far when being mounted. If this happens, you’ll invariably feel a horrible grinding and the aperture coupling lever will become distorted. And of course, when you realise your mistake, the lever will get bent a second time as you attempt to remove the lens. A bent lever have an adverse effect on the camera’s ability to stop the lens down correctly at the time of exposure and can also cause any other lenses to jam as you attempt to attach them.

A D7100 with a bent lever. In normal conditions, the end of the lever would be straight

Correct lens mounting

Aside from checking your lenses regularly to see if the screw is still present, another way to avoid damaging the control lever is to actually mount the lenses in the correct manner: there is no need to depress the lens release button when mounting a lens; it only needs to be depressed when removing a lens. Even if the stop screw has fallen off your lens, it is impossible to over turn the lens as it will lock into place via the release button pin. You’ll hear a click when the lens has mounted. However, the number of damaged cameras we see arriving at our workshop suggest that there are many Nikon users out there who insist on incorrectly depressing the button when mounting a lens. Just don’t!

The correct way to mount a NIkkor lens WITHOUT depressing the release lever

You’re asking for trouble if you mount your lenses this way!

Repairing a bent lever

In some cases our technicians can gently bend the lever back into shape, but they’re made of an alloy and will weaken considerably if they’re pulled around too much. In the majority of cases, the lever mechanism will need replacing and it’s quite an involved job. It’s mounted to the side of the mirror box and the camera has to be stripped down. And even though the lever is a small part, it is attached to a much larger mechanism that needs to be replaced in its entirety.

The replacement lever mechanism from a D800

It can cost upwards of £250 to replace the parts, so take a couple of minutes every month to check your lenses and keep your finger off that button!

Jonny Helm Feature July 25, 2017October 6, 2023 0 Comments

Nikon 100th Anniversary | Interview

Unless you’ve been avoiding the photographic press for the last few months, it probably hasn’t escaped your notice that Nikon are celebrating their 100th anniversary on July 25th.

A Miniature Nikon F Camera has been produced to commemorate the 100th anniversary

Our relationship with Nikon goes way back; back to 1988 in fact, when former Nikon UK Service Manager Mike Allen started Fixation and we became an official Nikon Service Centre, looking after many of the professional photographers Mike had known from his years in the industry.

Around the same time, Jeremy Gilbert was also starting off beginning his career at Nikon, starting off in sales before moving into product management and then marketing. Today he is the Northern Europe Marketing Director for Nikon Imaging. We caught up with Jeremy to talk about Nikon and his thoughts on the industry today.

Hi Jeremy, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Thanks Tim, always a challenging question for an introvert!

As you know I’ve spent a lifetime in the photographic industry, literally starting off as a Saturday boy at Photomarkets to supplement my grant whilst at college. Following this I had a brief spell at Fox Talbot in The Strand and my final stint within retail was at City Camera Exchange managing their Bishopsgate branch before moving to Croydon. It was there that I was inspired to seek employment with a manufacturer. Nikon was already my camera brand of choice, so I wrote to their Sales Manager. My first day at Nikon was 1^st September 1986 and the rest as they say is history.

Jeremy Gilbert receiving a Which? award in 2015

So when you started at Nikon, it was before digital cameras had become mainstream and the F4 was the flagship film camera. How do you think the takeover of digital has shaped photography?

When I first started the F3 was actually still the flagship Pro Camera and Nikon was about to release its first consumer Autofocus camera the F-501, so you could say I joined pre AF as well as pre digital. Digital cameras weren’t even a dream at that time, although perhaps the first indication of what the future could be were evident in a product we launched in 1988 the QV-1000c, a monochrome electronic still video camera. By today’s standards the quality of its 380,000-pixel monochrome CCD recording onto a video floppy disc was less than perfect, but it did open people’s minds to a potential future without the cost and time limitations of film. It wasn’t until seven years later we launched the £10,000+ 1.3MP Nikon E2 into the pro market, but personally I think it was the launch of the COOLPIX 900 in 1998 that convinced me it was game over for film (although I distinctly remember we all thought the transition would take much longer than it did).

The last roll of film I used was in 1999. To be frank, once the D1 was launched there wasn’t any need; the digital takeover was assured, if not complete. How’s this shaped photography? is a hard question; it certainly made photography more accessible to a much wider audience and I think it’s fair to say improved the workflow process for the majority, but what we mustn’t forget is that ‘good photography’ isn’t just about the equipment, it’s about the photographers skills behind the camera. If you consider the really iconic images taken over the last 50 years the majority were probably taken on vastly inferior equipment than we have today – what digital has done has inspired a new breed of photographers to enter the industry, helping them to push the boundaries of the art form.

We now live in an age when a single digital image can circulate the world in just a few seconds, having an immediate impact on people’s opinions and emotions – it’s been a privilege to have played a small part in that transition.

Nikon’s D1, released in 1999 was a game-changer for professional photographers

I understand you’re a keen photographer yourself; we’ve actually got one of your prints on the wall in our showroom! You must feel like a kid in a candy shop, being surrounded every day by all this amazing equipment?

Yes I do enjoy my photography and yes being able to use whatever I want is amazing, but like everyone else I do tend to stick with my favourite products which right now is the Df with either standard 50mm or the new 300mm ƒ/4, I have to say the little 300mm is probably my favourite lens of all time; simply amazing and if you haven’t used one you must give it a go as it will change your opinion forever.

Do you still shoot film at all?

No not at all…. Although I won’t say never again as, I do miss the thrill of the darkroom from time to time – I’ve actually got an unopened roll of Kodak 120 colour film from late 1930’s that I promised myself I’ll use one day, perhaps it’s time to open it?

Nikon were the first to include video capability on a DSLR with the D90 and it’s now a commonplace feature. Looking back, did you have any inkling that it would be a game changer for videographers?

We definitely knew it would be the start of something big – technologies are continually merging to offer the consumer great functionality and performance and this was one of those occasions.

There seem to be more people with cameras these days, but less people shooting professionally. Do you think digital is the reason for this?

No I don’t think this is because of digital photography per se, it’s more to do with the way we consume images and the price people are willing to pay to use an image online – sadly the price of photographs has been driven down in the market, making it harder for some to make the living they once did. Having said that, the cream will always rise to the top and we shouldn’t forget there are still a huge number of very successful photographers.

Mirrorless cameras are becoming more and more popular, and you seem to do well with the Nikon 1 system. Do you think there’s room for professional cameras to explore this route, as Sony have done with the A7 & A9 systems?

It’s always good to see new technologies enter the market; competition is what drives us to maximise our product offering.

Is there room in the market for professional mirrorless? – Yes, but as proven in the past we need to ensure that new technologies really do improve the performance, workflow and reliability for the professional. It can be some time before this becomes apparent, in the meantime as recently reported by senior Nikon executives we will concentrate our resources on medium to high-end cameras and lenses but sorry, I can’t comment on future products.

Thinking back to all the product releases you’ve been involved in, are there any products that stand out?

This award would go to two cameras the D1 and the D3.

The D1 because it was really the first true digital DSLR (not a bolt on solution); it changed the pro market forever.

The D3 because Nikon managed to break totally new grounds with low light performance. High ISO performance was significantly better than anything else on the market, it was a dream camera to work with.

If you could only use one Nikon product, which would it be and why?

Definitely the Df – it’s a product you buy with your heart, and on occasion is a challenge to use, but because of this it makes you think and take a little bit more time taking pictures, for me this helps me take a more considered photograph (I’ve never been a fan of the machine gun approach to picture taking). The cameras processing is very sympathetic creating a very natural looking file and at launch it was at the top of the DXO ratings for low light performance.

It might not be everyone’s choice, but it is mine.

Jeremy’s choice of camera, the Df is a respectful nod to old film cameras such as the FE & FM

Obviously you can’t give too much away, but can we look forward to some exciting announcements this year?

Probably the question I get asked the most, and one everyone knows I can’t answer, but consider this… Nikon is a camera manufacturer with a hundred years of experience in optics, it’s therefore fairly safe to say we will be announcing new products at some point in the near future – be patient we won’t disappoint.

To commemorate the anniversary, Nikon have produced strictly limited editions of the flagship D5 & D500 along with special versions of the popular ƒ/2.8 zooms.

A limited edition pin badge set, featuring key products from the last 100 years has also been released

To learn more about Nikon and their anniversary products, see the official website here

Jeremy was talking to Tim Stavrinou

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