In The Shop

I checked on my D200 at the Nikon Repair web site. My camera is now listed as "In shop" which means that the camera is in the process of being repaired. Could I have my camera repaired and returned by this time next week? Stay tuned.






Sunrise Seney NWR

Still Waiting

Please note the link to Thom Hogan's excellent site http://www.bythom.com/ This site does tend toward Nikon shooters, but there is some excellent information that would be beneficial to most photographers. Upon completion of the repair of my D200, I will post my experiences with Nikon Repair at http://www.bythom.com/experiencesrepair.htm Thom Hogan started this posting apparently due to concerns about Nikon repair experiences.

Thus, far Nikon repair reports that my D200 as; estimate accepted, on 9/9/08. Nikon's service repair rank is B2. According to the Nikon Service Status Check web page B2 means a moderate repair wityh major parts replaced. The problem according to Nikon is described as a broken display, clean and check. This is consitent with my evaluation and request for service. One caveat though is the information box on the Repair Status page, that reveals the message "If Parts Available," with the explanation, "Depending on the age of the product, some orders will display this message when replacement parts are limited." Does this mean parts are not available, back ordered, will there be a delay in the repair, or what? The information is not specific enough. I will contact Nikon repair on Monday, 9/15/08, unless there is a change in status. In the mean time, no camera, no photography.

Waiting

This photo was taken 4/14/08 in a little valley outside Townsend, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Note the Dogwood blooming on the right and the snow on the mountains in the background. Mid-April is the time to be in the Smokies and the surrounding area. Sometime in the near future I will post a guide for photographers who want to explore this area in the spring.




NIKON REPAIR UPDATE 9/9/08
I've been busy with other concerns for the most part, but still missing my camera. If you read my previous post, the Nikon Repair facility in Melville, New York was supposed to contact me by Thursday 9/11/08, and inform me of the status of my D200 shipped on 9/2/08. Nikon received the camera 9/4/08. Today I received an email from Nikon with an estimate for repairs totaling $224.50 which includes tax and shipping. I immediately responded and approved the estimate. I will try to post on Friday 9/12/08 to document the progress on this matter. So far Nikon repair has done well by me.

Update on Nikon repair process

Nikon received my D200 via UPS yesterday, 9/4/08. Since I have not received verification of their receipt of the camera and being a neophyte with regard to Nikon repair I decided to contact their repair facility via phone. After navigating through a couple of levels of "press 1 for technical support or press 2 for repairs." I finally entered "5, to speak to a service representative," and took a deep breath, prepared for a long wait, I was surprised when a service representative immediately answered and provided answers to all my questions. He explained, with a definitive, but understandable accent, that there was a "system delay" and normal notification of receipt of products for repair was not working properly. He confirmed receipt of my camera by Nikon and promised I would receive an e-mail by next Thursday (9/11/08) confirming receipt, and providing a tracking number to use with their on-line system. Further, he promised I would receive my repaired camera by 10/4/08. So far, this has been a pretty painless experience.

Disaster and the D200

L to R: Rick Nevels, Don S. sitting Rick L.

On a recent trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula I had the privilege to shoot in beautiful and interesting surroundings with two good friends (Canon shooters nonetheless, see we all really can  get along) for ten fantastic days. Despite the mosquito swarms which lasted for approximately an hour each AM and regularly ran us into our tents each PM, we had a great time and captured some beautiful images. However, on 8/29/08 at 8:04:59 AM I took what may end up being the last image ever taken with my beloved D200. The D200 is a substantial, well built camera, my first DSLR, that I have taken many images with. If I were to replace it with a newer model, I would want to keep it. Not only are the images it produces impressive, but the handling characteristics and ergonomics make it a joy to use. The spider web photo below was taken at the time listed above just before my D200 was seriously damaged.



I was shooting with a MF 200mm f4 Nikon macro lens, a lens I have written about before on this blog, a lens that is renown for it's contrast and sharpness, and works on the Nikon D100 - 300 and D1 -D3 series cameras. The camera and lens were attached to the tripod via the Arca-Swiss screw release on an Arca-Swiss Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 Single Pan Ballhead to the lens mount and a custom Kirk plate on the Nikon 200mm f4. In attempting to readjust my tripod for another shot the quick release allowed the camera and lens to slide backwards out of the mount. The back of the D200 took the brunt of impact resulting in a badly damaged lcd (see photo below). Initially, the on/off switch on the camera did not work, but then I was able to shut down the camera. I then attempted to turn the camera back on, but to no avail. I placed the camera and lens in a plastic bag, due to the shattered glass, and placed it in my camera bag. I could not bear to look at it further. Without a backup camera body, my Canon shooting buddies graciously loaned me Canon cameras and beautiful L series lenses (see we all really can get along) to photograph with for the remainder of our trip.

Upon returning home, I opened up the plastic bag and looked at my camera. After further examination and a new battery I discovered the camera was operable, after all. Amazingly the camera still produces an image, autofocus, and metering still works. Autofocus modes work, but the multi selector on the back of the camera does not work, hence auto focus points cannot be manipulated and all other functions dependent upon the multi-selector are inoperable. However, the camera still takes a reasonable image. (Below)

Returning to Louisville, late, on Sunday 8/31/08, I set about determining where to get an estimate on repair. Initial inquiries about local repairs seemed to indicate possible delays due to a history of back ordered parts from Nikon. Also, I have a shoot scheduled for 10/4/08 and need a camera ASAP. Consequently, I shipped the D200 to Nikon's repair facility in Melville, NY. The camera was shipped UPS on 9/2/08 4:36 PM and arrived at the Melville NY repair facility on 9/4/08 at 10:13 AM. At the time of this writing, 9/4/08 2:25 PM, no word from Nikon regarding repair status. I will continue to post my experience and progress on this repair.

Spring in the Southeast Mountains

First Place Wildflower Category

Third Place Wildflower Category

We have just returned from a trip to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation area, East Tennessee, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Eastern Kentucky, and Cumberland Falls State Park. It was an exhausting, but rewarding trip. We (my wife and I) were up early every morning and usually returned to our cabin well after dark. We spent each evening downloading and editing images. At the end of our trip we participated in the Cumberland Falls Nature Photography Weekend and Contest. The contest starts on Friday at 12 noon and ends on Saturday at 6 PM. Photographers must submit their images on or before 6 PM, a maximum of six images that may be entered in 6 categories. Approximately 80 photographers participated this year with participants from as far away as Virginia, Alabama, and Ohio. My wife took first place in a category dubbed "Wet and Wild" and I took first and third place in the Wildflower category.

Significant to mention; all the single wildflower images on this page, including the first place winner, were taken with a manual focus 200mm f4 Nikon micro lens on a Nikon D200. The third place winner was taken with the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8. If you look at the enlarged version of the third place photo you will see the sessile trillium is sharp where as the phlox that surround it are blurred due to wind.


The Losers

Everything That is Old is New Again

Nikon 400mm f5.6 manual focus built approximately 1982 w/TC 1.4 from the same time period. This is the equivalent of a 840mm @f8.0 lens (400mm x 1.5 factor w/ DSLR APC sized sensor x 1.4 factor from teleconverter) on the Nikon D200. EXIF data: 1/250th f8.0 ISO 400. Shot on a Gitzo 1325 tripod with an Arca-Swiss Z-1 ballhead through a standard clear glass window pane. File was ingested via Adobe Lightroom where slight adjustments to exposure, blacks, clarity, and medium tone curve were applied. Detials in Lightroom: Noise Reduction applied 50 points lumnanace and color; Sharpening 150; Radius 1.0, Detail 60; Masking 70.

A couple of years ago I purchased the Nikon D200. My decision to purchase this camera was based on several factors. I should mention that I have been a Nikon shooter since the 1990’s, but I admire the Canon cameras and lenses as well. At the time I made the purchase I was working at a camera store (yes, I got an employee discount, but not as much as you might think), and was able to get my hands on several new cameras and lenses, a nice side benefit. When the Nikon D200 began to ship there was so much demand for the camera that several were sold before we could get a demo model on the shelf. But, popularity had nothing to do with my purchase decision. One overriding factor secured my decision, the venerable Nikon F-mount. What is the Nikon F-mount, well if you want to research it further check out -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F-mount What you will find is that the original F-mount developed by Nikon in 1959 has remarkable longevity, and backwards compatibility. What this means to photographers in practical terms is, that with few exceptions, any lens manufactured by Nikon since 1977, when the AI lenses, were introduced will mount on any of the new Nikon digital SLR’s. This does not mean that you will always get metering with every DSLR, but what’s a histogram and chimp screen for anyway? Nikon D1, D2, and D3 series and the D200, D300 will give you metering, with some limitations, in Aperture Priority and Manual exposure modes. Other Nikon DSLR's will not give you metering , but you do get an image on the LCD and a histogram. Consequently, you can get an image and you can bracket and determine what the correct exposure is. Maybe not the quickest way to get a photo, but every bit as effective as a new lens. If you want to read the details about using older Nikon lenses, see this chart at Ken Rockwell’s excellent and thorough web site.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm