Thanks everyone for their posts!!!

Finally a source that answers my questions. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT EVERYONE!!!

THANK YOU!!!

NS1

I second the use of manual focus for video - focus on a target that is set up where you will be, and leave the lens manually focused there. Even if you used full-time autofocus to focus on you after you entered the video, it would still move around slightly as it is trying to find the greatest contrast and will keep searching a little bit for the best contrast. This could really be distracting to viewers of the video, as the focus will continually twitch.

Use a smaller aperture like f/5.6 or f/8, and don't be afraid to add a little ISO if it is necessary. I was really impressed with how the D7000 managed some videos shot at up to ISO 6400, though that is certainly pushing it.

Hi all,

In the D7000 menus, go to

A8 (autofocus)

At autofocus mode, choose AF-F fulltime servo AF

At A8 also allows for 'Area' mode, and depending upon what you are shooting, you might want "Face", or "Wide" or perhaps tracking. Make some tests for which one of the modes works for you.

My best,

Mike

Go to a much smaller aperture than f/4. At that focal length and aperture, say you were about 5' from the lens, your DOF would only be maybe 5-6 inches. Not much wiggle room.

Also, your lens is probably not the sharpest at f/4.

Try f/5.6 or smaller, f/8 would be even better. Manually focus on a dummy object where you will be sitting, and leave it locked there.

One other benefit to this, NOBODY likes to hear or see the auto focus whirring away while they are trying to watch the video. (especially if you are using the on-camera mic) Having enough DOF and a locked focus eliminates this issue.

Unless you are moving, putting a lamp where you will be sitting/standing to focus on did not work for you ? Anything to use as a focus dummy should work.

Hello Everyone,

I am currently new to NR...and absolutely love it =)...

I have already looked around for my answer but no one has been able to provide me the right answer which is weird... I was wondering if one of you gentlemen or lady can help me out here.

I would like to start shooting videos, possible blogs in the future but for now personal videos...

However I am running into autofocusing issues...

Gear...Nikon D7000, 50mm 1.8, 18-55mm 3.5-5.6, and the 70-300mm 3.5-5.6

I have set my video mode to manual and have the correct aperture and shutter value...A- F/4 to get the DOF sharp and the shutter speed to the amount of ambient light that I have available.

I use my tripod obviously to keep camera stable and in place to record myself.

Moving on...

I wanted to know how to focus on the subject being myself...I do have a remote but its only for photos...I have tried to manually focus my 50mm 1.8 but every time i get into the frame I am out of focus. It's been bothering me for quiet awhile and would like to get these videos started.

If you can please provide a step by step guide to getting myself in focus that would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advanced.

NS1

So the update (I received from my gf) is that the whole meeting took less than 5 minutes. After seeing the screen issue, the Nikon employee simply said that this should not have happened, and took the camera in for repair. He promised that if we don't get the camera fixed or replaced before our next trip, we will be provided with the use of another D7000 body for our trip. He also said he is not sure about what may have caused the problem, but that it wasn't the battery - perhaps they will know better when we pick up our camera after repair. I will ask at that point again what the issue may have been to avoid it in the future, and will post an update... if any.

Hey guys,

I also bought a new battery (legit nikon - no knock-off), and checked the serial no. to make sure it's not one of the recalled ones. It was not right off the charger as we took maybe 20-30 pics before the issue happened. I was also using the SB-700 with it at the time, but I used the flash on several prior occasions with no issues.

We're taking it to the service center tomorrow so I'll let you know what happens. I'll try to get some info from them so I can share and hopefully help some of you guys prevent the same issue from happening.

It was on this forum - possibly about a year ago.

Whether there is any truth in or not is another matter. Nikon do say that the difference between their overpriced batteries and the cheap Chinese copies is that theirs has some 'protection' built in that the others don't. I see this as marketing B.S. myself as it would be difficult to fast charge a battery which had over-voltage protection built into it...

@spraynpray: Do you have a cite for that? I've done a Google search to find out more information but haven't found anything except the the six-month old report about Nikon recalling some batteries. http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/04/25/Nikon-EN-EL15-battery-recall

There is a concern that inserting batteries straight off the charger into the camera can cause damage because it takes a little while for the excess voltage from charging to dissipate (think about the foam on the top of your beer). This voltage could 'life test' the electronics in the camera if switched on before it dissipates.

It happened to me a few weeks ago. I had just bought a D7000 and went to the Lake District for a planned holiday to shoot the landscape.It failed after the first ten shots ever taken with the camera. The failure of the screen was exactly how you described yours.

I was lucky as Amazon exchange immediately once I got home. I was also unlucky in the fact that the failure occurred within 10 minutes of the start of my 4 day photo trip. My fault I suppose for not having a back up camera.

When I got the camera I also bought a spare battery I not sure whether the failure was connected to a power surge from the battery that was in the camera at the time of the failure. The battery I did not send back(the spare)has now a battery life number down at 3 after one charge. I did not pick up on this until after I sent the camera back with the other.I have not done anything about this as I cant prove the age of the battery.

I bought a D7000 a couple of months ago together with my gf, and we couldn't couldn't be happier with the camera. We already have quite a few amazing pics! Unfortunately, we just encountered our first issue with the D7000. I thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone had anything similar happen...

While in the middle of taking some pictures, all of a sudden, after hitting the "play" button to review an image, the display went funny: dark background (black) with various patterns of light vertical lines. The lines seem to change somewhat when I hit the wheel as I normally would while scrolling through the menu. Everything else still works. It seems like a technical issue with the display or some connectors to the display. In other words, it seems like the camera is actually scrolling through the pictures or menus, but the display is showing just vertical lines.

We take great care of the camera, and the problem happened literally from one image to the next while shooting a few pics of our friends. The camera has never been dropped, wet, etc., etc. etc.

Anyone have anything similar happen to them? We're gonna take it to the service center this week as it's still under warranty. Hopefully, it will get resolved before our next planned trip in 2 weeks (fingers crossed). The funny thing was that we were just showing our friends what a great camera we bought when it happened... guess that's what we get for bragging. ;-)

pedoro said:</cite

Sure! Thank you! I'll might post some photos from Brazil, for sure! Especially, of the wild nature!

All the best, Pedro.

By "wild nature" you do mean Carnival right? ha ha Get ready for the Summer Olympics 2016!!!!!! By then you'll be an expert.

R8R said:
Really? For the kit plus one extra lens and the rest of the accessories? Something tells me he bought a used or refurb camera and that's what you are getting.

The 70-300 isn't a VR so it is what - $150?

starralazn said:
I think you're overreacting (assuming its new), 3k shots isn't that much (imo)
oh and Juergen, i don't think he stated anything about being an NPS member

Correct, took CPS for NPS :-)
But that does not change my view on it. I agree with you, 3k is nothing.

Jürgen

Ah. that makes sense. That website used to be a total scam website. Especially if you buy directly from the website. I suppose the threat of ebay makes them run a little cleaner, but before there were horror stories of receiving 3rd party products when you ordered nikon or canon, or that they would call you trying to upsell 3rd party products.

i think the upselling still goes on, but the price of their lenses have normalized a bit. also they aren't an authorized nikon dealership.

Thank you all for your opinions! I was just a little bit insecure on it, because of the facts that I've told you and because I'm an amateur starter in photography. Actually, that D7000 will be my first dSLR camera. The ones that I have tried before weren't mine.

I'm getting it in about 13 hours! Yeah!

Thanks a lot!

Best regards,
Pedro.

SkintBrit said:
Enjoy your new camera, and let us see some pics of Brazil please :-)

Sure! Thank you! I'll might post some photos from Brazil, for sure! Especially, of the wild nature!

All the best, Pedro.

R8R said:
Really? For the kit plus one extra lens and the rest of the accessories? Something tells me he bought a used or refurb camera and that's what you are getting.

No no, he didn't buy an used or refurbished item. Actually, there is a store in Brooklyn, at New York called Photo4less. They sold me the camera, the lenses and the accessories. They also have a website and a page at eBay where you can buy/check their stuff.

You can gather more information here: http://www.photo4less.com/

And, the original bundle that I've got is right here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Nikon-D7000-DSLR-Camera-Nikon-Nikkor-18-105mm-VR-Lens-Full-Flash-Kit-/120953434174?_trksid=p5197.m1997&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D16%26meid%3D1445425447480894579%26pid%3D100016%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D4%26

Mmmm... I am on about 15,000 clicks on my new body I received in March....

I am wondering why we are discussing this. If I tell someone they can drive my car if they pick it up in Europe, I would expect at least one or two thousand miles to be put on it... and that is a lot more than 3000 clicks.... no worry.... you saved a ton of money.

I think you're overreacting (assuming its new), 3k shots isn't that much (imo)
oh and Juergen, i don't think he stated anything about being an NPS member

Sorry if I'm being dumb, but what exactly is the question here? You gave your friend permission to use your new camera before you got it, he did as he was told, and really enjoyed it it would sound. Assuming you bought the camera to take pictures with, I would not be in any way concerned about it, you'll probably put just as many more on in the first 10 days you have it? Besides, whatever we say here doesn't change what happened, what's done is done, and unless you want to fall out with your friend over it, I'm afraid you're just going to put this down as one of life's learning exercises. Next time be careful when giving permission to use something before you. Enjoy your new camera, and let us see some pics of Brazil please :-)

Ok as long as it is not damaged. The bottom line is you said he could use it for picking it up for you. Now enjoy it and take 4,000 clicks so that you have more clicks than he does.

I can easily put 500 a day on my camera, sometimes much more, so the amount of use doesn't surprise me.

He saved you over $1300. A new D7000 is at the most $1,200, but you can get them for less. He used less than 2% of the shutter actuations, or about $24.00 worth if you throw away the camera instead of spending the $300 to replace the shutter. If you replace the shutter, he used $6.00. $6.00 for a $1,300 savings is a return of 22,000.00%.

I'd say you got a good deal. And your friend taking that many frames verified that the camera was working well and would not have any warranty issues that could have been much more easily solved prior to sending the camera on to you, so rejoice in your new camera.

But I do know how you feel...

pedoro said:
All this costed me 1,669 USD with taxes and 3-year CPS warranty included.

Really? For the kit plus one extra lens and the rest of the accessories? Something tells me he bought a used or refurb camera and that's what you are getting.