Nauticam NA-D850 ISO control

Am I the only one who finds the ISO control in the Nikon D850 housing a major downgrade compared to previous housings?

I understand why Nikon changed the MODE and ISO buttons because without the housing now is really easier to change your ISO while looking through the viewfinder, but underwater this is impossible for me. And even taking your eyes from the viewfinder it takes forever to change ISO, and I had to turn the option to just press buttons and then turn dials, because it's nearly impossible to press the ISO Button while scrolling with the rear command dial.

ISO is "only" the setting I change the most so this is bothering me a lot. I tried to assign ISO to different buttons but it looks like this is not possible. The only workaround I did find is to assign ISO to the top item in My Menu and assigning this command to the FN2 button (which is the optimum placement of the ISO Button in the Nauticam housing, IMO), while choosing the option to scroll trough menus with the command dials, but using this method you have a final step to press OK or the center of the wheel selector to confirm ISO which is far from ideal.

Anyone has problems with this or am I the only one? Did anyone found other solution for this problem?

Miguel Pereira

Hi Miguel

If you look in the manual, there is a page on setting up button lock which helps a lot. It is not as ergonomic as the previous cameras but once muscle memory is in place, it becomes intuitive.

A

The single best thing any Nikon user (regardless of housing brand) that plans to use their camera underwater can do is to set the "Release Button to use dial" setting in the Controls section of the Custom Menu to "ON".

This allows one-handed adjustment of many camera settings, including ISO. How people cope without enabling this is beyond me

I did that like I said, altough I prefer setting it to OFF (sometimes you want to change ISO and then Shutter Speed and you forget to press the shutter and you continue to change ISO instead) .

But even with this setting ON I still have to go with my finger to the ISO button and then scroll the rear command dial with the same finger. And I find impossible to leave my finger near the ISO button and it's in a position that is not easily acessible. Like I said ISO is my most changed setting usually so I'm finding this solution very cumbersome. I wanted to use FN2 + rear command dial to control ISO, as I can do it on the fly, without taking my eyes from the viewfinder.

Just try the "Release Button to use dial" and after a few dives you will get use to it.

If I want to change the speed, i just hit the back lock focus after the iso button.

Are you guys able to do it with you eyes on the viewfinder? I'm not.. And I find it difficult to access the ISO lever. I wish there is another workaround because it has significantly affected my way of shooting.

It just takes a bit of time for your fingers to remember.

The NA-D850 has a lever for ISO control activation under your right forefinger as I remember? As far as I know, there is no button to press?

With the "Release Button to use dial"setting on:

Push the lever with your forefinger

Adjust the ISO with the sub-command dial with your thumb

Push the lever again to revert the control.

I have no idea how people manage to do it without the setting!

I think the issue you are experiencing is more to do with muscle memory and learning than housing ergonomics!

Housing manufacturers have (nearly) all realized how important ISO control is with modern cameras. The majority offer very ergonomic solutions that give access to the control without removing eyes from the viewfinder.

I configure my camera as you are saying (it's the only viable option for the NA-D850 housing), but for me it's far from ideal. I prefer to change ISO (and other settings that I don't use normally UW such as Exposure Compensation) in the default Nikon way: button + dial without releasing the button (lever + dial in the housing).

Before I could change ISO in one single step: 1) press the ISO lever with my left thumb and adjust ISO with my right thumb simultaneously and now I have to: 1) press the ISO lever with my right thumb, 2) adjust the ISO in the rear command dial also with my right thumb 3) half press shutter to be able to change aperture or shutter speed (there are other ways but this is the fastest for me). If I just want to change ISO I can skip step 3, but I have always to do it in two steps at least.

Anyway this takes me now some seconds more than before (3 seconds at least I would say) which lead sometimes to missed shots.. If only would be possible to assign ISO to the FN2 button, the ergonomics for ISO would be perfect (and the same of previous Nauticam housings), but I'm not holding my breath hoping for Nikon to change the firmware to allow this.

One other way of analysing the ergonomics IMO would be this: In normal conditions, while taking a shot if I don't use zoom (I almost never do), my left hand normally only serves to hold the housing, while my right hand has to control aperture, shutter speed, ISO, changing autofocus points and press the shutter (and I don't normally use AF-ON or else it would be another control to use with my right hand). I understand this has much to do with Nikon and not Nauticam, but the camera ergonomics are excellent because you can do all these things very quickly with your right hand because of the buttons placement, but with the housing things are somewhat different.

This is my third Nauticam Housing (before NA-D7000, NA-D800) and this is my first real problem with the housings ergonomics (well,sort of, I had before a Ikelite D90 housing and didn't like the ergonomics also). I always felt an improvement in ergonomics with each upgrade but not now.

PS: sometimes I can be referring to a lever when it's a button or the other way around - in the camera it's all buttons and dials :-)

Here is an easy way to adjust the ISO and other settings on the Nikon D-500 and new D-series cameras:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63404.

In brief:

Turn camera On > Menu > Custom Settings Menu > f6 "Release button to use dial", set to On.

Exit to main screen.

Press the info button, then the setting button (ISO for example), and follow the menu that pops up. Use one of the two control dials to change the settings. Press info to exit, or another control button to change its settings.

Done.

Just been checking with my D500 before a dive holiday and read this, brill!

I had the problem with the D850, and then the Z9.  I was about to try the F6=on tip, but then Nikon released a firmware update (3.0) for the Z9 that allowed me to customize the Fn4 button (left thumb position) with the ISO function.   Perhaps the D850 will get such an update still..

I was simply reaching over with my left hand to press the ISO lever while spinning the dials with right hand.   Totally messed up from how the D810 was, if I recall correctly.