Dynax 7D and First Frame Black

[Omega892]

I have thought that a thread dedicated to this topic could be useful and to kick off with those comments added to the DSLR system > A700 and Photoworld thread where it may be overlooked.

FBF will always happen if you switch the camera on after the start of the month, after not using it, and immediately take a picture. I had it on my first shoot in October, and again in November.

This is not the same as regular FBF. It is just a result of the camera doing its recalibration, and for the rest of the month the behaviour will be normal.

David

Well I'll be...!

Was this me not fully RTFM or something we could only find out from pro's such as you.

Thank you for that, at last it makes sense. Never thought about that.

I must drink more Duff beer!

The plot thickens.

Yesterday I switched on a D7D for the first time this December and shot some pictures and did NOT experience a First Frame Black.

I too looked out for this phenomenon when I switched on my 7D this past weekend. The FBF did not appear. I last captured images on 29 Nov, so the camera had not been out of action for long. Normally the FBF seems to be worse the longer the period of inactivity.

Regards
Peter Dewar

Thanks for your reply Peter, the plot does indeed thicken. I have sometimes thought that FFB manifests itself when a camera has not been used for a while but this was not always the case IME and I was thinking I had better send it away whilst the offer was on but always drew back because I could not guarantee that the repairers would experience the fault.

The puzzle continues.

TBH I still prefer the handling of the D7D over the SA, I was attempting to use manual exposure setting the other day on the SA but could not get my arthritic fingers to manage the task of holding a button in whilst twiddling the setting wheel and keeping pressure on the shutter release. Until such times as Sony revert to the more useable twin wheel design of the D7D I will not be interested in any future product of theirs even if it offers 18M pixels and a VC grip. My guess is I will be stuck.

[David Kilpatrick]

Depends how quick you shoot. Wait about 15 seconds after switching on before firing the shutter, and you won't get it, because the camera has finished doing the pixel mapping.

It happens if you switch on and IMMEDIATELY fire the shutter. Otherwise, you will never know about the recal process. It just happens to me because I put the camera on a tripod in the studio, switch on, focus and fire. Maybe 2 seconds. This month I left the camera for a few seconds, then focused and fired. No problem.

David