Does anybody know if there's a way to LOCK the "QUAL" button so that the quality setting of the pictures can't be changed?

That QUAL button is right next to the ISO button. Dang it. I changed my quality from "raw" to "tif" and didn't realize it until about 2 hours into the shoot. I really hate that the button is even THERE. If I wanted to change the quality, I'd go through a menu. I don't need a button for that.

HELP? I can't find it in the manual, which is about 300 pages too long.

I doubt it. You couldn't do that on a D2X and I think it's the same. Put a piece of gaffer tape over it, you'd still be able to press it, but your finger would know the difference by feel.

Dang. That's not the answer I was hoping for. Gaffer's tape on my beautiful camera. Yuck. I really don't get why that button would be there in the first place. Are there people who actually take pictures [with a 5 grand camera] in other modes and need to be able to change the mode on the fly rather than going through a menu to do it? Oh please.

Gaffer tape is cool. How will people know you're a real pro and not just a wannabe if you don't have any gaffer tape on your gear?

+1

Can't possibly look as stupid as my fong dong though.

Lots of my gear has tape on it. I put a bunch of black tape on my silver tripod to keeps as "emergency" tape. I also put some around the little mini-mag-light I have in the bag. There's white tape stuck to things, too.

There's tape over the PC and 10-pin ports since the (stupid and can only be ordered from "parts" so retail places can't get them) caps got lost.

I sometimes also tape over the brand and model of the cameras. I don't need anyone judging me by the cameras I use. Gaffer's tape is so handy for a multitude of things. I don't leave home without it.

I know how to fix it! Get a real camera!

www.canon.com

I'm sorry, that's the dumbest thing I've read in a while. Have you seen the D3? It's as 'real' and in many ways more 'real' than anything coming from Canon. At least add a smiley face after something so silly.

here's mine.

~Bill

bill, you continue to be my hero.

/loves nikon

Bill,
I thought i did but it added it above the statement.....relax, just having some fun.

~M

No worries - I'm relaxed.

Maybe I'm just a bit tweaked that I spent so many thousands switching to canon gear and then Nikon comes out with a camera I would have killed for...



Thanks

I have a friend who has a nice big strip of gaffers tape over the tiny white canon logo on his markII b/c he doesn't want his clients to know what he's shooting...... I just think that he hates his markII and wants a D3 but thats another story.

and i think that your thread just got jacked by a roll of gaffers tape

Yeah right. I just logged on and saw there were like 10 new posts in this thread, and thinking YAY! Somebody's got a real answer for me!!!!!!

But no, just more gaffer's tape. blah blah blah. I wanna LOCK the dang button so I can't change it and I don't want to put tape on my camera!

But I'm liking the notion of covering up the logo since I spend so much time telling people about my camera, as if it's all the camera's doing that I have a fun and exciting photography career.

Great thing about the gaffers tape on your new camera, is it keeps the camera free from minor scratches and dings. In a year or three when you are ready to sell the body, just peel off the tape and ta-da you have a new camera.

And yes it keeps the annoying "what model camera is that nikon?" questions down to a minimum. I typically just ignore the question and pretend like I didn't hear the person asking.

I had gaffers tape all over my d300 when i first got it, and it saved the body many times. But after a while people started looking at me weird and saying your camera looks like a p.o.s so i took it all of and about 15min later there was a nice big gouge on the bottom of the battery grip from hitting a table. I did keep the gaffers tape over the d300 logo and changed the strap b/c everyone is like "OMG!!! ITS A D300, EVERYONE LOOK ITS A D300" that was when it first came out but now its a bit better.

As for locking the button, there is really no way besides removing the button (DONT DO THAT). Maybe if you keep bugging nikon they might come up with some kind of update that will make the QUAL button into something else just for you and a few other people. Its worth a try if the gaffers tape doesnt work.

It's just a tool! Not a work of art! Had my D3 since Feb and I'm pleased to say it's starting to looked lived in.

Tape that sucker up, it will actually protect it. As a long time Nikon user, the ISO-Quality-WB buttons have pretty much been in the same place since the D1 if I remember right. Suppose you could just break the button off!

Now the real test for Nikon is if the double sided glue that keeps the rubber grips on has improved or not! And why they use cheap black paint in the VF blackout switch I'll never know. Wears off quick.

Wow, that's all I can find to complain about?

My problem is hitting the multi-directional pad with my forehead when I'm shooting in portrait orientation and unintentionally moving the focus point I was using. Never had any problem with the QUAL button.

I guess we all have our own specific beefs, depending on how our individual bodies work. I'll have my finger train your finger if your forehead will train my forehead.

Now THAT'S a deal I simply cannot pass up. When will you be in New York?

Same problem here. What I've done, and this only works if you want to shoot Raw, is use Raw + Normal jpeg. That way, if you accidentally move it in one direction, it will at least stay on Raw. It would just switch over to Raw + Fine or Raw + Basic. If you're just shooting jpegs, you're out of luck.

AHHHH! Me too!

Well, if you want, I'll take that dang camera off your hands, and you won't have to worry about getting used to operating it. I'll even replace it with my D200, which shouldn't have that problem for you. No, no, I insist. It'll be my pleasure. I don't mind helping you out at all like this.

I'm not a nikon user, but on my 5D's and 1DMkIII I have pieces of tape all over the camera. I sometimes tape the back dials and/or the finger wheel. I put tape on all my lenses as well to lock the zoom or focus.
When you use your cameras as a tool, you have look past how the camera looks and care about how the images look. If you keep knocking it out of the settings, and Nikon has no way to change the button, adapt and over come.
If you come up with a cool solution, share it with everyone.
Just get yourself a roll of black gaffers tape. it's $12.00... and will last a long time.

Like those 1D Mk III types that still have focus problems after 14 months, several firmware and a hardware "fix" that didn't? That's what Rob Galbraith recently reported, and also that the 40D apparently has focus issue also. The "fixes" have made the AF problems better, but they're still there! Canon should have got it right before they dumped them on the public, except of course they still haven't got it right and doing the right thing would mean they still wouldn't have released them, which would play havoc with that corporate bottom line.

At least there IS a lock switch for that one!

Bill's right!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gaffers tape is = PRO

Instead of tape, glue a small bead or clipped off pin-head on the button for some tactile feedback.