BackdoorArts
Senior Member
(Mods, feel free to merge this with my other thread(s) - I just felt that this information stands well on its own and apart from all the symptoms and diagnostics that got me here.)
After 5 weeks with two separate D500's I've reached the conclusion that the D500 touch screen is just a touch too touchy. What I mean is that it is ultra-conductive and will reacts to things on its surface that aren't fingers as if they were. My first clue came when I, with the help of many others, came to the conclusion that static-based screen protectors act in a way that leads the screen to believe it is being purposefully touched, so during image review it would remain on until the shutter (or other control button) was touched and the rear screen turned off. This was a rather embarrassing end to a month long search for what I assumed was an issue with the camera, but I took my lumps and took off the screen protector.
I then proceeded to shoot with the camera all weekend, without any screen protector, and it continued to happen.
I knew it had happened before I added the screen protector to either body, the second one for sure, but I couldn't be 100% certain with the first. But now I know for certain that it's not the screen protector, it's the screen. It seems that the screen is very sensitive to surface conduction, and it would seem that skin oils - the ones my nose produces in abundance on a humid summer day, in particular - are remarkably conductive. I can start with a freshly cleaned screen and within 10 raises to my face to shoot I've deposited enough oil on the surface to cause the screen to believe there's something touching it, even though I can barely see the oil on it. With Image Review turned on I can use only the multi-selector and control wheels (I don't touch the screen with my fingers) and the image will continue to display on the screen and not time out until I either touch the shutter button to disengage image review or wipe the screen clean. When I do the latter the screen will remain on for the prescribed timeout period and then turn off normally.
So I have the answer to my puzzle and it's not simply operator error. Is there something "wrong" with the camera? Probably not, but it would be nice to be able to tweak the sensitivity of the screen so that this isn't a problem and perhaps Nikon may want to adjust the sensitivity in a firmware update down the road. The good news for me is that I haven't developed a fondness for using the touch functionality for image review, so I will simply turn it off until I want to use it with Live View. Minor PITA, but it's nothing like the pain of not understanding why something is happening. I'm going to try and document this in a video this week if I have time, and I'll be contacting Nikon tech support to see if they're aware of this yet.
After 5 weeks with two separate D500's I've reached the conclusion that the D500 touch screen is just a touch too touchy. What I mean is that it is ultra-conductive and will reacts to things on its surface that aren't fingers as if they were. My first clue came when I, with the help of many others, came to the conclusion that static-based screen protectors act in a way that leads the screen to believe it is being purposefully touched, so during image review it would remain on until the shutter (or other control button) was touched and the rear screen turned off. This was a rather embarrassing end to a month long search for what I assumed was an issue with the camera, but I took my lumps and took off the screen protector.
I then proceeded to shoot with the camera all weekend, without any screen protector, and it continued to happen.
I knew it had happened before I added the screen protector to either body, the second one for sure, but I couldn't be 100% certain with the first. But now I know for certain that it's not the screen protector, it's the screen. It seems that the screen is very sensitive to surface conduction, and it would seem that skin oils - the ones my nose produces in abundance on a humid summer day, in particular - are remarkably conductive. I can start with a freshly cleaned screen and within 10 raises to my face to shoot I've deposited enough oil on the surface to cause the screen to believe there's something touching it, even though I can barely see the oil on it. With Image Review turned on I can use only the multi-selector and control wheels (I don't touch the screen with my fingers) and the image will continue to display on the screen and not time out until I either touch the shutter button to disengage image review or wipe the screen clean. When I do the latter the screen will remain on for the prescribed timeout period and then turn off normally.
So I have the answer to my puzzle and it's not simply operator error. Is there something "wrong" with the camera? Probably not, but it would be nice to be able to tweak the sensitivity of the screen so that this isn't a problem and perhaps Nikon may want to adjust the sensitivity in a firmware update down the road. The good news for me is that I haven't developed a fondness for using the touch functionality for image review, so I will simply turn it off until I want to use it with Live View. Minor PITA, but it's nothing like the pain of not understanding why something is happening. I'm going to try and document this in a video this week if I have time, and I'll be contacting Nikon tech support to see if they're aware of this yet.
