Z8 is not selectable in the latest rev of BYN Premium

[eigenfreq]

Support,

I have a license BYN Premium and have downloaded and installed it. I do not see the Nikon Z8 camera in the selection list. It is supposed to be supported by the latest revision as indicated in the online supported camera documentation.

Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks,

Robert

[eigenfreq]

I confirm that the latest compile of BYN using the 24/05/15 Nikon Z8 SDK works! Thank you all! This is the v3.5.0-RC8-x64 recompiled 5/30/24.

 

I must warn users of the Z8 with a telescope however. The Z mount interface gets put into a state whereby flats taken on the telescope will have very strong lines thru them making them useless. This does not happen if connecting to Nikon lenses or a Tamron lens, all being F-mounts and using the FTZ II converter.

In order to reset the Z mount interface, the following must be followed from Nikon technical support.

 

 

[astroman133]

Please tell us the version of BYN that you are trying to using. Whenever you report a problem or ask a question about BYN we need the complete version number.

Only the latest pre-release version BYN version 3.5.0-RC7 X64 fully supports the Z8. In addition, for this pre-release version you must set the Live View Offset setting to 1024 in order for LiveView to work for Frame & Focus, Planetary, and Drift Align functionality.

[admin]

You've installed the 32 bits version of BYN. The new Nikon models only support 64 bits. 

Download and install BYN 64 bits.

[eigenfreq]

Thank you everyone! I do not have the pre release version installed. I’m sure this will fix my issue. Thank you for the 1024 setting! I would never thought to do that.

[eigenfreq]

Now running BackyardNIKON 3.5.0.15160 x64. A little help please, where is the Live View Offset setting located?

 

Secondly, attached is the log file generated when the program crashes in trying to connect to the Z8.

 

Got much further this time but still missing something to get this to work with the Z8.

Thanks for your help!

logfile-[20240306-15h10m55s631]-[17232]-2024-03-06.txt

[astroman133]

To get to the Live View Offset setting click on Settings and then Advanced Settings.

Guylain is going to have to help with the error. It is too bad that the log does not capture the name of the unsupported capability.

[admin]

1 hour ago, eigenfreq said:

Now running BackyardNIKON 3.5.0.15160 x64. A little help please, where is the Live View Offset setting located?

 

Secondly, attached is the log file generated when the program crashes in trying to connect to the Z8.

 

Got much further this time but still missing something to get this to work with the Z8.

Thanks for your help!

logfile-[20240306-15h10m55s631]-[17232]-2024-03-06.txt 34.14 kB · 1 download

The offset setting is in "Settings -> Advance settings".

Is the camera dial set to BULB?

 

[eigenfreq]

I have tried both ways, set to bulb and not set to bulb.

[eigenfreq]

here is the log with the camera not in bulb mode.

logfile-[20240306-20h50m06s276]-[11036]-2024-03-06.txt

[admin]

Thanks, I'm going to try to add additional logging to identify the offending capability that is throwing the error in the log files.

Quote

2024-03-06 20:50:19,087 [Main] DEBUG - Nikon drivers 'Type0031_Z8/C:\Program Files\BackyardNIKONv3.5\NikonX64\Type0031_Z8\Type0031.md3' is loading...
2024-03-06 20:50:19,152 [Main] INFO  - Nikon drivers 'Type0031_Z8/C:\Program Files\BackyardNIKONv3.5\NikonX64\Type0031_Z8\Type0031.md3' initialized.
2024-03-06 20:50:19,510 [Main] INFO  - NikonX64/Z8 drivers initialized.
2024-03-06 20:50:19,772 [4] INFO  - Camera state changed: 1 = 'CameraAdded'
2024-03-06 20:50:19,784 [Main] INFO  - Camera state changed: 'Disconnected'
2024-03-06 20:50:19,794 [4] ERROR - Capability (kNkMAIDCapability_Name) is not supported
2024-03-06 20:50:19,795 [4] ERROR -    at BinaryRivers.Camera.Nikon.Wrapper.NikonBase.GetCapabilityType(eNkMAIDCapability cap)
   at BinaryRivers.Camera.Nikon.Wrapper.NikonBase.Get(eNkMAIDCapability cap)
   at BinaryRivers.Camera.Nikon.NikonCameraManager.ManagerOnDeviceAdded(NikonManager sender, NikonDevice device)
2024-03-06 20:50:19,933 [Main] INFO  - -----------------------------------
2024-03-06 20:50:19,933 [Main] INFO  - Application state changed: 'Disconnected'

 

[astroman133]

It does not seem that you are getting far enough that the shooting mode would matter. However, the camera should be set to Photo mode And Manual shooting mode (where BYN can control the ISO, f/stop, and exposure duration). But even if it is set to one of the automatic modes, BYN should not crash.

 

[eigenfreq]

Thank you everyone! The camera is in manual mode and the display is on, not off as it could be selected by the button on the side of the viewfinder. But either way, display on or off gives the same result.

[eigenfreq]

Sorry forgot this, my camera has firmware version 2.0 installed and the memory cards are installed and empty. Thanks again.

[admin]

5 hours ago, eigenfreq said:

Sorry forgot this, my camera has firmware version 2.0 installed and the memory cards are installed and empty. Thanks again.

I wonder if this is the issue. I personally tested the Z8 last weekend and this is how I was able to make it work, and nothing changed since last weekend.

This said, the capability is actually in the log file, it's actually the camera NAME. It fails at trying to fetch/read the camera name, Z8 in this case. The fact that this occurs is what makes me wonder if the firmware 2.0 is playing a role in all of this.

Quote

2024-03-06 20:50:19,794 [4] ERROR - Capability (kNkMAIDCapability_Name) is not supported

Is there a way you can revert to the previous firmware as a quick test?

[eigenfreq]

I am willing to revert to the old firmware if I can find it or figure out how to do it. I think you are onto something.

[eigenfreq]

Bad news.  This is from Nikon Support.

 

Hi Robert!

Thank you for contacting Nikon. Unfortunately it is not possible to downgrade your firmware to a previous version. If you have any more questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reply to this email or contact us at 1-800-645-6687. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9am-8pm EST. Sincerely,

Jacob B.

[astroman133]

Then, I wonder if there is a newer SDK for the new firmware.

[eigenfreq]

I think that there is, let me check.

[eigenfreq]

6/28/23 is the latest.

[eigenfreq]

I ask Nikon if they will be releasing a new sdk for the version 2.0 Z8 firmware. Let’s see what I get back.

[eigenfreq]

Attached are the Z8 FW ver 2.0 responses to the queries.

[eigenfreq]

Nikon would not confirm anything that was not already on their SDK website.

[admin]

It seems to be responding with some return value though, just not consistently.

[admin]

When you select "1 Select Device" what response do you get?

[eigenfreq]

The response is listed below.

[eigenfreq]

Here is another.

[astroman133]

It seems like it could be a bug in the SDK.

Good Luck getting Nikon's attention. Canon provides their SDK, but does not support it. It is not possible for the public to report bugs in the SDK, suggest enhancements, or even ask questions about the Canon EOS SDK.

[admin]

2 hours ago, eigenfreq said:

Here is another.

Sadly, this looks like the faith of the Z8 is sealed for anyone who has updated their firmware to 2.0 until Nikon releases a new SDK that would work.

Just like Canon, the Nikon SDK is as-is and is not supported

[eigenfreq]

Thanks for your insights. You are right, Nikon has been of no help. I did get the SDK downloaded to better understand the error message, but I won’t be writing software. Too big a project to be sure.

[eigenfreq]

Ok thank you everyone! Guess we wait for a new SDK.