Allow use of U1 or U2 on Z50 (and other Nikons?) as well as M(anual)?

[smd]

Hi,

I've really enjoyed using  BYN 2.1.1 (premium) on a Nikon Z50 but I wonder if there could be an option to allow the use of the User defined settings (U1 and U2) rather than enforcing M(anual) on the dial? I appreciate that it would be possible to set the user settings to some incompatible values, but I think this change would allow some standard astrophotography settings to be easily stored without affecting other use of the camera.

It's possible that there is a better way of achieving this, if so I'd be grateful for any suggestions that others might make.

Thanks for a great product anyway.

Stewart

[s3igell]

BYN and BYE are limited to the Feature Subset which Nikon and Canon choose to implement and support in their respective SDKs.  Often this Feature Set is both rather minimal and lags several years behind the same Features being Introduced in new model DSLR / MILC.  Examples are the lack (still) of direct support or acknowledgement of Long Exposure Noise Control (Camera takes and applies an Internal Dark Frame after performing a Bulb Exposure), lack of support for WiFi Connection Setup, lack of support or control of additional In-Camera Focus Modes (Face-modes trip up SDK as do other modes).  So, it would be surprising if the BYN SDK supported access to U1 or U2, or allowed selection of a Settings Profile.

Even if the BYN SDK supported User Profiles for the Z50 (or even a few additional newer models), it would require the BYN Developers to use precious GUI space in order to design the Selector and Indicator UI Elements in support of this Feature (at the expense of efforts to keep the GUI as clutter-free and simple as possible).  (Explore the GUI on the competing APT as a counterpoint... Feature-rich but very Cluttered.)

Can we assume that you've already tried using BYN with the U1 or U2 profile manually selected??  Does this work?? If so, it is your semi-automated solution.

[admin]

I believe some older Canon models do work using the User Define dial mode.  This is because with those older models the Canon SDK is not looking for the physical dial position to establish if a command is possible, but rather it looks at the actual internal/firmware value, and for this reason, it does work.

I do not believe Nikon has implemented the U1 and U2 the same way in their SDK.  I could be wrong though, have you tried it?  I suspect it would fail, but if Nikon somehow implemented it in a way similar to some Canon cameras, it may work.

[smd]

Thanks both for your prompt and thorough replies and explanation. I had mistakenly thought the error (shown below) was a result of a check within BYN code rather a limitation of the SDK. I have tried selecting U1 on the mode dial, but with 'manual' settings, i.e. the top left of the Z50 display shows M with a smaller U1 next to it, but I get the following errors when attempting Frame and Focus:

09:23:32  Licensed to smd
09:23:32  BackyardNIKON 2.1.2 Premium Edition
09:23:38  Attempting to connect camera...
09:23:38  Nikon/Z50 drivers initialized.
09:23:42  Z50 CONNECTED!
09:24:53  Live view is not possible in current dial mode.
09:24:53  Live view is not possible in current dial mode.  Please select a different dial mode.
09:24:53  Live view is not possible in current dial mode.  Please select a different dial mode.
09:24:53  Live view is not possible in current dial mode.  Please select a different dial mode.

As you suggested, it looks as though the Nikon SDK is only reporting the physical dial setting, not the underlying setting. For what it's worth, U1 is shown in the Camera Information Center.

Thanks anyway;  there aren't too many settings to check for astrophotography, and it's probably better that I manually check each time anyway!

Best wishes

Stewart