When Nikon designers should stop thinking only about money


When I got my D800, I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that the small and so reliable ML-L3 remote control is not working anymore on D800. I used it so much on D7000 but since D800 does not have a  IR sensor, ML-L3 is a no go. This is the first piece of ignorance from Nikon designers: why not include a IR sensor their top cameras (D4 has the same issue). Because they are greedy and they want usto pay for their overpriced accessories.

So having just a week left before a holiday in Mallorca, I had to quickly get a remote control and after trying a Hahnel that did not even worked for the tests in the store, the guys replaced it with a Phottix Plato. Which worked greatly for couple of month, until this spring when it suddenly started to behave strangely. Right after taking an exposure (using or not the remote itself but with the receiver sticked into camera’s 10 pins port), the back camera controls including Review of the image and Menu stopped to work. Sometimes the review image was staying there for a quick glance, half a second or so, being inaccessible afterwards. Closing the camera or even removing the battery was not helping either most of the times, so the only way to see an image after taking it was to unscrew the receiver from the 10 pins port. 

So since lots of people where complaining about how unreliable are the third party remotes and reading some very good reviews about Nikon WR 10 set  (adapter, receiver and transmitter) I decide to order this one. And I made the mistake not to test it properly immediately after I got it. So first attempts to shoot a long exposure, I figured out that I have to literally press the release button for the length of the exposure minutes to keep the shooter open. Really? How is it possible to have ML-L3 working fine, which is a 15 EUR remote while this 200 EUR system being so limiting and stupid? Was long exposure, one of the main reason of using a remote control, totally ignored by the Nikon designers? Looks like. Instead I have the functionality to control a trillion of cameras in the same time; all this with only 3 frequencies.I can imagine a bunch of 100 photographers, using Nikon and this WR10 set and firing each others cameras at random points in time. That would be so fun to watch from outside!

 Dear Nikon engineers and designers, you make great cameras and glass, however you are way too greedy and short minded when making some of your accessories. All photographers have different needs and habits, so having flexibility and good functionality in your products will make people feeling they are taken good care of being Nikon clients!


Update: Right before I was thinking to go again with Phottix, I managed to solve the WR 10 working with a common clothes peg: a simple and cheap solution.

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