Why I like film

[marcr1230]

I'm in the depths of techo-hell.

Yesterday, I was looking at doing some studio/table shots using focus stacking. I found a great product called "ControlMyNikon". It lets you set a min and max focus distance, and then automatically step though however many slices you want to shoot, controlling the focus from a tethered laptop. Does lots more too.

Only problem is - It's a Windows program. I'm a Mac person. so I stepped in the dog poop figuratively, and tried to get Windows 8 running on my MBP. First I upgraded to OS X 10.8.3 ($19). Fast forward - after downloading the Windows iso file (twice), reading umpteen web pages with advice and instructions, editing a secret file so I could have bootcamp use a USB drive, partition my hard-drive multiple times, copying the iso to the USB multiple times... finally after many tries, I rebooted and got the Windows install screens, but Windows first told me it can't install on the partition Bootcamp makes (Windows 8 needs NTFS and no MBR)... , then it told me my "PC" had an error and needed to be repaired...

I've temporarily given up, and I'm an I.T. professional - it's much easier although costlier to buy a cheap Windows PC. All of this to run a $29 program

 

[thegman]

VirtualBox will not work with this program?

 

[marcr1230]

VirtualBox might work - just need to dedicate another couple/few hours to see

thx - I think

 

[thegman]

VirtualBox might work - just need to dedicate another couple/few hours to see

thx - I think

Worth a go I guess, but I agree, I'm a software developer by trade, I love computers, but sometimes it really does seem that there is an ocean of complication to achieve what should be so very simple.

 

[Roger Hicks]

It always amuses me that the people who make the fewest apologies for computers are... competent and experienced IT professionals!

My last job before I went freelance in 1981 was with ICL, International Computers Ltd., the biggest computer company in the UK.

Cheers,

R.

 

[icebear]

ROFL,
I guess having set focus to manual and done 10 shots with slight adjustments would have gotten the job done in 5 minutes, cost you nothing extra but saving you actually money, time and frustration.
Sometimes computers and software help to solve problems that you wouldn't have without it in the first place 😀.

 

[thegman]

It always amuses me that the people who make the fewest apologies for computers are... competent and experienced IT professionals!

My last job before I went freelance in 1981 was with ICL, International Computers Ltd., the biggest computer company in the UK.

Cheers,

R.

Roger, I think that's quite right. The more you learn about computers, the more you realise how awful they can be. It's spectacular technology which would have been beyond imagination 50 years ago, but it has been used in such an incredibly abysmal way.

I could probably write a book (perhaps not a good one) about how amazing computer technology has been misused and abused.

 

[Bill Clark]

Tech stuff like computers & software:

It's the revenge of the nerds.

I'm a nerd.

There is a lot of good that computers have helped humans create.

However, I still like using film. It's how I started my photography journey.

 

[mugent]

VirtualBox should work, it's USB support is good, I've used to to flash firmware onto phones and such, if it can do that, it can probably drive your Nikon, it's much easier to setup than BootCamp too.

 

[j j]

Parallels was good and easy to install and use last time I needed such a thing. That was on Snow Leopard. No partitions, no USB drives and no need to read any instructions.

 

[marcr1230]

Trying VirtualBox - so far smoothly installed windows 8 and downloaded ControlMyNikon
Working on USB connection now

 

[Godfrey]

I'm in the depths of techo-hell.
...
I've temporarily given up, and I'm an I.T. professional - it's much easier although costlier to buy a cheap Windows PC. All of this to run a $29 program

Once upon a time, I worked for a small pro lab. You have not seen hell until your E6 machine has a roller come off its bearing in the middle of running the local pro's forty rolls of Ektachrome.

G

 

[marcr1230]

Giving up for the night
VirtualBox runs Windows 8 just fine
VirtualBox itself recognizes the camera as a D800
Windows 8 inside VirtualBox recognizes it as an MTP device not a camera and won't connect to it from ControlMyNikon or the native Camera App
Window 8/VirtualBox does read a generic SD card a USB device, so I know USB generally works

back to film...

 

[marcr1230]

Oh yeah! success! I was able to load Windows 7 and it recognized the D800, added drivers and I was off and running. Not sure why WIndows 8 failed, but whatever.

this image is of my Mac desktop, with a VirtualBox window running ControlMyNikon showing the Live View feed from the camera. Very good! thanks for the suggestions

Currently the WIndows and ControlMyNikon are trial versions

 

[shadowfox]

Geek rules!

One of the traits I see in common in fellow nerds is this dog-like tenacity until we solve a problem using computers.

From one geek to another, good job!