D800E "sticky" aperture control / autofocus issues

It's been awhile since I've taken my D800E out for active duty. Given that it's the heaviest camera body in my arsenal (especially when used with an F2.8 constant-aperture zoom lens) and takes up the most space - I only reserve it for when quality absolutely matters.

I brought the old beast out for today's photoshoot (you can read about it over here), and, should I say, fortunately, everything was fine for the entire photoshoot. It was at the end after we called it a wrap, that I noticed that 2 things were amiss:-

1. I was not able lock autofocus on anything - the camera basically just kept cycling from infinity and minimum range, before stopping at infinity.
2. The viewfinder was really dark, even at F2.8.

Of course, the first thought that entered my mind was a combination of disappointment and dismay. My past experience with Nikon camera repairs had not been commendable (nor affordable).

After I got home, I systematically tested my camera to verify the problem was repeatable. Swapping lenses, found that the problem persisted, so that basically confirmed the problem was with the body itself.

Tried to remove and reinsert the battery - but that did not solve the problem.

I tried resetting the D800E, which was done by turning the camera on and then holding down both the Qual and the "+/-" buttons (marked with green dots on the body) for several seconds. Unfortunately, that didn't help either.

While contemplating if and when to send in the body for repair - I unintentionally hit the depth-of-field preview button a few times. After a couple of cycles, the viewfinder suddenly became bright again! Along with that, my autofocus ability returned as well.

Breathing a sigh of relieve, I guess that shooting at a constant aperture of F2.8, the aperture control tab must have gotten stuck as the camera stopped down while I was taking some outdoor shorts in P mode. That would explain the viewfinder being dark - which in turn was too dark for the autofocus system to work. As this is something related to the in-camera aperture control, even mirrorless cameras will be affected.

My take from today's experience - have to remember to periodically exercise all mechanical systems, hopefully to keep them from jamming up due to lack of movement.

BE Development MAL Team Building 2018

Months of planning and preparation, and it all boiled down to this fine morning on the 28th March - our first ever team-building session organized by our Fun @ BE DEV committee.

Opting to drive instead of hopping onto the buses, which we booked to ferry our team members to Avillion Admiral Cove and back, I had the luxury of starting my journey a little after 8am. As long as I could arrive well before 9.30am, which was when we planned for Day 1 to begin with the arrival and registration. We had a huge team, so we had to arrange for five separate 2D1N sessions spaced at least a week apart. For each session, we booked two large express buses - which was just enough, even considering some staff opted for own transport like me. In order to maximize exposure and networking, we did randomize the mix to ensure each department and functional sections were spread out across all five batches. Of course, there are always the minority who will find some reason to swap sessions to be together....

Taking a drive through the Air Keroh toll and exiting at the Pedas-Linggi to continue along the trunk roads, it takes me on average a little over an hour to get from my house to Avillion Admiral Cove. Traffic is virtually non-existent at the early hours of the morning, though once off the highway, I had to keep an eye out for cows (and their byproducts), goats and even monkeys which could appear out of nowhere along the "kampung" roads. Luckily, these roads were mapped out on Waze, so at least I didn't get lost during the first session.

We had a fixed schedule to follow - after arrival and some light breakfast, we started off with the introduction and ice-breaking in one of the huge event halls, aptly named Commodore 1 and Commodore 2. For each of these sessions there was at least one member of the local DEV top management. The morning session was run entirely by our committee - MC, games coordinator, registration and general help. And of course, my forte - photography. This was the only part where brainpower was needed, as top management presented the key performance indicators and message to move forward as a fast, stable and innovative team.

After lunch, we then brought the group down to the field for some outdoor physical challenge. This was the main reason we chose this venue. Luckily, we handed this part off to the event organizers, who were actually full time staff of Avillion Legacy Hotel. Haha, talk about multi-skilled staff!

Even though it was completely on dry land, some of these challenges involved copious amounts of water, so one way or another, everyone got wet eventually. For some motivation and friendly competition, the team was split into several equally sized groups, and had to complete challenges working together as a team. Scores were allocated based on the time it took to complete the challenges - the faster they finished, the higher the scores. In the end, the winner and runners up received prizes. At the end of the physically stressful afternoon, the reward (as some may see it) was the Flying Fox. Most of the folks did not give any second thought and immediately rushed to sign the indemnity forms. Those who were overweight, expecting, or with some other excuse (like myself, for example) stayed safely on the ground and cheered our brave colleagues on.

By the time this was over, everyone was exhausted, and thus everyone adjourned to their rooms (twin-sharing for everyone, even the top management, which was fair). At last, some time to shower and rest (or wander about the hotel grounds, for those restless / hyper-active people). Dinner was served at the Trader Food Shop (same place as lunch), where the event crew demonstrated yet another talent by putting on a special fire show for us, complete with tribal costumes and real fire!

After dinner was over, we were not done for the day yet. Assembling back in the Commodore hall, we got everyone sitting in circles for some quick game of "SAT" (pronounced like Start but starting with S instead of ST, and without the "R" sound for RT at the back - hey, don't blame me, it's not an English word). I will create a post on to how to play this game in this blog soon. Once enough people were knocked out, we let them perform a short dance number for fun. Some folks were quite lucky to get knocked out more than once.... :)

After everyone was in jolly mood, and the food was halfway through digestion, it was time to get down to a more serious note for the fireside chat. This was basically a Q&A session with top management, and for those who were bashful and would rather ask in anonymity, we had a teddy bear box prepared for secret ballot slips.

We tried to keep to the time schedule, and dismissed by 9.30pm. By then, most of the people were tired and retired to their quarters. However, as there was a bar / pub with a singing Filipino band (they were there for most of the sessions), the nocturnal among us clocked in some overtime for "networking" purposes....

I never did manage to do a proper walk-through of the hotel room, but I could say the rooms were clean and comfortable. It was quite quiet, as it was quite a distance from the main road, plus no other buildings / hotels immediately adjacent to where we stayed.

The following day, it was free and easy up to 10am, which was not so exciting as it sounded, as breakfast and the gym here opened quite late, and there was nothing in the surrounding area of the Hotel. Ironically, it was a beachside hotel, but without a beach, as there was a marina (sort of like a parking lot for boats) here instead and rock everywhere else. The energetic folks (and those who went to bed early, no doubt) jogged around while some others took a more laid-back approach while waiting for the morning session to start. Once everyone was ready in the hall (late comers would be penalized, so everyone was punctual), we started off with the group-photo shoot, before starting the indoor games session, again, conducted by our talented multi-tasking hotel staff. There was a prize given to the top two teams of Day 2 as well, so those who did not win the outdoor games earlier had another shot at redemption. Finally, after everyone has had their fun, it was time for the summary and closing by top management, before heading down to the Trader Food Shop once again for lunch. The buses were ready to depart at 2pm, after everyone has had their fill.

My personal take on this - well, as mentioned, a total of five session were needed to cover everyone, while keeping the group to a manageable size of not more than 70 people for any given session. It was not a "full turn-key" event, so we as the committee still had to be present to take care of things except for the outdoor games (Day 1) and indoor games (Day 2). Taking turns, still, I ended up going for all 5 sessions, having to cover for games coordinator and even as the MC for some of the sessions (without neglecting my photographer role). It was a good experience for me, as I found I rather enjoy organizing such events, even as the MC, working with a wonderful and supportive committee. Also happy to have met the helpful and talented hotel staff / event crew, who were critical in making each session a success. We were also blessed with good weather, as it did not rain during any of our outdoor sessions.

I also got to know many new people (which was not surprising, as in our daily work we tend to contact those only directly related to our scope). Overall, I believe we mostly achieved our objectives of boosting the team spirits and igniting the spark of camaraderie in our hearts.

It was quite taxing on us as a committee (especially those who went several times) and for some sessions, we had only less than four of us. For future improvement, perhaps we could find a way to have fewer sessions, and still manage to keep things running smoothly with ~100 people at a time.

Well, once again a big thanks to all participants and everyone who worked hard to make this BE Development MAL Team Building 2018 event successful - looking forward to a lasting collaboration and networking, and an even better Team Building event in the future!