Lance B wrote:
To be quite honest, there is nothing wrong with the VF resolution of the Z7II if that is what it is.
i agree. To be honest, I dont see much difference between z7 ii EVF or the higher resolution A7r IV EVF. I actually slightly prefer z7 ii even, when I use manual focus lens. GFX 100 EVF has the same resolution as Z7 ii but looks much worse and is a pain to MF with very fast lens. Resolution alone does not indicate how good the EVF is really. Dont soend enough time with A1 to see how 9 mp looks or if it is much better for MF at this time. However someone mention to me that higher resolution LCD actually use less power as output from each pixel does not have to be as bright. Does that sound right? I dont know enough about LCD to know for sure.
bs kite wrote:
Would a flagship mirrorless have captured this launching hawk in perfect focus?
Today I went to a local estuary that has a fishermen's co-op, and of course, lots of pigeons. I was elated when a Cooper's hawk swooped in and landed. It was a hungry juvenile and it came to catch a pigeon. Cooper's belong to the family Accipitridae. Relative to other hawks, accipiters have stubbier wings and a very long, narrow group of tail feathers (called the retrices (plural), that acts as a rudder, allowing them to navigate through open woodlands with speed. Accipiters are sometimes called "darters".
They are ambush predators, often perching on the edge of woodlands, waiting and watching. When an unsuspecting passerine bird appears in the open, the chase is on. The passerine bird instantly spots the Coopers chasing it.
When scared, a pigeon is much faster than a passerine. I'm not certain, but I don't think a Cooper's can catch a Pigeon in a straight race in open, treeless habitat. I've seen such a chase just once, and the terrified pigeon shifted into high gear and pulled away from the Coopers.
So when this Cooper's you see in the images showed, I was determined to get in position to try to capture its attempt on a pigeon. But the only thing I got was a couple of perched shots and one when it was launching. That shot looked good in the camera, but you know how that can go. I got home and it was soft! Apparently I kept the AF on single point and when the bird launched, the focus somehow ended up on the railing behind it.
At one point the Coopers flew up and onto a utility pole, causing the pigeons to take to flight. Once the hawk perched, the flock of about 30 pigeons came back, making several passes and coming with 20 feet of the perched hawk below them. They knew the hawk would not attempt a chase in the open.
In the future, I want to be able to photograph these quick hawks in action.
MY QUESTION: Would the flagship mirrorless have nailed this hawk? Would it have instantly stuck focus on the eye? Needless to say, my D850 just does not do it. I know my D500 is quicker but I did not have it with me.
After all this Z9 talk on the forum lately, I ask you this: Does the A1 focus on the bird's eye in this situation. And how fast is it to acquire once the focus button is depressed.
Robert,
I have nailed the focus of similar subjects doing similar things with my D500 and 500PF. There are so many variables when it comes to nailing an image like this. For example, did you have a fast enough shutter speed? Was your AF point trained on the eye? Did you maintain your thumb on the back-button focus & index finger on the the shutter release? Did you jerk the camera out of excitement instead of maintaining a smooth transition as the bird leapt from its perch... note the latter is the cause of many of my failures.
I think DSLRs are more than capable of doing this. One benefits from mirrorless when a bird is darting about erratically, and the af point automatically tracks the eye or body of the subject.
A slower bird, but one shot in late March and was on my laptop.
Oct 24, 2021 at 06:47 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
gannis wrote:
Interesting. Looking at the teasers (with iso 100 which I thought would be the base ISO) I thought nikon wouldve optimized this camera for a better performance at mid/ high iso considering this is a sports/action camera which will most likely be used at higher than the base iso. Considering they already have the Z7 series for the ultimate low iso/ DR.
I agree with this reasoning. I would be surprised if they compromise mid/hi ISO performance for better low ISO performance like the Z7 (II) and D850. It is not an unreasonable strategy but not for a camera that has fast action photography as a primary purpose. Nikon has compared this camera most often with the D6 and that camera makes the opposite compromise, sacrificing performance at base ISO for better performance at mid/low ISO. We will know soon, but I expect the camera to be fairly balanced with good base ISO performance and good mid/hi ISO performance, without sacrificing one for the other.
I thought it would be the other way round...EVF with mire dots and higher refresh draws more power? I have not used the A1 but between the A9, A7R4, Fuji XT3 and Z7, I preferred the Z7 EVF...
suteetat wrote:
i agree. To be honest, I dont see much difference between z7 ii EVF or the higher resolution A7r IV EVF. I actually slightly prefer z7 ii even, when I use manual focus lens. GFX 100 EVF has the same resolution as Z7 ii but looks much worse and is a pain to MF with very fast lens. Resolution alone does not indicate how good the EVF is really. Dont soend enough time with A1 to see how 9 mp looks or if it is much better for MF at this time. However someone mention to me that higher resolution LCD actually use less power as output from each pixel does not have to be as bright. Does that sound right? I dont know enough about LCD to know for sure. ...Show more →
gannis wrote:
I thought it would be the other way round...EVF with mire dots and higher refresh draws more power? I have not used the A1 but between the A9, A7R4, Fuji XT3 and Z7, I preferred the Z7 EVF...
I think I read once that more dots take less power because they illuminate viewfinder more. Maybe I am remembering that wrong, not too good with tech stuff.
Having used a number of EVFs now (Z50, Z7, A9, A7RIV, R5, A1), I can say that the resolution is not well correlated to best image/experience.
I love the 0.9 magnification FOV of the A1 EVF but I don't find the 9M resolution to be much of a game changer at all. I rarely use the 240Hz option for the A1 EVF as it drops my 0.9x down to 0.75x (or something like that). I also haven't been able to tell a noticeable advantage between 240Hz and 120Hz even for shooting fast swallows and hummingbirds flitting around.
My friend Pius who recently switched to A1 from R5 still much prefers the R5 EVF clarity even though the R5 is 5M resolution vs 9M for the A1. I can see his point (having owned the R5 also).
As noted already, the A1 EVF drops resolution while focusing in AF-C anyways. And it doesn't run full resolution when in 120Hz mode. You have to go to 60Hz to have it run at 9M dots (using the High Quality option).
Even my dinky Z50 EVF pushes above it's weight. I find it not bad at all...maybe even better than Sony's 3M dot EVF in the A9/A9II. Probably because that A9 is dropping to 2M when in 120Hz and AF-C also.
My point is that resolution on its own is certainly not what makes an EVF nice to use. I would have expected the Z9 to be in the 5M range like the R5 but even at 3M it may be really good.
What I would be more concerned about (or have on my wish list) is 120Hz and a large magnification like the A1. Having 0.9 mag is amazing and 60Hz is too slow to see a hummingbird move quickly from one flower to another...I always lose where it went if at 60Hz.
Also A1 is the worst battery life I've ever had on a camera (only the R5 competes with how bad it is) and that is likely a lot to do with the EVF.
OwlsEyes wrote:
Robert,
I have nailed the focus of similar subjects doing similar things with my D500 and 500PF. There are so many variables when it comes to nailing an image like this. For example, did you have a fast enough shutter speed? Was your AF point trained on the eye? Did you maintain your thumb on the back-button focus & index finger on the the shutter release? Did you jerk the camera out of excitement instead of maintaining a smooth transition as the bird leapt from its perch... note the latter is the cause of many of my failures.
I think DSLRs are more than capable of doing this. One benefits from mirrorless when a bird is darting about erratically, and the af point automatically tracks the eye or body of the subject.
Yes, there is no doubt Nikon DSLRs (I'll withhold judgment on Canon DSLRs) are perfectly capable of picking up raptors like hawks and tracking a nice string of shots. As you say, there are lots of factors involved. I don't know if Robert's hawk shots are uncropped but if they are then that would be a much harder scenario with the bird so large in the frame.
I was just about to ask you about the EVF of A1. This helps. arbitrage wrote:
Having used a number of EVFs now (Z50, Z7, A9, A7RIV, R5, A1), I can say that the resolution is not well correlated to best image/experience.
I love the 0.9 magnification FOV of the A1 EVF but I don't find the 9M resolution to be much of a game changer at all. I rarely use the 240Hz option for the A1 EVF as it drops my 0.9x down to 0.75x (or something like that). I also haven't been able to tell a noticeable advantage between 240Hz and 120Hz even for shooting fast swallows and hummingbirds flitting around.
My friend Pius who recently switched to A1 from R5 still much prefers the R5 EVF clarity even though the R5 is 5M resolution vs 9M for the A1. I can see his point (having owned the R5 also).
As noted already, the A1 EVF drops resolution while focusing in AF-C anyways. And it doesn't run full resolution when in 120Hz mode. You have to go to 60Hz to have it run at 9M dots (using the High Quality option).
Even my dinky Z50 EVF pushes above it's weight. I find it not bad at all...maybe even better than Sony's 3M dot EVF in the A9/A9II. Probably because that A9 is dropping to 2M when in 120Hz and AF-C also.
My point is that resolution on its own is certainly not what makes an EVF nice to use. I would have expected the Z9 to be in the 5M range like the R5 but even at 3M it may be really good.
What I would be more concerned about (or have on my wish list) is 120Hz and a large magnification like the A1. Having 0.9 mag is amazing and 60Hz is too slow to see a hummingbird move quickly from one flower to another...I always lose where it went if at 60Hz.
Also A1 is the worst battery life I've ever had on a camera (only the R5 competes with how bad it is) and that is likely a lot to do with the EVF. ...Show more →
Nikon India uploaded the Z9 marketing video erroneously instead of 40mm lens video and one guy was able to do a quick screen grab before they took it out that has the following 2 headline features
1. World's fastest scan rate
2. 120 fps continuous shooting
gannis wrote:
Nikon India uploaded the Z9 marketing video erroneously instead of 40mm lens video and one guy was able to do a quick screen grab before they took it out that has the following 2 headline features
1. World's fastest scan rate
2. 120 fps continuous shooting
This must be coming next week if people have content ready to upload....come on Nokishita...give us the full press release....I can't wait till Wed/Thur
what you need to be careful of are the infamous asterisks and reference numbers at the end of statements and what rabbit hole they lead you to qualify said statement
arbitrage wrote:
Yes, there is no doubt Nikon DSLRs (I'll withhold judgment on Canon DSLRs) are perfectly capable of picking up raptors like hawks and tracking a nice string of shots. As you say, there are lots of factors involved. I don't know if Robert's hawk shots are uncropped but if they are then that would be a much harder scenario with the bird so large in the frame.
Beautiful Cooper's sequence Geoff! I am definitely envious of this sequence and kicking myself for missing mine. Just after the young Cooper's swooped in and landed, I grabbed a shot. Then I heard a voice "Did you get it?" This man was some distance away and we then got together and had a pleasant chat. He showed me a couple of nice shots he captured with his Canon R5. He also told me that he takes vids of the Maine coast with his GPI drone. His videos were stunning from that elevated perspective.
_________
A side-note: I like drones and want one myself. I will use it for documenting exciting wildlife habitat and for promos of my work. But I don't like drones around wildlife at all. Life is difficult enough trying to stay alive in the wild.
In as nice a way as I could, I told him how I felt. I know this man is shooting the coast only, and I am not referring to him. I am speaking of all people with drones. There is a percentage of people who are simply irresponsible. We all know that. It is tempting to zoom down close to wildlife. It's going to be a big problem and probably unmanageable. Ok, enough of that .
__________
Yes, you are right Bruce. There are many factors that could have caused me to start off the 3 shot sequence out of focus. And of course, once started, I would not have time to acquire focus.
I was surprised when the hawk flew in and landed fairly close to me. Last night it occurred to me that I might have been too close. .Geoff hit on it...... this was a full-frame take. But the hawk was so anxious to catch a pigeon that I felt it might fly after one at any moment. So, I chose to not move. This is the reason I like zooms . I am hoping that Nikon decides to make the 200-600 S an internally zooming lens.
The still photography of my Cooper's take, cannot show the anxiety of this young hawk to catch a pigeon. It was constantly turning its head into various positions, searching under and around the walkway structure, for a pigeon(s) that would be in close quarters (not in the open). It did make one run. under the structure but came out empty-taloned. .
I've been choosing the D850 over my D500 because of the larger files. But the trade-off was quickness of AF. Hopefully the Z9 will be the solution.
And then there is the video clips I want to capture with this Z9. Searching the net now for videos of wildlife videographics with the A1.
Things are hotting up a bit now. I was not expecting that screen to go all the way flat with the vertical tilt. That's pretty cool. It's nice to see some of the important features going from rumour to effectively fact, just not officially released. Even if 8K60P isn't at launch and isn't a feature I'd use.. it says a lot about the power under the hood.
Can now see that there's no weird "IS" going on with the 100-400 lens and that NR had just mislabelled the VR.
I wasn't too sure on the look when the olympic leaks came out but now we're getting more angles it looks pretty much exactly how I'd expect a pro Nikon mirrorless body to look and I'm very happy with that.
The meanings for the asterisks in the above leaked photos (taken from some hard to read text that is cropped out of those):
*1 Among mirrorless cameras (as of March 31st 2021)
*2 To be offered via firmware update
*3 Among full-frame mirrorless cameras (as of March 31st 2021)
So this confirms what we've expected about some features coming via a firmware update. Right now this is the 8K60 functionality. Not at all shocking given that Nikon have done very similar before.
This sounds like classic sony. I don't know what our age gap is but this experience is similar in other products such as the playstation line. Well it can do 4k but you have to run the game at barely 30 fps, gran turismo has stellar graphics but you have to be in replay mode to see it and look at this other stuff we're offering but it's actually limited and we're doing it first.
They are good at using software to have these extra bullet points that reviewers can sale you on such as the new focus breathing software. My Z lenses don't breath like my Sony GM lenses but now people will say that Nikon Z camera is lacking this new vital feature.
arbitrage wrote:
Having used a number of EVFs now (Z50, Z7, A9, A7RIV, R5, A1), I can say that the resolution is not well correlated to best image/experience.
I love the 0.9 magnification FOV of the A1 EVF but I don't find the 9M resolution to be much of a game changer at all. I rarely use the 240Hz option for the A1 EVF as it drops my 0.9x down to 0.75x (or something like that). I also haven't been able to tell a noticeable advantage between 240Hz and 120Hz even for shooting fast swallows and hummingbirds flitting around.
My friend Pius who recently switched to A1 from R5 still much prefers the R5 EVF clarity even though the R5 is 5M resolution vs 9M for the A1. I can see his point (having owned the R5 also).
As noted already, the A1 EVF drops resolution while focusing in AF-C anyways. And it doesn't run full resolution when in 120Hz mode. You have to go to 60Hz to have it run at 9M dots (using the High Quality option).
Even my dinky Z50 EVF pushes above it's weight. I find it not bad at all...maybe even better than Sony's 3M dot EVF in the A9/A9II. Probably because that A9 is dropping to 2M when in 120Hz and AF-C also.
My point is that resolution on its own is certainly not what makes an EVF nice to use. I would have expected the Z9 to be in the 5M range like the R5 but even at 3M it may be really good.
What I would be more concerned about (or have on my wish list) is 120Hz and a large magnification like the A1. Having 0.9 mag is amazing and 60Hz is too slow to see a hummingbird move quickly from one flower to another...I always lose where it went if at 60Hz.
Also A1 is the worst battery life I've ever had on a camera (only the R5 competes with how bad it is) and that is likely a lot to do with the EVF. ...Show more →
. I am hoping that Nikon decides to make the 200-600 S an internally zooming lens. 
