p.13 #3 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
I also felt Auto-Area AF with Animal eye detect worked really well, actually much better than 3D for now. One thing that excites me the most is what Nikon intends to do with future firmware updates. We already know there are going to be significant video features and also a major update on adjustable AF box modes (like group area af). Bird eye detection algorithm can definitely improve with more birds added to the AI library. Also, the eye tracking can be better for flying birds with dark eyes (egrets, black kites). The camera is able to nail the eye af when these birds are perched whereas it tracks the head/eye area when they fly.
suteetat wrote:
The difference between egret and bee eater is quite significant. Interestingly enough, before I went out to shoot black kites the other day, my Nikon dealer told me to use auto area with animal eye tracking and mentioned that Nikon is fixing something in 3D and animal tracking and that firmware shoudl be coming out soon (he said to expect 4-5 firmwares in the next few months). I did try 3D tracking with black kites and found that I can lose the bird easier than in auto area AF either to the background or when another bird cut in front. However, in auto area AF, once the bird is tracked, it rarely ever lost the bird.
This is a bit embarassing as it clearly shown that Z9 is more capable than my ability unfortunately
But here it is. I was tracking black kite landing on a stump. The whole sequence was 40+ shots at 10 fps and all were in focus. There were about 10 shots as the bird approached and landed on the stump here.
Z9 did not lose the black kite that I tracked eventhough it was blocked by another kite perching in front for about 5-6 frames.
Now, only if I could maintain composition of the frames
Another interesting bits, my Nikon dealer mentioned that right now Z9 recognized about 150 different birds. They will add 200 more soon. However, supposedly R5 library contains about 500 different types. However deep learning process is helpful in some scenario. As I mentioned when I shot spotted owlet, initially Z9 only picked up the body when the eyes were closed and it took a few minutes before it started to pick up the head. Same thing as pond heron. I hope Z9 will get better and better with more challenging subject.
p.13 #5 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Finally some actual photography in this thread! Thank you for posting it and good job.
mholdef wrote:
A few photos from New Year's Eve shoot all done with the Z9
First two images were underexposed then pulled 1 stop to preserve some of the highlights.
Can see more from this series in the People Photography section.
p.13 #6 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
david debalko wrote:
with the Z9 I'm trying to apply my settings to Live view, I'm in the "show effects of settings" or the "adjust for ease of viewing" and I'm not seeing a difference, I must be missing something??
I figured out what I was doing wrong, I had starlight view turned On
p.13 #10 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
gannis wrote:
Here are few images from this morning. It was an overcast day and yet the Z9 could track very well. All these were shot with the 500 F4E with 1.4TC attached at 700mm. I am unable to tell if there is a drop in AF speed due to adding the TC. ISOs range from 1600 to 3200.
That first one of yours is incredibly stunning!
If you look at it without the brown mass at the bottom, it looks like the bird is at the outer limits of earths atmosphere and on the edge of space. The droplets of water that it has shaken off appear as little stars in the sky.
Ok, so my imagination got a little carried away for a moment or two. But, isn't that what some pictures are suppose to do?
p.13 #12 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
GSteele wrote:
All are excellent!
#4 is just plain Cool, looks like a rocket coming straight at you!
Thank you Gary...much appreciated! Trying to post some shots that would have been difficult to get with a DSLR. I havent had any good BIF opportunities. Hope to change that soon. I am loving no blackout....and really good EVF experience compared to the Z7II I tried this summer.
p.13 #20 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Lance B wrote:
Thank you very much, Bill!
I am glad you asked that question. I did a quick test on some flowers in a tree about 8mts away in good light outside my window and on the roof racks of a car parked on the street. Using the 400 f2.8E FL VR on a tripod and swapping between f2.8 and f5.6 and defousing the lens a long way between aperture change.
The Z7II seems to only be a very tiny bit slower to focus at f2.8 compared to f5.6 but there doesn't seem to be much of a difference now compared to when I checked this on the Z7 as in your post above. This makes me think Nikon has improved the focus algorithms from the original Z7 to the Z7II, but that my have been addressed in the latest Z7 FW upgrade, I do not know.
In this situation on both subjects, the Z9 is faster to focus than the Z7II in all situations. If there is a difference between f2.8 and f5.6 on the Z9 it is small, small enough for me to not really detect a time difference.
So, I think the Z7II is fast to focus using the 400 f2.8E FL VR and using f2.8 is a tiny, tiny bit slower at f2.8 than f5.6. The Z9 is VERY fast to focus using the 400 f2.8E FL VR and I cannot detect any speed difference between f2.8 and f5.6. Using the 400 f2.8, the Z9 is as fast to focus as I remember my D500 and D850 with the Z7II very close behind. Of course, this is just one lens in one scenario and I haven't checked any S mount lenses at this stage.
It would be good if others could check to get their findings. I would be interested to know....Show more →
Update.
I just tried the Z7II + 70-200 f2.8 VRS and compared focus speeds to the Z9 + 70-200 f2.8 VRS. I focused on a street sign across our street maybe 30 mts away. The Z7II is still slower to focus at f2.8 than at f5.6. The Z9 focuses just as fast at f2.8 as it is at f5.6. The Z9 focuses very fast at all apertures, quite a bit faster than the Z7II. Maybe it is due to the higher voltage output of the battery driving the AF motors faster?
Again, I would ask others to check their Z9 + 70-200 f2.8 VRS performance and compare it to their Z6/Z7/Z6II/Z7II (if they have one) and see if you can replicate my findings.
It was prompted by this thread over at DPR where Beatboxa studied the 70-200 lens shoot out done by DPR and came up with some pretty interesting findings.:
