Wonderful images. Goodness, the IQ of these is extraordinary too. Pixel Perfect is an apt description! Especially the closer portraits. Would you mind sharing an overview of your post processing?
p.79 #2 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Last weekend was a tough one trying to get shots. Got a few on Saturday. Went back out Sunday morning...after 5 hours with nothing to really show for it I made the decision to head home. Got 10ft from my truck and see a decent sized bird pop out of the tall grass in the field next to me about 35yds away and flying directly at me, it gets about 15yds away and turns slightly right and then glides by slowly at eye level about 15ft away. It was a Northern Bobwhite quail but between me being a little frustrated with the morning, and also using the first 2 seconds to mumble to myself "wtf is that?"...by the time I realized what it was all I could do was watch it glide by lol...that'll be a shot that will always p*ss me off when I think about it. I hear the bobwhite all the time but rarely see them and my only pic of one is not the best angle, in a dirt field with barely any sprouts popping up. Oh well...next time I guess.
Here are a couple smaller birds I got on Saturday: 500PF + Z9
p.79 #3 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Alistair1 wrote:
Wonderful images. Goodness, the IQ of these is extraordinary too. Pixel Perfect is an apt description! Especially the closer portraits. Would you mind sharing an overview of your post processing?
Thanks for the kind words Alistair, much appreciated.
Nothing special about workflow. I use LR (v11.3) and I set it to do almost no NR. I use the calibration panel to adjust colours, do modest sharpening, just pick what camera profile works best for the scene, export to Photoshop and use Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI as required. Sometimes I use Nik Viveza3 to tweak colours using control points.
I try do do less processing and have softer contrast for wildlife and not go too heavy on saturation (a setting I don't actually use.
Sometimes if the subject has a lot of fine detail I'll use Adobe super-resolution in LR to upscale image and then in PS I rescale back to original size to pick up further enhanced details. Works wonders for landscape shots and if you have excellent feather detail.
p.79 #5 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
I had a few minutes yesterday afternoon before my son’s baseball practice so I stopped by to snap a few photos of the burrowing owls. I finally got some pics of them on something other than the ground or their wooden perches. I was completely surprised when one of the flew up in to a nearby oak tree and I was able to snag a few good photos. CC welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking.
Taken with a Nikon z9 and a 400mm f2.8 fl lens.
p.79 #6 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
nandadevieast wrote:
Can someone point me to the post or write a summary for the best possible AF settings for BIF? I can’t find ‘em.
Thanks
Many people say they have good success when setting the camera to wide area large and setting the BBF to 3d
You half press the shutter to get initial focus via wide area large and while half pressing you press the bbf to get the focus more stickier before shooting.
p.79 #7 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Apologies for back to back questions:
On release/drive dial…the last allows me to access all other frame rates in conventional Nikon manner…by pressing frame rate button and rotating the dial.
So then what is the use of that dial with separate frame rate settings marked? Is there a different use case for that?
p.79 #8 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
nandadevieast wrote:
Apologies for back to back questions:
On release/drive dial…the last allows me to access all other frame rates in conventional Nikon manner…by pressing frame rate button and rotating the dial.
So then what is the use of that dial with separate frame rate settings marked? Is there a different use case for that?
I am pretty sure if you're in CL, pressing the frame rate button and rotating the dial only lets you choose between 1fps and 10fps. In CH, the dial lets you choose between 10fps and 20fps. I don't have my camera in front of me right now but I think that's why it's done like that. Hopefully I am understanding you correctly.
p.79 #9 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Pixel Perfect wrote:
Thanks for the kind words Alistair, much appreciated.
Nothing special about workflow. I use LR (v11.3) and I set it to do almost no NR. I use the calibration panel to adjust colours, do modest sharpening, just pick what camera profile works best for the scene, export to Photoshop and use Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI as required. Sometimes I use Nik Viveza3 to tweak colours using control points.
I try do do less processing and have softer contrast for wildlife and not go too heavy on saturation (a setting I don't actually use.
Sometimes if the subject has a lot of fine detail I'll use Adobe super-resolution in LR to upscale image and then in PS I rescale back to original size to pick up further enhanced details. Works wonders for landscape shots and if you have excellent feather detail....Show more →
p.79 #10 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
bs kite wrote:
Good for you!
Let's see what you can do with the Z9 on butterflies.
No rush.
Thanks!
--
Afterthought: It's going to be awhile before they even show. In my butterfly garden I do not see Monarchs and Swallowtails until July.
I finally had some time to visit the butterfly place. butterfly in flight was nothing less than frustrating. First, a butterfly flight pattern is very weird and doesn't seem to have a destination whatsoever. I used auto detect and it's was a mess, maybe if you have just one butterfly, it's okay. But there was a lot of them flying and the camera doesn't really know what to do. The eye AF if hopeless. It detects the false eye patten on the butterfly wings instead(nature did what it intended to do here).
I think if you're really into butterfly in flight, you can and will get the shot. However, the place was effing hot and humid and I wasn't in the mood for it.
Here are some shots I got from the place. Using single point AF because any subject detection AF will likely get the wings in focus instead.
Keep in mind these are shot with MC 105f2.8S(apparently with VR). In hindsight, maybe I should've close down the aperture a bit but I have a habit of using wide open for my portraiture shoots. Oh well.
p.79 #15 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
this is me wrote:
I finally had some time to visit the butterfly place. butterfly in flight was nothing less than frustrating. First, a butterfly flight pattern is very weird and doesn't seem to have a destination whatsoever. I used auto detect and it's was a mess, maybe if you have just one butterfly, it's okay. But there was a lot of them flying and the camera doesn't really know what to do. The eye AF if hopeless. It detects the false eye patten on the butterfly wings instead(nature did what it intended to do here).
I think if you're really into butterfly in flight, you can and will get the shot. However, the place was effing hot and humid and I wasn't in the mood for it.
Here are some shots I got from the place. Using single point AF because any subject detection AF will likely get the wings in focus instead.
Keep in mind these are shot with MC 105f2.8S(apparently with VR). In hindsight, maybe I should've close down the aperture a bit but I have a habit of using wide open for my portraiture shoots. Oh well. https://pbase.com/nicksreef/image/172678478/original.jpg
I bumped into your post here, from the bottom to top; I opened the thread at Michael Fullana's images of their new rescue pup running.
As I scrolled upward through the butterfly images, I uttered the words "a butterfly house", meaning that this posting is of a bunch of butterflies taken inside a butterfly aviary.
The images are outstanding, albeit static. I think you picked the right focal too, and the backgrounds are super.
You posted *an eloquent description* of the frustration of trying to find and hold a flying butterfly in the viewfinder, long enough to capture a suitable image.
I greatly appreciate your candor. And yes, those places are humid. Back in the late 80's I frequented a place called Butterfly World in Lauderdale. All the images I got had black backgrounds from flash, because in those days, it was Kodachrome 25 or 64 or Fujichrome/Velvia.
What is that new feature of the Z9 that allows the photographer to begin shooting before the action starts? I forget what they call it.
Anyway, not sure if it is the same thing we already do. With the D850's relatively slow 9fps, I watch the animal (birds and insects are animals) very closely and try so hard to anticipate when it is going to launch, and I begin to burst *before* I think it is going to launch. The problem with the D850 is that (depending on how close I am to the little bird at my bird feeder), I almost always just get 1.5 images ... an image of it launching with the next frame being the tip of its tale feather . They are that fast. And you are right, butteries are more difficult because the butterfly gives no indication at all on when it is going to launch. And as you also said, nor do we have any idea where it is going.
The faster FPS is a great advantage the Z9 has over this D850 or D500 in this situation of shooting flying butterflies (or attempting to ).
I have a butterfly garden that I've put a lot or work into (especially this season, more than others, excepting the first season).
The only technique I can think of is the one I have been using. The improvement I can make is to not get too close (for deeper DOF), and start bursting when everything looks good and just keep shooting until it flies or the buffer runs down.
Thank you
Robert
afterthought: I removed a sentence that said "It cannot be done." It's a good challenge for those interested.
I recall a guy years ago who used electronic tripper to freeze insects in flight. Stephen Dalton I think.
p.79 #16 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
DGettisNC wrote:
Last weekend was a tough one trying to get shots. Got a few on Saturday. Went back out Sunday morning...after 5 hours with nothing to really show for it I made the decision to head home. Got 10ft from my truck and see a decent sized bird pop out of the tall grass in the field next to me about 35yds away and flying directly at me, it gets about 15yds away and turns slightly right and then glides by slowly at eye level about 15ft away. It was a Northern Bobwhite quail but between me being a little frustrated with the morning, and also using the first 2 seconds to mumble to myself "wtf is that?"...by the time I realized what it was all I could do was watch it glide by lol...that'll be a shot that will always p*ss me off when I think about it. I hear the bobwhite all the time but rarely see them and my only pic of one is not the best angle, in a dirt field with barely any sprouts popping up. Oh well...next time I guess.
Here are a couple smaller birds I got on Saturday: 500PF + Z9 ...Show more →
These are the best flying swallow images I have ever seen. I'd give you 5 stars if I could.
. They are that fast. And you are right, butteries are more difficult because the butterfly gives no indication at all on when it is going to launch. And as you also said, nor do we have any idea where it is going. 
