p.10 #1 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Hopefully it’s in Nikon’s list for firmware updates. The live histogram is there so it’s just a matter of coding it onto the image. Besides, they have this is their lower tier Z camera. Somebody forgot about it I guess.
p.10 #3 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Some videos from today. I had a very cooperative Northern Mockingbird so I was able to perform a quick test of different video resolutions and frame rates.
These are all straight out of camera.
YouTube is still processing some of these so it could be a while before they are available at full resolution.
8k 30 FX
4k 30 FX
4k 60 FX
4k 60 DX
4k 120 2.3x crop - Looks like YouTube doesn’t support the 120 fps directly and adjusts it down to 60 fps.
I'll post the 4k 120 as 4k 60 at half speed so if you run it in YouTube at 2x it'll be at 120 fps. That's the only workaround I could find.
Here is the 120 fps video at 60 fps but twice as long (same total number of frames). If you play it in YouTube at 2x speed it will be the 120 fps. It will take a little while for YouTube to finish processing the upload.
Something I see in all the videos is a bit of motion. I'm not sure if it is the lens VR (I'll have to try another test with it off), me on the tripod head handle or something else. I believe the IBIS is off with the 600mm mounted so I don't think it is that.
I've run the 8k footage through Final Cut Pro X and was able to easily stabilize out the little bit of movement. I then ran it through Compressor and I get a H.264 file size of just under 1 GB. I'll get that video up into YouTube soon also.
Here is the 8k after I tweaked in FCPX.
p.10 #4 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
nextlife1 wrote:
It can be set for playback like all Nikon DSLRs. What you can’t do is see it before taking a still photograph, only in video mode. Seems like a glaring omission I hope is fixed with firmware.
Only sony has blinkies for picture. I don't why it wouldn't be available.
p.10 #6 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Finally got out to try Z9 AF a bit. Now about 120 km away from where I live, there is a big flocks of black kites who are taking winter vacation here from the Himalayas annually for the next few months so it is quite convenient
Big disclaimer, I dont do bif very often and I am not very good at it but these black kites are relatively easy. All shot with 600/4e FL, FTZ ii, the first two picture was without TC. The first shot is cropped a bit, second shot was without cropping. The last 2 shots were with TC14e iii, no cropping. All wide opened.
Basically, the bigger the bird, the faster and easier Z9 will AF and track.
Against the sky there was really no problem at all.
When there are trees in the background, if the kite filled about 10-15% of the frame, Z9 will grab on to the tree in the background more often than not if AF point is beyond the bird already. If focus point is in front of the bird, it is still more likely that it will focus on the bird successfully. This was something that was complained a lot with Z9 during fw 0.8 field testing. Nikon increased focus points as a response but promise to improve more on this with future firmware. I was told that they will also add more types of birds to subject recognition with future firmware so Z9 will be able to identify more birds faster.
After awhile after tracking one bird, I just point the camera to the ground to bring focus point closer to me before tracking the next bird. Sometimes, if the bird is small and Z9 grab the tree in the back, if the bird flew toward me and got bigger, Z9 can find the bird eventually but I think it is just faster to assist with manual focus or point toward the ground first.
EVF is very smooth and I don't miss D6 OVF at all. With 600/4e FL and FTZ ii adapter, it is definitely not slower than D6 at acquiring AF using group focus. I however use mostly auto area focus with animal detection and tried some 3D tracking. I shot Brahminy Kite with D6 a couple of months ago but it was in better light and no busy background but also on the boat and I think Brahminy kite flight is a bit more erratic and more difficult to follow so it is a bit hard to say if Z9 is really better but keeper rate for black kite is definitely better for me.
I was shooting 10 fps and ended up shooting a bit over 5000 shots in about 3 hours and only used up 1 bar of the battery.
I definitely will go back there next month as it was a lot of fun and today about 10 greater spotted eagles showed up but stayed very far back. I hope next time they will be closer. There was also one Eastern imperial eagle that showed up but stayed on a tree further back the whole time
p.10 #7 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
A few more from today. I went a little further afield to where I know where there are some Emu Wrens. A very shy little bird that generally stays in the scrub bushes and rarely ventures out. Sometimes you can be lucky. Their body is about the size of a man's thumb but with a very long tail that looks very much like an Emu's feather.
This was shot through the scrub and the 3D with Animal Detect worked great!
Z9+ 500 f5.6 PF, 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO100
100% crop of above
Z9+ 500 f5.6 PF, 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO100
Z9+ 500 f5.6 PF, 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO100
Another through the scrub shot
Z9+ 500 f5.6 PF, 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO110
A Superb Fairy-wren came to see what all the fuss was about
p.10 #10 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
gannis wrote:
I just thought of sharing the below flickr link where I posted straight out of camera images (Converted Raw to JPEG on Nikon Studio with the STANDARD picture control profile, other than that there are no other edits on any sliders like exposure, contrast, sharpening and no crop), all in camera adjustments like Vignette control, Diffraction compensation, High ISO NR etc were all turned off, just to give a fair bit of idea as to the SOOC sharpness, ISO, Colors etc.
I generally don't use flickr that much but that's one of the easier ways to link full resolution images
All images are shot with the Z9+FTZ 1 adapter on a NIkkor 500mm F4E FL lens, wide open, mostly using wide area L or 3D tracking modes with subject detection set to animal
Would you be willing to upload an uninterrupted sequence of the burst of shots of one of those flight passes the kite made? I'd be interested to see how stable the AF was on the kite as it went by you.
p.10 #11 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
George DeCamp wrote:
What! Damn, been using that forever. I’ll ask NPS and see what they can do.
Are you just wanting "blinkies" for the playback review of the image? That is still there on the Z9. See page 232 in the Z9 Reference Guide.
If you are looking for live Zebras in stills like Sony and Fuji then I don't believe Nikon (nor Canon) has ever had that on their MILC lines (or DSLR LV).
Pulling up shadow on Z9 is really quite comparable to Z7 ii for all intends and purpose, I think.
I think it will prove to be an excellent landscape camera as well as long as weight is not an issue
With 70-200/2.8S @101mm, f8, 1/125s, iso 64 with EV -0.7.
p.10 #14 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
arbitrage wrote:
Are you just wanting "blinkies" for the playback review of the image? That is still there on the Z9. See page 232 in the Z9 Reference Guide.
If you are looking for live Zebras in stills like Sony and Fuji then I don't believe Nikon (nor Canon) has ever had that on their MILC lines (or DSLR LV).
Wow I missed that, yes I think that is it so I'll see if it works! Thanks very much!
p.10 #15 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Ganesh, great set. Where did you photograph this. Thanks.
gannis wrote:
I just thought of sharing the below flickr link where I posted straight out of camera images (Converted Raw to JPEG on Nikon Studio with the STANDARD picture control profile, other than that there are no other edits on any sliders like exposure, contrast, sharpening and no crop), all in camera adjustments like Vignette control, Diffraction compensation, High ISO NR etc were all turned off, just to give a fair bit of idea as to the SOOC sharpness, ISO, Colors etc.
I generally don't use flickr that much but that's one of the easier ways to link full resolution images
All images are shot with the Z9+FTZ 1 adapter on a NIkkor 500mm F4E FL lens, wide open, mostly using wide area L or 3D tracking modes with subject detection set to animal
p.10 #16 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
@arbitrage, Sure, i can do that..in fact i wanted to do that as well but there were too many images so i decided to just post one from each sequence. This should be very similar to other pro cameras i guess wherein if you got the AF lock, its all about getting the best frame based on the wings, subtle lighting positions etc.
arbitrage wrote:
Thanks for sharing these.
Would you be willing to upload an uninterrupted sequence of the burst of shots of one of those flight passes the kite made? I'd be interested to see how stable the AF was on the kite as it went by you.
p.10 #17 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Hi Venky,
Thanks! I shot these in Kochi,Kerala from my apartment balcony. That's my fav place to test equipment as i have some subjects assured and some challenging backgrounds for the AF test.
Venky wrote:
Ganesh, great set. Where did you photograph this. Thanks.
p.10 #18 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Hi,
How do you find the performance with 1.4TC? I am getting my TC tomorrow to use with the 500 F4E. I am already blown away by the kind of sharpness and the no of images that are sharp with the Z9 but what i did not expect was how amazingly these F mount lenses perform on the Z9. Its simply flawless and i'm finding it hard to believe the difference in performance of F mount lenses between the Z6/7 series vs the Z9 is like on the 2 extreme ends of the spectrum when it comes to continuous shooting :-)
suteetat wrote:
With 600/4 e FL with quite a bit of cropping.
p.10 #19 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
gannis wrote:
Hi,
How do you find the performance with 1.4TC? I am getting my TC tomorrow to use with the 500 F4E. I am already blown away by the kind of sharpness and the no of images that are sharp with the Z9 but what i did not expect was how amazingly these F mount lenses perform on the Z9. Its simply flawless and i'm finding it hard to believe the difference in performance of F mount lenses between the Z6/7 series vs the Z9 is like on the 2 extreme ends of the spectrum when it comes to continuous shooting :-)
With TC14e iii, focus acquisition may be a touch slower than without TC but once focused, tracking
is very comparable with or without, I think. So far so good.
So i was also trying to photograph Black and Brahminy kites the last couple of days and i shoot from my apartment balcony and the background is full of trees and a lot of vertical and horizontal lines, harsh reflections etc. Generally a tough test for any AF system. I noticed something similar when using 3D tracking, i.e. the camera instantly picks the background and its quite hard to acquire focus or even when it acquires the initial focus, it quickly gets distracted and the box goes all over the place. But guess what, try wide area-L and it works like a charm and i have never had such a success rate shooting in busy backgrounds with any other DSLRs i have used (D500/850/D4).
Wide area-L is my most used and favorite AF area mode now for incoming or diving birds but what i figured is, with brahminy kites which are similar to bald eagles, they have white heads and yellow eyes so the camera easily tracks the eyes and track them tenaciously whereas with black kites that are generally very dull brown colored birds with dark eyes, it is difficult for the eye af to work so most of the time, even when the bird fills the frame, the camera was trying to focus somewhere near the head/ eyes which is pretty good. Now on the flip side, the focus is sharp starting from the bird's eyes to all the way back to the tail but there are some frames where the beak is a bit soft. What i did today was to try the same wide area L mode with a small tweak. I have programmed my lens fn button with an RSF override to turn off subject detection. When a bird approaches, i track the bird using wide area-L with subject on and the moment the bird fills the frame , i press the lens-fn button to temporarily disable subject detection. When i do this, the wide area L seems to work based on close subject priority (just like the group AF), bingo now the beak and the eyes are in focus. This approach works best for me when i am shooting birds against a busy background.
Nikon's update that will allow customizing the box sizes will be a major update in my opinion for these type of use cases.
suteetat wrote:
Finally got out to try Z9 AF a bit. Now about 120 km away from where I live, there is a big flocks of black kites who are taking winter vacation here from the Himalayas annually for the next few months so it is quite convenient
Big disclaimer, I dont do bif very often and I am not very good at it but these black kites are relatively easy. All shot with 600/4e FL, FTZ ii, the first two picture was without TC. The first shot is cropped a bit, second shot was without cropping. The last 2 shots were with TC14e iii, no cropping. All wide opened. ...Show more →
