sum1sgrampa
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 p.31 #20 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera! | |
1bwana1 wrote:
I think you guys may be misunderstand what Jan was demonstrating. He was not trying to take an image of a small object, far away, against a poor background. Of course no wants such an image. He is also operating from a point of reference of shooting other systems that may have less problems acquiring such subjects.
What he was attempting to do was acquire the subject while it was still small in the frame. In some systems that do lock on to small distance subjects far away, this makes tracking the subject in easier and more reliable. The sooner you lock on to a subject the better in my experience.
Jan wanted to track the subject in across multiple backgrounds while maintaining focus. Obviously it is better if the camera stays locked on the subject on the way in rather than getting ADD and focusing on backgrounds or other distractions It was Jan's opinion that the Z9 doesn't do this as well as some other systems, and gets distracted more easily. His experience from shooting multiple systems.
Jan wanted to keep the subject in focus across the entire sensor the entire time. It is easier to keep the subject in the focus frame when that frame covers the whole sensor. Having to shrink the focus area to acquire subjects far away, then switch the focus area to wide, and tracking mode to 3D on the way in is a heavier work load than some other systems require. Jan prefers to not do that.
Finally, when the subject is close enough, the background is attractive enough, and the pose is interesting enough, take a high quality, interesting image. The difference in Jan's opinion that the workload on the Z9 until this point was heavier than on some other systems.
There are many videos, discussions, and articles on how to configure the Z9 buttons to make these changes and hand offs easier, and faster. Once Jan had figured out how to do this he was able to solve for his needs (preferences) in getting this done. He is far from alone in this experience. Managed correctly however, the Z9 will get as many high quality images as the best other systems out there. This has been Steve Perry's, Thom Hogan's, Hudson Henry's and many other very experienced photographers experience as well.
Sure, you can just set the Z9 AF to wide, make other settings per preference, and the Z9 will work at a very high AF level. But it seems compared to other systems that the Z9 will have to wait for a larger/closer subject, and will have some level of proclivity to lose track and focus on other distractions. Pick your compromises, and shoot the way that works best for you....Show more →
I understand exactly what he was trying to do but he's simply setting up the system to fail. I'll stand by this, there's no reason to begin tracking a bird from that far away. So what would be the point of switching to a different AF mode for a photo you don't want to take ? I find myself in these situations constantly, Eagles, Osprey, Terns. Anyone who has been doing this for a while and is familiar with their equipment can gauge acceptable shooting distance. I watch to see if they are going to be approaching me. Then I lift the lens and usually manual focus to get an approximate distance dialed in. Or I prefocus on a tree, a log, sometimes even the water. Something that's not moving but is in that acceptable range. I don't bother tracking them until they get close to that border of acceptable distance. So his findings are pretty much irrelevant for my uses. Yours may be different. I've sat and watched from a distance many more birds fishing or interacting than I have photographed them.
This reminds me of so many other "issues" we see on these forums that come up from time to time. Flare, banding, you name it. Somebody works hard to create an unlikely situation that proves they've discovered a problem. That "problem" takes on a life of it's own and before you know it, the Z8/9 AF sucks. Rubbish.
Gary
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