p.42 #2 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
As long as you can see the AF square/rectangle, shoot in AF-C and don't worry about it. I turned off the red/green change pretty fast, I just trust that the camera is focusing on what I'm pointing at. I shoot "release" mode so a color changing confirmation means nothing to me.
If the issue is seeing red against green, no easy solution here, the only mode that allows for a color change is 3D tracking to white instead of red.
You make a good point with release mode and red > green focus confirmation. There was a time where I relied heavily on that green box (with DSLR) but how much did it really matter, most of my subjects (people) were moving themselves, then I began relying more on 3D tracking and trusted the system to give me keepers, now with the Z8 it will be interesting to see how well subject/eye detection works especially with large aperture primes.
p.42 #3 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
You make a good point with release mode and red > green focus confirmation. There was a time where I relied heavily on that green box (with DSLR) but how much did it really matter, most of my subjects (people) were moving themselves, then I began relying more on 3D tracking and trusted the system to give me keepers, now with the Z8 it will be interesting to see how well subject/eye detection works especially with large aperture primes.
I will tell you, if you're shooting wide open on a fast prime, and the AF box is around the person's torso (it does this when it doesn't "see" a face), the torso is what's gonna be in focus. You really do need the AF box on the face/eye to get those in focus.
p.42 #4 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Yeah you're right about that Scott. I have 2 house bunnies and was frustrated that my Z9 didn't want to lock onto the lionhead bunny's face. It kept going onto his body instead. BUT as soon as he faced me where any eye could even nearly be seen, it immediately locked onto his eye. This focus system does indeed take some getting used to coming from the more automatic Sony A7RV type algorithm's. But as I was told by a engineer friend the other day. The Nikon mentality is one where the photographer is in control, whereas the typical Sony/Canon mentality of all this is more like "autopilot". I just had to hearken back to remembering my using all the older Nikon bodies I'd had over the years, like the D200, D300 and D700. Those made me a lot of money back in the day with weddings, portraits and such. So I just need to wrap my mind around grabbing more control again.
p.42 #5 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
dcisive wrote:
Yeah you're right about that Scott. I have 2 house bunnies and was frustrated that my Z9 didn't want to lock onto the lionhead bunny's face. It kept going onto his body instead. BUT as soon as he faced me where any eye could even nearly be seen, it immediately locked onto his eye. This focus system does indeed take some getting used to coming from the more automatic Sony A7RV type algorithm's. But as I was told by a engineer friend the other day. The Nikon mentality is one where the photographer is in control, whereas the typical Sony/Canon mentality of all this is more like "autopilot". I just had to hearken back to remembering my using all the older Nikon bodies I'd had over the years, like the D200, D300 and D700. Those made me a lot of money back in the day with weddings, portraits and such. So I just need to wrap my mind around grabbing more control again. ...Show more →
Not sure what mode you're using for subject detection, but in my experience, setting it to "animal" is far better than setting it to "auto". Same for people, pick the actual subject and ditch auto mode.
p.42 #6 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Of course. I use Animal for Animals and People for People etc. However when I was initially testing the setup out the Auto did work on my wife. Go figure.
p.42 #7 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
dcisive wrote:
Of course. I use Animal for Animals and People for People etc. However when I was initially testing the setup out the Auto did work on my wife. Go figure.
Auto works of course, I just fine it's more sure of itself when set appropriately.
p.42 #8 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
I will tell you, if you're shooting wide open on a fast prime, and the AF box is around the person's torso (it does this when it doesn't "see" a face), the torso is what's gonna be in focus. You really do need the AF box on the face/eye to get those in focus.
Right, subject detection mode goes body > face > eye in that order if I understood the control correctly. I have Fn2 setup for a custom wide area detection mode of 1x1 so acts like single point but with benefits of detection mode, I then have DISP setup as recall (hold) to turn off subject detection so it won't keep hunting for something but work more like single point.
p.42 #9 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
Auto works of course, I just fine it's more sure of itself when set appropriately.
Have you found a quantifiable difference? I have read the difference in speed of acquisition is somewhat negligible, I have mine currently set to Auto because there's been a number of times I've gone from people to animals or vice versa and have greater difficulty realizing it's not acquiring the target because I forgot to change detection mode, for me Auto seems to be the better failsafe, but maybe Z8(Z9) is different for subject detection than Z6 (I was hoping Auto would be faster)? I am open to change and guess I need to do some more testing in this area to see how it affects my shooting style.
p.42 #10 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
Have you found a quantifiable difference? I have read the difference in speed of acquisition is somewhat negligible, I have mine currently set to Auto because there's been a number of times I've gone from people to animals or vice versa and have greater difficulty realizing it's not acquiring the target because I forgot to change detection mode, for me Auto seems to be the better failsafe, but maybe Z8(Z9) is different for subject detection than Z6 (I was hoping Auto would be faster)? I am open to change and guess I need to do some more testing in this area to see how it affects my shooting style....Show more →
I tend to shoot animals more than people, and so my tests were really mostly with birds. It seems to find their shapes better when set to animal in my experience.
I will also just turn off subject detection and use Wide Large for some birds, which seems to deliver better results depending on backlighting and background busyness.
p.42 #11 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
Right, subject detection mode goes body > face > eye in that order if I understood the control correctly. I have Fn2 setup for a custom wide area detection mode of 1x1 so acts like single point but with benefits of detection mode, I then have DISP setup as recall (hold) to turn off subject detection so it won't keep hunting for something but work more like single point.
Just last night I too set up that small custom box so I could get the benefit of a very small area retaining the subject tracking. It works like a charm to eliminate picking up on the body instead of a head/eye.
p.42 #12 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
woodstork wrote:
I setup the sub-selector (joystick) press for this on the Z9. Very convenient location since I’m using the joystick to move focus position anyway and if subject detection isn’t helping, easy to just press it straight down to toggle off. Can just as quickly toggle on if conditions change. Also, selected this option because the Z9 has a second joystick on the vertical grip that I setup to mirror the sub-selector function. Muscle memory is a great thing. For the Z8 I might have considered a different button though.
Steve Perry’s Z8 & Z9 book offers a couple of suggestions (including the one I’m using). Some people don’t like it on the joystick because they accidentally press down when moving focus and lose detection. I’ve never had that happen on the Z9.
I like your use case for the center joystick press to turn off subject detection, I rarely reset to center (default behavior of center joystick click) as I'm using the joystick to move it where I want it anyway (rarely in the center) so I think this might be a better location vs. DISP... Lot's of good advise throughout this thread.
p.42 #13 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
That's the beauty of having everything customized to ones own taste. I have always lived with CENTER focus locked never change it. If I want something I move my camera (not the focus point) and it's how I've always shot for 25 years now and not gonna change. My joystick center press turns the menu for subject detection on immediately so I can choose what I want or off. Love that location for that purpose.
p.42 #14 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
dcisive wrote:
That's the beauty of having everything customized to ones own taste. I have always lived with CENTER focus locked never change it. If I want something I move my camera (not the focus point) and it's how I've always shot for 25 years now and not gonna change. My joystick center press turns the menu for subject detection on immediately so I can choose what I want or off. Love that location for that purpose.
You're missing out on all the pleasures of modernity if you're still ostensibly using focus and recompose. These beautiful sensors are edge to edge now, use it all!
p.42 #15 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
I spoke with Kirk Enterprises about a universal arca plate for the Z8, they recommended the PZ-134 V2 and I just got mine today, it is a perfect fit width wise with the rear lip fitting precisely without interfering with the rear LCD screen tilt features. Very difficult to twist the plate so I think this is a very good option for those not needing/wanting a full L plate.
p.42 #18 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Max Power wrote:
Sidebar: That ad that keeps reappearing at the bottom of the page is starting to chap my hide.
Carry on.....
I think you can buy hide-less chaps at Temu...
Jun 05, 2023 at 05:29 PM
duncang Offline • • • [X]
p.42 #19 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
dcisive wrote:
But as I was told by a engineer friend the other day. The Nikon mentality is one where the photographer is in control, whereas the typical Sony/Canon mentality of all this is more like "autopilot".
Riiigghhtt.... so by "autopilot mentality" you mean the Sony/Canon guys mentality is to focus on the action, composition and lighting rather than trying to remember which focus mode or should I say which combination of focus modes works best in the current scenario and then which combination of buttons needs to be pressed and at what precise moment to time the transition between modes, all the while praying that the subject stays away from tricky backgrounds.
And you think that with this in mind perhaps Nikon intentionally handcuffed Auto Area mode out of concern their user base would be offended by the loss of control a 'point and shoot' or "autopilot" mode that actually worked might engender?
