p.48 #4 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
berimbolo wrote:
I wonder if this feature will be useful for fast moving birds that are skittish. I struggle getting close enough to kingfishers to get good shots of them diving for fish.
This should be great for kingfishers if you know a good perch
p.48 #5 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
berimbolo wrote:
I wonder if this feature will be useful for fast moving birds that are skittish. I struggle getting close enough to kingfishers to get good shots of them diving for fish.
If you know of a perch that the KF likes to regularly fish from then you could surely setup the camera in the AutoCapture mode and leave the area (or back way up and hide) and let the camera capture the shots. Of course you could just as easily setup a small popup blind close to the perch and shoot it yourself. I use a kayak to shoot diving KF as they do let me approach and "park" my kayak in front of their perches especially when they have newly fledged young around that they are concentrating on feeding. I can't get nearly as close to the same bird at the same perch if I go by land (and I've tried).
What we don't know yet is if the AutoCapture (AC from now on) algorithms are fast enough to keep focus on the diving KF. And unless you use a wide lens you will either have to setup the system to focus on the perch or on the water below. Who knows, it might work and get you some shots or it may be too slow to react to the dive and just get you perched shots.
I watched Morten's video and for sure the AC works but it gets you a boat load of crap shots to cull through and it seemed to me a little slow to react if it was going to be a very fast bird entering or leaving the frame. But Morton admits in the video he has only scratched the surface of all the settings and there is so much customization you can do that I think you could get it dialled in after some experimentation to get some KF shots.
I wouldn't mind having the AC feature but I'd mostly just play around with it (same as I do with pre-capture) for birds in my backyard coming and going from feeders. Songbirds/passerines in flight are difficult but features like pre-capture and AC will surely help with this. I wouldn't use it much at all when out doing my normal morning photography as I enjoy the interaction with the camera and subject. AC would be best for special projects that typically are done with complicated trap setups. I''m sure Morten will come up with some cool projects for his Z9 in AC left in the forest for a day but I think for most it won't be something you will use a lot of the time.
p.48 #7 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
no, i do not block people. every now and then they actually do have something to say that might mean something. remember, in reality we're all bozos on this bus.
p.48 #8 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
arbitrage wrote:
If you know of a perch that the KF likes to regularly fish from then you could surely setup the camera in the AutoCapture mode and leave the area (or back way up and hide) and let the camera capture the shots. Of course you could just as easily setup a small popup blind close to the perch and shoot it yourself. I use a kayak to shoot diving KF as they do let me approach and "park" my kayak in front of their perches especially when they have newly fledged young around that they are concentrating on feeding. I can't get nearly as close to the same bird at the same perch if I go by land (and I've tried).
What we don't know yet is if the AutoCapture (AC from now on) algorithms are fast enough to keep focus on the diving KF. And unless you use a wide lens you will either have to setup the system to focus on the perch or on the water below. Who knows, it might work and get you some shots or it may be too slow to react to the dive and just get you perched shots.
I watched Morten's video and for sure the AC works but it gets you a boat load of crap shots to cull through and it seemed to me a little slow to react if it was going to be a very fast bird entering or leaving the frame. But Morton admits in the video he has only scratched the surface of all the settings and there is so much customization you can do that I think you could get it dialled in after some experimentation to get some KF shots.
I wouldn't mind having the AC feature but I'd mostly just play around with it (same as I do with pre-capture) for birds in my backyard coming and going from feeders. Songbirds/passerines in flight are difficult but features like pre-capture and AC will surely help with this. I wouldn't use it much at all when out doing my normal morning photography as I enjoy the interaction with the camera and subject. AC would be best for special projects that typically are done with complicated trap setups. I''m sure Morten will come up with some cool projects for his Z9 in AC left in the forest for a day but I think for most it won't be something you will use a lot of the time....Show more →
Yeah, the question is how quickly it will start to fire. I wonder if you could turn off subject detection and just have it start shooting immediately when motion is detected at a certain distance. I would assume so, but AF might not (or not work well). So, the photographer would be required to gauge the distance correctly and use a lens with the appropriate DoF.
p.48 #9 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
I speak for the entire Nikon forum when I say we would all rather you didn’t, ever again.
You certainly speak for me.
Jun 14, 2023 at 08:24 AM
berimbolo Offline • • • [X]
p.48 #10 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
arbitrage wrote:
If you know of a perch that the KF likes to regularly fish from then you could surely setup the camera in the AutoCapture mode and leave the area (or back way up and hide) and let the camera capture the shots. Of course you could just as easily setup a small popup blind close to the perch and shoot it yourself. I use a kayak to shoot diving KF as they do let me approach and "park" my kayak in front of their perches especially when they have newly fledged young around that they are concentrating on feeding. I can't get nearly as close to the same bird at the same perch if I go by land (and I've tried).
What we don't know yet is if the AutoCapture (AC from now on) algorithms are fast enough to keep focus on the diving KF. And unless you use a wide lens you will either have to setup the system to focus on the perch or on the water below. Who knows, it might work and get you some shots or it may be too slow to react to the dive and just get you perched shots.
I watched Morten's video and for sure the AC works but it gets you a boat load of crap shots to cull through and it seemed to me a little slow to react if it was going to be a very fast bird entering or leaving the frame. But Morton admits in the video he has only scratched the surface of all the settings and there is so much customization you can do that I think you could get it dialled in after some experimentation to get some KF shots.
I wouldn't mind having the AC feature but I'd mostly just play around with it (same as I do with pre-capture) for birds in my backyard coming and going from feeders. Songbirds/passerines in flight are difficult but features like pre-capture and AC will surely help with this. I wouldn't use it much at all when out doing my normal morning photography as I enjoy the interaction with the camera and subject. AC would be best for special projects that typically are done with complicated trap setups. I''m sure Morten will come up with some cool projects for his Z9 in AC left in the forest for a day but I think for most it won't be something you will use a lot of the time....Show more →
I also think it would be easier to just get a portable hide. You've also reminded me that I need to learn to kayak.
p.48 #11 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
arbitrage wrote:
The question remains though....despite the multitude of FW updates and great new innovative features, has this FW actually brought the underlying AF up to the 2.5 year old benchmark set by the A1? Somehow I doubt it has. But once Z8 gets this FW I'll give it a test run.
That's an excellent question for sure. From what I hear of the grumbling on the Sony forums here and on Facebook is the lack of any firmware updates from Sony. I don't have an A1. Out of my price range sadly. Even my A7IV gets eh firmware updates. The Z8 is out less than a month and it gets a pretty good firmware release. I keep hearing that Sony doesn't want to cripple any new cameras coming out. Which to me is silly if that's the corporate mentality.
p.48 #12 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Sony will soon copy automated shooting with the addition of their world class AF, and soon no one will ever have to leave the house again, freeing them up for even more bragging online about what great "photographers" they are, because they know the best places to set their automated cameras. What a cool time.
p.48 #17 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
Sony will soon copy automated shooting with the addition of their world class AF, and soon no one will ever have to leave the house again, freeing them up for even more bragging online about what great "photographers" they are, because they know the best places to set their automated cameras. What a cool time.
I saw the results of a recent competition, and was surprised to see many of the winning photographs in the wildlife category were remote or auto triggered. I suppose that's the new frontier of the arms race.
p.48 #19 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
tctmp wrote:
I saw the results of a recent competition, and was surprised to see many of the winning photographs in the wildlife category were remote or auto triggered. I suppose that's the new frontier of the arms race.
That's been the case for many, many years... nothing new about it.
