Apologies if this was posted before, but I've come across this great Steve Perry video about the new focus limiter function of the Z8 firmware 3.01.
The way the feature was implemented is IMHO absolutely brilliant. The focus here is wildlife, but I can definitely see myself using this for stage photography, studio, macro,... also.
RoamingScott wrote:
How is Nikon’s implementation more “brilliant” vs other brands that had it first?
I don’t remember writing it was more brilliant than xxx, did I?
I don’t even know what other brands offer this capability nor the details of their implementation. I know that Fuji and P1 don’t have it because those are the 2 other brands I am currently using in parallel to Nikon after having given up on Sony.
But I find the way Nikon did implement it absolutely perfect.
If you’re going to be hyperbolic, I’d like to know the reasoning why. If the feature works exactly as other systems that have it, it wouldn’t make Nikon’s implementation absolutely brilliant, it would make it industry standard.
It’s very difficult to have a simple conversation if brand hyperbolism is the first thing thrown around.
bernardl wrote:
I don’t remember writing it was more brilliant than xxx, did I?
I don’t even know what other brands offer this capability nor the details of their implementation. I know that Fuji and P1 don’t have it because those are the 2 other brands I am currently using in parallel to Nikon after having given up on Sony.
But I find the way Nikon did implement it absolutely perfect.
RoamingScott wrote:
If you’re going to be hyperbolic, I’d like to know the reasoning why. If the feature works exactly as other systems that have it, it wouldn’t make Nikon’s implementation absolutely brilliant, it would make it industry standard.
It’s very difficult to have a simple conversation if brand hyperbolism is the first thing thrown around.
I am sorry, I have a hard time following your logic.
I am a Nikon user commenting in a Nikon forum about a Nikon feature.
How is this brand hyperbole?
What I find brilliant with the Nikon implementation is described in Steve's video:
- ability to set near far distances by entering numbers, by focusing or by using manual focus override + possibility to fine tune
- visual information about possible limitations with these numbers
- ability to engage/disengage very quickly the feature by associating it with custom buttons, including lens buttons
- ability to store different values in setting banks which enables to switch very quickly between different set ups, for example when shooting in an env with different scenes located at different distances
- ability to still detect subjects outside the set range
Since you insist on comparing Nikon to other brands, would you mind summarizing the respective capabilities? I understand that some brands require focus calibration (Fuji), some only support a very limited list of lenses (Pentax), Canon and Sony don't seem to offer this capability on any bodies as far as I am aware?
Can you confirm that all the capabilities i listed above are available in every implementation?
"Unlock This Hidden AF Trick" haha. That's funny. It doesn't need to be unlocked and it's not a trick. (Not hating really, it's just funny how the YT algorithm has made it worthwhile to write those headlines.)
In any case, this feature is definitely useful in certain scenarios. Personally, I think it's a little overblown, because the AF already works so well and you can recall focus positions with lens buttons, so the improvement is incremental rather than exceptional. I also don't like shooting at feeders so maybe that's why it's not terribly interesting to me. But I do agree there are even some situations in the wild where it can be useful. The ability to toggle it with a button is good.
Indeed, AF mostly works without setting this up. It indeed is incremental.
But I was recently shooting a dance event and eye AF picked up a couple of times on viewers passing in front of the stage and I lost a couple of images due to the time it took to focus back on the stage. This would not have been a problem had this been configured.
For birding I believe that the possibility to set a far limit in front of the background may be valuable for generic shooting. Steve explains how to do this easily without carrying a golf laser meter.
bernardl wrote:
For birding I believe that the possibility to set a far limit in front of the background may be valuable for generic shooting. Steve explains how to do this easily without carrying a golf laser meter.
That is quite true, and quite easy to do because you can just focus on a far point to set the far point. No need to watch a video...
JasonTheBirder wrote:
That is quite true, and quite easy to do because you can just focus on a far point to set the far point. No need to watch a video...
The recommendation explained in the video is to set the far point by focusing and then to substract some distance using the front dial.
