Re: Z9 ! : Official thread for Z9 images and discussion
Lance B wrote: billslatteryjr wrote:
Nice work Lance.
On a side note have you noticed the same acquisition slowness with wider apertures using the Z9 and new FTZ like you did here with your Z7 & old FTZ: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1664520
“By golly, you're right! I had never noticed this previously, but on my Z7 my 400 f2.8E FL VR is slower to focus at f2.8 than it is at f5.6! I then tried my 70-200 f2.8E FL VR and it also is slightly slower to focus at f2.8 than it is at f5.6, the difference is not as marked as the 400 f2.8, though. …..
And Merry Christmas.
Thank you very much, Bill!
I am glad you asked that question. I did a quick test on some flowers in a tree about 8mts away in good light outside my window and on the roof racks of a car parked on the street. Using the 400 f2.8E FL VR on a tripod and swapping between f2.8 and f5.6 and defousing the lens a long way between aperture change.
The Z7II seems to only be a very tiny bit slower to focus at f2.8 compared to f5.6 but there doesn't seem to be much of a difference now compared to when I checked this on the Z7 as in your post above. This makes me think Nikon has improved the focus algorithms from the original Z7 to the Z7II, but that my have been addressed in the latest Z7 FW upgrade, I do not know.
In this situation on both subjects, the Z9 is faster to focus than the Z7II in all situations. If there is a difference between f2.8 and f5.6 on the Z9 it is small, small enough for me to not really detect a time difference.
So, I think the Z7II is fast to focus using the 400 f2.8E FL VR and using f2.8 is a tiny, tiny bit slower at f2.8 than f5.6. The Z9 is VERY fast to focus using the 400 f2.8E FL VR and I cannot detect any speed difference between f2.8 and f5.6. Using the 400 f2.8, the Z9 is as fast to focus as I remember my D500 and D850 with the Z7II very close behind. Of course, this is just one lens in one scenario and I haven't checked any S mount lenses at this stage.
It would be good if others could check to get their findings. I would be interested to know.
Update.
I just tried the Z7II + 70-200 f2.8 VRS and compared focus speeds to the Z9 + 70-200 f2.8 VRS. I focused on a street sign across our street maybe 30 mts away. The Z7II is still slower to focus at f2.8 than at f5.6. The Z9 focuses just as fast at f2.8 as it is at f5.6. The Z9 focuses very fast at all apertures, quite a bit faster than the Z7II. Maybe it is due to the higher voltage output of the battery driving the AF motors faster?
It was prompted by this thread over at DPR where Beatboxa studied the 70-200 lens shoot out done by DPR and came up with some pretty interesting findings.:
