Z9 photo thread

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Such behaviour is even more prounonced when using the 500 pf with Z6 or Z9 for video. Set AF mode to AFF. Play with settings 1 to 5. Setting 1 will acquire targets faster & also track a moving bird better.
WoW! it is a great stuff youa re talking about! Especially for video. I plan to do more video and don't have experience yet. Ok, I don't also have Z9 but I am interested in. Thank you very much, I will read a thread again. Ttere is some useful information!
 
WoW! it is a great stuff youa re talking about! Especially for video. I plan to do more video and don't have experience yet. Ok, I don't also have Z9 but I am interested in. Thank you very much, I will read a thread again. Ttere is some useful information!

Here is some info that may be of use to you if you intend to try it!

One can sort of make it work for slow big birds or birds with a predictable flight pattern like pelicans or pied kingfishers.

I have videographed a pied kingfisher hovering, diving, & hunting a minnow. Handheld with a Z6 & 500 pf.

1) Set the focus button to M/A, to override AF whenever needed. Use wide area large & AF sensitivity at 1. Can only be done with 500 pf or 70-200 as they are light. Memorize how much & in what direction the focus ring has to be turned after observing the predictable flight pattern of the bird.
2) Have focus peaking turned on.
Always shoot in 120 FPS, other modes won't work at all for such action as it will get too shaky. 120 FPS hides all the flaws.
3) Shoot at the widest f number. If it is not working out. Try F9 in bright light to allow oneself a greater level of error margin!
 
Z9 with 500E f4 using 5.6 1/3200 Wide AF ISO 400
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5.6 1/4000 Wide AF ISO 800
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or birds with a predictable flight pattern like pelicans or pied kingfishers.
For Kingfishers and Pelicans I need to go to Botswana again ;-)
But I have an European Bee-Eaters colony 10min from my house and also Marsh Harriers. They will come in spring. I am alerady quite good in following bee-eaters becasue I had a lot of practice. They also have kind of approaching procedure. So, I will make tests when they are here. 👍
Schooting in 120fps - interesting, never thought about that :) And focus peaking is a good idea.
I also think that the camera slows everything; the initial focus as well.
The camera triggers and if the lens-response is slow then AF is really slow! By 500 PF the response time is very good. By the way I read somewhere that the cameras have kind of lens-database (this is why we get all those firmware updates) and the response time is actually there (along with other lens attributes) so, the software says how fast and how far to move. So, theoretically Nikon can favour own lens, who knows.
Sigma lens are very sharp and have a nice bokeh but slow in comparison to Nikon. However, it is not "hunting" and sometimes it is even an advantage.
 
For Kingfishers and Pelicans I need to go to Botswana again ;-)
But I have an European Bee-Eaters colony 10min from my house and also Marsh Harriers. They will come in spring. I am alerady quite good in following bee-eaters becasue I had a lot of practice. They also have kind of approaching procedure. So, I will make tests when they are here. 👍
Schooting in 120fps - interesting, never thought about that :) And focus peaking is a good idea.
I also think that the camera slows everything; the initial focus as well.
The camera triggers and if the lens-response is slow then AF is really slow! By 500 PF the response time is very good. By the way I read somewhere that the cameras have kind of lens-database (this is why we get all those firmware updates) and the response time is actually there (along with other lens attributes) so, the software says how fast and how far to move. So, theoretically Nikon can favour own lens, who knows.
Sigma lens are very sharp and have a nice bokeh but slow in comparison to Nikon. However, it is not "hunting" and sometimes it is even an advantage.

Nice, those bee eaters will look great on video.
You mean to say lenses are disproportionally affected by the AF sensitivity settings. That could be... Never used Sigma, but these days I tend to favour photos with good background rendering.
 
Short series of an Eagle flying behind branches highlighting Wide AF with AF lock on set to 5 keeping the Eagles' eye sharp throughout.


Is that taken by you? Nice.

I meant to say that I found the keeper rate with setting 5 & wide-area large for tack sharp photos lower for birds in flight, especially, quick ones like parrots. Eagles in comparison are massive & don't take off rapidly...
 
Here are a few stills to zoom in on sharp eye
Is that taken by you? Nice.

I meant to say that I found the keeper rate with setting 5 & wide-area large for tack sharp photos lower for birds in flight, especially, quick ones like parrots. Eagles in comparison are massive & don't take off rapidly...
Yes, this morning, handheld. So far, I have had the opposite experience as you. I find having Auto AF + 3D great for stationary subjects or even moving subjects that aren't flying like the Sanderling running on the beach. It keeps the eye and I can frame the photo to my liking. I took around 800 photos of small shorebirds running around during low tide this morning, still mostly for testing purposes, and, most of them are sharp on the eyes. The Z9 is able to keep really good track of them in Auto AF for acquisition and then 3D to hold the subject I am focused on as it runs into a crowd. However, with BIF, like the Eagle, Wide AF keeps the eye without jumping to any branch, and, it uses the 5 setting for AF lock on, whereas Auto AF and 3D are using a quicker response time.
 
Here are a few stills to zoom in on sharp eye

Yes, this morning, handheld. So far, I have had the opposite experience as you. I find having Auto AF + 3D great for stationary subjects or even moving subjects that aren't flying like the Sanderling running on the beach. It keeps the eye and I can frame the photo to my liking. I took around 800 photos of small shorebirds running around during low tide this morning, still mostly for testing purposes, and, most of them are sharp on the eyes. The Z9 is able to keep really good track of them in Auto AF for acquisition and then 3D to hold the subject I am focused on as it runs into a crowd. However, with BIF, like the Eagle, Wide AF keeps the eye without jumping to any branch, and, it uses the 5 setting for AF lock on, whereas Auto AF and 3D are using a quicker response time.


Hmmm, interesting.

When you get the opportunity, I would like you to try wide-area large & auto af (both with shutter button af) for fast moving birds like parrots/terns. It will be interesting to know your results then...
 
You are right. I think I referred to this setting and misquoted it in a couple of places. My bad I totally misread that on auto area AF.

My apologies and i will find and edit those posts.

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Going over Z9 manual, it appears some misinformation was going around on the forum. Somewhere earlier I read that Auto-AF and 3d will default to 3 for AF lock. This is true of 3d, however, Auto will use 5, 4, or 3 depending on your settings. If you use a value lower then 3, it we still use 3 as the lowest setting.
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You are right. I think I referred to this setting and misquoted it in a couple of places. My bad I totally misread that on auto area AF.

My apologies and i will find and edit those posts.

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So for the record

Auto Area AF - sensitivity can only be 5,4, or 3.

3D - sensitivity can only be 3.

Wide-area large - sensitivity can be 1,2,3,4,& 5

Wide-area small - sensitivity can be 1,2,3,4,& 5

?
 
A very interesting thread - images and discussion.
As a non-owner it appears that there is quite a big learning curve even if you've been a long time Nikon user.
IMO the quality of images shown is improving and I'm sure will continue to improve as users become totally familiar with their tools.
I'm enjoying the results - thanks for sharing.
 
In the Z9 Sports Autofocus Guide, pg 17 and following pages suggest Blocked shot settings but for Dynamic modes only. Typically of Nikon, the Z9 AF appears as a mysterious black box from the outside especially to customers. The 1-5 scale is obviously an abstract index, and who knows it might well be the interface with several variables including the AF in the specific lens, i.e. Complex, especially as there's major machine-learning driving the Z9 autofocus. [edited]

The only solution seems to be plug and play, comparing how settings influence AF response and capture rates etc. Ideally, this is easier to test on a suitable flying, fast moving targets eg seagulls or other birds that help replicated and iterative testing

 
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Back at it this morning, I get more impressed every day with the Z9. The following were shot this morning at 500mm, and F4. The series of the Heron is 80 photos using Auto AF with 5 lock-on, 77 of the 80 frames are absolutely tack sharp. Two stills are included below. The Sanderlings are really fast when running around, and, I find the Z9 on Auto AF does a find job. All handheld, between 1/3200-1/4000, ISO 800 F4 on manual. https://streamable.com/au4st4
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