John Navitsky
Well-known member
But has anyone actually tested that? Thats my question.
Brad Hill did, you can find it on his blog
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But has anyone actually tested that? Thats my question.
It's actually very high and just a little off the best-in-class. We'll see what DXOmark says when they test it. They rank the Z7II sensor very high, about the same as the A7R4 and it's been pointed out that the Z7II and Z9 sensors are very similar. Also, encoding/processing has a lot to do with DR, so it's possible that it will be improved with future firmware updates. Bottom line, looks like a winner and I am certainly excited about getting mine next month.Thanks so much for those links, Nimi and John. Looks like Brad is happy with the ISO so that's really encouraging and was good reading too. I wish the video dynamic range was better, but I shoot 99% stills anyway and who knows maybe that translates differently. Keeping my order right where it is!
Bill Claff (www.photonstophotos.net) does some of the best testing. He is not getting a Z9 but has requested images on DPReview. He has a specific type of image and format required for consistency and needs 100 images. Once done, his testing is probably the most consistent and objective available.Has anyone seen a test comparing the D850 or Z7 to the Z9 in terms of dynamic range and noise at higher ISO's? Just one simple test would suffice say at ISO 6400 where you shoot the same subject with both cameras with exactly the same settings with all the internal mods disabled. I just want to be sure I don't lose any image quality over my D850 which I consider to be excellent in both those regards. Matt Grainger did one, but the settings were different and the Z9 color noise was quite a bit worse than the Z7. I'm still keeping my preorder in place, even though I am not a NPS special person, just a mere mortal.
CineD did, albeit for video. My ASSUMPTION is that their results correlate to stills, although I am not certain about that. From their very detailed tests, they get 11.5 stops at SNR=2 AND 12.4 at SNR=1, so about 1.5 stops below A1.
Hi @Steve and other Z9 owners, I did my initial set up of the Z9 and one of the things I wanted to customize was to assign a button override to turn subject detection off ( while subject detection is set to on in my default settings). The objective here is to instantly override and turn off the subject detection in case the camera struggles. The Z9 does not allow us to directly assign subject detect on (auto or animal detect)/off using custom control settings however there is a workaround using recall shooting functions (RSF) whereby i turned subject detection to off and that's the only setting I chose and then assigned the RSF to lens fn button.
Here's the issue I'm facing for which I need to know if there's anything I can do:
1. I set up my shutter button to shutter on and AF and set 3d tracking as my primary AF mode
2. Set the AF-On button for wide area Large
3. Set Joy stick for wide area Small
4. Front fn was set to Single point
Now, my subject detection is set to animal eye af so by default it works for 1,2 and 3 above. 4 isn't a problem because there's no subject detection for single point/ dynamic area AF modes anyway.
All good so far, but what I noticed is when I use the lens fn button to temporarily turn off subject detection, this override setting takes effect only when I use shutter AF i.e 3D tracking (1 above) and has no effect whatsoever when I use AF on button (pt 2 above) or Joy stick button (pt 3 above).
So I'm assuming RSF doesn't play well with other custom overrides. If we use custom control settings to set a specific button for an override, this function supersedes RSF
Am I doing anything wrong? Any help will be appreciated.
I want to be able to use the wide area modes both with tracking and without tracking as these modes turn in to a close subject priority( similar to group area AF) when there's no subject tracking enabled.
Yeah, I'm finding Nikon's customization options lacking on the Z9. I think the a1 spoiled me - things like this are easily assignable to a button (and this is far from the only customization gripe I have with the camera). I'm actually kind of shocked at how limited the Z9 customization options are - it explains why everyone is doing all sorts of workarounds.
At any rate, I think you're right - I've noticed Nikons only like to have one custom thing going on at a time. I too can't get it to change AF areas with one button and disable subject detection with the other.
One hackey workaround would be to use a custom shooting bank. You could set bank A up however you like, copy it to bank B, and while in bank B, turn subject detection off. Then, customize fn2 for Shooting Banks (sadly, the lens function buttons don't allow a toggle or press and turn option - another needless limitation). Then, as you hold fn2 you can jump from one bank to the other. Less than ideal, but it would work.
Steve.I had bought the A1 based on your review only & am I glad that I read your review & pulled the A1 trigger.Thx once again for your great workI think the a1 spoiled me - things like this are easily assignable to a button (
Oh geez, looks like I'm gonna have a long day of figuring out my setup tomorrow. Was hoping for an easy transition.Yeah, I'm finding Nikon's customization options lacking on the Z9. I think the a1 spoiled me - things like this are easily assignable to a button (and this is far from the only customization gripe I have with the camera). I'm actually kind of shocked at how limited the Z9 customization options are - it explains why everyone is doing all sorts of workarounds.
At any rate, I think you're right - I've noticed Nikons only like to have one custom thing going on at a time. I too can't get it to change AF areas with one button and disable subject detection with the other.
One hackey workaround would be to use a custom shooting bank. You could set bank A up however you like, copy it to bank B, and while in bank B, turn subject detection off. Then, customize fn2 for Shooting Banks (sadly, the lens function buttons don't allow a toggle or press and turn option - another needless limitation). Then, as you hold fn2 you can jump from one bank to the other. Less than ideal, but it would work.
Did finally get home, 12 hours late. now to see the credit card payment for delayed flight is worth anythingHope to get home by tomorrow - airline snafu has us stranded for at least 12 hours, maybe more. Z9 is being shipped to me today
With a camera like this, I find that setting it up is sort of an evolutionary process. I kind of set what I think will work well, try it out for a bit, look at other options and ways of doing things, and try those. Over time, the setup comes together. It won't take too long for me with this camera since I'm very familiar with Nikon, but man, it took some serious field time before I finally had the a1 dialed in. Regardless, just do little things and try them out as you go, it'll come togetherOh geez, looks like I'm gonna have a long day of figuring out my setup tomorrow. Was hoping for an easy transition.
how much of the settings do you think you can port from a Z6 or Z7 II?With a camera like this, I find that setting it up is sort of an evolutionary process. I kind of set what I think will work well, try it out for a bit, look at other options and ways of doing things, and try those. Over time, the setup comes together. It won't take too long for me with this camera since I'm very familiar with Nikon, but man, it took some serious field time before I finally had the a1 dialed in. Regardless, just do little things and try them out as you go, it'll come together
Quite a few. The cameras have more in common than they don't. Most of the settings I'm not sure about relate to button customization and AF. Although much of the AF system is the same, I want to se e how the improved - and the new - AF areas operate in the field. I'm sure the AF settings I used before probably aren't the same as what I'll want to use with the Z9. On the other hand, most of the other settings are the same and work the same.how much of the settings do you think you can port from a Z6 or Z7 II?
that was my impression from reading the manual. Hope my Z9 arrives tomorrow.Quite a few. The cameras have more in common than they don't. Most of the settings I'm not sure about relate to button customization and AF. Although much of the AF system is the same, I want to se e how the improved - and the new - AF areas operate in the field. I'm sure the AF settings I used before probably aren't the same as what I'll want to use with the Z9. On the other hand, most of the other settings are the same and work the same.
Yeah, I'm finding Nikon's customization options lacking on the Z9. I think the a1 spoiled me - things like this are easily assignable to a button (and this is far from the only customization gripe I have with the camera). I'm actually kind of shocked at how limited the Z9 customization options are - it explains why everyone is doing all sorts of workarounds.
At any rate, I think you're right - I've noticed Nikons only like to have one custom thing going on at a time. I too can't get it to change AF areas with one button and disable subject detection with the other.
One hackey workaround would be to use a custom shooting bank. You could set bank A up however you like, copy it to bank B, and while in bank B, turn subject detection off. Then, customize fn2 for Shooting Banks (sadly, the lens function buttons don't allow a toggle or press and turn option - another needless limitation). Then, as you hold fn2 you can jump from one bank to the other. Less than ideal, but it would work.
how much of the settings do you think you can port from a Z6 or Z7 II?
The catch is going to be how much you are using some of the settings on your Z6ii/Z7ii. If you are used to using Wide AF modes, adjusting AF Lock On, and following your subject to keep it in the AF box, your transition will be pretty easy and intuitive. If you are not adjusting Lock-On and are only using 1-2 AF modes all the time, the transition will be a little tougher because you'll spend more time testing and configuring menus and settings.
@Steve I found a quick fix for this problem, although a partial fix. I just thought it is a dumb idea to use 3D tracking with subject detection set to off whereas a wise choice to use wide area L ( My favourite AF mode on the Z9) with the option to turn subject detect off. So I simply swapped my AF area mode buttons. Now my shutter is set to wide are L and AF on set to 3d. With this, when I press my lens fn button that has an RSF override for subject detection to turn off, it works like a charm. So the wide area L modes will have tracking enabled by default which works amazingly well most of the time and for times when the tracking box struggles or when I absolutely need close subject priority, I can just press the lens fn button and use this mode like the traditional group area AF with CSP.
Sounds promising. Thanks for your updates!As a quick update, I had the camera out today a bit at a sort of local park. I drenched the camera (and the 100-400) in the falling, wet snow for about two hours with no ill effect. AF seemed really good. Subject Detection seemed to work pretty well for the birds and mammals I was playing with too. Not perfect (no camera is), but I'd tentatively say it's more or less on-par with the competition. Sometimes it did really well, sometimes it missed completely. Kind of like the R5 and a1
It was nice not to have to fuss with switching between mammals and birds as I have to with the a1, and man, that startup time is super impressive. Easily the best I've ever experienced with a mirrorless camera. Powering on is very nearly instantaneous. Lots more shooting to do, but so far, it's a solid performer.
The 100-400 seems pretty good - it sure is weather sealed really well! The images yesterday were sharp and AF was snappy. I think I'll end up doing a full review, by my initial feelings is that it's a winner.Sounds promising. Thanks for your updates!
It will also be interesting to get your impressions of the 100-400 s lens, and if you’ve tried it with a Z TC-1.4.
........................my wife says that exact same thing!!..… a busy person is a happy person, Steve