Z 6 II DX mode

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Andrew Lamberson

Andrew Lamberson

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I hope this is not a "stupid question", but:

Using my Z6 II, and I am going to take an image of a small bird at and a fairly long distance away.... which is not a "frame filler" at FX.

Would it be any benefit to switching to DX mode vs. a heavy crop on the FX?

When I took a test shot the target was significantly larger on the DX shot (I believe it is 1.5x larger). At the monitor level, I did not perceive any difference in quality.

This could be a "big" deal with shooting macro shots.

After reading this, it seems to be the correct choice: https://photographylife.com/nikon-dx-vs-fx

What am I missing???
 
No difference in image quality cropping a full frame in post vs. DX mode in camera . Both introduce more noise than full frame would. Filling the full FX frame with the subject is the overall better choice. The DX mode might shoot a little faster or take longer to fill up the buffer.

Also there is no free lunch on macro. You can't shoot from farther away and crop later in hopes of getting better depth of field.
 
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Andrew Lamberson said:
What am I missing???
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Nothing really. There's no difference to the final image when shooting in-camera DX crop mode vs doing the same crop in post processing. Pixel for pixel it's the same image assuming you center the DX level crop in post the same way the in-camera crop would center the crop.

In DSLRs there's no real advantage to doing one vs the other except for smaller captured files which can improve buffer performance and let you store more images on the same size card. The same applies to the Z6 II except you get one extra benefit in that the EVF zooms in when you select a crop mode so that the new cropped image fills the EVF which of course doesn't happen in a DSLR's optical viewfinder. That's nice for getting a better view of the cropped composition and being able to make better critical focusing decisions.

The downsides of cropping in-camera remain the same, higher chance of clipping parts of your subject like wingtips and less compositional flexibility compared to cropping in post where you can move the same size crop box around or even crop differently than a pure DX crop if desired.

But sure you can certainly crop in-camera and there's no image quality penalty compared to doing the same crop in post. Of course all the normal cropping caveats like increased apparent noise for the same size output image and revealing any focus or sharpness issues more apply whether the crop occurs in-camera or in post.
 
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I believe that a DX crop in camera is basically the same as an equivalent crop (equivalent in terms of leaving the same number of pixels after cropping as the DX image) from an FX image in post-processing. Both should have the same image resolution, quality, and apparent size and field of view.

I generally crop in post for shots from my Z7II, Z6II and other cameras. Sometimes, I do not need a DX crop and I am glad to have the full FX file. It also leaves me more room to get the subject in the frame when there is action.

Of course, DX crop would give you a smaller file size if you are going to crop anyway if you are constrained for space on your memory card or computer.
 
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A couple of things to add to the good comments you've already received. If you are using a longer lens and cropping beyond DX level, your technique better be good. As you crop, any softness is going to be larger in relative terms - and there is no pulling back to a looser crop to improve it.

One advantage of the magnified view through the EVF is that the AF boxes are a little larger in relative terms, so that may make it easier to use Wide Small, Dynamic, or Single point AF Area modes.

When it comes to seeing your subject on a magnified basis, you can program a Fn button or other control to zoom through the EVF to 50%, 100%, or 200%. That view will be based on the full frame, and won't change with a DX crop.

There is nothing magic about DX crops. You could choose any alternate proportion.
 
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You lens will project the same image onto the sensor, no matter of the DX/FF setting in the camera. So if the critter fills 1/3 of the sensor on the width (approx 12 mm) then with FF setting you'll have 6000 pix of which the critter is 2000 pix, in DX mode you'll have 4000 pix of width of which the critter is 2000 pix.
The trick done by DX cameras is that they have 6000 pix on the width of the smaller sensor (24 mm instead of 36mm), so if you change the camera in above example the critter still is projected 12 mm wide, but now covering 3000 pix. This provides more data and a larger picture seen on your screen or in print.

Tried to illustrate it with a little drawing - image is a lovely flower :cool:
illu.png
 
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Niels.hr.Hansen said:
You lens will project the same image onto the sensor, no matter of the DX/FF setting in the camera. So if the critter fills 1/3 of the sensor on the width (approx 12 mm) then with FF setting you'll have 6000 pix of which the critter is 2000 pix, in DX mode you'll have 4000 pix of width of which the critter is 2000 pix.
The trick done by DX cameras is that they have 6000 pix on the width of the smaller sensor (24 mm instead of 36mm), so if you change the camera in above example the critter still is projected 12 mm wide, but now covering 3000 pix. This provides more data and a larger picture seen on your screen or in print.

Tried to illustrate it with a little drawing - image is a lovely flower :cool: View attachment 26347
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I think you are comparing a 24 mp FX camera with a 24 mp DX camera. In that case, the 24 pm DX camera has more pixels on the subject compared to a DX crop (whether in post or in camera) from the 24 mp FX camera. OP is asking about cropping from an FX camera in camera versus in post, so there are no more pixels in the DX crop.
 
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Yes Bill, in the second example I refer to a DX camera, that gives more pixels to the subject. In the first example I state that the subject in both modes fills the same amount of pixels, so you'll not gain anything by change mode - except from room for more images on the card.
 
BillW said:
I think you are comparing a 24 mp FX camera with a 24 mp DX camera. In that case, the 24 pm DX camera has more pixels on the subject compared to a DX crop (whether in post or in camera) from the 24 mp FX camera. OP is asking about cropping from an FX camera in camera versus in post, so there are no more pixels in the DX crop.
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Rereading, I think he had it right, he just rounded 6048 and 3936.
 
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Niels.hr.Hansen said:
Yes Bill, in the second example I refer to a DX camera, that gives more pixels to the subject. In the first example I state that the subject in both modes fills the same amount of pixels, so you'll not gain anything by change mode - except from room for more images on the card.
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Sorry. I wasn’t paying enough attention as I read.
 
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