Bird-eye autofocus - game changer?

[fcotterill]

Fyi, the author argues tracking, subject and eye recognition has largely superseded the Z AF dynamic modes, for his subjects

Nikon Z9 Autofocus AF Settings Guide For Birds In Flight

Field tested Nikon Z9 autofocus settings for birds in flight to help you dial things in for consistent killer birds in flight images.

coolwildlife.com

 

[marklangner]

Saw the post title and scrolled to the bottom to reply. Yes bird eye focus IS A GAME CHANGER. I went from a Canon 5D MK IV to the R5 and there I simply no comparison. I have back button focus on one button, bird eye focus on another button. In my viewfinder I can see my shutter speed, aperture, ISO (auto), histogram without taking my eye from the viewfinder. My custom lens ring adjusts exposure comp (shown in the viewfinder). Bird eye focus is not perfect, but when it locks, the bird can turn it's back to me, walk behind a bush, dip it's head in the water, and camera stays locked. If that focus square is on the eye..it IS in focus. The increased frame rate of the R5 plus the bird eye focus has doubled or more my keeper rate....can't say enough about it. I do find it more reliable when I have enough light and contrast versus very foggy mornings, but I just installed this morning a firmware update to the R5 that is supposed to improve focus speed.

 

[fcotterill]

Thom Hogan's recent talk about the Z9 discussed several examples of eye recognition in the context of AF modes and hierarchical design of the subject recognition machine-learning