zule11
Active member
Nikon Z9 Autofocus Tests Bird in Flight - Mark Smith - new video
Mark smith Z9 first impression video
- Thread starter sh1209
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Ed Erkes
Active member
Does anyone know where this latest Mark Smith video was taken? Was it Sebastian Inlet?
Thanks
Thanks
zule11
Active member
Maybe you can ask in comments on YT, he often responds....
FB101
Well-known member
Looks like it for sure. That fisherman on the beach and that heron watching his every moves are sure give-aways
Ed Erkes
Active member
Thanks. I thought it was there.
sid_19911991
Well-known member
Mark Smith does shoot amazing videos with the Sony too. I don't think Sony's video vr will get ever as good as Canon or Nikon due to the flaws in the Sony's E mount design.
That's a sweeping statement & may not be correct. From what i have read A7IV (which came after A1) has a good Video AF (& most probably Sony may update A1's video capabilities through FW update )
sid_19911991
Well-known member
Apparently, the mount opening (radius) is too small for the sensor. I am not a technical expert on this, but it apparently affects both the lenses & VR. However, Sony has managed to not let that affect the lenses as much, but the VR for video is another matter.
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sid_19911991
Well-known member
Amazing video.
Mark does talk about Z9 being inconsistent with AF.
After nearly 2 months of usage... 15k pictures later...
Here is how my rating stands...for stills AF
I will compare it to the D500 to give you a reference point.
1) Focus Acquisition
a) When the background is the sky or concrete building. 8/10. Better than the D500/500 PF combo.
b) When the background is busy or with a similar color. 3/10. Highly unreliable. The most disappointing part of the Z9.
2) Tracking
6/10 Better than D500/500 pf combo. Pretty decent. Can get better with usage, skills improvement, & updates.
3) Eye detection
7/10 pretty satisfied.
sid_19911991
Well-known member
I am merely talking about Sony's VR. Sony has improved the electronic VR; cropping the footage etc.
From what I have read; as you said, A7 iv has better video AF than Sony A1.
sid_19911991
Well-known member
I was referring only about the video. Yeah, I have used the 200-600 for stills, it works fine.
FB101
Well-known member
‘That’s the word in the street, but the word was also that this mount wouldn’t allow any glass brighter than f:1.4 and then Sony launched the highly regarded 50mm f:1.2…
There is logic in thinking that the smaller mount doesn’t allow for as much movement of the sensor but at the same time, most of the stabilization for long lenses we use is actually in the lens, not in the camera. My guess for now is that it is more an issue of how the lens stabilizer and the ibis work together in video rather than an absolute technical limit but time will tell if Sony can give us firm improvements or not.
‘There is no denying though that right now, canon has the best video stabilization, closely followed by Nikon and Sony trails by quite a bit.
FB101
Well-known member
Remember that in stills, whatever little shake remains will be masked by the shutter speeds we use that are very short. In video, you use 1/50s to 1/250s and you want to show movement (of the subject, but the camera can’t differentiate versus shake) so what doesn’t bother anyone in the viewfinder and gets frozen in a still becomes very visible when played in 4K video. Video is far more taxing on stabilization than stills because of that.
Hope he reveals his video secrets soon.
FB101
Well-known member
I watched him do it and I am in awe at how stable his footage is
I can't replicate that, even when adding the in-camera digital stabilizer on top (which he told me he does too). Now he shoots most if not all his video with the 200-600 which is a bit easier to hand-hold than the 600 f:4 (but still, I can't do what he does).I have been experimenting a bit and you can certainly smooth things out by shooting 60fps and slowing it down to 30fps (same movement but it's less objectionable when slowed 2x), and then possibly apply a digital stabilizer in software. You'll notice that he only posts in 1080p, not 4k so I wonder if he uses heavy in software stabilization as well resulting in a heavier crop.
Whatever his recipe, super stable hands, multiple stabilization steps etc... it works and I sure would love to know how he does it
zule11
Active member
Which Camera - Nikon Z9 or Sony A1?
zule11
Active member
Mark Smith
NIKON Z9 - Your Questions Answered - Auto Focus Consistency - EVF Quality
NIKON Z9 - Your Questions Answered - Auto Focus Consistency - EVF Quality
Your dogs can use the Z105 macro lens?
Re Mark Smith’s 'Z9 Questions Answered' Video Zule11 posted above.
Mark raises some questions of his own in the video that I haven’t seen discussed – perhaps I lead a sheltered life.
Mark raises some questions of his own in the video that I haven’t seen discussed – perhaps I lead a sheltered life.
- When you playback an image, I presume on the LCD though he tells a story about the EVF resolution, the initial image presented is almost always soft, meaning you have to zoom in to find if the image is in focus or not.
- Birds against a busy background, at the water line, AF struggles. As Mark says, all cameras struggle in these situations. Mark’s take is different though, in that he thinks it may be the lenses (He’s using only F-mount lenses with the Z9, I think only the 500 PF so far). His feeling is that AF may improve in these situations and for distant targets with Z mount lenses. He's thinking improved lens motors and lens/camera communications.