Nikon 4.1 Firmware - Initial Field Report

[EricKlees]

I think I know why I was having much better luck with Auto Area AF mode over 3D. 3D defaults to using only setting 3 on the blocked shot setting. Auto Area and all the Wide Area AF modes will use the 5 setting I have set for Blocked Shots. This is likely why I haven't seen the same issues with long necked wading birds that Steve was talking about in his preview YouTube video. It instantly just grabs the eye on Egrets and Herons and doesn't jump back and forth from the head to body and back again.

 

[John Navitsky]

And as @AntonioM said. Keeps the lock if you are IN the box. You go out of the box and it drops. Thus following your target is essential unless you are on 3D.

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oh, i thought you were in auto area

 

[JoelKlein]

I think I know why I was having much better luck with Auto Area AF mode over 3D. 3D defaults to using only setting 3 on the blocked shot setting. Auto Area and all the Wide Area AF modes will use the 5 setting I have set for Blocked Shots. This is likely why I haven't seen the same issues with long necked wading birds that Steve was talking about in his preview YouTube video. It instantly just grabs the eye on Egrets and Herons and doesn't jump back and forth from the head to body and back again.

Are you suggesting setting it to 5 for birds and BIF in general?
How is it now with new firmware set to 5?

 

[Nextlife1]

And as @AntonioM said. Keeps the lock if you are IN the box. You go out of the box and it drops. Thus following your target is essential unless you are on 3D.

Or are using Auto AF as Steve was in his video (and read Eric's post 4 above). Personally I have felt that Auto AF on the Z9 was always underappreciated, but my guess now is that it will get new respect........

 

[Steve]

...again, do the new modes link to the "auto" setting/selection???

No idea. Auto is more of a catch-all, so I doubt you'll see the same effectiveness as just Bird.

 

[Steve]

Sorry I was out again all day today. I am getting far better results with Auto Area AF mode with the new bird specific subject detection mode. I used 3D for about an hour today and it was certainly not as intelligent and sticky as Auto Area AF mode.

I am curious if Steve was using 3D AF mode or Auto Area? The Auto Area is virtually instant in recognition/acquisition and just doesn't come off the bird no matter the background and ever a bit further distances then Animal Sub detection. To be clear, 3D is much better using Bird compared to using Animal, but I think it is lagging a tad behind. I think Nikon will need to do another FW update to tweak 3D for the Bird sub detection mode.

@Steve what AF mode did you use for your preview testing for the video? 3D or Auto Area and if 3D, did you at all try Auto Area AF mode?

Mostly Auto - I found it worked really well. That, and I feel like Auto gives the camera more room to "breath" when testing stuff like this. I'm not helping it ID the subject the same way I would by putting a Wide AF area on the target.

 

[Steve]

And as @AntonioM said. Keeps the lock if you are IN the box. You go out of the box and it drops. Thus following your target is essential unless you are on 3D.

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Your example shows how Wide has always worked (EDIT -upon further thought, I think that was what you were trying to demonstrate)

The trick is when Wide is on the face, sometimes it still goes to the body.

As you say, 3D can be tricky too, because if SD drops the lock, it'll go back to the small, single box and may be outside the target.

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

Or are using Auto AF as Steve was in his video (and read Eric's post 4 above). Personally I have felt that Auto AF on the Z9 was always underappreciated, but my guess now is that it will get new respect........

Agreed it will; and my last test was to respond to another poster. That said along with the 1x1 test I think there are limits to how far from the box, the bird detection will stray for the eyes. Of course Auto AF allows the whole playing field.

@Steve, I am thinking there could be limits on your post #41 - the detection point has limited on how far outside the box it will go. Or maybe I don't fully understand your post.

From reading all of this material, as @EricKlees and @Nextlife1 suggest, the best place to start may be Auto AF and if that isn't working with Bird Detection then go smaller.

 

[Steve]

@Steve, I am thinking there could be limits on your post #41 - the detection point has limited on how far outside the box it will go. Or maybe I don't fully understand your post.

I had some instances where, although I was using a 1x1 AF area, it lost the head and literally went all over the bird - body, even the tail (this was a vulture with his back to me). I wish I would have recorded it. Normally, with something like the 1x1 AF area, it just won't go that far from where the AF point actually is. It was well beyond that.

The problem is duplication. We're dealing with dozens of variables any one of which could change the result. I'm hoping to get a chance to go out and see if I can find something to demonstrate it, but I'm back home and options are limited.

 

[Cameron T]

I had some instances where, although I was using a 1x1 AF area, it lost the head and literally went all over the bird - body, even the tail (this was a vulture with his back to me). I wish I would have recorded it. Normally, with something like the 1x1 AF area, it just won't go that far from where the AF point actually is. It was well beyond that.

The problem is duplication. We're dealing with dozens of variables any one of which could change the result. I'm hoping to get a chance to go out and see if I can find something to demonstrate it, but I'm back home and options are limited.

You mean you don't have a whole nature reserve in your back yard? Huh. You learn something new every day

 

[JoelKlein]

I had some instances where, although I was using a 1x1 AF area, it lost the head and literally went all over the bird - body, even the tail (this was a vulture with his back to me). I wish I would have recorded it. Normally, with something like the 1x1 AF area, it just won't go that far from where the AF point actually is. It was well beyond that.

The problem is duplication. We're dealing with dozens of variables any one of which could change the result. I'm hoping to get a chance to go out and see if I can find something to demonstrate it, but I'm back home and options are limited.

I found a way to replicate some things.
Point the camera to a bigger good IPS monitor with the subject you want to play around. You will need a shorter lens to simulate size in the frame.

 

[Marion Anstis]

I found it incredibly good at finding the eye on some Lorikeets in good light, using wide area, Bird. Despite interfering flower stamens and many different fast-moving angles of the head and body, it seemed determined to find that eye!

 

[Lance B]

A sequence of 32 photos all in focus as this Peregrine Falcon was flying past at a fair clip and then decided to land to feed it's young. I haven't processed them all, but I will get them done and post them on my photo hosting site when finished. Quite chuffed at getting this bird in such good even light and with it's meal.

Z9 + 180-600 f5.6-6.3 VR S, 1/4000s f/6.3 at 600.0mm iso1400

 

[Alistair]

A sequence of 32 photos all in focus as this Peregrine Falcon was flying past at a fair clip and then decided to land to feed it's young. I haven't processed them all, but I will get them done and post them on my photo hosting site when finished. Quite chuffed at getting this bird in such good even light and with it's meal.

Z9 + 180-600 f5.6-6.3 VR S, 1/4000s f/6.3 at 600.0mm iso1400

Wow!

 

[foxysport]

Is NX Studio confirming the eye focus throughout? The capture is great--the focus seems to be on the eye Thanks!

 

[Lance B]

Wow!

Thank you very much (again), Alistair. Much appreciated!

 

[geoawelch]

For the future it would be nice, once eye tracking is achieved, for the tracking to continue outside the focus area box, a la my Canon cameras. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep (at least for me) the box on subject.

The 4.10 update, though, is both quicker and stickier at picking up and maintaining focus, in my opinion.

Cheers,

George

 

[Alistair]

For the future it would be nice, once eye tracking is achieved, for the tracking to continue outside the focus area box, a la my Canon cameras. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep (at least for me) the box on subject.

The 4.10 update, though, is both quicker and stickier at picking up and maintaining focus, in my opinion.

Cheers,

George

Then why not use auto area?

 

[geoawelch]

Then why not use auto area?

I do use it quite a bit, but when there are multiple subjects/objects in frame, it can take awhile switching subject with the directional dial.

I find the smaller area gets closer to where I want it to be.

George

 

[EricKlees]

I do use it quite a bit, but when there are multiple subjects/objects in frame, it can take awhile switching subject with the directional dial.

I find the smaller area gets closer to where I want it to be.

George

It's using Auto Area you can set the "switch eye" option to an LN button if you have a Z lens and that's usually easy to trash while shooting to such which eye and which birds eye you want to focus on

 

[EricKlees]

Are you suggesting setting it to 5 for birds and BIF in general?
How is it now with new firmware set to 5?

Yes, I've had my blocked shot set to level 5 for a long time now. 3D user level 3 no matter what is set to in the menu. But the other Wide Area and Auto Area AF modes will use the level 5.

This give the most aggressive and tenacious lock/sickness on the subject. I've always just left it on level 5

 

[Activert]

A sequence of 32 photos all in focus as this Peregrine Falcon was flying past at a fair clip and then decided to land to feed it's young. I haven't processed them all, but I will get them done and post them on my photo hosting site when finished. Quite chuffed at getting this bird in such good even light and with it's meal.

Z9 + 180-600 f5.6-6.3 VR S, 1/4000s f/6.3 at 600.0mm iso1400

That is amazing! You are so lucky to be able to photograph them! I was all over the places in Quebec and Maritimes where they were spotted. I only could get some shot for them, from Far and with awful light ( harsh mid day sun). Bravo for this beautiful shot

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

A sequence of 32 photos all in focus as this Peregrine Falcon was flying past at a fair clip and then decided to land to feed it's young. I haven't processed them all, but I will get them done and post them on my photo hosting site when finished. Quite chuffed at getting this bird in such good even light and with it's meal.

Z9 + 180-600 f5.6-6.3 VR S, 1/4000s f/6.3 at 600.0mm iso1400

@Lance B I take you liked the FW performance and the 180-600 here. Any additional thoughts to share on those?

 

[Keith M]

Looks like a worthwhile update! Thanks for the review. Now if they would just give us zebra stripes for stills for that quick exposure reference during fast changing action/ lighting conditions. Seems like it would be any easy add.

 

[Fishboy1952]

I finally got a chance to get out this morning. I was able to test out FW 4.1 on a perched Bald Eagle. I was primarily shooting in 3D with the Bird SD on. I have gotten images from eagles at this location before and TBH 3D generally worked well, with an occasional leaving the head/eye to the body especially if the eagle had its back to me. Today, there was none of that. If the eye was visible, that’s where the AF box was. If the eagle looked away, it would back off to the head, but once the eye was visible again it latched on to it. It just seemed to be a lot “stickier”. Admittedly not a very challenging scenario but my perception is it is an improvement. YMMV.