Nikon 4.1 Firmware - Initial Field Report

[Cameron T]

Yeah, the problem is when SD drops the subject, it reverts back to using the current AF area as normal. The problem with 3D is that it's really small so when SD drops a target, the single-point sized 3D AF area had better be right on the subject or it'll focus on the background. With Auto, the entire viewfinder is in play and as long as the focus distance hasn't jumped, it has a much better chance of grabbing back on.

I'd argue this is the perfect use for wide area modes and tracking the subject manually, instead of trying to rely on auto area (or 3d). My go to is wide l or a custom area depending.

But I've always been more of the opinion letting the camera make more choices just means it can get more wrong.

 

[Steve]

@Steve That's a great explanation. This brings one question in my mind that you or others may have the answer for. If I add 2X converter to make it a 800mm lens and thus making the subject bigger on the sensor will 3D or any other focus mode do a better job in keeping the bird in focus? Or the inherent slowness of 2X will do worse?

It's probably a wash. It might help with having a larger target in the viewfinder, but the flip side is that AF accuracy suffers with a TC, so it might be more apt to slip off or, if ti stays on, it might not be as accurate. Still, there are a LOT of variables at play and it might vary by lens and crinkly by situation.

 

[David Gove]

I have spent two very rewarding afternoons shooting Black Terns and Little Gulls on the west coast of England . The light has dull autumnal and flat . I have had my Z9 from very early in its product life span and I have been through all of the firmware versions and the associated learning process with each release . The new 4.10 has been a total revelation, from the moment I locked onto the erratic and frenetic flight of the aforementioned species I was immediately impressed by the tracking evident in my view finder . On Saturday I generally used custom wide having first starting out on F1 set to custom wide small ( I defaulted to small early on in my z9 usage ) Now I find I have faith in wide large and the whole experience is much more relaxing as birds don't drop out of the focus box as much ,also the wide area large seems to lock on as never before . The constant upgrading of firmware that Nikon have given us is a truly exceptional benefit and an astute business plan/strategy . The manufacturing competitors R and D departments must be frantic. No sooner do they think they know what the competition topping target is they then see another z9 and z8 evolution In Firmware . As with all photography but particularly BIF, shooting a melee of feeding gulls was not without its occasional drop outs , however we now regularly delete shots by the thousand that 10 years ago would have been treasured as the zenith of the pursuit . Well done Nikon and thanks for some truly wonderful lenses i still use the 300 and 500 pf on the z9 and my d850 and have the z105 for macro on the z9 . Lets be honest the issues and frustrations we have with the cameras are nothing compared with the behaviour of the subjects , the lighting and not having enough time to be out photographing these great creatures . I must give the auto option a go , i don't think 3d will work in a congested wildlife situation with crossovers and animals going here thee and everywhere unless you have good isolation of the subject . If you disagree please let me know the setting options and process

 

[John Navitsky]

Bad news - this focus mode exhibited the same problem as before (background taking the focus away); however the good news was that the camera restored the focus back almost immediately (3rd frame after lost focus) unlike multiple frames in 3D mode. Auto AF appears to be better under this condition but more tests are needed to be absolutely confident about it.

my experience is the various auto modes work well…. as long as there are not a lot of stuff in the af area in front of the subject.

in your example i’d use a c1 mode where i would make the box not cover the bottom of the frame where the grass is

 

[geoawelch]

Z9 grabbed and held eye focus for 6 images of this Female Magnolia Warbler well protected by pine needles.

Cheers,

George

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[Griffym]

Mostly excellent Bird AF SR. I am prepared to trade of some distractions for speedy eye detection. I noticed this afternoon that sometimes the AF liked the black rocks better than the obvious cormorant. The rocks are however basalt and full of small holes about the size of an eye! Should I expect Nikon to add this to the algorithm? or just recognise some circular shapes are distractions for subject recognition? I just switched to custom C2.
So far 4.10 has been excellent at giving me letting me nail shots I would never have otherwise thought possible. I have always wanted to get better shots of a white-necked heron I see regularly. It’s a particularly skittish bird but today I ended up with a much better collection of shots to choose from. It is a great update.

 

[JoelKlein]

Try photographing berries, wild fruits. Eye detection works wonders

 

[Anjin San]

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

Great shots…

 

[Anjin San]

Thank you for the confirmation! How do you tell the female from the male?

Female has the orange chest band.

 

[William (Bill) Anderson]

I've had a little time to play with the 'bird eye detection' in the backyard and on the beach after upgrading to the 4.1 firmware, using the 800mm pf with/without the 1.4 TC. IMO, the eye detection is certainly improved and on par (or nearly so) with the Sony a1.

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[NicholasN]

Yeah, the problem is when SD drops the subject, it reverts back to using the current AF area as normal. The problem with 3D is that it's really small so when SD drops a target, the single-point sized 3D AF area had better be right on the subject or it'll focus on the background. With Auto, the entire viewfinder is in play and as long as the focus distance hasn't jumped, it has a much better chance of grabbing back on.

Steve does w1 or w2 if set at widest settings work similarly to auto area ?

 

[Steve]

Steve does w1 or w2 if set at widest settings work similarly to auto area ?

It sort of does - I think it has more of a bias towards grabbing the nearest target which can prove problematic with vegetation and such. Auto seems a little "smarter" in that regard. It seems like when I've gone back and forth between large wide AF areas and Auto, I end up favoring Auto.