Notes from NPS Presentation - Firmware 3.0

[frdjohns]

Nikon Professional Services had a one hour program on November 10 with Mike Corrado and Mark Cruz. Lots of great information about the firmware update and features you might not have known about. Here are my notes - and none of this was tested during the program so I won't necessarily be able to add further explanations.



With pre-release capture, you often capture a lot of frames and know there was obviously no need for any of the series. Rather than deleting lots of high frame rate images individually, you can delete the entire burst or series using a new iMenu option. Go to first frame in the series. Viewfinder shows a stack icon. Select iMenu – Manage series / Delete – Deletes entire series – saves a lot of time in post processing



Playback display options - Mark first shot in the series as a Playback option - let's you quickly find and view the start of a series.

Option for Series Playback – choice of first shot, entire burst in a stack (all images in the stack) – plays back the stack as a series



Panning – with mirrorless, first frame at actual shutter speed is displayed. A DSLR provides a blackout so you can see frames begin and end, but the Z9 does not have a blackout at any time so it has to create a "fake" blackout. D14 – Release Timing Indicator – provides three options so you can bring back the blackout if desired with Type A. You can also set the shutter speed at which the “fake” blackout occurs.

Lots of improvements to AF

• Low Light, stickiness, etc.
• Should have less tendency to focus on backgrounds or interruptions

Flash or remote flashes trigger bright image – not ambient lighting. Built into custom menu now. Can set it to display ambient lighting.

Custom D9 – View Mode LV – Default is now “Show effects of settings” – camera settings are displayed with ambient light measured and displayed. If you like to see the image through the EVF as though flash was active, choose “Adjust for ease of viewing”



For pictures of LED panels (like advertising at stadiums or camera views) – previously could have banding. Custom function now for both (stills and video) listed as High Frequency Flicker Reduction



Vertical playback – Playback now shows vertical format if that is how you are shooting. Great for mounted on a tripod in a studio.



Video:

High Res Zoom – In video mode you can zoom up to equivalent of 2x focal length. 4k file output. No longer need to record in 8k and crop in post. This is a 4k file without needing to handle a large file or crop later. 50mm f/1.2 lens can become a 100mm lens with the same DOF. Works with new accessory for video. Custom menu - Video – G8 – choose desired speed for high res zoom. Under Controls G2 – program Fn button to High Res Zoom. Fn1 can be set to Zoom In / Automatically sets Fn2 to Zoom Out. Can also program Lens Fn Ring or Control Ring to Zoom in or Zoom out in a similar manner to be used for Hi-Res Zoom (Lens must be mounted). High Res Zoom is always downsizing – only non-Raw formats.

Time codes – time codes can be simultaneously reset for multiple cameras using the WRT-10 remote / WR11a – set them to the exact frame – Z9 only right now. Can use GPS clock to synch using Snapbridge if you have Z6ii/Z7ii and earlier cameras.

Also can be used with Atamos AirGluBT to synchronize camera clock across multiple cameras – not limited to cameras – can include all products compatible with AirGlu. Z9 only right now.

Video – G6 AF Speed – You can change the speed at which the lens moves for changes in focus. Makes it easier to capture fast moving subjects with all in focus. Reminder - G7 – AF Tracking – Low makes it slower so camera sticks on a focus target longer.

Macro – Focus Shift Shooting – New option in the Shooting Menu – Focus Position Auto Reset – Turn On and the camera will return to the original focus distance after a stack is completed so an additional stack can be created.

Now there is a Full Format option when formatting the card in the camera. Full Format does wipe out the card completely – images can’t be recovered using software. Some cards require full formatting for 8k Raw video. Full Format is recommended if you are shooting 8k video. Otherwise it’s simply an available option.

Eric - I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to share this. I appreciate it as I missed the presentation due to working.

 

[PAUL50]

after attending a number of these i can definitely say they aren’t hiding anything. they mostly just talk through the feature list.

but i do agree it would be nice if nikon would put out this type (and more) content publicly

Yes, of course I agree, they should be more transparent. When Nikon wants to sell something they have no difficulty reaching out to all those non-NPS members who have registered with them, and the general public, with advertisements. Nikon has the email address of every Nikon owner who has registered a purchased product. They are hiding the content they refuse to share with the non-NPS crowd, and they do refuse to permit the taping and replaying of these webinars on media such as YouTube. Surely, with their database of owners’ email addresses they could, at a minimum, provide non-NPS members with e-mail bulletins containing the same product information they share in their secret NPS only webinars. I don’t doubt that all they are doing is “talking through the feature list,” but they should be sharing that information with every person who has laid out the nearly $6000 for each Z9 ( and the nearly $12000 for those who own 2) they have purchased. I cannot believe that pros would waste their time attending webinars that contain no greater information than has already been made public or that Nikon would waste its time holding webinars containing previously distributed and otherwise valueless information.

 

[BillW]

Thanks for posting Eric. I was out of town on a photo trip and unable to join the webinar. So this is particularly helpful. Look forward to Paul van Allen's presentation next month.

 

[BillW]

.....

What is interesting, is that it will pick up a person's head outside the focus rectangle. I know not why.

Which may be why it will also picks up a white post (or other bright white object in the 'decoration'!), even if outside the rectangle. I found people was better than auto in subject detection. My guess is that it can look faster using one mode, rather than trying all subject combinations.

........

With Wide Area L, S, C1 or C2, if subject detection is on and a subject detected under the focus rectangle, the Z9 will look inside and outside the focus rectangle for a head or an eye. So you may get a head or eye detected outside the focus rectangle. Smaller areas in C1 or C2 seem to narrow the search outside the rectangle. This is a feature, I think, and I have often found it useful. For example, get a focus box on the neck or body of a great blue heron and the focus point will jump to the eye outside the focus rectangle faster than I could move it there. But it can be annoying if it picks up something outside the focus rectangle that is not your subject's head or eye. So the ability to turn off subject recognition is useful too (although if you want to toggle subject detection on and off with a single button press, you have to use RSF).

 

[Parfumeur]

Yes, that is good, but not implied in the orignal reference manual. May have been updated later. The original implication was that it would search for the subject in the box.

 

[BillW]

Yes, that is good, but not implied in the orignal reference manual. May have been updated later. The original implication was that it would search for the subject in the box.

I think it does look for the subject in the box. So it can be useful to use a smaller area to narrow the area where the camera looks for a subject (might be faster too), particularly if there are multiple similar subjects. But once it has a subject, it can look outside the box for a head or eye. With animal subject detection on, I think the camera generally looks for a subject, then a body, then a head, and then finally an eye. Sometimes this happens almost instantly. Other times you can see it go step-by-step.

 

[CapIt30]

Nikon Professional Services had a one hour program on November 10 with Mike Corrado and Mark Cruz. Lots of great information about the firmware update and features you might not have known about. Here are my notes - and none of this was tested during the program so I won't necessarily be able to add further explanations.



With pre-release capture, you often capture a lot of frames and know there was obviously no need for any of the series. Rather than deleting lots of high frame rate images individually, you can delete the entire burst or series using a new iMenu option. Go to first frame in the series. Viewfinder shows a stack icon. Select iMenu – Manage series / Delete – Deletes entire series – saves a lot of time in post processing



Playback display options - Mark first shot in the series as a Playback option - let's you quickly find and view the start of a series.

Option for Series Playback – choice of first shot, entire burst in a stack (all images in the stack) – plays back the stack as a series



Panning – with mirrorless, first frame at actual shutter speed is displayed. A DSLR provides a blackout so you can see frames begin and end, but the Z9 does not have a blackout at any time so it has to create a "fake" blackout. D14 – Release Timing Indicator – provides three options so you can bring back the blackout if desired with Type A. You can also set the shutter speed at which the “fake” blackout occurs.

Lots of improvements to AF

• Low Light, stickiness, etc.
• Should have less tendency to focus on backgrounds or interruptions

Flash or remote flashes trigger bright image – not ambient lighting. Built into custom menu now. Can set it to display ambient lighting.

Custom D9 – View Mode LV – Default is now “Show effects of settings” – camera settings are displayed with ambient light measured and displayed. If you like to see the image through the EVF as though flash was active, choose “Adjust for ease of viewing”



For pictures of LED panels (like advertising at stadiums or camera views) – previously could have banding. Custom function now for both (stills and video) listed as High Frequency Flicker Reduction



Vertical playback – Playback now shows vertical format if that is how you are shooting. Great for mounted on a tripod in a studio.



Video:

High Res Zoom – In video mode you can zoom up to equivalent of 2x focal length. 4k file output. No longer need to record in 8k and crop in post. This is a 4k file without needing to handle a large file or crop later. 50mm f/1.2 lens can become a 100mm lens with the same DOF. Works with new accessory for video. Custom menu - Video – G8 – choose desired speed for high res zoom. Under Controls G2 – program Fn button to High Res Zoom. Fn1 can be set to Zoom In / Automatically sets Fn2 to Zoom Out. Can also program Lens Fn Ring or Control Ring to Zoom in or Zoom out in a similar manner to be used for Hi-Res Zoom (Lens must be mounted). High Res Zoom is always downsizing – only non-Raw formats.

Time codes – time codes can be simultaneously reset for multiple cameras using the WRT-10 remote / WR11a – set them to the exact frame – Z9 only right now. Can use GPS clock to synch using Snapbridge if you have Z6ii/Z7ii and earlier cameras.

Also can be used with Atamos AirGluBT to synchronize camera clock across multiple cameras – not limited to cameras – can include all products compatible with AirGlu. Z9 only right now.

Video – G6 AF Speed – You can change the speed at which the lens moves for changes in focus. Makes it easier to capture fast moving subjects with all in focus. Reminder - G7 – AF Tracking – Low makes it slower so camera sticks on a focus target longer.

Macro – Focus Shift Shooting – New option in the Shooting Menu – Focus Position Auto Reset – Turn On and the camera will return to the original focus distance after a stack is completed so an additional stack can be created.

Now there is a Full Format option when formatting the card in the camera. Full Format does wipe out the card completely – images can’t be recovered using software. Some cards require full formatting for 8k Raw video. Full Format is recommended if you are shooting 8k video. Otherwise it’s simply an available option.

Nice summary Eric of several highlights. Another on Monday on Menu(s) and then the following of Focus on Focus.
Jim

 

[fcotterill]

The Custom Area AF modes rate among the best of Nikon's innovations. The CA 1x1 option is particularly capable and also adaptable in the Z9 - with toggling Subject-Recognition On/Off.

IME, since FW 2.0 was released, I rarely use any other tighter AF modes to complement 3D and AutoAF. It's similar with DSLRs, as the 2 CA modes are also the primary AF modes I use with the D6, but also Single-point because 3*3 is the tightest CA setting allowed.

With Wide Area L, S, C1 or C2, if subject detection is on and a subject detected under the focus rectangle, the Z9 will look inside and outside the focus rectangle for a head or an eye. So you may get a head or eye detected outside the focus rectangle. Smaller areas in C1 or C2 seem to narrow the search outside the rectangle. This is a feature, I think, and I have often found it useful. For example, get a focus box on the neck or body of a great blue heron and the focus point will jump to the eye outside the focus rectangle faster than I could move it there. But it can be annoying if it picks up something outside the focus rectangle that is not your subject's head or eye. So the ability to turn off subject recognition is useful too (although if you want to toggle subject detection on and off with a single button press, you have to use RSF).

 

[Parfumeur]

Predictable and steady focus is a big issue for myself and the Z9. Found that lighting conditions greatly affect the tracking and focus. At 20fps, there are pop in and out of focus in all sequences, usually on the one of the 3rd-5th frame.

Overcast light is best. Various sunshine angles just kills the focus. Rain is a disaster. 3D with various 'a3: Focus Tracking with Lock-On' serves no purpose. The way light falls on the subject is critical for lock on. Overcast is best, with a bland background. Else focus will jump.

I have come to the conclusion the focus system is not reliable for event sport photography of people. Sure you can get random great shots, but cannot depend for capturing the shot each time. Using BBF on anticipated travel location works great, just like in a DSLR. Evening and night photography was surprisingly good.

Now the question remain, why does the M1X track perfectly? This is why it's so annoying, there is a comparison available. I have many sequence where the focus is on the subject, but jumped, or jumped to the background, or suddenly decided to pick on another spot. May send the body & lens for Nikon review. My concern is that others in my group have also noted the same issue.

Truthfully, are there others with the same problem?