Feiertag
Well-known member
Do you use this mode on your mirrorless camera (Z9, Z8, etc.)? I read that some photographers have deactivated D-A AF.
Regarding Dynamic-Area AF
- Thread starter Feiertag
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I keep the smallest Dynamic AF Area available to cycle through my AF Area selections but I haven't found a lot of use for it with the Z9 or Z8. I mostly keep it available much like I did in DSLRs where I'd often shoot action in Group AF Area mode but have one or more Dynamic area modes available for situations where Group got confused with foreground clutter and struggled to stay on the subject.
Having Wide-Small, Wide-Large and a pair of custom AF Area modes that also support subject detection with an easy handoff to 3D has improved AF operation to the point I have yet to find a situation where I had to resort to Dynamic. Perhaps at some point I'll remove Dynamic from the available choices in the menu but for now I can still select it if needed.
Cameron T
Well-known member
I can't say I've ever used it.
Between single point, the wide areas (with custom ones) and 3d tracking, my needs have been covered.
Between single point, the wide areas (with custom ones) and 3d tracking, my needs have been covered.
I have it deactivated. IMO Nikon held it over to make it more comfortable for people to transition from DSLR. Didn't help me any because I never used it on DSLR either.
Actually I have used it to turn off Subject Detection but still get a small area of a safe zone. So instead of single point, an FN button activates Dynamic Area.
EricKlees
Well-known member
I got my Z9 January 13th 2022, so 2md shipment and since day 1 i disabled all the dynamic AF modes in the menu so they can't even be selected.
I did this for 2 reasons. 1, I didn't spend $5500 on a flagship mirrorless camera to neuter it using old DSLR AF tech without subject detection/eye tracking. The 2nd reason was i never had issues from day one with the eye tracking so i never saw a need to resort back to any dynamic AF mode.
It's kinda the same when i saw people disabling subject detection/eye tracking to get better at performance for action. I found that laughable as well.
I did this for 2 reasons. 1, I didn't spend $5500 on a flagship mirrorless camera to neuter it using old DSLR AF tech without subject detection/eye tracking. The 2nd reason was i never had issues from day one with the eye tracking so i never saw a need to resort back to any dynamic AF mode.
It's kinda the same when i saw people disabling subject detection/eye tracking to get better at performance for action. I found that laughable as well.
Anthony
Active member
Dynamic AF is more useful for sport than wildlife because the number of sportspeople in the frame tends to confuse more intelligent AF systems.
I keep Dynamic Area (L) active on my Z9 but I’ve disabled the other two. I’ve found it helpful with my 70-300mm F lens. Otherwise, I don’t use it.
I don’t have any of the Dynamic Area modes deactivated on my Z9 but I probably should. I never used it in my DSLR days (D7500, D500, D850). I used Group and Single Point. Since transitioning to mirrorless, I’ve used Single Point, 3D, Wide Large, Wide Small, C1, C2, and just recently Auto. I shoot primarily wildlife with an emphasis on BIF.
Feiertag
Well-known member
Thank you for the comments.
I was curious if Steve Perry uses dynamic AF in certain situations?
I was curious if Steve Perry uses dynamic AF in certain situations?
Anymore, I just don't use it - I'm thinking of taking it out of the rotation, in fact. Sometimes the small dynamic area is nice if you're on a moving platform and can't quite manage single point, but that's about it for me. It's not that it's bad or anything, but I just don't have a ton of use for it anymore.
The one 'possible use' (lol) of Dynamic is it does not support Subject Detection so choosing it is a way to turn off SD without using the RSF function.
EricKlees
Well-known member
I don't understand why people want to turn off SD. I have never come across a reason or situation that SD being turned off would be beneficial, ever
How does wide-S w/o subject detection compare to small dynamic? Conceptionally the same?
I think it depends on your subject.....for example, I see no need for it with Landscapes or macro shots (I may be alone here I dunno).
True…but if there is no subject detected it essentially turns itself off anyway…and mine is very rarely on Auto so accidental subject detection is pretty rare.
True enough, until there is a subject, perhaps a bird flying about during a landscape shot, or a bug off to the side of a macro shot.
Again, I may be alone, but there are times I prefer SD to be off.
There is that…but for landscapes or waterfalls I generally use BBAF and then focus on whatever spot I pick…so a bird flying by wouldn’t get recognized. Truth be told…I’ve never really considered turning it off one way or the other…there are some scenarios where it would help but I’m mostly not smart enough to consider turning it off I guess.
EricKlees
Well-known member
Yes agree but i see a lot of people talk about it turning off subject detection for wildlife
joe43
Well-known member
On my Z9, I still use Dynamic Area AF, usually small. Most of the time I am in Wide Large with subject detection set. When I am in a blind or on a tripod, sometimes Dynamic Area AF can work better for me. Another reason why I use it is that I still shoot with my D850 and D 500 and on these two cameras, it gets used a lot.
Yes, I think I'd be switching between Bird and Animal but not off....
Certainly that's my go-to for birds on the Z9 since the newest firmware came out supporting bird subject detection. But prior to that and on my Z8 I still keep the option to turn off subject detection when it struggled and I got little green boxes dancing all around my subject but missing the head and eyes completely. But yeah, since bird subject detection was introduced I no longer toggle the subject detection off in my Z9 and when a bird detect mode comes to the Z8 I doubt I'll turn subject detection off in that camera for live subjects as well.
As much bird and wildlife photography as I do I also shoot other things including scenics, architecture, macro, abstract patterns like colorful clouds and other things that don't benefit from subject detection. Usually in those cases I go to single point or manual focus but the entire field of photography doesn't include subjects with heads or eyes that can be readily detected.
IOW, I don't think of using alternative AF Area modes or turning subject detection off as a crippling of camera functions as much as using a tool in an appropriate way for the way I need to use the tool. Yeah, this is largely a wildlife forum but even here there are many folks that capture and post images that don't have recognizable subjects nor eyes nor even heads so I think it really comes down to what you're shooting and how best to use the features on the camera to capture those subjects which might be complete manual focus or a single point or dynamic area without any subject detection at all. But I agree for just about all wildlife work subject detection stays on all the time especially as subject detection continues to improve with things like a dedicated bird detection mode.
EricKlees
Well-known member
That is not the time to be switching subject detection off (when you see the little green boxes dancing on your subject). I'm not sure you understand when those small green boxes mean. In Auto Area AF mode, when you see the multiple small green boxes, that means it's not recognizing a subject, not it's seeing something that it thinks you want it to focus on. When the small green boxes are still all over your subject, it's still focused on the subject. There's zero need to turn off subject detection even you see this. The other side of this, if you subject is so far out that it can't recognize the subject, it's to far for any sort of image worth shooting
I'm quite aware of what the small green boxes mean and when they're jumping around on a great egret's body and wings in a shot that's nearly frame filling, which wasn't uncommon prior to the dedicated Bird AF, turning off subject detection allowed me to use a smaller AF Area mode like Wide-Small and keep it on the bird's head.
Prior to the dedicated bird subject detection mode, which the Z8 still doesn't have, subject detection sometimes struggled with long necked waders. @Steve discusses this in his Z8/Z9 books and is something many of us experienced.
Perhaps this wasn't a situation you encountered but please be respectful in your replies and avoid derision (the laughter emoji) when discussing differing points of view with other members.