...and working on the book update!I notice Steve is being vewwy vewwy quiet. Is he hunting software updates?
Rumors: New Nikon Z9 Firmware Update With Enhanced AF Acquisition Coming Soon (or not 🙂)
- Thread starter JAJohnson
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I note Nikon has had time to work on improvements to AF that were released in the less expensive bodies, Z6iii and Zf. I suspect they have already been working on improving performance in the Z9.
The rumor would suggest they already have something better and have released it for beta testing. If it is in beta testing I would expect an imminent release assuming they don’t find a major bug.
It is already the 9th. I would expect that if they are going to act it will be in the next week to ten days. Otherwise it will be delayed probably until after Labor Day.
The Z9 is their flagship and I believe they will give it due reverence and attention. Plus it is about time for the Z9 to have firmware advantages over the Z8.
Of course I am a dedicated Z9 user and I am rooting for a return to firmware superiority. I want to feel smug again.
He is a sneaky b*******.
I have heard having to do these book upgrades every time he gets another firmware upgrade is a lot of work for him. For which he gets no additional funding because he already sold hte books.
I guess this means I am going to have to feel sorry for him again and give yet another donation.
I have trouble feeling too sorry. He is living the wildlife photographer’s dream, gets to work with the absolute best equipment and travel to the most exotic photo destinations.
I have long suggested that someone give me one of those fancy long lenses but nobody is donating to MY cause.
Seriously what he is doing is hard work and he has earned his benefits. I know we are all grateful he is here and has done such a good job with this site.
probablyI notice Steve is being vewwy vewwy quiet. Is he hunting software updates?
Having experienced pre-capture in RAW on both the OM-1 mk1 and mk2 I can say this.
Frames per second and buffer size are critical to the widespread use of pre-capture.
With the OM-1 mk2 the buffer is about 250 frames. Further, if the buffer is not full you can start a new pre-capture process before the previous pre-capture process is written to the card. At 20 f/s there is no reason to not shoot in pre-capture whenever an event might happen that your reflexes won't capture. A simple example is photographing a stationary bird that might take off. I am in pre-capture at an appropriate shutter speed to capture the taking off event if it happens as standard operating procedure when shooting stationary birds. At 20 f/s a 250-frame buffer is essentially unlimited.
In pre-capture when the camera focuses for every shot, the OM-1 can shoot at 50/ f/s with certain lenses. For fast birds this is a requirement because the bird will be out of the frame amazingly fast. Assuming that you want a frame of the BIF with the takeoff perch outside the frame and the entire bird in the frame you might get a couple @ 50 f/s. Apparently, the ability of the OM-1 to focus 50 times a second is lens limited because non-pro lenses are limited to 25 f/s. At 50 f/s the 250-frame buffer of the mk2 is more than adequate but the 100-frame buffer of the mk1 was problematical.
In non-focus-every-image mode the OM-1 shoots @ 120 f/s maximum. At this rate the 250-frame buffer is barely adequate, and the 100-frame buffer is problematical.
So, to use pre-capture the way I do with the OM-1 mk 2, on a Z-8/9 it appears that the buffer must be increased dramatically and the rate that the camera/lens combination can focus needs to be 50 times a second.
Wishing for 20 f/s for a couple of seconds of buffer is only 1/2 the loaf. Now 1/2 the loaf may be possible with a firmware upgrade with the current cameras, but I think it will take a new hardware platform for the specs to reach that of the OM-1 mk2. However, when Nikon does reach that level, the larger sensor will make pre-capture an awesome experience and when I will probably go back to Nikon.
Tom
Frames per second and buffer size are critical to the widespread use of pre-capture.
With the OM-1 mk2 the buffer is about 250 frames. Further, if the buffer is not full you can start a new pre-capture process before the previous pre-capture process is written to the card. At 20 f/s there is no reason to not shoot in pre-capture whenever an event might happen that your reflexes won't capture. A simple example is photographing a stationary bird that might take off. I am in pre-capture at an appropriate shutter speed to capture the taking off event if it happens as standard operating procedure when shooting stationary birds. At 20 f/s a 250-frame buffer is essentially unlimited.
In pre-capture when the camera focuses for every shot, the OM-1 can shoot at 50/ f/s with certain lenses. For fast birds this is a requirement because the bird will be out of the frame amazingly fast. Assuming that you want a frame of the BIF with the takeoff perch outside the frame and the entire bird in the frame you might get a couple @ 50 f/s. Apparently, the ability of the OM-1 to focus 50 times a second is lens limited because non-pro lenses are limited to 25 f/s. At 50 f/s the 250-frame buffer of the mk2 is more than adequate but the 100-frame buffer of the mk1 was problematical.
In non-focus-every-image mode the OM-1 shoots @ 120 f/s maximum. At this rate the 250-frame buffer is barely adequate, and the 100-frame buffer is problematical.
So, to use pre-capture the way I do with the OM-1 mk 2, on a Z-8/9 it appears that the buffer must be increased dramatically and the rate that the camera/lens combination can focus needs to be 50 times a second.
Wishing for 20 f/s for a couple of seconds of buffer is only 1/2 the loaf. Now 1/2 the loaf may be possible with a firmware upgrade with the current cameras, but I think it will take a new hardware platform for the specs to reach that of the OM-1 mk2. However, when Nikon does reach that level, the larger sensor will make pre-capture an awesome experience and when I will probably go back to Nikon.
Tom
Hutch
Active member
I feel the same. I very seldom use it because it’s not RAW.
John Navitsky
Well-known member
yes, i’d be happy with raw 20fps for like .25s. that’s all i need
Hutch, John,
Borrow an OM-1 and experience pre-capture before spending any money on 20 f/s and 1/4 second. Seriously, I will happily loan you my backup.
Tom
Borrow an OM-1 and experience pre-capture before spending any money on 20 f/s and 1/4 second. Seriously, I will happily loan you my backup.
Tom
I would be happy if we get precapture in HE* and DX mode. That would keep the file size small enough to engineer it.
John Navitsky
Well-known member
@Tom Reynolds thx. i’m not going to change anything just for that (or any other) feature. over all i’m very happy with the z9/z8. but i do hope they continue to make improvements to the fw (and this is one of the features i’d like to see), and eventually i’ll upgrade to whatever comes after the z9
I don’t have the Z9 but am hoping the improvements come to the Z8 as well.
I’ll welcome any AF improvements and really hope they can add RAW support to precapture even if it’s lower frame rates or it comes with HE* or HE as a limitation. Either would be valuable. I’ve used precapture and been careful to get good JPEG exposure and it has worked but always welcome RAW for the editing utility.
Hopefully Nikon can squeeze this into the cameras before they move on to the Z9ii and new expeed 8 hardware. I feel like we will probably see a Z9ii in late 2025 or 2026 as they’ve tricked down the tech and features to midrange now and soon probably an APS-C camera, I would expect the firmware support to probably slow down after that as they work on what comes next.
I’ll welcome any AF improvements and really hope they can add RAW support to precapture even if it’s lower frame rates or it comes with HE* or HE as a limitation. Either would be valuable. I’ve used precapture and been careful to get good JPEG exposure and it has worked but always welcome RAW for the editing utility.
Hopefully Nikon can squeeze this into the cameras before they move on to the Z9ii and new expeed 8 hardware. I feel like we will probably see a Z9ii in late 2025 or 2026 as they’ve tricked down the tech and features to midrange now and soon probably an APS-C camera, I would expect the firmware support to probably slow down after that as they work on what comes next.
John Navitsky
Well-known member
i think the big problem with nikon and raw pre capture is they don’t see the feature the same way some of us do
the fact that the way they have it not allow very short durations show they don’t have my use case in mind
i’m pretty sure they could do short duration raw pre capture, but they have to embrace the use case it provides
My offer: April 8-11, 2025. St. Augustine Alligator Farm. I will have a spare OM-1 mk 1 available with a 100-400 zoom that I will loan to any member so they can try pre-capture @ 25 f/s with a 100 frame buffer.
I will, of course, be shooting the Mk 2, 300f4 @ 50 f/s or 120 f/s with a 250 shot buffer.
Big difference, believe me.
Tom
PS: Turn that mk2 into a Z-8 ii with a 600pf and you'll have one sweet setup for BIF. If I am still able to shoot, I will go back to Nikon for that rig.
I will, of course, be shooting the Mk 2, 300f4 @ 50 f/s or 120 f/s with a 250 shot buffer.
Big difference, believe me.
Tom
PS: Turn that mk2 into a Z-8 ii with a 600pf and you'll have one sweet setup for BIF. If I am still able to shoot, I will go back to Nikon for that rig.
John-
On an OM-1 you can set the pre-capture and the post-capture to any number of frames that you want. Unfortunately, with the mk1 you cannot capture again until those frames are written to the card.
I am uncertain of what your application is but can certainly test it.
John Navitsky
Well-known member
basically when shooting action your reaction time comes into play so as diligent as one may be, you often want a few frames before you hit the shutter. so basically if i had raw 20fps, i’d probably always run with pre capture enabled set for like a quarter second pre
That's what I do except that my reaction time is not as good as yours. The result is when a bird does something unexpected you can capture it. The downside for the OM-1, which the Z-8 would fix is that filling the frame is not indicated in pre-capture. You need to give the bird room in the frame to do something.
Tom
John Navitsky
Well-known member
i think reaction time varies based on context. when doing dogs in action you more or less know when they are going to jump, which is different waiting for an animal perched that may or may not so something soon
Roy
Well-known member
I'm still happy with the Z9 / Z8 the way they are ...Given that the Olympics will be soon upon us I think this rumor has the ring of truth. As always, time will tell.
Rumors: new Nikon Z9 firmware update with enhanced AF acquisition coming soon - Nikon Rumors
A new Nikon Z9 firmware update with enhanced AF acquisition is rumored to be released soon. I was told that the firmware update will be released for the Summer Olympics (end of July), but as we know from previous reports, there could be a delay. Stay tuned for updates. Related posts: Nikon...nikonrumors.com
Parfumeur
Active member
Still waiting for being able to save and recalls setting to the body not just card 1, or allow selection to save to card 1 .OR. 2.
.and. what would be a bonus, is the option to choose dynamic or sticky settings. These are just minor programming/firmware issues.
I still feel the Z9 was a rush to market w/o any photographer input and field testing. Witness the on/off switch direction on the landscape vs portrait mode. It counters muscle memory. Flush shutter and [+/-] quasi impossible to operate in the cold.
In a word, a kludge. Maybe a Z9 II will fix the ergonomics and the lack of internal memory (for proper pre-capture and saving settings to internal memory. I will not even mention 3D tracking in sports, or AF in the rain and lock ups. Basis for comments: firm 5.0
.and. what would be a bonus, is the option to choose dynamic or sticky settings. These are just minor programming/firmware issues.
I still feel the Z9 was a rush to market w/o any photographer input and field testing. Witness the on/off switch direction on the landscape vs portrait mode. It counters muscle memory. Flush shutter and [+/-] quasi impossible to operate in the cold.
In a word, a kludge. Maybe a Z9 II will fix the ergonomics and the lack of internal memory (for proper pre-capture and saving settings to internal memory. I will not even mention 3D tracking in sports, or AF in the rain and lock ups. Basis for comments: firm 5.0
John Navitsky
Well-known member
the amount of internal storage (used for buffer) was clearly a deliberate choice. my take is they decided to make the whole image pipeline faster so they wouldn’t have to rely as much on buffer, and as a result make the whole camera cheaper so they could undercut sony
as someone who used the heck out my d500 in demanding shooting situations and who pre-orders the z9 day one, i have no major complaints or regrets
are there a few things i’d like to see changed? sure. but anything major? not here
as someone who used the heck out my d500 in demanding shooting situations and who pre-orders the z9 day one, i have no major complaints or regrets
are there a few things i’d like to see changed? sure. but anything major? not here
Parfumeur
Active member
BTW, after 2+ years after release, lens firm 1.22 for the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S fixed all the focus issues, BOTH if zooming or TRACKING, not just while zooming. Now I can count stiches on equine tack. SUPERB. The AF other issues are in body specific, off topic and too long to mention. Firm 6.0 ??? 'Tempus fugit ... '
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Wildlife Bruce
New member
Tick, tock.....FW update, where are you?
Vincent_VdB
Well-known member
Wait for tomorrow ;-) (or not)
Cameron T
Well-known member
Don't expect updates based on rumors and you won't be disappointed when they don't happen.
That said, I'm still curious about why the z9 doesn't have pixel shift, and when we'll get the nikon cloud stuff. Not too bothered though, I don't have use cases for either really.
That said, I'm still curious about why the z9 doesn't have pixel shift, and when we'll get the nikon cloud stuff. Not too bothered though, I don't have use cases for either really.
Joel N
Well-known member
I thought the bomb had dropped.
Wonder if there is a hardware limitation on the Z 9. Sensor can not be micro moved to create a pixel shift. May have been built into the later cameras??? Just a guess