Z8 auto capture not working

[Richard Wright]

Tried it get it set up today with no captures. Z8 with a 150 to 600 Sigma, so I know the distance parameter will not work, so left it disabled. I then tried all the Af settings but no luck. Lens is set to manual. Using video mode. Nothing. I am sure I am making a basic mistake but even after watching a bunch of Youtubers and reading the manual I still am at a blank screen. Any ideas?

 

[DJJ]

Tried it get it set up today with no captures. Z8 with a 150 to 600 Sigma, so I know the distance parameter will not work, so left it disabled. I then tried all the Af settings but no luck. Lens is set to manual. Using video mode. Nothing. I am sure I am making a basic mistake but even after watching a bunch of Youtubers and reading the manual I still am at a blank screen. Any ideas?

I have exactly the same problem with the same Lens. I also tried the Nikon 70-200 with and without 2x teleconverter with the same result. Also with the Sigma Lens I only had the option of the animal tracking but with the Nikon lensI had the bird tracking. The distance parameter wasn’t available on any combination.

 

[Anjin San]

O& one ignores the distance parameter since it doesn’t work with the lens…all the rest of it (assuming the AF in the lens is working) is sensor or processor based. This seems like a situation where it might not have been set up or initiated properly…I’ve not used the feature as it’s nothing I need or want to do…but from playing with the parameters a bit there’s a lot of setup. Have you read Steve’s suggestions or YouTubed it to check setup?

 

[Richard Wright]

O& one ignores the distance parameter since it doesn’t work with the lens…all the rest of it (assuming the AF in the lens is working) is sensor or processor based. This seems like a situation where it might not have been set up or initiated properly…I’ve not used the feature as it’s nothing I need or want to do…but from playing with the parameters a bit there’s a lot of setup. Have you read Steve’s suggestions or YouTubed it to check setup?

Yes I have watched a bunch of Youtube vids. Will try again today. The screen indicates it is working with the flashing ACAP but it does not read any motion.

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

You may have had the lens too close. There are distance limitations based on focal length. I checked to see that the camera will focus in the distance settings to make sure I’m within the distance parameters. The minimum distance is going to change based on your zoom settings.

 

[Nasos Kosmas]

I tried with 300 pf / Z8 and no success on the first attempt , then I used the distance parameter only and worked fine!
very impressed with 20 fps raw
the meter indicator worked fine too on auto capture
Read the supplementary manual is very explanatory

 

[DJJ]

Yes I have watched a bunch of Youtube vids. Will try again today. The screen indicates it is working with the flashing ACAP but it does not read any motion.

I seem to have exactly the same results as Richard. pressing the ”record” button seems to set it off and everything indicates ok screen. Pressing “record” again stops it. I cannot alter the parameter settings in the set up mode but will play around with focus distance as suggested. This may be a couple of days time as the weather forecast Here in the U.K. is pretty awful for the next couple of days

 

[Nasos Kosmas]

Try it now
I tried it indoors, nighttime with low light, between 3-5 meters and succeed, I just jumped into the scene

 

[Richard Wright]

For the record I am focused manually at 12 feet, and, when I just moved my setup and walked into the frame it did not trigger.

 

[Richard Wright]

Okay - I am, perhaps, narrowing it down. I swithed the Sigma 150-600 ot my F 24-120 and reset to minimum parameters. Now it fires when and records when I trigger with a hand wave but not with distance subjects so I am getting there. I imagine the Sigmas at 8 m was too close. Will try more parameters now.

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

Have you read the special manual on AC available on the Nikon download site? If not it might help some of your hang up areas. If you use Distance you need to follow the focal length rules.

 

[Richard Wright]

yes, i have read it - confusing though it can be. So I switched to shorter lens and now I can sometimes get it to work with my hand waving if I have Detection and Distance off. I think it does not like non-Z lenses.

 

[EricBowles]

As you continue to test this function, try to limit the variables. Nikon was very specific about the potential for conflicts with multiple criteria and suggested just using one criteria when starting. Once you get that one criteria to work, then proceed to other criteria individually before putting them together. This is one of the more complicated features in any camera.

It's easy to get a lot of bad photos with this function. For example, the manual mentions that when you have People selected for subject identification, it will fire even if the people are turned with their backs to the camera.

One other thing I noticed going between Pixel Shift and Auto Capture is that Pixels Shift is AF-S only while Auto Capture is AF-C only. The camera will change the mode and select an appropriate default AF area setting if you have the wrong choice.

 

[Richard Wright]

Thanks Eric - yes indeed - I am going through and making notes using various presets. So auto works with a hand wave but not Animal, for instance. I would be happy to get one criteria working consistently and bad images would be welcome! ;-). I will get trying one thing at a time. Now that I have the 24-120 working sometimes I might again try the Sigma. And I did confirm that window glass does not seem to affect response. Thanks. Oh and Nikon do not tell you it needs to be in M mode.

 

[ButlerKid]

Thanks Eric - yes indeed - I am going through and making notes using various presets. So auto works with a hand wave but not Animal, for instance. I would be happy to get one criteria working consistently and bad images would be welcome! ;-). I will get trying one thing at a time. Now that I have the 24-120 working sometimes I might again try the Sigma. And I did confirm that window glass does not seem to affect response. Thanks. Oh and Nikon do not tell you it needs to be in M mode.

Uh....if you select Animal, why would a hand wave trigger the shutter?

 

[Richard Wright]

Beats me! I guess it is just the movement. Another of the mysterys.

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

Check the manual page 37 - View Settings and page 55 - not enough images.

Also try the Sigma at 150 to start. I know with 600 you need to be pretty far away.

You will get it; it does work.

 

[ButlerKid]

Beats me! I guess it is just the movement. Another of the mysterys.

I was referring to this statement....

"Thanks Eric - yes indeed - I am going through and making notes using various presets. So auto works with a hand wave but not Animal, for instance."

 

[Richard Wright]

Barking bean. Nothing in the z8 manual, on those pages. maybe you mean the z9 or ???
I have made a table top studio and it works fine now if I use EITHER Motion or Detect - even recognizes photo faces and a brass horse! So getting there. Now for the 70-200 and then the Sigma again - if I can get far enough away. Thanks for all the help folks.

 

[StevieJSmall]

I don’t rightly know why this is complicated for you but Auto Capture works as intended for me on any combination of settings I program.

You may be overthinking it a bit but sounds like you’re making progress towards figuring it out. Wish you best of luck on getting repeatable successful results as it truly opens up great photo capture opportunities!

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

Barking bean. Nothing in the z8 manual, on those pages. maybe you mean the z9 or ???
I have made a table top studio and it works fine now if I use EITHER Motion or Detect - even recognizes photo faces and a brass horse! So getting there. Now for the 70-200 and then the Sigma again - if I can get far enough away. Thanks for all the help folks.

I think I get the issue and I hope this helps.
You looked in the Z8 Manual.
Nikon has an AC Manual
I see they only have it under the Z9 and not the Z8 on their download page.

If you haven't seen this it will help and pay attention to the caveats.

 

[Anjin San]

Yes I have watched a bunch of Youtube vids. Will try again today. The screen indicates it is working with the flashing ACAP but it does not read any motion.

Check out the link in the other post to the Z9 page…there’s an auto capture manual and the Z8s is the same as far as we know. I figured you had investigated already…but since auto capture generally works wanted to make sure you weren’t missing something…it happens to me often enough as well.

 

[Richard Wright]

Thanks all. For those that are following I have two things, maybe more, that Nikon does not mention. One: the camera needs to be in M mode. Two: the lens autofocus CANNOT be in M mode but has to be in autofocus. As soon as I reset my lens bingo bango it all worked. I also found that the motion and detection is or can be very sensitive to various parameters. And, thirdly, the Distance setting will not work on some lense - in fact none of the F lenses I am using - as Nikon warns. None I am rejigging my Pelican case camera trap housing so I use the Z8 in it with Auto Capture. Oh, and I am now lusting after the Sigmas Sport 70-200 - though I already have two earlier models; and the new Laowa 10mm FF.Wow.

 

[Hooligans Imagery]

Page 21 of the manual doesn’t limit exposure modes to Manual. Maybe I’m missing what you mean @Richard Wright

 

[Richard Wright]

I will try again but a You-tube by Henry Hudson on the Z9 AC said he found it had to be set in Manual Mode. I see nothing on P21 of the Ver 2 manual and teh Z9 manual and can find nothing about M or not. maybe we are talking about different things.