Z8/Z9 Auto-ISO and Control Rings

[RJWerntz]

New to forum here, been watching Steve for years. I did a search on Auto-ISO and did not see what I was looking for but might have missed it. Forgive me if not the correct area to be asking but I have an Auto-ISO question after viewing Steve's latest BIF video.

At the tail end of the video, he mentions manually setting ISO via the control ring so that leads me to think he doesn't use Auto-ISO for BIF and simply use the control ring to dial in ISO and seeing the effect of such in the EVF. All of that is good and a bit of an evolution from his Auto-ISO vid created in 2019 on a D850. That's good too. On my Z9 & Z8, I have carried over using Auto-ISO but control rings have had me looking at alternate methods of using it or not.

With Auto-ISO chosen, I have assigned my control ring to exposure compensation and that adds or subtracts ISO from the camera determined ISO. Instant results in the EVF. The same thing can occur using the little button and dial as carried over from DSLR days. The control ring makes executing that so much easier IMO. If something changes, the ring moved etc., I know it instantly looking through the EVF. There are those times when I do want a specific ISO and using the ISO button and front dial, I can disable Auto-ISO and dial in what I want as long as I use the little button and rear dial. At this point, without changing the control function in the custom menu, the control ring is pretty much disabled and does nothing until I put it back into Auto-ISO mode. If I go into the Custom Setting and change the control ring function to direct ISO, the control ring will allow for direct ISO changing instead of the little button and rear ring. That's great but once you go into Auto-ISO, the control ring is now disabled and compensation is adjusted with the little button and rear dial.

I'm finding that losing the ability to use the control ring at times to be confusing. I do like Auto-ISO on the Z8/Z9 and tend to leave as such using the control ring for a very simple tweak. If I assign the control ring directly to ISO, my "Auto-ISO" is now the ring. Not as "automatic" but in control from the ring position that I find a more natural place to adjust it from. I am kind of struggling as to which method to use. I find using Auto-ISO and EC on the ring, I'm tweaking the exposure indirectly with ISO and not all that much. Leaving Auto-ISO off and the ring adjusting ISO, I do have my hand on the ring more and don't always react fast enough. So, at least where I am at adapting to new methods, I still struggle with the little button and dials when the control ring seems so much easier to manipulate.

Dating myself, it's like using playing cards with real large numbers and then switching back to regular ones. What I'm after is other folks usage of this. I hate diving into the menu when out in the field. I have asked Nikon to include a brand new assignable combination function in the control ring custom menu to allow the control ring to adjust EC when in Auto-ISO and then direct ISO when Auto-ISO is disabled. That would require a new function and name in the custom menu but suspect this request could be included in a firmware change.

All of the existing functions could still be used. I don't write code so that's easy for me to say. With a new function name, all of the needed parameters already exist though. I'm hoping a louder voice might be easier to hear perhaps?

FWIW, I updated my Z9 and the G function that I normally would have skipped had I not seen the reference in here. Good stuff.

 

[SoCalRick]

At the tail end of the video, he mentions manually setting ISO via the control ring so that leads me to think he doesn't use Auto-ISO for BIF and simply use the control ring to dial in ISO and seeing the effect of such in the EVF.

I'll let Steve answer for himself, but I would venture a guess that this ^^ is an incorrect assumption.

Most of us that do use Auto-ISO for BIF photography, also adjust the exposure compensation value up and down as needed to get good results. Whether you want to assign that action to a control ring (and potentially risk accidental adjustments happening to Exposure Comp), or not is up to you.

 

[RJWerntz]

Thanks for the response. This is confusing and why I asked about this. At around the 31:30 mark of the Z8 & Z9 BIF settings video, Steve mentions using the control ring for manual ISO adjustment for BIF usage. I found that significant from his 2019 video on using Auto-ISO but that was created on a D850. In that short time though many things have changed including how the gear is manipulated. A work in progress as I have found myself re-evaluating many aspects of the workflow.

On both my Z8 and Z9, assigning the control ring for direct ISO adjustment only works if Auto-ISO is disabled. Enabling Auto-ISO disables the control ring function requiring EC and ISO adjustments to be done with the little button and rear dial. Switching the ring assignment to EC instead of ISO allows the ring to do EC only when Auto-ISO is in play. When trying to manually set the ISO, Auto-ISO is turned off and the ring is now disabled forcing the adjustment on the little button/dial again. Trying to have my cake and eat it too, I would like to see a combination of the 2 functions, so the control ring is not disabled like now during part of the existing functions.

As far as accidental adjustments, that is a possibility regardless of how you have the ring assigned, ISO or EC. After around 60k photos with control ring assignments, it really isn't that big of a deal because you are bringing the camera to your eye with one hand naturally at the control ring. With mirrorless, you know instantly if the exposure is right or wrong and its really easy putting it where it needs to be with your left hand. Again, that works on a mirrorless EVF where that scenario wasn't possible on a DSLR and also works whether the ring is assigned to ISO or EC. Where I have problems is going back and forth between Auto-ISO being enabled or disabled requiring my adjustments to be made with my other hand in a not-so-natural method. I really dislike it wearing gloves. I have found myself missing control rings on my F mount glass.

 

[SoCalRick]

I use Auto-ISO almost exclusively for BIF photography. I have assigned Exposure Comp +/- to the control ring in the past, but I currently have it disabled (e.g. set to "no op"). I'm still trying to sort out what I want to assign to the control ring function, if anything.

 

[JAJohnson]

Thanks for the response. This is confusing and why I asked about this. At around the 31:30 mark of the Z8 & Z9 BIF settings video, Steve mentions using the control ring for manual ISO adjustment for BIF usage. I found that significant from his 2019 video on using Auto-ISO but that was created on a D850. In that short time though many things have changed including how the gear is manipulated. A work in progress as I have found myself re-evaluating many aspects of the workflow.

On both my Z8 and Z9, assigning the control ring for direct ISO adjustment only works if Auto-ISO is disabled. Enabling Auto-ISO disables the control ring function requiring EC and ISO adjustments to be done with the little button and rear dial. Switching the ring assignment to EC instead of ISO allows the ring to do EC only when Auto-ISO is in play. When trying to manually set the ISO, Auto-ISO is turned off and the ring is now disabled forcing the adjustment on the little button/dial again. Trying to have my cake and eat it too, I would like to see a combination of the 2 functions, so the control ring is not disabled like now during part of the existing functions.

As far as accidental adjustments, that is a possibility regardless of how you have the ring assigned, ISO or EC. After around 60k photos with control ring assignments, it really isn't that big of a deal because you are bringing the camera to your eye with one hand naturally at the control ring. With mirrorless, you know instantly if the exposure is right or wrong and its really easy putting it where it needs to be with your left hand. Again, that works on a mirrorless EVF where that scenario wasn't possible on a DSLR and also works whether the ring is assigned to ISO or EC. Where I have problems is going back and forth between Auto-ISO being enabled or disabled requiring my adjustments to be made with my other hand in a not-so-natural method. I really dislike it wearing gloves. I have found myself missing control rings on my F mount glass.

This is a posting from @Steve about a month ago on this topic.

Z8 & Z9 My BEST Bird-In-Flight AF Settings

Looking for the best bird-in-flight (BIF) autofocus settings for your Nikon Z8 or Z9? Don't worry, you know I got your back! In this video, we'll cover all the best AF settings for your Z8 or Z9. We'll look at relevant menu settings, I'll show you how to get the most from subject detection...

bcgforums.com

 

[Phil Seu]

I would think BIF is the ONE situation when you want to be fully manual.

 

[Steve]

I use both manual and manual + Auto ISO for BIF work - it just depends on the scene. Most of the time - thanks to the ease of using the control ring - I favor full manual mode these days. However, if I'm in a situation the camera will handle well (or where the light levels are all over the place due to cloud or shade), I'll still turn to M+Auto. There's never one right answer

 

[RJWerntz]

Thanks for the link to the discussion on the BIF AF setting and thanks Steve. There is some discussion around the use of manual ISO adjustment using the control ring. There are offered up a couple other alternatives to make the transition from one technique to another easier to execute. That's the problem. Nikon could improve that portion without removing existing options. I don't like the control ring losing functionality disabling/enabling Auto-ISO. The little button and command dials were great on DSLR's when control rings didn't exist. My opinion is also based on old fingers with lost dexterity, so it is very biased I know.

The control ring use has allowed me to avoid cumbersome adjustments (to me at least) and actually improve results. If I can keep my panning smooth, manual ISO adjusting with the control ring is not a problem, it's switching back and forth between Auto-ISO enabled/disabled and control ring functionality. After reading more in the previous discussion, having a new function on the control ring to keep it active would free up the +/- button for other uses as well. That is always handy. After reading the other methods, would it make sense to have the ISO button serve as a toggle to enable /disable Auto-ISO? In Auto-ISO the control ring could tweak ISO indirectly through EC. When toggled off, the control ring now adjusts ISO directly. No command dials needed. Taking it further, could the control ring serve as a command dial when used in combination with a button?

This adds a new function but does not remove any existing methods. I'm simply looking to streamline the use as I have found the control ring to be a really nice addition to the arsenal.

Looking back when I got my D200 after holding on to my F3 &F4 as long as possible, I was hesitant to use Auto-ISO at first. Same with BBAF. Fast forward several more DSLR bodies and those functions were always part of the configuration. Now, with mirrorless, EVF's, and control rings, some of those old functions simply aren't a default. While it requires re-learning movements to manipulate the camera, nothing really is lost. For the most part, Nikon has been pretty good preserving what folks are used too. I have been spoiled with Nikon's firmware offering so I was hoping to line up something that directly affects my usage.