z8/z9 Focus Issues

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Pat Cassity

Pat Cassity

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I’ve owned my z9 for about 11/2 years and the z8 since last August. I continue to have focus issues. I’ve attached a recent example from NX studio so that the focus point can be seen. This shot was at about 120’ with the z8 and the 600mmPF. For this particular shot I was using single point auto focus mode with eye detection off due to all of the branches and limbs in the shot. This is one image from a group of about 10 At 20fps. Shutter speed was 1/1000s which should be adequate since the subject was relatively static. From that group, 3 were in focus and the rest were similar to the one I have attached. I have the same issue with the 9. Also,I always use AF-C and BBF. I have noticed that the problem seems to be worse with subjects at further distances as it’s very difficult to determine if focus has, in fact been obtained due to the size of the subject in the evf. Your thoughts are appreciate!
 

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Single Point AF does not does not work in conjunction with subject detection, which may not matter in your case since you say that you had it disabled/turned off anyway.

Also, if it might be helpful if you turn on the a11: "AF-C In-focus Display" option, as this will cause the Single Point AF box to turn green in your viewfinder when the camera has locked focus, otherwise the box will remain red. This can help you diagnose whether the camera had actually grabbed focus when you took the shot, or if it was still attempting to achieve focus.

Perhaps consider using a differe AF Mode as well.
 
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John Navitsky said:
note, i probably would leave subject detection enabled, but use a bounding box like c1 to screen out foreground clutter as needed
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Thanks. I should have stated that I was in fact using c1 1x1, but had subject detection turned off. I also have a11 turned on as suggested by SoCoRick. I suspect that the problem may be result of the focus falling off the head, as I was shooting hand held and the subject was so far away.
 
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Pat Cassity said:
Thanks. I should have stated that I was in fact using c1 1x1, but had subject detection turned off. I also have a11 turned on as suggested by SoCoRick. I suspect that the problem may be result of the focus falling off the head, as I was shooting hand held and the subject was so far away.
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if you leave subject detection on, it will be less likely to fall off. also, 1x1 might be a bit small because while it will try to hold the subject, it can only do so slightly outside of the box
 
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In the photo as I see it, Wide-S with subject detection on should have worked fine. In a burst I try to get five to ten shots at minimum because the first and last are usually softer than those in the middle of the burst.

And definitely wait for the focus box to turn green. 📸
 
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Pat Cassity said:
I’ve owned my z9 for about 11/2 years and the z8 since last August. I continue to have focus issues. I’ve attached a recent example from NX studio so that the focus point can be seen. This shot was at about 160’ with the z8 and the 600mmPF. For this particular shot I was using single point auto focus mode with eye detection off due to all of the branches and limbs in the shot. This is one image from a group of about 10 At 20fps. Shutter speed was 1/1000s which should be adequate since the subject was relatively static. From that group, 3 were in focus and the rest were similar to the one I have attached. I have the same issue with the 9. Also,I always use AF-C and BBF. I have noticed that the problem seems to be worse with subjects at further distances as it’s very difficult to determine if focus has, in fact been obtained due to the size of the subject in the evf. Your thoughts are appreciate!
Click to expand...
I‘m curious as to the time of day and how far the nest is. I’ve noticed when I’m shooting from a great distance at an eagles nest, my D500 as a tough time locking on. I think there is a great deal of heat differential around the nest. Some days are better than others, especially when shooting early In the morning, How often does it happen in other situations.
 
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Aside from everything else, the box isn't always where it focused due to vr/etc, so it's possible it grabbed the high contrast background over the low contrast bird. I'd have used subject detection here as well.
 
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Ralph said:
I‘m curious as to the time of day and how far the nest is. I’ve noticed when I’m shooting from a great distance at an eagles nest, my D500 as a tough time locking on. I think there is a great deal of heat differential around the nest. Some days are better than others, especially when shooting early In the morning, How often does it happen in other situations.
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Ralph, I was approximately 120’ from the nest. Around 4:00 pm.
 
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So, here is a shot from a few minutes ago, taking some of the above thoughts into consideration. I am aware that you can't always trust NX Studio to be accurate about the focus location, but in this case I made sure that the green box was completely on the eye of the bird. I used Wide S with bird detection. I also changed A3 to Erratic. I also increased the shutter speed to 1/1600s to make sure it compensate for any handheld issues. This shot is at about 40'.
 

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Pat Cassity said:
So, here is a shot from a few minutes ago, taking some of the above thoughts into consideration. I am aware that you can't always trust NX Studio to be accurate about the focus location, but in this case I made sure that the green box was completely on the eye of the bird. I used Wide S with bird detection. I also changed A3 to Erratic. I also increased the shutter speed to 1/1600s to make sure it compensate for any handheld issues. This shot is at about 40'.
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I would try it in FX and then crop.
 
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Pat Cassity said:
So, here is a shot from a few minutes ago, taking some of the above thoughts into consideration. I am aware that you can't always trust NX Studio to be accurate about the focus location, but in this case I made sure that the green box was completely on the eye of the bird. I used Wide S with bird detection. I also changed A3 to Erratic. I also increased the shutter speed to 1/1600s to make sure it compensate for any handheld issues. This shot is at about 40'.
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Okay, so some things going on here.

Where was it focused before you hit the af on button? Way in front? What did the images before and after look like?

If you're in release priority, it'll take an image regardless of if what's under the box is in focus, as shown. This is normally good, but can drive people insane sometimes too.
 
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Pat Cassity said:
So, here is a shot from a few minutes ago, taking some of the above thoughts into consideration. I am aware that you can't always trust NX Studio to be accurate about the focus location, but in this case I made sure that the green box was completely on the eye of the bird. I used Wide S with bird detection. I also changed A3 to Erratic. I also increased the shutter speed to 1/1600s to make sure it compensate for any handheld issues. This shot is at about 40'.
Click to expand...
Do all shots in that burst show the same degree of being out of focus?
 
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