Z9, Capturing Birds in Flight

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Cas1234

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Frame rate seems to be one of the big selling points these days. OK, here it is for all the Z9 owners that have the latest and greatest compared to those of us that are still shooting with glass plate film in comparison, that would be ME :) The Z9 camera boosts a frame rate of 20 f/s, approaching movie quality. Movies are running at 24 f/s. Why not shoot in movie mode and then extract the image you want so there is no missing the moment or being out of focus? Once the camera exceeds 24 f/s then basically you are shooting a movie. So, just use a high MP camera such as the D850, shoot in movie mode and you would have all the wall hangers you could possibly want? You could always add in Topaz AI to up the quality if needed.
 
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Cas1234 said:
Frame rate seems to be one of the big selling points these days. OK, here it is for all the Z9 owners that have the latest and greatest compared to those of us that are still shooting with glass plate film in comparison, that would be ME :) The Z9 camera boosts a frame rate of 20 f/s, approaching movie quality. Movies are running at 24 f/s. Why not shoot in movie mode and then extract the image you want so there is no missing the moment or being out of focus? Once the camera exceeds 24 f/s then basically you are shooting a movie. So, just use a high MP camera such as the D850, shoot in movie mode and you would have all the wall hangers you could possibly want? You could always add in Topaz AI to up the quality if needed.
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Yeah I asked the same question a while back and got a long explanation about the difference in IQ between video frames and stills. Plus focus is no more guaranteed with video than with stills. That said I've turned my Z9 down to 15fps for BIF and 10fps for everything else and find that to be plenty of frames to choose from. TEHO
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Yeah I asked the same question a while back and got a long explanation about the difference in IQ between video frames and stills. Plus focus is no more guaranteed with video than with stills. That said I've turned my Z9 down to 15fps for BIF and 10fps for everything else and find that to be plenty of frames to choose from. TEHO
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Have you ever tired to run in video mode and extract a frame to see if what they are telling you is correct?
 
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My husband does wonderful video. He can pull a still and use it - at low resolution. However, the IQ is not nearly as good as I got from my D850/D5. Smaller files and color space....rough processed jpgs. Good "enough" in a video or for the internet....
 
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Cas1234 said:
Have you ever tired to run in video mode and extract a frame to see if what they are telling you is correct?
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I‘m only starting to learn video, so I am sure others know a lot more. I’ve used 4K, 120 frame video on my Z9. That allows me to slow down action, if I display it at say 30 fps.

I’ve used Final Cut Pro to extract a frame from 4K, 120 fps video and I ended up with a 3 to 3.5 mp jpeg. I believe there is also a way to do this in the camera. Not sure what you get then.

Perhaps you could get a more detailed file if you used 8K video or if you used Raw video. Would it be a Raw file extracted if you used Raw video? Not sure. I have not tried either.

The other issue is that many recommend a shutter speed for video that is 2x the video frame rate. That tends to be slower than many of us use for stills of BIF and other action. I do set my shutter speed at 1/500th when doing 4K, 120 Fps video, so it is faster than the rule of thumb, but still slower than I would set in still photography of action.

You can go with a faster shutter speed in video, but this can make video look a bit “crunchy.”

I shot some video with my Z9 this May of sparring grizzlies in the Khutzeymateen. It’s fun to have video and I shot the video to have video. I did extract a few still frames from the video wiht Final Cut Pro that I like. But for stills, I preferred my Raw files taken at higher shutter speeds.
 
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There is actually a lot to consider in the differences of video and stills. In video, the shutter speed is set slower than in stills and this causes slight motion blur to each frame which makes the motion flow smoother during playback. You could try shooting a faster shutter speed for the video, but then the video file itself is useless and your only use could be extracting frames for stills. I don‘t know how good of quality you could get out of that with the differences in codecs. Also consider the resolution of video versus the resolution of your stills. Most of the video I’ve been shooting is in 4K 120p, not RAW. A 1 minute 31 second video clip consumed 4.61GB of card space. Now 4k is a relatively low resolution photo, so how much larger would the 8K file be? Then if you want the most flexible files for editing, that would also need to be RAW so the card space is going to be enormous for a lower quality photo in the end. I don’t claim to be a video expert and there are probably members here who do a lot more of it then me, but they really serve two different purposes and the techniques are somewhat different. I would personally use the 120fps 11mp jpg mode over video if I was trying to get that perfect position for a photo.
 
You can do it in lightroom. But the image quality and resolution will never be the same. If the camera could work that fast with full quality you wouldn't be limited to a mere 20 fps.
 
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The sensor scan rate is way slower in video than in stills. So even in the modern cameras that have good video AF (and still none have as good AF as they do in stills) you will end up with distortions in wings and backgrounds. Also as already mentioned you need to either shoot video aimed at stills with a fast shutter speed (so the actual video is useless) or you need to shoot at normal video shutter speeds and then the frame grabs have motion blur.

A D850 has terrible video AF...good luck with that.
 
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Cas1234 said:
Thanks for all the replies, basically what I am hearing is get with the program and buy a Z9! :)
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If you're looking for 20fps that's currently the only answer that Nikon has. But a D850 w/grip and EN-EL18 battery get you almost half way there. With fps that is. Honestly most times I wish I'd just stayed with mine. Still one of the best all around cameras ever made. Best value at least.
 
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Cas1234 said:
Thanks for all the replies, basically what I am hearing is get with the program and buy a Z9! :)
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If you’re birding on Nikon, that’s basically the name of the game, and will be until they cram the Z9’s AF into a cheaper body.

The good news is, our Z9’s won’t stop working when they release this mythical “Z8”. So, pay more today or less later!
 
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Chris K said:
If you’re birding on Nikon, that’s basically the name of the game, and will be until they cram the Z9’s AF into a cheaper body.

The good news is, our Z9’s won’t stop working when they release this mythical “Z8”. So, pay more today or less later!
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Chris, I am in no hurry, I used a D40X for 14 years before trading up to the D7500 and it seems to do a pretty good job. So, I am going to the last of the Mohicans with the DSLR and then pick up a used Z9, all the while the rest of the World has moved up to the Z99. The Z99 will be attached to a drone, fully automated that sores with the Eagles, gets up close an personal while you sit in your camping chair reading the latest copy of Birder Magazine waiting for the memory card to be delivered.

Think of lyrics in the song Zager and Evans, In the Year 2525

In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you
 
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You’ll save many thousands of dollar waiting for the Z9 to become old, or the “Z8” to go on sale. It’s certainly the best approach if you have the patience!

You could also skip a few generations of equipment and just start using “AI” art generation. Last week I made a picture of Gene Simmons petting a cow. Took me five spec to imagine and my PC 70 seconds to create.

I have (as yet) been unable to reproduce this scene in the real world. ;)
 
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NorthernFocus said:
That would require actually pressing the record button. So, no.
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LOL .... I actually do press the record button on my Z9 fairly often to access shooting functions hold with turning off subject recognition as the only function checked.
I used it for video a couple of times in a class on video put on by the Western USA Nikon Sales rep at a seminar. I took video of him teaching at whatever the default settings in the camera were. The video looked okay on the camera monitor before I formatted the card :)
 
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BillW said:
I shot some video with my Z9 this May of sparring grizzlies in the Khutzeymateen.
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I have made 4 trips to the Khutzeymateen. The time with the most activity is from mid May. Teenage buddies are play- fighting, big adult males are looking for females, young bears running for their lives if they think a big male might have spotted them.
 
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Cas1234 said:
Frame rate seems to be one of the big selling points these days. OK, here it is for all the Z9 owners that have the latest and greatest compared to those of us that are still shooting with glass plate film in comparison, that would be ME :) The Z9 camera boosts a frame rate of 20 f/s, approaching movie quality. Movies are running at 24 f/s. Why not shoot in movie mode and then extract the image you want so there is no missing the moment or being out of focus? Once the camera exceeds 24 f/s then basically you are shooting a movie. So, just use a high MP camera such as the D850, shoot in movie mode and you would have all the wall hangers you could possibly want? You could always add in Topaz AI to up the quality if needed.
Click to expand...
Movie mode and stills are very different.
Movie frames are deliberately blurred to show motion - stills are hopefully all sharp...🦘
 
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