Z9 set up/ Henry Hudson Photography/ Any wildlife tweak recommendations ?

[AnnetteJane]

I watched the Hudson Henry photography set up for the Z9 on utube. Found it on this forum someplace. There’s been a lot of Z9 discussion but I’d like to expand on the set up.
Looking for any suggested tweaks from a wildlife photography perspective.
Getting my Z9 next week and just doing some research ahead.
Thinking I’ll go ahead and keep BBF..thoughts on his particular set up please.

 

[Whiskeyman]

I don't have my Z9 yet, but one common item I see among those that have is that they depart from BBF.

The other I see is that Z9 AF is complex enough to require a good bit of time using it to decide which settings are best for a particular situation, even with plenty of advice from others.

 

[EricBowles]

I watched the Hudson Henry photography set up for the Z9 on utube. Found it on this forum someplace. There’s been a lot of Z9 discussion but I’d like to expand on the set up.
Looking for any suggested tweaks from a wildlife photography perspective.
Getting my Z9 next week and just doing some research ahead.
Thinking I’ll go ahead and keep BBF..thoughts on his particular set up please.

I would not consider a single setup for wildlife - there are too many differences depending on your subject and personal style. What you need for a bear is completely different from what you need for birds in flight or songbirds. When you switch to Events or Portraits, you might use something completely different and engage a Shooting or Custom Bank.

There are generally 2-3 buttons to consider for AF.
Do you prefer to focus with BBF or with your shutter release - and it may be subject specific?
How do you want to invoke 3D tracking - or is it even needed? I've seen people choose Fn1, Fn1, or AF-On. With Shutter AF you could use the shutter button to invoke 3D, but an Fn button to use the mode of your choice for initial focus acquisition with more precision. This might be Single or Wide Small, and then release that button so all subsequent images are 3D with Shutter activation.

Given the options, be sure you have backed up your settings to a memory card. We've also had some discussions about having 2-3 memory cards for different settings depending on genre. As an example, you just load the settings for a specific shoot and your camera is set up as needed.

I've got a friend who was a senior Canon rep and would set up cameras for specific Olympic events. Settings for gymnastics would be very different from swimming or track even down to preferred focus modes. The same would be true for different types of wildlife.

One of the main reasons to keep using BBF is actually muscle memory, especially if you are using multiple camera models.

 

[Warren D]

In a couple of short outings, I've found there is no one af solution. A Great Horned Owl in a tree with branches everywhere demanded single point AF, while a flying snowy owl wanted wide area large with 3D activated when it flew. If the owl had it's eye(s) open, the Z9 found it and locked on.

 

[AnnetteJane]

I would not consider a single setup for wildlife - there are too many differences depending on your subject and personal style. What you need for a bear is completely different from what you need for birds in flight or songbirds. When you switch to Events or Portraits, you might use something completely different and engage a Shooting or Custom Bank.

There are generally 2-3 buttons to consider for AF.
Do you prefer to focus with BBF or with your shutter release - and it may be subject specific?
How do you want to invoke 3D tracking - or is it even needed? I've seen people choose Fn1, Fn1, or AF-On. With Shutter AF you could use the shutter button to invoke 3D, but an Fn button to use the mode of your choice for initial focus acquisition with more precision. This might be Single or Wide Small, and then release that button so all subsequent images are 3D with Shutter activation.

Given the options, be sure you have backed up your settings to a memory card. We've also had some discussions about having 2-3 memory cards for different settings depending on genre. As an example, you just load the settings for a specific shoot and your camera is set up as needed.

I've got a friend who was a senior Canon rep and would set up cameras for specific Olympic events. Settings for gymnastics would be very different from swimming or track even down to preferred focus modes. The same would be true for different types of wildlife.

One of the main reasons to keep using BBF is actually muscle memory, especially if you are using multiple camera models.

I never did set up U1, U2 ect on my last camera. So, I was debating setting up for several banks. Occasionally I’ll take a picture of my grandchild but my main focus is wildlife and I cant see switching banks in the middle of watching wildlife, you dont know when the action will hit so I think after reading what you have said, skip the banks ? Also Henry Hudson said to not reformat memory card but delete another way to get your pictures cleared off card. Anyhow, I DO use BBF and I was considering trying not but have read that Steve went back to BBF so I’ll try that first. I’m debating. It would be more familiar for me and Steve had said he was presently shooting the Z9 with BBF with 3D on the back button ? He said 3D wasnt programmed to back button, just selected as current AF area) not exactly sure what that looks like for setting up but maybe it will make more sense when I see and use the camera. Wide L on F1. F2 as single point.
But Henry Hudson has a very in-depth initial first set up on other things other than the control buttons. I wonder if anyone else with just wildlife in mind has such an intricate point by point set up.
I do like and see where you are going with the shutter button invoking the 3D tracking. Lots to try and I may skip the bank set up for now. Still, he has in depth on every point and worth watching. I usually shoot manual mode with auto ISO and dont use a flash.

 

[AnnetteJane]

Check this one out.

I did see this one. Not the in depth set up like Henry Hudson. Has some good points of use though And worth the watch, I’m sure I’ll be switching up the control buttons and his input on the control button to the front left being difficult to reach with a large lens was huge. I will definitely take that into consideration in set up and I may end up trying to abandon BBF and use it for the 3D tracking. I do find the front bottoms hard to manage with gloves when its cold.

 

[Patrick M]

I watched Hudson’s setup videos even though I won’t be getting a Z9.
I find his reasoning to be really insightful… and while I know it all, I always learn something new.

 

[fcotterill]

I agree.....as this guy also points out in his blog and in a dpr thread, the design layout of the Z9 provides for flexibility, subject to local conditions. There is/are no universal set of settings: especially for wildlife, diverse by definition in subjects and scenes.

The Z9 brings new options to capture wildlife subjects with greater reliability and speed of action - compared to the DSLR flagships. Those of us familiar with the Custom setups of the D500, D5, D850 etc should find this transition straightforward. Well at least the core principles of Shooting Banks and extending Custom menus are very similar, but the optimizing AF and expsoure settings.

I tried hard to like the Z7 and D780 for my wildlife needs, but each failed precisely because these cameras do not allow instant switching between 2 or more AF modes.... i.e. to assign AFMode+AFOn to Fn1, Fn2 etc (unlike D500, D850 et al). And the Ln-Fn buttons are muted on the Nikkor telephotos if it's on a Z6, Z7, D780. This is not to underrate their capabilities in other genres, however.

There are already a couple of "Bank threads" here. Sure, Nikon could improve the basic design of these banks but we have to work with what we have..... These take time to tame to one's needs, with the rewards more than equal to the effort invested in learning and experimenting. One has to learn to leverage their built in auto-save design, where the Z9 allows quicker access through the i-Menu. I knocked together this schematic to try and sketch the conceptual relationships between camera settings. There may be gaps/mistakes but I think this adds the main domains of the Z9, including the 4 RSF options and i-Menu:

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

I would not consider a single setup for wildlife - there are too many differences depending on your subject and personal style. What you need for a bear is completely different from what you need for birds in flight or songbirds. When you switch to Events or Portraits, you might use something completely different and engage a Shooting or Custom Bank.

There are generally 2-3 buttons to consider for AF.
Do you prefer to focus with BBF or with your shutter release - and it may be subject specific?
How do you want to invoke 3D tracking - or is it even needed? I've seen people choose Fn1, Fn1, or AF-On. With Shutter AF you could use the shutter button to invoke 3D, but an Fn button to use the mode of your choice for initial focus acquisition with more precision. This might be Single or Wide Small, and then release that button so all subsequent images are 3D with Shutter activation.

Given the options, be sure you have backed up your settings to a memory card. We've also had some discussions about having 2-3 memory cards for different settings depending on genre. As an example, you just load the settings for a specific shoot and your camera is set up as needed.

I've got a friend who was a senior Canon rep and would set up cameras for specific Olympic events. Settings for gymnastics would be very different from swimming or track even down to preferred focus modes. The same would be true for different types of wildlife.

One of the main reasons to keep using BBF is actually muscle memory, especially if you are using multiple camera models.

 

[NorthernFocus]

I watched the Hudson Henry photography set up for the Z9 on utube. Found it on this forum someplace. There’s been a lot of Z9 discussion but I’d like to expand on the set up.
Looking for any suggested tweaks from a wildlife photography perspective.
Getting my Z9 next week and just doing some research ahead.
Thinking I’ll go ahead and keep BBF..thoughts on his particular set up please.

You're probably over-thinking things. I've found that was the worst thing about having to wait for delivery. Too much thinking, reading, YouTube... At the end of the day it's just another camera. In spite of all the things I read during the wait as soon as I started fiddling with the camera I realized that for setting it up the way you want it's not THAT different from the high end DSLRs. I thought I'd be setting up multiple shooting/custom settings banks. Never have on any of my DSLRs. But I shoot wildlife 90 percent of the time with the remaining being landscape with the rare kids' sporting event. And I shoot fully manual with occasional auto iso. So multiple banks aren't really useful/relavent to me. OK maybe one for landscape and one for everything else. And maybe a third with subject detection set to people for the occasional ball game. OK maybe the banks ARE useful....

Here's what I've found different:

Viewfinder: loving the zero blackout EVF. There are multiple choices for what information you want to see in the VF. But the biggest decision is whether to set it up for WYSIWYG or bright. I like WYSIWYG since I shoot manual settings and occasionally get in a rush and get caught out.

AF: For all practical purposes for my shooting I went from two to three useful AF modes.
- DSLR: I only used AF-C with BBF. On the bodies that allowed it I disabled AF-S to avoid accidently switching and getting caught out. The only two focus point/areas that I use are single point and group. I have AF-ON set to group and F1 set to single point(usually only used on static subjects).
- Z9: Same as DSLR I only use AF-C with AF-S disabled. For my shooting the only three focus areas that are useful are: single point, wide area L, and 3d tracking. I'm testing going back to shutter button set to wide area L, AF-ON set to 3d tracking, and my traditional F1 set to single point. Jury is still out on the shutter button until I get a few hours of practice behind me. I may go back to BBF on wide area and set another button to 3d. Many years of using BBF has worked well...

AF comments: "Wide area" is an odd choice of words for that mode. The focus area isn't that "wide". And not that much difference in the size of the boxes between S and L. And with focus point persistence once AF locks on to a subject it will track outside the box until it reaches the focus tracking time limit you have set. If you get the subject back inside the box before reaching the time limit it appears to reset the timer. In theory subject detection should work faster in wide area S due to the smaller area to scan. But for practical purposes I'm not sure it makes a difference. So to simplify and since I shoot a lot of BIF I disabled wide area S as well as all three dynamic areas(never used them with DSLR so why now). Pin Point only works in AF-S so is a moot point(with AF-S disabled).

Mechanical vs Electronic shutter: Oh wait... there's not a mechanical shutter. One less decision Though you do have to decide whether you want the protective shutter to close when you turn the camera off. OK that one may be an IQ test Maybe if you configure it to stay open they come and take the camera back...

I'm sure plenty of people will chime in with plenty more to think about. But I'm simple minded...

 

[John Navitsky]

You're probably over-thinking things. I've found that was the worst thing about having to wait for delivery. Too much thinking, reading, YouTube...

Luckily, my mind has gone the other way. I tend not to want to get into the details like this without having the camera in front of me which is probably why I didn't understand the hybrid shooting mode when described here -- my mind just glosses over the details till i get hands on.

That said, Henry's videos in general are growing on me. He seems to have a nice middle ground area where he provides some decent practical information. I found his discussion on tripods and tripod heads useful in my recent acquisition of my first decent tripod for example.

But over-all, I'll skip the detailed menu walk through until I get my camera (which, according to NPS, won't be too much longer).

 

[NorthernFocus]

Luckily, my mind has gone the other way. I tend not to want to get into the details like this without having the camera in front of me ...

I'm the same typically. And I'm not a manual reader pre-ownership. But this time I did watch a lot of YouTube content and read a couple of respected "influencers" (like @Steve ) because I was trying to decide whether I was going to buy the camera or pass when the call came from the local dealer. By no means was my mind made up until a few days before.

 

[John Navitsky]

I'm the same typically. And I'm not a manual reader pre-ownership. But this time I did watch a lot of YouTube content and read a couple of respected "influencers" (like @Steve ) because I was trying to decide whether I was going to buy the camera or pass when the call came from the local dealer. By no means was my mind made up until a few days before.

Which isn't to say I'm not reading and watching videos like mad . I just avoid getting down to the super specifics.

 

[AnnetteJane]

You're probably over-thinking things. I've found that was the worst thing about having to wait for delivery. Too much thinking, reading, YouTube... At the end of the day it's just another camera. In spite of all the things I read during the wait as soon as I started fiddling with the camera I realized that for setting it up the way you want it's not THAT different from the high end DSLRs. I thought I'd be setting up multiple shooting/custom settings banks. Never have on any of my DSLRs. But I shoot wildlife 90 percent of the time with the remaining being landscape with the rare kids' sporting event. And I shoot fully manual with occasional auto iso. So multiple banks aren't really useful/relavent to me. OK maybe one for landscape and one for everything else. And maybe a third with subject detection set to people for the occasional ball game. OK maybe the banks ARE useful....

Here's what I've found different:

Viewfinder: loving the zero blackout EVF. There are multiple choices for what information you want to see in the VF. But the biggest decision is whether to set it up for WYSIWYG or bright. I like WYSIWYG since I shoot manual settings and occasionally get in a rush and get caught out. Typically have ss set low and then a BIF opportunity pops up.

AF: For all practical purposes for my shooting I went from two to three useful AF modes.
- DSLR: I only used AF-C with BBF. On the bodies that allowed it I disabled AF-S to avoid accidently switching and getting caught out. The only two focus point/areas that I use are single point and group. I have AF-ON set to group and F1 set to single point(usually only used on static subjects).
- Z9: Same as DSLR I only use AF-C with AF-S disabled. For my shooting the only three focus areas that are useful are: single point, wide area L, and 3d tracking. I'm testing going back to shutter button set to wide area L, AF-ON set to 3d tracking, and my traditional F1 set to single point. Jury is still out on the shutter button until I get a few hours of practice behind me. I may go back to BBF on wide area and set another button to 3d. Many years of using BBF has worked well...

AF comments: "Wide area" is an odd choice of words for that mode. The focus area isn't that "wide". And not that much difference in the size of the boxes between S and L. And with focus point persistence once AF locks on to a subject it will track outside the box until it reaches the focus tracking time limit you have set. If you get the subject back inside the box before reaching the time limit it appears to reset the timer. In theory subject detection should work faster in wide area S due to the smaller area to scan. But for practical purposes I'm not sure it makes a difference. So to simplify and since I shoot a lot of BIF I disabled wide area S as well as all three dynamic areas(never used them with DSLR so why now). Pin Point only works in AF-S so is a moot point(with AF-S disabled).

Mechanical vs Electronic shutter: Oh wait... there's not a mechanical shutter. One less decision Though you do have to decide whether you want the protective shutter to close when you turn the camera off. OK that one may be an IQ test Maybe if you configure it to stay open they come and take the camera back...

I'm sure plenty of people will chime in with plenty more to think about. But I'm simple minded...

Thank you, you are right. I’m watching to much and overthinking this. I wont worry about the banks, at least not on initial set up. Will follow some of his suggestions to uncheck focus boxes I wont be using so I dont have to scroll through them, and I never even knew before you mentioned it, that I could disable the AF-S which I will do. It seems I do learn something at every turn. I HAVE accidentally shot in AF-S, only to realize later. Very frustrating. Knob must have accidentally got switched and I wasnt checking that one enough since I usually use AF-C. Would be far easier to have it locked out in any camera that it is possible to do so, I wonder if a person can have that in the imenu to lock and unlock it. 99 % of time I dont want it. The imenu options looked interesting. Perhaps something to put in there.
I’ve also decided to try to abandon BBF. I wonder how many will go back to it. It is just another camera though and I’ll be glad when it gets here so I can actually mess with it and get it settled into its new home. I do seem to get a little tidbit of info here and there though. I am still in awe that I can lock out the AF-S. That is my nugget for today.
Everyone is talking about the AF modes and back button focus and I got all that. Its the little things. And relieved I’m not the only one thinking, banks, well I didn't before. Maybe later. Probably not. I shoot in manual with auto ISO. Just change the settings to what I’m shooting and the eye detect is easy to change from animal to people with the info menu. Maybe an Astro setting if I stayed up late enough to catch the northern lights. Nah, bedtime is 9 pm.
Question; Henry Hudson says not to reformat memory card. If I’m not doing all those banks can I just hit format memory card after I’m done with pictures on camera and have them backed up on computer ect, Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong ? I need to watch again during set up and see how he said to actually empty them all at once but is it necessary ? I know, I’m overthinking it. But perhaps I am doing that wrong.
And thank you for the humor, good way to start the day..protective shutter..if you configure it to stay open, Nikon may come and take the camera back. I’ll be laughing about that all day.

 

[AnnetteJane]

Which isn't to say I'm not reading and watching videos like mad . I just avoid getting down to the super specifics.

This waiting is killing me Especially now that I know its coming this week. I dont need the comparisons to the Sony or Cannon though and I KNOW I’m getting it, I just want every last bit of set up input I can get. I want the super specifics at this point.

 

[AnnetteJane]

I'm the same typically. And I'm not a manual reader pre-ownership. But this time I did watch a lot of YouTube content and read a couple of respected "influencers" (like @Steve ) because I was trying to decide whether I was going to buy the camera or pass when the call came from the local dealer. By no means was my mind made up until a few days before.

Which isn't to say I'm not reading and watching videos like mad . I just avoid getting down to the super specifics.

I wish I could be more laid back about it I want super specifics now ! I know I’ve wanted this camera, been waiting for something decent in Nikon mirrorless for wildlife in action.

 

[John Navitsky]

I wish I could be more laid back about it I want super specifics now ! I know I’ve wanted this camera, been waiting for something decent in Nikon mirrorless for wildlife in action.

i'm not sure i'd say i was laid back about it, lol!

 

[AnnetteJane]

i'm not sure i'd say i was laid back about it, lol!

Probably no one on this forum is really very laid back about photography. Lol.

 

[NorthernFocus]

I wish I could be more laid back about it I want super specifics now ! I know I’ve wanted this camera, been waiting for something decent in Nikon mirrorless for wildlife in action.

Patience, Grasshoppa If you just can't stand it I'll loan you mine for a day or two. I'm already past the initial inquiry and won't do much with it until I have something to shoot. I'd hate for you to drive into a snowbank or something because your mind is in Z9 mode. Speaking of which if you haven't gone out yet be careful driving today. Glaze ice on the roads.

 

[NorthernFocus]

...Question; Henry Hudson says not to reformat memory card. If I’m not doing all those banks can I just hit format memory card after I’m done with pictures on camera and have them backed up on computer ect, Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong ? I need to watch again during set up and see how he said to actually empty them all at once but is it necessary ? ...

I must have blown past that. I just watched the stuff about AF. Historically "experts" have cautioned against deleting in camera and have said formatting is the way to go to clear cards. Will have to check that out.

 

[Ricky Simpson]

Great post Dan. Our shooting style with DSLR's is very similar except I never use auto iso.

It seems that one of the things that I need to be able to change quickly is Subject Detection (whether to change subject type or turn off). I never used the front Fn buttons on DSLR's but I did use the video button on the D4s to change ISO so I do have that muscle memory to start using on my Z9. Therefore using the video button for subject detection is what I am using now to chanage subject detection via "my menu".

At first I did not think I would use the old DSLR Dynamic modes but am rethinking that now since Nikon recommends using them for sports which is fast moving just as wildlife can be. When there is low contrast for subject/background one of these modes may be the ticket. As of now I have changed from 100 percent backbutton to now using the half shutter press to acquire initial focus(with large or small area) and then hit backbutton for either 3d or Auto to take over. Right now....I think Fn4 will be the way I change AF modes quickly since I shoot from a monopod most of the time.

Hope this may help someone.

Still refining the process on a phenomenal camera and open to suggestions and insight.

Ricky

 

[AnnetteJane]

Patience, Grasshoppa If you just can't stand it I'll loan you mine for a day or two. I'm already past the initial inquiry and won't do much with it until I have something to shoot. I'd hate for you to drive into a snowbank or something because your mind is in Z9 mode. Speaking of which if you haven't gone out yet be careful driving today. Glaze ice on the roads.

Not going anyplace today, thanks for the tip. No snowbanks and no camera banks. I’m just home doing research. Lol. Should have my camera within next two days. I should have it figured out a bit before spring bird migration. Think I’ve got a plan, go through some of Henry Hudsons standard mode set up for an initial set up guide (so I dont have to read the manual) Henry Hudson is more interesting than the Nikon Manuel although if I wasnt setting up a Z9 I sure wouldn't bother to watch it. I’ll set mine to my use without banks and I will try not using BBF. Writing down bits of advise from everywhere. I’ll calm down after its set up ! Thanks for the offer to use yours but that wouldn't be the same, got to set up my own. At least I know its almost here !

 

[NorthernFocus]

Great post Dan. Our shooting style with DSLR's is very similar except I never use auto iso.

It seems that one of the things that I need to be able to change quickly is Subject Detection...

Never auto ISO for BIF. Static/slow subjects only and then typically only on partly cloudy days when lighting is constantly changing.

Agree the subject detection requires some thought. Haven't shot enough to see how it behaves.

 

[AnnetteJane]

I must have blown past that. I just watched the stuff about AF. Historically "experts" have cautioned against deleting in camera and have said formatting is the way to go to clear cards. Will have to check that out.

I found little things helpful such as setting color space to adobe and why and, setting picture control to flat shows the live view more accurate.( maybe I dont know but thats his take and I’ll check it out) I know I’m going to be playing with the fn buttons and autofocus and all that input is helpful but there is the initial basic set up questions I’m interested in as well. The stuff you set and leave and forget about until you get a new camera. I’ll need to go back over Steve’s set up recommendations for the previous mirrorless cameras to compare but there are more things to set up on the Z9.

 

[NorthernFocus]

I found little things helpful such as setting color space to adobe and why and, setting picture control to flat shows the live view more accurate.( maybe I dont know but thats his take and I’ll check it out) I know I’m going to be playing with the fn buttons and autofocus and all that input is helpful but there is the initial basic set up questions I’m interested in as well. The stuff you set and leave and forget about until you get a new camera.

What camera are you transitioning from?

 

[AnnetteJane]

Never auto ISO for BIF. Static/slow subjects only and then typically only on partly cloudy days when lighting is constantly changing.

Agree the subject detection requires some thought. Haven't shot enough to see how it behaves.

Sounds like a good place to try the subject detection, on the video button. Another interesting option to explore