Nikon Z5/Z6II/Z7II Bug

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

I think that AF-S mode makes it too easily possible for you to lose focus when recomposing because you can easily move closer or farther. The single focusing event gives you no chance to recover should you do so.

I’ve assigned Subject Tracking to Fn1, and I use AF-C in the broadest pattern. One press of Fn1 gives me a white square at frame center. I then place the scene’s item of interest under that square.

Pressing and holding AF-On (or in your case, a half press of the shutter button) selects that object and follows it anywhere in the frame while I recompose, and the Continuous focusing does it’s job. You should have much better luck with that method

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

Click to expand...

AF-ON is much faster than physically moving the focus point

mais51 said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

Click to expand...

AF-ON is much faster than physically moving the focus point

Click to expand...

The method I described is a more agile way to get the focus point right where I want in the frame vs any DSLR I’ve used actually.

--
Wag more; bark less.

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

Apparently it's not just when you do focus and recompose but rather just burst shooting and BBF it seems. I just tried without doing focus and recompose (kept my focus point on the same subject, same framing, and distance) and just fired off 3 bursts of about 5 frames each. Between the second and third burst, the camera refocused for no reason, even though I kept my finger on the AF-ON button (disabled the Shutter button for AF). This is clearly a bug telling the Z II's to refocus or it forgets that it has acquired focus. But again, I went two bursts (about 1 second in between each) where it didn't try to refocus, but it did after the second burst....

I did verify yes it does not seem to be a problem with the original Z bodies.

However I wonder if it has something to do with the dual processors maybe???

sirhawkeye64 said:

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

Click to expand...

'cos some people, like me, are old, I mean as in really old. I hate fiddling with focus points. To me the biggest failing of the Zs are the inability to lock the focus point in the centre. As proper cameras used to. That way I'd always know where it is. Then it's beautifully simple; point at subject for focus, lock, recompose. I waste more time finding where the focus point has drifted off to than anything else. But then, as I said, I'm old, I mean really old.

Lance B said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

Click to expand...

Even with disabling the shutter button focus, it does seem to refocus even if you don't move. I did 3 sucessive bursts and it refocused after the 2nd burst, but not between the first two. This didn't even involve any focusing and recomposing, so it might be a bug honestly... I would think if you held down the BBF button and are using AF-S (so, not continous AF) it should stay locked, UNLESS the camera resets the focus confirmation after the shutter button is clicked.

(I guess for me I put the camera on a tripod, so there was no change in scene, distance or focus point location, and it did refocus even though nothing changed (and I kept my finger firmly on the AF-ON/BBF button the whole time.)

--
(If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread, so please PM me if you have a question.)

NCB said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

Click to expand...

'cos some people, like me, are old, I mean as in really old. I hate fiddling with focus points. To me the biggest failing of the Zs are the inability to lock the focus point in the centre. As proper cameras used to. That way I'd always know where it is. Then it's beautifully simple; point at subject for focus, lock, recompose. I waste more time finding where the focus point has drifted off to than anything else. But then, as I said, I'm old, I mean really old.

Click to expand...

Well OK you can't lock it ,but you can reprogram the OK or focus stick to reset the point to the center .... Yes it would be nice if you could set it to lock the focus point (even in the menu). Maybe Nikon can introduce this in a firmware update. My only guess is that people would accidentally hit the focus point lock lever on the DSLRs and then in the heat of battle, not know why they can't move their focus point, so they left it "unlocked".

--
(If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread, so please PM me if you have a question.)

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

Click to expand...

Even with disabling the shutter button focus, it does seem to refocus even if you don't move. I did 3 sucessive bursts and it refocused after the 2nd burst, but not between the first two. This didn't even involve any focusing and recomposing, so it might be a bug honestly... I would think if you held down the BBF button and are using AF-S (so, not continous AF) it should stay locked, UNLESS the camera resets the focus confirmation after the shutter button is clicked.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the Back Button focus whilst doing a burst mode, then wouldn't it be logical that the camera thnks you want to keep refocusing between shots? The whole idea of Back Button focusing is to take your finger off once focus is acquired and for it to not refocus when you press the Shutter Button.

However, having said that, I just retried my Z7II and in AF-S and continuous high fps it does not refocus even when I have my finger on the AF Back Button Focus the whole time whilst panning the camera. In AF-C it does refocus, which seem logical. So, I do n ot see what I am doing differently that mine works correctly and yours or the OP's doesn't. It works exactly how I believe it should.

--
Lance B
https://www.flickr.com/photos/35949907@N02/?
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b

Lance B said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

Click to expand...

Even with disabling the shutter button focus, it does seem to refocus even if you don't move. I did 3 sucessive bursts and it refocused after the 2nd burst, but not between the first two. This didn't even involve any focusing and recomposing, so it might be a bug honestly... I would think if you held down the BBF button and are using AF-S (so, not continous AF) it should stay locked, UNLESS the camera resets the focus confirmation after the shutter button is clicked.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the Back Button focus whilst doing a burst mode, then wouldn't it be logical that the camera thnks you want to keep refocusing between shots? The whole idea of Back Button focusing is to take your finger off once focus is acquired and for it to not refocus when you press the Shutter Button.

However, having said that, I just retried my Z7II and in AF-S and continuous high fps it does not refocus even when I have my finger on the AF Back Button Focus the whole time whilst panning the camera. In AF-C it does refocus, which seem logical. So, I do n ot see what I am doing differently that mine works correctly and yours or the OP's doesn't. It works exactly how I believe it should.

Click to expand...

In AF-C I can understand, because the camera is continoually refocusing (that's the point of AF-C obviously) but you would think with AF-S if you kept your finger on the BBF button between bursts, the camera wouldn't refocus.

If in fact this isn't a bug, then it's likely because the camera resets the focus confirmation as I mentioned, but that doesn't explain why I went 2 out of 3 bursts without the camera refocusing in AF-S mode, meanwhile having BBF engaged the whole time.

The camera also didn't refocus during the burst themselves, but after I stopped for a second, and then started the next burst, meanwhile keeping my finger pressed on the AF-ON / BBF button.

--
(If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread, so please PM me if you have a question.)

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

Click to expand...

Even with disabling the shutter button focus, it does seem to refocus even if you don't move. I did 3 sucessive bursts and it refocused after the 2nd burst, but not between the first two. This didn't even involve any focusing and recomposing, so it might be a bug honestly... I would think if you held down the BBF button and are using AF-S (so, not continous AF) it should stay locked, UNLESS the camera resets the focus confirmation after the shutter button is clicked.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the Back Button focus whilst doing a burst mode, then wouldn't it be logical that the camera thnks you want to keep refocusing between shots? The whole idea of Back Button focusing is to take your finger off once focus is acquired and for it to not refocus when you press the Shutter Button.

However, having said that, I just retried my Z7II and in AF-S and continuous high fps it does not refocus even when I have my finger on the AF Back Button Focus the whole time whilst panning the camera. In AF-C it does refocus, which seem logical. So, I do n ot see what I am doing differently that mine works correctly and yours or the OP's doesn't. It works exactly how I believe it should.

Click to expand...

In AF-C I can understand, because the camera is continoually refocusing (that's the point of AF-C obviously) but you would think with AF-S if you kept your finger on the BBF button between bursts, the camera wouldn't refocus.

If in fact this isn't a bug, then it's likely because the camera resets the focus confirmation as I mentioned, but that doesn't explain why I went 2 out of 3 bursts without the camera refocusing in AF-S mode, meanwhile having BBF engaged the whole time.

Click to expand...

OK, I now see what is happening. In AF-S my camera does not refocus whilst in burst mode even when I keep my thumb on the Back Button Focus (AF-On) and pan across a scene whilst I keep my finger on the Shutter Button - this was what I thought the OP was referring to. However, if I remove my finger from the Shutter Button and then press the Shutter Button again after a second or so whilst panning, the camera does refocus. However, I actually do not think this is necessarily an issue or incorrect, as the whole idea is to remove your thumb from the Back Button Focus once focus is acquired and then you recompose for one shot - that is the meaning of AF-S - single shot. I mean, that is the purpose of Back Button focusing, to remove your thumb from it once focus is required and then you press the shutter. I guess the camera is programmed to think that once you press the shutter once then it resets the focus as it thinks you wanting to change focus after that single shot. Remember, it is in AF-S which is Single shot, Single focus. I think this may just be a pedantic way they have set it up but the simple solution is exaclty why you use the Back Button Focus - focus using the AF-On button and then take your finger off of it and it will work correctly.

I don't think it is necessarily wrong, but it could be construed as incorrect way of operation by some. To me it seems ok that way it is and works within the realms of what I consider as correct operation. If I am focusing recomposing, I just take my finger off the AF-On button once I have acquired focus and then only repress the AF-On button when I want to refocus on something else. It does seem logical to me. In other words, calling it a bug is not necessarily correct, rather than a different way to interpret how a thing should be implemented. Maybe they could issue a menu item so as to have the ability to have it either way?

--
Lance B
https://www.flickr.com/photos/35949907@N02/?
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b

Lance B said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

Click to expand...

Even with disabling the shutter button focus, it does seem to refocus even if you don't move. I did 3 sucessive bursts and it refocused after the 2nd burst, but not between the first two. This didn't even involve any focusing and recomposing, so it might be a bug honestly... I would think if you held down the BBF button and are using AF-S (so, not continous AF) it should stay locked, UNLESS the camera resets the focus confirmation after the shutter button is clicked.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the Back Button focus whilst doing a burst mode, then wouldn't it be logical that the camera thnks you want to keep refocusing between shots? The whole idea of Back Button focusing is to take your finger off once focus is acquired and for it to not refocus when you press the Shutter Button.

However, having said that, I just retried my Z7II and in AF-S and continuous high fps it does not refocus even when I have my finger on the AF Back Button Focus the whole time whilst panning the camera. In AF-C it does refocus, which seem logical. So, I do n ot see what I am doing differently that mine works correctly and yours or the OP's doesn't. It works exactly how I believe it should.

Click to expand...

In AF-C I can understand, because the camera is continoually refocusing (that's the point of AF-C obviously) but you would think with AF-S if you kept your finger on the BBF button between bursts, the camera wouldn't refocus.

If in fact this isn't a bug, then it's likely because the camera resets the focus confirmation as I mentioned, but that doesn't explain why I went 2 out of 3 bursts without the camera refocusing in AF-S mode, meanwhile having BBF engaged the whole time.

Click to expand...

OK, I now see what is happening. In AF-S my camera does not refocus whilst in burst mode even when I keep my thumb on the Back Button Focus (AF-On) and pan across a scene whilst I keep my finger on the Shutter Button - this was what I thought the OP was referring to. However, if I remove my finger from the Shutter Button and then press the Shutter Button again after a second or so whilst panning, the camera does refocus. However, I actually do not think this is necessarily an issue or incorrect, as the whole idea is to remove your thumb from the Back Button Focus once focus is acquired and then you recompose for one shot - that is the meaning of AF-S - single shot. I mean, that is the purpose of Back Button focusing, to remove your thumb from it once focus is required and then you press the shutter. I guess the camera is programmed to think that once you press the shutter once then it resets the focus as it thinks you wanting to change focus after that single shot. Remember, it is in AF-S which is Single shot, Single focus. I think this may just be a pedantic way they have set it up but the simple solution is exaclty why you use the Back Button Focus - focus using the AF-On button and then take your finger off of it and it will work correctly.

I don't think it is necessarily wrong, but it could be construed as incorrect way of operation by some. To me it seems ok that way it is and works within the realms of what I consider as correct operation. If I am focusing recomposing, I just take my finger off the AF-On button once I have acquired focus and then only repress the AF-On button when I want to refocus on something else. It does seem logical to me.

Click to expand...

Well, mine wasn't quite like that but I got it to do the same behavior without focus and recompose so I'm thinking the focus/recompose thing may not matter, but rather between shots or bursts its "resets" itself and rechecks/adjusts focus. Because it did it to me even staying focused on the same thing.

I personally don't see it as being wrong (although I personally also don't use BBF or focus and recompose) but for someone shooting wildlife with AF-S and BBF it may be an issue especially if they are tracking the subject (although part of me would say use AF-C in that case anyway).

sirhawkeye64 said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

Click to expand...

May be so but you must tell the camera were to focus - because it is a 3-D image we are shooting - not a brick wall - there are background, foreground, middle ground etc that as a photographer we must decide.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Lance B said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

I have just tried it and it doesn't happen with my camera. I assume I have it set the same way as you. Back button focus with shutter AF disabled - AF-S, High fps in drive mode (release mode) - Out of Focus Release enabled.

You must disable the Shutter Button focus, otherwise logic would say that it will focus once you press the shutter button because the camera thinks that the current focus point is where you want to focus even if you focused with the Back Button Focus. So, once you press the shutter after Back Button focusing, then it will obviously refocus once you press the shutter as the camera refocuses using the Shutter Button. That is just logical. You must disable the Shutter Focus if you want pure Back Button Focus and be able to recompose.

My D850 and D500 work the same way, it is not a fault.

Click to expand...

Even with disabling the shutter button focus, it does seem to refocus even if you don't move. I did 3 sucessive bursts and it refocused after the 2nd burst, but not between the first two. This didn't even involve any focusing and recomposing, so it might be a bug honestly... I would think if you held down the BBF button and are using AF-S (so, not continous AF) it should stay locked, UNLESS the camera resets the focus confirmation after the shutter button is clicked.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the Back Button focus whilst doing a burst mode, then wouldn't it be logical that the camera thnks you want to keep refocusing between shots? The whole idea of Back Button focusing is to take your finger off once focus is acquired and for it to not refocus when you press the Shutter Button.

However, having said that, I just retried my Z7II and in AF-S and continuous high fps it does not refocus even when I have my finger on the AF Back Button Focus the whole time whilst panning the camera. In AF-C it does refocus, which seem logical. So, I do n ot see what I am doing differently that mine works correctly and yours or the OP's doesn't. It works exactly how I believe it should.

Click to expand...

In AF-C I can understand, because the camera is continoually refocusing (that's the point of AF-C obviously) but you would think with AF-S if you kept your finger on the BBF button between bursts, the camera wouldn't refocus.

If in fact this isn't a bug, then it's likely because the camera resets the focus confirmation as I mentioned, but that doesn't explain why I went 2 out of 3 bursts without the camera refocusing in AF-S mode, meanwhile having BBF engaged the whole time.

Click to expand...

OK, I now see what is happening. In AF-S my camera does not refocus whilst in burst mode even when I keep my thumb on the Back Button Focus (AF-On) and pan across a scene whilst I keep my finger on the Shutter Button - this was what I thought the OP was referring to. However, if I remove my finger from the Shutter Button and then press the Shutter Button again after a second or so whilst panning, the camera does refocus. However, I actually do not think this is necessarily an issue or incorrect, as the whole idea is to remove your thumb from the Back Button Focus once focus is acquired and then you recompose for one shot - that is the meaning of AF-S - single shot. I mean, that is the purpose of Back Button focusing, to remove your thumb from it once focus is required and then you press the shutter. I guess the camera is programmed to think that once you press the shutter once then it resets the focus as it thinks you wanting to change focus after that single shot. Remember, it is in AF-S which is Single shot, Single focus. I think this may just be a pedantic way they have set it up but the simple solution is exaclty why you use the Back Button Focus - focus using the AF-On button and then take your finger off of it and it will work correctly.

I don't think it is necessarily wrong, but it could be construed as incorrect way of operation by some. To me it seems ok that way it is and works within the realms of what I consider as correct operation. If I am focusing recomposing, I just take my finger off the AF-On button once I have acquired focus and then only repress the AF-On button when I want to refocus on something else. It does seem logical to me.

Click to expand...

Well, mine wasn't quite like that but I got it to do the same behavior without focus and recompose so I'm thinking the focus/recompose thing may not matter, but rather between shots or bursts its "resets" itself and rechecks/adjusts focus. Because it did it to me even staying focused on the same thing.

I personally don't see it as being wrong (although I personally also don't use BBF or focus and recompose) but for someone shooting wildlife with AF-S and BBF it may be an issue especially if they are tracking the subject (although part of me would say use AF-C in that case anyway).

Click to expand...

I just tried my D850 and it behaves exactly the same way as my Z7II. If I focus on a subject and press the AF-On button, then move the camers to something else with my thumb still on the AF-On button and then press the Shutter again, the camera will refocus. So, it is a deliberate feature that Nikon thinks is the way it should work, not a bug.

Lance B said:

I just tried my D850 and it behaves exactly the same way as my Z7II. If I focus on a subject and press the AF-On button, then move the camers to something else with my thumb still on the AF-On button and then press the Shutter again, the camera will refocus. So, it is a deliberate feature that Nikon thinks is the way it should work, not a bug.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the AF-ON the camera will continuously refocus - the idea is acquire focus once recompose then shoot.

Remember also most cameras can not refocus between shots in a burst mode - only a very few high end professional grade cameras such as D5, D6 have that ability.

mais51 said:

Lance B said:

I just tried my D850 and it behaves exactly the same way as my Z7II. If I focus on a subject and press the AF-On button, then move the camers to something else with my thumb still on the AF-On button and then press the Shutter again, the camera will refocus. So, it is a deliberate feature that Nikon thinks is the way it should work, not a bug.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the AF-ON the camera will continuously refocus - the idea is acquire focus once recompose then shoot.

Remember also most cameras can not refocus between shots in a burst mode - only a very few high end professional grade cameras such as D5, D6 have that ability.

Click to expand...

I am not sure what you are trying to convey here, are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me? I don't find it to be a bug and think it is just the way Nikon has chosen to interpret a way of doing things. I have been using it their way in my Nikon DSLR's and now tih Nikon ML. It works the way I expect it to and I have no issue with it.

mais51 said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

fluffycat said:

Hi guys.

Just like to give a little heads up on a recent bug that I had discovered on the above 3 bodies.

When using the old school focus and recompose method, these 3 cameras do not hold focus after the shots are taken.

This happens when focus mode is AF-S, and drive mode is any of the continuous shooting modes (L, H, H+).

If you focus and recompose with the above settings, after the shot is taken, even if you continue to half press the shutter button, or keep the AF-On button depressed, the camera will refocus at the current selected focus point.

This does not happen when the drive mode is single frame, and neither does it happen to Z50, Z6, Z7, Zfc.

I had brought the issue up to Nikon earlier today and they said that they will look into it, so the current remedy for people who focus and recompose are to either

1: set drive mode to single frame

2: set AF to AF-on button only (disable half press shutter button AF), and set out of focus release to enabled. This way once focus is acquired through the back af button release the thumb and recompose

Hope this info would be helpful to anyone wondering why a series of stationary shots have slight focus shifts.

Click to expand...

Nothing against the OP or anyone in particular, but I don't understand why people do focus and recompose on the Z cameras (as they have 90% coverage of the frame in terms of AF). I'm sure it's old habit from DSLR days but I've sort of broken myself of that habit early on and usually (99% of the time) just move the focus point.

Click to expand...

May be so but you must tell the camera were to focus - because it is a 3-D image we are shooting - not a brick wall - there are background, foreground, middle ground etc that as a photographer we must decide.

Click to expand...

NO I know that, but still you can select still focus by moving the focus point though. It's more the method of focus and recompose, but as some have mentioned, it may be faster for some people. But again, I've sort of stopped doing it and probably for a good reason as I can ensure that the focus is where I want it (and the camera doesn't refocus accidentally while recomposing). But I guess to each his own.

But aside from technique (or preferred technique) having 90%-ish frame coverage for focusing points was one of the big selling points of ML and that people no longer had to rely on the focus-and-recompose approach, regardless of what they were shooting (flat subjects or scenes with depth in them).

--
(If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread, so please PM me if you have a question.)

Lance B said:

mais51 said:

Lance B said:

I just tried my D850 and it behaves exactly the same way as my Z7II. If I focus on a subject and press the AF-On button, then move the camers to something else with my thumb still on the AF-On button and then press the Shutter again, the camera will refocus. So, it is a deliberate feature that Nikon thinks is the way it should work, not a bug.

Click to expand...

If you keep your finger on the AF-ON the camera will continuously refocus - the idea is acquire focus once recompose then shoot.

Remember also most cameras can not refocus between shots in a burst mode - only a very few high end professional grade cameras such as D5, D6 have that ability.

Click to expand...

I am not sure what you are trying to convey here, are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me? I don't find it to be a bug and think it is just the way Nikon has chosen to interpret a way of doing things. I have been using it their way in my Nikon DSLR's and now tih Nikon ML. It works the way I expect it to and I have no issue with it.

Click to expand...

Lance - I agree with you

Been shooting Nikon DSLR since the D70