Nikon Z6II / 70-200mm2.8FL / DJI RS2 ...

Hi Guys / Gals,

Open questions, back story, and banter ...

I have been shooting some videos of bands in bars and outdoor venues and various places.  Usually with the Z6II on a monopod and 24-70f4z then FTZ-ing a 24-120mmF4AFS which works fine.  I'll get a Z 24-120f4s when they get more available.

I have done manual focusing with the 80-200mm2.8AF-D and wanted an autofocus 70-200 2.8FL-E.

To get above the crowd I hoist it up on the monopod and deal with the jiggles when zooming or re-acquiring focus.

I like the adapted 70-200 2.8FL.

New Year, new stuff ... I spoke w a rep at Adorama about what I want to do and  camera support gimbal-wise.  He recommended a DJI RS2.  I got an open box RS2 pro combo off their site.

I am able to balance and am getting the hang of the joystick control.  Up/down is reverse from RC aircraft control joysticks I am used to.

In the usual set up, manual autofocus override would go with the index finger control wheel.  And it works great with Z and FZT AFS lenses.

I like to be able to zoom in and out depending who's expressing ... guitarist, drummer, bass riff, etc.  So I have set the index finger wheel / external focus motor to work the Zoom ring.  I've ordered longer 11mm tubing to have a little more to strap a piece of velcro around to the "dummy" ring of the 70-200FL to maintain some tension on the temp gear strip.

I'm liking how it works, even without the RavenEye phone / Z6II interface.

Now the newbie questions...

Anyone using the RS2 similarly and thoughts?

If I have the gimbal's focus wheel set to do zooming, what's a good way to re-acquire focus with the Z6II while shooting and the camera up overhead?  I can (camera)  active track and tap on a target but so far I have to half press the shutter button to get focus if it loses it.

I have not assigned another button for focus but I'm thinking of trying to assign the gimbal's trigger to autofocus.   Any ideas?

Thanks a lot!!

Happy New, uh, Certified Pre-Owned, Year!