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Nikon, give us this AF option

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PHXAZCRAIG

PHXAZCRAIG

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I've got a Z9 and am working through the various AF settings learning what to use when.

It strikes me that most of the frustrations I, and others, have had with ML cameras in general is a tendency to lock focus on background subjects instead of what's closer.

I suggest it would be nice to have a sub-option for each AF mode - closest focus subject priority. That is, if an AF option doesn't already do closest-subject priority, give us the option to turn that on, like we can dial in Animal subject detection or turn it off.

Best of both worlds sort of thing.
 
PHXAZCRAIG said:
I've got a Z9 and am working through the various AF settings learning what to use when.

It strikes me that most of the frustrations I, and others, have had with ML cameras in general is a tendency to lock focus on background subjects instead of what's closer.
Click to expand...
Don't think that is specific to mirrorless. I have had similar issues with the D5, D500 and other DSLRs. It is quite apparent that for some birds in flight, if the bird is farther away so that it is small in the overall frame, and when there are trees in the background so that it is easy for AF to lock onto the background patterns, that can happen.

If anything, the Z9 seems to do better with eye AF to avoid such problems.
PHXAZCRAIG said:
I suggest it would be nice to have a sub-option for each AF mode - closest focus subject priority. That is, if an AF option doesn't already do closest-subject priority, give us the option to turn that on, like we can dial in Animal subject detection or turn it off.

Best of both worlds sort of thing.
Click to expand...
 
I have more of the OPPOSITE issue. If you read through the AF options most of them on my Z7II have too much closest subject baked in. If you're shooting full area people in groups it will pickup portraits on the wall, my kid's dolls in their bedrooms, and not the subjects towards center. Wide (L people) is the work around.

Switching between subjects with eyes that don't always detect is frustrating too. I wish the II's had face only detection. I mostly use F4S glass so I generally don't need that level of focus. (Looking back at my D500/Dxxx history I wish I hadn't shot wide open f2.8 with primes as much as I did. That slight back/front focusing removed the pop from many of the images. I didn't really appreciate/need/desire that pop until I went to mirrorless.)

For animals and sports I'd like to see a feature that prevents hunting to the limits and sticks to the initial subject area. There's no sense in bouncing off the limits, and maybe a range of 20-40' DOF. I noticed this using a few lenses with focusing limits on them.
 
"For animals and sports I'd like to see a feature that prevents hunting to the limits and sticks to the initial subject area."



Could be used efficiently:

Slider set to memory recall

Beep slider set to on.

Find suitable subject.

Focus with the camera focus button

Press memory set button on lense and hear the beep

When using the camera afterwards, when pressing on one of the front focus buttons on the lens, you will hear a beep, and understand that focus now is back to the memoried distance.

Let's say you have your operating focus level 10 meters away, you will immediately bring back the focus level to that distance by pressing the lense focus button(s) and confirmed by the beep.

From then you will normally very fast find focus for your subject.

9ac37f7fa00c4a449f8a501571d6eed3.jpg
 
Last edited:
PHXAZCRAIG said:
I've got a Z9 and am working through the various AF settings learning what to use when.

It strikes me that most of the frustrations I, and others, have had with ML cameras in general is a tendency to lock focus on background subjects instead of what's closer.

I suggest it would be nice to have a sub-option for each AF mode - closest focus subject priority. That is, if an AF option doesn't already do closest-subject priority, give us the option to turn that on, like we can dial in Animal subject detection or turn it off.

Best of both worlds sort of thing.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what AF mode(s) in particular you are referring to in your statement about the Z9 preferring backgrounds. The Z9 definitely does prioritize closer subjects in many, if not most of its AF modes. However, this behavior does vary between AF modes, so you do have some flexibility with this aspect when selecting the best AF mode to use for your current situation. For instance, Dynamic-area AF does not perform closest priority calculations, while all (4) of the Wide-area AF modes do prioritize the closest subject. Also, we have the ability to move the selected focus point around between subject areas that the camera has selected, so you can adjust accordingly.

Many of the current AF modes are an outgrowth from the DSLR cameras, so they have been well tested, and improved upon in the Z-series cameras. There is certainly functionality already built in, with regard to closest subject prioritization. I guess there is always the possibility of augmenting the current algorithms to add more options, but I think it is already very powerful and flexible as currently implemented.
 
kk123 said:
"For animals and sports I'd like to see a feature that prevents hunting to the limits and sticks to the initial subject area."

Could be used efficiently:

Slider set to memory recall

Beep slider set to on.

Find suitable subject.

Focus with the camera focus button

Press memory set button on lense and hear the beep

When using the camera afterwards, when pressing on one of the front focus buttons on the lens, you will hear a beep, and understand that focus now is back to the memoried distance.

Let's say you have your operating focus level 10 meters away, you will immediately bring back the focus level to that distance by pressing the lense focus button(s) and confirmed by the beep.

From then you will normally very fast find focus for your subject.

9ac37f7fa00c4a449f8a501571d6eed3.jpg
Click to expand...
I tried this focus recall and and ended up going with AF-area mode + AF-ON with Single Point so I didn’t need two buttons - one to save and one to recall. It allows one to bring the subject into immediate focus with a press and hold. I am intending to try this with a L-FN button as well.

--
Thanks for your help, Michael
 
I'd like to see all Z camera's made much simpler.

There are just far too many options and settings to master.

To the result that unless you have the mental brainpower of a genius you are going to miss the shot.
 
I'd like to see them to give us the option to set Animal AF to "Birds".

There are times when I put the Z9 in situations where finding the bird is "challenging". Dim... low contrast... confusing background, etc and no matter how fast the Expeed 7 processor is, I'd like it to stick to "Birds" and not be looking for dogs, cats, horses or bison.

Sony, Cannon and OM Solutions all give "Bird" a separate category.

I think Nikon should keep Animal as it is for those who regularly photograph a variety of subjects, but for us bird photographers, I'd like to lock the AF search to birds only.
 
Nikon’s AF problem is that it doesn’t work as they say it does. They say it prioritizes closest subjects in certain AF areas when it clearly does not. Stick a box on the eye of a deer or squirrel and if there is a nice stick 20 yards behind the animal that happens into the box a wee bit then the camera grabs focus on the stick behind the animal. Follow ducks from the sky to the tree line and the AF goes to the trees 50 + yards behind the ducks. It doesn’t matter what AF mode the camera is in, the camera prioritizes brighter objects generally, objects with more contrast. And the eyes, fur, and feathers of most animals and fowl are dark and/or meant to blend in.



If the camera truly focused on the closest subject in certain AF modes by utilizing some range finding tech, AF would generally improve but then we’d have issues of the AF locking onto wings, noses, beaks, shoulders, tips of hats, and other stuff closer than the eyes. So for me, fast and accurate eye AF across wild animals and birds would be the best solution.



All I know is that AF is better now than it used to be, generally speaking across equivalent models. I do have faith that Nikon’s AF will continue to improve across all models. No doubt they are working on providing better AF as we type and read responses about it.
 
Maybe that Bison setting will be in the next software update. Can't wait!!
 
Digmen1 said:
I'd like to see all Z camera's made much simpler.

There are just far too many options and settings to master.

To the result that unless you have the mental brainpower of a genius you are going to miss the shot.
Click to expand...
SOLVED: They just need the OPTION to changed the "i" menu to 12 user modes with icons (use the one's from scene/effects in consumer cameras) or text, and ALL settings saved to them. DONE! ;)
 
Hifromhere said:
I'd like to see them to give us the option to set Animal AF to "Birds".

There are times when I put the Z9 in situations where finding the bird is "challenging". Dim... low contrast... confusing background, etc and no matter how fast the Expeed 7 processor is, I'd like it to stick to "Birds" and not be looking for dogs, cats, horses or bison.

Sony, Cannon and OM Solutions all give "Bird" a separate category.

I think Nikon should keep Animal as it is for those who regularly photograph a variety of subjects, but for us bird photographers, I'd like to lock the AF search to birds only.
Click to expand...
bison-3514-big-crop-ron-dudley.jpg
 
SteveoM said:
Hifromhere said:
I'd like to see them to give us the option to set Animal AF to "Birds".

There are times when I put the Z9 in situations where finding the bird is "challenging". Dim... low contrast... confusing background, etc and no matter how fast the Expeed 7 processor is, I'd like it to stick to "Birds" and not be looking for dogs, cats, horses or bison.

Sony, Cannon and OM Solutions all give "Bird" a separate category.

I think Nikon should keep Animal as it is for those who regularly photograph a variety of subjects, but for us bird photographers, I'd like to lock the AF search to birds only.
Click to expand...
bison-3514-big-crop-ron-dudley.jpg
Click to expand...
Birds and Bison in one shot:-) Very nice photo!!
 
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