Nikon needs to fix the photo shooting banks and custom setting banks.

Having just transitioned to Z8 from D600, Z50 and Z6, the banks system is bewildering to me. I understand the flexibility and the customization it offers, but it seems to come at the cost of inefficiency and needless complexity. The inability to lock the setting seems incomprehensible to me.

I apologies if this have been discussed, but there is a simple solution for Nikon to fix the Bank system.

1. Shooting Bank A should be left alone to act like the general setting (PASM) mode and does not not need to have a "lock" option.

2. Shooting Banks B, C and D need a "lock" option so that after you leave the Bank, when you come back in it, you go back to the locked settings.

3. In addition, you should have another locking options in Shooting Banks B, C and D to synchronize with the corresponding Custom Setting Bank B, C and D.

These simple "locking options" will allow it to behave much like the U1, U2 and U3 which is familiar to us coming up from prosumer cameras.

4. Lastingly, they should create Banks F (U1) and G (U2), which copies the whatever setting you are currently working in and locks the Shooting and Custom Menus without having to go into the menu to set it up.

JoeGuide said:

Having just transitioned to Z8 from D600, Z50 and Z6, the banks system is bewildering to me. I understand the flexibility and the customization it offers, but it seems to come at the cost of inefficiency and needless complexity. The inability to lock the setting seems incomprehensible to me.

I apologies if this have been discussed, but there is a simple solution for Nikon to fix the Bank system.

1. Shooting Bank A should be left alone to act like the general setting (PASM) mode and does not not need to have a "lock" option.

2. Shooting Banks B, C and D need a "lock" option so that after you leave the Bank, when you come back in it, you go back to the locked settings.

3. In addition, you should have another locking options in Shooting Banks B, C and D to synchronize with the corresponding Custom Setting Bank B, C and D.

These simple "locking options" will allow it to behave much like the U1, U2 and U3 which is familiar to us coming up from prosumer cameras.

4. Lastingly, they should create Banks F (U1) and G (U2), which copies the whatever setting you are currently working in and locks the Shooting and Custom Menus without having to go into the menu to set it up.

Click to expand...

It has been discussed many times. I also wish they had a locking option, I personally wouldn't use it, but it would be there for those who think differently. Restore takes a second though if it helps you for now.

On thing I realised recently, At a recent Roadshow Nikon went all in on how similar there menus have stayed over the years and the provision of banks on Z9 Z8 was as a result of the feedback they got from pros following U1 U2 on the first Z models. So it's unlikely the general system is going to change.

Vince P said:

JoeGuide said:

Having just transitioned to Z8 from D600, Z50 and Z6, the banks system is bewildering to me. I understand the flexibility and the customization it offers, but it seems to come at the cost of inefficiency and needless complexity. The inability to lock the setting seems incomprehensible to me.

I apologies if this have been discussed, but there is a simple solution for Nikon to fix the Bank system.

1. Shooting Bank A should be left alone to act like the general setting (PASM) mode and does not not need to have a "lock" option.

2. Shooting Banks B, C and D need a "lock" option so that after you leave the Bank, when you come back in it, you go back to the locked settings.

3. In addition, you should have another locking options in Shooting Banks B, C and D to synchronize with the corresponding Custom Setting Bank B, C and D.

These simple "locking options" will allow it to behave much like the U1, U2 and U3 which is familiar to us coming up from prosumer cameras.

4. Lastingly, they should create Banks F (U1) and G (U2), which copies the whatever setting you are currently working in and locks the Shooting and Custom Menus without having to go into the menu to set it up.

Click to expand...

It has been discussed many times. I also wish they had a locking option, I personally wouldn't use it, but it would be there for those who think differently. Restore takes a second though if it helps you for now.

On thing I realised recently, At a recent Roadshow Nikon went all in on how similar there menus have stayed over the years and the provision of banks on Z9 Z8 was as a result of the feedback they got from pros following U1 U2 on the first Z models. So it's unlikely the general system is going to change.

Click to expand...

I don't think they need to change the Bank system, but a lock is so simple and useful. Otherwise, the Shooting Bank is nothing other than 4 separate PASM labeled A, B, C and D.

Yes a recurring subject. At least two threads in this Z Mirrorless forum with the past 2 months:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4760700

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4766527

Photographers needs and preferences differ, so the more custom options Nikon provide the better to choose how to configure these modern cameras for Stills as well as Video. Ideally at the generic level eg U1, U2... And Shooting Banks

Many of us appear to find that the latest iMenu design works well, as in the ability to have different custom iMenu setups using banks in the D6 and Z9

JoeGuide said:

Vince P said:

JoeGuide said:

Having just transitioned to Z8 from D600, Z50 and Z6, the banks system is bewildering to me. I understand the flexibility and the customization it offers, but it seems to come at the cost of inefficiency and needless complexity. The inability to lock the setting seems incomprehensible to me.

I apologies if this have been discussed, but there is a simple solution for Nikon to fix the Bank system.

1. Shooting Bank A should be left alone to act like the general setting (PASM) mode and does not not need to have a "lock" option.

2. Shooting Banks B, C and D need a "lock" option so that after you leave the Bank, when you come back in it, you go back to the locked settings.

3. In addition, you should have another locking options in Shooting Banks B, C and D to synchronize with the corresponding Custom Setting Bank B, C and D.

These simple "locking options" will allow it to behave much like the U1, U2 and U3 which is familiar to us coming up from prosumer cameras.

4. Lastingly, they should create Banks F (U1) and G (U2), which copies the whatever setting you are currently working in and locks the Shooting and Custom Menus without having to go into the menu to set it up.

Click to expand...

It has been discussed many times. I also wish they had a locking option, I personally wouldn't use it, but it would be there for those who think differently. Restore takes a second though if it helps you for now.

On thing I realised recently, At a recent Roadshow Nikon went all in on how similar there menus have stayed over the years and the provision of banks on Z9 Z8 was as a result of the feedback they got from pros following U1 U2 on the first Z models. So it's unlikely the general system is going to change.

Click to expand...

I don't think they need to change the Bank system, but a lock is so simple and useful. Otherwise, the Shooting Bank is nothing other than 4 separate PASM labeled A, B, C and D.

Click to expand...

In theory it's 16 but yes and that's kind of the idea and the strength, for me. I can reset once I am done and know exactly what I have, but any changes I make during a shoot stay until I decide to revert.

Things that would make this better and not need to impact those who like things the way they are.

• The option to "Lock" for those who want it.
• More banks but have them created not permanent.
• Linking banks
• Configuration saved to camera or card.
• Multiple saved setups that can be named (Although there is obviously a workround for this)
• Bonus points for a way to copy common settings between different models of camera.

Vince P said:

JoeGuide said:

Vince P said:

JoeGuide said:

Having just transitioned to Z8 from D600, Z50 and Z6, the banks system is bewildering to me. I understand the flexibility and the customization it offers, but it seems to come at the cost of inefficiency and needless complexity. The inability to lock the setting seems incomprehensible to me.

I apologies if this have been discussed, but there is a simple solution for Nikon to fix the Bank system.

1. Shooting Bank A should be left alone to act like the general setting (PASM) mode and does not not need to have a "lock" option.

2. Shooting Banks B, C and D need a "lock" option so that after you leave the Bank, when you come back in it, you go back to the locked settings.

3. In addition, you should have another locking options in Shooting Banks B, C and D to synchronize with the corresponding Custom Setting Bank B, C and D.

These simple "locking options" will allow it to behave much like the U1, U2 and U3 which is familiar to us coming up from prosumer cameras.

4. Lastingly, they should create Banks F (U1) and G (U2), which copies the whatever setting you are currently working in and locks the Shooting and Custom Menus without having to go into the menu to set it up.

Click to expand...

It has been discussed many times. I also wish they had a locking option, I personally wouldn't use it, but it would be there for those who think differently. Restore takes a second though if it helps you for now.

On thing I realised recently, At a recent Roadshow Nikon went all in on how similar there menus have stayed over the years and the provision of banks on Z9 Z8 was as a result of the feedback they got from pros following U1 U2 on the first Z models. So it's unlikely the general system is going to change.

Click to expand...

I don't think they need to change the Bank system, but a lock is so simple and useful. Otherwise, the Shooting Bank is nothing other than 4 separate PASM labeled A, B, C and D.

Click to expand...

In theory it's 16 but yes and that's kind of the idea and the strength, for me. I can reset once I am done and know exactly what I have, but any changes I make during a shoot stay until I decide to revert.

Things that would make this better and not need to impact those who like things the way they are.

• The option to "Lock" for those who want it.
• More banks but have them created not permanent.
• Linking banks
• Configuration saved to camera or card.
• Multiple saved setups that can be named (Although there is obviously a workround for this)
• Bonus points for a way to copy common settings between different models of camera.

Click to expand...

Exactly. The camera should have the flexibility to change during a shoot and left that way or go back to the original locked setting as a default (hybrid of both Banks and User Setting). More banks, linking banks (shoot and custom menu), easy configuration save options across the whole Z system line.

I've used bith systems. I find the U system useless for my purposes. From the D750, Z6 and now Z6III I've always just kept in M and used the i-menu to make changes. With the Z8 & Z9 I prefer the banks system. Especially because settings don't get locked. I've been using the Z6III mostly for video and I, for example, would have U1 set to 4K 24, and U2 as 4K 60. (For wedding work switching between the need for slow mo and "real-time"). In either mode I may set an AF mode or WB to a particular value for the circumstance I'm in that differs from how I programmed it. I'll switch to another U mode, need to change those settings again, and back to the first. The settings in the first U mode are now back to my default settings and not to how I left them and habe to make changes again. Which negates any speed advantages of use User system in the first place.

The banks system, on the other hand, keeps my base settings intact and remembers how I left the camera and any changes I made. That's become my prefered way of doing things.

m_black said:

I've used bith systems. I find the U system useless for my purposes. From the D750, Z6 and now Z6III I've always just kept in M and used the i-menu to make changes. With the Z8 & Z9 I prefer the banks system. Especially because settings don't get locked. I've been using the Z6III mostly for video and I, for example, would have U1 set to 4K 24, and U2 as 4K 60. (For wedding work switching between the need for slow mo and "real-time"). In either mode I may set an AF mode or WB to a particular value for the circumstance I'm in that differs from how I programmed it. I'll switch to another U mode, need to change those settings again, and back to the first. The settings in the first U mode are now back to my default settings and not to how I left them and habe to make changes again. Which negates any speed advantages of use User system in the first place.

The banks system, on the other hand, keeps my base settings intact and remembers how I left the camera and any changes I made. That's become my prefered way of doing things.

Click to expand...

I can understand that in your case, U1 system does not work well. I think there are instances where banks would work well for me.

But there are many times, I am in a set environment that I know well, where my default settings are optimized to it. I may rarely adjust my setting on the spot due to wildly changing circumstances, but then I need my original settings quickly without hesitation or uncertainty to carry the day. U1 does that for me.

Regardless, the system should be able accommodate both our needs especially if all it takes is a couple of simple "lock" options.

The shooting banks in Nikon’s higher end DSLRs and now the Z8/9 have been largely unchanged since at least the D3, which was introduced in 2007.

But I do like being able to turn off the camera to change the lens knowing that when I switch it back on it carries on as it was and not gone back to the original bank settings.

Vince P said:

In theory it's 16 but yes and that's kind of the idea and the strength, for me. I can reset once I am done and know exactly what I have, but any changes I make during a shoot stay until I decide to revert.

Click to expand...

If I understand you, the problem is that there is not really (what I would call) a reset or revert option. Well, there is, but it means reloading your settings from a card. Do I understand that correctly?

It's better than nothing I suppose. And maybe the only easy solution. Everything else I've read over the years will have its drawbacks from one group of users or another.

Here are some simple workarounds.

1. Setup your PASM and recall settings to handle the majority of what you shoot. With a good default setup and Recall Settings you should be able to shoot just about everything. Save the banks for work (tripod/astro/etc.) that doesn't need quick changes.

2. Give up A and copy B/C/D to A when you want to use them. This way you have the best of both worlds. We really just need Nikon to sync them as an option!

3. Use the restore all camera settings for each shoot, or to revert to your favorite settings. You can even keep a different card (or swap them) to gain a whole set of settings and banks. Kind of expensive if you need more than that... LOL

I'd give up banks, modes, and the "i" menu for 12 recall settings with nice icons or text lables. Also suggested by Hudson Henry when he got the Z9 (and sort of in his original Z6 rant) btw.

michaeladawson said:

Vince P said:

In theory it's 16 but yes and that's kind of the idea and the strength, for me. I can reset once I am done and know exactly what I have, but any changes I make during a shoot stay until I decide to revert.

Click to expand...

If I understand you, the problem is that there is not really (what I would call) a reset or revert option. Well, there is, but it means reloading your settings from a card. Do I understand that correctly?

It's better than nothing I suppose. And maybe the only easy solution. Everything else I've read over the years will have its drawbacks from one group of users or another.

Click to expand...

Yes, reloading setting from a card is an option but not a great solution. Furthermore the loaded setting should be built into the memory of the camera, not a card. In the age of software upgrades, a lock option should be simple and adding addition more banks and linking banks is not asking too much.

I get that old pro's like what they had, and I am not taking anything away from them. There should be more flexibility so there is no drawback from one group to another.

IU does not have to stay the same forever. We can have added layers of UI sometimes for efficiency, speed or use of use . If we can move forward from MSDOS prompt command, Nikon can do this.

michaeladawson said:

Vince P said:

In theory it's 16 but yes and that's kind of the idea and the strength, for me. I can reset once I am done and know exactly what I have, but any changes I make during a shoot stay until I decide to revert.

Click to expand...

If I understand you, the problem is that there is not really (what I would call) a reset or revert option. Well, there is, but it means reloading your settings from a card. Do I understand that correctly?

It's better than nothing I suppose. And maybe the only easy solution. Everything else I've read over the years will have its drawbacks from one group of users or another.

Click to expand...

Yes reloading from the card, it takes a second.

JoeGuide said:

Yes, reloading setting from a card is an option but not a great solution. Furthermore the loaded setting should be built into the memory of the camera, not a card. In the age of software upgrades, a lock option should be simple and adding addition more banks and linking banks is not asking too much.

I get that old pro's like what they had, and I am not taking anything away from them. There should be more flexibility so there is no drawback from one group to another.

IU does not have to stay the same forever. We can have added layers of UI sometimes for efficiency, speed or use of use . If we can move forward from MSDOS prompt command, Nikon can do this.

Click to expand...

I don't necessarily disagree with you. Adding a lock option would be simple. But frankly, while it seems like it would be the solution for you it would not be a very good solution for many others. I don't think it's a matter of "old pros like what they had".

There should be a lock option to protect your banks when you really do want them locked. But locking them prevents you from changing them. If you're in the middle of a shoot and want to change something you can't. You have to unlock the bank first. Now you can change things but what happens if you flip the camera off.

So now you'll say to have the modified settings survive a camera power cycle. One could also automatically load the chosen bank setting into a live bank (call it Bank 0) that the camera uses. So changes to settings while shooting get made to the live Bank 0 and not the saved bank. But now what happens if you switch from Bank A to Bank B? And then back to Bank A?

Trust me, I don't disagree with you. I hate the Nikon bank system. And for all the reasons people raise I have never used then in 20 years of using Nikon digital cameras. As far as the two bank styles go, even though I don't use them, I prefer the U1, U2 system as opposed to the Bank A, Bank B system. But I understand that there are pros and cons to each.

A lock setting should be easy to implement (it seems) and it would make some people happy. So I would agree with those that say just do it. I just don't see it as a solution that would solve the issue.

Respectfully, what you've suggested is a kludge. It's not the foundation for a long-term solution to the need for efficiently storing and recalling multiple complex camera configurations.

The banks system doesn't need fixing because it's not broken. It works as designed and does have a good range of capabilities. The issues that need to be addressed are that the banks system is not user-intuitive and is far too limited in what can be stored & recalled.

One of the things I like about the banks and would not want to lose is the ability of the system to remember current settings. When doing wildlife photography using Shooting and Custom Settings banks A, I often have opportunities to photograph birds. If I could switch with the push of a button to my bird configuration to take advantage of those situations, and then switch back (again, with the push of a button) to my wildlife configuration, I would not want to return to a default collection of settings that have not been adjusted for the subject and conditions in that moment. The user system limits a photographer to loading default settings that, while close, will not be perfectly matched to the needs of the moment. The banks system at least allows you to switch from one bank to another and then return to the original bank with settings having already been adjusted for current conditions.

During my career in broadcast television and video production, one of the most user-intuitive systems I had the pleasure of working with were NewTek Tricaster production systems. The user interface is very familiar and quick to learn for folks who are comfortable using the keyboard/mouse interface of a personal computer, especially if you have a solid background in Windows-based systems.

One of the tools I came to appreciate was the "snapshot" button click. This would store a complex effect setup to a virtual button. The effect could be accessed and activated with a mouse click or a custom keyboard key combo.

To be clear, I'm not advocating Nikon start packaging their cameras with keyboards and mice. However, we should be able to take a snapshot of - store - a complex camera configuration with a relatively simple button press. It should perhaps not be too easy to take and store a snapshot. You don't want to accidentally override the current setup. But a combination of two buttons being pressed simultaneously or a voice command to, "take snapshot," should trigger the camera to store a complex configuration.

It seems to me photographers should have the option of making a snapshot that either restores the exposure and autofocus settings stored at the time the snapshot was taken or restores the settings that were active when the snapshot was last used. This would give people the option to return to a default configuration or to a configuration that has been tuned to the current subject and conditions.

This kind of interface requires the camera to behave more like a computer. I would assume additional onboard storage would be needed. If there's a limit on the number of snapshots that can be stored in-camera, Nikon should develop a seamless, user-intuitive means of saving snapshots to and recalling them from smartphone. They've already made good progress in this area.

I think it's important for Nikon to give thought to the accessibility of their products. Not enough thought is given to how cameras can be made more accessible to photographers with physical disability or limitations. All manufacturers should be researching and actively testing user experiences and interfaces that don't require a photographer to be holding and controlling a camera with their hands. There has been progress in this area, as well, but there is still work to be done.

Back to the main topic of discussion, the last thing I want to see Nikon do is refresh or repackage the banks system in a new interface. I think they need to start from scratch and design a new way of storing and recalling complex camera configuration. While the banks and user systems currently offer a level of functionality that should be preserved, neither is an effective model for what a new system could do or how that system could be managed. A new more user-intuitive, efficient, and capable system is needed.

m_black said:

The banks system, on the other hand, keeps my base settings intact and remembers how I left the camera and any changes I made. That's become my prefered way of doing things.

Click to expand...

Keeps base settings intact? How so? The only way I see that base settings are kept intact is that you can save your bank settings off to a card and reload them later. That's not my idea of keeping settings intact. But maybe I'm not aware of how they work these days.

Vince P said:

JoeGuide said:

Having just transitioned to Z8 from D600, Z50 and Z6, the banks system is bewildering to me. I understand the flexibility and the customization it offers, but it seems to come at the cost of inefficiency and needless complexity. The inability to lock the setting seems incomprehensible to me.

I apologies if this have been discussed, but there is a simple solution for Nikon to fix the Bank system.

1. Shooting Bank A should be left alone to act like the general setting (PASM) mode and does not not need to have a "lock" option.

2. Shooting Banks B, C and D need a "lock" option so that after you leave the Bank, when you come back in it, you go back to the locked settings.

3. In addition, you should have another locking options in Shooting Banks B, C and D to synchronize with the corresponding Custom Setting Bank B, C and D.

These simple "locking options" will allow it to behave much like the U1, U2 and U3 which is familiar to us coming up from prosumer cameras.

4. Lastingly, they should create Banks F (U1) and G (U2), which copies the whatever setting you are currently working in and locks the Shooting and Custom Menus without having to go into the menu to set it up.

Click to expand...

It has been discussed many times. I also wish they had a locking option, I personally wouldn't use it, but it would be there for those who think differently. Restore takes a second though if it helps you for now.

On thing I realised recently, At a recent Roadshow Nikon went all in on how similar there menus have stayed over the years and the provision of banks on Z9 Z8 was as a result of the feedback they got from pros following U1 U2 on the first Z models. So it's unlikely the general system is going to change.

Click to expand...

The pros are z8 customers but with the aggressive z8 pricing, I think there are many more upgraders to z8 from the enthusiast models or people who have switched from Sony or canon who prefer the u1 u2 system.
the menu bank system is so bad I think Nikon needs to have a lock function which will make everyone happy. Don’t give us rarely used function like pixel shift…. I mean how much time was spent on pixel shift port to z8 and how many people actually use that??? I bet 60% of z8 users will use the locking function in banks

michaeladawson said:

JoeGuide said:

Yes, reloading setting from a card is an option but not a great solution. Furthermore the loaded setting should be built into the memory of the camera, not a card. In the age of software upgrades, a lock option should be simple and adding addition more banks and linking banks is not asking too much.

I get that old pro's like what they had, and I am not taking anything away from them. There should be more flexibility so there is no drawback from one group to another.

IU does not have to stay the same forever. We can have added layers of UI sometimes for efficiency, speed or use of use . If we can move forward from MSDOS prompt command, Nikon can do this.

Click to expand...

I don't necessarily disagree with you. Adding a lock option would be simple. But frankly, while it seems like it would be the solution for you it would not be a very good solution for many others. I don't think it's a matter of "old pros like what they had".

There should be a lock option to protect your banks when you really do want them locked. But locking them prevents you from changing them. If you're in the middle of a shoot and want to change something you can't. You have to unlock the bank first. Now you can change things but what happens if you flip the camera off.

Click to expand...

??? Just don’t ever lock the banks in the first place and you end up with current banks solution. I really don’t see why have a lock function will not be a good solution for EVERYONE.

michaeladawson said:

So now you'll say to have the modified settings survive a camera power cycle. One could also automatically load the chosen bank setting into a live bank (call it Bank 0) that the camera uses. So changes to settings while shooting get made to the live Bank 0 and not the saved bank. But now what happens if you switch from Bank A to Bank B? And then back to Bank A?

Trust me, I don't disagree with you. I hate the Nikon bank system. And for all the reasons people raise I have never used then in 20 years of using Nikon digital cameras. As far as the two bank styles go, even though I don't use them, I prefer the U1, U2 system as opposed to the Bank A, Bank B system. But I understand that there are pros and cons to each.

A lock setting should be easy to implement (it seems) and it would make some people happy. So I would agree with those that say just do it. I just don't see it as a solution that would solve the issue

Click to expand...

? Maybe not your issue but it will solve my issue and many others as well considering how often this thread pops up and with no downsides as in it does not make it worse for anyone. Will it be the ideal system, of course not, but seriously will there ever be an ideal system? I just want my u1 and u2

Nikon's Photo and Custom banks are a regular forum topic.... They wait improvements by Nikon, and are Marmite like/hate feature(s) that some of us leverage as they greatly simplify switching entire suites of camera settings eg Events to Landscapes.

They are far superior to the U1, U2 settings IME and compared to older DSLRs. Like the D6, the banks are quick to switch on the Z9 using the iMenu