Z6 continuous extended question

[owenleve]

Is there any downside to using the continuous H (extended) v.s. shooting regular Continuous H? Reading the manual it seems that if you are using any automated modes the exposure could vary. But if shooting 100% manually, not sure there is a downside?

Long time nikon shooter and just got the z6 today.

 

[beatboxa]

Is there any downside to using the continuous H (extended) v.s. shooting regular Continuous H? Reading the manual it seems that if you are using any automated modes the exposure could vary. But if shooting 100% manually, not sure there is a downside?

Long time nikon shooter and just got the z6 today.

Just the viewfinder.

In continuous high*, it shows you a 12fps "slideshow" of every picture it just took;

while on continuous, it shows you the shutter blackout, which is basically the exact opposite (it shows you in-between frames, blacking out during the frames you are taking).

That is the only "downside" I can think of. But frankly at 12fps, it doesn't really have too much impact. (To get 12fps, you have to make sure you're in 12-bit mode rather than 14-bit; if you are in 14-bit, you get 9fps).

 

[owenleve]

Thanks for that explanation. Haven't dug through the manual completely. As a long-time nikon shooter you almost don't need to...

Makes sense especially the 12/14 bit. I'm set to 14 and it didn't seem like 12fps now I know why.

 

[beatboxa]

Thanks for that explanation. Haven't dug through the manual completely. As a long-time nikon shooter you almost don't need to...

Makes sense especially the 12/14 bit. I'm set to 14 and it didn't seem like 12fps now I know why.

 

[Digital Shutterbug]

Thanks for that explanation. Haven't dug through the manual completely. As a long-time nikon shooter you almost don't need to...

I'm not sure I would agree with that. But, as a person obsessed with reading owner's manuals, it may just be me. I do think there are enough differences between DSLRs and mirrorless to make re-learning necessary. You can pick up a Z 6 or Z7 and get good images right away, but it takes time and effort to get the goodies out of them.

Makes sense especially the 12/14 bit. I'm set to 14 and it didn't seem like 12fps now I know why.

 

[ericbowles]

Originally, with Continuous High the Exposure and Focus would continue to change but with high Extended they did not change between frames. So High had some benefits. With firmware 2.0 that limitation was eliminated, so at this point I don't see any reason to use regular High.

 

[NikonGuyCO]

Hate to bring an old thread back from the dead but was wondering if all this still applies to the Zii?

Basically, any reason to use Continuous H over Continuous Extended?

I know with Extended you give very minimal blackout. So why would anyone use Continuous H?

FYI I am shooting 14 bit lossless compressed RAW.

Thanks

 

[beatboxa]

Hate to bring an old thread back from the dead but was wondering if all this still applies to the Zii?

Basically, any reason to use Continuous H over Continuous Extended?

I know with Extended you give very minimal blackout. So why would anyone use Continuous H?

FYI I am shooting 14 bit lossless compressed RAW.

Thanks

Same with the new Z's. Try continuous if you have an erratically moving subject or find it hard to keep the subject in the frame.

In continuous extended, you will be blind to what is happening live (you will only see the previous frame you captured); while in continuous, you will see everything except the split-second while you are capturing the frame.

 

[NikonGuyCO]

Hate to bring an old thread back from the dead but was wondering if all this still applies to the Zii?

Basically, any reason to use Continuous H over Continuous Extended?

I know with Extended you give very minimal blackout. So why would anyone use Continuous H?

FYI I am shooting 14 bit lossless compressed RAW.

Thanks

Same with the new Z's. Try continuous if you have an erratically moving subject or find it hard to keep the subject in the frame.

In continuous extended, you will be blind to what is happening live (you will only see the previous frame you captured); while in continuous, you will see everything except the split-second while you are capturing the frame.

Ahh. Thanks for the clarification.

With High, you get blackout but live feed.

With Extended, low blackout but non-live feed.

 

[ericbowles]

Hate to bring an old thread back from the dead but was wondering if all this still applies to the Zii?

Basically, any reason to use Continuous H over Continuous Extended?

I know with Extended you give very minimal blackout. So why would anyone use Continuous H?

FYI I am shooting 14 bit lossless compressed RAW.

Thanks

Same with the new Z's. Try continuous if you have an erratically moving subject or find it hard to keep the subject in the frame.

In continuous extended, you will be blind to what is happening live (you will only see the previous frame you captured); while in continuous, you will see everything except the split-second while you are capturing the frame.

Ahh. Thanks for the clarification.

With High, you get blackout but live feed.

With Extended, low blackout but non-live feed.

The other advantage of high Extended is the faster frame rate. If rolling shutter is not an issue, and the subject is one you can reasonably follow and track, high extended is still okay.

Just Monday I was photographing egrets and raptors in flight with the Z6 using High Extended. I wanted the faster frame rate and they were easy to follow. If their movement was erratic I would lose the subject due to the brief delay, but it's not a problem most of the time.

My equestrian work also uses High Extended because the position of the subject is predictable, I can pick them up early, and the faster frame rate gives me a high probability of capturing the subject in a perfect position. I'm typically shooting a 3-4 frame burst with a new rider every 1.5 seconds or less for a series of 40-50 riders going over jumps.

 

[1llusive]

Hate to bring an old thread back from the dead but was wondering if all this still applies to the Zii?

Basically, any reason to use Continuous H over Continuous Extended?

I know with Extended you give very minimal blackout. So why would anyone use Continuous H?

FYI I am shooting 14 bit lossless compressed RAW.

Thanks

Same with the new Z's. Try continuous if you have an erratically moving subject or find it hard to keep the subject in the frame.

In continuous extended, you will be blind to what is happening live (you will only see the previous frame you captured); while in continuous, you will see everything except the split-second while you are capturing the frame.

Ahh. Thanks for the clarification.

With High, you get blackout but live feed.

With Extended, low blackout but non-live feed.

The other advantage of high Extended is the faster frame rate. If rolling shutter is not an issue, and the subject is one you can reasonably follow and track, high extended is still okay.

Just Monday I was photographing egrets and raptors in flight with the Z6 using High Extended. I wanted the faster frame rate and they were easy to follow. If their movement was erratic I would lose the subject due to the brief delay, but it's not a problem most of the time.

My equestrian work also uses High Extended because the position of the subject is predictable, I can pick them up early, and the faster frame rate gives me a high probability of capturing the subject in a perfect position. I'm typically shooting a 3-4 frame burst with a new rider every 1.5 seconds or less for a series of 40-50 riders going over jumps.

Madman! Curious, what AF mode for horses?

 

[ericbowles]

Hate to bring an old thread back from the dead but was wondering if all this still applies to the Zii?

Basically, any reason to use Continuous H over Continuous Extended?

I know with Extended you give very minimal blackout. So why would anyone use Continuous H?

FYI I am shooting 14 bit lossless compressed RAW.

Thanks

Same with the new Z's. Try continuous if you have an erratically moving subject or find it hard to keep the subject in the frame.

In continuous extended, you will be blind to what is happening live (you will only see the previous frame you captured); while in continuous, you will see everything except the split-second while you are capturing the frame.

Ahh. Thanks for the clarification.

With High, you get blackout but live feed.

With Extended, low blackout but non-live feed.

The other advantage of high Extended is the faster frame rate. If rolling shutter is not an issue, and the subject is one you can reasonably follow and track, high extended is still okay.

Just Monday I was photographing egrets and raptors in flight with the Z6 using High Extended. I wanted the faster frame rate and they were easy to follow. If their movement was erratic I would lose the subject due to the brief delay, but it's not a problem most of the time.

My equestrian work also uses High Extended because the position of the subject is predictable, I can pick them up early, and the faster frame rate gives me a high probability of capturing the subject in a perfect position. I'm typically shooting a 3-4 frame burst with a new rider every 1.5 seconds or less for a series of 40-50 riders going over jumps.

Madman! Curious, what AF mode for horses?

LOL

Wide small on the Z6.

Group on the D850 and D500 when I used those cameras.

--
Eric Bowles

Eric Bowles / Bowles Images

Eric Bowles is an Atlanta based commercial photographer specializing in the Southeastern United States. His specialty areas include nature, equestrian, events, sports, and bird photography. His work has been published in magazines, newspapers, and commercial publications. He is a regular speaker...

bowlesimages.com

 

[thisisbenji]

I’m curious on if you’ve ever experimented with wide small vs dynamic on the Z6 for shooting horses? I also like to do photos of horses (as I own one and end up spending a good amount of time at the barn) I’ve always used dynamic, but now you have me wondering if wide small would work better?

 

[beatboxa]

I’m curious on if you’ve ever experimented with wide small vs dynamic on the Z6 for shooting horses? I also like to do photos of horses (as I own one and end up spending a good amount of time at the barn) I’ve always used dynamic, but now you have me wondering if wide small would work better?

I don't shoot horses, but Eric's answer is probably the best. See my autofocus overview here for the differences:

• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63341431

The reason wide will generally work better is that the camera will lean toward foreground subjects and doesn't require a precise point.

Dynamic would work ok too, but you'd need to be more careful about where your AF point is when you first start focusing and in keeping that same point within the AF area box. I'd imagine this could be more difficult with the types of movements one would expect on horseback--namely there is both a cyclical vertical movement where the height depends only on distance while the frequency depends on speed; as well as a linear horizontal movement, which changes depending on relative direction of travel as well as distance. This probably too erratic to keep track of while ensuring that it all stays within the box (while risking blocked shot response to being too long to refresh focus if the horse is moving toward you at all).

To simplify all that, use wide area. Let the camera do the thinking. It will basically say: "within this box, what's the best thing to focus on?" And most of the time, it will be the rider and/or horse.

 

[thisisbenji]

Great explanation! Much better than how the user manual explains it. I’ll go ahead and give it a try. Thank you.

 

[ericbowles]

I’m curious on if you’ve ever experimented with wide small vs dynamic on the Z6 for shooting horses? I also like to do photos of horses (as I own one and end up spending a good amount of time at the barn) I’ve always used dynamic, but now you have me wondering if wide small would work better?

I don't shoot horses, but Eric's answer is probably the best. See my autofocus overview here for the differences:

• https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63341431

The reason wide will generally work better is that the camera will lean toward foreground subjects and doesn't require a precise point.

Dynamic would work ok too, but you'd need to be more careful about where your AF point is when you first start focusing and in keeping that same point within the AF area box. I'd imagine this could be more difficult with the types of movements one would expect on horseback--namely there is both a cyclical vertical movement where the height depends only on distance while the frequency depends on speed; as well as a linear horizontal movement, which changes depending on relative direction of travel as well as distance. This probably too erratic to keep track of while ensuring that it all stays within the box (while risking blocked shot response to being too long to refresh focus if the horse is moving toward you at all).

To simplify all that, use wide area. Let the camera do the thinking. It will basically say: "within this box, what's the best thing to focus on?" And most of the time, it will be the rider and/or horse.

That's exactly right. The Wide modes eliminate my most common miss - picking up the background instead of the subject. The Wide modes - and Group mode on the D500 and D850 - incorporate nearest subject priority. As long as there is no obstruction, I can focus on the knee of the rider or the shoulder of the horse and everything is in focus.

That's the main reason I use Wide modes - it eliminates the most common miss.

I used Dynamic with the D800E and D810. It was my preferred choice with those cameras. But Dynamic with the D500 and later cameras requires maintaining the AF sensor on the subject precisely, and my misses typically picked up the background. So using Wide / Group mode eliminated my most common miss.

I tested Face Detect a few weeks ago and found it was accurate, but would not work for my needs. The face was in focus, but the horse's head was too far out of focus. The rider's knee or horse's shoulder is a more reliable AF target. If I was trying to capture a tight shot of the rider's face and not including the horse, I probably could use Face Detect. Something for another day.