Auto focus

[mysteryman44]

Hello Camera world. Well I put my Nikon z 6 2 to the test, First time shooting fast moving aircraft. This was the Blue Angel show. I was using the 24 120mm f4 s lens. I just had some trouble getting the red box to turn green (auto focus ) I got lucky on a few shots. What I should of done is set the shutter to continuous shooting instead of single. I wish Nikon would of had this to be more easier. As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better. I guess all brands of good cameras has some flaws.Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[J2daV]

What autofocus mode were you using?

I would probably use afc with dynamic area. I use back button focus. I would try to track a plane and shoot when in focus and tracking it.

 

[PLShutterbug]

Hello Camera world. Well I put my Nikon z 6 2 to the test, First time shooting fast moving aircraft. This was the Blue Angel show. I was using the 24 120mm f4 s lens. I just had some trouble getting the red box to turn green (auto focus ) I got lucky on a few shots. What I should of done is set the shutter to continuous shooting instead of single. I wish Nikon would of had this to be more easier. As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better. I guess all brands of good cameras has some flaws.Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

You probably have the Focus Mode set to AF-S (single). In that mode the camera only focuses once when you half-press the shutter button, and if it finds focus then the focus rectangle turns green. That mode works best for subjects that are not moving.

If you are shooting moving subjects, set the focus mode to AF-C. In that mode, half-pressing the shutter button causes the camera to continuously (hence the “C”) focus. Since the camera is continuously seeking focus, it doesn’t turn the rectangle green in this mode - otherwise you would see it change rapidly between green and red as it found focus, lost it briefly, found it again, etc.

What AF Area Mode are you using? That also affects ease of focusing.

Regarding continuous vs. single frame mode, it’s easy. The bottom-right button with the four folders changes shutter mode. Press it, then rotate the main command dial to choose the desired mode, then start shooting. you don’t need to “exit” this menu - once you reach the desired mode it’s set. I really don’t know how it could be faster than that. (If you want to change the frame rate in a C mode, just rotate the sub-command dial.)

 

[Hojomo]

Hello Camera world. Well I put my Nikon z 6 2 to the test, First time shooting fast moving aircraft. This was the Blue Angel show. I was using the 24 120mm f4 s lens. I just had some trouble getting the red box to turn green (auto focus ) I got lucky on a few shots. What I should of done is set the shutter to continuous shooting instead of single. I wish Nikon would of had this to be more easier. As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better. I guess all brands of good cameras has some flaws.Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Please take the time to learn how to use your camera (could start with youtube videos on Z6II AF-C settings). It's your fault, not Nikon's in this case. It's pretty clear from how you are described things that you aren't aware of the basic techniques of photography much less action (jets no less) sorry.

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better.

Without sample images it is not possible to be sure - but - I could not play a good tune on a $100,000 piano.

It does help to learn how to get the best out of a camera - which is part a computer - a bit like learning how to create a computer based spreadsheet.

 

[ghostfox_1]

Hello Camera world. Well I put my Nikon z 6 2 to the test, First time shooting fast moving aircraft. This was the Blue Angel show. I was using the 24 120mm f4 s lens. I just had some trouble getting the red box to turn green (auto focus ) I got lucky on a few shots. What I should of done is set the shutter to continuous shooting instead of single. I wish Nikon would of had this to be more easier. As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better. I guess all brands of good cameras has some flaws.Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Please take the time to learn how to use your camera (could start with youtube videos on Z6II AF-C settings). It's your fault, not Nikon's in this case. It's pretty clear from how you are described things that you aren't aware of the basic techniques of photography much less action (jets no less) sorry.

Yep. Release instead of focus for capturing images using af-c and not af-s, continuous high for how many shots per second, and auto area/dynamic wide/small would have worked fine.

To op, don't blame the tools when you're not using them correctly.

 

[J2daV]

I suggest watching the Nikon z autofocus YouTube video by ricci. It’s really helpful. Others have suggested it here and it’s worth watching. It’s a little over an hour and explains what the different modes do and why things go wrong.

 

[olyflyer]

Hello Camera world. Well I put my Nikon z 6 2 to the test, First time shooting fast moving aircraft. This was the Blue Angel show. I was using the 24 120mm f4 s lens. I just had some trouble getting the red box to turn green (auto focus ) I got lucky on a few shots. What I should of done is set the shutter to continuous shooting instead of single. I wish Nikon would of had this to be more easier. As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better. I guess all brands of good cameras has some flaws.Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have no problems shooting fast planes using 70-300 and the camera in single frame AF mode with the Z7. I guess you need to practice more and I also think you need a longer lens. 24-120 is for people and trips, cities and landscapes, not for air shows.

 

[mysteryman44]

Yes that makes sense. I don't think I was in dynamic mode as well. Thank you for the reply

 

[mysteryman44]

Yes I will do that. Thank you for the reply

 

[mysteryman44]

Yes you are right. I took this lens for travel, but did not know there was an air show. Sometimes you don't want to carry a lot of weight around. I did get some good shots at times. Other times kinda struggled. Thank you for the reply

 

[mysteryman44]

Well a lot of posts on what I have read people are disappointed taking BIT. My dsl camera, I have no trouble taking BIT photos.

 

[briantilley]

Well a lot of posts on what I have read people are disappointed taking BIT. My dsl camera, I have no trouble taking BIT photos.

BIT...?? "Bird in Tree"...? ;-)

 

[mysteryman44]

Suppose to had read BIF. Birds in flight

 

[Terrible Photographer]

Hello Camera world. Well I put my Nikon z 6 2 to the test, First time shooting fast moving aircraft. This was the Blue Angel show. I was using the 24 120mm f4 s lens. I just had some trouble getting the red box to turn green (auto focus ) I got lucky on a few shots. What I should of done is set the shutter to continuous shooting instead of single. I wish Nikon would of had this to be more easier. As much as these machines cost you would assume they would focus a little better. I guess all brands of good cameras has some flaws.Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

This is all pilot error. Pun intended.

The shutter being continuous doesn't have anything to your AF modes. And it's all there, the AF isn't missing when it comes to airplanes a half mile away.

There isn't a modern camera that's awful at focusing outside of Hasselblads.

 

[sirhawkeye64]

Yes that makes sense. I don't think I was in dynamic mode as well. Thank you for the reply

One thing to note in AFC if you do / were using it, it doesn't turn green when focus is locked. So you unfortunately don't get the focus lock confirmation like you do with AF-S.

 

[Karl Huber]

Yes I will do that. Thank you for the reply

 

[mysteryman44]

Ok, I will keep that in mind. Thank you for the reply.