Thanks!

Thank you

Nice & Detailed, we need Recall Shooting Functions -1 & Recall Shooting Functions -2 & Recall Shooting Functions -3 like Sony ! I used this since the 1st A9 (2017) this is much better than Nikon's SHOOT ABCD & CUSTOM ABCD if you know what I mean... I normally shoot with Full Manual and use Recall Shooting Functions to quickly change to Aperture Priority & Auto ISO on my Z8...

I've noticed that for me, bird detection on the Z8 works better for animals, e.g. deer or squirrels. Instead of auto, I use birds. Give it a try and see what you think. I'd love to know what you think. Thanks again for the video.

Thank you for the video and the shout out. This is exactly what I've always wanted in the Z8. I'm going to setup my Z8 the same as yours. I'm excited about this as well.

Nice 👍🏻

Great video great tips also

This is a masterclass. Thank you for sharing!

Just came across and subscribed to your channel. Looks like you have a lot of great information. I will have to start working my way through your videos. Thanks!

Awesome pic's, thanks for video!

Hi Stu - I really really like what you've done with your Bank A and Bank B videos. Not only are they detailed and descriptive, but you also show us live example of what a given feature really means and why you've elected to do things a certain way. Of all the "Z8 settings" video out there (you know who they are), it's yours that I like most. Your premise is based on a) simplification and b) proven to work in the field (again, the live examples really brought everything home for me). Fn-2 alternating between 3D and Auto-Area AF (Bank A) or 3D and Wide-Area AF C1/C2 (Bank B) is brilliant. In the case of Bank B, it also allows you to do Hybrid and "hand over" focus from Wide-Area to 3D - keep your thumb on AF-ON, tap Fn2, you've now handed over the focal point and your bird is free to move all it wants; just keep your thumb on AF-ON. The camera loses it, Fn-2 again, square over the head of your bird, tap Fn-2, boom.. hand-over again. Love it. The only difference I have applied is Fn1. You've elected to use Recall to flip AF to single point. This way, you still use AF-ON to focus. Under heavy foliage, this is a brilliant thing to have. And when you're done getting your focal plane in the right place, Fn1 again, and you're back in 3D/Auto-Area (Bank A) or 3D/Wide (Bank B). It works. I tried it. I like it. Problem is that I use Recall as a toggle to turn detection on or off which I've assigned to the joystick. And given there's only one Recall per Bank, I settled on AF-Single Point+AF-ON for Fn-1. It does mean that i need to keep pressing Fn-1 to focus, but the use case I use this for is basically to bring the focal plane where it needs to be and not necessarily to use it as a AF. It can of course, and there are times when I've done this. But most of the time, Fn-1 is "get the focal point on the bird again". And once I've achieved it, let go. I'm back into Stu's Bank A or Bank B combos. Again, this allows me to use Recall to turn Subject Detection on/off when the camera is utterly confused (it doesn't happen that often, but when it does, AF becomes useless pretty quickly). I really like what you've done with your channel. Keep the "Better Bird Photographer" videos coming. The one where you were capturing mallards on tripod vs lying on your belly was SO TELLING. 2 feet of elevation difference and the image goes from "very good to... having an emotional connection with the subject". That's the diff between the amateur getting into bird photography that I am vs the Pro that has done this for many years that you are. KZbin is a lot of work. And a lot of money. I'll keep coming and do wish that others will do just like I did. Wish you and this channel the very best. Stephane Gatineau, QC

Thank you so much for this -- you made it very easy to make a purchasing decision!

Hi Stu. Another very helpful video. I'm going through all your video. You said at the beginning of the video you were shooting on Vancouve Island. I was there a year ago, shooting in and around the Port Renfrew area. What a beautiful place!

Loved the video, Stu. I've been almost exclusively a landscape and macro shooter. But last spring I started to get interested in wildlife photography. I've been shooting with a Z8 and just picked up the Z180-600. Your video was incredibly helpful explaining how you set up and use you focus modes. I'll take you suggestions and get out and start practicing. Thanks again!

What tripod head are you using? It doesn’t look like a ball or gimbal head. Great video!

All Pros here in Africa shoot Manual only occassionally go Auto ISO.. Nikon shooter for 53 yrs

I've always shot in manual mode and wondered why others shot wildlife using Aperture priority mode. I now understand after you explained it.

On the Z8, is there a way to save frames per second between banks? It's always frustrating for me to switch between banks and find out that my FPS got carried over from my previous shooting scenario. Great video.

What lens are you shooting with?

Danke für die herrlichen Aufnahmen.

Were you set on aeroplane mode ? Or was I mistaken

I have never see a bird perched like 3.36min would have been a nice photo.

Great explanation of all the metering modes! Love the "what can go wrong" scenarios.

Another great video, Stu. Thank you for putting up some really great informational content!

For me, highlight-weighted metering is the best metering mode for wildlife photography. In this mode I have all the time the highlights protected, and yes, the photos are mostly underexposed, like you showed. But I don't care because the noise will not increase in shadows after the post processing. The new Nikon cameras have iso invariant. Which means you will have the same level of noise like you take the photo perfect exposed into the shadows. The beauty of this is you can recover more stops in shadows than in highlights.

Molto interessante ….complimenti …ciao

I appreciate the review- thanks! Could you give some thoughts about using the CC with a backpack? Does the backpack chest strap interfere? Are you carrying your tripod on a backpack? I’d be interested in hearing about your full hiking set-up.

Great lecture Thanks

Just amazing. Thanks a lot.

Great video!

Happy New Year Stu

Which lens are you using?

Subscribed. These are the type of videos I want to assess any camera rather than testing them. In some boring backyard whee Bird is just a touching distance from you. Swallows are the best to push the cameras to its limit. Keep such works up!!

Thank you, all the best.

Really helpful videos, i am following these now with all my bodies. This works only with afs lenses with manual override, right?

Very good video Stu, this is pretty much the way that I have my Z9 and Z6ii set up. I have been using back button focusing since my days with and Nikon D7200 and would never go back. The images that you show in your videos are excellent, thanks for sharing and a Very Happy New Year and great shooting in 2025 from a fellow Vancouver Island photographer!!

Thanks very much Stu, this is so useful and very well explained.

As a new Z8 user, this is EXTREMELY helpful and I may have to watch it a few times to make sure I get the right settings. I shoot exactly what you do so your banks fit my needs perfectly. Thank you!

Thank you for this video and great info. As a new Z8 user and a lover of owl photography, this has been very helpful!

I JUST got my new Z8 graduating from a Nikon D850 so am anxious to learn from the pros. Wonderful video and plan to watch all your others now that I've prescribed! Thank you!

Great work Sir, thanks for posting. I live to the north of you and a big problem in my neighbourhood is an infestation of cats. The Sparrows have taken a beating, it's terrible.

This is probably a huge deal for my work (photogrammetry), but I'm yet to test it.

Very nicely done. Liked the copy then the change speed of clips. Always a treat to see different ways to achieve the same goals.

That's an awesome elevator...

Thanks Stu! You’ve inspired me to get into a great backlog of videos I have.

Thanks!

One follow-up on using Davinci Resolve to stabilize your slow motion videos. What are your preferred settings or does it vary? Davinci Resolve Inspector tab has 3 stabilization modes, camera lock and zoom checkboxes, and 3 sliders. I've been playing around with slowing down 4K 120fps footage with various options. Sometimes one mode looks better than another. Thanks again. I've watched this video 3 times. LOL.

Great video. One question. Is it possible to assign a F-button to change FPS-mode or to change from A to B-shooting bank?

Thank you again for the clear explanation. I now need to dig into Davinci and frame rates to ensure to get the best quality and the w180 angle like 1/160 a 30 fps. Last but not least, your footage is inspiring !

So timely for me as I’m trying video on my Z8 and 180-600mm and slowing down in davinci resolve. Just started photography back in April and your videos have been incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!