Bird Eye AF Nikon z8 Firmware 2.0 Part 2 at the Beach

This is Part 2 looking at the Bird Eye AF in firmware 2.0 on the Nikon Z8. In this video I will take a look at the new Bird Eye Auto Focus and how i have simplified my settings for success. This update has made a great camera even better, with a bunch of changes, with the Bird Eye AF being the most anticipated. I go through how I have implemented the new changes into my Shooting Bank A settings when out in the field chasing birds.at the beach This video focuses (no pun intended) on how the settings perform at the beach/ocean for inflight birds with distant backgrounds, You will get some great insight into setting this camera up for increased success in your bird photography.
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[@GILLES9913]

Hi, thank you. Just got a Z8 found it so hard to set up but it is all getting clear now with your video. I come from D500 and was using af-s quite a bit Of course I will have to look over theses videos a few times before my brain get use to the Z8 Thank you again great video

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Gilles, yeah a lot of time was spent both in the field and on the couch menu diving. It is most definitely not a camera you just grab and go and expect the most of it. I also came from the D500 which is an amazing camera but when you realize the Z8 manual is twice the size it gives you idea of the learning curve

[@weddingbells100]

An Excellent Video very informative, and easy to follow many thanks.

[@raincoastphoto]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@palomero60]

Great video! Thanks for your updates and easy to understand explanations.

[@raincoastphoto]

Thank you, glad it was helpful, Cheers

[@v4l4r_m0rghul15]

Never had so much respect for a video! This is incredible :) Thank you.

[@raincoastphoto]

Wow high praise, thank you very much, a ton of effort goes into a video like this so this comment is really appreciated, Cheers

[@seanbowen4429]

Thank you for the great video! Excellent mix of technical and practical to create a more complete understanding of the focusing modes and capabilities. Looking forward to more videos. Cheers!

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Sean, really appreciate the comment.

[@jamesfowler1444]

Really appreciate the simplification and the practical applications.

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks James

[@ecobooster8298]

Incredibly awesome! Thank you!

[@raincoastphoto]

You're very welcome!

[@sunking9050]

Great video. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise with the Z8. I’ll be getting my hands on one very soon and will defo be using your video as a reference to get my settings humming for my usage case

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks, you will really enjoy the camera they are amazing, definitely a steep learning curve though so hopefully these videos help you out. Cheers

[@patrickmolloy6994]

Interesting video. I set focus custom c2 to very small ,,, it mimics pinpoint but allows tracking. I get why you don't feel it's necessory, but the custom c1/c2 offers an alternative to those who want pinpoint with tracking. Enjoyed your video. I now have the z180-600. It would be great to see THIS video using that lens! All the best

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Patrick, that's a great idea, I will incorporate that setting into my Shooting Bank B settings for setups, I could see it being really useful for that style of shooting. Cheers

[@jesusamas3202]

Tienes razón amigo , esto es un gran avance.

[@raincoastphoto]

At first I thought they may have made it too easy, but now I see the photo opportunities it has opened.

[@daveconlin669]

Well done, this has got me going back to my custom settings to try something along the lines you have landed on. Unfortunately winter is still dragging on here on the prairies so opportunities to try out different settings for birds are limited, you have given me some good ideas to start with when spring arrives so thanks. Subscribed.

[@raincoastphoto]

Yeah winter on the prairies doesn't really go well with camera testing lol. Hopefully spring arrives soon for you, thanks for the sub.

[@lesgarner7098]

Excellent, thank you.

[@raincoastphoto]

Your weclome, cheers

[@martinsarre]

Great photos, looking forward to seeing what you capture in the coming months.

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Martin, hopefully it' s a birdie season, been a weird few years

[@fazlisubhan2041]

It's great ur another video posted and want more to see z8 with 200-500mm. ❤❤

[@raincoastphoto]

Cheers

[@RadekNovotny-po7wd]

super nastavení,taky mi to tak funguje👍👍👍

[@Ian1957a]

Great video, learnt a lot and makes good sense, thanks

[@raincoastphoto]

Glad it was helpful!

[@laurentandre6139]

Thank you for sharing your setup for thoses realife usecases !

[@raincoastphoto]

Your welcome Cheers

[@leehutchinson1989]

Great video, always nice to get the point of view of someone who uses the camera in a similar way to many of us. Showing what can be achieved even when you don't have a 600mm f4 to rely on, like many of your peers 😉. Although I'm sure none of us would turn one down 😄

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Lee, as amazing as a 600 f/4 is. it's way to heavy for my liking. There is a reason you most often see them roadside in the National Parks. That new 600 6.3 on the other hand is definitely on my short list of lenses I want.

[@michaelfaughn478]

Thanks for the help

[@raincoastphoto]

Your welcome, Cheers

[@andrewterrell6801]

Looking forward to getting Cycle AF-area mode on my Z9.

[@raincoastphoto]

I didn't realize it wasn't part of the firmware 4.0 for you. I wonder what other things Nikon will add to the Z9 with the next update then

[@kaawe100]

Me too and I have the Z8 and love it, and look forward to getting it on my Z9 as well.

[@tonyh4266]

Hello, great insight into focusing Z8 & Z9. Just one point! Have you considered the C1 setting to smallest square. This appears to be the same as single point, but shows detect box at the same time. I’ve been using this on my Z8, and now on my Z9 with firmware 5.0. It does work! Love the videos and the channel. Thank you…….. TonyH

[@raincoastphoto]

Hi Tony, I have tried the C1 and it works great for sure, I find it very similar to the 3D tracking and I could see adding it to the cycle af mode. The reason I went with the single point with no subject tracking on fn1 (hold) is I like the fact that I am the one selecting where the af point goes for when I shooting difficult subjects in very busy environments like the Virginia Rail I was chasing the other day. Cheers

[@RobertToull]

Thank you so much for making it so much more simple, I'm still having problems with getting the bird eye in focus it locks on the bird but not the eye. I've just bought my camera and ive not had one since I had a Pentax ME super many years ago. so I guess its just practice and more practice.

[@raincoastphoto]

Hi Robert, yes this is definitely a camera that practice makes perfect. You may want to check out my Shooting Bank B videos the smaller 5x3 box in custom area af may work better for you in getting the focus nailed down.

[@RobertToull]

@@raincoastphoto thank you for taking the time to reply not everyone does so its much appreciated. I'll look up the videos, and let you know how I get on.

[@tedboyer5819]

Thanks for the great video and info share. Have you considered shooting in M with Auto ISO to use metering of Highlight Priority instead of Matrix? It's not perfect in variable lighting conditions but better than Matrix, IMHO. With constant light, fully Manual works best for me.

[@raincoastphoto]

I used it back in the day on my D500 with great success in shooting settings like this but found It struggled a bit when I got into the forest with mixed lighting, and after years of use my brain has really gotten used to matrix so it really works for me with exposure compensation as needed.

[@russellwebb3672]

Just crossed over from Sony to the Z8 and found this very very helpful. A question please, How do you setup your 2nd card slot Overflow or Backup and why? Thank You.

[@raincoastphoto]

Hi Russel, sorry I missed your comment, I use it exclusively for overflow. I really don't like SD cards, I have a stack of dead ones so don't trust them with anything but a backup. But with the Z8 they just slow the camera down too much so even as an overflow it is immediately noticeable when it switches to the SD card. I have had great luck with xqd and cf express over the years so have confidence in them, and as a wildlife photographer my shots are not critical, it would be a shame to lose a shoot but its not like a wedding where it can't be redone.

[@MrJleash]

Great points on the use of Auto Area AF mode for most of the time shooting birds. I will be trying it more now. Question about your Small Rig cage... Thinking about getting one. Do you like it and is that a wireless microphone? Brand? Thanks!

[@raincoastphoto]

Yes it is the Smallrig cage. I originally bought one for my Z30 and it was a must for the Z8 after using it. It's great for adding accessories but also really like it for the added protection of the camera. I have the Rode Wireless Pro microphones, they have been great and really solved a lot of the early issues I was having making videos. being able to record 32bit internally has really simplified audio.

[@MrJleash]

@@raincoastphoto Thank you so much for the information!

[@smkunder1]

Love your videos, great job. So you are using iso auto?

[@raincoastphoto]

Thank you very much, yes I use Auto ISO on Shooting Bank A and let it run all the way up to 12,800 ISO, between Adobe Lightroom denoise and Topaz it is pretty incredible what you can do now a days. I will be doing an editing video soon

[@vladepast4936]

Nice video! I'm thinking about buying Z8, because of the amazing loon glass Nikon has. I disagree that "...the background is challenging... " you are shooting in. Now I'm thinking if the "easy" background is challenging for Z8, what will happen if you would shoot at the short eared owls at the sunset... You might rethink your statements about challenging backgrounds...

[@raincoastphoto]

Challenging for previous Nikon cameras not for the Z8. In this case very similar to shooting a shortie in a field with a changing contrast background.

[@alanclark4951]

Great videos for the z8, I have 8000 shots on it w the z 180-600 telephoto. Seems to work well. Your settings are very helpful. What version of the Cotton Carrier harness setup do you use? I see they recently came out with CCS G3,allows for carrying 1 camera and a set of binos. Seems like a good choice. Rare would I need the 2 camera carrier,but it is nice to have the binos attached. Your thoughts and thanks, Alan,NS

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Alan, I am using the G3, I really like the camera carrying function of it, The Z8 and 200-500 is definitely at the top end of weight I would put on it myself, but I have hiked 100's of kilometers with it. The bino harness on the other hand doesn't work with my Vortex 10x32, the balance is such that when I lean forward they spin in the carrier and fallout. If you do have binos attached always have a safety strap attached to them. i will be doing a field review of the harness in the next bit. Cheers

[@alanclark4951]

@raincoastphoto Right,I find the Z 180-600 a little less on the weight side vs the 200-500 5.6 when hiking for the day ,and when you add on the ftz...The G3 likely adds stability when shooting as well so even without the binos attached, it will be a plus. Thanks and happy hiking and shooting to you! Alan

[@johnpeterka8355]

Thank you for your video! Out of curiosity, how do you have your back-button AF tuned?

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks John, a6 AF activation- AF-ON only

[@johnpeterka8355]

@@raincoastphoto - thank you!

[@alanclark4951]

Great video, is single point set to your backbutton focus or on one of the 3 preselect buttons? Thanks

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks, single point is set by the fn1 recall shooting functions (hold) and all my AF is done with the back button

[@alanclark4951]

Alright, thanks, Your videos are done very well..Beautiful State of Alaska to shoot in, I am in Nova Scotia on the other coast,All the best!@@raincoastphoto

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks Alan, close but I am on Vancouver Island, almost as nice, definitely a lot warmer.@@alanclark4951

[@jamesnelson1443]

Really appreciate your tutorial here!!! ❤

[@raincoastphoto]

Thanks James

[@timjohnson8871]

Which AF setting do you assign to the AF-ON button?

[@raincoastphoto]

All of them, Af-on is the only way I AF I switch between the focus modes using the fn1 and fn2 buttons but all the focusing is done by the AF-on except in videos where I use AF-F

[@Al60ish]

interesting video, thank you very much; maybe a little too long... what lens are you using? thank you again

[@raincoastphoto]

the Nikon 200-500 5.6 with the FTZ adaptor. Cheers

[@ronaldcphotography]

How are you recoding evf ?

[@raincoastphoto]

At the moment with my laptop, less than ideal lol, I am using a an HDMI capture card and OBS but $30 option vs the $800 Atomos