Nikon Z9 Autofocus Made Easy

[@waltaptacy9151]

OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION OF A VERY INTRICATE FACET OF NIKON’S FOCUS TECHNOLOGY. GREAT JOB! THANK YOU. I “LIKED” AND “SUBSCRIBED”.

[@tv510]

Thanks Walt!

[@collectGenX]

Great info Terry, just sitting back hoping for a Z8 release. Learned a lot today, you are a great teacher.

[@tv510]

Thanks Shadd, I'll be making more videos!

[@Atomic4Runner]

Thank you for this great video. You just saved me a tremendous amount of time taking poor shots whlie trying to figure which focus mode to use. Great job!

[@tv510]

Glad it works for you Bryan!

[@paulkubica6846]

Terry... thanks for a great video, helpful for better understanding the Z8. I'm also a pro photographer and did a lot of teaching. You do a good job and it's the best way to thank all who have taught us the craft. Best Wishes!

[@tv510]

Thank you Paul. Very kind words, I appreciate it.

[@trinettehardie4182]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Super helpful information. Thank you for posting.

[@tv510]

That for watching. More to come.

[@gmowad]

Wow Terry! Truly amazing photos!!! Learned a bunch. Thank you!

[@tv510]

Great to hear! Thanks for watching.

[@dance2jam]

Terry, first thank you for the video and effort. Couple of points here. 1. I realize there is incentive not to make a video outlining the problems with the Z9 autofocus system, but I'm going to suggest you do just that as a follow-up. 2. My personal opinion is that Autofocus on the Z9 is anything but easy (a.k.a. a1, R3). I've used the camera for almost 6 months now, and I find I have to still experiment with what mode works best in what situation - but all fall a bit short. 4. 3D worked well for you in this video, but I've found the bird really has to fill a decent portion of the frame for it to work and stick. That does limit it's use - for when the bird is a bit more distant - it doesn't track long enough or reliably enough and will jump to blank sky, water, - not necessarily strong lines. 5. I believe, and please site evidence to the contrary, that the Z9 (and cameras like the earlier Sony) had the focus point jump to the background or strong VERTICAL (not horizontal) lines. There are videos on KZbin showing just this problem. Problem is the horizontally aligned OSPDAF masked pixels (half AF, half exposure). They see vertical lines as a split prism and try to align them. Horizontal lines have no edges and are essentially ignored unless something else (strong contrast) catches the AF system's attention. You can go into any parking garage basement with steam pipes and low light and see if the Z9 will focus on horizontal pipes vs. vertical pipes (can you tell I've been there?). 6. For tracking distant birds in flight I find WA (take your pick) works the best right now (FW 2.1) for initial focus lock. I then hand it off to 3D at times, but this is a hit or miss proposition, and my opinion is that 3D for more distant objects isn't ready for prime time yet. 7. There are just too many settings and custom controls to set up for each type of shooting, so I am a believer in BANKS in this camera as a quick way to jump from landscape to wildlife to Astrophotography etc for the way I shoot. It takes some time to set up, but is well worth it on this camera. 8. Lastly, as I mentioned at the outset, it would be great if you made a video revealing how you overcome the issues with the Z9. FW 2.1 made it much easier to refocus on close objects when the camera inadvertently jumps to the background. For me, this occurred more in 3D and WA than elsewhere. Lastly, while you did mention that in WA. Dynamic, and AF-Full (WA - Complete?) the camera tends to focus on "near vs. far" subjects parts, you didn't mention that this does not happen in 3D - as distance doesn't play a role - but other subjects entering the frame with similar eyes do! If you've made it this far, and still think AF on the Z9 is easy, I'd beg to differ - or course you could say "compared to what?". Sony a1, Canon R3, R5. Now, I'm a Nikon guy, so I hope that Nikon has FW updates down the road that make the algorithm stronger, because some of this is a limit of hardware and the way the OSPDAF system is built. Your thoughts?

[@tv510]

Yes, I've been a Nikon guy my whole career. I've just tried to adapt to the advancements in AF and noticed a huge change from using the DSLR cameras. While its not perfect, (and I think if a manufacturer would consult end users like us we'd have a better camera) I think that the AF in the Z9 is a big leap forward. Thanks for watching the channel.

[@dance2jam]

@@tv510 Amen and agree. To be clear for those reading, the Z9 is a huge step forward for Nikon, and better for shooting action/wildlife/sports for me than any camera to date. Just sayin, for those on the fence, know there are some obstacles to overcome (as with all cameras).

[@riccardoboris8753]

Hi Terry thanks for your youtube video and congratulations for them...I would like to know if your e -book on Razor sharp can be listened in italian too...or better with italian subtitles...thanks

[@johnmccaffery5186]

I have never heard of the focus points explained like that before, thank you.

[@tv510]

You are welcome John. Thanks for watching.

[@nigeldawson5960]

That was a very helpful video. Just got my Z9 and going up the learning curve. Thank you.

[@tv510]

Glad it helped. You will love the Z9 - its a fantastic camera.

[@nigeldawson5960]

@@tv510 I have my F3 I bought new in 1986 and still use that quite regularly along with and F5. Moved into digital with the D850 and Now the Z9. The power of these new digital cameras to achieve your photo goals is amazing.

[@rodneygrussling7559]

Enjoyed your video, well done, your a great teacher, explain things well. Look forward to more videos.

[@tv510]

Thanks Rodney!

[@annwoyrc]

Thank you for this excellent video. Though I have few doubts and I hope that you would answer. 1. According to the Z9 manual, there is no mention that the camera is going to focus on the object closest to the camera (as you mentioned). Instead, this is mentioned for "Wide Area" modes (which you mentioned). 2. According to the Z9 manual, Nikon recommends Dynamic Area- Large for photographing birds and WA-L for sports. What is your opinion on that? 3. I have tried to use the 3D AF method, but at least for small birds, it proved to be too slow. I use a Nikkor 200-500 with Z9. Thank you again.

[@tv510]

Thanks for watching. I have had very good luck with the 3D method even with small birds, but I also use manual focus on tricky situations like grasses and tree limbs that can cause problems from time to time. I do use pretty fast telephoto lenses, F/2.8 and F/ 4 (600mm) so that might make a difference in how fast your lens focuses. I'm not a big fan of the Dynamic Areas, but it all comes down to personal preference.

[@pitmanra]

Thanks for the video. It's helpful with my Z8. In regard to the custom areas at 8:15, I saw one video that recommended defining a short but wide custom area in order to track waterfowl flying low across water. Was supposed to help the camera focus on the bird rather than getting distracted by the water. I haven't tested it.

[@tv510]

I have fiddled with a lot of those focus areas. I have built some custom boxes to use (since I made that video). They are easy to do and so I revisit them often. Are you liking the Z8?

[@garykuiken6191]

I've been spending a fair bit of time photographing grizzlies this spring and I've found that the Z9,s eye focus is sometimes hit or miss, especially in early mornings with lower contrast. The focus box moves all over the bears body occasionally hitting on the eye, then all of a sudden it looses it. Better light does seem to help. On Pelicans it's much better. Better contrast perhaps? It's almost 2am so back to the sheets. Thanks for a great video.

[@tv510]

Hey Gary, thanks for watching, try downloading the new firmware 2.1 - they say they are improving the eye recognition part of the software. Let me know if it works on Grizzlies.

[@stevenewcombe-s3s]

yet another outstanding video Terry Thankyou

[@tv510]

Thanks Steve! I appreciate you watching.

[@jmchristian5867]

Love your video! I do have a question that I cannot find an answer to. I just received my Z8 and wanting to know for eye/animal/subject detection, which area focusing modes can this be used with?

[@tv510]

I’m pretty sure you can use most all of them. Single point isn’t going to work well, but I have used some of the custom sized focus modes, but mostly use 3-D. Try some different modes and see what works best. Let us know what you gravitate towards.

[@TimLaytonDarkroomDiary]

For the custom area AF (C1, C2), create a 1x1 box and this will allow for subject tracking.

[@tv510]

Thanks Tim!

[@TimLaytonDarkroomDiary]

@@tv510 You are welcome Terry.

[@tomaswilde5481]

Thank you for your video. Best regards from Bogotá, Colombia.

[@tv510]

You are welcome Tomas. Love to hear that folks are watching all around the world. More to come.

[@زهيرسلمان]

Welcome What is the best option Release focus + release. focus

[@tv510]

I use Release. Check out my video on how I set that up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nH-1lmuOgsRgnNE

[@tv510]

Thanks for watching!

[@Johnd3s]

Thank you for sharing your Z9 experiance

[@tv510]

Hi John, thanks for watching.

[@NikCan66]

Excellent video

[@tv510]

Thanks NIkCan for watching!

[@Gr1ff1D0]

BBAF? I know people who like it claim it is best. Well it’s best for them. I don’t see a place for it on the Z series. I get it for something like a D850 where the autofocus points don’t cover the whole viewfinder. Once you are used to it, it maybe harder to stop using it. I never liked it on the D500 and I have other things to do when using the Z9. So no thanks. I really like the rest of the video. Nice work.

[@tv510]

Yes, as always, it comes down to personal preference. Thanks for watching.

[@Gr1ff1D0]

@@tv510 I still use AF on to help reset the subject if it strays to something else. Not as likely after 2.1 but still useful.

[@skillcubator123]

Hello Terry. Great video. Thanks for making this. Just one question. If I am using AF back button, I need to keep it pressed as long as I want to keep my subject in focus. Is that correct? Also, what is the real benefit of separating the AF function from shutter release button? With back button, I am now engaging more (thumb and finger). Please clarify this.

[@tv510]

Yes you need to keep it pressed to keep the camera following the subject you want. As far as why I like to use the back button, is that when using the shutter release as your focus button as well, in this instance you couldn’t be focused and following the subject in focus, unless you were half-way holding the shutter button to follow the focus. You would likely press it too far and shoot useless photographs. With back button, you can keep your subject in focus the whole time, then fire when you get the action you want. This technique requires you to keep your subject in focus, following it, until the action happens that you want to capture. For regular day to day focus and shooting, with the camera set on continuous, you can set up a scene and focus on what you want, then release the shutter to take the photo. Once you take your thumb off the back button, the camera locks that focus in. (Think landscape where you want a rock in the foreground to be the subject.) If you use the shutter button as your focus, then you need to lock the focus on the subject, hold it there, recompose and then fire the shot. Thumb activation is just way easier. Try it for two weeks, you will never go back.

[@skillcubator123]

@@tv510 Thanks a lot for this detailed and very informative explanation. Thanks & Regards, Chetan Mehta

[@sabelli33]

YES YES Nikon z9 with Sony mother sensor!!

[@tv510]

Love it.

[@magicalwishlist6616]

I posted this on Zwade’s channel on this very subject. "Did some more tests this is what I see. Single birds with good contrast no background follage within say 50 feet focus is perfect including 3D. Around 70 feet with close bright background follage none of the focus modes "saw" the birds eye. It mostly back focused on the follage. Even group area small struggled." There appears to be a definite issue with messy backgrounds and some distant bird subjects. People face and eye focus detection seem to be excellent even at great distances.

[@tv510]

I agree. It is not perfect, but it is much better than when I was using DSLR's. I'm confident it will get even better as time goes on and we get more upgrades to AF. Thanks for the reply!

[@magicalwishlist6616]

I am going to do some more tests with birds to see what the threshold distance is also what effect busy backgrounds have.

[@tv510]

@@magicalwishlist6616 Love to hear about your results.

[@magicalwishlist6616]

@@tv510 I was testing today, dull overcast afternoon - winter sun - I would say the 1.4 Teleconverter gets in the way of the Lens / Camera being efficient / proficient in bird eye detection when the bird is a significant distance from the camera. The 500 PF without the teleconverter was finding the birds eye 90% of the time. When I added the 1.4 Tele it did not see the eye at all, which is odd as you would think the extra magnification would make it "easier". I have a 400 4.5 and Z 1.4 teleconverter coming soon. I'll do the same tests and report back

[@tv510]

@@magicalwishlist6616 wow, that is interesting. I wonder if has to do with loss of light. - which might mean that using a 2.8 400 - it would work flawlessly... curious. Thanks for the update.

[@bruceedwards9720]

Very helpful and well done!

[@tv510]

Thank you Bruce!

[@tomaswilde5481]

How is your experience with the ikon Z9 and Fx Nikon lenses with the NTZ II adaptor ?

[@tv510]

Hi Tomas, I have used all of my lenses with the NTZ II adapter. After a while I switched most of them out for equivalent Z lenses and I have been ver happy with them. They are little lighter and very fast focusing. I do have my 600mm that is an F lens so the adapter pretty much stays with that lens. Take care, and thanks for watching.

[@tomaswilde5481]

@@tv510 Thanks so much!

[@randallortegachaves9214]

Dear Terry in regards how to use the AF AREA C1 for wildlife ! I had a prototype few months ago before the new update therefore, I did not have the opportunity to used it then but since I got my own z9 within this week I will be traveling to put to extreme conditions in Costa Rica this beast! Do you have an email that I can send my experiences? Great video I enjoyed learning from you!

[@tv510]

Thanks Randall. You can get my info off the link (Razor-Sharp) then to my web site. Looking forward to see what you get.

[@hankdinardo4308]

Terry what Firmware Version were you using??

[@tv510]

That was 2.0 I have since updated to 2.1.

[@TLTPhotography]

I've got a question I can't find an answer for - when I'm shooting video with the Z9 of a bunch of subjects (group of ducks, elk, etc) and AF is locking on to their heads/eyes it often then jumps to another animal nearby. Is there a way to prevent it from jumping to another subject and just force it to continue tracking one object? The white autofocus boxes show what look to be arrows on them when there is multiple subjects....

[@tv510]

What are your settings. If you have the focus button pressed and are still on focus FF (video) you should be fine.

[@TLTPhotography]

​@@tv510 Thanks for the quick reply. I will give it a try. for stills i use wide area then have 3D tracking on AF-On button on back. Hybrid method works great for bird stills but still trying to figure out the best method for groups of birds (ducks/plovers/etc) so that it will stay on one bird rather than bouncing all around to various ones at various depths of field. When wide open this sometimes creates "jumpiness" in my 4K videos. I put my tracking sensitivity to 7 (slow) to give it a try. what's your take on setting g6 "AF Speed" for these situations? Slower or faster? Thanks for the tips!

[@tv510]

@@TLTPhotography If I am doing a planned follow focus, coming from one side of the frame to other for effect, I slow the focus down. But mostly I keep it pretty high. I'm going to be doing some more video testing, that will likely end up a KZbin video, stay tuned.

[@voederbietels]

fantastic Sir . Verry helpfull

[@tv510]

Glad you found it. Thanks for watching!

[@KriniLive]

THANK YOU!!

[@JuanRojas956]

On my z6 when I shoot on ‘AF-area mode’ set to Auto Focus, and I press the OK button I get a box that tracks the subject, on my Z9 that same OK button doesn’t show me this tracking box unless I tap on the screen to track the subject. Where can I turn in this setting on my z9 to function the same as my z6?

[@tv510]

I’m not familiar with the Z6, but I know you can assign just about any button to be a focus button. Check out my video “top five wildlife settings for the Z9”. It steps you through that. Let me know how it works for you.

[@jacquesvandenberghe5518]

thanks for this Terry!

[@tv510]

You are welcome Jacques, thanks for watching!

[@Azeemmerchant]

Awesome video Thanks ❤️🙌🏻

[@tv510]

Thanks for watching Azeem!

[@dakotaxu4792]

But how do you turn on eye detection? I haven’t figured it out yet and no one seems to be explaining that part for the Z9

[@tv510]

Thanks for watching. Go to menu > Photo Shooting Menu >scroll down to AF subject detection options> you there have all your options>Auto, People, Animal, Birds (new in latest firmware update) good luck!

[@jerryeisner1]

HI Terry I could not find the link to your book? Can you send instructions and info on how to purchase it. Thanks. je

[@tv510]

imagelight.com/lightroom-brushes/razor-sharp-wildlife-images

[@tv510]

Thanks Jerry, I will make sure I will include that link. Thanks for letting me know.

[@jerryeisner1]

@@tv510 thanks so much!!

[@fritzlamour8415]

Hi I have a nikon d4 and d4s I brought the nikon Z9 my problem after 3 shots the focus run all over the screen please how much you charge to help me figure it out

[@tv510]

Hi Fritz, It takes a little practice to go from a DSLR to a mirrorless camera, but the transition should be pretty quick. Check out my video about setting up the Z9, this might help you get started. If you are still having problems, let me know. Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nH-1lmuOgsRgnNE

[@toykellie3]

Do you have to keep the back button pressed the whole time in 3D?

[@tv510]

Yes, that keeps the focus point active. Thanks for watching.

[@paulbomben]

amazing video thank you

[@tv510]

Thanks Paul. Glad you like it.

[@paulbomben]

@@tv510 thank u

[@simonp8088]

Thank you for the video. But my experience with the z9 has been slightly different. 3d tracking is good when you’re up close and the camera has a good pattern to register and track. But with busy backgrounds or subjects slightly further away, i find it gets confused very easily. I am finding that using a regular wide-L af-s mode, held (toggled) off of a function button, is what i use for birds in flight. It seems to track them better than 3d tracking for me. But I’m also more in the wild without a blind, so things are coming at me in a more unpredictable fashion too.

[@tv510]

Thanks Simon, I'll have to give that a try.

[@mattli911]

Yeah, I was able to try a z9 yesterday, and 3D tracking was overall getting confused with the background too often. I shoot an R5 normally, and is not as big of an issue, although sometimes can be the same thing, and I have to use a smaller zone. But Nikon animal AF seems not as reliable as Canons, from what I've seen so far. But I need to do more testing/fiddling with settings. But under the same conditions, Nikon was not seeing the bird/box was too large, but Canon was fitting the bird, or even the eye, in the same situation. I also had most/many shots being back-focused/not on the birds head/eye in flight. Very consistently it was on the tail, instead of the head.

[@tv510]

@@mattli911 Thanks for watching. I have been using the fastest lenses that Nikon makes. 300 f/2.8 and 600 f/4 and find that it works fabulous. I wonder if the speed of the lens has anything to do with it. I have no real experience with shooting this kind of action with Canons, so I can compare. Thanks for writing up your findings.

[@kbruff2010]

Can you set a spot to start the focus area then train it to follow.

[@tv510]

Hi Kevin, what you do is move the box near the eye of the animal, hold down the focus button (back button) then keep the button held it should be green to confirm a good focus. It locks on to the eye or face and follows it around, you just keep the subject in the camera frame and fire when you want.

[@pierreb100]

I have a question regarding how set focus to AF-C 3D animal in video mode. I can do this fine in photo mode, but the video mode is not giving me the option to put it in AF-C 3D ....any ideas . Also limited in assigning the function buttons to all the various modes of AF-C I can do in photo mode Thanks ! Pierre

[@tv510]

Hi Pierre, I'm not much of a source for info regarding video. I use it for face recognition, and that works well, but I have not used it for wildlife. I will give it a try at some point and post my findings. If I could ask you, if you figure it out, let me know.

[@pierreb100]

@@tv510 thanks for your quick reply ! I just found a post on DPReview about this. I cant be done. 3D tracking only in photo mode ...it is on page 116 of the 914 page Z9 manual! I guess the Atomos displays were cameras in photo mode and not in video mode in all the various KZbin videos discussing autofocus.

[@tv510]

@@pierreb100 Yes, I use an Atomos as well and did the same thing when I was making this video and others. Good to know. Thanks.

[@unionpowercooperative1268]

What tripod is that?

[@tv510]

Really Right Stuff.

[@bernadettehotz3512]

Danke!

[@tv510]

Danke fürs zuschauen!

[@Nypher91]

Nice Video What is the song name of: 9:48

[@tv510]

Thanks I’ll look it up.

[@geiryvindeskeland7208]

Do you always need background music while talking to people?

[@tv510]

This is the second comment about the background music. I'll fix that going forward. It might be too loud or not necessary. Thanks for watching.

[@geiryvindeskeland7208]

@@tv510 Thank you so much for your gentle answer to my grumpy reply. Why did I complained? Why bother you with this? I wanted to hear you inform, but to me it is impossible because listen to a human voice and music at the same time, is like listening to two different languages at the same time.

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

How much better is the AF on the Z9 compared to the POS called the D850?

[@tv510]

I find the AF much faster and more intuitive than the D850 a great improvement. - I do have a long list of things I would refer to as POS but the D850 isn't one of them. 😀

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

@@tv510 If you had my D850, you too would be calling it a Piece of Shit

[@qiyuxuan9437]

@@pjimmbojimmbo1990 D850 was, and still is the best DSLR. I sold it to get Z9, but I would keep it if I could.

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

@@qiyuxuan9437 Mine was a Lemon, I was so happy to be rid of it, I almost did Cartwheels. The Z9 has it's own Quirks, and while the AF was initially fantastic, it has gotten less so with every Firmware update.

[@qiyuxuan9437]

@@pjimmbojimmbo1990 Did you tried with RMA or nikon service center? My D750 with faulty shutter was fixed in 2 days for free by Nikon. I went to air show with my friends using Sony A7m4, and the vehicle AF was not even close compare to my Z9 with firmware 3.0, it also has evf blackout or freeze during burst, which dosent happen on Z9. Maybe Sony does a bit better with animals, but I had no issue with Z9 on birds as well, the biggest issues is actually getting too much keeper shots, I had hard time to choose from😂

[@ytr8989]

Tip #1: “Leave your Z9 in MF (manual focus).

[@CNylundPhotography]

AF-S stads for Single-shot but thats NO bigi

[@tv510]

Thanks, and thanks for watching.

[@TheUberSchattenjager]

the music in the background of you talking is just a bit too much - no need

[@tv510]

Thanks for that. I’m working on another video this week, I’ll make sure to keep it at a minimum. Thanks for watching.

[@nethbt]

Tony Northrup : " Sony focuses faster"

[@badboyvr4]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Sony A1 does focus faster and more reliably, and so does the Canon EOS R3, and that's even after the 2.1 update, Jared Polin said the same thing along with at least three other KZbinrs I've watched. So, you may want save the snarkiness for another time.

[@csc-photo]

@@badboyvr4 If you're in the niche context of birds in flight, I'd say your comments above have some merit. Although as of the recent fw 2.1 update, this is at least now a shorter gap. The A1 is regarded king for (small) BIF. Outside of that - ALL of these flagships have their ups & downs. I have literally watched the A1 miss what should have been an easy eye track with 2 bears standing in a grassy field. I have watched Jared Polin shooting Canon / Nikon / Sony side-by-side (sports) and watched as the Canon could not hit the same face that Z9 was grabbing with ease. So my point here is - we need to stop glossing over the fact that all these systems have areas where they could be improved. And most of us are looking equally at other areas as well (not just AF tracking).

[@jenshid]

As a Z9 user, i do think it may be true since it really has issues on focus locking on to back ground and sticking with it even though your point is on a much closer subject...have never faced such situation with d500 or d850...was having hard time even with the 2.1 update.

[@ytr8989]

@@csc-photo the Z9 grabbed the face in the background. Kind of a unique feature.

[@manosskg]

@@badboyvr4 exactly and this is the only truth independent if the evangelists like it or not. Will I change my Z9 for an A1 or an R3/5? No for various other reasons. I know that I have a weaker body for birding than the comp set though, period.

[@alwynsmit3546]

Want great AF? Buy a Canon or a Sony

[@tv510]

...then I'd have to get all new lenses! :)