Nikon Z7 Auto Focus Guide

Not sure how many Nikon Z mirrorless users are among us. It looks like Nikon came up with this guide back in November (2018):

https://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96RZZo-RRZZFeeMiveET0gVQ--AxJI7g-xcLVNVcp7mZwZQo0f6fAd8yUoQG/Misc/Z7-Autofocus-Guide.pdf

 

The title is Z7 AF Guide, but I think it also applies to the Z6 as well. It has some good suggestions and also some comparison against the D850.

 

I have had the Z6 for a month now, but I am still learning the new features.

Thanks Shun, that looks very comprehensive. I've saved it as aPDF for review later. Did you see where it suggests Dynamic Area AF for Wildlife and Birds.

Mike, for a while I used Dynamic Area AF on the Z6, but I think the problem is that the birds I was photographing at that time were too small, too far away from the camera, and I was getting disappointing results. Recently I tried Auto Area AF, and that seems to work ok too when the bird occupies a larger area inside the frame. I really would rather not to draw any conclusions, until I have plenty of experience with the Z6. However, I am pretty sure that for wildlife action, the top-of-the-line DSLRs is still the way to go at this point.

The problem with the Auto Area AF is that it locks on to the nearest object. That may be a wingtip when you really want the head and eye to be in focus. I know Dynamic is harder but that’s the way to go, it just takes a lot of practice.

The equivalent to D9 (D5, D850 but not D500) seems to be missing in the Z6/Z7 - maybe someone can persuade Nikon that the D9 option is a really nice one to have available. I can't but help feeling that with the AF options on mirrorless bodies a bit of user control is taken away.

From what I've read, in reviews of the Z cameras, there seem to be no clear "nearest subject priority" AF area modes. In Multi-CAM 20k DSLRs, the group-area AF in continuous focusing mode prioritises the nearest subject (within the group "diamond") and the auto-area AF also seems to do so, but within the whole sensor array. When the subject is far away, I've found both group area and auto area effective in focusing on the moving subject even against complex background. When the subject is near, group is often not precise enough, in which case I use 9- or 25-point dynamic area. Auto-area AF sometimes gets a near subject right, sometimes not; if I stop down to f/4, then it works quite well even in the near to mid range.

 

In the linked document, Nikon suggest "Wide area (S)" in the Z7 in place of group-area in the D850, and auto-area (face-priority on) in the Z7 where one would use Auto-area in the D850. I can understand that they'd provide closest equivalents. But do these Z7 modes focus on the nearest subject within the focus area or if not, how does the camera decide what to focus on?

 

I don't yet have a Z camera and while I'm happy to use single point or dynamic area, I would like to see nearest-subject-priority modes implemented because in certain situations, for example, when a figure skater is far away and the audience is behind him/her, group-area and auto-area have effectively permitted me to focus reliably on the subject in those circumstances, instead of the people or details in the background. I understand that the Z6 and Z7 are not designed to be primary tools for sports or wildlife but it's nevertheless interesting to see Nikon's progress in this area.

 

For what I would use a Z camera for, i.e. indoor events (concerts, wedding ceremonies, etc.) I believe the provided focus area modes are sufficient but low-light autofocus performance needs to be investigated. I would like the 35/1.8 S and 85/1.8 S to start with, so when the 85mm is available, I will see how that performs in terms of focusing in low light and then decide if the first generation camera is adequate to satisfy this application or not.

 

I can't but help feeling that with the AF options on mirrorless bodies a bit of user control is taken away.

 

It's a work in progress. They probably just haven't had time to implement everything yet, first they get user feedback from this generation of camera and then they address the limitations that users found important to address.

The problem with the Auto Area AF is that it locks on to the nearest object. That may be a wingtip when you really want the head and eye to be in focus.

 

That's to some extent true on the DSLRs, though in my experience, auto area AF prioritises faces and movement and is not a strictly closest-subject-priority mode. However, it does often focus on the nearest subject.

 

The Z cameras, at least according to dpreview, do not have a nearest-subject-priority mode that would reliably focus on a nearest subject but often focuses on the background if the background is brighter, for example. I think this may be an algorithm issue, how should it weight brightness of areas in deciding where to focus on. I suppose in the long term subject recognition will play a greater part in the algorithms.

 

I know Dynamic is harder but that’s the way to go, it just takes a lot of practice.

 

I like dynamic area also, when needing precision on a subject that is moving somewhat unpredictably. I use both 9-point and 25-point, depending on the size of the subject in the frame, and how fast and unpredictable the movement is. For slower moving subjects I usually use 9-point dynamic, but lately I've been using 25-point in figure skating (group-area for distant subjects). Yes, it takes some practice, and realization that the photographer is responsible for holding the primary point on the intended target at all times, even though dynamic helps a little when the photographer was not able to do so. After realizing this, it has worked well for me.

I’m wondering if anyone has discovered how the AF-C with the Z6 works in Wide-L vs Wide-S vs Dynamic focus area? I mean you can’t see how many ÁF points these modes use and which priority they have?

 

At least NIKON should put little more explanation then cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5N…-Guide.pdf. I think that’s the same for Z6.