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Z6 (or any camera) thoughts on settings


conrad_hoffman

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Looking for thoughts on what user (bank) settings people typically use. I tend to have settings for events like lunches and parties, eye recog on, auto iso to maybe 6400, priority release, never focus, program exposure as it's about as smart as I am. Then a more thoughtful bank with small area AF(S) and aperture priority. I don't do sports and rarely use AF©. Maybe I should? Finally, a bank for full manual technical stuff, with fixed low ISO. I've yet to put a huge amount of thought into this, so what settings do others typically use?
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I did come across Nikon Z7 Setup and Configuration that's pretty detailed.

This is interesting. I may be terrible but I never set everything in such detail for each type of photography. Currently, I just use Manual with Auto ISO, back button focus with dynamic continuous shooting. I set focusing to the fastest level possible (Set A3 to Quick, G4 = +5-Always, G5=High; note these G4 and G5 settings may affect your video focussing to faster than what you would like.) Seems to work for almost everything so far.

Edited by Mary Doo
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Not terrible at all. To date I've mostly set auto ISO and program mode with great success. The only thing that I need to learn better is the face/eye recognition and dynamic focusing modes. The other thing that took me a while, and some missed shots, was the power saving scheme. I now prioritize the EVF and set the power saving timer to at least 2 minutes, more like 5 or more. Previously the camera was never live at the instant I needed it, even when blipping the shutter frequently.
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Not all important settings are saved in banks. Plus I have trouble remembering which bank is which, and they're too easy to write over. I find customized menus more useful, and assigning certain functions to programmable buttons.

 

Menus are not particularly self-explanatory. When starting out, go through each item and make sure you understand its function. Consult the manual, especially on-line, interactive versions, and blogs by competent photographers for guidance. Once that is done, you can re-configure your camera in a few minutes, rather than hours.

 

Face recognition can be problematic. It will select a face over another object in the foreground. It will also lock on to someone directly facing the camera in preference to the one you want facing sideways (PITA). Turning face recognition off will give preference to the nearest object, including inanimate objects. The best solution may be manual focus, even if it takes longer. These choices are especially important when shooting video.

 

In general terms, I default to aperture priority, auto-ISO and AF-S, with a limit of 25600 for ISO. For action, AF-C and shutter priority is better, but still with auto-ISO. Every other setting is icing on the cake.

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I default to aperture priority, auto-ISO and AF-S, with a limit of 25600 for ISO

Do try Manual with auto-iso set to max - define your low ISO preference (e.g., 64 or 100). You will love it 'coz you can now control both speed and aperture and the camera selects the proper ISO beginning with your low-ISO preference up to the max you specified. I am thankful to Nikon for letting me set the MAX ISO to very high. My Olympus EM1 II only allows up to 6400 and it drove me nuts when I had to shoot in a dark environment as I would have to remember to manually turn up the ISO (yes, noise yes, but that was not preventable).

 

Oh you can still use Exposure Compensation if you shoot snow or a black cat or both. Just remember to cancel the compensation when you don't need it.

Edited by Mary Doo
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The only thing that I need to learn better is the face/eye recognition and dynamic focusing modes.

This Nikon video explains it pretty well.

.

You may first need to set AF face/eye detection on (Custom Setting A4 - "Face detection on")

 

Dynamic area AF (which I mostly use) is also selected at this I-panel. You

 

 

 

Edited by Mary Doo
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Dynamic Area focus (or "Expandable" focus spot for Sony) gives you more specificity for face recognition. However it is not foolproof, and tends to acquire the target more slowly than wide-area patterns. In any case you have to practice with various focus modes to learn their facts and foibles. Make them fit your shooting style(s).
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The Z6/Z7 firmware 2.0 upgrade has added eye-detection and improved face recognition. As far as whether to select Single-point AF (or others) or Dynamic area AF (new for Z system) with AFC, think there is no single right answer. If the subject is static, Single-point is a no-brainer. For moving subjects, it depends how well one can track the subject with Dynamic area AF I guess, or Single point may work better in some condition. Btw, whether the Z cameras track better (or worse) than DSLRs such as D500 or D750... is still being debated.
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Does anyone else have favorite Z system (or any Nikon) settings to share in this New Year? I have learned a lot of things from Photo.Net over the years. whether directly or indirectly (such as working on a tip that someone shared, whether intentionally or not).

 

For this year, I would like to learn how to shoot video well with a camera. I have never made an effort to do it much. Now that I have a grandson, I would really like to make some credible footage. If you have any tips on how best to achieve this wish, please let me know. I thank you in advance. :)

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A big reason I went with the Z6 was because so many people want video and I didn't want to be left out in the cold with still images only. I've only done one so far, but it was pretty decent for a first effort. IMHO, the first thing to do is not forget everything you already know about lighting and composition. I was demonstrating something, so keeping the subject of interest in focus important. Video focus can be a bit sluggish, at least the way I had it set up. I did my shoot in many short scenes and put them together with an editing program. The free OpenShot Video Editor worked well for me. For a grandson, I'm thinking you'll go hand-held, but when possible I greatly prefer a tripod and even a proper video head for smooth motion. I'd practice on a cat or dog! I'm studying the Z6 on a regular basis and seem to learn something new every time.
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Thanks. I am also not opposed to learning from the pro - in a workshop or something.

 

Video focus can be a bit sluggish, at least the way I had it set up.

Try setting G4 to +5-Always, and G5=High. For faster focus with photos, set A3 to Quick, These settings do make a visible difference in focus speed.

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Mary, your comment about video reminded me to tell you about an article in Outdoor Photographer, Jan/feb 2020 issue, “filming in the land of 1000 hills.” All of the still pictures in the article were made from 4K video. At the end of the article there is a box that tells you how to set up your camera to get videos with stills that can be made into prints. The author says he processes his videos in Adobe Premiere Pro. Author is Chema Domenech.

 

I know next to nothing about video, but I believe the time has come to learn more about it.

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Mary, your comment about video reminded me to tell you about an article in Outdoor Photographer, Jan/feb 2020 issue, “filming in the land of 1000 hills.” All of the still pictures in the article were made from 4K video. At the end of the article there is a box that tells you how to set up your camera to get videos with stills that can be made into prints. The author says he processes his videos in Adobe Premiere Pro. Author is Chema Domenech.

 

I know next to nothing about video, but I believe the time has come to learn more about it.

Stills from videos? Will there be a need for stills-only cameras in the future? :eek: How awesome! Thanks Joseph.

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Mary, your comment about video reminded me to tell you about an article in Outdoor Photographer, Jan/feb 2020 issue, “filming in the land of 1000 hills.” All of the still pictures in the article were made from 4K video. At the end of the article there is a box that tells you how to set up your camera to get videos with stills that can be made into prints. The author says he processes his videos in Adobe Premiere Pro. Author is Chema Domenech.

Ordered Outdoor Photographer. Used to have this magazine but stopped it years ago.

 

Anyhow, I found the "VLC" (free software) makes it easy to take a goodsize snapshot from a video. Good stuff.

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I don't know about the Z6, but autofocus speed is usually selectable for video. It's better to have a more gradual change unless you are shooting sports, slower yet if focus shift is part of the cinematic intent.

 

It's really easy to pull stills from video in Premiere Pro, including TIFF and JPEG. Mind the settings if you want a single frame rather than rendering the entire clip, frame by frame ;)

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I don't know about the Z6, but autofocus speed is usually selectable for video. It's better to have a more gradual change unless you are shooting sports, slower yet if focus shift is part of the cinematic intent.

Yes, Z6 has it and I had mentioned iabove on how to do it if one wishes to do so. Some people may want a slower transition.

It's really easy to pull stills from video in Premiere Pro, i

It must be. Hwvr, it would be an additional subscription to my basic PS+LR, and it is not needed at this time. I was just curious about it and VLC did a good enough job on my experimental videos.

Edited by Mary Doo
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A still plucked from a 4K stream is roughly 8 MP, but that's not the whole story. Unless you are using a cinematic camera and a low-compression CODEC, the resolution is much lower than you would expect from a conventional camera, possibly even a cell phone. I do it occasionally for the benefit of clients. I have Premiere Pro and use it several hours a day, so there's no reason to use something else to extract stills.
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