Thank you very much for this balanced & positive presentation. Your teaching is both detailed &informed. Your plea to learn the system instead of bashing it is tremendous sir. I respect your POV. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much, I learn something new on my Z6 every time I watch your videos. You do a fantastic job! So much for all the naysayers out there, saying Nikon Z cameras can’t do nature and action.
Great video, very informative. I am contemplating purchasing the z6ii for my 75th birthday in February. I will need lots of help!! Your video will be very helpful. Steven
Thank you Henry, Ron from the Netherlands here. I ve just boucht the z50 and you realy help me out with all the options its got with your video ‘s . The combi full size metering (auto) focus and then be able to overwrite it with the tracking mode with the f2 bullon...thats realy great. Bets of both worlds (sort of single point shooting and recompose in an instemt while in auto mode.) Thankt a lot.
Finally received my Z6II and already love it! I'm now going through your vids for tips and techniques; this one was super helpful. Not sure why anybody thinks this camera isn't any good. I can already see how much easier this camera will be to use. The focus modes are great as compared to the D850 I have.
Perfect timing for this video, my new Z7 II just arrived today. So watching this and your setup video. My first mirrorless and first full-frame camera, upgrading from the D7200 and looking forward to trying this camera out.
Thanks for the introduction into these modes. Having just entered into the mirrorless realm, I have been hesitant to wade into the new mode territory. Your real world examples help me understand why I need to learn more about them, especially for shooting wildlife. Also, you're the first person who has fully explained how to use subject tracking. I've read two books and watched several videos, and this if the first time I've understood how to make it work for me. Nice tip on programming the f2 button to make it easy to invoke it quickly.
Excellent video. Loved the recording of the back of your camera. It really helped. I am waiting for my Z7II. Upgrading from my Z7 which I absolutely love. Happy holidays.
Hey Hudson! Thanks for all the great info and tips...and not just this video...I'm learning so much from your channel.... thanks so much! I'm so happy I waited to get the Z6ii...now I'm breaking the other piggy bank today and ordering the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S lens today while it's in stock....using your link of course...Stay safe and have a great holiday season!
As always, a great video with very useful informations from a real professional. Thank you 🙏 ...and... Happy holidays and all the best to you and your loved ones...be save!
Great video Hudson. Hope you can get hands on the X2 Teleconverter. I have seen mixed reviews for this accessory so hopefully you can provide some feedback on this.
Been enjoying your vids on the z6ii and the z7ii. Sitting here waiting for my 7ii to arrive today! A little off topic but I'll probably be trying to shoot some video while up in Yellowstone for the next 2 months. I have a Manfrotto 700RC2 fluid head but all of my cameras and lenses have the Arca Swiss style plates. Is there an adapter that you're familiar with that would be the RC2 bottom to attach to the head but the top would accept the Arca Swiss plates? Also, thanks for your video on setting up the Z's!
Hudson, just received my Z7II. Thank you for helping me set it up. Really enjoyed your field work with the family at the nature preserve. I am a little confused on the video setting. I hope to do some 30 minute videos 4K 30FPS. Did you say to switch to DX for the video? If so, why?
Thanks for a great video! You made a comment about matrix metering vs center weighted. Has it changed in mirrorless? Which do you use fir portraits? Thanks 🙏
I've had the opportunity to shoot my D500 and Z6II side by side with the Nikon 200-500 for about four weeks. (the lens one shoots with might affect the performance). In CA-F and panning wildlife the two are close, but for birds coming straight at you the D500 definitely "sticks" to the subject better than the Z6II. Having said that, with the dual processors, my gamble is the Z6II firmware update will improve the CA-F even more. I got the Z6II to be my work camera for weddings, family etc, but just wanted to chime in my impressions. It's a keeper camera no doubt, and the video is amazing, and btw, while not an official test, seems the preamps on this camera are much better than the first version.
Yep, not prefect, but better preamps. The D500 is a beast, but I find for frame filling fast action the Z's can track much better. It only becomes frustrating with a combination of close fast acton and more distant subjects, where you need to bounce between subject tracking and full auto area. Moving the activate /deactivate control to fn2 helps a lot with that. I've got a feeling that as time goes on the need to activate subject tracking will become less and less and the camera will just know more and more. That's been my experience over the past two years firmware updates as I've left my long beloved D850 and D500 home more and more and now almost never touch them. It also wouldn't surprise me if the 200-500 is a fair bit slower on the Z's. No offense at all, but I wasn't a big fan of that lens on f mount either. ;)
I have a regular workshop attendee who loves it too, but several friends of mine and I have tried it and sent it back. I think there's a large sample variation in this lens, but the one I had was not very sharp at 500 (where I'd use it most) even at f8. Chromatic aberration was rough at the long end too. I felt it tracked action well, but it frequently stumbled on target acquisition and racked around annoyingly if that happened. I didn't like that it took multiple hand moves to go through the zoom range when tracking fast action coming at you and it worried me that it wasn't weather sealed since I work in wet or dusty places more often than not. Finally I felt the tripod foot was clunky. Kirk's 2 piece solution would help a lot with that though. The PF prime lenses are much more expensive and not in everyone's range, but man do they make me happy. Small, light, fast and wicked sharp at all apertures even with a 1.4 TC. :)
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I must have gotten a good one because the performance is stellar at 5.6 at 500mm. I never see the point of shooting with a telephoto if the quality diminishes at the long end. True point on the preamps, big improvement.
Everything about the Z system is so fun to use. I know it gets a bad rap, but they're bloody wonderful in the hand and intuitive and built to take into war zones. The lenses are just nothing short of epic though and the 14-24 leads that race.
I really like this explanation, but my Z7ii is still struggling with movement. I am left wondering if there is an issue with my camera, or lens at times.
Hudson, Picked up my Z7 II last week as well as a Manfrotto MVH500AH fluid head (you convinced me on that!). My request is to ask if you can do more of a 'close-up' of your 'plate on a plate' set-up please, the Manfrotto plate is wider than your typical Arca Swiss plate so would like to see how you marry them all together.
Ha, hey Grant. All that stuff is detailed in the fluid head section of my links. Www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks Email me if you have any issue dialing that in. I'd really highly suggest Kirk's custom 500AH bridge assembly with an LRP-3 and L-bracket to get balanced and vertical. Email is hi@hudsonhenry.com
Great video! What do you think about the Z5? I’m coming from a d750 and shoot stills only, landscapes travel street and low light. I like the features of the Z5, but worry about low light capabilities
Z6 for sure! The z5 just makes too many sacrifices. I know you've got to update to CF Express to do it, but that format is so much faster and more durable than SD that you'll never want to use one again... I regularly let the Z6 and Z6ii auto iso ramp up to 20,000. Not to mention the weather sealing and bombproof build. It's fabulous. If you consider using my links I'd be so appreciative. Www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks
nice review. i don't understand very well how, on Z6II, you activate the yellow box and the red box when AF is lost. I looked lot of tutos where photographers complain about bad focusing,... and you seem to be always able to fit that. One video was about skate boarders and all photos were blur compared to alpha7m3 and canon R5. same remark with a bicycler coming towards the photographer at 30Km/h. Af was focusing on a tree, on a bush while the guy was really visible on display. I would really appreciate more tutos from you real life on focusing with Z6II.
If you are tracking the action by moving the camera with the subject (panning the camera) then the auto area rocks and rarely misses without choosing a point at all. If a distant subject is coming toward or away from you (the bicycle for instance) or just not moving too much at all in the frame, or you need to pick one of several slow moving subjects and you aren't moving the camera much compared to the background, then the subject tracking essential and is a simple button touch. I program that to fn2 in my U3 mode so that i can use my right ring finger to activate or deactivate it. Activate it, put it's yellow square on target, hold AF-ON. Release to reset and hit it again to lock. Hit Fn2 again to get rid of it and go back to auto area. The subject tracking is not good for fast moving, motion that you have to pan to keep in the frame. You'll need to practice when to activate and deactivate it. I've been shooting this system since the Z6/7's firmware 1. It's since firmware 3.0 that it's gotten really good. It just takes some practice. Whatever you do, get the activation and deactivation out of the stock setup where it's two buttons on the back. Your thumb is busy enough.There are plenty of videos of people bashing this system. Some from people who really haven't used it enough to learn it, some from people who make money promoting other brands. Everyone I know who actually uses it, loves it. Kinda funny that.
Still trying to figure out subject tracking . On my Z9 , is subject tracking only available in auto area ? I’m still struggling w this ! Thx for any help !
Could you do a video on tracking birds in flight with your z7ii? I want to get the z7ii but have some reservations in that regard. Thank you in advance and Merry Christmas!
Early on with the Zs I grabbed my D500 for birds in flight. Not so much anymore after firmware updates and particularly now with the faster ii models with thier deeper buffers. I find the same techniques I show here work well. Auto area with no tracking for closer birds, subject tracking for further away or smaller birds. Put subject tracking on fn2 tu activate and deactivate with ease as needed. I wish I'd had my field recorder hooked up when the egret with the mouse flew. Great example, but I wasn't recording my screen yet. It's different than you're used to with group area on the DSLRs, but it's working quite well for me after learning it. The Z6ii will be better for birds than the Z7ii. The high iso performance pairs better with the fast shutter speeds you need to freeze fight motion with long birding lenses, particularly in good light.
NO, all of that was through the viewfinder with the HDMI out to my wife holding the Nina V in the passenger seat. IT records the same either way. :-) She had our 3 year old on her lap and I had our 4 year old on mine. Nothing like tossing in a bit of additional challenge :-) I agree it would be cool to control AF point selection with the LCD though.
Have had my Z6ii since Dec 2020 and STILL waiting on my 24-70 f2.8 to arrive. Waiting this long is taking the fun out of buying anything Nikon :-( Wondering if I should've switched to Sony instead which WILL happen if nothing arrives by the 28th.......Very fed up photographer.
Finished getting all the settings and user modes dialed on the z7ii now just to have a day off work to go and test it! One of the reasons I wanted the z7ii and the z6ii was because the DX 20.9mp is almost identical in mp to my d500 so that seems like a viable option. For wildlife do you think it is better to photograph in FX mode and crop in post or to switch to DX mode and shoot like that? What do you think?
Hmmm I thought I did. I'm getting great birds shots. Some are in here. You just have to learn a new way of working. It tracks close birds in flight or other action where you're moving with the subject to keep it in frame in auto area without subject tracking. It's astounding how well that works actually. For more distant birds, picking one of multiple subjects, or situations where it misses for some reason you activate subject tracking and override the auto area by locking them in the box. You want subject tracking activation/deactivation on a front fn button for action like birds so you can instantly activate or deactivate when needed.
If you watch my z_ii setup video (ua-cam.com/video/Do0Va7wciTs/v-deo.html) you'll see that I find the stock setting is great. It's really about how long a delay before the camera starts hunting for a new subject if the actively tracked subject passes behind a closer obstruction. There could be situations where you need to extend that for slow moving subjects with lots of obstructions or vice versa, but that's a rare need and highly subjective.
From my last years with this system as it has evolved, there isn't really a functional difference except that with eye/face detect on it's also looking to lock animal or human eyes and faces. Animal is only really billed as working for pets so far, but I find it often works with other birds and mammals. it doesn't hurt to have it on is what I'm saying. :-) My default AF-C mode is Auto Area with human eye/face on. If shooting wildlife or pets I switch to animal.
hello, is prograde card better or cheaper than sandisk, lexar,... ? i have found these as well as your reader on amazon FR. can you please compare what we can do with 128GB and 256GB for photos and videos ? 100 euros difference. What kind of SD card do you use as backup for CXF card ? how do you proceed, lightroom or ON1 PR2021, to import files and clean both cards ?
I think the prograde brand is really high quality. It's what I'm using here on out. Links are at www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks It's a startup formed by a bunch of industry veterans and the price and quality are right on. The readers are great too. A 128GB card will hold about 1700 z7(or ii) raw files or 3200 z6(or ii) files. 256 doubles that. 4k video gets you about 90 minutes on a 128 card. Twice that on 256. I format the card in camera after importing in lightroom. My desktop PC's library is automatically backed up locally with goodsync and in the cloud by backblaze. On the road, I import to lightroom on my macbook and have lightroom back up the files to an external hard drive. On backpack adventures I bring plenty of cards and don't backup.
hello, in your "plus" section and here, can you please add a link to a SD card which is recommended as backup for the CXExpress Prograde one and comaptible with the dual slot reader you advise ?
$2500 for Z7 or $2000 for Z6ii. Which one would you recommend for landscape, family and stationary to slow moving wildlife. Looking to compliment (not replace yet) a D500.
Man that's tough. I'm loving the ii improvements. I'd say z7ii in a heartbeat, but the z6ii is really my favorite camera ever. My 7 comes out for crafting landscapes at lower iso. You can get that resolution with z6ii panos too. The z7ii closes the handling gap (it feels fast), but not that high iso ability you get with that sweet 24mp sensor. Do you want high iso hand held confidence and a bottomless buffer along with improved AF tracking and controls? Or do you want a lot of megapixels with slower handling, a small buffer and lots of noise at 3200 and above? If you consider my links I'm much obliged. :) www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thank you for your quick response. Do you think the z6ii is better in low light than the D500? I find myself in the dusk and dawn hours wanting to take photos and unable to focus. Do you think the mirrorless system focuses quicker and more accurately than the D500? Also, how does the viewfinder lag and blackout compare with the DSLR. Do you still grab your D500 for moving wildlife or birds in flight?
Yes, it will light up an eye or face automatically. The d-pad left and right let you switch which eye or face you want. Then you press AF-ON to focus and hold it to stay focused. :-)
If you place the AF area selection in the I menu as I advocate, you'll find subject selection (including eye/face) as a subselection directly below Auto area as I show in this video. :)
I did it in the same way, but it is that in A4 has always appeared ''A4 FOCUS POINTS USED'' and not as you have it in the video, I have looked for it and nothing, and I also added it to my menu. But thank you very much, I will keep trying 😇@@HudsonHenryPhoto
I zoomed in for a number of random 1:1's as I went along. Slowing down to do that would really makr for an incredibly long video. It's also in 4k,so perhaps watch on full res on a bigger screen to help. My reputation was certainly not built on fibbing. Hope your holidays are great.
In this video I show you it working with a buck in the wildlife refuge. I've had it trigger with seagulls too and friends have used it with song birds. It's made for pets, but often works with frame filling scenes of wild animals.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I'm new to video. But I thought that you can change from FX to DX in the camera and it acts as zoom without putting a DX lens on. I'm confused I guess.
You can, but in still mode its just cropping in on the lens projection, like cropping in post production. You lose megapixels. It won't give such options for a DX lens designed for smaller sensor APS-C cameras. Only full frame lenses. Dx lenses automatically put the camera in dx mode. They aren't designed to project a circle big enough to cover full frame, so the outer portion of the sensor shuts off (dx mode and less megapixels) Video mode is where the dx crop is really useful with full frame fx lenses. There are plenty of pixels to crop in to dx mode and still shoot full quality 4k video. That's what I show in the video. :) hope that helps.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto me too, except I can’t find a extra battery in the world anywhere!!! Know where I can go?
3 роки тому
I dont get it, why must animal and people auto-area AF be two different modes/options? it's 2020, I'm sure we have the technology and know-how to do people and animal eye detection in Auto-area AF under the same option. Its just some AI software. If there is people and animals in the same frame then there could be a priority option if it should pic human or animal eye first.
Whenever you have different people or different animals in the frame, you can flip from eye to eye with the D-pad left or right. The issue is just dialing in the software. It'll get there. We're at the beginning of Sensor based AF after years of optical AF design. If you'd been using the Z camera's AF since day 1 ( I had one of the first preorders) you'd be shocked how far it's come and how fast via firmware updates. The system was half baked with no eye detection at all when it launched and now it's hard to get an eye out of focus with the original Z6 or even the Z50. The ii models are even faster with the dual processing and the AF settings menu is improved and simplified. They're moving fast.
All the people who thinks that Nikon has worst AF than other brands should watch this comparison between the Z7 II and the Sony A9 II ua-cam.com/video/s0TXt3_lKas/v-deo.html
Thank you very much for this balanced & positive presentation. Your teaching is both detailed &informed. Your plea to learn the system instead of bashing it is tremendous sir. I respect your POV. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much, I learn something new on my Z6 every time I watch your videos. You do a fantastic job! So much for all the naysayers out there, saying Nikon Z cameras can’t do nature and action.
Great video, very informative. I am contemplating purchasing the z6ii for my 75th birthday in February. I will need lots of help!! Your video will be very helpful.
Steven
Thank you Henry,
Ron from the Netherlands here.
I ve just boucht the z50 and you realy help me out with all the options its got with your video ‘s .
The combi full size metering (auto) focus and then be able to overwrite it with the tracking mode with the f2 bullon...thats realy great.
Bets of both worlds (sort of single point shooting and recompose in an instemt while in auto mode.)
Thankt a lot.
Finally received my Z6II and already love it! I'm now going through your vids for tips and techniques; this one was super helpful. Not sure why anybody thinks this camera isn't any good. I can already see how much easier this camera will be to use. The focus modes are great as compared to the D850 I have.
Boooom! So glad to hear that. Wait till you sample more of the S glass. :) I'm selling F lenses I never thought I'd part with.
Perfect timing for this video, my new Z7 II just arrived today. So watching this and your setup video. My first mirrorless and first full-frame camera, upgrading from the D7200 and looking forward to trying this camera out.
I'm in the same exact situation :D
Wow, quite a jump, congratulations!
I am also looking to upgrade from a D7200. Considering the Z7 or the Z6ii. Let us know your thoughts after you have had a chance to take some photos.
That is nothing! I just jumped from a Pentax K3 (7 years old) to a Z6!
Very informative information that will help me with my new Z 6II!! Thanks!!!
Tomorrow I'm getting my Z7II finally!
Get tips starting to put them in use on my Z7ii, thanks keep well, keep sake and be happy.
Thanks for the introduction into these modes. Having just entered into the mirrorless realm, I have been hesitant to wade into the new mode territory. Your real world examples help me understand why I need to learn more about them, especially for shooting wildlife. Also, you're the first person who has fully explained how to use subject tracking. I've read two books and watched several videos, and this if the first time I've understood how to make it work for me. Nice tip on programming the f2 button to make it easy to invoke it quickly.
So glad to have helped Robert!
You should write a Guide to Capturing Motion in Low Light Situations.
Excellent video. Loved the recording of the back of your camera. It really helped. I am waiting for my Z7II. Upgrading from my Z7 which I absolutely love. Happy holidays.
Again, just what I needed. Thanks so much...
Hey Hudson! Thanks for all the great info and tips...and not just this video...I'm learning so much from your channel.... thanks so much! I'm so happy I waited to get the Z6ii...now I'm breaking the other piggy bank today and ordering the Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S lens today while it's in stock....using your link of course...Stay safe and have a great holiday season!
Great stuff, I’ll just grab a coffee, then enjoy! Seasons greetings Hudson to you and your family, all the best for 2021.
Exciting subject I am enjoying now. As usual, great experiences shared by Henry!
Very helpful as I’m still learning to use my Z7ii.
This video is just GOLD. Thanks for your time!!
by the way, 26:00 this shot is AMAZING!
As always, a great video with very useful informations from a real professional.
Thank you 🙏 ...and...
Happy holidays and all the best to you and your loved ones...be save!
Great video Hudson. Hope you can get hands on the X2 Teleconverter. I have seen mixed reviews for this accessory so hopefully you can provide some feedback on this.
Been enjoying your vids on the z6ii and the z7ii. Sitting here waiting for my 7ii to arrive today!
A little off topic but I'll probably be trying to shoot some video while up in Yellowstone for the next 2 months. I have a Manfrotto 700RC2 fluid head but all of my cameras and lenses have the Arca Swiss style plates. Is there an adapter that you're familiar with that would be the RC2 bottom to attach to the head but the top would accept the Arca Swiss plates?
Also, thanks for your video on setting up the Z's!
Check out the fluid head section of my links page and have a blast. Www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks
Hudson, just received my Z7II. Thank you for helping me set it up. Really enjoyed your field work with the family at the nature preserve. I am a little confused on the video setting. I hope to do some 30 minute videos 4K 30FPS. Did you say to switch to DX for the video? If so, why?
Well I’m coming home my z6ii arrives today 9/1/21 yeh!! Thanks for all your videos 👍🏻👍🏻
On the Z6 I assigned "Auto-area AF face/ eye detection to F2 button on the front, and focus tracking to F1 button on the front.
Great explanations and demonstrations, thanks a lot!
Thanks for a great video! You made a comment about matrix metering vs center weighted. Has it changed in mirrorless? Which do you use fir portraits? Thanks 🙏
I've had the opportunity to shoot my D500 and Z6II side by side with the Nikon 200-500 for about four weeks. (the lens one shoots with might affect the performance). In CA-F and panning wildlife the two are close, but for birds coming straight at you the D500 definitely "sticks" to the subject better than the Z6II. Having said that, with the dual processors, my gamble is the Z6II firmware update will improve the CA-F even more. I got the Z6II to be my work camera for weddings, family etc, but just wanted to chime in my impressions. It's a keeper camera no doubt, and the video is amazing, and btw, while not an official test, seems the preamps on this camera are much better than the first version.
Yep, not prefect, but better preamps. The D500 is a beast, but I find for frame filling fast action the Z's can track much better. It only becomes frustrating with a combination of close fast acton and more distant subjects, where you need to bounce between subject tracking and full auto area. Moving the activate /deactivate control to fn2 helps a lot with that. I've got a feeling that as time goes on the need to activate subject tracking will become less and less and the camera will just know more and more. That's been my experience over the past two years firmware updates as I've left my long beloved D850 and D500 home more and more and now almost never touch them. It also wouldn't surprise me if the 200-500 is a fair bit slower on the Z's. No offense at all, but I wasn't a big fan of that lens on f mount either. ;)
@@HudsonHenryPhoto why didnt you like the 200-500? Just curious as thats my go to lens and i love it
I have a regular workshop attendee who loves it too, but several friends of mine and I have tried it and sent it back. I think there's a large sample variation in this lens, but the one I had was not very sharp at 500 (where I'd use it most) even at f8. Chromatic aberration was rough at the long end too. I felt it tracked action well, but it frequently stumbled on target acquisition and racked around annoyingly if that happened. I didn't like that it took multiple hand moves to go through the zoom range when tracking fast action coming at you and it worried me that it wasn't weather sealed since I work in wet or dusty places more often than not. Finally I felt the tripod foot was clunky. Kirk's 2 piece solution would help a lot with that though. The PF prime lenses are much more expensive and not in everyone's range, but man do they make me happy. Small, light, fast and wicked sharp at all apertures even with a 1.4 TC. :)
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I must have gotten a good one because the performance is stellar at 5.6 at 500mm. I never see the point of shooting with a telephoto if the quality diminishes at the long end. True point on the preamps, big improvement.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto il
I left my heart in Nikon. The reason I am thinking to back to Nikon is the new 14-24 z.
Everything about the Z system is so fun to use. I know it gets a bad rap, but they're bloody wonderful in the hand and intuitive and built to take into war zones. The lenses are just nothing short of epic though and the 14-24 leads that race.
Very good video and some nice images.
I really like this explanation, but my Z7ii is still struggling with movement. I am left wondering if there is an issue with my camera, or lens at times.
Very useful video - thanks.
Hudson, Picked up my Z7 II last week as well as a Manfrotto MVH500AH fluid head (you convinced me on that!). My request is to ask if you can do more of a 'close-up' of your 'plate on a plate' set-up please, the Manfrotto plate is wider than your typical Arca Swiss plate so would like to see how you marry them all together.
Ha, hey Grant. All that stuff is detailed in the fluid head section of my links. Www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks Email me if you have any issue dialing that in. I'd really highly suggest Kirk's custom 500AH bridge assembly with an LRP-3 and L-bracket to get balanced and vertical. Email is hi@hudsonhenry.com
Great video! What do you think about the Z5? I’m coming from a d750 and shoot stills only, landscapes travel street and low light. I like the features of the Z5, but worry about low light capabilities
Z6 for sure! The z5 just makes too many sacrifices. I know you've got to update to CF Express to do it, but that format is so much faster and more durable than SD that you'll never want to use one again... I regularly let the Z6 and Z6ii auto iso ramp up to 20,000. Not to mention the weather sealing and bombproof build. It's fabulous. If you consider using my links I'd be so appreciative. Www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks
@@HudsonHenryPhoto thank you!
nice review. i don't understand very well how, on Z6II, you activate the yellow box and the red box when AF is lost. I looked lot of tutos where photographers complain about bad focusing,... and you seem to be always able to fit that. One video was about skate boarders and all photos were blur compared to alpha7m3 and canon R5. same remark with a bicycler coming towards the photographer at 30Km/h. Af was focusing on a tree, on a bush while the guy was really visible on display. I would really appreciate more tutos from you real life on focusing with Z6II.
If you are tracking the action by moving the camera with the subject (panning the camera) then the auto area rocks and rarely misses without choosing a point at all. If a distant subject is coming toward or away from you (the bicycle for instance) or just not moving too much at all in the frame, or you need to pick one of several slow moving subjects and you aren't moving the camera much compared to the background, then the subject tracking essential and is a simple button touch. I program that to fn2 in my U3 mode so that i can use my right ring finger to activate or deactivate it. Activate it, put it's yellow square on target, hold AF-ON. Release to reset and hit it again to lock. Hit Fn2 again to get rid of it and go back to auto area. The subject tracking is not good for fast moving, motion that you have to pan to keep in the frame. You'll need to practice when to activate and deactivate it. I've been shooting this system since the Z6/7's firmware 1. It's since firmware 3.0 that it's gotten really good. It just takes some practice. Whatever you do, get the activation and deactivation out of the stock setup where it's two buttons on the back. Your thumb is busy enough.There are plenty of videos of people bashing this system. Some from people who really haven't used it enough to learn it, some from people who make money promoting other brands. Everyone I know who actually uses it, loves it. Kinda funny that.
Thanks for this, do you think we are getting close to being able to match D500? I want so bad to go all mirroless..
I like your laid back style Hudson! Subscribed Brudah :--)
Heard so much good things about the Z6II.
How do you switch off the screen shutter release?
There's a little icon on the left you tap to cycle off, focus, focus and shoot, or select focus point. :)
Still trying to figure out subject tracking . On my Z9 , is subject tracking only available in auto area ?
I’m still struggling w this !
Thx for any help !
Silly question but I do always still need to hit the af on “back button” to lock in every time I choose to hit the shutter ?
Could you do a video on tracking birds in flight with your z7ii? I want to get the z7ii but have some reservations in that regard. Thank you in advance and Merry Christmas!
Early on with the Zs I grabbed my D500 for birds in flight. Not so much anymore after firmware updates and particularly now with the faster ii models with thier deeper buffers. I find the same techniques I show here work well. Auto area with no tracking for closer birds, subject tracking for further away or smaller birds. Put subject tracking on fn2 tu activate and deactivate with ease as needed. I wish I'd had my field recorder hooked up when the egret with the mouse flew. Great example, but I wasn't recording my screen yet. It's different than you're used to with group area on the DSLRs, but it's working quite well for me after learning it. The Z6ii will be better for birds than the Z7ii. The high iso performance pairs better with the fast shutter speeds you need to freeze fight motion with long birding lenses, particularly in good light.
Now if NIkon would let us use touch control while viewing with the EVF. Your demo of AF applies almost exclusively to LCD viewing.
NO, all of that was through the viewfinder with the HDMI out to my wife holding the Nina V in the passenger seat. IT records the same either way. :-) She had our 3 year old on her lap and I had our 4 year old on mine. Nothing like tossing in a bit of additional challenge :-) I agree it would be cool to control AF point selection with the LCD though.
Dude! Great info!
another excellent video thanks and merry Christmas to all, keep your mask on and hands clean
Have had my Z6ii since Dec 2020 and STILL waiting on my 24-70 f2.8 to arrive. Waiting this long is taking the fun out of buying anything Nikon :-( Wondering if I should've switched to Sony instead which WILL happen if nothing arrives by the 28th.......Very fed up photographer.
Finished getting all the settings and user modes dialed on the z7ii now just to have a day off work to go and test it! One of the reasons I wanted the z7ii and the z6ii was because the DX 20.9mp is almost identical in mp to my d500 so that seems like a viable option. For wildlife do you think it is better to photograph in FX mode and crop in post or to switch to DX mode and shoot like that? What do you think?
In my opinion it makes no sense to crop in the camera if you don’t use DX-lenses. You can crop later with Lightroom (or similar).
I agree for stills. Crop later. For video of course you shoot dx and get more reach but the same resolution with less pixel interpolation. :)
Any news on delivery cycles for the z7ii?
Hi Hudson, can you please comment on your subject tracking speed when tracking birds etc
Hmmm I thought I did. I'm getting great birds shots. Some are in here. You just have to learn a new way of working. It tracks close birds in flight or other action where you're moving with the subject to keep it in frame in auto area without subject tracking. It's astounding how well that works actually. For more distant birds, picking one of multiple subjects, or situations where it misses for some reason you activate subject tracking and override the auto area by locking them in the box. You want subject tracking activation/deactivation on a front fn button for action like birds so you can instantly activate or deactivate when needed.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I meant your settings for tracking etc. 3-4-5 ?
If you watch my z_ii setup video (ua-cam.com/video/Do0Va7wciTs/v-deo.html) you'll see that I find the stock setting is great. It's really about how long a delay before the camera starts hunting for a new subject if the actively tracked subject passes behind a closer obstruction. There could be situations where you need to extend that for slow moving subjects with lots of obstructions or vice versa, but that's a rare need and highly subjective.
Are running pre-pro software? My Z 7 II a4 is your a5.
You mentioned using auto-area mode. Is this the general auto-area mode or has to be the auto-area mode (aminals)?
From my last years with this system as it has evolved, there isn't really a functional difference except that with eye/face detect on it's also looking to lock animal or human eyes and faces. Animal is only really billed as working for pets so far, but I find it often works with other birds and mammals. it doesn't hurt to have it on is what I'm saying. :-) My default AF-C mode is Auto Area with human eye/face on. If shooting wildlife or pets I switch to animal.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thanks and noted.
They need an update where you can change the size of the tracking box. Too big for many situations.
hello, is prograde card better or cheaper than sandisk, lexar,... ? i have found these as well as your reader on amazon FR. can you please compare what we can do with 128GB and 256GB for photos and videos ? 100 euros difference. What kind of SD card do you use as backup for CXF card ? how do you proceed, lightroom or ON1 PR2021, to import files and clean both cards ?
I think the prograde brand is really high quality. It's what I'm using here on out. Links are at www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks It's a startup formed by a bunch of industry veterans and the price and quality are right on. The readers are great too. A 128GB card will hold about 1700 z7(or ii) raw files or 3200 z6(or ii) files. 256 doubles that. 4k video gets you about 90 minutes on a 128 card. Twice that on 256. I format the card in camera after importing in lightroom. My desktop PC's library is automatically backed up locally with goodsync and in the cloud by backblaze. On the road, I import to lightroom on my macbook and have lightroom back up the files to an external hard drive. On backpack adventures I bring plenty of cards and don't backup.
hello, in your "plus" section and here, can you please add a link to a SD card which is recommended as backup for the CXExpress Prograde one and comaptible with the dual slot reader you advise ?
Thank you!
$2500 for Z7 or $2000 for Z6ii. Which one would you recommend for landscape, family and stationary to slow moving wildlife. Looking to compliment (not replace yet) a D500.
Man that's tough. I'm loving the ii improvements. I'd say z7ii in a heartbeat, but the z6ii is really my favorite camera ever. My 7 comes out for crafting landscapes at lower iso. You can get that resolution with z6ii panos too. The z7ii closes the handling gap (it feels fast), but not that high iso ability you get with that sweet 24mp sensor.
Do you want high iso hand held confidence and a bottomless buffer along with improved AF tracking and controls? Or do you want a lot of megapixels with slower handling, a small buffer and lots of noise at 3200 and above? If you consider my links I'm much obliged. :) www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thank you for your quick response. Do you think the z6ii is better in low light than the D500? I find myself in the dusk and dawn hours wanting to take photos and unable to focus. Do you think the mirrorless system focuses quicker and more accurately than the D500? Also, how does the viewfinder lag and blackout compare with the DSLR. Do you still grab your D500 for moving wildlife or birds in flight?
What kind of lense did you use to photograph that deer?
500PF
At minute 4:50 when it locks on the eye do you keep back AF button pressed on while shooting ? Thanks 🙏
Yes, it will light up an eye or face automatically. The d-pad left and right let you switch which eye or face you want. Then you press AF-ON to focus and hold it to stay focused. :-)
the menu of my Nikon z7 II camera, does not have the A4 auto-area AF FACE-EYE D ... mmm
If you place the AF area selection in the I menu as I advocate, you'll find subject selection (including eye/face) as a subselection directly below Auto area as I show in this video. :)
I did it in the same way, but it is that in A4 has always appeared ''A4 FOCUS POINTS USED'' and not as you have it in the video, I have looked for it and nothing, and I also added it to my menu. But thank you very much, I will keep trying 😇@@HudsonHenryPhoto
Can you show the 1:1 zoom of the pictures that you took. What you showed is not good enough to check perfect focus.
I zoomed in for a number of random 1:1's as I went along. Slowing down to do that would really makr for an incredibly long video. It's also in 4k,so perhaps watch on full res on a bigger screen to help. My reputation was certainly not built on fibbing. Hope your holidays are great.
I understand that the eye detection does not work for wild animals or birds. Can you confirm this?
In this video I show you it working with a buck in the wildlife refuge. I've had it trigger with seagulls too and friends have used it with song birds. It's made for pets, but often works with frame filling scenes of wild animals.
I didn't see how you changed from FX to DX during video? I went to my i screen and the FX to DX is greyed out.
Hmmmm that seems odd. Are you using a DX lens? You can't change it while a clip is filming. Not sure what else would preclude you from changing...?
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I'm new to video. But I thought that you can change from FX to DX in the camera and it acts as zoom without putting a DX lens on. I'm confused I guess.
You can, but in still mode its just cropping in on the lens projection, like cropping in post production. You lose megapixels. It won't give such options for a DX lens designed for smaller sensor APS-C cameras. Only full frame lenses. Dx lenses automatically put the camera in dx mode. They aren't designed to project a circle big enough to cover full frame, so the outer portion of the sensor shuts off (dx mode and less megapixels)
Video mode is where the dx crop is really useful with full frame fx lenses. There are plenty of pixels to crop in to dx mode and still shoot full quality 4k video. That's what I show in the video. :) hope that helps.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto thanks Hudson!
Thanks for cc
Do you still have the z50
I do. It's my "pocket" camera. I love it.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto me too, except I can’t find a extra battery in the world anywhere!!! Know where I can go?
I dont get it, why must animal and people auto-area AF be two different modes/options? it's 2020, I'm sure we have the technology and know-how to do people and animal eye detection in Auto-area AF under the same option. Its just some AI software.
If there is people and animals in the same frame then there could be a priority option if it should pic human or animal eye first.
Whenever you have different people or different animals in the frame, you can flip from eye to eye with the D-pad left or right. The issue is just dialing in the software. It'll get there. We're at the beginning of Sensor based AF after years of optical AF design. If you'd been using the Z camera's AF since day 1 ( I had one of the first preorders) you'd be shocked how far it's come and how fast via firmware updates. The system was half baked with no eye detection at all when it launched and now it's hard to get an eye out of focus with the original Z6 or even the Z50. The ii models are even faster with the dual processing and the AF settings menu is improved and simplified. They're moving fast.
All the people who thinks that Nikon has worst AF than other brands should watch this comparison between the Z7 II and the Sony A9 II
ua-cam.com/video/s0TXt3_lKas/v-deo.html