sk66
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OK, perhaps broken is a bit exaggerated. But I figured I would start a new thread with my latest findings as an advisory to those considering buying a D5/D500, or are confused by their results with dynamic modes.
The new system is much faster and has many more AF points spaced much closer together... that's accepted and should be a bonus. And IMO it is in many/most situations.
Through much testing I have found the primary difference between the D5/D500 and earlier cameras when in a dynamic mode (d9-d153).
When in a dynamic mode earlier cameras track in "blocked shot mode" and the new cameras track in "distance change mode." The "focus tracking with lock on" setting has always been described as a setting for "blocked shots" based on "change in distance," but the cameras are addressing those two aspects completely differently (even though the delay setting is still called "blocked shot").
Earlier cameras will *not* shift to a more distant focus unless focus is lost (i.e. d51 w/ delay off). But they will shift to a nearer focus dependent on the delay setting (which goes from off to quite long). Exactly what you would expect/want for "blocked shots."
The D5/D500 will shift to both a nearer AND a more distant focus, also dependent on the delay setting (which goes from short to really-really short). This means the D5/D500 will happily jump to the BG if it reasonably can... and the system is so good/fast that it often can. This one difference makes the D5/D500 dynamic modes MUCH worse in very demanding situations like small/fast birds in flight... exactly the situations where we depended on it to make up for other shortfalls.
Everything else I have found/identified/verified seems to be "the same," only faster/better.
And luckily auto and 3d modes have been greatly improved over previous models; they can be used in difficult situations with good results (and w/ their own limitations).
I have been in discussion with Nikon and they have been testing/verifying my findings. Supposedly my findings/concerns are being passed to the Nikon D5 expert... I made a recommendation of a firmware fix that adds an option called "limit focus shift" or "blocked shot mode" as the new behavior can potentially be beneficial in situations where the subject is large in the FOV. I emphasized the benefit of the traditional "blocked shot" behavior for wildlife photographers shooting demanding subjects, and that wildlife photographers are a huge portion of the consumers purchasing the D5/D500. Even if they do listen, I wouldn't expect a change anytime soon.
Another point to note is that the D5/D500 will not currently display the focus point used while in d9-d153 upon image review.
The new system is much faster and has many more AF points spaced much closer together... that's accepted and should be a bonus. And IMO it is in many/most situations.
Through much testing I have found the primary difference between the D5/D500 and earlier cameras when in a dynamic mode (d9-d153).
When in a dynamic mode earlier cameras track in "blocked shot mode" and the new cameras track in "distance change mode." The "focus tracking with lock on" setting has always been described as a setting for "blocked shots" based on "change in distance," but the cameras are addressing those two aspects completely differently (even though the delay setting is still called "blocked shot").
Earlier cameras will *not* shift to a more distant focus unless focus is lost (i.e. d51 w/ delay off). But they will shift to a nearer focus dependent on the delay setting (which goes from off to quite long). Exactly what you would expect/want for "blocked shots."
The D5/D500 will shift to both a nearer AND a more distant focus, also dependent on the delay setting (which goes from short to really-really short). This means the D5/D500 will happily jump to the BG if it reasonably can... and the system is so good/fast that it often can. This one difference makes the D5/D500 dynamic modes MUCH worse in very demanding situations like small/fast birds in flight... exactly the situations where we depended on it to make up for other shortfalls.
Everything else I have found/identified/verified seems to be "the same," only faster/better.
And luckily auto and 3d modes have been greatly improved over previous models; they can be used in difficult situations with good results (and w/ their own limitations).
I have been in discussion with Nikon and they have been testing/verifying my findings. Supposedly my findings/concerns are being passed to the Nikon D5 expert... I made a recommendation of a firmware fix that adds an option called "limit focus shift" or "blocked shot mode" as the new behavior can potentially be beneficial in situations where the subject is large in the FOV. I emphasized the benefit of the traditional "blocked shot" behavior for wildlife photographers shooting demanding subjects, and that wildlife photographers are a huge portion of the consumers purchasing the D5/D500. Even if they do listen, I wouldn't expect a change anytime soon.
Another point to note is that the D5/D500 will not currently display the focus point used while in d9-d153 upon image review.
