Nikon Z* mirrorless

Well I had my Z9 now for about a month, and it's the beast everyone says it was. The AF tracking is light years ahead of my Z6 II and Z7 II, but (and here's the controversial bit), If pushed, I have to say the subject tracking (birds, Dogs and animals in general), I've finding slightly better on my Olympus OM-1 - there I said it and am prepared to be flamed and shot down.

Now in the Z9's defence, I've only had it a month so perhaps more use will yield better results, and I have been using it with an adapted lens (the 500mm PF which is obviously an F5.6), whereas on the Olympus I've been using the 300mm F4 almost exclusively. What I'm finding is with birds in particular, they have to be relatively large in the frame (at least compared to the OM-1), before the Z9 recognises it as a bird, draws a box around it and tracks it, whereas the OM-1 pretty much nails a bird instantly and tracks it almost perfectly even at a distance.

I know the Z9 has many MANY other strengths over the OM-1 (resolution, High ISO, Video performance etc to name a few), but TBH I was expecting more, and expected it to best the OM-1 in pretty much every AF test. I've tried in both Wide area medium and large (with subject tracking on), as well as 3D. The Z9 isn't bad of course but when I check the images on the computer I can see that a fair percentage are just a smidge out of focus and the object (bird) is ever so slightly soft, whereas the OM-1 nails almost 95% of the images tack sharp. I don't think the lens need AF tuning as when shooting static birds on a stick, the 500 PF nails them every time.

So question for all you Z9 birders out there, is there a secret sauce, or do Z mount native lenses just work better (either the Z primes or the 100-400 for example) ?
 
I can’t compare to the Olympus but I’ve only used Z glass on my Z9 and it’s great.

Depending where you are, happy for you to have a play with my 100-400.
 
Sootchucker said:
Well I had my Z9 now for about a month, and it's the beast everyone says it was. The AF tracking is light years ahead of my Z6 II and Z7 II, but (and here's the controversial bit), If pushed, I have to say the subject tracking (birds, Dogs and animals in general), I've finding slightly better on my Olympus OM-1 - there I said it and am prepared to be flamed and shot down.

Now in the Z9's defence, I've only had it a month so perhaps more use will yield better results, and I have been using it with an adapted lens (the 500mm PF which is obviously an F5.6), whereas on the Olympus I've been using the 300mm F4 almost exclusively. What I'm finding is with birds in particular, they have to be relatively large in the frame (at least compared to the OM-1), before the Z9 recognises it as a bird, draws a box around it and tracks it, whereas the OM-1 pretty much nails a bird instantly and tracks it almost perfectly even at a distance.

I know the Z9 has many MANY other strengths over the OM-1 (resolution, High ISO, Video performance etc to name a few), but TBH I was expecting more, and expected it to best the OM-1 in pretty much every AF test. I've tried in both Wide area medium and large (with subject tracking on), as well as 3D. The Z9 isn't bad of course but when I check the images on the computer I can see that a fair percentage are just a smidge out of focus and the object (bird) is ever so slightly soft, whereas the OM-1 nails almost 95% of the images tack sharp. I don't think the lens need AF tuning as when shooting static birds on a stick, the 500 PF nails them every time.

So question for all you Z9 birders out there, is there a secret sauce, or do Z mount native lenses just work better (either the Z primes or the 100-400 for example) ?
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I have both the OM-1 and Z9 and would agree with your comments.
 
Sootchucker said:
Well I had my Z9 now for about a month, and it's the beast everyone says it was. The AF tracking is light years ahead of my Z6 II and Z7 II, but (and here's the controversial bit), If pushed, I have to say the subject tracking (birds, Dogs and animals in general), I've finding slightly better on my Olympus OM-1 - there I said it and am prepared to be flamed and shot down.

Now in the Z9's defence, I've only had it a month so perhaps more use will yield better results, and I have been using it with an adapted lens (the 500mm PF which is obviously an F5.6), whereas on the Olympus I've been using the 300mm F4 almost exclusively. What I'm finding is with birds in particular, they have to be relatively large in the frame (at least compared to the OM-1), before the Z9 recognises it as a bird, draws a box around it and tracks it, whereas the OM-1 pretty much nails a bird instantly and tracks it almost perfectly even at a distance.

I know the Z9 has many MANY other strengths over the OM-1 (resolution, High ISO, Video performance etc to name a few), but TBH I was expecting more, and expected it to best the OM-1 in pretty much every AF test. I've tried in both Wide area medium and large (with subject tracking on), as well as 3D. The Z9 isn't bad of course but when I check the images on the computer I can see that a fair percentage are just a smidge out of focus and the object (bird) is ever so slightly soft, whereas the OM-1 nails almost 95% of the images tack sharp. I don't think the lens need AF tuning as when shooting static birds on a stick, the 500 PF nails them every time.

So question for all you Z9 birders out there, is there a secret sauce, or do Z mount native lenses just work better (either the Z primes or the 100-400 for example) ?
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I've not used an Olympus but I have used fujis new x-h2s and I found the same situation. I have 2 real issues with the Z9 for shooting birds. The first is the tracking and subject detection isn't great and the focus seems to miss just a tad like you say. The second is I'm seeing feather detail missing from the Z9. I keep coming back to this, Even filling the frame with a heron this week, still it seemed very little detail from a 45mpx sensor in the feathers.

I'm using all Nikon Z glass and so I don't think the fact that you're using adapted lenses is the issue.

I also made the mistake of picking up a zfc a week or two ago. TBH really disappointed with it, with some real odd quirks like having no A mode on the ISO dial so that gets confusing. Part of it I think though is that I love the 28mm lens, just not on a cropped body, and nikon don't makes a 18mm.
 
Sootchucker said:
So question for all you Z9 birders out there, is there a secret sauce, or do Z mount native lenses just work better (either the Z primes or the 100-400 for example) ?
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There's no special sauce that I have found when it comes to AF acquisition/tracking. Often I get the best performance from one of the dumb modes (e.g. dynamic area).

I don't have any Z lenses and I've not found the lack of sharpness/detail you and others have mentioned... but I will say that using default settings/processing in any of the programs (LR/NX/etc) gives less than optimal results. NX studio in particular adds a heavy dose of noise reduction even if that option is not checked (to turn it off you have to select it and change the setting to off).
 
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Z9 3.01 firmware update, claiming improved focus tracking etc not tried it but will have a look over Christmas
 
AdamSi said:
Z9 3.01 firmware update, claiming improved focus tracking etc not tried it but will have a look over Christmas
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Now we've had firmware V3.01 do you think that's it for the major advancements? No other camera has gone past v3.5 IIRC?

Or do Nikon have track record of delivering some big changes after a year on the flagship line? I'm toying with the idea of getting one. But wondering if that's it on the development front.
 
I would assume that's it for new features, and now will be just bug fixes ?
 
Doug said:
Now we've had firmware V3.01 do you think that's it for the major advancements? No other camera has gone past v3.5 IIRC?

Or do Nikon have track record of delivering some big changes after a year on the flagship line? I'm toying with the idea of getting one. But wondering if that's it on the development front.
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No idea, all I know is I am still blown away by the Z9 and love it, best Nikon I have ever owned (like the best of the D500 merged into the D850/Z7 resolution) I know some other manufacturer's have better AF from what I hear but I have never struggled to capture anything with it from F15's in mach loop to very fast birds of prey in flight.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
The 14-30 is now £935 on Amazon and John Lewis, which is about the same price for used examples. So I’ve just brought forward my new year plans to buy one………
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You're going to love it, I bought mine just after I bought the Z5, I use it more than the 24-70
 
Only makes me more furious about Brexit. In the good old days, I could easily just order stuff from Amazon.uk, which was often sent from a Bavarian depot anyway. Nowadays they have to go through a convoluted procedure for working out the likely tax and other charges which means you don't actually know what the kit will cost but it's always more than the headline price. Amazon.uk tends to have better prices and more offers than amazon.de so if I do finish up buying something new, it's usually in a local store these days. Only the 50mm price is pretty ordinary -- at one stage there was a cashback in Germany putting it at around £300. I nearly bought but in the end for similar money got a secondhand 50mm f1.2 AIS and haven't regretted it.
 
The 14-30 is so tempting for the current £. I had a 10-24 on my X-T3 so definitely welcome this kind of focal range range in what I shoot, though have just pulled the trigger on a 24-120 f/4 to replace the 24-70. I've found the 24-70 so versatile, more than I initially expected, and wanted something that gave just that little more range.

Also, if anyone is looking for a 24-120, then CameraWorld currently have it for £999
 
I also had the 10-24 on my Fuji and liked it, although it was a rather late investment only a few months before switching to Nikon. At the moment, my ultrawide is served by the Irix 15mm which is still far cheaper than the Nikon but I wouldn't mind the flexibility of a zoom if it was at a reasonable price.
 
Nikon Z 400mm f4.5 turned up today. Feels and looks a quality built lens, will be trying it tomorrow on the Owls.
 
sk66 said:
Most lenses have been focus by wire for a long time now...
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I should have been more specific.

On a DSLR lens (typically) you have a focus ring that manually moves the lens elements ie a direct, mechanical link from the focus ring to the lens elements.

You will of course have internal silent wave motors that are communicated with electronically from the camera. IE when you autofocus, the manual focus ring does not move the way it might if there was a screw drive AF ie the camera powered the AF. You might observe this in AF-D Nikkor lenses and other screw drive 1st generation autofocus systems.

With AF-S G/E you still have a focus ring, and if you power the camera off, look through the view finder and manually focus you can see you subject go in and out of focus as you turn the ring - why - the focus ring is directly moving the lens elements. Sadly these, and third-party lenses, also have these electronic apertures, with no manual aperture on the lens.

You are right though, the autofocus is purely electronic (it is on my 70-200 2.8 FL ED, and Sigma ARTs). The focus ring doesn't move when you autofocus, only the focus scale ring internal to the lens. This of course moves as you move the focus ring.

Should an autofocus motor fail on such a lens - you can still use it, only with pure manual focus.

On a pure focus by wire lens (read Fuji GF, Nikon Z, and Canon RF) the manual focus ring isn't directly mechanically linked to the lens. Instead, it drives a small electric motor (the same ones for the autofocus system). In some ways this is a plus, as you can make the ring more sensitive, less sensitive and non linear in response. You cannot do this with a SLR lens as the focus ring is directly geared to the lens elements. However, the whole thing is electronic, so if the lens motors fails, you will have NO ability to manually focus as your focus ring has no direct link to the lens elements. And that's really what I was asking. You might also observe a slight delay in observing true focus, from your operation of the focus ring. This doesn't apply to the DSLR lens.

There's been a few cases of this with Fuji GF lenses where the whole lens is bricked if this happens.
 
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SFTPhotography said:
Should an autofocus motor fail on such a lens - you can still use it, only with pure manual focus.
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That might matter to me if my eyes were good enough to achieve critical focus through the viewfinder :D
But I haven't heard of any issues on any of the Z9 groups/forums/etc; yet, I'm sure it will happen.
 
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sk66 said:
That might matter to me if my eyes were good enough to achieve critical focus through the viewfinder :D
But I haven't heard of any issues on any of the Z9 groups/forums/etc; yet, I'm sure it will happen.
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You can use the rear screen, so long as you are tripod mounted it works fine, zoom to 100% and boom. Perfect every time.
 
Weird question for anyone with a 70-200; does it make a noise when you pick it up?

It sounds like something is loose inside but it works perfectly!
 
inkiboo said:
Weird question for anyone with a 70-200; does it make a noise when you pick it up?

It sounds like something is loose inside but it works perfectly!
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Probably VR not locked. Put it on the body, turn on, then turn off and then remove the lens with the body off. That should lock the VR in the lens.
 
Few from today with my Z7 and Canon EF200 2.8..

Uploaded direct from the camera, although the presets had a bit too much clarity dialed up. I’m still alright with them - the apartments was taken at ⅛ handheld., just testing the stabilizer!
 

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very nice. I had an uncle and aunt in Church Stretton when I was younger and was frequently in the Long Mynd but can't remember now if/when we went up the Wrekin.
 
Im really struggling with a Z9 vs D6 internal debate to obtain faster and more accurate AF for bird photography.

Currently I have a D850, 500mm F4 ED VR (with tc14 iii) and 3 sigma art primes so the D6 would be an easy fit into this due to native F mount but does anyone have experience they can share on using primes with the Z to F mount converter including use of the gen 3 telecom dryer on top of that?

I like the idea of phase contrast AF and the eye detection and mp count make the Z9 appealing to me but I’m not really in a position to swap out my glass so the solution needs to be oven ready!
 
Can't comment on the D6 but right from the off I was disappointed with the focus ability of my D850. I bought one at launch and even sent it back to Nikon for checking (they declared it OK). I even sold it to buy another one which was exactly the same. For me it's never been an action camera.
The D500s (x2) I had were light years ahead for fast moving action - so my guess would be that the D850-D6 comparison would be similar.
I still have my second D850 but it never gets used for action.
I use my Z9 with F mount lenses and the FTZII and am very happy with the focus performance for fast moving subjects.
 
James J said:
Thanks Chris, useful insight. Do you get any vignette with using the adapter?
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The FTZ works perfectly and actually makes some some people believe the F mounts work even better on Z bodies, I personally think this is just they are focusing more accurately so they see a sharper image resulting (I have always used FOCAL calibration on my F mount bodies so not an issue for me, the mirrorless is focusing from the sensor so should never need it), I have used the FTZ with 400G / 400FL / 500FL / 600FL / 500PF and no issues at all, always been really happy.
 
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Well Wex had an open box one so I just ordered that which should hopefully arrive by the weekend. Really looking forward to seeing what it can do with my 500mm f4 and it’s TC!

Any weird settings I need to be aware of?
 
James J said:
Well Wex had an open box one so I just ordered that which should hopefully arrive by the weekend. Really looking forward to seeing what it can do with my 500mm f4 and it’s TC!

Any weird settings I need to be aware of?
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I have mine set up very similar to my D500 was, but this guy has a good channel and has some set up guides which do help, also make sure you get FW updated to 3.01
 
That’s great thanks Adam. Looks like it’s turning up tomorrow after all so I’ll look at what firmware it’s shipped with and update accordingly
 
So the Z9 turned up today and I’m genuinely shocked at how good the AF is on it. Only tried my 35 and 85 f1.4 lenses on it so far due to getting it when it was dark but I’m itching to try the 500 and the 1.4 tc too. The AF nailed every shot of my bengals running around and I can even see my reflection in their eyes. I just cannot do that with the D850 anywhere near consistently with such a thin focal plane.

Really looking forward to taking it to one of the local bird hides tomorrow and seeing what it can do.
 
Just looking at Camera Price Buster and it’s Interesting to see how the price of the Z7 ii has fallen of late, there’s not much difference between the cost of a new body and a good used one. I’m after one but am minded to wait a while to see where prices are in a month or two’s time.
 
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