This is the BEST and the MOST lucid explanation for setting up Z9. Till date I have not seen a better explanation. I most sincerely thank you for this video and the effort to put everything in the most easiest terms.
Thank you for that information. I just switched my Z9 and Nikon D810 OFF of back button focus because it cancels out my corded remote switch. A corded remote switch is much easier to use especially with the viewing screen on the Z9. No need to have my face on the camera and finger on the shutter release (which causes camera shake). This works very well for me on both the tripod AND monopod.
Terry Vander Heiden, thanks for the setup information. For new viewers, I found it helpful to go to the gear icon and slow the video playback speed down that I could stop the video playback in a timely fashion and view the menus Terry was showing. I used 75% which slowed the speech but made stopping the video to look at the settings easier.
Just received my NPS pre-order Z9 early this week, and I'm still exploring settings. This is a good 'starting point' tutorial - thanks. I find that over time, we all modify the settings to suit our style and needs, but it's very helpful to have a close baseline. Thanks for taking the time.
Hey Terry, i am not sure how I stumbled across your video, but i am glad I did. I am still finding my way around the plethora of information in the Z9 menu system. Not all of you tips suit my work flow but they are a great place to start so thank you very much.
Hi Terry, I am so excited as I will be getting my Z9 on Friday. Thanks for the tutorial. It seems pretty straight forward to set up. This will be my first Nikon camera as it is the only one that checked all the boxes for me in terms of an upgrade.
I've been pretty much an AF-S focus guy on all my Nikons and have found setting up focus on my Z9 to be daunting...even for someone who's shot Nikon for decades. This was helpful. Look forward to more tips.
Dear Terry: The best guide to the sensible settings on the Z9! I simply changed the language to English and followed your settings. Terry, you could perhaps make a video, which settings "how" you store in my menu, thanks for this abbreviation of the 900-page Nikon manual, greetings from Germany!
Thank you Peter. I was wondering if anyone would find that useful. I will put that on the list of videos and let you know when its out. Thanks for the suggestion and for watching.
Excellent video, I'm literally waiting for FedEx to arrive with my Z9 (ordered in February) and a number of accessories, cards, extra batts, etc... I appreciate your work!
Still waiting on delivery of my Z9 but as I shoot mainly wildlife this video will help me enormously when it finally does arrive as most of what you’ve said here resonates well with the way I shoot and use my current D850. All I need now is the Z9 to arrive
Great video Terry my Z 9 arrives tomorrow and planning to shoot tomorrow afternoon. This will help me get started. Glad I discovered your awesome channel. Look forward to listening to your podcast.
Thanks, Terry. You calmed my misgivings on purchasing the Z9. I was anxious about this Z9 . . . Did I make the right decision in, again, spending $$$$ for this camera? I have the D850 and D5, which I love. However, I was amazed at what the Sony A1 and Canon R5 could do tracking wildlife, especially birds. Many said that I should have gotten a Sony A1 or a Canon R5, but I didn’t want to change formats since I had some nice Nikon lenses, and wanted to be able to use those lenses. Steve Perry said that the Nikon FTZ adapter works great without any lost of quality. I found your videos, and it has really helped me to setup this camera for wildlife photography.
Thanks for this well explained video on the Z9!. I'm just setting mine up, think i missed something at 5.28 you are on AF-C with 3D tracking and once focus locks in the focus point turned green, i know this normally happens with AF-S and AF-C is normally yellow.
Good job, thanks for the video. I wish there was a way to program the mode button onto any button, was going to put mine on the upper joystick button but it won't allow me to do so. As a hybrid shooter I switch between stills and video often and need to change the mode every time. Wish there was a way to program the camera to remember the mode separately for stills and video!
I just use the little toggle on the top part of the camera to flip between Stills and video. I also put a few menu shortcuts for video on my My Menu to get to color balance and full time face focus quickly. Good luck!
Thanks for the vid and guidance -- I received mine (the first 1 of a few) on 22 Jan and have been testing/using it since then -- after over 20k exposures later I am still learning. 20 FPS and 120 FPS have allowed me to capture images that were far far less possible or likely before the Z9. The AF is extraordinary -- but like any other camera not perfect. You and every other wildlife pro I know prefers 3D-tracking as their base option. I am far less confident - I never learnt this on my DSLRs and so I is assigned 3D-tracking to Fn2+AF-ON. I have assigned Fn1-auto-area+AF-ON, Fn3-9-point spot+AF-On AND Lens-=Fn1 to spot mode-AF. I have disabled manual focus, but by rotating the focusing ring on my lenses I am automatically in single point Manual focus. Back button focus is was a common preference with DSLRs - it is common with portrait shooters too. BUT now with the Z9 - we have the option to leave AF-On on the shutter button and assigning some other function to the AF-On button. For now I wear the back-button or other fn-button to activate AF-on and continue with Af-disabled on the shutter button. I have remapped all the other programmable buttons and the lens ring on my Z S line lenses - most importantly I have put picture review back where it was and reasinged protect image in review to rating. I have played with assigning Shooting Recall to various buttons and probably will return to this time and time again. But for now I need the discipline to set the correct settings each time. Like others I would like a single button to press and hold that switches the camera back to a set a complete saved settings.... and so on. I attended a Hawk shoot and was able to obtain 5-10 times the number of hits than I was only a month before with my D5. I also filled a 128GB card - the first time I have done this for a long time.
Great video. Note: If you use histogram on the camera while shooting it is a good idea to set picture profile to flat or neutral. Because when you set it to ex. Standard the histogram will show the resulting histogram and you will not see the full dynamic range represented.
Hi Terry. Bill from Scotland here. I'm thinking about getting the Z9, but first would like to know if existing FX lenses, of which I have a few, will work well with this body. I already have a D500. Your videos are excellent, with great practical hints and tips.
HI Bill, I did the same thing. I had a full array of lenses and I just bought the FTZ II adapter. Once the lens is attached, the FX lenses work like normal. No loss of quality. However, over time, I chose to start buying Z lenses, and now I have a good collection of those. When I use the the FX lenses I use the adapter. This works great.
@@tv510 thanks Terry. I think that's what I'm also going to do after reading your remarks. Thanks again for your assistance and keep up those great youtube videos.
Thanks. Just got my Z-9 and am not a professional. All your hints worked nicely except “ I was not able to Set the Exposure Mode Button” to the Video mode. Not sure why.
Make sure your camera is set to still photography ( that little toggle switch near the viewfinder) and not on the video mode. It should work then. Thanks for watching.
Menu > Custom Settings > Shooting and Display (D)> Continuous Shooting Speed> choose what you want. Use Dial on upper left of the camera to pick S, L, H.
Thanks so much for a wonderful tutorial. You have a relaxing style. It seems that my 2 day old Z9 may have some issues as whilst the Fn1 button does save, 2-3 don't save, even after hitting the ok button. Do you have any ideas ? Any suggestions are appreciated.
I would try, taking the battery out, leave it out for 10 minutes. Maybe even charge it up. Make sure that you are on a different mode, like Manual vs Auto. Sometimes with electronics, making a few of those changes and trying again, works. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.
A point worth noting is that Lightroom can be setup to use the settings applied in Picture Control with the Z9 enemy with RAW images. Unlike the D series. This I find is a huge benefit. I am finding I have to do a lot less work in post processing.
Excellent Video! I ordered my Z 9 in November, have no clue when it will eventually arrive, your tips will make it an easy process once I do receive the Camera, consider me a subscriber, will be adding your Podcast to my devices as well 😀
Thanks Terry. I like your video, however, I am a bit baffled as I finally received my Z9 a few days ago. It has come pre-loaded with the most up to date firmware - 1.11, and I cannot find in the menus some of the things you outline in this video. Have some things changed since you produced this?
Thanks very much. Valuable, packed and ready to use data like a fast food take away! Only 1 week ahead before my z9's arrival. Thanks so much for all your works and looking forward to watching your professional footages & captures. Regards from Istanbul / Turkey.
Glad found your video. Got my z9 yesterday. I took a still image but when hit play or preview, I got a black screen, no image. I imported to computer, also shown a black screen instead of the image I shot. Any suggestion?
It probably something simple. Put in a new card, or reinsert the first one and try again, it might not have been in all the way. Make sure you have your camera set to record to the card and not the default of shoot a shot without a card in. (I mention it in the video). Good luck.
Hi Terry and thank you for the wonderful pointers...they have helped me so much!! I just got my Z9 about 2 weeks ago...and I have been out shooting wildlife. I have the camera set up at AF-C 3D and animals (cat face). However when I was out shooting Wild Horses, I would focus on their eye and get the "green square" over their eye (using back button focus) but then the "green square" moves automatically to the horses body. ?? I am keeping my finger on the back button, not releasing it, so I don't understand why it is not tracking the eye. Can you help me understand why this might be happening and why the 3D tracking of the eye does not seem to be working? Thank you for any help you may be able to give!!!!!!!
Hi Pamela, that is curious. I'm sure you have watched my video on the Z9 and autofocus, but you haven't I talk about how the camera is looking for a pattern. Possibly a pattern is not evident on the horse's eye. Brown on brown maybe? The 3D tracking is very good, but it doesn't work 100% of the time. It does work better than the others. One of the things that I encourage is have second focus setting, either in the My Menu or assigned to a button. That way, if one focus setting doesn't work, you can quickly switch to another that will work. Good luck and let me know what you find out if you are in the situation again.
@@tv510 Thanks Terry for getting back to me! I do remember you mentioning the camera looking for "patterns"... and like you mentioned, there may not be enough of a "pattern" for the 3D tracking to follow. The Horse's eyes are pretty much dark brown on brown/black and although large may not be enough of a pattern. Hmmmm..... ?? I will definitely take your advice and have a back up focus method set up. I guess I thought if the Z9 could track a little bird's eye it shouldn't have any trouble with a much larger eye! Lol! Thank you so much for the help!!!!
You read the manual. That makes you a top 1% in my books. Just received the z9. I missed getting my Nikon Pro order in before the deadline. Better late than later.
I feel like the back button focus is no longer needed for mirrorless camera, since the tracking is much more more reliable than DSLR Using AF-ON button for an alternative af mode works great. You can half press shutter to focus in auto area or other mode, while make AF-ON button to activate 3D tracking. If the camera already detected a subject in other focus mode, you can half press shutter and hold af-on button to switch to 3d tracking mode while maintaining the tracking subject, this can improve the tracking reliability, and less likely to jump to other subject.
Awesome video... Thanks for the info... I have a question... you have mapped out the fn1 button for single point dynamic... Can the following be done? We have the back AF-ON button set to 3D tracking with human face and eye detect... And then we have the front fn1 button set to JUST the 3D tracking without any subject detection... Where I would need it... While shooting weddings there are many times when one needs to photograph a person (where the person detection with eyes is awesome)... But there are times when you need to just photograph the watch or ring... I know we can map the fn1 to engage single point autofocus... But I am interested in JUST 3D tracking... So affectively what I would be doing is turning the subject detection in 3D tracking on / off... while keeping the camera in 3D tracking mode...
I have not set mine up for events like that. I imagine that you have tried to set that up already - I can't see why it wouldn't work. If I were using the Z9 for event photography I would have it set up for human tracking on the back button and single point fn1(like I have it) for still set ups, (like you described) because I don' think the 3D would do me much good. You have more time to focus and compose on those shots and nothing is moving all that much. Unless you are going for the ring shot while the bride is moving around- I can't say I have ever tired that. 😀
Hi Terry, Just received my Z9 two days ago. I shoot mainly wildlife; and I found your video to be very helpful. I have watched several other videos about setting up the Z9 for action but seem to have missed something. When tracking a bird in flight do you continue to press the AF-ON button or does the camera remember what it is tracking? Thanks.
Hi Terry, Greetings from Ireland. Found this video most informative. Thank you. Look forward to viewing others. In looking on the Adobe site, I note that Nikon high efficiency RAW compression modes are currently not supported on Windows ARM64. Any infoi as towhen Adobe may update? What should I do? Will appreciate any advice. Kind regards, Ivan O'Riordan
Hi Terry. Thank you for sharing your ideas for the Z9 settings. I am wondering what advantage BBF has when using AFC and Animal Eye detect on the Z9 (these should track the subject without the BBF necessity?). I understood BBF using DSLR without eye detection feature capability... Many thanks for your time.
Hi Neil, you still have to “activate” the focus. They way I have it set up, I use the joystick or selector dial to move the focus box over the subject. Then I use the BBF button to activate the focus. While I hold that button the tiny green box (focused confirmation) moves with the animal as long as I have the button pressed. If I let off the button, I can then select something else if I like. I hope that helps.
Hi Terry. I hope you can help me with this. I have just set my z9 up the way you reccomended and it all works fine. However I think I may have pressed something I shouldn't have. I now can't change my shutter speed. On the left hand side of the shutter speed There is now the letter L. looks like I have somehow locked it. Do you have any suggestions please ?
Hi Steve, I think I might be able to help. First off, I think you have locked the settings in your video mode. Here is the fix: Go to the menu and go into Custom settings. Scroll down to video (g) then go to g3. You should find that you have locked your shutter speed there. This might be handy for video work, but shouldn't affect your still work. Make sure to push the lever that is just right of the viewfinder over to the camera icon when shooting stills. Let me know how this works for you.
I've not used a mirrorless camera, but punching in to 100% for focus assistance will be important. Is there already a button assigned to that, or would I need a Fn button or video button for that? Still waiting for the Z9, but I will also read the manual.
There is the traditional Magnifying Glass (plus and minus) located just below the selector wheel. Since its mirrorless, you can use your thumb to activate it and get the zoomed up version in your viewfinder. So, not for just live view anymore. Also, it has a little graphic in the bottom right to remind you that you are enlarging the image and not shooting that close up. Good luck!
Hola Terry, cuáles son las tarjetas de memoria Cfexpres tipo B que recomiendas en cuanto a velocidad real de escritura y lectura, porque dicen que no todas hacen lo que prometen, gracias
Principalmente uso la tarjeta de memoria CFexpress Tipo B NEGRA de 256 GB de Delkin Devices. Han funcionado muy bien y los he probado a alta velocidad y tasas de búfer.
Excellent. However, how do I set up A through D shooting banks so, for example, bank A can be Afs (back button focus -red square turns green when in focus) and then use bank B for Afc people and bank C for Afc animals?
Might hav it now. You have to go back and for the between the banks. Theoretically you get your common settings on A then copy to B, C, D and then go into those to change certain settings. Hmm. Not exactly. And what's with Custom settings banks A-D? Do you also have to select those?
@@bobwoolcock The shooting banks are a kind of way to hold all your menus and settings. However, if you are in a bank and change a setting, when you come back to it, it will show as it was LAST used. The best way to get around this, is to copy all your settings to an extra XQD card and save your camera settings. (This save settings is at the bottom of the save settings menu) That way if you get off course, or jack up your shooting banks, then you can plug that card in and get back to where you started. Some photographers set up a bank for action, for portraits etc.. then they can always come back to those settings. Good luck!
@@tv510 Thanks!. Yeah - they could have thought it out a little better and reserved a tiny (a few kb's) of in-camera storage so the banks wouldn't change until you hit "save". As long as a bank stays the same if I don't change anything, it has value. You DO NOT want to have to go into the shooting menu and find the bank selection though - it's not always on top depending on where you last scrolled to. So I assigned fn1 button to toggle between A through D using the command dial without having to move your eye away from the viewfinder.
On my previous Nikon, I set the lens fm button to subject tracking. This isn’t an option on the Z9. Did I miss an explanation somewhere? With 3D tracking, it seems similar but not quite the same
Many thanks for this very helpfull video. I choosed F1 for recall shooting. If I set M + Auto ISO in my normal settings, it takes the checked settings and when I press F2 they are there and I can changing shutterspeed and aperture but I can‘t change exposure compensation. When setting the button, F2, the boxes including exposure compensation are checked…. The manual (Page 651) says , also exposure compensation on a function button could be changed „if an option other than off is selected for custom setting b3/ easy compensation“. Did I understood something wrong? If so, does someone know what it can be? I use this function to change quickly from action 20 FPS with area mode S or L to slower activities with 5 FPS and single point AF. The manual is unfortunately available in english only.
As far as I can tell, no there isn't. But I don't think you need it. I use BB focus for everything. I see no need to have the focus release on the shutter. The best part is I use my thumb for BB focus, index finger for releasing the shutter. When I am doing a landscape, I use the BB Focus button, then after I get what I want, I don't touch that button again until I am done with the shot. It's like locking in the focus with one button.
I’ve been working with that but for me it is extremely awkward to continuously hold down the BB focus button while pressing the shutter button. Oh well, I guess I can’t have everything 😀
@@tv510 I've recently captured clear seagulls with the Z9, but I think the technique needs to be improved. Photography can be a lifelong hobby and a lot of fun.
If you have one of the selected flashes (by Nikon) (SB-5000, SB-500, SB-400, and SB-300) attached, you can control the flash from the camera because it can talk to it. Otherwise, like me, you have control your flash from the flash itself. So, to make it active, attach one of the above flashes and it should give you access. Hope this helps.
Excellent recommendations. My Z9 is on its way so I'm seeking advise for set-up. You mentioned that you set it to 3D Tracking for the wildlife photos. Which autofocus setting do you recommend for just regular landscape photos? Thanks.
HI Ray, sorry for the late response. I'm not sure why you would turn off the shutter. I turn it off as far as operating the focus when I am using back button focus.
This is about the most confusing video ever! Poorly explained. The back button settings are muddled. I rewound/played many times but never knew what yellow button you finally wanted. I finally gave up and turned it off. Very frustrating to try to follow your directions. Just list, in order, step by step, and the final settings for back button! Would appreciate a follow up detailed note.
Since you asked so nicely, Step-by-step Back Button Focus: Camera on > Menu > Custom Settings Menu > f Controls > f2 Custom Controls (shooting) > Scroll to find the button you want to assign your back button to. I use the AF-ON button but you can use whichever button you like. You are telling the camera which button on the back of your camera you want to use for focusing the camera with. Press the OK button and assign a function to it. I use AF-ON. Next, on the lower left of the front of the camera is a small button that gives you access to your AF functions. Press that and scroll with the thumb wheel to AF-C (that is putting your camera on continuous focus mode.) Next, Main Menu> Custom Settings Menu > aFocus>a1 AF-C Priority Selection > Release. Next > Menu > Custom Settings Menu > Afocus > a6 AF activation > AF-ON - you should be good to go!
This is the BEST and the MOST lucid explanation for setting up Z9. Till date I have not seen a better explanation. I most sincerely thank you for this video and the effort to put everything in the most easiest terms.
Thank you J.H.O appreciate it!
Super helpful. I'm not a wildlife photography, however the tips work for many other scenarios. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Yes, I shoot other things as well and it all works pretty seamless.
Thank you for that information. I just switched my Z9 and Nikon D810 OFF of back button focus because it cancels out my corded remote switch. A corded remote switch is much easier to use especially with the viewing screen on the Z9. No need to have my face on the camera and finger on the shutter release (which causes camera shake). This works very well for me on both the tripod AND monopod.
Good info Tommy! Thanks.
@@tv510 Thanks again, Terry. Your 'tubes are very informative !
Terry Vander Heiden, thanks for the setup information. For new viewers, I found it helpful to go to the gear icon and slow the video playback speed down that I could stop the video playback in a timely fashion and view the menus Terry was showing. I used 75% which slowed the speech but made stopping the video to look at the settings easier.
Thanks Warren.
Hello Terry, I received my Z9 body today. Watching your video got me on track for settings to photograph BIF. Thank you!
Awesome, you're going to love it!
I'm still waiting for my camera, but once I do get it, I plan to come back to what you are saying. Sounds very solid!
You should love it. Thanks for watching.
Just received my NPS pre-order Z9 early this week, and I'm still exploring settings. This is a good 'starting point' tutorial - thanks. I find that over time, we all modify the settings to suit our style and needs, but it's very helpful to have a close baseline. Thanks for taking the time.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Most of it will be personal preference but a pretty good way to jump right in. Thanks for watching.
Love it! 120fps at 11MP for life
Wow incredibly done Terry. This should have 1M likes!
Thanks David!
It’s really amazing to setup my all new Z9 thanks a lot
You are welcome. Hope you like it as much as I do. Thanks for watching.
Hey Terry, i am not sure how I stumbled across your video, but i am glad I did. I am still finding my way around the plethora of information in the Z9 menu system. Not all of you tips suit my work flow but they are a great place to start so thank you very much.
Hey Norman, glad you stumbled here! More to come.
Thank you Terry .I recieve my z9 in 2weeks your video is verry helpfull. Your name sounds verry Dutch. Greetings from the netherlands
It is indeed Dutch. Glad you are liking the new Z9 - I love mine, thanks for watching.
Awesome job! Very helpful. Thank you!
Thanks Tim, thanks for watching.
Hi Terry, I am so excited as I will be getting my Z9 on Friday. Thanks for the tutorial. It seems pretty straight forward to set up. This will be my first Nikon camera as it is the only one that checked all the boxes for me in terms of an upgrade.
Fantastic. I think you will love it.
Steve’s new book will be a game changer to photography and shake the industry to its knees!
I've been pretty much an AF-S focus guy on all my Nikons and have found setting up focus on my Z9 to be daunting...even for someone who's shot Nikon for decades. This was helpful. Look forward to more tips.
Thank you for watching!
Enjoyed it, Terry. My Z9 will be arriving shortly and these tips will be most valuable.
You’re going to love shooting with it. Congrats!
Dear Terry: The best guide to the sensible settings on the Z9! I simply changed the language to English and followed your settings. Terry, you could perhaps make a video, which settings "how" you store in my menu, thanks for this abbreviation of the 900-page Nikon manual, greetings from Germany!
Thank you Peter. I was wondering if anyone would find that useful. I will put that on the list of videos and let you know when its out. Thanks for the suggestion and for watching.
Excellent video, I'm literally waiting for FedEx to arrive with my Z9 (ordered in February) and a number of accessories, cards, extra batts, etc... I appreciate your work!
So cool. I hope you love it!
Great Tips Terry, thank you sharing.
You are welcome Chris! Thanks for watching.
Well done and some good tips. Thanks
Thank you Paul
Still waiting on delivery of my Z9 but as I shoot mainly wildlife this video will help me enormously when it finally does arrive as most of what you’ve said here resonates well with the way I shoot and use my current D850. All I need now is the Z9 to arrive
Hopefully you get it soon. I have heard of more and more photographers taking delivery on them lately. Good luck!
Very very helpful for wildlife photography. I like it.
Glad it was helpful and thanks for watching!
Great video Terry my Z 9 arrives tomorrow and planning to shoot tomorrow afternoon. This will help me get started. Glad I discovered your awesome channel. Look forward to listening to your podcast.
Thanks David. I have a bunch more things on tap, your going to love the Z9, have fun!
Great video Terry. Would love to see your use of banks and set up of i menu. I look forward to your ebook.
Thanks Duane!
Great video! I can’t wait for my z9 to finally ship!
You're going to love it! Hopefully you'll get yours soon.
This is awesome and actually really helpful video . ...Appreciate your sharing 😊
Absolutely, I'm glad you like it.
Thank you, Terry. Your videos are very helpful.
Thanks Tom, appreciate you watching.
Thank you! I'm all set now!👍
Thanks, Terry. You calmed my misgivings on purchasing the Z9. I was anxious about this Z9 . . . Did I make the right decision in, again, spending $$$$ for this camera? I have the D850 and D5, which I love. However, I was amazed at what the Sony A1 and Canon R5 could do tracking wildlife, especially birds. Many said that I should have gotten a Sony A1 or a Canon R5, but I didn’t want to change formats since I had some nice Nikon lenses, and wanted to be able to use those lenses. Steve Perry said that the Nikon FTZ adapter works great without any lost of quality. I found your videos, and it has really helped me to setup this camera for wildlife photography.
Glad it has worked for you. I love mine.
This was excellent video and informative. I will still read the Z9 nikon manual
Thank you!
Great video! I've had my z9 exactly one week and have been searching for information and you provided a ton of it! Thanks, your newest subscriber!
Thanks Michael. I hope you love the Z9 as much as I do!
Thanks for this well explained video on the Z9!. I'm just setting mine up, think i missed something at 5.28 you are on AF-C with 3D tracking and once focus locks in the focus point turned green, i know this normally happens with AF-S and AF-C is normally yellow.
It should be green when its locked on an eye (animal eye tracking).
Good job, thanks for the video. I wish there was a way to program the mode button onto any button, was going to put mine on the upper joystick button but it won't allow me to do so. As a hybrid shooter I switch between stills and video often and need to change the mode every time. Wish there was a way to program the camera to remember the mode separately for stills and video!
I just use the little toggle on the top part of the camera to flip between Stills and video. I also put a few menu shortcuts for video on my My Menu to get to color balance and full time face focus quickly. Good luck!
Thanks for the vid and guidance -- I received mine (the first 1 of a few) on 22 Jan and have been testing/using it since then -- after over 20k exposures later I am still learning.
20 FPS and 120 FPS have allowed me to capture images that were far far less possible or likely before the Z9.
The AF is extraordinary -- but like any other camera not perfect. You and every other wildlife pro I know prefers 3D-tracking as their base option. I am far less confident - I never learnt this on my DSLRs and so I is assigned 3D-tracking to Fn2+AF-ON. I have assigned Fn1-auto-area+AF-ON, Fn3-9-point spot+AF-On AND Lens-=Fn1 to spot mode-AF. I have disabled manual focus, but by rotating the focusing ring on my lenses I am automatically in single point Manual focus.
Back button focus is was a common preference with DSLRs - it is common with portrait shooters too. BUT now with the Z9 - we have the option to leave AF-On on the shutter button and assigning some other function to the AF-On button. For now I wear the back-button or other fn-button to activate AF-on and continue with Af-disabled on the shutter button.
I have remapped all the other programmable buttons and the lens ring on my Z S line lenses - most importantly I have put picture review back where it was and reasinged protect image in review to rating. I have played with assigning Shooting Recall to various buttons and probably will return to this time and time again. But for now I need the discipline to set the correct settings each time. Like others I would like a single button to press and hold that switches the camera back to a set a complete saved settings.... and so on.
I attended a Hawk shoot and was able to obtain 5-10 times the number of hits than I was only a month before with my D5. I also filled a 128GB card - the first time I have done this for a long time.
The Z9 does open a lot more opportunities for this kind of photography. Thanks for the tips.
Great video. Note: If you use histogram on the camera while shooting it is a good idea to set picture profile to flat or neutral. Because when you set it to ex. Standard the histogram will show the resulting histogram and you will not see the full dynamic range represented.
Thanks Tony. I never use the histogram so I didn’t know the picture profile affected the histogram.
Hi Terry. Bill from Scotland here. I'm thinking about getting the Z9, but first would like to know if existing FX lenses, of which I have a few, will work well with this body. I already have a D500. Your videos are excellent, with great practical hints and tips.
HI Bill, I did the same thing. I had a full array of lenses and I just bought the FTZ II adapter. Once the lens is attached, the FX lenses work like normal. No loss of quality. However, over time, I chose to start buying Z lenses, and now I have a good collection of those. When I use the the FX lenses I use the adapter. This works great.
@@tv510 That's really useful information Terry and I'll go the same route I think. Much obliged for your prompyt reply. Keep up the good work.
@@tv510 thanks Terry. I think that's what I'm also going to do after reading your remarks. Thanks again for your assistance and keep up those great youtube videos.
Excellent info! Thanks
Glad it was helpful! It's a great camera and perfect for wildlife. Thanks for watching.
Just received my NPS pre-order Z9 On Wednesday last week, and I'm still exploring settings. This video helped me program Single point AF. Thank you.
Some really nice tips, thanks.
Thanks John!
Thanks. Just got my Z-9 and am not a professional. All your hints worked nicely except “ I was not able to Set the Exposure Mode Button” to the Video mode. Not sure why.
Make sure your camera is set to still photography ( that little toggle switch near the viewfinder) and not on the video mode. It should work then. Thanks for watching.
Very helpful thank you
Thanks for watching!
How do i set it to take 20 FPS ? Thanks and a good video
Menu > Custom Settings > Shooting and Display (D)> Continuous Shooting Speed> choose what you want. Use Dial on upper left of the camera to pick S, L, H.
Thanks so much for a wonderful tutorial. You have a relaxing style. It seems that my 2 day old Z9 may have some issues as whilst the Fn1 button does save, 2-3 don't save, even after hitting the ok button. Do you have any ideas ? Any suggestions are appreciated.
I would try, taking the battery out, leave it out for 10 minutes. Maybe even charge it up. Make sure that you are on a different mode, like Manual vs Auto. Sometimes with electronics, making a few of those changes and trying again, works. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.
A point worth noting is that Lightroom can be setup to use the settings applied in Picture Control with the Z9 enemy with RAW images. Unlike the D series. This I find is a huge benefit. I am finding I have to do a lot less work in post processing.
Thanks John, I’ll have to check that out.
Sorry don’t know why the word “enemy” is there.
Excellent Video! I ordered my Z 9 in November, have no clue when it will eventually arrive, your tips will make it an easy process once I do receive the Camera, consider me a subscriber, will be adding your Podcast to my devices as well 😀
Thanks Jimmy. You are going to love this camera. Thanks for subscribing!
Thanks Terry. I like your video, however, I am a bit baffled as I finally received my Z9 a few days ago. It has come pre-loaded with the most up to date firmware - 1.11, and I cannot find in the menus some of the things you outline in this video. Have some things changed since you produced this?
I recorded this video when it first came out version 1.0 Let me know what you are looking for and I'll see if I can figure it out for you.
@@tv510 Thanks, but I have found what I was looking for. Thanks again.
Thanks very much. Valuable, packed and ready to use data like a fast food take away! Only 1 week ahead before my z9's arrival. Thanks so much for all your works and looking forward to watching your professional footages & captures. Regards from Istanbul / Turkey.
You are welcome and thanks for watching!
Glad found your video. Got my z9 yesterday. I took a still image but when hit play or preview, I got a black screen, no image. I imported to computer, also shown a black screen instead of the image I shot. Any suggestion?
It probably something simple. Put in a new card, or reinsert the first one and try again, it might not have been in all the way. Make sure you have your camera set to record to the card and not the default of shoot a shot without a card in. (I mention it in the video). Good luck.
Hi Terry and thank you for the wonderful pointers...they have helped me so much!! I just got my Z9 about 2 weeks ago...and I have been out shooting wildlife. I have the camera set up at AF-C 3D and animals (cat face). However when I was out shooting Wild Horses, I would focus on their eye and get the "green square" over their eye (using back button focus) but then the "green square" moves automatically to the horses body. ?? I am keeping my finger on the back button, not releasing it, so I don't understand why it is not tracking the eye. Can you help me understand why this might be happening and why the 3D tracking of the eye does not seem to be working? Thank you for any help you may be able to give!!!!!!!
Hi Pamela, that is curious. I'm sure you have watched my video on the Z9 and autofocus, but you haven't I talk about how the camera is looking for a pattern. Possibly a pattern is not evident on the horse's eye. Brown on brown maybe? The 3D tracking is very good, but it doesn't work 100% of the time. It does work better than the others.
One of the things that I encourage is have second focus setting, either in the My Menu or assigned to a button. That way, if one focus setting doesn't work, you can quickly switch to another that will work. Good luck and let me know what you find out if you are in the situation again.
@@tv510 Thanks Terry for getting back to me! I do remember you mentioning the camera looking for "patterns"... and like you mentioned, there may not be enough of a "pattern" for the 3D tracking to follow. The Horse's eyes are pretty much dark brown on brown/black and although large may not be enough of a pattern. Hmmmm..... ?? I will definitely take your advice and have a back up focus method set up. I guess I thought if the Z9 could track a little bird's eye it shouldn't have any trouble with a much larger eye! Lol! Thank you so much for the help!!!!
You read the manual. That makes you a top 1% in my books. Just received the z9. I missed getting my Nikon Pro order in before the deadline. Better late than later.
Glad you finally got it. I think you’ll like it. Thanks for watching.
Nice tutorial
Thank you!
I feel like the back button focus is no longer needed for mirrorless camera, since the tracking is much more more reliable than DSLR Using AF-ON button for an alternative af mode works great. You can half press shutter to focus in auto area or other mode, while make AF-ON button to activate 3D tracking. If the camera already detected a subject in other focus mode, you can half press shutter and hold af-on button to switch to 3d tracking mode while maintaining the tracking subject, this can improve the tracking reliability, and less likely to jump to other subject.
Good to know, thanks yuxuan qi!
Awesome video... Thanks for the info...
I have a question... you have mapped out the fn1 button for single point dynamic... Can the following be done?
We have the back AF-ON button set to 3D tracking with human face and eye detect... And then we have the front fn1 button set to JUST the 3D tracking without any subject detection...
Where I would need it... While shooting weddings there are many times when one needs to photograph a person (where the person detection with eyes is awesome)... But there are times when you need to just photograph the watch or ring... I know we can map the fn1 to engage single point autofocus... But I am interested in JUST 3D tracking...
So affectively what I would be doing is turning the subject detection in 3D tracking on / off... while keeping the camera in 3D tracking mode...
I have not set mine up for events like that. I imagine that you have tried to set that up already - I can't see why it wouldn't work. If I were using the Z9 for event photography I would have it set up for human tracking on the back button and single point fn1(like I have it) for still set ups, (like you described) because I don' think the 3D would do me much good. You have more time to focus and compose on those shots and nothing is moving all that much. Unless you are going for the ring shot while the bride is moving around- I can't say I have ever tired that. 😀
Hi Terry, Just received my Z9 two days ago. I shoot mainly wildlife; and I found your video to be very helpful. I have watched several other videos about setting up the Z9 for action but seem to have missed something. When tracking a bird in flight do you continue to press the AF-ON button or does the camera remember what it is tracking? Thanks.
You have to continue to press the focus button. Hope this helps.
@@tv510 Thank you, it does.
Thanks!
Hi Terry, Greetings from Ireland. Found this video most informative. Thank you. Look forward to viewing others. In looking on the Adobe site, I note that Nikon high efficiency RAW compression modes are currently not supported on Windows ARM64. Any infoi as towhen Adobe may update? What should I do? Will appreciate any advice.
Kind regards,
Ivan O'Riordan
Sorry of the late reply, I just saw this. I use Mac so I'm not much of a source for windows machines. Love shooting in Ireland, BTW.
Hi Terry. Thank you for sharing your ideas for the Z9 settings. I am wondering what advantage BBF has when using AFC and Animal Eye detect on the Z9 (these should track the subject without the BBF necessity?). I understood BBF using DSLR without eye detection feature capability... Many thanks for your time.
Hi Neil, you still have to “activate” the focus. They way I have it set up, I use the joystick or selector dial to move the focus box over the subject. Then I use the BBF button to activate the focus. While I hold that button the tiny green box (focused confirmation) moves with the animal as long as I have the button pressed. If I let off the button, I can then select something else if I like. I hope that helps.
Hi Terry. I hope you can help me with this. I have just set my z9 up the way you reccomended and it all works fine. However I think I may have pressed something I shouldn't have. I now can't change my shutter speed. On the left hand side of the shutter speed There is now the letter L. looks like I have somehow locked it. Do you have any suggestions please ?
Hi Steve, I think I might be able to help. First off, I think you have locked the settings in your video mode. Here is the fix: Go to the menu and go into Custom settings. Scroll down to video (g) then go to g3. You should find that you have locked your shutter speed there. This might be handy for video work, but shouldn't affect your still work. Make sure to push the lever that is just right of the viewfinder over to the camera icon when shooting stills. Let me know how this works for you.
@@tv510 Thanks very much Terry. That's exactly what I had done. Much obliged. 👍 🙂
I've not used a mirrorless camera, but punching in to 100% for focus assistance will be important. Is there already a button assigned to that, or would I need a Fn button or video button for that? Still waiting for the Z9, but I will also read the manual.
There is the traditional Magnifying Glass (plus and minus) located just below the selector wheel. Since its mirrorless, you can use your thumb to activate it and get the zoomed up version in your viewfinder. So, not for just live view anymore. Also, it has a little graphic in the bottom right to remind you that you are enlarging the image and not shooting that close up. Good luck!
Hola Terry, cuáles son las tarjetas de memoria Cfexpres tipo B que recomiendas en cuanto a velocidad real de escritura y lectura, porque dicen que no todas hacen lo que prometen, gracias
Principalmente uso la tarjeta de memoria CFexpress Tipo B NEGRA de 256 GB de Delkin Devices. Han funcionado muy bien y los he probado a alta velocidad y tasas de búfer.
@@tv510 Muchas Gracias
Excellent. However, how do I set up A through D shooting banks so, for example, bank A can be Afs (back button focus -red square turns green when in focus) and then use bank B for Afc people and bank C for Afc animals?
Might hav it now. You have to go back and for the between the banks. Theoretically you get your common settings on A then copy to B, C, D and then go into those to change certain settings. Hmm. Not exactly. And what's with Custom settings banks A-D? Do you also have to select those?
@@bobwoolcock The shooting banks are a kind of way to hold all your menus and settings. However, if you are in a bank and change a setting, when you come back to it, it will show as it was LAST used. The best way to get around this, is to copy all your settings to an extra XQD card and save your camera settings. (This save settings is at the bottom of the save settings menu) That way if you get off course, or jack up your shooting banks, then you can plug that card in and get back to where you started. Some photographers set up a bank for action, for portraits etc.. then they can always come back to those settings. Good luck!
@@tv510 Thanks!. Yeah - they could have thought it out a little better and reserved a tiny (a few kb's) of in-camera storage so the banks wouldn't change until you hit "save". As long as a bank stays the same if I don't change anything, it has value. You DO NOT want to have to go into the shooting menu and find the bank selection though - it's not always on top depending on where you last scrolled to. So I assigned fn1 button to toggle between A through D using the command dial without having to move your eye away from the viewfinder.
Spare xqd? Instead of that, can I temporarily save the settings on a card, transfer to my computer as a file and transfer back if needed?
Answered my own question :) Yes - of course.
On my previous Nikon, I set the lens fm button to subject tracking. This isn’t an option on the Z9. Did I miss an explanation somewhere?
With 3D tracking, it seems similar but not quite the same
I use the 3D tracking and find it works pretty good most of the time.
Many thanks for this very helpfull video.
I choosed F1 for recall shooting. If I set M + Auto ISO in my normal settings, it takes the checked settings and when I press F2 they are there and I can changing shutterspeed and aperture but I can‘t change exposure compensation. When setting the button, F2, the boxes including exposure compensation are checked….
The manual (Page 651) says , also exposure compensation on a function button could be changed „if an option other than off is selected for custom setting b3/ easy compensation“. Did I understood something wrong? If so, does someone know what it can be?
I use this function to change quickly from action 20 FPS with area mode S or L to slower activities with 5 FPS and single point AF.
The manual is unfortunately available in english only.
Is there a way to set up a function button for back button focus when you want it say a landscape but use the shutter button for tracking action?
As far as I can tell, no there isn't. But I don't think you need it. I use BB focus for everything. I see no need to have the focus release on the shutter. The best part is I use my thumb for BB focus, index finger for releasing the shutter. When I am doing a landscape, I use the BB Focus button, then after I get what I want, I don't touch that button again until I am done with the shot. It's like locking in the focus with one button.
I’ve been working with that but for me it is extremely awkward to continuously hold down the BB focus button while pressing the shutter button.
Oh well, I guess I can’t have everything 😀
@@PhelpsPhotography I know it’s weird at first. But you do it for about a week, you’ll get used to it and never look back. Good luck
Thanks terry. You confirmed what I came up with. BTW all your RUclips stuff is great.
@@PhelpsPhotography Awesome, thank you!
any issues getting sharp images. with the z9 and f lenses? 600mm F4 G
So far, no. The shots in the video, even the red tail hawk in flight was shot with the 600 f4. So far so good.
great ！thanks my master
Thank you too!
@@tv510 I've recently captured clear seagulls with the Z9, but I think the technique needs to be improved. Photography can be a lifelong hobby and a lot of fun.
@@HungerJohn , Yes it is. It's very rewarding though. Keep at it.
Back button focus is fine, but I find that I prefer to have one of the lens buttons set for focus..so I guess that is called lens button focus :)
I guess having focus on the lens, kind of goes back to the days of manual focus where we all had to touch the lens to focus. Full circle. Thanks!
please post the liebe nk to the site where i can buy the ebooks
Here you go: bit.ly/3L7nP3M
At 4:58 I notice Flash control is disabled. Can you please tell me how to enable it? Thanks
If you have one of the selected flashes (by Nikon) (SB-5000, SB-500, SB-400, and SB-300) attached, you can control the flash from the camera because it can talk to it. Otherwise, like me, you have control your flash from the flash itself. So, to make it active, attach one of the above flashes and it should give you access. Hope this helps.
First thing I did is set my FN4 to playback so the muscle memory works!
Ha! I thought about that too. Great idea.
Excellent recommendations. My Z9 is on its way so I'm seeking advise for set-up. You mentioned that you set it to 3D Tracking for the wildlife photos. Which autofocus setting do you recommend for just regular landscape photos? Thanks.
I use single point. Since I have time with a landscape, I just move the focus point to where I want it. Thanks for watching.
Where in this setup does the shutter button get turned off?
HI Ray, sorry for the late response. I'm not sure why you would turn off the shutter. I turn it off as far as operating the focus when I am using back button focus.
Me who cannot afford this camera but stayed for the entirety of it. My D800 will have a long shelf life. At least for now.
Thank you!
@@tv510 Welcome and cheers for the video. Very educative.
This is about the most confusing video ever! Poorly explained. The back button settings are muddled. I rewound/played many times but never knew what yellow button you finally wanted. I finally gave up and turned it off. Very frustrating to try to follow your directions. Just list, in order, step by step, and the final settings for back button! Would appreciate a follow up detailed note.
Since you asked so nicely, Step-by-step Back Button Focus: Camera on > Menu > Custom Settings Menu > f Controls > f2 Custom Controls (shooting) > Scroll to find the button you want to assign your back button to. I use the AF-ON button but you can use whichever button you like. You are telling the camera which button on the back of your camera you want to use for focusing the camera with. Press the OK button and assign a function to it. I use AF-ON. Next, on the lower left of the front of the camera is a small button that gives you access to your AF functions. Press that and scroll with the thumb wheel to AF-C (that is putting your camera on continuous focus mode.) Next, Main Menu> Custom Settings Menu > aFocus>a1 AF-C Priority Selection > Release. Next > Menu > Custom Settings Menu > Afocus > a6 AF activation > AF-ON - you should be good to go!
Thank you! @keho_nature_photo
Thanks for watching Kevin!
Thanks!
Thank you. I didn't even know the thanks for $$ on my site. Thanks again!