Nikon Z9 eye AF for wildlife after 4 months of shooting compared to Canon R5 and R7 - see examples

(#photography #birdphotography #wildlifephotography )

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[JonnyPink]

Please understand that this is about comparing the eye AF in both systems and what works for me. I want what I am paying for.

[animestarlord]

I use my old 300/2.8 F mount on my Z9. Only time I get af issues is when running a tc.

[starbase]

So, the Z8 and Z9 now have a dedicated bird detect AF mode in a firmware update. People like Jan Wegener and Steve Perry speak highly of it. Do you plan to check it out one day?

[jeffolson]

I am having a severe itch for the R5. I am trying to wait awhile to see if the R5 MKII comes out but I know if I will make it. The price of the R5 is very good right now, $3099 in the Canon refurbished store.

[randyredding]

Well I watched till the end to hear you out (as you asked) and didn’t learn anything. No real examples with maybe a Ninja to see what’s going on as you’re taking photos. When you got to your favorite Nikon lens, the 300mm f2.8 and said it didn’t work on the Z9 I was really confused. That lens is one of my favorite too and it works perfectly on my Z9. In fact it works better on my Z9 than it did on my 850, by a long shot. Shooting it wide open. The same with my My 600mm f4 E. In fact all my f mount glass has worked flawlessly with Z cameras using the FTZ adaptor. The Z9 animal AF is excellent too. As good as the R5, the A1, I don’t know. I do know the Z9 is not as bad as you say… by a long shot. I’ll keep my Z9. No thumbs down from me just because your results are different from mine.

[rlpring]

Have you seen the color science on the Sony A1 and A9II?

[HobsNobs]

Great video I use to do landscape and have the Z6 but I'm really enjoying birding but the Z6 is useless for anything that moves and Z6II is double the price and still no bird eye detect so I'm thinking of switching to Canon and maybe get the R7 as the extra mega pixels will come in handy for Landscape and if its a wild contrast then I will bracket. People on FB Nikon group will say I do not know how to use the camera but most people on Flickr who use Nikon take static bird images and any sharp bird flying images on there I wonder how many soft bursts did they take to get 2 sharp images. So why wait for Z8 as that will be overprices comapred with Canon and Sony and in my view Nikon is just lazy theses days. With Canon you get more sharp images period and bigger bang for the buck.

[starbase]

The question is what Nikon's going to some out with. The Z9 is now 18 months old. Some people say they won't release a Z8 that's better than the Z9. I'm more like, if that's possible, they should, and then they should probably get a Z9 II out.

Having said all that, I'm sure you'll agree with me that the Z9 has some advantages over other flagships. 8K60 video being one. Also, Steve Perry made a video recently comparing the Z9 and Sony A1. He prefers the Nikon, and AF-wise, for what he does, they seem to be neck and neck. Not saying that that means that you are wrong or something. If your experiences are as you say, then that's the case, and that's what you have to decide on. And you don't need to explain that decision to anyone either. I do say this with one assumption, and that is that you have tried to tweak the Nikon autofocus, used different modes, etc. I also say this because some other YT photographers have mentioned that with the Z9, it's more critical to pick the right mode for every situation. Again, that doesn't mean that that would have helped you. There are so many variables, and varying experiences. And again, you have your experience to decide on.

I do wonder if the differences you observed relate to the number of AF points on the sensor. Between the A1, R5 and Z9, the Z9 has the fewest. Then comes the A1, and then, far and away, comes the R5.

A "lowly" D750 shooter (I think it's still an excellent camera ;)).

[knowyouryoga]

Nice video
Are you using the innorel rt 90c tripod?
How has it held up?

[HotGates]

You have to try it to believe it, I found out after I bought the R7 and RF 100-500 that it had better AF tracking than my Z9 so I'm back where I started in 2003 Canon, Sold my Z9 and bought the R3 which is fantastic but I also bought the RF 800 f11 and in good light it's actually pretty good although I haven't tried it on my R7 yet. Actually after Canon brought out the firmware update for the R5 Nikon probably decided not to announce the Z8 yet lol. BTW Lightroom new Denoise does wonders to high ISO as does DxO;)

[markrhodes]

Excellent video John I have the Sony a9 with the fe 200-600mm I understand what you mean about Sonys colour science it is a little flat

[adrianalfordphotography]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts John. I agree the Canon and Sony focus is great. I’ve used the Sony A1 and Canon R5. Both were brilliant. If you asked me which one I’d go for it’d be the A1. But both those cameras didn’t come close to my D850 RAW file capability in terms of DR and color. Still love my old DSLR over mirrorless just like you said you love your D800. Be interesting to see Sony have a high end APSC coming soon touted as the baby A1. Time will tell. Great video buddy 👍🙏

[livejames]

As owners of both I think R5 is similar with AF, there’s no dramatic difference. But from what I’ve seen R7 is better than both (crop helps). I think the Z9 just doesn’t jive with you as it’s more complicated of an AF system and you really struggled with some basic settings (ie. Not having af in video with Z9 because you weren’t in AF-F, buffer settings issues, etc) and don’t seem to apply/try tips from your viewers. Z9 just doesn’t work well with the way you shoot but you can get all those shots you showed with the Z9 system. Still enjoy your videos. 👍

[Ben_Stewart]

I’ll stick to my Nikon as it’s only getting better and the glass is industry leading.

[robertvanempel]

Great video and completely agree. Very passionately explained!.

[camerasutra]

You are spot on keep speaking the truth the R7 is unmatched for the money.

[romainplagnol]

Thank you for your videos man! I really like your fair comparison between R5 and z9. It's at a point I hesitate to switch from Nikon dslr to Nikon Mirrorless system with z9 or long-awaited z8.. Nikon IQ is better imho but the name of the game is to nail the shot when it is needed. So I do know what to do next.. :(
Great video :)

[PunjabiGymBeats]

Excellent John ! Thats why i believe in nikon dslrs they were excellent, they getting sucks in mirrorless coz without focus Picture has no use at all. Thats most important factor to buy a camera.

[sinetwo]

I'm in camp Nikon, and honestly, even with the 3.1 FW update for Z8/Z9, I'm concerned I'm gonna have to move to canon.

I would move to sony as their stuff is mega compact, but their lens line up is absolutely terrible.

Ill wait until canon brings out pre-burst into r5ii or whatever the next iteration is, and I'll consider the swap then.

I think the second canon releases a compact dslr stacked frame with preburst, I'm switching (potentially, unless Nikon does software wonders for AF 😂)

[Chrispitchwildlife]

Nice video Jonny! The R5 is certainly one of the best out there. Just a bit expensive for me... 😅 (I am thinking more R8, R6 ii sometimes to pair with my R7)

That is so unreal to see you talking about my channel... What a nice surprise! It seems that you really like my videos and that is very motivating. And motivation i need.

So thank you for what you did, very much appreciated!
I hope you get your 800mm soon.
Cheers! 😀