I don't use video a lot, but one thing about Z8 doesn't make sense, or I'm doing something wrong.
First of all, I programmed my record button to switch between FX and DX, so I trigger recording by shutter button.
If camera is in AF-C, tapping the shutter button half way will activate focus, and pressing all the way will start recording.
If you keep it pressed, camera will keep focusing, but if you release button, it would lock the focus to that distance until you stop recording.
If you try to tap shutter button half way during recording, it won't activate focus.
But, if you press back button, it will activate focus again during recording, as many times as you want.
I know, I used this feature in past, but I can't remember if it was with Z8, or Z7ii.
If it was Z8, then Nikon bugged it out with latest firmwares.
Anyone else uses it this way with similar experience?
New to the z8, almost exclusively for wildlife, and switch constantly between stills and video. I disabled half-press shutter AF and use back button, AF-C only with MF override, which can limit focus hunting on stationary subjects as needed. I may try AF-F as well after this thread, thanks for the ideas!
I am interested in doing more wildlife videos with moving subjects (birds in flight, moving animals). Who has the best video guide or tutorial for Video focussing using a Z8 or Z9 autofocus capability. I would love to hear more about what AF settings people have tried for tracking animals using AF. Thanks for sharing
cvrle59 wrote:
I don't use video a lot, but one thing about Z8 doesn't make sense, or I'm doing something wrong.
First of all, I programmed my record button to switch between FX and DX, so I trigger recording by shutter button.
If camera is in AF-C, tapping the shutter button half way will activate focus, and pressing all the way will start recording.
If you keep it pressed, camera will keep focusing, but if you release button, it would lock the focus to that distance until you stop recording.
If you try to tap shutter button half way during recording, it won't activate focus.
But, if you press back button, it will activate focus again during recording, as many times as you want.
I know, I used this feature in past, but I can't remember if it was with Z8, or Z7ii.
If it was Z8, then Nikon bugged it out with latest firmwares.
Anyone else uses it this way with similar experience?...Show more →
Can you toggle FX and DX in video mode? It usually is a product of codec in use. Either way, use record button to record and use another button to toggle FX/DX (if that is infact possible).
Alistair1 wrote:
Can you toggle FX and DX in video mode? It usually is a product of codec in use. Either way, use record button to record and use another button to toggle FX/DX (if that is infact possible).
I didn't experiment with different setups, but the one I use, HD 1080P/120fps/H.265/8bit, works.
The record button is used for FX/DX switch in still's mode, as it's got no function. I'm so used to it, it's natural to me to do the same in video mode, as well.
Not a big deal anyway, I use most of the time AF-F, but if I need AF-C, back button pump can recover focus tracking.
I asked here because it doesn't make sense that shutter button doesn't do it, and if I'm doing something wrong.
Thanks for reply!
cvrle59 is right. Z8 AF focusing in video mode has issues. At Nikon’s request this morning (June 24, 2025), I sent them some vid clips from yesterday morning with the loons (June 23, 2025).
Isn’t AF-F the mode that Nikon recommends for video? I think so... and I have worked with it a lot. The problem is that I have no control over the focusing at all. In AF-F for video focusing, the Z8 does all the focusing. That turns out to be a problem in itself.
So I told them that I chose AF-C and it works fine for any and all of AFing modes, from Single Point all the way down to Auto area AF. But I overlooked that I did my testing with the toggle switch switched to the video camera icon..... but I did not have the REC button pressed during the test. When I pressed the REC button AF had difficulty. Not sure it ever cooperated at all. Nikon is looking into this. I hope I am missing something.
bs kite wrote:
cvrle59 is right. Z8 AF focusing in video mode has issues. At Nikon’s request this morning (June 24, 2025), I sent them some vid clips from yesterday morning with the loons (June 23, 2025).
Isn’t AF-F the mode that Nikon recommends for video? I think so... and I have worked with it a lot. The problem is that I have no control over the focusing at all. In AF-F for video focusing, the Z8 does all the focusing. That turns out to be a problem in itself.
So I told them that I chose AF-C and it works fine for any and all of AFing modes, from Single Point all the way down to Auto area AF. But I overlooked that I did my testing with the toggle switch switched to the video camera icon..... but I did not have the REC button pressed during the test. When I pressed the REC button AF had difficulty. Not sure it ever cooperated at all. Nikon is looking into this. I hope I am missing something.
Robert
Your comments and suggestions are welcome too.
...Show more →
I'm glad that you went farther than I did, contacting Nikon, video seems to be more important to you than to me.
As I said in my first post here, I can't remember if it was Z8 with some of the lower FW, or Z7ii, I owed prior to Z8, but my experience with AF-C now is different.
Hopefully, Nikon comes back with some good explanation, and some fix to it, if it's a bug.
Thanks for your input!
George
