My first real camera was a Pentax k1000. My first real digital camera was a Pentax k20d. I later supplemented that with a k-50. Then I realized that my dream camera from over a decade ago could be had for 300 bucks and I made the switch to a Nikon D700. Then I played with a coworkers Sony Mirrorless camera, and leveraged probably a little bit more credit card debt than I should have to buy a Nikon z6. It helped make some of the most beautiful images I’d ever seen, but there were some things that disappointed me. The biggest part of that was the loss of subject tracking autofocus. I mean, it had it, but it was a pain to activate and trying to do so caused me to lose more images than it helped me get.
Now, I have a brand new camera. It’s still a Nikon z6, but with the latest firmware update, it’s an entirely different beast. The shot above? If I’d have had it in dynamic area autofocus, I’d have been fighting to keep those eyes sharp as this cinereous vulture weaved back and forth behind the twigs as he tried to rip them apart to build his nest. Instead, I set the tracking-af on his eye, and just waited for the right moment.
I hope Nikon keeps this up. Firmware updates with mirrorless cameras are a game changer, and the ability to buy a camera and have it be completely different (better) a year late is insane. Next stop, maybe expanding the animal-eye-af to include more than just pets?
The Zootographer 