The Nikon Z5 II - Setup
The Nikon Z5 II
Nikon made a huge step with this new version of its "entry level" full frame camera. They gave it their most recent processor and all the gimmicks made possible by it. The auto focus has improved a lot as well as the overall performance of the camera, not to mention the new video features. Keeping the price at a level which competes with much more average APS-C cameras was also wise step. I got mine for 1600€ minus the 250€ for my four year old Z5. For comparison, the Fuji XT-5 currently sells for 1800€ in Germany.
But this is no review. Rather, I like to share the settings I use. I fear that the camera is a bit overwhelming for newcomers. Even old dogs like myself can struggle with all these features. And Nikon should really think of a way to present the settings in a more structured and comprehensible menu.
For me, this page will be a journey. I suggest setting the camera to English if you want to follow.
General Operation
There are a lot of buttons which set values only by simultaneously rotating one of the dials. This can be altered via f7 in the COSTOM menu. I have it ON, so that I can release the button, then turn the dials, ending with a half press of the shutter.
Many buttons can be configured in the CUSTOM menu. These configurations are different for the PHOTO and the VIDEO mode, which can be switched below the DISP button. It is a common mistake to be in the wrong mode.
One of your first checks should be if the photo mode is JPEG or RAW or JPEG+RAW in the PHOTO SHOOTING menu. If you opt for JPEG, you should also visit the picture modes. By default, there is also a key to change it. Note, that the picture mode affects the small preview embedded into the RAW file too. An interesting option is to use a B/W mode.
You can also set the image area. If you select DX, you are emulating an APS-C camera. This happens automatically, if a DX lens is mounted.
There are many small options which users prefer to set. One is the beep in the SETUP menu. I have it off. Then there is a COPYRIGHT notice for all your images which you can enter. There are many more. It is worth looking through the CUSTOM and SETUP menus.
The User Modes
This is a PSAM camera. For me, the most important modes are the aperture mode A to set the DOF I like to have, and the shutter mode S to freeze or show motion. Setting both with the manual mode M is rare. And I never use the mode P. The AUTO mode recommends itself to absolute newcomers to get a start with the camera, or in case of a quick emergency. The AUTO mode works, and it got more flexible in the Z5 II.
But the main topic in this section are the user modes U1, U2, U3. For me, these are godsent, and I wished I had two more. To set these modes, you select one of PSAM, change everything to your needs, and then save the user mode with "Save user settings" in the SETUP menu. Almost everything is saved, including button settings, picture modes, silent shooting etc.
You now have a quick path to your favorite setup depending on the situation. I prefer these modes to the shooting banks of the more advanced Nikons.
Here are some ideas for user modes.
- Set one with aperture mode A and f/5.6 for everyday still scenes. The idea is to change only the aperture later, and have everything else set. But even if you would change the ISO, you would easily get back to the default, by switching to another mode and back, or turning the camera off and on.
- Another one could be set for portraits. I like f/2.8 for the job and auto focus continuous AF-C.
- Maybe a third one for fast moving subjects in mode S, set initially to 1/1000 or so, and AF-C, of course.
The Dials
This is a camera with two dials, one for your thumb and the other one on the front. For A and S you need only one dial. The other one can be set for easy exposure compensation via b3 in the CUSTOM settings menu. You can select to have the compensation reset when the camera is turned off. I like that a lot. The normal exposure compensation with the +/- key is not reset, besides in a user mode.
The two dials can be configured in a flexible way. Via f6, you can reverse the operation to set the exposure and the compensation, in case you have another camera which does it the other way. Via f2, you can set the roles of the front and back dial. For this, select the dial in the icon list of buttons and press OK. I have set the front dial for the exposure compensation, even in mode S.
The Display
The content of the viewfinder and the display can be changed using the DISP button. The views you cycle through contain a new picture-only screen which I like a lot. If you half press the shutter or move a dial, the aperture, shutter speed and ISO will flash. Otherwise, you see your scene fully and clear.
The camera has a selfie mode which enables if you turn the display towards the front. In this mode, no button will work besides the shutter. I have this mode disabled in the SETUP menu.
I have also disabled "Auto rotate info display" in the SETUP menu. It gets confusing very quickly, and I can read the menus even when I hold the camera vertically.
The brightness of the display and the viewfinder can be configured. The AUTO mode works quite well for the viewfinder. Sometimes, I like the display a bit brighter at daylight. This is all done in the SETUP menu.
If you like the level, you can set one of the buttons to display it. I use the picture mode button on the top for it. As with other buttons, use f2.
The button on the left of the viewfinder controls the viewfinder and the monitor selection. You can restrict the choices in "Limit monitor mode selection" in the SETUP menu. I have "Automatic display switch" and "Monitor only" as my sole options.
The Auto Focus
As I said already, auto focus is quite advanced on this camera. The automatic mode can select eyes, faces and may objects and focus quickly on them. The type of subject is selected in "AF/MF subject detection options" in the POTO SHOOTING menu. I have it on Auto. The detection is possible in an AF area mode where a small additional icon is displayed to indicate this feature.
To select such an area, you define an AF switch button via f2. By default, it is one of the front buttons. Once this button is pressed, you can select the AF mode, single, continuous or auto, with the front wheel and the area with the back wheel. Via a8, the available focus areas can be restricted.
Without detection, the focus selects the closest object in the focus area, unless the camera judges elements as foreground which should be blurry. The focus area can be moved with the cursor, and centered with OK.
For an overview on the available AF modes, go the the PHOTO SHOOTING menu and to "AF-area Mode". There, you can see the available areas and even define two custom ones. Not all AF areas make sens in both AF-S and AF-C. The dynamic areas are reserved for AF-C. They are an old way to follow a moving object. The focus will jump a bit off the center of the area if the subject is detected to move off the center.
3D tracking is a special AF mode, where the focus point follows a moving object. To lock it, start focusing with a half-press or with AF-ON. I have set one of the front keys to switch quickly between selected focus modes. This is done via f2 by selecting the icon for switching. The type of focus points can be restricted in that process. I have set a button in one user mode to switch between auto area and 3D tracking quickly.
The most accurate AF option is the pinpoint. The point can be set with the touch screen. But beware, that the touch mode is on AF set, not set and shoot or off, as shown in the small icon, where this mode can also be changed. My method to focus exactly is to use a 100% zoom, which works best with back button focus as explained below. It is possible to set a button for this zoom via f2, or you can use the + and - key. The cursor can move the zoomed area around.
Back Button Focus
I have converted to this mode of focusing a long time ago. The idea is not to focus with a half press of the shutter, but with a separate key. The AF-ON button on the back is ideal for it. It is configured to start focusing by default. All you have to do is to remove the focus function from the shutter. This is done via a6 in the CUSTOM menu.
Back button focus has many advantages. For a start, it makes the old technique "focus and recompose" easier. You can press AF-ON and if the focus is right, you can let it go and take as many pictures as you want. Without back button focus, you need to hold the shutter half pressed for this. The sequence "focus with AF-ON", "check focus", "shoot" becomes automatic after a while.
The other advantage is that you can use single auto focus mode AF-S even in AF-C, just by releasing the AF-ON button.
One problem is that you have to instruct other users of your camera to focus with AF-ON. You can set a user mode without back button focus for this if needed. Or you can add the a6 setup into your user menu for quick access.
AUTO ISO
Exposure is simply the light per area on the sensor. At a fixed light emission of the subject, exposure is controlled by the aperture and the shutter speed only, if we ignore filters and light loss in the lens for now. But we need the aperture to set the depth of field and the shutter speed to freeze or show motion. Moreover, there are restrictions. The aperture can only be as wide as the lens allows. And if it is too narrow, diffraction will spoil the image. The shutter speed needs to be fast enough to allow hand held shooting without camera motion inducing blur. The Z5 II has an effective stabilization to avoid this, by the way. The image below was shot at 1/15 with a 50mm lens.
To help out, the image can be made brighter using the ISO settings. The base is ISO100 on this camera, and it can get up to ISO64000, more than 9 stops. The problem is that this also makes the unavoidable noise brighter. The dynamic range of the sensor reaches from the noise level to the maximum capacity. With higher ISO, the noise level rises, and the dynamic range decreases consequently.
To set the ISO, there is a special button. While pressed, the front button sets ISO AUTO or not, and the back button sets the ISO value. For ISO AUTO, this is the minimum ISO value to use. ISO can also be changed using the i-menu or in the PHOTO SHOOTING menu. In this case, the maximum value for ISO can be set.
In mode S, AUTO ISO works by opening the aperture as much as possible and only then increasing the ISO. In mode A, AUTO ISO will set the minimum shutter speed according the settings in the PHOTO SHOOTING menu. There is an AUTO option which takes into account the lens used and selects the minimum shutter speed. A longer lens is more sensible to camera shake because of its magnification. This AUTO mode can be configured to be faster or slower in the same menu.
The Z5 II sensor has too modes. The second one is kicking in at ISO800 and allows a higher capacity. A consequence is that ISO400 should be avoided. ISO800 has the same noise characteristics as ISO200.
Noise can be removed with the noise tools in the camera for JPEG output, or in your software for RAW output. Of course, nothing beats a low ISO, not even the most modern AI. On the other hand, you should not be afraid to use ISO1600 or above to fight motion blur. That is much better than a picture spoiled by smearing details because the subject moved. For kids and sports, or for flying birds, you need 1/1000 at least.
The Card Slots
I want a camera with two card slots. The reason is that I want a backup of my photos. Cards may fail, get lost or stolen, or may be spoiled during readout on the computer. So, I definitely want a backup. You can set the Z5 to produce it on the second card slot. These days it does not make much sense to use the second card for overflow. A single 128KB card can hold thousands of pictures now. And they are less expensive than being unable to shoot due to missing card space. So, buy two big ones.
My second card never leaves the camera, or maybe only to backup all its content to a hard drive. I use the first card to transfer the files to the computer, and format it afterwards. It may even be a good idea to use different first cards for different events.
If you are doing video, you can use one of the cards for it. For a mixed work, photos could go to the first, and videos to the second. Then, of course, there is no backup. The setup is in the VIDEO menu, and it even shows the time you have left for the video on your card.
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