This was necessary. The algorithm did not send me to you. Someone made a comment about you in another channel which sent me here. Unfortunately, I had already paid a fee to someone else for a Z9 setup video. Yours was better.
I just purchased the Nikon Z 9 and found this set of tutorials to be the best on the net! Thank you so much for putting this together and making it much easier than reading a 900+ page document. Now I'll use it for reference when I'm not sure about a setting. Great Info!
it really is - don't try contacting Nikon customer support because one out of three reps I talked to knew the operation of this camera. I finally figured it out myself and by the help of this tutorial !
I finally took the plunge into mirrorless from my D850 with a Z9 and want to say the Z9 setup tutorials are an immense help and time saver, plus learning the menu system, what they do and how they work. THANK YOU!
I really wish there was a new setup videos with the new updates involved for the Nikon Z9. These videos are great but out dated now. PLEASE do some updated videos. I used these banks and I love it and I have customised it to my use, but the backbones from these videos helped a LOT!! Thank you for your videos!
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I have watched the videos, but you don’t have the newest firmware updated and features for the banks. There is a lot more since your last update video. Yes I could customise myself, but not everyone else is good at it or has the right knowledge. The firmware 4.10 would be a great video with updates on the banks?
I've discussed every firmware update and how it affects my settings and controls including a detailed explanation of using auto capture and an explanation that 4.1 does nothing that affects my settings or control choices. I detailed how I currently use autofocus with updated firmware and techniques just a couple of months ago in videos at my favorite kitesurfing beach. Look at those and you're up to date. :)
Hello Hudson, I watched all four of your Z9 setup videos before my Z9 arrived. I received it a week ago and I watched the videos once more from start to finish. Thank you again for this, for your time and the work you put into them. I not only got Banks out of them, but extended knowledge about the camera as well. Thank you, The Z9 is the most extraordinary camera I've ever had in my hands. It is a fine instrument for capturing and recording the world, and beyond.
Finally got my Z9. These 4 setup videos were so helpful especially for the banks and custom settings. Thank you for taking the time to go into this much detail.
even though I'll never have the Z9, your talk through your settings is a terrific refresher whether you have the settings on your camera or not. Brilliant. Thank you!
I've owned the Z9 since it came out (December 2021 in Australia). It has been impressive but in a way still a 'foreign' tool for me. Only now (watching your video in July), with the help of your detailed, systematic introduction to the abilities and virtues of the Z9, it is changing from a respected 'foreigner' to a lovable friend and companion. Thanks a lot for being such a wonderful dating coach.
Hi Hudson-Thanks so much for doing all this legwork and making the entire setup guide available to the general public! It's informative, well done and greatly appreciated. It really does make setting up my Z9 so much easier!
Incredibly thorough and helpful. Really appreciate the presentation. It would have taken me weeks to figure this out without your explanations and recommendations. Thanks so much!
As many others have said THANK YOU !!! yes by not just downloading a settings menu it allows you to really understand the menu and your camera much better. I wish you much happiness !
Hudson, thank you for taking the time to go into detail of the bank setup. I just got my Z9 and the banks are powerful settings. I wish Nikon would keep the original settings but your explanation of saving and loading from the memory card is useful. The problem I had is I like to format my card after each time I empty them. What I ended up doing is keeping a spare card with the "master settings" and I also save they on my working cards. Before I take the card out to download and reformat, I load the settings from the card. After I format the card I save it again. This uses your method of saving and lets me format after each download. Thanks for a difficult process much easier!
Thank you so much for doing these setup videos!! I just upgraded to a Z9 & it was a huge upgrade for me, so I've got lots to learn. This is so helpful.
Thanks Hudson, it has really been helpful. I have another Nikon but it’s an older DSLR and so much has changed… I have done my own variations based on the kind of work I do, but your settings generally make sense.it’s an excellent guide!
Excellent, Hudson. Don't have my Z9 yet, but have downloaded and read the gigantic manual. Seeing it "in action" helps me absorb the information faster. Thank you!
Thanks, Henry!! My Z9 just arrived. Long-time Nikon shooter and I gotta say you really helped in getting this beast set up. There's a ton of customization that can be done, which means I've gotta read and reread the manual. We're heading to Antarctica for a month and this camera (along with my past knowledge) is going to preserve some lifelong memories.
You bet Daniel! Have a blast on that trip. I'm gonna do a small boat South Georgia trip in the not too distant future. First name is Hudson, but no big deal at all. :-)
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Sorry bout that. Keep those great videos coming and I look forward to your trip photos. If you're ever in the Pittsburgh area don't hesitate to contact me.
Sir Henry!!. Been following you for a while along with others. Overtime, I've found that when I need equipment information and a complete full understanding of my tools. I go straight to you. Hudson, your set up series on Banks and custom settings in the Z9 sealed the deal for me. After watching your reviews and many others I ordered the Z9 directly from Nikon USA on 3/23.. I received my camera on 4/25. I Shoot wild life and knew exactly where to start.... with my new Z9. You have saved me months of trial and error, and perhaps a bit of frustration. Finally, a quick validation. I've been shooting since 1976. Always Nikon, wasn't sure about mirrorless, about EVF mostly. This Z9 is magnificent! Feels like home in my hand and focus and tracking using your action settings is..... Wow I'm at a loss for adjectives!!!
Hudson, appreciate the guides! Patiently waiting for my Z9, hoping I’ll see it by end of March. I’ll probably be watching each of these 4 vids many times until it arrives so appreciate the time and energy spent to create these!
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Having watched all 4, I’d say you did a bang up job covering a lot of the ways to best customize it for the types of settings you laid out. Will be helpful to use these as a base and tweak to my taste once I’m able to get hands on but this is IMMENSELY helpful. Great work Hudson and the fact you’ve put this out without charge whereas many of your peers offer their setups guides behind a paywall is impressive. I would pay for your guidance gladly to be clear as I believe in supporting the efforts you and others put into these but appreciative that you offered it freely. Time to hit up your ATS store and get the Kase 82mm kit in the next couple of weeks! Also, Kirk has their Z 9 L-Bracket up for preorder if you didn’t already know. Reached out to Jeff today and he put it up pretty soon after, such great customer service. Now to see if the L-Bracket or Z 9 comes first, ha!
A brilliant set of videos. When I started working on the i menu I snapped a picture of what was already there with my phone so I don’t put the same item in twice. Then once I have all the choices in the i menu I snap a new phone picture so I can place the items in the grid spacing where I want them. It is quicker than writing everything down.
Hi Hudson...thanks for this video. I had my Z9 set-up about 95% the way you did already except for a couple of the custom buttons. One huge feature I've found is being able to program a function button for recall shooting functions. For my Custom Bank A (I call it Normal) I set-up Fn Button 3 for recall shooting function where it's set to capture a quick action shot. It's set for S mode, 1/1600, Lowest aperture, AFC, Wide Area Large Auto focus, animal subject, ISO Auto, 20 FPS. For my Custom Bank B (Action) I set Fn button 3 for for recall shooting function for a still subject. It's set for A mode, F8, ISO auto, single shot, AFC, 3-d tracking auto focus and auto subject detect. Works great to change modes quickly with a single button press. The other day I was at the beach using my 24-70 taking shots of the blizzard aftermath. While there, 2 large swans flew overhead. Even though I was in my Normal shooing mode, I hit Fn3 and got some very nice action photos of the swans in flight. They were pretty close. Also, one other setting I've set is the video record button to go to the first listing in My Menu. I've set that to Subject Detection. I would think you would be able to select subject with a function button, but this is a pretty good workaround and easy to access. Thanks again for the video...this Z9 is great!!!
Nice to see that most of my choices were also yours (bias confirmation is such a comforting thing!). I too spent a lot of time looking for the exposure delay settings, and ranted a bit in a user group. I guess I'll wind up getting a 10-pin button, but under duress. Great video, sir. I'm sharing this one around.
Hudson-you are a master! Z9 is a complicated beast. Your four setup videos make it seem so easy. Coming from a Z6, it’s so familiar yet so different. Your clarity on the bank’s set up brought a lot of understanding for me on the Z9. I have taken your information and applied it to my camera and will then adjust to my settings as I grow with this camera. Only had it a few days. Lots to learn. Thanks for your dedication and hard work! You rock!!!
Thanks Henry for an awesome setup video. My Z9 was affected by the TSA for the lens release button. When I received my camera back, I discovered that all of my setting were reset. Not a big deal, more of a pain. This video guided back to where I want to be and now my settings are saved.
I can’t tell you how incredibly helpful this setup series has been. I’ve been shooting Nikon forever… still adore my D850. I shoot wildlife, landscapes and Milky Way with a balanced passion for all. You have made setting up my new Z9 seamless and fully comprehensible. Thank you so very much Hudson. As a side note…I met you years ago on Bandon beach. We were both photographing some seals and pups. You were incredibly friendly and we had a lovely conversation. You made a great first impression! 😊
I remember that morning and the two of you out there. It was a lovely morning. So great to hear from you. I think you'll love the Z9! It's a fabulous machine.
Finally someone that makes camera setup instructions clear and precise. Thank you. Just purchased a z9 and love it. I bought the lens adapter but I need to exchange it as its a lot tighter (too tight) with my legacy lenses - it might be made with slightly different tolerances than my prior Nikon lens adapter for my z6.
Thank you for taking me through a very complicated process and explaining it clearly. It helped me to set up my Z9 & Z8 to be similar in most ways for the type of work that I do with these fantastic cameras. Like you, I was surprised to find that the Z9 wins out over the Z8 for me. Thanks again.
Hudson, first let me say that you photography videos are outstanding. The reason I came to your channel was because I am new to the Nikon family and recently purchased a Z9. I have watched all 4 of your setup videos and others related to the newer firmware updates. These videos are very well done and extremely informative. Today I spent time on the Nikon web page and was disappointed that I was unable to find software which would allow me to "build out the 4 banks" on my computer and then upload these profiles via USB or memory card to the Z9. I don't understand why Nikon has not made such a piece of software available. It seems to me that it would be simpler and easier to make all of the changes to each individual bank on my PC instead of having to work off the touch screen on the back of the camera. Further I could save different profiles on my PC or NAS and not have to worry about whether or not I have a profile of my bank setup stored on a memory card. A stand alone software app on a PC or MAC could show more Bank options at a given time while you are "programming" the camera. A computer program could also allow you to stack all four banks side by side and compare your setup of each bank. You might also imagine comparing Bank A from a setup today from one that the user built 6 months ago and compare changes. I am amateur radio operator and all modern amateur radios can be completely programmed by a USB cable. This is an immense time saver when programming in repeater frequencies, squelch tones and other parameters necessary. Just a few thoughts. Maybe you could talk about this in an upcoming video. See you in Yellowstone in Sept 2023, I have paid my deposit. Rich
You can back up the settings to your NAS, by copying the non dcim files on your card with saved settings to it. The rest would be awesome, but no camera company yet comes close. Great dream list though! See you next year! Can't wait!
It's probably the most helpful video I've watched in a long time. This camera is my first Nikon, I'm a professional cinematographer, and I hate red cameras and loved that Nikon took them on, and won so this camera can keep it's raw video. You seem like a guy that would like this pointed out if not then sorry. You should be using only raw or prores video and always shoot in N-log and put view assist as a custom button in all video banks so you can toggle between the log profile you're recording and the rec 709 estimations of what it looks like after grading the tonal curve in resolve. I also am a certified resolve colorist and the main reason more people like myself have never tried Nikon while shooting literally every other brand of camera is that they were not taking video and color science seriously. I was still a photographer before I transitioned to video I thought I knew settings but you really have expert-level knowledge of the still setting and options on Nikon cameras so I thought I mention the video parts I know. When I went from stills to video I resisted shooting in log because most NLE's make very hard or time-consuming to grade log footage to something they like. With resolve you don't even need a lut or apply contrast to get the footage to look good, you just change a few settings and you never see the washed-out image. It's like shooting stills raw, you see a decent-looking image right away but all that information in highlights and shadows is retained for you to use should you need it. I have not graded n-log yet but shot some 709/default stuff today and it looks really bad compared to what I'm sure you grade the n-log into and even if you don't really care about video right now it may be useful to know in the future. This being my first nikon I was surprised to see how buried the color space/gamma settings for the video were and that you could record raw video in anything but log is confusing. You shoot raw video to retain all that info and rec 709 is a tiny color space. Anyway I digress, thanks for the video you did a great job on it
I have been really happy with 10-bit 4k oversampled from the Z9. I do shoot N-log when I have high contrast in landscape and wildlife scenarios I want to capture. I mostly shoot video for this channel and I just use my Z6ii in 8-bit 4k. Which is plenty for that purpose really. I'm very much an Adobe Permiere guy. I know Resolve makes sense. If I could just cram a few more hours in thed ay, I'd experiment more. I do love the video side and what Nikon's doing. I'll try out your settings. ;-) Thanks man. Much appreciated.
[f4] Control Lock :- Great feature when shooting a repetitive event (eg: Horse show jumping) using Manual Mode. Avoids the error of changing Shutter and/or f/stop... but allowing the ISO to auto correct as the only variable. Great feature on the Oly M1X (Lock and C-Lock) on and external switch. Great presentation, with rationale for settings. THANK YOU
Hey Hudson, thank you so much for this tutorial! I just got my Z9 today and it helps to go over these settings! Now to charge the battery for six hours!!!!
At 58:40 when you talked about menu f4 for the control lock, I have a use for it. As a real estate photographer, I use the 14-24 lens. On occasion, I have bumped the command dial on the lens which I also have set to control aperture. But for my workflow, I shoot at f8 for my real estate photos and don't always notice until later that my aperture has been at 7.1 or 6.3 for awhile. So as a safeguard, I lock my aperture during real estate jobs just as an insurance policy lol
I watched this from start to finish over a two day span and set up my Z9 Bank A, and then I watched your Approaching the Scene 184 video on the wide to 3d tracking setup which I did in Bank B. This morning, after charging my battery, I was reading a comment about formatting your disk and then do a save settings. You had recommended in this video to not format but rather do a delete all photos in the playback menu. I did not think it would make any difference, and almost did a format, but decided to do it your way. A little later as I sat on my front porch sipping my morning coffee, I tried to catch a photo of a squirrel and could not get the tracking, or the wide front button focus to work. NO WAY, NO HOW! Frustrating as heck as I had only finished setting it up just before pulling the battery and putting it on the charger before going to bed. I went into the settings menu and did an upload and VOILA! it all works just like it should again. Thank goodness I was listening when you said not to format and I just wanted to thank you for saving me another hour of step by step set up while watching your video and pausing to make sure I set things up correctly.
Great Video Hudson, I'm still waiting for my Z9 to be shipped (latest rumors say that the next batch for the USA, Non NPS members is March 5th), this video provides a lot of user friendly information in advance for those who are currently waiting for their Camera.
Hey Henry, thank you so much for your time and wisdom. This helped to get some more info on setting uip my Z 9 to meet my needs. The action trick is very helpful and much apprecited. Again, thanks!
Wow man what a legend! Huge effort on your part. I have been a tech exec for a long time and this is what I had wanted the internet to be about super smart people sharing good information. Thank you so much for doing this- Definitely my newest subscribe channel
Hudson, this was fantastic. Very detailed, informative, and practical. Easy to execute on the information presented. I have taken Matt Granger's Z set up course and taking Steve Simms Z9 menu course on Feb 18th - paid for both of them. You should charge for this as was great info, very helpful, and puts me in a better position to use this powerful tool.
Thank you for this video! My initial set up is now complete and I will start shooting and modify if and when needed. Far more efficient when compared to going through the manual - which I have now downloaded.
Hi Hudson - still waiting for my Z9 (and 24-120). This will be very useful whenever it shows up! I ordered the 400/2.8 - can’t wait to try that out and determine if it’s time to part with all my super tele F-mount glass (but never the 500 PF), especially with the 800 PF eventually coming out. Thanks for this guide!
Yeah - Nikon USA recently cleared up some confusion stating that it can be used with the Z 1.4x and 2.0x TCs with or without the internal TC being engaged. So, it really has an extensive range of focal lengths, especially when factoring in the Z9 in DX mode. Expensive, but actually a good value, all things considered
Aloha Hudson: I just learned the expensive way you are wrong about the dynamic area focus modes being legacy. I went on a whale watch today. I took nearly 650 frames and only a tiny hand full were keepers. Some were slightly out of focus and some were terribly out of focus. Almost all were focused too close but a certain percentage where back focused. I was using Wide Area Small and prided myself that even in the bouncing boat, I had the whale nicely centered in the focusing frame. So, these results perplexed me. I decided to check my placing of the focus frame using NX Studio. Sure enough the majority of the time the frame was nicely centered on the whale. BUT, the water at the bottom of the frame was always in perfect focus! Then it dawned on me! No one at Nikon ever thought to train the autofocus to recognize humpback whales! Since their algorithm didn't find any subject it had been trained to recognize it simply defaulted to the closest subject -- the water! As I scrolled through I quickly realized that in the few "keepers" the whale was always at the bottom of the focusing square! The ones i thought I got right were actually wrong and the ones I thought i got wrong were actually right! I am going back out soon using dynamic area and I am predicting I am coming back with 90% plus keepers. I wasted my expedition $50 bucks but not my $5,500 camera bucks! Despite this tidbit of poorly qualified advice I have poured over your hour plus video a few times and really learned a lot! Thank you!
Aloha Randy. I think you misunderstood when I'd advise you to use the hybrid mode with wide area. Whales aren't the time. Trust me dynamic is not what it was in the dslr days. Use it if you must, but you'll be far better off using either auto area (if the Whales are large in the frame), 3d or even single point AFC in a situation like that. My advice was to use the hybrid action mode, bank B only for fast moving difficult to pick up subjects like erratic birds in flight. Whales are the opposite. They'd fall under my standard mode, bank A which starts with 3d afc on the back button. You should be able to tell if it's catching water instead of your subject. If in doubt review images in the viewfinder and zoom in. If it isnt tracking the whale, then switch to single point and put it where you want. You can spend time on dynamic if you want, but it's very much a legacy mode. I programmed it out of my AF option list even though it's the mode I lived in on dslrs for two decades. It's just not as good as the others. Period.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thank you for your long and thoughtful response. I have learned a lot since my disappointing first try, The main thing is I learned to simply turn off subject detection mode. In this case it simply contrast focuses and those big ole black humpbacks provide very clear edges. I thought of several other possible solutions but this on seems the simplest requiring only one setting change. I am going back out tomorrow to test it on whales but my shore-based trials assures me it will work. Thank you again.
Henry, I just found your channel and website. I finally got my Z9 in-hand a few days ago and this video was immeasurably helpful in honing my understand its complex set up options and choosing my own preferred settings. Thank you! I appreciate your relaxed teaching style and well-organized delivery. I just subscribed and also checked out your 2023 workshops. I tentatively signed up for the one in Charleston, which is fairly close to where I live. There’s no information yet about how long it is or what days of the week it will be held, but I certainly hope to attend.
Thanks so much for these guides! I've only had my Z9 for a few days. Today, I found out something fun. Using the starview setting, one can use a Hoya RM72, i.e. a 720nm IR filter, on the lens and see the image quite well through the filter. Autofocus even works...occasionally. Using manual focus with peaking works great. I used the filter on my D600 quite a bit, but I always had to setup on a tripod, frame the image, put the filter on, and use a cable release.....Now I should be able to leave the filter on when I want to shoot IR. Back with the D600, my exposure times were usually between 1/8th second and 30seconds, although occasionally they were much longer. Hopefully, the results will be as good, and easier to achieve, with the Z9.
Hudson, I have not gone through all your Z9 videos (yet) and have not checked all the comments on this video. BUT…I did check a couple things that seem different from what is stated in the video. First I tried something to get the Bank info saved on a card in slot B. Once banks were saved on the card in slot 1, I removed that card and then did a save and all the info was saved to the card in slot 2. I checked it by moving the card from slot 2 to slot 1 and ran through the saved settings- everything was saved. So, having peaked my curiosity, I then formatted the card in slot 1 and then looked at the shooting and custom menus. The saved info remained on the card after formatting. So apparently the data is saved to a file, perhaps in a protected folder, if this has already been pointed out I apologize for being a bore. Otherwise I suggest you do a simple test to verify what I see, It relieves a potential headache! Cheers.
No sadly I think that's because you still had it on slot B. I didn't say you can't save settings to slot B, only that it's not possible with a card in slot A. If you format both cards, you won't see load as an option any more. It nukes it for sure.
Hudson, nice job on these videos for setting up the Z9! Your presentation is excellent and easy to understand, giving us useful information that can apply to other similar Nikon camera settings. While I wait for my Z9, I can improve the settings on my D850 as well. Much appreciated and I have just become a subscriber! Many thanks!
Appreciate the vid. The Z9 is a beast and your vid helped me tweak some settings I hadn’t gotten to. The manual is only 900+ pages and even then it isn’t always great at clarifying the info.
Hey great vid looking forward to next one. I use the lock facility on my D500 when shooting in studio so as not to accidentally knocking the shutter speed and aperture off when I'm putting down the camera and picking up again. Useful for me.
Thanks Hudson - great! I use the Control Lock when shooting sports in a light controlled atmosphere - it prevents me from bumping/moving the shutter/ aperture settings by accident.