Ask Matthew...
Our resident Nikon expert Matthew Richards answers your questions and solves your problems. If you have a Nikon-related question, email it to mail@nphotomag.com
Q I have a D7100 but have been thinking of upgrading to a Z 6II. How good is the autofocus system for tracking small animals like cats and dogs? Gill Stafford
The Z 6II and Z 7II both have highly A effective autofocus (AF) systems, which perform brilliantly for tracking the movement of animals. Just select AF-C (Continuous) autofocus mode and switch to the ‘Auto-area AF - animals’ option. A ‘people’ option is also available. In both cases, AF will seek out the relevant target, homing in on faces and eyes as they come into range. When the going gets tough, the Z 7II has the edge for AF performance, with 493 phase-detection sites on its image sensor, compared with 273 for the Z 6II.
If you’re shooting pets or even people running around, it’s also good to select a fast continuous drive mode, and to fire a burst of shots. This helps to ensure that you nail the moment when everything comes together and the subject looks its best.
Q I have a D3200, which I’d like to use with my Nikon ML-L3 Remote Controller but I’m having trouble getting them to work together. Can you help? Stephen Jones
That combination should work. A As with many other Nikon cameras, you need to set the D3200 to its
Remote Control mode in the Release menu, selecting either the Delayed Remote, or Quick-response Remote option. Aim the ML-L3 controller at one of the camera’s two infrared receivers. One is on the front, embedded in the handgrip, and the other is on the back to the left of the viewfinder.
One thing to bear in mind is that, if no operations are performed for about a minute after a remote control mode is selected, the camera will automatically revert to the Single frame, Continuous, or Quiet shutter-release mode in which it was previously set. Another potential problem is that the battery in the ML-L3 has gone flat. It’s easy to replace; you’ll just need a new CR-2025 coin-shaped battery.
Q I bought the Nikon AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6e ED VR lens that you recommended, to use with my Z 6II via an FTZ mount adapter. The results are excellent but I’m only getting 6-7fps?
Archie Coulter
To get faster drive rates of up to A 14fps, you need to switch to Continuous H* (Extended) mode. This is available by pressing the Release Mode button at the bottom right-hand
corner on the camera’s rear panel. The H* mode isn’t listed when you select ‘Focus mode’ in the camera’s main Photo Shooting Menu.
There are a couple of other things to bear in mind. The 14fps Continuous H* mode will slow down to around 10fps when shooting in 14-bit Raw quality mode. It’ll also slow down when using the ‘Silent photography’ option, to 12fps or 8fps for 12-bit and 14-bit Raw quality modes. Also, to maintain the fastest available drive rates, you need to select MF or AF-S focus modes, or stick with singlepoint AF in AF-C, otherwise the drive rate can drop as low as 9fps.
Q When discussing tripods you often refer to ‘Arca-swiss’compatible mounts, but what does that mean? David Thornley
This is a type of quick-release A mounting system for tripod heads, originally developed by the Swiss manufacturer Arcaswiss Phototechnik. It’s based on a quick-release plate with dovetailed sides that slides into the mounting platform on the tripod head. One of the sides of the platform is moved in, by rotating a thumbscrew, to form a compression fit that tightly holds the quick-release plate in place.
Gaining popularity back in the 1990s, the dimensions and style of the Arca-swiss mounting system was widely copied by a large number of tripod manufacturers in the photographic market, making the system something of an industry standard at the time. A growing number of large telephoto lenses with tripod mounting rings are now designed so that their feet mount directly into an Arca-swiss head platform, bypassing the need to use an additional quick-release plate in the first place.