Nikon Z6 II Autofocus Is Amazing If You Do This One Thing

Thx for fixing update

It would have been great if you showed how to reach that configuration on the menus.

You didn't tell how to find the box thing in the menu.

nice tuto. I would be interested with an update with V1.4 firmware for eye detection, perhaps coupled with subject tracking ... in my case, with z6ii+Z24-70/F2.8, mode A, af-c, AF-ON, auto area AF people in street photography, I have difficulties to have these yellow boxes on eyes or faces ! No idea why. my iphone 12 pro max and a7iii focus directly. However it seems so easy to detetc a pink face in a grey street. I really wonder why Nikon engineers are missing with two expeed 7 on-board !

This has been Nikon's weakness for decades. The engineers rarely speak English and have to explain to other Japanese speakers how the cameras work and then the manuals are written and translated. Much is lost in that process.

Maybe I missed it (my apologies if I did), but how -- specifically, step-by-step -- is this "one thing" achieved and this mode and setting set? As you correctly state, camera manufacturers would do well to simplify and clarify things for their users; but this video also seemed to leave out the simple, step-by-step instructions to get to the mode and utilize the "box" that is referred to. Again, apologies if I missed it, but I watched 3 times and didn't see it.

Thanks a'lot,but just a question, is there something we must do for the box to appear on the back screen?

im afraid how slow it will work when using adapter with old f mount lenses

how to set up？

when will nikon release flashes that focus assist lamp for z line?

Hi, on my Nikon Z6II I cannot activate the infra red light AF on my SB-910 flash... if i Put the SB910 un my old Nikon D36 the infrared light on the SB910 works great... on my Z6 (in AFS mode obviously) DOesn't work... what am I doing wrong? :(

Thank You! I almost went with Canon.

Bad autofocus.. Nikon z6ii,

Z6 ii bad Focus photography

how do you choose the box? what is the specific mode?

How do I enable this mode?

Great find, I would love to see it in action like sports at night to see how well it tracks a football player or soccer.

I have used several systems but stick with Nikon because it is a better tool for people who want the control but Sony and Canon have better AF for people who are content to let the camera decide and not worry that their intent and the camera's intent is different. I finish a studio or location session and will be very surprised if 2 out 500 frames are missed focus. Conducting workshops or photo tours with tourist clients I have had to deal with a lot of different models and brands find I always get more keepers than my clients simply because I do not leave it up to the camera as if I had no agency in the results. They might take a thousand shots and I take 50 on the same walking photo tour. I think it is that lack of intent that they are used to with cell phone cameras which have very deep depth of field so everything is in focus. If my subject is still I usually use a single point and it never fails even in low light because the camera knows the unambiguous intended focal plane. Given the many other traits of the Z bodies over the competition such as build, handling, color, weather sealing, S lenses, control layout, and menu system, etc, the Nikon cameras fit my use better than other models. The new R series of Canon shows a shift away from their history of making solid cameras since they are much lighter in build quality than their 5d and 1dx DSLRs and no more reliable than the Sony which were always considered to be disposable cameras, not worth repairing. The two best-built full-frame brands are Nikon and Panasonic Lumix S series but they are not comfortable to hold.

so there's a mode that works. great. now it seems like you forgot to tell us which one it is.

to videograph flying birds which video setting should I use and with which lens?

Does that apply to video recording too?

Hi guys, How about a test with motorsport? I found the auto-focus slow, the viewfinder takes forever to wake up. It isn't a patch on my D500s which is lightning fast and accurate.

In chinese we have this saying:治标不治本, meaning tackling the superficial problem instead of solving it from the root.

I shoot this weekend some "couples of mother and son" in a school event. Lots of photos , specially when I ask to the kid kiss the mother ...I lost focus on AF-C . And not "confirmation" My AF -C in on focus priority. I have to shoot more them 1 photo to secure the focus.
I can find that face detection mode on Z6 II realible

What this video was about? What is the results? Bad? Good? Biiig dislike

It’s be much more helpful if you showed this on the camera

I m extremely disappointed by Nikon Z6 II focus system, I shoot dance floors where people are constantly moving and the focus system doesn't respond to my subject, often if something is moving infrnt of my subjects eyes the focus is going to the moving object

Thanks, I was so frustrated due to that strange unexpected behaviour of autofocus.... will try your Tipp

Thanks for this valuable info.
Really appreciate it.

But I am facing an issue with it.
Whenever I am activating the wide area-L mode (with happy face), the red box is appearing but the subject tracking option deactivates.
Can you please explain?

Thanks in advance.

I am done with Nikon. I started on a D700 back in 2011. It was absolutely wonderful, magical camera. I 'upgraded' to the D800, and then 2 D810... all 3 of those bodies seemed to struggle with focus..even at f8 with strobes, I'd get 3 of 10 photos out of focus.. This year I decided to 'upgrade' to a Z6II. The AF has never been great out of the box (even while calibrating all my lenses w calibration tool).. so I've been fighting this camera all year..
Well today I did a shoot.. 850 images.. there's maybe 20 that are sharp enough to use. Tried every AF mode, 3 different lenses.. no differences.
It's going to break the bank as selling Nikon F glass is tough these days, but looks like I'm going to have to jump to Sony or Canon. As a professional photographer, I just can't work with such an unreliable system..

can you re do this test after updated firmware?

Not as good is an understatement ! 🤣🤣🤣
Guessing that you have a deal with Nikon so now you’re trying to help them.
But their focus tracking still sucks compared to other makes.
EVERYBODY knows this.
If you want the best focus tracking, Nikon is not the camera for you.
And I own a Nikon

Like Nikon, there was no info on 'what box' to activate...

This was a game changer for my session today! Thank you so much!!

I wonder why this only works when you use the shutter button to both focus and shoot. Using back button focus I have to press the AF-on button before taking every single photo. I would like to be able to keep pressing the AF-on button and keep on focussing while releasing the shutter multiple times.

I can’t wait to upgrade.

It may have helped if you specifically mentioned the mode name (which I assumed was wide mode).

I like Auto Area AF with subject tracking a lot, BUT, it seems cumbersome to activate on the intended target. I did assign subject tracking to the FN1 button and that works great to turn on subject tracking, but it must also be aimed at the intended subject to track and THEN pressing OK button and that is the cumbersome part, especially for fast moving subjects. I also use BB AF (AF-ON) button so it would make sense that once the AF-ON is pressed subject tracking would be targeted on whatever the box is aimed at - there should be no need to press the OK button which is cumbersome. Am I missing something? If not, perhaps Nikon should make that change to the tracking feature, and perhaps enable it for all AF modes, in the next firmware updates.

Who in their right mind would expect a camera to track some dude walking into 80% darkness? What a lame review!

Hello. I am Guido from Belgium.
I found the explanation of this video enlightening, but I am unable to apply this to my Nikon Z6II. I was wondering if it was possible to tell me the correct settings. I mean what and where should you set this? Because I don't see this red square appearing on my display.
Thanks for a response.

just go this camera did not know about the box thing can try some hand on experiment

Would have been great to know how to get those settings with the box.

Good info but it would be really helpful to have a tutorial of how to actually set up this autofocus mode.

Thank you! This is my favorite video on Nikon Z AF!

But you didn't show us how to setup the mode.

What is the mode? 😂

Was testing it yesterday and wide mode is not that good if a person is very far away and small in frame
normal human AF was doing better but still struggling
wide AF had problem with finding a human in that area and focused on the leaves

🚨 You hype up this “box” yet don’t demonstrate how to use it.?? 🤔

I think that people doing photography these days wants to have camera which make everything by itself instead of photographer - thinking, shooting, focusing, choosing subject to focus on, removing unwanted things from photo, fixing skin and much more... Z6 II is very capable camera and it should not be strange for people that newer cameras like Z6 III is better - it is normal. Each company learn how to implement some things in their products.

Went from z6 with f mount lenses to z6ii with native lens. missing more shots (I do high volume portraits every day) and I'm missing more than ever, this is the mode I use everyday and it's not good at all :(