First off, I admit I was skeptical about a "secret Focus Feature." I don't shoot a D850, I shoot a D780. I followed your directions and shazam there it is. Good on you Garrick. Thanks.
I'm ALWAYS skeptical whenever something is billed as 'secret', presuming that's just to draw us in. Thanks for making me glad that I watched, @GarrickGillettePhotography!
I have had my Nikon D850 since 2017 and had only skimmed over this feature once. I've been struggling with the autofocus, especially when shooting macro. Thank you very much for bringing this back to my attention! I'll have to give this feature a try later tonight.
My next video - either Feb 15 or Feb 18 will be about using focus shift on the d850. That is an awesome feature for macro shots!! Depth of field is sooooo shallow. :) take care and thanks!!
Wow - this is actually incredible. I never ever shoot in Live Mode on my Nikon so I for sure wouldve never found this lol. But knowing this now for the future will be amazing for so many different reasons! Thanks for sharing bud!
Glad you eventually found this. When used with the newer mirrorless bodies (i.e. Z8/Z9) the feature works very well. Of course, when you use it on the D850, the main issue is the speed of battery depletion and the heat on the sensor that is generated. Make sure to use in normal climate (not very hot climate), and lower ISOs for limited times - as heating up the sensor will cause electron migration and potential noise issues (black current, amp glow, etc.).
I come from a D800 and D810. Recently was gifted a Z8. And wow, omg what a difference. The z8 has this feature (and tons more) as part of the focus selections. It's literally pin point focus. Very good for the center seeds of flowers or tiny bugs with a macro lens.
Shooting some "fall portraits" at the office for my company, and have been using the "normal" focus mode. Anxious to try this out tomorrow, and see the differences! Thanks for the heads-up best friend!!
Good tip. One small correction. After making your changes and switching to “Live View” you showed”AF-F” for the focus mode rather than AF-S (single). AF-F is continuous autofocus even when you don’t have your finger half-pressing the shutter (or the AF-On button pushed if you use back-button focus). That is not what most people would want. Thank you for your work and presentation of this tip.
thanks. I did not know that. The 850 has a boat load of features. Many of which I probably don't know about. I gave you a like and subscribe for that one. It has served me well..even better now..
Great video Garrick! I was not aware of the pin feature on the D850. I bought mine about the same time as you. This will help greatly in the types of photography that you mentioned, but (there’s that but) a great deal of my photography is wild life and I need AF-C. I also am not very good with Live View. My eye wants to be up against that view finder. Then again it took me three tries to get used to back button focus. LOL. Stay well my friend.
Im glad Im not the only one that didnt know about this!! Also glad you got something out of the video!! I agree that this feature is not going to be of great use in shooting wildlife. What kind of wild life do you shoot? Do you post it anywhere that I could see? I would much rather be looking through the viewfinder than looking at Live view but I am "somewhat" getting used to it. LOL on the BB Focus!! Can you imagine the pain I had teaching my wife to focus that way! :) Thanks for watching - take care
Focus shift shooting may also interest you! Even the little Zfc has this feature and you just set the nearest focus point and the camera will run through to infinity based on an increment you give it. For tripod users.
Hi Garrick. Regarding Macro photography, I think this feature is good only for an indoor controlled environment where AF is used. However, when shooting Macro outdoors (bugs, butterflies), I always use Manual focus and move the camera back and forth. What do you think? Thanks
Hey there! I think you might have a point about the best use case being for "controlled environment" macro but to be honest I really dont know since I literally just found this setting last week. I need to play with it a bit to see! Thanks for the great feedback!!
Hi Garrick, thanks for the tip i have the D850 18 months now and recently bought the Nikon 105 f2.8 and not had much luck so far . Hopefully your tip will improve my photos . Thanks 👍
I've known about this for awhile as I'm a landscape photographer and I've used the D8 50 for about seven years. I've actually progressed to using a GFX camera which actually has a similar thing built into it as well using the touchscreen to focus is difficult in certain circumstances, if objects are moving, but for still objects like Flowers portraits and landscapes it's a really great feature. Great video well done for finding this.
Best Ole Buddy Garrick, I enjoy your Video's very much. Your down to earth chats, and everyday images you take. Your editorials of your chats. I am an old man age 84. I have been shooting for many years. Recently My Nikon D3s gave me issues after many years of faithful service. Thus I recently purchased the D850. I would like to suggest that you create a Video on how to set the "Function Buttons". Personally, i have had issues finding how to set them up. There are a few Vidoe's that attempt to show how, yet not clear to me on many of them. I would like to set image area with a function Button, Go quickly to Single Point Focus when shooting in Back Button Focus with one joy stick at Group the other @ points of focus. I thought if you were searching for subjects of interest, You will find a lot of D850, and other Nikon Camera users interest in Function Short Cuts. Thanks again for your excellent Video's, Pray your new job is going great. Do You receive or have a way for your TH-cam Fans to support You with donations etc. to help you keep the channel active?? Pray your day is going great. Blessings on You & Your Loved Ones.
Hello my Friend! To date I do not have a way for my viewers to monetarily support me (the channel). A few folks have suggested I do something and if Im being honest, I need to. I have met the requirements for TH-cam Partners program however Ive not been able to figure out how to make that work. :) This being said, I do get great satisfaction from the comments on this channel as most people that comment are as meaningful and genuine as I try to be in the videos. Which is very nice. The new job is going ok...but time will make things better. Thanks for asking. Far as your question goes, that is a GREAT idea. Believe it or not Ive never even set the Function Buttons on the D850 and Ive had it for at least 7 years. SO, you've just given me a little project to work on and I appreciate that very much. I cant guarantee ill get it done in the next couple of weeks, but I will certainly put something together on it as thats something I should learn too!! Thanks again - Blessings to you and yours as well! Take care, See you soon. GG
Thank You Garrick, Understand on time to create Video’s, at my age I am a patient old man. When & if you come up with a method for fund support, please let your viewers know. I understand the time you put in these Video’s, and will be happy to send funds to support. Tom
I think this is great for the example you gave, I'd disagree on portraits. Portraits I use AF-S and Group Area AF since it will kick in face detection. I find the D850 does a better job at finding the eyes than I would trying to pick the focus point with the subject waiting on me.
Thanks for that; good to be aware of; not exactly secret though; it's in the manual -) Also know as an RTFM as well -) I also press the centre button( focus selector) to quickly magnify as well. You can magnify further from there if needed.
I have a D5300, D780, Z30, and a Z6ii. I use the pin point focus and metering about 90% of the time. Also, watch you AF setting, there is a big difference between AFS and AFC.
Hello! So the Nikon manual describes AF-F as Full Time - Servo AF - which sounds basically the same as AF-C to me. I am honestly not sure of the difference but looking into. Thanks!
Actually you can move the pin point. According to the book "Mastering the D850", it says "This is a great mode to use with a macro lens because it gives you a much smaller AF point square that you can move around the frame with the Multi selector pad or the Sub-selector joystick.
I figured out what I did wrong & I can't wait to use it next time I am shooting portraits, buildings, landscapes anything that either doesn't move, live view is not good for those shoots!
Good tip and it worked as you explained . Btw , I like the background music .. it is nice and soft easy listening .. can you let me know the song name ? thanks .
Read your manuals people. This applies to the D500, the D750 and the D850….you have wide, normal and tracking on all three. No pinpoint on the D750. If you are ok shooting an egret as it takes off without AF-C and are worried about maintaining focus as it starts to move - tracking is a big help so you can wait to press the shutter at the right moment and not miss the shot faffing around with focusing on it. Can’t comment on any other models since I don’t own them….if anyone can add to the list that would help other camera owners. Thanks for pointing this out Garrick. Shows tracking is not that new, nor is IBIS. My Olympus EM5 had it 10years ago. (Admittedly voice-coil driven).
Great video man. I'm eye-ballin' an 850 on CL now and got a lot out of this. Quick question though, does Nikon D850 audio input allow you to select mic level as well as line level for audio? I ask because I use high quality audio gear outboard of the camera and send it into the camera for the best baked in audio. This completely bypasses the low quality camera mic preamp if line level is offered.
I knew about that Feature back in 2021, when I got my D850, which was a POS, and Never Attained good Focus, regardless of Lens, AF Mode, AF Settings, actually any setting on the Camera and/or Lens. My older D800 and D810, and Newer Z9 attained good Focus, using the same Lenses. Body made two trips to Nikon, and came back the second time with a dirty Sensor
Thx, but you´ll find it in the manual. Live view photography --> Autofocus. So, it´s not so "secret" but probably unknown, due to the lack of reading manuals. Count me in ;-)
AF-F in liveview is the same as AF-C in the viewfinder.... you need to select AF-S in live view even though you selected AF-S already you need to select again in live view... they are seperate selections 👍
First off, I admit I was skeptical about a "secret Focus Feature." I don't shoot a D850, I shoot a D780. I followed your directions and shazam there it is. Good on you Garrick. Thanks.
Awesome!! By nature I am a skeptic too!! :) Thanks for watching!!
yes thank god not all is click bait ! super Garrick
Thank you. I’ve used my D850 professionally for years and I did not know this. Great work. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Glad it was helpful!
Before this video, I was in the same boat as you. I learned something new today.
Thanks for Sharing Garrick
Awesome! Glad it helped!! have a great week!
Awesome. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks for watching!
I too have been using an 850 for sometime and didn't know his one, so thanks for the heads up.
You're welcome - glad it helped!
Awesome!
I'm ALWAYS skeptical whenever something is billed as 'secret', presuming that's just to draw us in. Thanks for making me glad that I watched, @GarrickGillettePhotography!
Glad you’re glad!
I have had my Nikon D850 since 2017 and had only skimmed over this feature once. I've been struggling with the autofocus, especially when shooting macro. Thank you very much for bringing this back to my attention! I'll have to give this feature a try later tonight.
My next video - either Feb 15 or Feb 18 will be about using focus shift on the d850. That is an awesome feature for macro shots!! Depth of field is sooooo shallow. :) take care and thanks!!
how did it work? you got some photos to share?
Wow - this is actually incredible. I never ever shoot in Live Mode on my Nikon so I for sure wouldve never found this lol. But knowing this now for the future will be amazing for so many different reasons! Thanks for sharing bud!
Well, I never knew that about the D850 or the D500! Thanks for sharing.
You're Welcome! Happy to help!
That s true fabulous insights 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks so much. Appreciate you taking the time to drop a comment
Glad you eventually found this. When used with the newer mirrorless bodies (i.e. Z8/Z9) the feature works very well. Of course, when you use it on the D850, the main issue is the speed of battery depletion and the heat on the sensor that is generated. Make sure to use in normal climate (not very hot climate), and lower ISOs for limited times - as heating up the sensor will cause electron migration and potential noise issues (black current, amp glow, etc.).
Wow. Great info. Thanks 🙏
You certainly have given 850 users the magic wand, thanks a lot from India.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for the advice!
Secret or not that’s a really useful video. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome!
OMG.. Thank you so much! I was about to start calibrating my lenses and your video just happen to be under the others. This helped out so much!
Glad it helped!
Thank you for that. I've had a D850 for a year, and I never realised I could do that. Brilliant
Fun finding these little nuggets!! I had mine for like 6 or 7 years before finding that out!! Thanks for watching
I come from a D800 and D810. Recently was gifted a Z8. And wow, omg what a difference. The z8 has this feature (and tons more) as part of the focus selections. It's literally pin point focus. Very good for the center seeds of flowers or tiny bugs with a macro lens.
That is Awesome! Ive heard that these newer mirrorless cameras are pretty awesome with tons of features!! Maybe someday!!
Shooting some "fall portraits" at the office for my company, and have been using the "normal" focus mode. Anxious to try this out tomorrow, and see the differences! Thanks for the heads-up best friend!!
Hopefully it worked out!!!
Thanks a lot. Such a clear explanation. Great video.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Garrick, God bless.
You are very welcome
Brilliant, Very Informative And Helpful. Thanks For Sharing. 🇬🇧
Glad it was helpful!
Good tip. One small correction. After making your changes and switching to “Live View” you showed”AF-F” for the focus mode rather than AF-S (single). AF-F is continuous autofocus even when you don’t have your finger half-pressing the shutter (or the AF-On button pushed if you use back-button focus). That is not what most people would want. Thank you for your work and presentation of this tip.
Cool, thanks!
The video does show AF-F. I think it should be on AF-S. Am I correct here? I don’t want the camera continuously searching .
thanks. I did not know that. The 850 has a boat load of features. Many of which I probably don't know about. I gave you a like and subscribe for that one. It has served me well..even better now..
Great video Garrick! I was not aware of the pin feature on the D850. I bought mine about the same time as you. This will help greatly in the types of photography that you mentioned, but (there’s that but) a great deal of my photography is wild life and I need AF-C. I also am not very good with Live View. My eye wants to be up against that view finder. Then again it took me three tries to get used to back button focus. LOL. Stay well my friend.
Im glad Im not the only one that didnt know about this!! Also glad you got something out of the video!! I agree that this feature is not going to be of great use in shooting wildlife. What kind of wild life do you shoot? Do you post it anywhere that I could see? I would much rather be looking through the viewfinder than looking at Live view but I am "somewhat" getting used to it. LOL on the BB Focus!! Can you imagine the pain I had teaching my wife to focus that way! :) Thanks for watching - take care
Focus shift shooting may also interest you! Even the little Zfc has this feature and you just set the nearest focus point and the camera will run through to infinity based on an increment you give it. For tripod users.
thank you! and youve read my mind - my next vid is on Focus Shift!! either Feb 15 or Feb 18. Check it out and let me know what ya think!!
Great Point !!!
Thanks!! Glad you liked it. and thanks for the comment - much appreciated
Thanks for sharing !
I have the Nikon d7200 and it has the focus feature too.
I've had my D850 for almost two years now and I had no idea this existed. Thanks you!!! You have earned a new subscriber.
Awesome, thank you!
wow , cheers, had my D850 for years and never new this . great tip
Glad it helped!
D850 is a workhorse.. never failed me since 2018.
Totally agree
Very interesting, thank you
You’re welcome
Hi Garrick. Regarding Macro photography, I think this feature is good only for an indoor controlled environment where AF is used. However, when shooting Macro outdoors (bugs, butterflies), I always use Manual focus and move the camera back and forth. What do you think? Thanks
Hey there! I think you might have a point about the best use case being for "controlled environment" macro but to be honest I really dont know since I literally just found this setting last week. I need to play with it a bit to see! Thanks for the great feedback!!
muchas gracias por compartir , gracias
De Nada!! (hope I got that right). :)
Hi Garrick, thanks for the tip i have the D850 18 months now and recently bought the Nikon 105 f2.8 and not had much luck so far .
Hopefully your tip will improve my photos . Thanks 👍
Great to hear! Thanks for sharing
Thank-you!! Great info
Glad it was helpful!
Bought a d810 new in 2014 and I am now in the process of trading it up to a d850 so searching for tips before it arrives. Thanks for this one. 👍
Cool, glad it helped. Congrats on the new gear!! I think youll love it
I've known about this for awhile as I'm a landscape photographer and I've used the D8 50 for about seven years. I've actually progressed to using a GFX camera which actually has a similar thing built into it as well using the touchscreen to focus is difficult in certain circumstances, if objects are moving, but for still objects like Flowers portraits and landscapes it's a really great feature. Great video well done for finding this.
Thanks for the feedback!!
Good point, thank you. 👍👍😊😊
You're welcome
Best Ole Buddy Garrick, I enjoy your Video's very much. Your down to earth chats, and everyday images you take. Your editorials of your chats. I am an old man age 84. I have been shooting for many years. Recently My Nikon D3s gave me issues after many years of faithful service. Thus I recently purchased the D850. I would like to suggest that you create a Video on how to set the "Function Buttons". Personally, i have had issues finding how to set them up. There are a few Vidoe's that attempt to show how, yet not clear to me on many of them. I would like to set image area with a function Button, Go quickly to Single Point Focus when shooting in Back Button Focus with one joy stick at Group the other @ points of focus. I thought if you were searching for subjects of interest, You will find a lot of D850, and other Nikon Camera users interest in Function Short Cuts. Thanks again for your excellent Video's, Pray your new job is going great. Do You receive or have a way for your TH-cam Fans to support You with donations etc. to help you keep the channel active?? Pray your day is going great. Blessings on You & Your Loved Ones.
Hello my Friend! To date I do not have a way for my viewers to monetarily support me (the channel). A few folks have suggested I do something and if Im being honest, I need to. I have met the requirements for TH-cam Partners program however Ive not been able to figure out how to make that work. :) This being said, I do get great satisfaction from the comments on this channel as most people that comment are as meaningful and genuine as I try to be in the videos. Which is very nice. The new job is going ok...but time will make things better. Thanks for asking. Far as your question goes, that is a GREAT idea. Believe it or not Ive never even set the Function Buttons on the D850 and Ive had it for at least 7 years. SO, you've just given me a little project to work on and I appreciate that very much. I cant guarantee ill get it done in the next couple of weeks, but I will certainly put something together on it as thats something I should learn too!! Thanks again - Blessings to you and yours as well! Take care, See you soon. GG
Thank You Garrick, Understand on time to create Video’s, at my age I am a patient old man. When & if you come up with a method for fund support, please let your viewers know. I understand the time you put in these Video’s, and will be happy to send funds to support. Tom
Thanks Garrick for the tip.!
Boston Massachusetts
Happy to help!
I think this is great for the example you gave, I'd disagree on portraits. Portraits I use AF-S and Group Area AF since it will kick in face detection. I find the D850 does a better job at finding the eyes than I would trying to pick the focus point with the subject waiting on me.
"Portraits I use AF-S and Group Area AF since it will kick in face detection". Thanks for that info. I did not know that about my D850.
Thanks for sharing! Quite possibly an upcoming video!! Great Tip
such great feedback - love it - thanks again.
is this with live view on? trying to do a autofocus face detect with d850 if subject moves there face
yes. In Live View (which is why I never knew it was there). :) @@XtremeLinkProduction
I'm a Pro and I did not know! Thanks so much!
Pretty wild right? That this feature is kind of buried
Thank you very much, great tip….!!, I did not know about it until now.
Happy to help!
Thanks for that; good to be aware of; not exactly secret though; it's in the manual -) Also know as an RTFM as well -)
I also press the centre button( focus selector) to quickly magnify as well. You can magnify further from there if needed.
Also, if you select the 'info' display you can more easily read the current status when using the 'command/sub-command' dials.
Hey Garrick...The D500 does that too....it does not say PIn but it is a square with cross in it
Thanks Woody, I will check that out!! Always learning!! which is one of the cool things about photography
Thank you 👍
You are welcome
Thanks and fyi: this trick works on the D780 too.
Awesome - GREAT SHARE - Thank you
Thank you😀
I have a D5300, D780, Z30, and a Z6ii. I use the pin point focus and metering about 90% of the time. Also, watch you AF setting, there is a big difference between AFS and AFC.
Ive not gone mirrorless yet! Maybe someday. Great tip on the AF setting Thanks
THANK you!
You're very welcome - glad you enjoyed
Thanks Garrick. If AF-C is for continuous and AF-S is for single, what is AF-F? And can you use it in continuous and single?
Hello! So the Nikon manual describes AF-F as Full Time - Servo AF - which sounds basically the same as AF-C to me. I am honestly not sure of the difference but looking into. Thanks!
hi, what's the AF-F modes i saw when you scrolled?
👍✌️👏🏻
👍✌️🖖🏼
thx, cool !!
You also know, if I can move the pinpoint ?
ya know what, im not sure!! my gut tells me no. but dont quote me on that!! :)
thx
@@GarrickGillettePhotography
Actually you can move the pin point. According to the book "Mastering the D850", it says "This is a great
mode to use with a macro lens because it gives you a much smaller AF point square that you can move around the frame with the Multi selector pad or the Sub-selector joystick.
I assume this focus mode would work nicely when you are focus stacking?
I’d assume so as well!
No secret, it's focusing directly on the sensor and not the mirror...
Works great with VR LENSES AND WITH A TRIPOD...
good video!!!
Thanks for sharing
I figured out what I did wrong & I can't wait to use it next time I am shooting portraits, buildings, landscapes anything that either doesn't move, live view is not good for those shoots!
Great!
Good tip and it worked as you explained . Btw , I like the background music .. it is nice and soft easy listening .. can you let me know the song name ? thanks .
Thanks - and yes, Ill have to check and get back to you
once pin point focus is set, does it stay that way until you manually change it?
If my memory is correct, I believe it does.
Read your manuals people. This applies to the D500, the D750 and the D850….you have wide, normal and tracking on all three. No pinpoint on the D750. If you are ok shooting an egret as it takes off without AF-C and are worried about maintaining focus as it starts to move - tracking is a big help so you can wait to press the shutter at the right moment and not miss the shot faffing around with focusing on it. Can’t comment on any other models since I don’t own them….if anyone can add to the list that would help other camera owners. Thanks for pointing this out Garrick. Shows tracking is not that new, nor is IBIS. My Olympus EM5 had it 10years ago. (Admittedly voice-coil driven).
Thanks so much for sharing!
Great video man. I'm eye-ballin' an 850 on CL now and got a lot out of this. Quick question though, does Nikon D850 audio input allow you to select mic level as well as line level for audio? I ask because I use high quality audio gear outboard of the camera and send it into the camera for the best baked in audio. This completely bypasses the low quality camera mic preamp if line level is offered.
Thanks! I’ll look into your audio question. I’m not sure
Does this same technique work in action photography? I would guess not. Thanks
No, not a good choice for action. Thanks
Mine dosn't have that. I have "Wide", "Norm", the face, and the target. What am I doing wrong?
sorry - not sure what you're doing wrong.
@@GarrickGillettePhotography thanks for replying. :)
sorry it took awhile to respond@@minkymott
@@GarrickGillettePhotography it's ok man, I'm just glad you answered. I'll figure it out one day I'm sure.
I knew about that Feature back in 2021, when I got my D850, which was a POS, and Never Attained good Focus, regardless of Lens, AF Mode, AF Settings, actually any setting on the Camera and/or Lens. My older D800 and D810, and Newer Z9 attained good Focus, using the same Lenses. Body made two trips to Nikon, and came back the second time with a dirty Sensor
Well that sounds pretty awful!!! Ive heard the Z8 and Z9 are pretty nice
That option doesn't appear on my camera Nikon D850.... AF-F pin
make sure you're in Live View
@@GarrickGillettePhotography Thanks, yes the AF-F pin is in live view photo, I was in live view video .......
Thx, but you´ll find it in the manual. Live view photography --> Autofocus. So, it´s not so "secret" but probably unknown, due to the lack of reading manuals. Count me in ;-)
LOL - You are so right! :)
So is AF-F your latest BFF?
Lol, no I don’t think so. Maybe in certain situations. That being said, I’ve really not even tried it out yet
I tried it on my 850 & it did not work at all, now I can't undo the mess it caused!!!
Saw your other note that you got it figured out. Good to hear
Sounds like more trouble then it’s worth the manual focus would be a lot faster then changing the settings
could be.
Ok .... but no examples ?
Guess not - I hadnt even tried it out in the field when I shared that info.
Too much trouble .. I use manual focus for macro work. Thx though
I understand
Not a secret. Mirrorless cameras have this as well. It is slower focussing, however. So not great for moving subjects
thaniks
AF-F in liveview is the same as AF-C in the viewfinder.... you need to select AF-S in live view even though you selected AF-S already you need to select again in live view... they are seperate selections 👍
Thanks for the info!
Ah yes that’s it! Live view and viewfinder modes are quite independent! Caused me some confusion too