Z5 Animal Eye AF on Dalmatian
DixonLu
Registered since 25th Aug 2017
Sat 24-Oct-20 10:22 PM
On a Z5 with the kit 24-50 at F4, using Animal Eye AF, AF-C, auto area AF, when trying to take a picture of my friend's very spotty Dalmatian, the AF point looking jumped around all the spots on the dog looking for the eyes but never found them. The system was very confused. Didn't improve by changing to human eye AF or face detect AF. Is this one of those boundary conditions that only MF would have worked? Thank you.
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#1. "RE: Z5 Animal Eye AF on Dalmatian" | In response to Reply # 0
Sun 25-Oct-20 10:38 AMPossibly a question of lighting conditions. Could we see a sample?
Were you better served with AF-S ?
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#2. "RE: Z5 Animal Eye AF on Dalmatian" | In response to Reply # 0
Sun 25-Oct-20 11:25 AMPerhaps each spot was viewed as an eye. You know you are dealing with Nikon AEF. Yes, single point sounds like the right setting.Visit my Nikonians gallery.
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#3. "RE: Z5 Animal Eye AF on Dalmatian" | In response to Reply # 0
Mon 26-Oct-20 02:29 PMI've got thousands of test images on German Shepherds at a rescue using Animal Eye AF on my Z6. Most of the time it works quite well, but certain colors and patterns of the coat have very high failure rates - as high as 100%. I documented a test case with a brindle shepherd.
This shepherd with a well defined eye was successful 100% of the time - even with a silhouette.
This brindle shepherd failed to focus 100% of the time. The camera dropped back to Area AF and did produce adequate photos, but failed the test.
My strategy is to use Wide Small mode for animals. Wide Small incorporates Nearest Subject Priority, which means you pick up the subject and virtually never miss and pick up the background. If you find you are picking up the muzzle or nose, switch to Single AF. Single AF works well unless you have fast action. Overall I always use AF-C rather than AF-S. AF-C is better if the subject is moving slightly toward you.
Overall I had about a 70% success rate with Animal Eye AF. It is more precise and more accurate when it works, but you need to watch for situations where the camera can't recognize the eye and picks up an alternate pattern.
This is my shepherd below. Animal Eye AF is about 85% success for her and the missed shots pick up the eye-brow pattern. It's not as bad as the brindle dog, but is a problem overall. Generally it does a good job and is still good for silhouettes and fast motion.
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#4. "RE: Z5 Animal Eye AF on Dalmatian" | In response to Reply # 3
Mon 26-Oct-20 03:50 PM | edited Mon 26-Oct-20 03:53 PM by RassieEric, looking at your examples I cannot help but think the camera misses eye-AF when there is not enough contrast between the eye and the surrounding area. Would this be a fair statement?
This may also explain why the camera in the original poster's case picked up on all the black spots. Perfect contrast, but how does the camera differentiate them from an eye?-
#5. "RE: Z5 Animal Eye AF on Dalmatian" | In response to Reply # 4
Mon 26-Oct-20 04:21 PMWhat I experienced is when there are no eye patterns or patterns that can be similar to an eye, the camera finds the alternate target. I think it is largely related to the coat or pattern - specifically for dogs. Eye color also plays a part.
I'd say the algorithm can be fooled if there is a pattern similar to an eye. The easiest and most accurate performance I saw was the black dog with the bright clearly defined eye. But that's unusual.
I suppose some birds - owls, herons, and similar birds with well defined eyes could be easy. The challenge is when those birds are distant because the eye is a tiny target. The camera needs a fallback.
I suspect using the Wide mode for Animal Eye AF will make a big difference for problem subjects. Maybe there is some degree of learning that could be implemented - a type of AI application. Manually select the target 2-3 times, and the camera will memorize that target.Eric Bowles
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