Nikon Z7 Setting Guide

Professional

Setting Guide

— For Still Photography —

En

Table of Contents

Landscapes 5

Basic Settings for Landscape Photography ................... 6

• Focus: Choose “Single AF” and “Single-Point AF”! ............ 7

• VR: Choose “Normal” for Hand-Held Photography! ..............7

• Silent Photography: Choose “On”! ..............................................9

• Low-Light AF: Choose “On”! .........................................................9

• Exposure Delay Mode: Choose “1s”! ........................................10

• Monitor Mode: Choose “Monitor Only”!...............................10

Custom Controls for Landscape Photography ............ 11

• qPreview ......................................................................................11

• tAuto Bracketing ......................................................................11

• KSelect Center Focus Point ...................................................12

• bFraming Grid Display ..............................................................12

• Shooting Mode> pZoom On/Off ...........................................12

• Playback Mode> pZoom On/Off ............................................12

Portraits 13

Basic Settings for Portrait Photography .......................14

• Set Picture Control: Choose “Portrait”! ..................................14

• Focus Mode: Choose “Continuous AF” (AF -C)! ....................14

• AF-Area Mode: Choose “Auto-Area AF”! ..............................15

• Vibration Reduction: Choose “Normal”!.................................16

• Monitor Mode: Choose “Prioritize Viewnder”! ...............16

2

Custom Controls for Portrait Photography .................. 17

• KPlayback .....................................................................................17

• KSelect Center Focus Point ...................................................17

• yActive D -Lighting .....................................................................18

• Shooting Mode> pZoom On/Off ...........................................18

• Playback Mode> pZoom On/Off ............................................18

Sports 19

Basic Settings for Sports Photography ......................... 20

• Focus Mode: Choose “Continuous AF” (AF -C)! ....................20

• AF-Area Mode: Choose “Dynamic-Area AF”!......................21

• Vibration Reduction: Choose “Sport”! .....................................21

• Monitor Mode: Choose “Prioritize Viewnder”! ...............22

Custom Controls for Sports Photography ....................23

• KPlayback .....................................................................................23

• gProtect ......................................................................................23

• KSelect Center Focus Point ...................................................24

• zFocus Mode/AF-Area Mode ...............................................24

• Shooting Mode> pZoom On/Off ...........................................24

• Playback Mode> pZoom On/Off ............................................24

Split-Second Shots ............................................................ 25

“Continuous H” Versus “Continuous H (Extended)” ....28

• The Shooting Display ....................................................................29

• Frame Advance Rate .....................................................................30

AE with Constant Shutter Speed and Aperture ..........31

3

Table of Contents

Tips and Tricks 33

Recalling Saved Settings via the Mode Dial................. 34

Using the Viewnder Without Fatigue .......................... 35

Flicker Reduction .............................................................. 36

Subject-Tracking AF .......................................................... 38

Assigning Focus and Release to Separate Controls .... 40

Animal Face/Eye-Detection AF ....................................... 41

• Basic Settings for Animal Portraits ............................................41

Protecting and Rating Pictures ......................................44

• Protecting Pictures ........................................................................44

• Rating Pictures ...............................................................................46

4

Landscapes

Learn basic techniques and help­ful features for capturing land­scapes more vividly and with
greater ease.

5

Basic Settings for Landscape Photography

The following are the recommended settings for photo­graphing landscapes:

Photo shooting menu

Focus mode Single AF
AF-area mode Single-point AF
Diraction compensation On
Vibration reduction • Hand-held photography: Normal

• Tripod photography: O

Silent photography On

Custom Settings menu

a7 AF ac tivation Shutter/AF-ON
a11 Low-light AF On
d4 Exposure delay mode 1s

2

Other settings

Release mode Single frame
Monitor mode Monitor only

1. Settings for lenses with on-board vibration reduction vary with
the lens (

page 8).

2. We recommend that, where available, an optional remote
control be used in place of Exposure delay mode.

1

6

Focus: Choose “Single AF” and “Single-Point AF”!

l

l

Choose Single AF (AF‑S) for Focus
mode and select Single-point AF

for AF-area mode. This is the stan­dard combination of settings for
landscapes and other static sub­jects: focus will lock once you have
chosen a focus point and pressed
the shutter-release button halfway.

VR: Choose “Normal” for Hand-Held Photography!

Choose a vibration reduction option
according to whether the camera
is mounted on a tripod. Normal,
which oers a comparatively high
level of vibration reduction, is rec­ommended for hand-held shots of static subjects. Note
that if you are using an F mount lens with a vibration re­duction switch, the Vibration reduction item in the cam­era menus will be grayed out and unavailable, and vibra­tion reduction options will instead have to be selected
using the switch.

7

Tripod Photography

The recommended settings for tripod photography vary
with the lens:

• Z mount lenses: Choose Normal for lenses with on-board vi-

bration reduction, O for other lenses.

• F mount lenses: If you are using one of the lenses listed be-

low, slide the lens vibration reduction switch to “NORMAL”.
Users of other lenses should consult the lens manual.

‣ AF-P DX NIKKOR 10–20 mm f/4.5–5.6G VR
‣ AF-P DX NIKKOR 18–55 mm f/3.5–5.6G VR
‣ AF-P DX NIKKOR 70–300 mm f/4.5–6.3G ED VR
‣ AF-P NIKKOR 70–300 mm f/4.5–5.6E ED VR
‣ AF-S DX NIKKOR 16–80 mm f/2.8–4E ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 24–70 mm f/2.8E ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 120–300 mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 180–400 mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 200–500 mm f/5.6E ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 500 mm f/4E FL ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 500 mm f/5.6E PF ED VR
‣ AF-S NIKKOR 600 mm f/4E FL ED VR

8

Basic Settings for Landscape Photography

l

l

Silent Photography: Choose “On”!

Choosing On for Silent photogra­phy in the photo shooting menu en-

ables the electronic shutter, helping
prevent blur caused by vibrations
from the mechanical shutter.

Silent Photography

Select O for Silent photography:

• during ash photography,

• when using long-exposure noise reduction or icker reduc­tion, or

• if you notice distortion in photos of moving subjects.

In these cases, we recommend that you select Auto for Cus­tom Setting d5 (Shutter type). The camera will automatically
switch between the front-curtain and electronic front-curtain
shutters according to shutter speed, helping prevent blur
caused by camera motion.

Low-Light AF: Choose “

When photographing sunsets, night
scenes, and other dimly-lit subjects
with AF‑S selected for focus mode,
choose On for Custom Setting a11
(Low-light AF) to help the camera
focus.

On”!

9

Basic Settings for Landscape Photography

l

l

Exposure Delay Mode: Choose “1s”!

Custom Setting d4 (Exposure delay
mode) is used to delay release of the

shutter for a set time after the shut­ter-release button is pressed. A de­lay of a second or more helps reduce
blur caused by the camera moving when you press the
shutter-release button. z appears in the display when
an option other than O is selected.

Monitor Mode: Choose “Monitor Only”!

To prevent the monitor turning o
should you accidentally trigger the
eye sensor with your face or hands
while composing photographs, use
the monitor mode button to select
“monitor only” mode.

“Prioritize Viewnder”

When “prioritize viewnder” is selected for monitor mode, the
camera behaves much like a traditional digital SLR: in pho­to mode, putting your eye to the viewnder turns it on and
displays the view through the lens, but the shooting display
does not appear in the monitor when you take your eye away.
Menus and pictures can still be displayed in the monitor us­ing the G and K buttons. “Prioritize viewnder” mode is
recommended for current or former users of digital SLR cam­eras who prefer to frame hand-held shots in the viewnder.

10

Custom Controls for Landscape Photography

l

l

The following custom control settings are recommended
for landscape photography:

Fn1 button

w

Fn2 button

y

AF‑ON button

V

Center of sub-selector

8

Movie-record button

z

J

Roles can be assigned to the J
button via Custom Setting f3 (OK
button) and to other controls via
Custom Setting f2 (Custom control
assignment).

Preview

q

Hold the selected control to preview color, exposure, and
depth of eld while shooting landscapes.

t

Auto Bracketing

Bracketing settings can be adjusted by holding the select­ed control and rotating the command dials. The brack­eting type can be chosen using Auto bracketing> Auto bracketing set in the photo shooting menu.

button

Shooting mode
Playback mode

Preview

q

t

Auto bracketing
AF-ON

A

K

Select center focus point
Framing grid display

b

Zoom on/o; zoom ratio 1:1 (100%)

p

Zoom on/o; zoom ratio 1:1 (100%)

p

11

Custom Controls for Landscape Photography

lll

l

K

Select Center Focus Point

If you typically use the sub-selector for focus-point selec­tion, assigning this role to the center of the control lets you
use it to quickly choose the center focus point.

Framing Grid Display

b

Use the selected control to quickly view the framing grid
for landscape shots that keep verticals vertical and hori­zontals horizontal.

Shooting Mode> pZoom On/O

Use the J button to quickly zoom the display in on the
area around the current focus point and check focus before
shooting. You’ll nd this particularly useful for improved
focus when using manual focus in situations in which the
camera has diculty focusing using autofocus. To choose
the zoom ratio, select Custom Setting f3 (OK button)>
Shooting mode, highlight Zoom on/o, and press 2.

Playback Mode> pZoom On/O

Use the J button to quickly zoom in on the active focus
point during playback and check whether your photos are
in focus. To choose the zoom ratio, select Custom Setting
f3 (OK button)> Playback mode, highlight Zoom on/o,
and press 2.

12

Portraits

Learn basic techniques and help­ful features that free you to con­centrate on your subject during
portrait photography.

13

l

l

Basic Settings for Portrait Photography

The following settings are recommended for portrait pho­tography:

Photo shooting menu

Set Picture Control Portrait
Focus mode Continuous AF
AF-area mode Auto-area AF
Vibration reduction Normal
Silent photography O

Custom Settings menu

a4 Auto-area AF face/eye detection Face and eye detection on
d5 Shutter type Auto

Other settings

Monitor mode Prioritize viewfinder

Set Picture Control: Choose “

Choose this option for portraits in
which your subject’s complexion
looks smooth and natural.

Focus Mode: Choose “Continuous AF” (AF -C)!

Choose AF ‑C for shots of mobile sub­jects. The camera adjusts focus con­tinuously while the shutter-release
button is pressed halfway or the
AF‑ON button is pressed.

Portrait”!

14

AF-Area Mode: Choose “Auto-Area AF”!

l

In auto-area AF, the camera scans all
focus points in the frame and choos­es the focus point automatically. If
Face and eye detection on is select­ed for Custom Setting a4 (Auto-area
AF face/eye detection) and the camera detects a portrait
subject, it will automatically position the focus point (in­dicated by an amber border) over the subject’s face, or if
the eyes are detected, over one or the other of their eyes,
letting you concentrate on composition and your subject’s
expression even when your subject is in motion. Note that
eye detection is available only from camera “C” rmware
version 2.00.

When Lighting Is Poor

When photographing dimly-lit sub­jects with AF‑S selected for focus
mode, choose On for Custom Setting
a11 (Low-light AF) to help the cam­era focus.

15