We’re all getting a glimpse into how the Z6 and Z7’s eye-detection autofocus (AF) will work. Nikon Europe has posted a video previewing the AF technology.
Though the video is just 15 seconds, it showcases how the Eye-Detection AF functionality will work. The video starts two women acting as subjects to showcase the Eye-Detection AF. The AF jumps back and forth, tracking both of them. The video also shows one of the women in front of a door. The AF continues to track one of her eyes. The third scene varies a little more and integrates camera movement. For a moment, the subject’s hand even blocks the camera’s view of her eye. However, the focus still and keeps on her.
It seems in the video the autofocus system works fairly well. We can’t make any strong judgments just yet. However, we can say it looks promising.
Also, in cased you missed it, Nikon released another video back in January showcasing the Eye AF. It’s also very short. It’s just 14 seconds long, but you can watch it below.
When is the new Eye-Detection AF coming to the Z6 and Z7?
Nikon says the update will be released on May 16th.
It’s also worth noting Nikon’s not just releasing the AF update. It’s also releasing RAW video support (outputting RAW video to the ATOMOS Ninja V monitor recorder using the ProRes RAW codec) and support for next-gen CFexpress memory cards. It isn’t known if these features will be released at the same time as the AF update, however.
Image courtesy Nikon