Nikon Z5II Viewfinder AF Point Bug
I had purchased Z5II recently to replace my aging Z6II, and after setting it up and familiarizing with it, I started using it as my main camera for assignments since a couple of weeks back.
Prior to my first assignment with the Z5II, as part of the familiarization phase I was shooting around with it in Auto-area subject detection mode most of the time on my usual suspects (e.g. my cat and kids).
However on my first assignment with it, I had to use Single Point AF for certain shots, and that is when I realized something - viewing through the viewfinder the AF point in Single Point AF mode feels different; it seems larger than what I am used to in the Z6II or the Zf, both of which utilizing the same 24MP-class sensor.
I brushed the issue aside initially as it might be due to me not being accustomed to the new camera yet, but after repeated assignments with it I was definitely quite certain the AF point is in fact larger than what I am used to.
So I ran a quick not-very-scientific test in a camera shop yesterday with all the 24MP class cameras they had - the Z5II, Z6II, Z6III, and Zf.
They were all set-up to AF-S and Single Point AF, and Focus point border width was set to “1” for cameras that had the option.
On the LCD display, all the cameras showed similar AF point sizes, including the Z5II, so nothing out of the ordinary here.
However when peered through the viewfinder, especially with grid lines activated, it became quite obvious that Z5II’s AF point indicator was larger than the rest:
When moving the AF point from one position to an adjacent position, the Z6II’s, Z6III’s and Zf ‘s AF point would share one border with the previously selected AF point, whereas the Z5II’s new AF point would slightly overlap the previously selected AF point.
With grid lines activated, when an AF point indicator was supposedly flushed with the grid lines on the back monitor, when viewed through the viewfinder of the Z5II, the AF point indicator “expands” and overflows the grid lines that were flushed on the back display.
This is not a major bug so to speak, but being so used to the AF point size (in Single point AF mode) of the 24MP-class Z bodies for so many years now, the slightly larger size irks me a quite a bit, and not to mention that it is quite confusing too when switching between the back LCD and the viewfinder mode.
tl;dr: In the Z5II, when using Single Point AF mode, the AF point indicator in the back LCD and the viewfinder are of slightly different sizes - with the indicator in the viewfinder being slightly larger. Operation wise there are no perceptible differences or problems (as per my experience).
I have contacted Nikon’s support regarding this issue and will post any updates I get from them.