NikonGear'23
Gear Talk => Camera Talk => Topic started by: David H. Hartman on November 10, 2025, 00:14:43
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Is there a function to enlarge the focus area of the eye level finder to 100% for critical focus. Ideally press a button and zoom to 100% then release to return to normal view. A toggle on, toggle off would be OK. This would be for manual focus of AIS Nikkors that have no had a chip added.
My eye sight is declining. I still have 20/20 down from 20/15. Accurate focus of AIS Nikkors on my D850 is now hit and miss.
Thanks
Dave
I've been struggling with the Z8 manuals and they are to me inscrutable as compared to the D850 Menu Guide. Perhaps I haven't found the right manual and pages.
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Could you expand on this a little? Which eye level finder are you asking about?
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Yes, "focus zoom" can be set to what Nikon calls 100% or 200%. Go into Custom Settings menu, go to f-Controls in the custom settings menu, go to f2 (custom controls-shooting) and behold all the buttons that can be customized, along with a cute graphic of where they are on the body.
Focus Zoom is iconized using a magnifying glass symbol with a + in it.
Added: The Focus Zoom is the same in finder or rear screen viewing.
Added-2: I assign focus zoom (100%) to the function button that sits immediately to the right side of the lens-the one that was the DOF Preview button on the SLRs and DSLRs. I always have a finger near that button when holding the camera by the grip.
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Could you expand on this a little? Which eye level finder are you asking about?
The eye level finder that's similar to a DSLR's optical finder.
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Yes, "focus zoom" can be set to what Nikon calls 100% or 200%. Go into Custom Settings menu...
Thank you, tomorrow morning I'll have a look. Just now I have a hungry cockatoo to feed and a mean woman to get set for the night. :)
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I'm not finding the information I need. Maybe I'm using the wrong manual? When I set up my D850 I had the camera in hand so it was easy.
I'll try a different manual.
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In Z8_CustomControls_List_(En)03.pdf I see [Zoom on/off] can be assigned to the AF-ON button but I don't see anywhere that [Zoom on/off] is defined. It seem one really needs to have the camera in hand to understand/set these options.
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Is there a function to enlarge the focus area of the eye level finder to 100% for critical focus. Ideally press a button and zoom to 100% then release to return to normal view. A toggle on, toggle off would be OK. This would be for manual focus of AIS Nikkors that have no had a chip added.
I simply set the 100% VF-magnification for my Z-cameras to the video button. I found the option in the menu where you set the function of the buttons
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I'm not finding the information I need. Maybe I'm using the wrong manual? When I set up my D850 I had the camera in hand so it was easy.
I'll try a different manual.
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In Z8_CustomControls_List_(En)03.pdf I see [Zoom on/off] can be assigned to the AF-ON button but I don't see anywhere that [Zoom on/off] is defined. It seem one really needs to have the camera in hand to understand/set these options.
Hi Dave,
I use this zoom option on the Zf all the time, indeed mainly to support manual focussing. Works for both EVF and Screen. Under Custom Controls f2 you can assign Zoom on/off to any button including the AF-ON. I typically assign it to the Fn button on the front of the camera. Once you assign zoom to a button you can also select the zoom level (50% 100% 200% or 400%)
Depending on the type of shooting it might be also handy to activate Custom Controls d18 Half-press to cancel zoom (MF). This half-press of the shutter button then allows you to quickly check final framing before releasing the shutter. I’ve got this option d18 selected in My Menu for fast toggling.
Hope this helps!
Jan
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I simply set the 100% VF-magnification for my Z-cameras to the video button. I found the option in the menu where you set the function of the buttons
Thank you! that's great information.
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Are there multiple banks that can be saved to a memory module in BIN file? It appears that there are but I find this manual so confusing. It's probably that when I went through the D850 manual I had the camera in hand.
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Because the "banks" have an arbitrary list of what can and cannot be saved, I've never bothered with them. To me, they are a prescription for confusion.
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Are there multiple banks that can be saved to a memory module in BIN file? It appears that there are but I find this manual so confusing. It's probably that when I went through the D850 manual I had the camera in hand.
as far as I am concerned I try to memorize the important settings.
with the newer cams though the setting got very very complex
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Because the "banks" have an arbitrary list of what can and cannot be saved, I've never bothered with them. To me, they are a prescription for confusion.
I go through them (the custom settings) and once set I probably don't change them for years. For my D850 I created four pairs of custom settings. I end up only using the first, "A". I set up "D" for time laps but I have yet to use that feature.
The banks are easy to save in a BIN file to the primary memory card. Then I write protect that BIN file using a card reader and a desktop or laptop computer. I can recall my default settings any time I want. If I accidentally try to over write the BIN file I get an error message. I back up the bin file to my desktop and laptop as that BIN file will be lost when the memory card is formatted.
My first DSLR was a D2H. I really hated that I had to reset any custom settings that I changed or next time I used the camera I looked like a fool diving to the menus to get the camera to work the way I needed it to.
Something I'm finding out is the manual for my D850 was much easier to use as I had the camera in hand while using it. The menus are quite logical so I mostly used the D850 manual as a reference as needed. It has actually help me to have the D850 in hand while reading the Z8 manual.
Best
Dave
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Thank you for all the replies. I bought a Z8 2025-12-31 so I could ring in the new year with a new camera.
I'm using the red, video record button to zoom the display and have set the camera to jump back to normal un-zoomed view with a half press of the shutter release. The red video record button is right next to the shutter release so this is easy, fluid and will soon be a reflex.
I use the shutter release button to start video recording so I don't need the video record button for videos.
Great help!
Best,
Dave