Custom Function a4 on Nikon D4

paolotaverna

Good day, I just got my Nikon D4 after selling my first D4 last year and I know lots of things changed following a few firmware updates.
So please be patient with me :-)


Mainly, I would like to know what is the normal(expected) behaviour in these settings as I read many versions from many people and still unclear!

- I have a1 set to Focus and a2 set to foci
- I have a4 set to off.

This is the behaviour of My D4.
SCENARIO A: If I trip the shutter even though it's out of focus, it will still snap the picture.
SCENARIO B: If I hold the AF-ON button to focus, it will only trip the shutter when the photo is in focus.

Now, why I ask the question, is the fact that I would of expected for camera not to trip shutter in any case that photo is not in focus. So in summary in my scenario A, I would of expected for camera not to trip the shutter

Please let me know what you think!

regards

Ade

With the a4 setting, the camera conceptually applies "focus lock" (AF-L) whenever the AF-ON button is not being pressed.

It's designed this way because otherwise it would be impossible to "focus and recompose" when a1/a2 is set to focus. (Focus and recompose being one of the major uses of the AF-ON button.)

Anyway, if you'd imagine that the camera automatically applying AF-L whenever AF-ON is released, the camera's behavior becomes clear.

paolotaverna

Okay great! I've actually shot all day today and it's easy to get use to. At least I know it's normal behaviour!

regards thx

Benji2505

If I interpret your settings correctly, you only autofocus with the AF-ON button and the camera only releases when you have the in-focus-dot in the lower left corner. There should be no delay in autofocus when you hit the AF-ON button.