Nikon Z* mirrorless

Sootchucker said:
Got to laugh, on a number of other Photography forums people are actually moaning about the V5 firmware and complaining that the Z9 is garbage as it doesn't have all the features the lesser Z8 has (i.e. pixel shift), or that Nikon still hasn't implemented Raw capture in the pre-capture modes etc. (which no Nikon camera has yet).

To be honest, the pixel shift feature doesn't interest me one bit, and I very much doubt Nikon think the Z9 is the camera of choice that people will use for this type of photography (landscape and architecture photographers would most likely be carrying the smaller Z8 size camera than the larger Z9). I have it on my Z8 (with firmware 2.0) but never tried it as
a) you need a very steady tripod (and it's been years since I carried a tripod).
b) from all accounts even the slightest movement can ruin the shot (more so than say on Olympus with it's high res shot mode due to the smaller sensor).
c) personally I have no need for nearly 180mp images and the file sizes that represents. Of course I understand other people's requirements will be different.

Now if Nikon could implement a system like Olympus and Panasonic on their Micro four thirds cameras where you have a choice of either tripod mode (for the biggest resolution jump) but also a hand held version for say a 100mp image without have to lug around a tripod and having the "merge" done in camera rather than having to combine the images in external software, that would be worth having. However, I expect the reason we haven't yet seen that on a FF camera is due to the large sensor size and the challenges that represents ?

In fact (shock horror), if Nikon could magically becomes the FF equivalent of Olympus and add in their version of Olympus's Hand Held High Res, Live ND, Live Time, Live Composite, Live GND and Raw in pre capture mode, and an IBIS system capable of 7-8 stops, then I honestly think I would sell off all my Olympus Micro four thirds equipment and go 100% Nikon Z. If I'm being honest, whilst I don't use all those aforementioned features all the time, I use many of them enough on my Olympus cameras to still keep them.

We are a fickle bunch aren't we :D
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There's many features that are surplus to my requirements, but pre-capture RAW is one feature that the flagship should definitely have. So I can see why many people are annoyed when it's bypassed by each firmware release.
 
wilt said:
There's many features that are surplus to my requirements, but pre-capture RAW is one feature that the flagship should definitely have. So I can see why many people are annoyed when it's bypassed by each firmware release.
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Does any full frame camera (other than the new Sony A9 III) offer this feature though (just asking). It's one thing for Olympus or Panasonic to be able to do this when you look at the 20 or 25 mp resolution, sensor size and therefore the resulting files sizes, but another thing when doing this on a full frame 45mp sensor at 30fps or even 120fps ??

Don't get me wrong I'd love it, but not sure if you would need perhaps a global shutter to implement as that's how Sony are able to offer it on the A9 III ? Maybe on the next gen of Nikon Pro bodies ?
 
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Sootchucker said:
Does any full frame camera (other than the new Sony A9 III) offer this feature though (just asking). It's one thing for Olympus or Panasonic to be able to do this when you look at the 20 or 25 mp resolution, sensor size and therefore the resulting files sizes, but another thing when doing this on a full frame 45mp sensor at 30fps or even 120fps ??

Don't get me wrong I'd love it, but not sure if you would need perhaps a global shutter to implement as that's how Sony are able to offer it on the A9 III ? Maybe on the next gen of Nikon Pro bodies ?
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If what pre-capture means what I think it does (ability to start recording images before the shutter is released) then, again, the Zf does this.
 
Yes, but I don't think in Raw - only jpg same as the Z9 and Z8
 
Sootchucker said:
Does any full frame camera (other than the new Sony A9 III) offer this feature though (just asking). It's one thing for Olympus or Panasonic to be able to do this when you look at the 20 or 25 mp resolution, sensor size and therefore the resulting files sizes, but another thing when doing this on a full frame 45mp sensor at 30fps or even 120fps ??

Don't get me wrong I'd love it, but not sure if you would need perhaps a global shutter to implement as that's how Sony are able to offer it on the A9 III ? Maybe on the next gen of Nikon Pro bodies ?
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Doing it at reduced fps is totally acceptable in my books. Say it pre-captures at 10fps RAW and if you have 20fps RAW selected, it jumps to that when the shutter is pressed.
It has the bandwidth to implement it in some form.
 
Sootchucker said:
To be honest, the pixel shift feature doesn't interest me one bit,
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I don't understand pixel shift... the sensor cannot physically move that much, which means all of the pixels other than along the edge are seeing the same thing, and they must be aligned/overlayed when stacked. I.e. there is no way it can really quadruple the sensor area/resolution.

I do understand how shifting/stacking can improve color and reduce noise, and that can notably improve IQ. But the increase in image size (to 182MP) must be largely AI/resampling.
 
Possibly (probably) a stupid question. Regarding IBIS on Z series. Using back-button focus, will the IBIS still stabilise when the focus button has achieved focus then released, or does the focus button need to be held until the shot has been taken?
 
Stephen L said:
Possibly (probably) a stupid question. Regarding IBIS on Z series. Using back-button focus, will the IBIS still stabilise when the focus button has achieved focus then released, or does the focus button need to be held until the shot has been taken?
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good question, I just leave my thumb on the button and fire away, but would be interested to know what others do regarding BBF
 
Stephen L said:
Possibly (probably) a stupid question. Regarding IBIS on Z series. Using back-button focus, will the IBIS still stabilise when the focus button has achieved focus then released, or does the focus button need to be held until the shot has been taken?
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As I understand, IBIS is active whenever the camera is active unless you turn it off. Its function is not related to either the shutter release or BBF.
 
seadog99 said:
As I understand, IBIS is active whenever the camera is active unless you turn it off. Its function is not related to either the shutter release or BBF.
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With some cameras you can hear it activate when you initiate a focus, and see the effect change in the viewfinder. But again, I’m unsre what happens when you achieve focus. I shall try it with my 24-200 when I get chance.
 
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Hi, So Z8 & 180-600mm arrived yesterday, ordered Sunday from Panamoz, Fedex delivery right on time stated.
Anyway updated the firmware to 2.0 now setting it all up but the option for using manual focus ring in AF mode A15 is missing from the list, reading around the web it seems this option is only available with certain lenses, cannot find a list for lenses affected so just checking that the 180-600 is excluded. Thank you, Russ
 
I went to the photo show today at the NEC and tried out the 400mm f4.5 and 600mm f6.3. Very impressed with the direction nikon has gone with these lenses. It’s surprising they are so light and compact for long Wildlife lenses. The 400mm f4.5 felt much lighter than the 100-400 Z even there’s only 200g in it (100-400 Z feels front heavy to me so that affects the way I hand hold it).

I wasn’t going to get the 400mm f4.5 considering I got a 100-400 off here recently, but LCE were doing it for £2299 which is cheaper than the grey sellers so seems a no brainer. A friend has decided to have my 100-400 so even easier to make the swap.

Now to get out and find some wildlife :)
 
rob-nikon said:
I went to the photo show today at the NEC and tried out the 400mm f4.5 and 600mm f6.3. Very impressed with the direction nikon has gone with these lenses. It’s surprising they are so light and compact for long Wildlife lenses. The 400mm f4.5 felt much lighter than the 100-400 Z even there’s only 200g in it (100-400 Z feels front heavy to me so that affects the way I hand hold it).

I wasn’t going to get the 400mm f4.5 considering I got a 100-400 off here recently, but LCE were doing it for £2299 which is cheaper than the grey sellers so seems a no brainer. A friend has decided to have my 100-400 so even easier to make the swap.

Now to get out and find some wildlife :)
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Extravagant, are you @trevorbray in disguise ? Enjoy :p
 
rob-nikon said:
I went to the photo show today at the NEC and tried out the 400mm f4.5 and 600mm f6.3. Very impressed with the direction nikon has gone with these lenses. It’s surprising they are so light and compact for long Wildlife lenses. The 400mm f4.5 felt much lighter than the 100-400 Z even there’s only 200g in it (100-400 Z feels front heavy to me so that affects the way I hand hold it).

I wasn’t going to get the 400mm f4.5 considering I got a 100-400 off here recently, but LCE were doing it for £2299 which is cheaper than the grey sellers so seems a no brainer. A friend has decided to have my 100-400 so even easier to make the swap.

Now to get out and find some wildlife :)
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The 400f4.5 was extremely nice, however the 100-400 & 180-600 at the show looked a little sharper to me.
 
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dcash29 said:
The 400f4.5 was extremely nice, however the 100-400 & 180-600 at the show looked a little sharper to me.
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The numbers make for interesting reading but don’t make choosing any easier!
 
dcash29 said:
The 400f4.5 was extremely nice, however the 100-400 & 180-600 at the show looked a little sharper to me.
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The 100-400 is a very nice and sharp lens. I didn't try the 180-600 as its far to big and heavy for me. The benefits to me are that the 400mm f4.5 probably fits my way of shooting better than other options (no external zooming, lightweight, compact and fast aperture). After previously having a 200-400 f4 it will be a breath of fresh air. I will likely take that extra walk on the off chance of finding something when I'm carrying something relatively light.

Unlocker said:
The numbers make for interesting reading but don’t make choosing any easier!
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I looked at that review previously. There isn't too much between them. Its probably better to choose on other points than sharpness. I don't think there is much wrong with any of the cheaper (ie not £10K+) Nikon long 'wildlife' lenses. All
 
rob-nikon said:
The 100-400 is a very nice and sharp lens. I didn't try the 180-600 as its far to big and heavy for me. The benefits to me are that the 400mm f4.5 probably fits my way of shooting better than other options (no external zooming, lightweight, compact and fast aperture). After previously having a 200-400 f4 it will be a breath of fresh air. I will likely take that extra walk on the off chance of finding something when I'm carrying something relatively light.


I looked at that review previously. There isn't too much between them. Its probably better to choose on other points than sharpness. I don't think there is much wrong with any of the cheaper (ie not £10K+) Nikon long 'wildlife' lenses. All
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True, having previously been used to a 400mm f2.8, aperture, weight, size, bokeh, controls etc. are all high on the list which led me to the 400mm f4.5 too.

It’s worth mentioning the numbers to be accurate when choosing though as I’m always hearing things like ‘the 1.4x converter has no loss in sharpness’ but it’s around 30% loss when measured. This comes in useful when comparing all the new long options as we have so many now that we are getting spoiled!
 
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