Nikon Z* mirrorless

Well, it's arrived! Good service from Panamoz - it's the first time I've used them and they've lived up to their reputation. The battery's charging just now so I've not been able to do anything but fit the lens, but first impressions are positive. Bear in mind that this is the first Nikon I've owned since my FM back in 1983. It's not as big as I expected - feels slightly smaller than its predecessor the Fuji X-H1, and the lens is quite a bit smaller and lighter than the 16-55. Where you knew you had something heavy hanging on the end of the Fuji's body, the Nikon in comparison seems more wieldy. I'm not sure about having to extend the lens before you use it, though, but I'll get used to it. All the controls fall to hand, but so far they're not as intuitive as the analogue ones on the Fuji. More impressions to come once the battery is charged and I've set it up.

Nice one Stephen
 
I thought you were going to refuse the parcel and say you'd decided on the Panny S1 instead! Now that is a monster camera at nearly 2kg with kit as opposed to around 1170g for the Z6 to say nothing of the price.

I must say I find it confusing in my comparisons switching between ISO/exposure comp/aperture on Nikon v Fuji with the Fuji still being easier on the muscle memory but I've never yet mixed up the +/- and ISO buttons.
 
Noticed Very are selling the Z6 with 24-70 & adaptor for £2499 - that's cheaper than anyone else on CameraPriceBuster - can't compete with Panamoz price but for a UK price that looks very good! Fingers crossed the lottery numbers come up over the weekend :LOL:
 
Worth closely checking Tamron compatibility with Nikon Z. From what I’ve read some lenses don’t work.
 
Must. Resist. My next purchase will be a wide angle zoom, but the upcoming Nikon Z will be out of reach. I’ve got an eye on the Tamron 17-35 f2.8-4. Anyone got one?

They’re coming down in price...
 
As long as they are compatible. I’ve messaged Tamron but no reply so far.
I wonder if it's worth waiting a bit to see if they produce a native Z mount version of this lens. It looks pretty promising like the majority of recently designed lenses with only a slight question mark about the AF in this case. I'll certainly put it on a short list.
 
I wonder if it's worth waiting a bit to see if they produce a native Z mount version of this lens. It looks pretty promising like the majority of recently designed lenses with only a slight question mark about the AF in this case. I'll certainly put it on a short list.
That’s a very good point, David. Certainly already Meikle/Samyang have a 50mm manual lens in Z mount ready for release.
 
Changing the subject, I was out with it briefly this morning and the first thing I noticed was the viewfinder. So large, clear, and bright. Initial results are promising despite having a dog lead in one hand and a poo bag in the other.
 
Changing the subject, I was out with it briefly this morning and the first thing I noticed was the viewfinder. So large, clear, and bright. Initial results are promising despite having a dog lead in one hand and a poo bag in the other.

Yeah...okay..we don’t wanna see those pictures..
 
Changing the subject, I was out with it briefly this morning and the first thing I noticed was the viewfinder. So large, clear, and bright. Initial results are promising despite having a dog lead in one hand and a poo bag in the other.
I gave up trying to take photos with a dog in arm becuase I can't remember ever getting one sharp. Let her off the leash (where it's allowed) and she vanishes before you can blink, realising that this will inevitably get VERY boring. Exactly the same attitide as my wife in fact who has this strange notion that my photos should have some artistic merit. :(

And yes, the viewfinder is excellent in almost every situation so far just sticking to auto.
 
Last edited:
I gave up trying to take photos with a dog in arm becuase I can't remember ever getting one sharp. Let her off the leash (where it's allowed) and she vanishes before you can blink, realising that this will inevitably get VERY boring. Exactly the same attitide as my wife in fact who has this strange notion that my photos should have some artistic merit. :(

And yes, the viewfinder is excellent in almost every situation so far just sticking to auto.
Yes, Mistletoe is fine off the lead but we use a large retractable lead, and it won”t fit in any pocket.
 
A couple of the first shots with my Z6. Both raw files converted in Lightroom with "Camera Flat" selected, which really brings out the shadows. The first one is uncropped, and the second, whilst cropped, was shot directly into the sun. I wanted to capture the halos round the sheeps.

Village Cross by Stephen Lee, on Flickr

Sheep Feeding by Stephen Lee, on Flickr
 
I emailed both Sigma and Tamron regarding their timeline for producing their lenses in native Z mount. I received a reply today from Sigma UK to the effect that they have had no notification from Japan that anything was in the pipeline. I have had no response from Tamron to date.
 
-2019-02-04 work DIDs Cressida Dick1 by amanda benson, on Flickr
Thought I'd better bung the odd pic on here - f2.8, 1600, 125th - I'm pleased with the VR and noise performance but on occasion i(f any kind of auto exposure) I'm getting some burnout on the highlights and the dynamic range doesn't feel quite as good as the D810 (but that's just the impression - I've not 'scientifically' compared).
:)
 
I contacted 3 legged thing to ask if their Zelda L bracket will work in portrait orientation with a WR-R10 attached.
The answer is no, only in landscape.
 
I've done that myself in the past. I now have a large carabiner connected to my belt and just put the lead on it. I've wasted to many opportunities previously.
Changing the subject, I was out with it briefly this morning and the first thing I noticed was the viewfinder. So large, clear, and bright. Initial results are promising despite having a dog lead in one hand and a poo bag in the other.
 
I contacted 3 legged thing to ask if their Zelda L bracket will work in portrait orientation with a WR-R10 attached.
The answer is no, only in landscape.

My Zelda arrived this morning... very nice! (y)

Here it is on a Leo with an Airhed Switch in portrait with a WR-R10 attached... Still very secure albeit with some overhang as you would expect, there's margin to move it even further from the WR-R10 without it getting too close to the limit. I wouldn't be too worried using it like this although I can see why 3LT would not want to risk endorsing it.

Zelda.jpg
 
I've done that myself in the past. I now have a large carabiner connected to my belt and just put the lead on it. I've wasted to many opportunities previously.
After having dogs for too many years to count, I have just got round to doing this myself!
 
Took this to test the shadow recovery on the Z6. I deliberately exposed for the sunshine on the side of the barn, then lifted the shadows in Lightroom to bring up the detail.

Abandoned Farmyard by Stephen Lee, on Flickr
 
can we see the original please @Stephen L

Your wish is my command. This is the jpeg, with the "camera landscape" preset.

full
 
I'm feeling a lot of GAS at the moment! Probably a Z7, but there doesn't seem to be a thread running for that so, Can I ask if anyone has used their Z body for any astrophotography? And if so, how they find the EVF and LCD for this sort of thing?
 
Your wish is my command. This is the jpeg, with the "camera landscape" preset.

full
this looks surprisingly low saturation for a landscape JPEG preset but in Nikon NX-D, there is actually very little difference colourwise between the profiles -- it seems they are differentiated mainly by contrast so I guess LR is perhaps similar in this respect? In which case, it differs markedly from Fuji
 
this looks surprisingly low saturation for a landscape JPEG preset but in Nikon NX-D, there is actually very little difference colourwise between the profiles -- it seems they are differentiated mainly by contrast so I guess LR is perhaps similar in this respect? In which case, it differs markedly from Fuji
One thing I have noticed; the Landscape preset, if applied in Lightroom, tends to give a slight magenta cast to white clouds. This is absent if you choose a less saturated preset, so in future I will probably go for the Flat or Standard and then work it up. Also, as with Fuji, the preset set in the camera is applied when you import the raw into LR, unless you over-ride this. I also note that the standard sharpening which LR applies on import is significantly stronger than that of Fuji files. No doubt due to the presence of an anti-alias filter.
 
Back
Top