NIKON...MIRROR LESS NOW WITH FIRMWARE UPDATE

mhedges

Searcy said:

"As far as button layout - I don’t use the ISO button much (pretty much auto ISO everything). For me F1 is fine. My ring finger lines up with it well. I do have a lot of trouble finding the exposure compensation button. It’s just a little too far over and a little too sideways."

Years ago when I bought my d7200 I was excited because it had Auto ISO. On my first trip out with it I shot an event where I was also acting as a front of house manager. To say I was very distracted in dealing with all the drama dealing with vendors and models and all would be an understatement. Knowing this I set the auto ISO, opting to let the camera do the thinking for me. Long story short... my results were so noisy that I found them unusable. Every since then I have been a little timid about setting my ISO to auto.

As for image quality, YES! The shots out of my z6 looked a lot like the shots out of my friends d750 that I have been envying all year. I think that is largly a result of FX vs DX sensor performance.

All in all the d7200 has served me well. It was the $1000 camera I needed at that point in my photography and I'm not about to give it up just yet.

I feel equally good about buying the $2000 z6. I hope it lasts me as long as the d7200 has. I look forward to the z6 battery grip.

You definitely have to limit the auto ISO top setting. I think I set it to 1600? Otherwise it will go nuts. Although I have found max ISO setting is a tricky thing, depending on the lighting situation.

I still have my D7200 too. Kept it for use with the 70-300 AF-P lens when I need more reach. Maybe I will eventually sell it, if I find I never use it. But with them going for $700 new from B&H I can't imagine the used market is all that strong.

I really hope Nikon comes to its senses and figures out some way to release a functional grip for the Z series, using bluetooth and/or NFC for the communication. I'm not sure I would buy it, but lots of folks would. And I wouldn't have to hear the constant complaints from certain youtubers!

Searcy

Speaking of ISO, here is a shot I took with the z6 on my way to an event last Saturday. 12,800 ISO. This would not have been the result with my d7200

mhedges

Has anyone tried really slowing down shutter speed to test the IBIS? The lowest I have gone is 1/15 sec shooting the Sigma ART 14-24 (no VR), and it was fine. I don't think I got a single image that showed camera shake issues.

spraynpray

1/15th is not at all hard for a non-VR lens. I have held my 70-200 f4 at 200mm on a D750 using 1/15th to prove how good its VR is. That is super-impressive. I look forward to hearing what the Z's can do at that focal length.

Searcy

I finally got my SmallRig L-Bracket. I'm really glad I bought it. It fits well on the Z6. Works well with my tripod mounts in both positions. It also allows me to use my Peak Design Clutch strap in a way that I like.

Oh, and that little bit for my little finger to grab helps the feel a lot.

donaldejose

I use it also and like it.

mhedges

Mmm maybe I will pick one up too. Is it possible to put a tripod disconnect on the FTZ with this attached?

donaldejose

What is a tripod disconnect? The SmallRig L Bracket has two Acra Swiss groves on each side so if you have (or purchase) an Acra Swiss mount on your tripod you can easily take the Z6 on or off in either the horizontal or vertical position. See these photos.





Can you see the grooves which will allow you to set this into an Acra Swiss tripod head?

mhedges

Yes I know that but I'm a bit nervous about using a camera mount when I have my Sigma ART 14-24 on the FTZ. That lens makes for a very front heavy combination and I would feel a lot better with the tripod mount on the FTZ.

WestEndFoto

I don’t think the Any Art or Otis is heavy enough to worry about that MHedges.

Symphotic

mhedges said:

Mmm maybe I will pick one up too. Is it possible to put a tripod disconnect on the FTZ with this attached?

I'm using the RRS L bracket. It is more compact than the SmallRig. I put a small plate on the bottom of my FTZ so it will mount to the RRS head. When using the FTZ, I have to rotate the head instead of the camera to go to portrait mode, however. I expect that RRS will come out with an L bracket for the FTZ someday.

donaldejose

mhedges: When using a heavy lens try taking the SmallRig off the Z body and mounting it on the FTZ. The SmallRig includes an L hex key in the bottom so you always have it with you to detach and attach the rig. See photo.

mhedges

Good info - thanks. I didn't realize it had the wrench stored like that.

Anyway its really not that big of an issue since I will be getting the 14-30 upon release and selling the Sigma.

donaldejose

Noise. The Z6 hangs well with the D5 up until 102,000 ISO.

WestEndFoto

Nice debunk of the idiot "reviewers" and the morons that plagiarize their work.

https://photographylife.com/the-reality-behind-nikon-z-banding-issues

Symphotic

WestEndFoto said:

Nice debunk of the idiot "reviewers" and the morons that plagiarize their work.

From the article: "Cough, cough! Who underexposes images by six stops?? Ahem."

It pains me to admit, I've done that....

What the article deals with, plagiarism, is a much bigger problem than banding!

mhedges

Yep that was a great article and I was glad to see it. The banding thing has been so overblown that its ridiculous. I have tried to recreate it with my Z6 files and have never been able to.

As far as underexposing by six stops - its more about shadow recovery, I think.

You are absolutely right about the plagarism too. What happens is, one of these "influencer" grifters comes up with some criticisms to get clicks, then every other one of them feels the need to mention it too.

donaldejose

Interesting way to deal with just one card slot on the job.

Symphotic

Hello, donaldjose: This is the value of making a youtube. I have advocated this (and use a similar technique in my lab) here in the past, but I'm glad to see someone made a video how easy it is.
In the field, I have photos go to my cell phone, and I can send them off to my principals with text messages. I have to document an instrument package for NOAA in two weeks, and there are a number of people on the distribution list who will be happy with just jpegs. Yes, it's not a NEF file, but it is really easier and more convenient than what I was doing in the past (using two cards)...

donaldejose

"it is not a NEF file" . . . true, but if you get the exposure reasonably right, within half a stop either way, and you don't compose with extreme shadows in the image which need to be lifted, the jpeg is surely "good enough" for most viewers and uses. NEF is "overrated" in many situations when you will not need to do that much post processing. While jpeg to phone is good for the more limited storage space in a phone I would think one could shoot NEF and send that to a nearby laptop (maybe even use a tablet with a removable micro SD card?) wirelessly. This is on my list to experiment with when I get some time. Someday we will have good internet connect-ability right in our camera and be able to send e-mails from the camera as we review the images on the back LCD. Hope Nikon is working on such a camera. It would give them market share gain. Just put a SIM card slot into the D6 body and add software to the retouch menu allowing you to send any photo to an e-mail address or to an attached bluetooth or WIFI device. How hard would that be to do?

Ton14

Connect the Nikon Z6 with WIFI to your home system is easy, but useless. It takes 1 to 1.5 minute to transfer a RAW file and drains your battery. I only want this as a tether solution for Lightroom.

Ton14

@donaldejose you are right and the JPG's from the Nikon Z system are extreemly good. Fine is about 11mb, Normal is 6mb and Basic 3mb. On a phone or tablet you get the best photo's ever and even Basic JPG is good.

I have an OTG USB stick in my pocket to transfer the photo's to my tablet, very easy and you do not drain your camera battery with WiFi.

Symphotic

donaldejose said:

"it is not a NEF file" . . . true, but if you get the exposure reasonably right, within half a stop either way, and you don't compose with extreme shadows in the image which need to be lifted, the jpeg is surely "good enough" for most viewers and uses. ...?

Besides, my customers have no use for NEF files...

mhedges

Just wanted to point out that this thread started out as the "Mirrorless Fail" thread just about a year ago. And while there is certainly still room for improvement in my opinion what we have gotten is about as good as one could reasonably expect.

donaldejose

Ton 14: Please explain what a OTG USB stick is and how you use it. Am I understanding that you somehow can wirelessly transfer jpegs from your Z body to this USB device in your pocket as you shoot and then just put the USB device into your laptop or desktop? If so, I will get one of those. Any recommendations? Also, is it possible to set your Z body to shoot both NEF and jpeg to its XQD card but have only the jpegs transferred wirelessly to this stick in your pocket? I have recently been setting one card to RAW and one card to jpeg and find that 99% of the time I never need to use the RAW file because the jpeg is exposed almost perfectly needing only maybe 1/4 or 1/2 stop lifting of shadows or reduction of highlights. It seems to me the use of an optical viewfinder's WYSIWYG will lead to even fewer exposure "errors." Of course, certain situations, such as landscape work, will often benefit from a RAW file but even something like a wedding, I think, could be 90% jpeg files. I like separating the RAW and jpeg files on two different removable memory cards so I can more quickly review the jpegs from that card, write down the numbers of the files I want to use and copy only those files to my hard drive. I don't see the point of filling up your hard drive with all the photos on your memory card which you have already decided not to use. I would like to wirelessly download just the jpeg files from my Z6 but still have a RAW file backup on the memory card in case I need it when I am post processing the files I have chosen from the jpegs. Do you know how to do this?