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I have not tested the Nikon ZR, but every Nikon cam that I have used before, from the Z6 to the Z9, H264-H265 have been very very good. You might not get the whole DR etc. but they have been really solid, even the D750 1080p 24mbs has been solid. LOL. Now, one thing I have been doing with my Z9 is use the 4k NRAW, which is only about 350 mb/s at 24 fps and also very good. The ZR also has a 4k NRAW/Redraw mode. Which would bring this type of bitrate. I also hope they also bring a lighter redraw mode. If not, you sill have the NRAW naming hack. Where by renaming NRAW to RED files, it is recognise by resolve as REDraw and process as if it was the same. It seems you can get a better Dynamic range and noise reduction like in the video below, where it even works on Nikon z8 nraw.

This is (for me) the biggest flaw of the camera. As I said, I saw this as a "creator camera" that could be used with caveats as a cinema camera. These people usually have fast turnarounds and having a h265 almost done take is a must - not even counting the massive file sizes of RedRAW. Lots of them never used any RAW video even having cameras that could do it. But probably the H265 encoding would overheat the camera pretty quickly.

Video oriented cameras is always a niche. Especially in this economy and what we see in AI developments. Look at this pretty serious response of a pro video shooter: I predict two years from now many of these folks will just give up. Budgets are already so low that they're bean counting the price of CFe cards they have to buy.

Have not read up with the datarates. What is up with the datarates?

I went into an actual camera shop (remember those?) yesterday and had a chat about the ZR. It is a branch of a reasonably sized chain of stores and I was asking them about if I ordered one would I have a chance of being in the first batch of their deliveries. They had a check on their system and told me how many they had on order and was a bit surprised how few it was (less than double figures) and even more surprised to find out that that figure wasn’t just for their branch but the whole group. Considering that they had pretty much the whole Nikon range on display, it wasn’t even like they aren’t a limited stockist of the brand. So I said, “Oh right, with that few coming I suppose I’d have no chance of getting one for a few batches?” Tap, tap, tap… ”No you’ll be fine as we haven’t got anyone who has pre-ordered one” ”In this branch?” ”No, the whole group”. I was quite taken aback and asked why that was. They said that the general consensus with customers and staff was that it was just a bit of a niche product and of the customers that were interested were all talking about the data rate putting them off. What they also said is that they had had a resurgence of interest in the Z6iii since the ZR was announced. It all likely means little in the overall scheme of things as this is just one retail group but it’s interesting to me how there can be such a gulf in the interest in a product and the reality of people actually buying it. I think that data rate thing is going to be a thing though.

Well, that was fun. New phone has new colour space which requires updating Resolve which wouldn't install and required me to update MacOS. Recording and then viewing the first clip took a lot longer than anticipated. Here's some initial observations as I find my bearings. Resolve 20.2 only has Apple Log 2 in the Colour Space, and only has Apple Log in the Gamma. If we assume that BM and Apply both know what they're doing then that means that Apple Log 2 gets a new colour space but keeps the same gamma curve, and iPhone 15 and 16 users get an upgrade to Apple Log 2. In the default camera app you only get Log and HDR (whatever that is) in Prores mode. Not entirely sure what Prores flavour it is, but I'd guess HQ because the fine print in the settings to enable it says 1 minute of 4K 30p is 6GB which is 800Mbps (and would be 640Mbps for 24p) which is sightly lower than the 700 typically stated, but is definitely higher than the 471Mbps typically stated for 4K 24p Prores 422. If you select Prores and Log, the image displayed is the log image.. no display conversion for you! BM camera app gives tonnes more options. I'll have to investigate that further, but last time I looked it seemed to only offer manual shooting, rather than the auto-everything that I need when shooting fast.

Is it just me or ZR skin tone is more like Arri than RED Komodo X 🤭 2:20 https://youtu.be/MfmajecSwqk

Sounds good! Would love to see some more tests with maybe more telephoto focal lengths to see how the bokeh looks and humans for skin tones and detail without Apples usual computational behavior. Would love to try this out myself at an Apple store but you obviously can’t plug-in an SSD to their tethered display units. I think you can do ProRes in log and then airdrop footage though so I might go check it today. Particularly interested in what log2 brings vs their previous log. I assume better highlight retention, increased DR etc.

iPhones don’t have IBIS, no phone does AFAIK. What it uses is Apple’s sensor shift OIS which means the lens or sensor module physically moves, plus EIS which is electronic crop and warp. In normal video both work together. When you switch to RAW or open gate, EIS is disabled because you are recording the entire sensor with no crop margin for digital stabilization. OIS still works but the footage looks a lot shakier since you are used to EIS doing most of the work. This is pretty standard behavior across cameras that offer RAW or open gate. As for no internal RAW recording, I don’t see it as a major inconvenience considering how quickly you’d fill up your storage (especially if you got the base models). Going SSD is definitely the right move.

Interesting and thanks for sharing. I hadn't heard the RAW was external only, I guess every new camera has its 'gotchas' in terms of combinations of features that do/don't work together. Mine arrived yesterday (Friday), which was a nice surprise as when I preordered it they predicted it wouldn't be delivered until Monday. I got all the notifications etc, so it didn't just rock up with no warning though 🙂 Odd that the sensor stabilisation isn't supported in RAW. Is it IBIS or is it EIS? If it's IBIS then I have no idea why it wouldn't be supported?

Just Resolve’s stabilization for those shots

Beautiful : ) Hard to believe that’s from a phone! How tricky is it to stabilize that kind of footage without in-camera help? What tool are you using exactly?

And here are the raw clips if anyone would like to play around with them https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17juUhffdIAEu5NJIAvD01zwfPock_mjO?usp=sharing

The phone arrived today as expected and I've had a few minutes to play around with the camera. I shot a short test scene using ProRes RAW and ProRes 422 in the Blackmagic app. Here's a quick look at the footage with just Resolve's Apple Log 2 CST applied. Very first observations: Open gate is only available in RAW or RAW HQ RAW can only recorded to an external drive. I have a great Magsafe SSD that I use for this. Sensor stabilization is not available in either raw mode Resolve is super sluggish with the raw files unlike ProRes RAW or BRAW files from my S1ii. I hope this gets optimized The normal raw controls are there and the footage is very flexible as you'd expect I used Resolve's built in Apple Log 2 CST for the test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97PPh276M4o

An older comparison between Nikon Z6 III and Sony FX3. Nikon Z6 III has the same sensor as Zr so this comparison is still relevant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uz0pJvveoA While in lab tests Z6 III and Zr semi stacked sensors have one stop less of a dynamic range in practice this different is hard to see or notice in most scenes. I wouldn't worry about dynamic range. Once weakness Nikon Z6 III and Zr have and also Z8 is the fact that if you want the best video picture quality you have to shoot in RAW. NLog used in ProRes and x265 internal codecs is not as good as Sony or Panasonic Log profiles. x265 codec is 10bit 4:2:0. Shooting in RAW would require more time and work in post production as de-noise and lens correction have to be done in post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nyTnnbszZg This is because when de-bayering RED RAW files in resolve and RED software you have this option to reduce chroma noise. Until somebody does a proper test with RED RAW file I think semi stacked sensor in Nikon Zr and Z6 III is still one stop lower than sensor on Sony FX3 for example. As previous tests shows this difference is undetectable in real world shots, it can be measured only in tests Here is how to get rid of the blue channel clipping without renaming files to RED RAW (R3D). Yet renaming the files gives more options and better results, so people will keep doing it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7U-WysxaRw

Maybe next year… Currently on a 13 Pro bought as a refurb a few years back and it’s about the right size for me as I travel a lot and a Mini is too small and Macbook a pain unless I am actually working. The 13 does everything I need it to do but I’d like a better camera or rather more lens options so…

Another super-busy week, but I did manage to create a couple of new music tracks to share with the community...free, as always, to use with attribution, like my thousands of other tracks. They are: On my Sci-Fi 14 page: "MOONLIT CYBER STREETS" https://soundimage.org/sci-fi-14/ On my Positive/Upbeat page: "SHUFFLIN’ AROUND TOWN" https://soundimage.org/positive-upbeat/ PLEASE READ If you can, please consider making small contribution to support my efforts. I honestly hate asking, but I do pay for everything myself including my synthesizers which are very expensive (I make monthly payments) so contributions from the community really help me a lot. Here are some ways you can help: https://soundimage.org/donate/ https://soundimage.org/ogg-game-music-mega-pack/ https://soundimage.org/ogg-music-packs-2/ Anything you can manage will be very helpful...thanks. 🙂

This video is very interesting about the conversion of the Nikon NEV to RED red file. The thing that is the most interesting to me, apart from the blue channel clipping, is about the dynamic range of the camera which he test as from 8.25. I think he has a Z8, if this is true in the highlight, the z9 which has been rated at 8.5-9 stops of latitude in the CineD lab test, could be either a solid 9 (Panasonic S1ii, RED V-RaptorX), or closer to 10, that would be Arri Alexa LF territory!!! I saw someone saying that his Nikon is like a new camera, about the highlight, but also that the chroma noise reduction was also very good. The Nikon Z6iii/ZR, is supposed to be the same sensor than the S1ii, with the only difference is that the Nikon's are at 9.1ms and the Pana is at 12ms. I would dream if nikon could give a slower version mode with the S1ii DR/Latitude. Because most of the time the slower read, creats less noise and thus more DR.

It’s not as risky as it sounds. You’re never pulling the active recording card, only the idle one. The camera is writing to one slot while the second slot is completely free, so you can safely swap it for a fresh card without interrupting the recording. That’s how Canon implements “relay recording” to allow essentially unlimited record times. Of course if you pulled the card that’s actively being written to, you’d corrupt the file, but the workflow is designed to prevent that. It’s not really a new trick on the C50, it’s fairly standard in Canon’s cine line and a reason people trust them on long form shoots. Most hybrids including Canon R line doesn't allow this as they're photo centric and that could cause issues, I'm not even sure this works when in the photo mode of C50.. another benefit of having dual OS systems. On a side note, I hope Nikon includes more RED OS features like traffic light system etc.

100%.. definitely what's happening. I heard it was a flop. One reason I didn't mind having a smaller phone is that I don't really do a lot of stuff on it, as I prefer using my laptop. If I used my phone as my main device I'd be wanting the largest thing I could practically carry around. I'll be curious to see how it goes. On my last trip I bought a Pop Socket, which I found to work really well actually. This is what it looks like if you're not familiar, and means you can hold it really securely, and it folds almost flat. I put it towards the bottom and on one side so I could open it, pull the phone out of my pocket, open the camera app from the Home Screen, take some video, lock the phone and put it back in my pocket again, all with one hand. The flaw was that because the socket wasn't in the middle of the phone so when walking the weight of the phone would rotate the phone. I got another one for the 17 and I'll put it in the centre of mass of the phone so when I walk with it there's no rotation induced from unbalanced motion. I don't know what that means for how usable it will be one handed. I guess sacrifices have to be made to go from h265 HDR to Prores with Apple Log.

Are you sure this is safe for this camera? While it may be that just pulling the card out while the camera is on in most cases causes no harm the manufacturers do typically warn that the camera should be turned off before removing or attaching the card or there could be data corruption.

Sadly the mini was a flop, it didn’t sell well. People want big phones apparently which I find annoying as one hand gesture operation is impossible, not to mention pocket ability and discretion while shooting. Those are the reasons why I still use my 13 mini as my daily driver despite having a « better » regular size iPhone.

Just like camera manufactures i guess. You can get option A & B but not option A & B and C, or option C & B but not A Mini size factor may have less of a profit margin as well and perhaps even overheating, mostly i suspect its more about marketing segments and better profit margins. however i think you know this already 🙂

I don’t see the ZR & C50 as direct competitors even though they were announced at the same time and take inspiration from the FX3. Different builds, specs and price point. Not to mention the ecosystems. The way I see it, the DR per price argument is a bit of a stretch. A camera is more than just a sensor, and the two bodies are not in the same hardware category. I love for example that you can open the side door on the C50 while recording and hot swap cards. The built in fan, screw mount, included XLR top handle with zoom rockers and record. It all reminds me of the C100 which I shot so much run & gun with. ZR feels more like a vlog cam with a Z6iii in comparison. Reminds me more of Sonys ZVe1. DR wise, yes C50 shows about a stop less than the ZR in Gerald’s tests at its 6.9K RAW base, but it also gains an extra stop in S35 mode and two stops in 4K H265. On top of that it’s open gate 7K vs 6K. Different sensors, different pipelines. IBIS would have been great on the C50, but Canon just doesn’t include it in the cine line, just like RED, BM, FX6, FX9, etc. Bummer but not a deal breaker for me, C50 ergos look good and with 7K open gate that leaves a lot of wiggle room for stab in post. The ZR is great value image wise, but in my opinion it has some valid hardware quirks and R3D RAW comes with massive data rates. Gerald’s DR score of 10.9 was with R3D RAW, but it drops to 9.74 in NRAW, so in practice the gap is smaller than it first appears. For me the C50 checks most of the boxes I need, and opens up a slew of lenses including anamorphic but also s35/s16. But for others the ZR with Z mount adaptability and R3D RAW at a mid level price point might make more sense, and that’s fine.

I also really like the Mini size and form factor, and TBH it frustrates me quite significantly that they don't put the good cameras in the smaller models. It's like forcing you to buy a truck just to get power-steering. I also agree that the square selfie-camera is a cool addition. I'll be curious to see how wide it is, my recollection of previous versions was that they were a bit long of a focal length for what I wanted to shoot (me in a cool location) so I'd normally just use the wide-angle camera and turn it around and shoot blind.. hardly ideal. The holy grail for these cameras is to look the same as a nice camera with a stopped down aperture. I'd suggest that those iPhone 15 Apple Log vs Alexa videos showed that it was getting pretty close, although now with RAW it will be interesting to see how close it really is. When the first Android RAW samples came out there was something about the footage that still looked like a phone but at the time I couldn't work out what it was. There will be other things that might give the game away, but these will probably be how the camera is used rather than some innate property of the image itself. I'll be putting mine through its paces once I get back from my trip and upgrade to Resolve 20.2 to get the RAW support. I might have to do some side-by-side comparisons too.