docmoore

I continue to watch the unfolding drama about all the new new thangs ... so many choices.
Needed better high ISO than my Leica SL so after holding the Z 7 for 5 minutes I ran with it.
Here are a few short clips from it at this point:
Someone say skin tones ...
 
Dynamic Range ....
Color ...
 
Lotta choices ... made mine and not disappointed.
YMMV ... pretty sure it will.
 

I continue to watch the unfolding drama about all the new new thangs ... so many choices.
Needed better high ISO than my Leica SL so after holding the Z 7 for 5 minutes I ran with it.
Here are a few short clips from it at this point:
Someone say skin tones ...
 
Dynamic Range ....
Color ...
 
Lotta choices ... made mine and not disappointed.
YMMV ... pretty sure it will.
 

The 24-70 and 35 Nikon Z lenses are good optically but utterly charmless in the hand. Feel so cheap and you really are paying top dollar for just F1.8 and F4.
I much prefer the Canon EOS R lens line-up.
So that's a bit of a shame as Z7 body itself is superb.

youtube sent me this today
 

Pixel peeping is alive and well I see!
Nikon Z7 is fine. It is a miracle in full frame from 8.2K down to 4K. Very nice detail level. Very good dynamic range and colour, which Max's test doesn't even touch on.
Z7 in APS-C is similar but less aliasing / stair stepping - but we are talking 4K here, so at normal viewing distances you don't even see the aliasing in full frame mode, let alone in the oversampled Super 35 mode.
The EOS R is soft. So what. It's 4K. You have more detail than you'll ever need unless cropping 4x into the image.
You wanna know why I don't do tests like this very much anymore?
1. Nobody views your film or music video at 400% crop. The absolute sharpness level in 4K means JACK SHIT. What you want is a soft stable cinematic image - not hard digital sharpness. In fact it's an *advantage* to have a softer image for YouTube, when the player is scaling it down to fit any number of screen resolutions - especially a 1080p screen. It looks more natural when people view it downscaled or even on a 4K TV from normal viewing distances. In the first case the downscaling works badly with a digitally sharper, harder image vs a softer, more cinematic one. In the second case the natural downscaling from the human eye at a longer viewing distance makes a less hard 4K image at 1:1 look more natural and less fatiguing than a "harder" image which shows more emphasised detail. We have plenty enough detail in 4K as it is, even on the EOS R and to overemphasise it, like in Max's video, is a BAD THING.
2. The test by Max claims to be about image quality when he's only testing one small aspect of it and not even very well. He's actually looking 90% at the sharpening levels in the menus, rather than outright performance of the image. All the cameras apply a different level of sharpening to bring out extra detail. You can dial it down or up. So what? How natural and cinematic does that fine detail look to the real viewer? That is the real question.
3. Max's video tests just one aspect of the camera and seems to imply it's 90% of what makes a good image. A wide shot of a building with constantly shifting light at dusk so that not even the lighting conditions are matched on each comparison shot. It says nothing of colour, dynamic range, skin-tones, lenses, sensor size, rolling shutter, motion cadence, codec performance, macro blocking, mud, compression, grading, bit-depth, LOG profile performance and  how easy or not it is to grade. These are the things that determine the final result. These are the important things and not ONE in isolation but ALL together.
Go back and do a proper test Max that takes you longer than half an hour... But no, he's got subscriber numbers and viewers to chase so it must be done quick!
Why the Z7 is singled out for criticism because of Max's test is beyond my understanding.
It justifies the pricing over the A7R III because it is a flat out better camera in every aspect of image quality and handling.
It justifies the pricing over the D850 because it adds video AF which actually works, gets rid of the mirror, fixes the ergonomics in live-view, shaves the pounds off and at the same time maintains the incredible video quality.

Kai very positive review of the z7
 
 

Questions on N Log recovery of highlights have been answered for me ...
https://vimeo.com/296302172
Password : daysend
Up for a short time.

I prefer this version ....
https://vimeo.com/296214409
Password : daysend 
Same proviso ....

How about some 4K ... external recorder 10Bit ProRes HQ ....
Went to a favorite place to capture some migratory birds ... turns out a weekend for a waterski tournament. So I captured some birds of a different sort.
This is a short clip from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison, Texas.
https://vimeo.com/296206092
Password : daysend
It will be taken down in a day.
 

If we assume the most probably outcome, it's that the Z7 4K looks like the D850 and the Z6 4K looks like the A7 III.
The Z7 4K in full frame mode is excellent, same as my D850. A tiny bit of aliasing on very high contrast diagonal edges, but that is to be expected going 46MP down to 4K. There are no real issues, honestly, same as D850 which I loved. It's detailed, it's cinematic, it's got a ton of dynamic range and a nice codec, with great colour science. Rolling shutter is well controlled. Switch to APS-C mode and it is supersampled from 5K, just like the D850 and the A7R III. In full frame it is slightly superior to the A7R III, slightly smoother looking and less aliasing.
Now the Z6 we are told by Nikon is full pixel readout in full frame (like A7 III) but the APS-C mode has to be upscaled from something like 3K, again same as A7 III. So the Z7 is going to have the better APS-C 4K, and the Z6 will have a MARGINALLY better full frame 4K image assuming it does indeed ape the A7 III's full pixel readout (6K to 4K).
Until the Z6 actually arrives, we won't know for sure, and there may be issues we're not yet aware of or Nikon might decide to take features out, or reduce their potency. On paper, the specs look fine, but the devil might be in the detail.
If it works out as expected, the Z6 is going to be a big fat bargain, and preferable to the A7 III taken as a body in isolation... Once you start talking lenses, adapters, etc. Then it gets more complicated.

Scary stuff.
Glad you got it sorted.
I was a victim of something mysteriously draining my bank account recently myself and here I am on my to tell my wife that our account must have been hacked.

As mentioned in the episode, when we switched to shooting 1080P I also switched to the RF 24-105mm F4 L IS. The EF-S 17-55mm was only used for the 4K sequences.

A look at the OOF rendering of the 50 1.2 AIS ... internal 8 bit 4:2:2 Flat Profile on Z 7
 
https://vimeo.com/294442312
Password : daysend
 
Bob
Here is a focus pull on the 50 1.2
 
https://vimeo.com/294444889
Password : daysend
 
Bob

I looked at a FS5 M ii ... old sensor pretty noisy at higher ISOs ... add an external Raw recorder and might work until the new M III shows up.
Have had the Z 7 for a couple of days ... was able to get a bit of time with it this afternoon. 
Nothing special ... just looking at color from the N Log. The following is shot at 3200 ISO ... very dark rainy day ... no noise reduction ... 
I will take the haptics, size, color and weather sealing over the Sny any day. Not as robust as my Leica SL but I look forward to adapting my
R and L lenses to this camera.
https://vimeo.com/294245506
Password : daysend
Yes I love blacks to be black ... and colors to match what I see in nature ... so not cinematic ... no teal and brown.
So it may not be awesome ... but I have seen much worse.

I looked at a FS5 M ii ... old sensor pretty noisy at higher ISOs ... add an external Raw recorder and might work until the new M III shows up.
Have had the Z 7 for a couple of days ... was able to get a bit of time with it this afternoon. 
Nothing special ... just looking at color from the N Log. The following is shot at 3200 ISO ... very dark rainy day ... no noise reduction ... 
I will take the haptics, size, color and weather sealing over the Sny any day. Not as robust as my Leica SL but I look forward to adapting my
R and L lenses to this camera.
https://vimeo.com/294245506
Password : daysend
Yes I love blacks to be black ... and colors to match what I see in nature ... so not cinematic ... no teal and brown.
So it may not be awesome ... but I have seen much worse.

I looked at a FS5 M ii ... old sensor pretty noisy at higher ISOs ... add an external Raw recorder and might work until the new M III shows up.
Have had the Z 7 for a couple of days ... was able to get a bit of time with it this afternoon. 
Nothing special ... just looking at color from the N Log. The following is shot at 3200 ISO ... very dark rainy day ... no noise reduction ... 
I will take the haptics, size, color and weather sealing over the Sny any day. Not as robust as my Leica SL but I look forward to adapting my
R and L lenses to this camera.
https://vimeo.com/294245506
Password : daysend
Yes I love blacks to be black ... and colors to match what I see in nature ... so not cinematic ... no teal and brown.
So it may not be awesome ... but I have seen much worse.

Wow looks really nice. Grass a little too hot on my monitor, but wow a nice 3D look with the lens, and yeah good old, great looking Nikon colors. N9ce recorder. That rig ought to work out well for you. Bit of envy no doubt. Grats.

The two cameras you mention should really be compared to the Z6 .... comparable cost to the A7iii and the X-T3.
After comparing all three (Z 7) and about to buy a GH5s I ended up with the Z 7 ... as a second camera to my Leica SL.
Sold a bunch of rangefinder stuff to afford it ... now making the transition to new HDMI cable XQD reader Smallrig cage and picked up 
a 50 1.2 AIS ... historically my third. Looks like Novoflex will have 10 adapters coming shortly. Need one for my M and R lenses.
Hoping for a couple of days to get some 10bit log to look at color.
Really only had time to play with AF in stills which seems good enough for my needs ... as I normally shoot MF
and will use it for interviews and potential gimbal shoots.
I have the Function 1 button set for WB and can set a custom balance with an Expodisc on the fly without taking my eye from the VF.
Higher iso and dynamic range seem very good ... if the output approaches that of the SL at lower iso I will be pleased.
Custom WB solves that ... and even then setting a bit warmer K value is helpful.

I briefly owned the newest 0.95 Noctilux ... found that it worked for me about 30% of the time ... and
I could not pre-visualize when it was going to work. Rest of the time the OOF was very distracting and
when viewed on my 5K monitor ... made me dizzy ... near nauseous.
Much prefer the Summilux ... great fall off and effect ... or the Apo Sumicron.
Were I to win the lottery ... a couple of Summicron C Leicas ... 35 and 100.
http://www.madeinwetzlar.com/filming-with-the-leica-sl-summicron-c-lenses
 

The two cameras you mention should really be compared to the Z6 .... comparable cost to the A7iii and the X-T3.
After comparing all three (Z 7) and about to buy a GH5s I ended up with the Z 7 ... as a second camera to my Leica SL.
Sold a bunch of rangefinder stuff to afford it ... now making the transition to new HDMI cable XQD reader Smallrig cage and picked up 
a 50 1.2 AIS ... historically my third. Looks like Novoflex will have 10 adapters coming shortly. Need one for my M and R lenses.
Hoping for a couple of days to get some 10bit log to look at color.
Really only had time to play with AF in stills which seems good enough for my needs ... as I normally shoot MF
and will use it for interviews and potential gimbal shoots.
I have the Function 1 button set for WB and can set a custom balance with an Expodisc on the fly without taking my eye from the VF.
Higher iso and dynamic range seem very good ... if the output approaches that of the SL at lower iso I will be pleased.
Custom WB solves that ... and even then setting a bit warmer K value is helpful.

The two cameras you mention should really be compared to the Z6 .... comparable cost to the A7iii and the X-T3.
After comparing all three (Z 7) and about to buy a GH5s I ended up with the Z 7 ... as a second camera to my Leica SL.
Sold a bunch of rangefinder stuff to afford it ... now making the transition to new HDMI cable XQD reader Smallrig cage and picked up 
a 50 1.2 AIS ... historically my third. Looks like Novoflex will have 10 adapters coming shortly. Need one for my M and R lenses.
Hoping for a couple of days to get some 10bit log to look at color.
Really only had time to play with AF in stills which seems good enough for my needs ... as I normally shoot MF
and will use it for interviews and potential gimbal shoots.
I have the Function 1 button set for WB and can set a custom balance with an Expodisc on the fly without taking my eye from the VF.
Higher iso and dynamic range seem very good ... if the output approaches that of the SL at lower iso I will be pleased.
Custom WB solves that ... and even then setting a bit warmer K value is helpful.

Raw is phenomenal ... but not worth dealing with beta firmware and buggy implementation.
Cancelling my preorder ... going to add the GH5s to my Leica SL.
 

Raw is phenomenal ... but not worth dealing with beta firmware and buggy implementation.
Cancelling my preorder ... going to add the GH5s to my Leica SL.
 

120p is 4x crop and no AF tracking.
You can see THROUGH the camera from top to bottom - it has a HOLE in it.
GOLD standard?
Pity the early adopters, after I saw his 'problems' section.
Squeals a high-pitched note randomly. Sometimes just hangs for no reason.
No low battery warning or graceful shutdown procedure, just turns off and corrupts the ProRes file.
The camera ain't finished.

Just received word from Hot Rod Cameras that only 50 cameras have been shipped to the US. ( I assume these cameras were all demos for the stores ) as Hot Rod Received one. They did tell me that they have been promised that some of their ordered cameras will arrive next week some time.