BTM_Pix

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.

Nikon’s Japan site showing official release date there of 24th of October. That tax inclusive price of ¥299,200 is taking the value for money to another level really isn’t it 😂

I misread the press release as it says full details will be released in October rather than the actual product being released in October so I’m guessing confirmation won’t come until then about that.

Tascam handle will be available in October. Details here https://www.tascam.eu/en/messg-2025-09_ca-xlr2d-n

If you put a card from a Z8 NRaw recording in a Z6iii does it play back? And vice versa.

During my “Shall I get a Z8” research project - which has been going on so long it is featured in the Bayeux tapestry - I found the MC-N10 grip really appealing if a little pricy. However, what is a setback is that it is a right handed grip (good for me) that connects by cable to cameras, including the ZR, with left sided USB ports. I initially thought “well that’s awkward having to have that USB cable trailing across the camera but will use it over Bluetooth anyway”. Except that was a flawed assumption as it doesn’t have Bluetooth. Nikon makes a virtue of it being wired only in their product page. ___________ Reliable connection This grip connects to your Nikon camera via USB-C, ensuring a stable connection no matter where you shoot. You won’t have to rely on a wireless signal if you’re shooting in a crowded location where radio interference is a problem. _____________ And I completely get that of course. There are always cable routing solutions to make it less janky than Nikon’s own promotional materials of it show so I’m sure some mitigation can be had. The £69 Smallrig ZR cage has locking clamps for USB C as well as HDMI ports so it’s only a couple of zip ties away from not being a massive issue. At £400+ though, I’m sure they could’ve incorporated the small addition of a Bluetooth capability with a small internal rechargeable battery to provide the option and still made money. With the ZR having fewer hardware buttons it’s a product that could have a lot of appeal if you can swallow the price and the lack of wireless.

By the by, we have to look inward to determine what constitutes a cinema camera. In my case, you could give me an Alexa and it wouldn’t be a cinema camera as I’d never be able to make anything for the cinema with it. Unless I modified it to turn it into a popcorn maker.

I hadn’t truly appreciated just how much of a normalised activity this was until I saw these for sale in my local supermarket recently. I do fear for what people are eating who use this one if their bowel movements are such that they have to take their watch off to do it. Although maybe that is to stop the watch thinking they are having a vigorous workout when they are doing a more old fashioned bathroom activity.

It’s the international break. The world turns to shit when there is no club football. There is only so much England vs Andorra that people can take. Everything will be OK again on Saturday.

Here is the trailer for said documentary. Not sure the title “No Guarantees” refers to the outcome of when you go fishing or the outcome of a using a £17000 medium format cinema camera to film it. I’m thinking it might be both. I’ve seen some fantastic footage from the Fujifilm 100mp GFX variants. This wasn’t it.

This was at the top of my YouTube feed today. Genuinely thought at first glance it was going to be Mackey’s review of the ZR. Maybe the world has got so twisted around that Depp is now cosplaying Mackey.

And that mount. Megadap will be rubbing their hands at the amount of E mount lenses that may well be finding a home on this camera. Not just from Sony defectors either but from new owners of the ZR who look at the plethora of appropriately sized E mount lenses on the new and used market and will consider the ZR as a de facto E mount camera.

A good video showing real world ice cream. Sorry, I meant real world usage.

All aboard the good ship Shill for a BTS about using it for an as yet unreleased documentary.

Here is a run through in the style of a product presentation at a local garden centre. Most notable for the less than convincing “it’s really almost the same size as the GFX100” comparison.