BTM_Pix

I’ll write a spirited defence of the X-Half when I’ve got more time but suffice to say that having bought one and actually used it they have exposed themselves yet again as knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Sadly, things have taken a bit of a turn which is a real shame. Trying to do projects like this is hard enough without real life turning up and kicking you in the nuts let alone having to deal with the absolute shitehawks it attracts. Hopefully things can turn round in time.

He popped up in my feed a few months ago and I’m really enjoying it too.

There is something about his post about Rob Reiner that has really had a big impact on me. I thought I’d become desensitised to the depravity, stupidity and contemptuous lies but this one is different. Almost like a test of what he believes he can get away with and a test of how much people around him would let him get away with. The answer to both of those is now, clearly, whatever the fuck he wants to.

I haven’t been there for a while and was toying with a trip next year. To paraphrase King Arthur now though.

Here is some completely unbiased coverage of Scotland’s previous meetings with Brazil.

Anyone watching this cringe fest World Cup draw would swap in a heartbeat.

Hang on, if we have that coffee next week I’m not obliged to buy a camera off you am I? You’re not turning Costa into some sort of camera Herbalife recruitment centre are you?

Complete with 30% discounts like today’s announcements.

Why not Leica as a good fit for Arri ? They can keep it in Germany, use it as a platform to sell more of their cine glass and God knows they can be trusted to keep out the riff-raff from buying them! Interestingly, though, both companies have a relationship with Panasonic so could be good news for the riff raff with a trickle down.

I had a go with an FX2 yesterday. The tilting EVF is great. As are all tilting EVFs.

Around £2300 so not a massive amount in it.

Visitor price with the tax taken off for used ones is £2950. A used Z8 is £2080. With a used version of the 24-70 f4 that is bundled with the ZR it is £2375 so only £725 more than the ZR combo, albeit used. Hence the quandary.

Had a chance to have a look at one in the flesh. It feels good in the hand and the screen is everything that everyone has already said it is. The overall size of the camera is even more compact than I thought it would be, particularly when they are displaying it alongside the next one up in the Nikon RED range ! I was sorely tempted at the price here which works out at £1650 including the 24-70mm f4 lens for visitors. I’m here for a few more weeks so maybe I might buckle but the issue for me is that they had a Z8 at the next display and for an old fart like me that just appeals more, especially in light of the is it/isn’t it stuff about the RAW and the file extensions etc. I might just sit this out (again) for another year to see how the dust settles with firmware updates for the ZR and actually the Z6III as that might be the compromise play for me, although the Z8 will likely still win out. So, ultimately, I was able to put the ZR down and walk away fairly easily. Unexpectedly, the one I had far more difficulty walking away from the was the much maligned Fujifilm X-Half. Kinky.

Playing devil’s advocate, I’d see it as a fairly cheap way for them to stimulate new interest in the S9 in general. ”Maybe you can’t get this particular S9 but hey if you haven’t seen this camera before, you have now seen how good it is and you’ll be amazed at how cheap and available the non bling version is” The rest of them they’ll flog to Leica users who have been denied something compact since the CL/TL days and can hold their nose and buy a Panasonic because it’s a limited edition one in a box that they can take out and polish every Sunday.

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.