Castorp

I am excited about this new Zeiss camera. I love the design.

The interface looks great too. Why is it that Japan’s designers always insist on such cluttered design? I love the interface on the Leica SL, the Hasselblad X1D and now this Zeiss.

11 hours ago, Simon Young said:

More autofocus tests with the Z7 and some adapted lenses. Looks promising!

 

? 

1 hour ago, liork said:

This is a 4K camera so you have to judge it through a 4K screen. Any other way is a joke.

If you want to peep, then yes.

As far as other things, like seeing the green in the moonlit grass, or how well balanced  the various light sources look in that video and how lovely the overall image looks, no you don’t need a 4K screen.

Happy peeping! 

4 hours ago, jonpais said:

I’m sorry, but that is the funniest comment I’ve read in the past 38 minutes. Like, we all might as well shoot with a potato then in that case. ?

Apart from the fact that filmmakers interested in this or any other camera will in all likelihood be viewing content on anything other than a smartphone.

Really and truly, this ‘most ppl this, most ppl that’ type of reasoning doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. ?

True that.

Didn’t somebody already make the potato joke? ??

I’m pleased to entertain you, but why would you shoot with a potato? Why not shoot with a camera with a beautiful image? 

Somebody said “you have to judge through 4K screen” which I  think is nonsense. That’s the context of my comment.

It is always good to remember to have some perspective. That’s all. 

12 minutes ago, deezid said:

A feature film I just finished. Many shots in the trailer up to ISO6400. Everything shot on the GH5 (two shots on the DJi Phantom 4 Pro and one shot on the GoPro 6)

Still wouldn't want to continue shooting on the GH5, since the Blackmagic Pocket 4k and Fuji X-T3 look way better while the new Nikons look a few steps back.


This was shot on the X-T3 with the standard sharpening setting which actually looks great.

So if you do sharpening, do it right. ?

The film you worked on looks cool! 

Thats a very different kind of grade though. In the footage from the Z6 I see detail in the shadows. There is basically no light and yet I see detail everywhere, and most importantly, the image looks really good. 

 In your trailer the shadows are clipped to black. 

1 minute ago, deezid said:

Nikon Fanboy?
What Nikon did here is as unimpressive in terms of footage as my phone or Zcam 2.
Digital looking af.

If you want to do some serious (non-digital looking) film work, Fuji and Blackmagic have way better options coming soon.

Stop with the name calling please. Most viewing is done on smartphone screens and that will be the case for the foreseeable future. 

2 minutes ago, liork said:

It was shot in ISO 8000 and thats what we judge. And the remarks about "most whatching is done on 1080p" is not relevanat because in the very near future, it will change.

BS

Most final viewing doesn’t happen on a 4K screen. Just as a lot of music listening doesn’t happen on studio monitors. 

It is filmed in moon light. 

12 hours ago, Eric Calabros said:

I'm sure you guys can grade better, but I loved the footage

https://vimeo.com/290295765

 

It looks incredible. 

The iPhone XR has the same camera and processor as the XS and is something like 850$. Albeit without the 50mm equiv and with less premium materials and lesser screen. But it’s different from previous “cheap iPhones” like the 5C where you’d get older processors and older cameras.

The XR internals are the same as the more expensive model. So to say it will cost 1500$ to get the latest tech isn’t true.

Apple products have never been about the race to the bottom. I don’t think they’ll ever change that strategy. They make the product they want to make and then charge for it. It is a successful strategy and I’ve always bought their products for the functionality and experience they offer. I couldn’t care less about brand prestige. 

The iPhone 7 is still a good machine with a competitive camera. Costs 450$. 

The Pixel is the first Android phone I seriously considered. Looks like a great phone. But I rather pay with my cash than with my privacy so personally I don’t like using anything from Google or other ad brands. YMMV.

True. But a smartphone is a lot more than a camera. So which gadget provides the most value could be debated. 

The best camera is the one you have with you.  

The cameras in the new iPhones look really good. I’ve always found Apple’s AWB head and shoulders above anyone else’s (phones and camera makers) as well as superior colour science. 

Pretty excited about computing playing a larger role in photography. I feel camera makers are really dragging their feet introducing software correction and augmentation. They’re still seem stuck to the idea of analogue correction in lenses. 

Also excited about DOF simulation becoming really good in the latest iPhones. 

Means camera makers will have to find other ways to improve. Soon it won’t be possible to tell a “professional” camera from a phone from looking at de-focus in an image. 

1 XQD slot is not the same as 1 SD slot.

38 minutes ago, Django said:

FYI both lenses share an 11 element 9 group design. Canon's RF35mm is said to have "remarkably similar MTF characteristics to those of the excellent EF35mm f/1.4L lens" in a smaller, lighter package. It can focus closer than Nikons and also has IS, Macro & extra control ring. All that for $300 cheaper.

Sounds great. However, an L lens it is not. It is also very small but of course might still be great.

Typically more corrected lenses are a bit larger. And indeed, as I wrote, the new Nikkors are larger than typical 1.8 lenses. I don’t think that’s because Nikon can’t make small and cheap lenses like the Nikkor 50mm 1.8G or actually Nikon’s whole line up of 1.8G primes - all inexpensive and really good. 

I’m pretty certain this new 50mm is in another league from either the 50mm 1.8G or the 1.4G for that matter. 

It’s very possible the Canon 35 is great. Usually though, something has to give, either size or price or a combination. It’s a balance of things and as I wrote I think the S lenses balance appears to be extremely clever. At least to me. YMMV. 

I’m pretty certain there is a lot less glass in the Canon 35. It’s smaller and they have to fit both macro and IS in there. The macro would suggest some optical compromise has been made (or else why not make all normal lenses macro lenses?) Is it weather sealed? 

I think it’s also important to stress that 1 slot doesn’t necessarily equal 1 slot.

1 XQD is order of magnitude more reliable than 1 SD.

The discussion right now is as if the Nikon Z and Canon R were equals with their 1 slot but they’re not at all. 

I also feel the lens line up Nikon starts with is much more practical and promising than Canons. 

Rather than the traditional high/low - a cheap not so good but small 1.8 OR a great, large and expensive 1.4/1.2 Nikon seems to deliver a larger than usual 1.8, priced in the middle with absolutely top class optical performance and weather sealing. 

I always preferred the way Leica did this. The Summilux aren’t necessarily better than the Summicron. They’re just faster and subsequently more expensive.

The new Canon RF 35mm isn’t an L lens. It’s the same old ‘sell inferior slower glass at lower price’. 

In contrast, the 35mm 1.8 S is S-line, which is th Z counterpart to L lenses. It’s larger than a typical 35mm 1.8 suggesting more lenses and higher optical performance. It’s weather sealed.

But it’s not huge and heavy, I’d say it’s a good compromise. Both price wise and size wise. Compare with a Sony 35mm f1.4.

Same goes for the 24-70 f4 S. rumour has it it’s as sharp or better than the 24-70 f2.8 G Nikkor. Sure a 24-105 has a longer range but it’s bigger and heavier and importantly isn’t consistent with 2.8 zooms. Many have two zooms. A slower f4 is nice to have for travel and personal use. I for one am pretty happy about consistency, that way my visualisation isn’t fucked with. 

Nikons strategy doesn’t look as sexy on paper as Canons. But looks much much more intelligent to me. Like, who really wants to carry that f2 zoom? Who really wants to carry that 1.2 or spend over two grand on it? I sure do not. I think Nikon’s 0.95 is equally ridiculous - it’s to make headlines. Those fast lenses sell systems. They make people feel excited. They entertain a fantasy. The same reasons car makers are involved in racing. 

I think, I hope, that Nikon has a sleeper hit in its 24-70 f4 and it’s two f1.8 primes. 

Photography is coming home.

Had it been an APSC camera the lenses would have been smaller and cheaper. The camera would have been smaller and cheaper too. I’m sure the video from the R looks fantastic but it doesn’t make sense as a hybrid camera to have that kind of crop. I mostly take stills and I always try to learn to visualise my focal lengths before raising the camera. That’s near impossible if my 50mm is no longer a 50mm when I switch to video. If I would buy the R I would use it as a 1080p camera only, for full sensor read out. 

I can’t stand fully articulated screens. They’re pretty much a deal breaker for me. Reason? Takes much longer time to flip out and needs tuning. I need to twist the the thing out and the turn the screen to the right position.

With a simple flip out screen it’s one movement, just like opening the finder on my 500CM.

I can’t deal with vloggers who act as if their very specific selfie needs are a general thing. I almost never point the camera at myself and if I would the smartphone app is better since it now only shows me the cameras view but also offers remote exposure control.

The Fujifilm mechanism for the X-H1 is the best I’ve handled.

I also do not understand why many vloggers advocate for the full articulation in all the cameras. It’s not like I jump into GH5 threads and whine and scream about the screen and how I hope they remove it in the GH6 or “I will never buy one”. 

The speed and convenience of a flip out is superior and I bet benefit many more photographers than an articulated does. 2 moves vs 1. Adds up over time. 

Is the screen E-Ink?

I realised there is no PASM-dial and no marked controls like on Fujifilm. So does the screen show which mode the camera is on also when turned off? Otherwise very strange choice of ergonomics with just a power dial on the left. Nikon’s design with a mode dial there makes more sense to me.

I love the second control ring on the lens. Almost want to buy an R just for that. 

Canons rf 35mm looks great.

Wish Nikon would have opened up with a 35mm f2.8 pancake for 500$. With that huge mount they’ll be able to make very good pancakes. 

Another cool option would be a 28mm (same FOV as smartphones we’re all getting used to). Make it f4 or even 5.6. Should make it inexpensive to design and produce. The AF would be blazing at f2.8 or f4. Perfect walk about lens the size of a body cap for 300$.

I’m sure they’ll show up at some point. 

Nikon Z looks the best out of the new offerings to me. I think the lenses are perfect too. 

The faster primes will be 2000$ or more I bet. How is it good to launch with lenses costing more than two grand?

F1.8 is fast enough. More importantly it keeps the lens somewhat small. 

As usual it seems many lust for bragging rights rather than practicality. 

Nikon Z looks like the most solid. They have the lenses most people need in the beginning (which isn’t fast exotic and expensive bragging glass). They got the fast zooms and two extremely fast 50’s down the line. 

Lol

sorry for the typo, obviously meant f1.8 primes, not f8.

@jonpais 

yeah of course, MTF is quite different from an actual photograph, but they might actually be incredible lenses, as is indicated. To me this is more exciting than an f0.95 or extreme new specs. “The worlds best 50mm” the apo 50 f2, is a summicron, not a summilux. 

I don't understand why there are complaints about Nikon Z's line up of lenses. The specs don't look as exciting as say Canon R's launch line up but seem more usable and affordable  to me. The MTF numbers are crazy good. If true the f1.8 primes are monsters. I'd rather they launch with lenses good for general purpose photography, like an f.8 prime, than exotic specialist stuff like f1.2 (scheduled to appear in a couple years). 

A good 50mm equivalent prime. Aperture doesn’t matter as long as the lens is compact. 

The most recent Manfrottos often have options for Arca Swiss. Check out the just announced Befree GT live.