Nikon Zr is coming

[Kino]

5 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Admittedly only looking on my phone but I wouldn’t know which is which unless I was told.

At the extreme, I am sure the RED camera has a marginally better image/latitude, but for 99% of the time for 99% of real world users needs (the latter of which is not RED’s market of course)…

The 2 best things this camera has is the image quality using the RED raw 12 bit and that screen.

Your eyes do not deceive you. There are some very subtle differences in the skin tonalities, but the major difference between the two images I posted above is in the resolution: 6K vs. 8K.

The Komodo 6K and Komodo X have also been tested against the ZR, but both those cameras suffer from IR pollution in the comparisons. In this regard, the Nikon has an advantage!

[KnightsFan]

4 hours ago, ND64 said:

Mood? I'm just saying we have never seen a cinematic work done by the Undone, and yet he thinks he is the one who defines what cine camera should be. 

I think Gerald got the categorization right, and of all the things you can call the ZR, cinema camera is not one of them. No reason it can't be used for great movies. There's also no reason you can't pull still frames from a Komodo and sell them as photographs without it being a photo camera or even a hybrid. You don't need to be a photographer or a cinematographer to understand categories of tools.

9 hours ago, Kino said:

$2K vs. $15K

Not 16 bit, but not bad!

The only problem here is that R3D NE (12 bit) is likely destined for much greater things, like the 8K Z9 II with a new sensor and better DR. That camera should be arriving in early 2026.

The thing about these comparisons between cheap and expensive cameras is that it kinda works with all cameras. The ZR isn't unique in being indistinguishable from an expensive camera when shot in a controlled environment and viewed in compressed 4K YouTube videos. It's been a few years since I had any concerns about pure image quality from really any camera.

I for one have high hopes for Nikon/Red going forward, which is why I'm relatively disappointed that their first camera is not really ergonomically catered to what I'd like.

[eatstoomuchjam]

35 minutes ago, KnightsFan said:

I think Gerald got the categorization right, and of all the things you can call the ZR, cinema camera is not one of them.

If you're upset about hybrid-styled cameras with somewhat awkward ergonomics being called "cinema camera," you must have been frustrated since 2018 or so. 

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera

I'd be inclined to say that "cinema camera" is just about as meaningless as calling an image "cinematic."  It means plenty of different things to different people.  "How can you call it a cinema camera when it doesn't even have SDI output?"  "That ain't no cinema camera, it has no mounting points on top or the sides!"  "Cinema cameras don't have autofocus" "Cinema cameras need to be dedicated to ultimate image quality and it's not a true cinema camera without 16-bit raw."

The ZR is obviously not going to be the A camera on a lot of professional shoots.  It has no TC, no SDI, bad HDMI, and bad memory card location.  On the other hand, it might finally be fulfilling some of the promise of the Komodo - a small, light crash camera that you easily fit in small spaces - or that you can easily throw at an AC/second shooter to go get some b-roll or a second angle handheld or with a light tripod and have it be a good match SOOC for what you're shooting with your Komodo-X or V-Raptor.  Lack of a physical shutter lock is a bummer for some crash cam use cases.

Sorry it's not for you, regardless!  I'd be willing to bet that the next iterations of the Z6/8/9/etc start working in Redcode NE too.

[KnightsFan]

5 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

If you're upset about hybrid-styled cameras with somewhat awkward ergonomics being called "cinema camera," you must have been frustrated since 2018 or so. 

That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry 🙂

Since you never know on the internet, I'm mostly tongue in cheek with all that. I don't really care what anyone calls anything, I understand marketing always has a dubious relationship with the truth, and I always evaluate purchase decisions based on the capabilities rather than name. (And I said the same thing about the "box" moniker someone slapped on the C50 rumors, so I'm not here bashing Nikon.)

But in seriousness, the broader a term grows, the less valuable it is. If everything is a cinema camera, nothing is a cinema camera.

[mercer]

8 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

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.

 

Or is Mackey playing Depp playing Mackey...

[ND64]

2 hours ago, KnightsFan said:

You don't need to be a photographer or a cinematographer to understand categories of tools.

Thats why The Creator shot on FX3 was so surprising for these  categorizer youtubers. 

Many of mirrorless lenses don't cover the image circle of Raptor's VV sensor. But the actual film makers don't care about the vignette and use them anyway. Its not like "You can use Komodo for still photography". Its like these filmmakers recognize these lenses as cine tools.