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Archive 2018 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread

  
 
zhangyue
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p.3 #1 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


here are a few samples with Z7 and 35mm from a HK user.

35mm seems have a very nice rendering. Remind me RX1, What you think?

Again, these samples are from Flickr, not mine.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/43671507324_cdd83ed4be_h.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1852/29451752567_ee726ddb40_h.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1866/43480789275_8489466da8_h.jpg



Aug 31, 2018 at 11:14 PM
zhangyue
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p.3 #2 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


BTW the Canon FF MILC will be announced soon. here

And Panasonic also rumored to have their version of FF. What if it can take Leica SL glass?

This become very interesting now.



Aug 31, 2018 at 11:23 PM
mcbroomf
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p.3 #3 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


From the posted pics the 35mm/1.8 looks very nice. I saw some pretty horrible onion ring bokeh from the 24-70 though.


Sep 01, 2018 at 04:31 AM
AdaptedLenses
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p.3 #4 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Hard to tell just from those, but if it can run with the RX1, that’d do it for me, I’d sell my RX1 and Sony stuff and get a Z6 and a 35. Otherwise I most use adapted manual glass.

zhangyue wrote:
here are a few samples with Z7 and 35mm from a HK user.

35mm seems have a very nice rendering. Remind me RX1, What you think?

Again, these samples are from Flickr, not mine.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1864/43671507324_cdd83ed4be_h.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1852/29451752567_ee726ddb40_h.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1866/43480789275_8489466da8_h.jpg




Sep 01, 2018 at 09:50 AM
ocean2059
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p.3 #5 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


I am very interested in the Z6/7 but I will wait to see the real reviewer before I order one. AS a RF and DSLR user, I am mostly interested in using mirrorless for alt lenses, specifically Leica R and Contax G lenses. What I found interesting is the new Nikon S lenses. Because of its large mount size, I hope it will set new design path for Nikon of their future lenses and give Nikon the flexibility to develop compact size high performance prime lenses. There is an interesting post by a Leica Guru, Erwin Putt about the Nikon Z, which I find it worth sharing here, http://photo.imx.nl/blog/files/45d7e30e7b4886410b6275107d08f9b1-112.html.


Sep 01, 2018 at 01:13 PM
philip_pj
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p.3 #6 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Erwin's takeaway:

'The technological race will continue for a while and then some manufacturer will realise that the average photographer really wants to take pictures and does not want to be a techno-erotic freak, and who is not served by ever increasing complexity.' (edited a little for easier understanding)




Sep 01, 2018 at 08:34 PM
rico
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p.3 #7 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


zhangyue wrote:
That was golden age of photography world. All three body are memorable. D700 is still my favorite Nikon to date. It offer some sort of perfection that I can totally forget everything at that time. and 5DII is Alt forum body for ZF/ZM and all manual glasses. A900 had the best VF and color out any SLR though I feel both 5dii and D700 also offer one of best color Canon and Nikon ever had.

Please don't forget the D3X that turned Nikon from desperate FF wannabe to King of the Hill. It was released right after the A900 and used the same 24MP sensor with secret Nikon sauce. Today's cameras walk a fine line between high ISO performance and color capture. The D3X had a top ISO of 1600 and, like the A900, produced delicate hues and noise-free tonality at ISO 100. I currently shoot D3X (unmatched JPEG quality), D4 (feeble), A7ii (very decent), D500 (okay).

Thanks so much for taking the time to translate and report from the Chinese sites.



Sep 01, 2018 at 10:11 PM
zhangyue
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p.3 #8 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Mathieu18 wrote:
Hard to tell just from those, but if it can run with the RX1, that’d do it for me, I’d sell my RX1 and Sony stuff and get a Z6 and a 35. Otherwise I most use adapted manual glass.



We definitely need see more samples, However, the bokeh indeed remind me about RX1. I feel the in focus area didn't show RX1 high contrast though. However, there is no Bokeh fringing. (Zeiss ZM distagon 35 has it, RX1 has it) the first sample really show that.
---------------------------------------------

ocean2059 wrote:
I am very interested in the Z6/7 but I will wait to see the real reviewer before I order one. AS a RF and DSLR user, I am mostly interested in using mirrorless for alt lenses, specifically Leica R and Contax G lenses. What I found interesting is the new Nikon S lenses. Because of its large mount size, I hope it will set new design path for Nikon of their future lenses and give Nikon the flexibility to develop compact size high performance prime lenses. There is an interesting post by a Leica Guru, Erwin Putt about the Nikon
...Show more

Thanks for sharing. This is definitely a interesting era. I am beginning to worry Leica though.

rico wrote:
Please don't forget the D3X that turned Nikon from desperate FF wannabe to King of the Hill. It was released right after the A900 and used the same 24MP sensor with secret Nikon sauce. Today's cameras walk a fine line between high ISO performance and color capture. The D3X had a top ISO of 1600 and, like the A900, produced delicate hues and noise-free tonality at ISO 100. I currently shoot D3X (unmatched JPEG quality), D4 (feeble), A7ii (very decent), D500 (okay).

Thanks so much for taking the time to translate and report from the Chinese sites.


You are welcome. I didn't forget D3X, I also remember 1dsMKIII which has the best canon color ever. However those sold at around 8K, out of most users range.


philip_pj wrote:
Erwin's takeaway:

'The technological race will continue for a while and then some manufacturer will realise that the average photographer really wants to take pictures and does not want to be a techno-erotic freak, and who is not served by ever increasing complexity.' (edited a little for easier understanding)



That is definitely my philosophy about photography gear. The simple the better. This doesn't prevent me to have some fun to try new things though

This will be the beginning of a very interesting time, because nobody know what is the card in others hand. Now that Canon's spec are out.

I know there will be a monsoon coming. (mind you, not a good way. I don't know why people will be excited about it. The lenses seems more exciting though) Panasonic is coming as well. I think that one is easier to predict that it will offer best video of all but lens line will be awkward for a while. This(FF) will be the most difficult market now, a real battle field.

Next round will be more predicable from now on. It is interesting that Nikon and Canon are taking this MILC very differently initially though both signaling that they are dead serious but at the same time, also hold their full power at first stage.(make sense though) Nikon seems focus on high IQ with light, high performance lens that for travel and landscape as well as integrating with existing SLR customer. (Maybe with the mind not to put too much financial burden on initial taker. )

Canon seems more focused on exotic glasses for wedding and portrait that can attract people to get in. Neverthless, based on lenses offered, we can see Canon will be serious on MILC. I am sure many Canon user who shoot Sony might consider go back at this time.

In the mean time, Sony seems offer the most mature body line up and lens selection and are definitely still ahead of both C&N for anyone who consider invest MILC from zero.





Sep 02, 2018 at 12:40 AM
rafa1981
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p.3 #9 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


For me it's the sensor performance with old glass (stack, colors) that can make me switch.

Both Canon and Nikon are providing adapters for existing lenses, so they have good reasons to keep similar stack widths to those at their DSLRs. I don't know if this is good or bad.



Sep 03, 2018 at 06:21 AM
rscheffler
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p.3 #10 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Guys, thanks for the eye-AF feedback, much appreciated. Definitely sounds like the third-gen Sony bodies are better. Yes, I did use an a9 for around a month and among the things I shot were a couple NFL games and weddings. Only had the 100-400 and 70-200/2.8 available to use. For sports it was pretty much a sideways move from Canon IDXII and not an overall improvement. Therefore a wash for me. Here eye-AF isn't all that relevant. At the weddings the frustration was how it recovered after losing a face. Part of that may have been the relatively short time I had with the system and not fully getting to know its ins and outs. But it was better than the a7RII. It sounds like there likely will still be some automation-driven decisions by the camera that will conflict with my preferences in potentially fluid, fast paced situations. In my case the fallback reaction is typically manual point selection override to eliminate unwanted surprises.

Being a Canon user I'm definitely following the Canon rumors with interest. So far it seems like a fairly typical Canon introduction of 'new' technology. Put it in a prosumer camera to test the waters, buy some time, then refine in later higher-end products. In the meantime their DSLRs will continue to address the needs of advanced users, despite the slagging they get on the forums. The lenses are IMO teasers to show that Canon will eventually address more demanding users' requirements and potentially stem some of the flow to Sony. For someone like me invested in Canon, it will be enough to keep me a while longer. From my POV the 28-70/2 as a halo lens makes more sense than Nikon's 58/0.95, from a practicality perspective. It will appeal to a broader user base, such as weddings, events, etc., where AF is desirable. But it's probably my least favorite zoom range, therefore low on my want list (but please make a 70-1XX/2 to complement it). I'm not interested in a massive 28/2 lens, or 35/2, or 50/2... I'd rather cherry pick a couple fast, smaller primes within that range. I guess those will eventually come, like the 35/1.8.

Like many others here, the appeal of a FF mirrorless will be for adapting older manual focus lenses. In my case primarily Leica M. I don't expect great performance with wide angle lenses, for the same sensor stack reasons Sony is a poor solution. But, as a go-between my Canon EF lenses and longer Leica M and R lenses, Canon's mirrorless would make a lot more sense for me than adding a Sony body to the mix.

The Nikon 35/1.8 samples look pretty good... if also a bit generic looking in that 'clean, modern rendering' sense. Just seems to be the direction in which everyone is going... Nikon, Sigma, Leica, Voigtlander, Zeiss, etc..



Sep 03, 2018 at 01:52 PM
RexGig0
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p.3 #11 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


joakim wrote:
This weekend I sent a question to Fotodiox and Novoflex what their plans were for adapters for Nikon Z. Fotodiox replied yesterday with a more general answer that their R&D department is working on it and today Novoflex replied that "they will bring out a range of adapters" in October/November.



It is good to read the part about Novoflex.

Thanks!

If Novoflex produces adapters for Leica-R and/or Leica-M lenses, on the Z mount, I may decide to acquire a Z camera earlier than I had previously anticipated.



Sep 03, 2018 at 02:14 PM
charles.K
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p.3 #12 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Thanks Michael for starting this thread! Great information and very balanced perspectives

I agree the eye AF on the A7rII I found unreliable to the point I just used the AF-C with movable square for portraits and events. The time it came unstuck was back lighting almost worse than low lighting. I have tested the A7rIII and it is better but with the GM 85 I still found there was a time delay in the eye AF locking in the eye and some hunting in medium to low lighting. I suspect the FE 85/1.8 is better. I also tried the A9 and it very good with eye AF fast and accurate. The A7III errs towards the A9 in AF performance so it is a great choice. I almost purchased the A7III myself for video clips.

Still I suspect the Z7 in terms of AF will be very good as I have now heard from other people who had the Z7 for an extended period and found it to be excellent. With slower lenses the AF will suffer but until we have the Z7 in hand it is a lot of speculation. I know I was one of the first adopters with the Fuji XT2 and Xpro2 and I was disappointed with the dynamic AF and eye AF in spite of all the glowing reports.

I am still not so convinced of eye AF as when you need it to lock it is close or there is a delay and often quicker to use AF-C with the selected spot. I feel the A9 is very good in this regard and the A7III is good also but processing power is dealing with 24MP's. Once you have high MP's the processing power slows down with the eye recognition algorithm. With the D850 the face detection is very good and the eye is appropriately selected through the algorithm with the OVF. This is what I have heard from the techs at Nikon. I think this is why the dynamic AF is very fast on the D850 at the expense of slightly less accuracy.

My interest is the new Z 35/1.8 and 50/1.8 as both of the these lenses are lacking in the Nikon lineup in terms of the high performance. The shots above with the Z 35/1.8 look great.



Sep 03, 2018 at 03:15 PM
zhangyue
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p.3 #13 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


rafa1981 wrote:
For me it's the sensor performance with old glass (stack, colors) that can make me switch.

Both Canon and Nikon are providing adapters for existing lenses, so they have good reasons to keep similar stack widths to those at their DSLRs. I don't know if this is good or bad.


If your goal is adapt old SLR lens, then you can have a peace of mind. There will be no problem for those. However, we all look forward to see how rangefinder glasses perform on it. If WA is sharp cross frame at f11, It is enough for me. For 50mm and above, as long as there is no funky bokeh for certain lens caused by sensor stack like Sony did, I'd be happy. Given the fact that all people rave the EVF experience, I hope I can finally use my fast manual glass without seeking peaking or magnification, but focus confirmation will be used as always. I will report this as first priority.
---------------------------------------------

rscheffler wrote:
Guys, thanks for the eye-AF feedback, much appreciated. Definitely sounds like the third-gen Sony bodies are better. Yes, I did use an a9 for around a month and among the things I shot were a couple NFL games and weddings. Only had the 100-400 and 70-200/2.8 available to use. For sports it was pretty much a sideways move from Canon IDXII and not an overall improvement. Therefore a wash for me. Here eye-AF isn't all that relevant. At the weddings the frustration was how it recovered after losing a face. Part of that may have been the relatively short time
...Show more

I agree with neutral rendering of 35mm. I know 50mm might have better performance than 35m based on MTF.

I also hold the same view about all those AF technology. I noticed you word your description very carefully about It sounds like there likely will still be some automation-driven decisions by the camera that will conflict with my preferences in potentially fluid, fast paced situations. I agree with you fully. For portrait, I haven't found any latest tech are must that can get something I can't get from any camera body from my D700 years, even Leica M and S.

Most of those praised A9 seems are bird or sports shooters and I have no doubt about its capability. If there is one area need super fast track and focus acquisition, it is sports and bird shooting. When I try to track puffin in Iceland with 70-200f4 and D850, I realize how limited my manual skill can be done there once the little bird is in fly and I was trying to fill the most frame with little bird on fly, the only way to do that is rely on D805's AF. (but 70-200f4 focus speed is still limiting) No way, my manual focus or poor AF will work in that situation. I barely can keep the bird in frame without loose it. However, once they are on ground, manual focus is work perfectly if I choose to.

Having said that, most award winning wild life images or some really good ones I truly enjoy viewing are not those requiring any fancy AF either but years of experience of understanding location, light, timing etc.....

I am surprised to see the quietness of Canon side after reveal spec. Good for Canon, the people are still with Canon seems happy with what they have (they really should IMO) and know what they want and expect. That is all that matters. Endless talk about how this tech or that trick works wonder like never before is really boring.

Are you plan to get a Canon R? I think Canon might price it aggressively. I personally think Z7 is over priced.

RexGig0 wrote:
It is good to read the part about Novoflex.

Thanks!

If Novoflex produces adapters for Leica-R and/or Leica-M lenses, on the Z mount, I may decide to acquire a Z camera earlier than I had previously anticipated.


There will be lots of adapters within a month of Z on customers hand. For manual focus adapting traditional SLR lens, I will rate Z above anything out there now. ergonomics, EVF, flange distance, best FF IQ with no drop bit or filtering raw stuff going on. Way to go.

---------------------------------------------

charles.K wrote:
Thanks Michael for starting this thread! Great information and very balanced perspectives

I agree the eye AF on the A7rII I found unreliable to the point I just used the AF-C with movable square for portraits and events. The time it came unstuck was back lighting almost worse than low lighting. I have tested the A7rIII and it is better but with the GM 85 I still found there was a time delay in the eye AF locking in the eye and some hunting in medium to low lighting. I suspect the FE 85/1.8 is better. I also tried the
...Show more

Please do share your wonderful images here once the camera is in your hand, Charles. You know I am holding the same view about eye AF as you. Most of time, I feel it worked against than for me when I use it, I believer the latest Sony body may make this feature work to the level that most like them. I don't know. It could be another case of blind man with elephant and we two are standing at same position and sharing the same perspective on how things should be done and how to shoot portrait.

I want repeat: I haven't found anything prevent me get the portrait in focus from all the body I used from D700, 800e, 810, DF, 750, 850 or A7, A7R A7RII by using traditional focus way etc.... If I missed, most of time is me who screw up with bad lighting, poor used tech or wrong setting etc...

I formally complained many things on Sony before, but AF was not one of them. The only reason I brought EYE AF up is because pretty much every people make it big deal, some info has to be shared and I would use it when I know it works based on certain situation but it is hardly golden sands like many people make it looks like. IMHO of course.


Edited on Sep 03, 2018 at 11:05 PM · View previous versions



Sep 03, 2018 at 06:09 PM
sebboh
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p.3 #14 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


zhangyue wrote:
I formally complain many things on Sony before, but AF was not one of them. The only reason I brought EYE AF up is because pretty much every people make it big deal, some info has to be shared and I would use it when I know it works based on certain situation but it is hardly golden sands like many people make it looks like. IMHO of course.


from the sony side of things, i've used eye AF with the a9 and a7rii (haven't tried it on the III series models). i did not think it was worth using at all on the a7rii, but it was quite amazing on the a9. using the FE 35/1.4, 55/1.8, and 85/1.8 it has no difficulty tracking small children's eyes as they dart around at 1/30, iso 6400, f/1.4. when they turned completely away and back it had no trouble regaining the eyes. there were a few occasions when it picked the wrong eye, but it is the only AF i have ever thought that i might be willing to use. none of this matters from my perspective though, still don't enjoy shooting AF and don't really like any current AF lenses (except the RX1 lens).



Sep 03, 2018 at 10:57 PM
zhangyue
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p.3 #15 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


sebboh wrote:
from the sony side of things, i've used eye AF with the a9 and a7rii (haven't tried it on the III series models). i did not think it was worth using at all on the a7rii, but it was quite amazing on the a9. using the FE 35/1.4, 55/1.8, and 85/1.8 it has no difficulty tracking small children's eyes as they dart around at 1/30, iso 6400, f/1.4. when they turned completely away and back it had no trouble regaining the eyes. there were a few occasions when it picked the wrong eye, but it is the only AF i
...Show more

Derek, I believe you. At this stage, based on what you and Joe have described, like I said earlier in this thread, this feature must have been mature enough that most people like it. Given the situation I never used latest Sony body to qualify this feature, I won't blindly say it is not a good feature. It must be.

I think I know how those latest Sony will perform based on my D850 AUTO AREA mode experience with face detection on, it is very handy. It will always pick front face, and lock the front eyes or lips or nose etc during OVF shooting...90% of final image either dead on focusing on eyes or on the same focus plane of eyes. With fast focusing lens such f2.8 zoom, I can track my kids full speed running toward me until within 1M range. Even with f1.8g or 1.4E glass I have, they can track my kids with high success rate. I couldn't do that with manual focus.



Sep 04, 2018 at 12:31 AM
jonrock
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p.3 #16 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


The 35 f1.8 looks good. I'm seeing some onion bokeh in some areas but it's not too bad.

I'm interested in seeing how the Loxia lenses and Voigtlander lenses work on this system. I'm actually a Sony/Nikon user but it would be great if I can just put on my Loxia and Voigtlander lenses on an adapter to use on the Nikon Z cameras.



Sep 04, 2018 at 12:43 AM
jonrock
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p.3 #17 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


rafa1981 wrote:
For me it's the sensor performance with old glass (stack, colors) that can make me switch.

Both Canon and Nikon are providing adapters for existing lenses, so they have good reasons to keep similar stack widths to those at their DSLRs. I don't know if this is good or bad.


It's probably good and bad depending on what lenses you want to use. Most of the SLR lenses adapted should work quite well. Rangefinder glass particularly the wide angles will probably have similar issues to the Sony cameras. There is a chance it could be better on the Z6/7 though but I'm not sure until someone tests a wide range of lenses on the new system.



Sep 04, 2018 at 12:48 AM
zhangyue
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p.3 #18 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Since we have discussed about Sony and Z a lot. inevitably of course. I want to share my thought about it.

I did just mentioned in my previous post about how fancy D850 AF can be, but this is hardly the reason I choose D850. There are so many details implemented in body worked really well in field. It has help me simplify my process and I can focus more on shooting. I won't think this AF tracking alone is a deal breaker or maker for me. I don't rate those in-focused running images than anything more than they are in focus. We all know our best images are not from fancy AF and It make no sense to say: Sony A7III or A7RIII can't track this good as D850, they are failure, they are one generation behind D850.

It is just one of the features when you consider a system to work with long term based on your personal need.

Both Z and A have their own merits depend on your need.

Hopefully people will share their personal view on Z once It is available. I do have high expectation but I don't have blind loyalty. people don't need agree with each other with different perspective but experience from other will benefit to anyone who want to know.



Sep 04, 2018 at 12:51 AM
retrofocus
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p.3 #19 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


rscheffler wrote:
But, as a go-between my Canon EF lenses and longer Leica M and R lenses, Canon's mirrorless would make a lot more sense for me than adding a Sony body to the mix.


Really? After reading about the rumored Canon FF MLC, I pretty much excluded it from my list of choices - and I also still have EF lens gear. But no IBIS, and a sensor likely not on par with Sony/Nikon choices, it is a bummer. I doubt this Canon FF MLC will perform better with M lenses than the comparable options from Nikon and Sony. The only pro I can potentially see with this Canon FF MLC is the price - it is likely going to be one of the cheapest options out there after release.



Sep 04, 2018 at 06:03 AM
rico
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p.3 #20 · Alt forum Nikon Z resource, discussion and image thread


Hard to imagine that a Canon contender is arriving imminently but I'll entertain the notion, especially since my EOS kit is still handy. The big question is whether Canon and Nikon will transplant their respective DSLR DNA to MILC. I want the same handling, controls and response of a DSLR, not a video camera that takes stills (Sony). I actually prefer the larger body and grip rather than the RF body factor of MILC so far. Nikon Z, so far as we know it, is getting an overall C grade from me.


Sep 04, 2018 at 08:34 AM
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