Ah here we are again, at the beginning of a RoamingScott redemption arc. Here we are in the forceful “the Zf is a terrible camera and I have not only no use for it, but no understanding why other people like it at all” phase
Keep an eye on this forum for future posts from Scott featuring beautiful, cinematic footage from the Zr.
RoamingScott wrote:
It's important to separate the wheat from the chaff. You are buying access to 6K RED codecs, full stop.
The rest of the camera is a mishmash of good and bad ideas, and ultimately not a housing to be taken seriously. But if you want the codecs above all else, maybe you can live with the pain points. But there are many pain points. I'm excited to see where Nikon takes the line when they produce a pro-level body.
A single 1/4 20 thread, the placement of it being so far back, memory card inside the battery slot, no backup video recording, no full size hdmi, the screen being completely bungled by the cables...these are bad jokes to people that take this stuff seriously. Then no open gate or de-squeeze in the firmware?
The good news is that so far, I've not seen the same noise complaints from the Z6iii....Show more →
Dear Nikon: Please take the ZR body shape and rear screen, swap the controls to be photo-centric, and swap in the Z7ii sensor. That would be the ultimate travel/landscape camera.
Wezre wrote:
Dear Nikon: Please take the ZR body shape and rear screen, swap the controls to be photo-centric, and swap in the Z7ii sensor. That would be the ultimate travel/landscape camera.
Please stop. This is completely disconnected from reality.
jlafferty wrote:
Please stop. This is completely disconnected from reality.
If you were alive prior to March 2024, so was the idea of Nikon buying out RED and releasing a video-focused body with RED codecs. And yet, here we are. Many Nikon users are asking for a small form factor body (like this one) for travel and landscape.
So Nikon supersized a ZVE1 that can’t do FF 4k120, with less DR and inferior AF. It’s a cool start to a new line of hybrid cinema cameras, glad to see more competition in this space with this and the new Canon. Neither will pull anyone away from Sony or anything else, but it’s a good addition if you shoot a lot of video. Sony needs to up their game with the next a7sIII/FX3.
Hilarious. Get outside of the small world that is FM and you will see that the demand is there. The A7C and A7CR have sold well. The users that are buying new cameras in higher volumes and who represent market opportunity for Nikon (younger photographers and content creators) want something smaller.
I mean...this ain't even that bad in my opinion. A lot of the ergo stupidity...minus the memory card placement gets solved with this: https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-cage-kit-for-nikon-zr-5468.html?
And if you need XLR inputs you can buy a Tascam adapter and just connect to to mic port. We got one of these at work and it has made the Z9 more viable for press events where we need to plug into a mult box to grab audio: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1679649-REG/tascam_ca_xlr2d_an_xlr_mic_adapter_for.html
You're basically paying for access to the Red codecs, which could also slot into a workflow for someone that's already in the Red system. It's not the FX3 killer I was expecting, but at the same time I think it's viable enough.
Ignoring its video features, Zr is Nikon's most compact full-frame camera to take photos, and its body style (like texture) matches native lenses much better than Zf.
If an external EVF can be attached, and even better, if the top buttons can be customized to adjust aperture/exposure/iso together with dial, it can be a better choice than Zf for daily walk around.
I had the Z6III and sold it since I didn't like the size (got too used to Leica sized gear) however I was very impressed with the photo and video output of that camera and the ergonomics were good. If you're not doing crazy pro work or looking to maximize dynamic range for landscapes for example, I didn't see any issues with dynamic range or any other output related issues.
This new camera if it delivers what the Z6III but in a smaller package is a potential winner when combined with some of the smaller lenses in Nikon's lineup. The ZF was stylish but unnecessarily big and heavy with poor ergonomics. It's only a shame they didn't bother sticking even a low quality EVF - e.g. Sony A7C series on to it but I think still manageable for a lot of customers.
Not something I'm ready to buy at MSRP but in a few months with discounts or used, it could be nice as a second camera with the 26mm f2.8 or some of Nikon's smaller lenses.
jlafferty wrote:
Ah here we are again, at the beginning of a RoamingScott redemption arc. Here we are in the forceful “the Zf is a terrible camera and I have not only no use for it, but no understanding why other people like it at all” phase
Keep an eye on this forum for future posts from Scott featuring beautiful, cinematic footage from the Zr.
I can have a perfectly fine day until I read one of his know-it-all, it-all-sucks, you-don’t-understand-anything comments. The negativity just oozes from everything he posts, unless he starts the thread. Then it can be quite helpful. Strange…
My exposure to video gear is the unused video part of my mirrorless cameras and the DJI action cam, so I’m thoroughly confused about the differences between the Sony, Canon and Nikon offerings and why I should care.
From what I understand, I can produce YouTube video with just about everything starting with my phone. Then I guess there’s a wedding etc. client category, which I don’t care about. And then there’s Netflix etc, with requirements that go beyond my simple understanding.
joychris wrote:
So Nikon supersized a ZVE1 that can’t do FF 4k120, with less DR and inferior AF. It’s a cool start to a new line of hybrid cinema cameras, glad to see more competition in this space with this and the new Canon. Neither will pull anyone away from Sony or anything else, but it’s a good addition if you shoot a lot of video. Sony needs to up their game with the next a7sIII/FX3.
Inferior AF? Where the heck is that coming from?
Again, as I wrote, it ticks all the right boxes for the vast majority of video creators and opens brilliant opportunities for them to significantly improve the quality of their work without any significant practical downsides if they use a cage (which they all will).
And obviously it’s making a lot of Sony users a bit nervous.
Wezre wrote:
Dear Nikon: Please take the ZR body shape and rear screen, swap the controls to be photo-centric, and swap in the Z7ii sensor. That would be the ultimate travel/landscape camera.
I guess, it works as a stills camera so as-is the size is somewhat compelling. I’m getting dumb ideas about how this would be as a compact stills camera with the 40mm glued to it.
JadedWriter wrote:
I mean...this ain't even that bad in my opinion. A lot of the ergo stupidity...minus the memory card placement gets solved with this: https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-cage-kit-for-nikon-zr-5468.html?
And if you need XLR inputs you can buy a Tascam adapter and just connect to to mic port. We got one of these at work and it has made the Z9 more viable for press events where we need to plug into a mult box to grab audio: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1679649-REG/tascam_ca_xlr2d_an_xlr_mic_adapter_for.html
You're basically paying for access to the Red codecs, which could also slot into a workflow for someone that's already in the Red system. It's not the FX3 killer I was expecting, but at the same time I think it's viable enough....Show more →
Exactly and, now that Nikon has a digital hotshot, it’s probably only a matter of months until Tascam delivers a digital version of their Nikon device that will remove the need to use the audio jack, like they have for Sony.
I use the Tascam on my Z9 when I need to use my high end mic and it’s great.
As far as the FX3 goes, IMHO the ZR will be able to handle 99% of the scenarios with a quality in some ways superior (colors) at half the cost and with a more streamlined package.
Yes, some users will want to stick to the FX3 for some situations. But the bulk of video producers will get exactly what they need at a very affordable price point.
