p.1 #1 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
I have a Zf and I would LOVE if it added the ability to have a 4:3 image area in the settings, that I could choose. I do this all the time on my other cameras as I prefer that aspect ratio to 3:2. The other cameras (Sony, Fuji) allow me to compose in the 4:3 view, and the raw images when downloaded look like they're 4:3, but when you hit the crop button in Lightroom you can see that the whole 3:2 image is there if you want it. This, to me, is the perfect way of implementing it.
Any hope of a 4:3 (or other) image area settings in the Zf or other Nikon cameras?
p.1 #2 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
The lack of alternative aspect ratios on Nikon and other modern cameras is very disappointing. Seems like it'd be easy to implement...if only with crop lines superimposed on the FF view.
p.1 #3 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
I don't have high hopes, Nikon has been quite slow with introducing new aspect ratios: 5:4 came with the D800, the D850 added 1:1, the Z7 added 16:9.
And the way Nikon implements aspect ratios also sucks compared to other brands, as Nikon cameras throw away the RAW data outside the cropped area whereas other manufacturers just mark the aspect ratio settings but keep the full RAW file.
Generally, I don't get why manufacturer's leave out some aspect ratios while adding others..
E.g. Panasonic S1R II:
3:2, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 2:1, 65:24 - great selection, but why no 5:4?
Fuji GFX 100RF:
3:2, 1:1, 4:3, 5:4, 7:6, 16:9, 65:24; 6:17 - probably best selection on the market, but why no 2:1 and instead two similar panoramic modes (2.71:1 and 2.83:1)?
p.1 #4 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
5:4 is not available on the Z8 or Zf. It is available on the D850 and D6. I think Nikon's way of implementing crops with alternative aspect ratios makes sense from the perspective of improving burst performance as it saves some memory buffer and storage. However, for non-action photography applications, alternative implementations which merely store the cropping mask as metadata would allow recovery of the cropped areas in post provided that the communication works between the camera and editing software. Nikon would then need to implement this in NX Studio and make it work with other major third-party editing software. I personally don't really care about these features as the optimal aspect ratio of the image is dependent on the specific content of the image and would vary on an individual image basis. I don't always crop images individually, if the default 2:3 works I typically use thar but if there is a significant composition or content advantage, I change the cropping and aspect ratio to reach a satisfactory result. However, I usually avoid going for more panoramic than 16:9. These aspect ratio and other cropping decisions I make in post and I try to leave enough space around the subject to allow these decisions to be made afterwards.
I can see that for photographers who work with the aim of producing images with a specific aspect ratio, selectable viewfinder masks would be helpful and make editing more streamlined. Sony offers this as a paid firmware feature on some cameras. For me this kind of a decision usually cannot be made at the shooting stage.
fjablo wrote:
I don't have high hopes, Nikon has been quite slow with introducing new aspect ratios: 5:4 came with the D800, the D850 added 1:1, the Z7 added 16:9.
And the way Nikon implements aspect ratios also sucks compared to other brands, as Nikon cameras throw away the RAW data outside the cropped area whereas other manufacturers just mark the aspect ratio settings but keep the full RAW file.
Generally, I don't get why manufacturer's leave out some aspect ratios while adding others..
E.g. Panasonic S1R II:
3:2, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 2:1, 65:24 - great selection, but why no 5:4?
Fuji GFX 100RF:
3:2, 1:1, 4:3, 5:4, 7:6, 16:9, 65:24; 6:17 - probably best selection on the market, but why no 2:1 and instead two similar panoramic modes (2.71:1 and 2.83:1)?
p.1 #5 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
I also would love this option, especially when shooting alongside medium format cameras like the Fujifilm GFX series so it's easy to keep framing consistent.
p.1 #6 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
As I’ve said 100 times, ratios (current or extra) are pointless on Nikon cameras until they stop cropping the RAW file. They are a decade behind the curve here. No one wants their RAW irreversibly changed just because they want to shoot a certain ratio.
p.1 #7 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
Agree with others saying:
* Nikon’s crop implementation is stupid.
* They aren’t the only one that do it stupidly.
* There are some that do it much better.
I’m not going to hold my breath that Nikon (or any other Japanese camera company) is going to change arbitrary decisions they made decades ago just because it is now clear there are better decisions to be made now. That said, I’ll admit they seem at least not as bad as in the past, so I probably shouldn’t say “never”.
I’m at least happy that there are some Nikon cameras that now provide “grid line” settings which are actually cropping frame lines instead of grids. On the Zf at least there is a 5:4 grid option, which is a preferred aspect ratio for me, that allows me to compose while not throwing away RAW data.
p.1 #8 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
I didn't realize there are composition mask options for 4:5 and 9:16 in the Zf and Z8 (I am sure other models as well.) So basically there are crop options where the raw file is cropped to optimize burst performance and storage, and visual composition masks to help compose to alternative aspect ratios that the user can choose as needed (without cropping the RAW file). I would imagine that most users' needs would be covered by these, even though the exact aspect ratio of 3:4 is not available.
kwalsh wrote:
Agree with others saying:
* Nikon’s crop implementation is stupid.
* They aren’t the only one that do it stupidly.
* There are some that do it much better.
I’m not going to hold my breath that Nikon (or any other Japanese camera company) is going to change arbitrary decisions they made decades ago just because it is now clear there are better decisions to be made now. That said, I’ll admit they seem at least not as bad as in the past, so I probably shouldn’t say “never”.
I’m at least happy that there are some Nikon cameras that now provide “grid line” settings which are actually cropping frame lines instead of grids. On the Zf at least there is a 5:4 grid option, which is a preferred aspect ratio for me, that allows me to compose while not throwing away RAW data....Show more →
p.1 #9 · Any hope of 4:3 crop option on Nikon cameras?
With Canon and Sony, there are masks so that you see the 4 x 5 ratio, and when processing you can leave it as is or expand to use the whole sensor area.
Makes sense to me.
