Updated Software Recommendation Page

Updated my software recommendation page here with a handful of new entries under the general productivity zone.

• Musicbee: my go to music player for playing back offline music and audio files, as well as using the portable version of it to make a simple music player on-the-go.

• Obsidian: a highly customizable Markdown language visualizer software, and depending on how you customize it or what plug-ins you add to it, it could assist with and handle with a huge variety of use cases, depending on the user’s needs. I have to admit I do not use the full features of it, but the backlinking ability itself is a huge help is managing my notes and sorting out my thoughts.

• Localsend: a decentralized direct peer-to-peer (or device-to-device) file transfer tool, which is useful for sending files without passing through a central server.

Hope the information helps!

Explanations about Image Resolution (DPI or PPI)

Thought of penning this down as a reference for anyone who is confused about image resolution (DPI or PPI), since I think there is a lot of misunderstanding regarding this topic, especially regarding the image resolution setting found in most image processing software when exporting.

To first lay down the basic terms for this discussion

• Image resolution refers to how many dots-per-inch (DPI) or pixels-per-inch (PPI) - effectively meaning how many dots or pixels are represented in 1-inch of display media.

• Image size refers to the dimensions of an image - for example the number of pixels of the length and height of an image.

The term PPI is a newer term, that became common from screen manufacturers’ usage to showcase how sharp (i.e. how fine the pixels were) a screen is. DPI on the other hand was a term used for a long time to discuss the image resolution of an image (either digital or printed) as well as for printer’s resolving power. However, most people or software do use these 2 terms interchangeably when talking about image resolution, so to simplify things we will just use DPI here.

Now a very common statement is: “The higher the DPI the sharper the image.”

There is no argument - this statement is true, but not for the saved “image resolution” setting within the image file, but rather the resultant DPI from printing the image.

What do I mean by that?

The DPI value itself is a ratio of the one dimension of the image size in pixels to its size in inches, and can be used for converting or calculating one or the other.

To put it mathematically,

• Image Size (pixels) / Image Size (inches) = DPI

Any two of these values are needed to calculate the third value, and specifying or locking two values would vary the third.

Here are some examples and comparisons:

1. I print an image with dimensions 3000 x 3000 pixels at 300 DPI, so the resultant print is 10 x 10 inches.
   The same image is printed at 100 DPI, and the resultant print is 30 x 30 inches.
   We know that a higher DPI is sharper, and you can imagine how a same origin image always look more pixelated when printed larger.
   In this case we have Image Size (pixels) and DPI, which controls the final print output.

2. I want to print 10 x 10 inches, and to maintain sharpness I set my image resolution to 300 DPI.
   This means that my images would be saved or exported to 3000 x 3000 pixels.
   A side note from this is that my original image size should be at least 3000 x 3000 pixels, so that it can be resized down to 3000 x 3000 pixels to maintain 300 DPI. Any smaller image (say 2000 x 2000 pixels) would be upscaled to 3000 x 3000 pixels, and thus losing some sharpness and clarity.

In these two examples, we have only the dimensions of the image size in one unit, and use DPI to convert the other unit for input or output.

Now what if we set BOTH the input size and output size?

• I have an image size at 3000 x 3000 pixels, and I know I am going to print it on a 10 x 10 inch paper.
  I have now the following options:

  • I can choose not to set the print resolution, and the resultant print would be in 300 DPI.

  • I can set print resolution at 300 DPI, and the resultant print would be the same as above.

  • I can set print resolution at 600 DPI, at which the software would upscale the image to 6000 x 6000 pixels to maintain 600 DPI for a 10 x 10 inch print, and then finally print the upscaled image at 10 x 10 inch. This image would look very similar, if not identical, to the above two options.

  • I can set the print resolution at 100 DPI, and the software would resize the image to 1000 x 1000 pixels before printing it out at 10 x 10 inches. This would lead to a softer print as compared to the previous examples.

With these explanations in place, now we can continue with the following deductions:

• By setting both the print size and the original image size, the resultant print DPI can just be determined by the ratio relationship. This resultant print DPI is what determines how “sharp” a printed image looks - the higher the better.

• If we set the print DPI to any number that does not correlate perfectly to the image size or print size, a resize (downscale or upscale) would happen and there might be loss of quality involved. While this may be useful when sending it out to a third party printing service, if printing directly from source image it is always better to leave the print DPI field empty if your resultant print DPI from the original size is above your requirements.

And with this comes the next question: “Does the image resolution field of an image mean anything?”

As mentioned, a digital image will always have its image size in pixels, and the stored DPI value is there to convert it to print size if the print size is not specified. Similarly, if you specify a print size, the stored DPI value is there to determine the image size to save as, so that when you print the image as it is it would be at the print size you previously specified.

However, just changing the “image resolution” field within an image file does not change the image at all - as mentioned it is a ratio used for conversion between image size and print size, so unless you specify a print size as well, regardless of what number you put in there the original image would not be affected at all.

You can test this out by opening an image, and changing just the “image resolution” field and saving it - the image size (and file size for that matter) should remain exactly the same.

Printing to a specific print size from an image, the “image resolution” field does not mean anything at all, and what matters is if you print it at its native resolution or you set a print DPI on the printer output.

So to summarize everything,

• The “image resolution” field within an image file is there to help convert from pixel size to print size when print size is not specified.

• Just changing the “image resolution” field within an image does not alter the image in any way, unless the print size is also specified (in this case original image would be resized accordingly).

• By specifying a print size from an image’s native pixel dimensions, the resultant resolution of the print can be used to determine how sharp a print is - this is in fact what the first statement, “The higher the DPI the sharper the image.”, refers to.

New Flexible Color Picture Control

I mentioned in my previous entry that I was quite intrigued about the new Flexible Color Picture Control when the Z6III was first announced, and during the touch-and-try event I managed to get some hands-on experience using the picture controls and spoke to some of the staff regarding its development and implementation.

As a brief introduction, picture control profiles are selectable profiles within the camera when shooting (both stills and video), which comes with a set of options that the user can fine tune to their liking for a certain look, and these settings are applied to live view previews (when Apply Settings to Live View/Show Effects of Settings are turned on), applied directly to saved JPG/HEIF files, and also used for the saved JPG previews within the RAW file.

In recent years Nikon has introduced more picture control profiles, such as creative picture controls that gives a more distinct look to the images via color casts and more manipulated tone curves, or multiple monochrome picture controls for different black and white looks - very similar to what other manufacturers do for film simulations or the likes.

And now what they are doing with the new Flexible Color Picture Control is to bring the level of color customization a step further to allow users to fine tune color casts, color blending, color grading on top of tone curve (contrast) and sharpness settings.

So before I continue, no, this is not a unique breakthrough or a game-changer of any sorts (yeah we all dislike this term don’t we), since other manufacturers usually have something similar in their cameras too.

But its implementation is something that I think is intriguing and am keenly interested to see how it will unfold.

As of writing, although the Z6III is the only camera that allows you to select Flexible Color in its picture control settings, I foresee it would come to other Expeed 7 bodies via a firmware update in the near future, like how the extra monochrome or rich tone portrait profiles were added via firmware updates to the Z8.

Even if the body does not support Flexible Color picture controls now, by using the official Nikon RAW development software, NX Studio (version 1.7.0 and above), you can now apply the new picture control to any Nikon RAW files (make sure you choose “Latest Picture Control” in the dropdown menu), and use it to color grade your photos within NX Studio.

Now comes the interesting part - your “recipes” can be then saved and exported, and with the upcoming Nikon Imaging Cloud service, users can share their flexible color picture profiles with others, and also download those created by other independent users or those done in collaboration with Nikon.

More information regarding how to use NX Studio to apply, export or import the new Flexible Color picture control can be viewed on Nikon’s official guide here.

Truth be told, I know NX studio is not the first choice of a RAW developer for a majority of photographers due to speed issues and lack of shortcut key customizations, and I am not in any way trying to convince any one here to move to NX Studio for full RAW development. But it can now be used as a powerful tool to create, tweak or import custom color grading profiles for your camera, and when the in-camera support comes for the other Expeed 7-based bodies, it would be useful in many workflows, especially those of dedicated JPG shooters. On top of that, using the flexible color profiles of other users also gives a chance to experiment with trying out different looks, and also learning how such looks are achieved by looking at how the color settings and tone curves are tweaked.

Spring Is Finally Here

Seems like after a long delay, spring is finally here.

March had been riddled with strange weather patterns this year, starting with warm temperatures at the start of the month, and then suddenly having steep temperature drops starting from mid-March.

The bizarre weather pattern has caused the famed sakura trees to bloom very late this year, with Tokyo announcing the official start of blooming only just a few days ago.

As the temperature stabilizes and the flowers start going into their full blooms within the next few days, without a doubt it will be a spectacular sight to see.

While I have no exact authority to say this, I would just like to put this out here - please be nice and considerate when enjoying the view, and as much as you want to get a picture perfect shot, please do not pull the branches or flowers, or worse shake the tree just for your 5 seconds of fame.

I have had seen enough bad behavior regarding people trying to get their perfect shot through means of trespassing private areas or doing inconsiderate things like climbing trees or what not, so I really do hope that such behavior can be eradicated so that everyone can enjoy the views and be respectful of nature itself.

So yup, be considerate, be mindful of others, respect privacy and rules, and go ahead and enjoy the splendid views of Japan’s beautiful spring scenery!

Hardware Monitor Calibration and ICC Profiles

Just chanced upon this video while looking for some other information regarding ICC profiles earlier on, and thought that it might be an interesting share to post here.

Q&A on Switching ICC Profiles on Hardware Calibrated Displays (opens external YouTube link)

This video talks specifically about why ICC profiles are still required even though a display is hardware calibrated and have LUTs stored within the monitor, and under what circumstances should users change the ICC profile.

While the video uses a hardware calibration capable BenQ display, the concepts and insights shared here are applicable to most, if not all, hardware calibration capable displays (like the EIZOs with Color Navigator).

Please take note that the principles and concepts shared are not applicable to software based ICC profiling with LUTs by using a hardware display calibration device, but rather for a display that is capable of saving LUTs within the display itself.

To briefly summarize the main points in the video,

• A hardware calibrated monitor should have an accompanying ICC profile, which usually contains only the gamut information of the calibrated display.

• Changing just the brightness of the display while all other gamut/color settings are kept identical do not require a change in ICC profile.

• Changing to a calibration slot with a different gamut (like from sRGB to AdobeRGB), the corresponding ICC profile has to be selected and loaded into the OS.

For EIZO users, if Color Navigator is active when you change the calibration slots, the proper ICC profile would be loaded into the OS automatically.

So to extrapolate the information from this video a little,

• When using a hardware calibrated monitor (not same model, but the exact same monitor) on multiple PCs, it is advised to load the ICC profile on all the PCs so that the OS and software know how to map the colors to the display’s gamut.

• It is simpler to just calibrate to the widest gamut the display can show (native in most cases), and let the ICC-aware software you are using handle the conversion of colors when the proper corresponding ICC profile for the native gamut is loaded.

I think Art, the author behind this video, did a wonderful job explaining and demonstrating, and this video is definitely worth your time taking a look at if you are running a color managed workflow.

Live View Exposure Preview Settings for Nikon Mirrorless Cameras

Just remembered that I did not write an update to my previous blog post requesting for a quality of life update in the live view exposure preview settings for the cameras.

To briefly recap, the initial batch Nikon Z mirrorless bodies that were based on the Expeed 6 CPU (Z5, Z6, Z7, Z6II, Z7II, Z30, Z50, Zfc) have the option to turn on or off live view exposure preview (under custom settings), which simulates and shows changes in the captured images’ exposure when shutter speed/aperture/ISO is changed.

However even when set to “On”, whenever a strobe or TTL-compatible commander is detected in the hotshoe, this setting would be nullified and switched off as the cameras assume that it would be used in a studio setting; i.e. it is a low light environment with strobes as the main light source so live view exposure preview is not needed.

This however creates a slight inconvenience for people using strobes or on-camera flashes as fill light, as we still want to know and expose for the ambient light, and the strobes are just there to fill in the shadows. I mentioned previously that I got around by setting one Fn button to toggle the a “Forced Flash Off” function, and use it to quickly check for ambient exposure.

With the Expeed 7 bodies (Z8, Z9 and Zf as of writing), this particular feature has been improved, with the user being able to now decide between having it automatically turned off when a strobe is attached, or keep live view exposure preview on even with strobes attached - exactly what I had been clamoring for!

But with Firmware 1.60 for the Z6II and Z7II, this particular setting is now available and does really improve the handling and efficiency, and I personally am really glad that user feedback had gotten through to them.

As this setting is slightly obscured with slightly different names depending on the CPU version, I have briefly compiled the instructions on how to check and activate them here:

• Z6II/Z7II (FW1.60 and above) - go to Custom Settings d9 “Apply settings to live view”, choose “On”, press the right d-pad key, and choose either “Always” for persistent preview, or “Only when flash is not used” for automatic toggling. Detailed instructions can be read on this official page.

• Z8/Z9/Zf - this option is available to all these 3 bodies from their initial production firmware, under the name “View Mode (Photo Lv)” within the Custom Settings menu, but their exact location in the menu is dependent on current firmware version - as of writing, Z8 FW2.00 is under d9, Z9 FW5.00 is under d10, Zf FW1.10 is under d9. Select “Show effects of settings”, and press the right d-pad button to choose between “Always” for persistent exposure preview or “Only when flash is not used” for automatic toggling.

As of now the 3 DX bodies (Z30, Z50, Zfc), as well as the first generation FX bodies (Z5, Z6, Z7) did not get an update to their live view exposure preview setting, so unfortunately they still have an automatic toggle to Off whenever a flash is detected in the hotshoe. I would certainly be elated if an update comes out for the first generation FX bodies, though definitely not keeping my hopes too high for that.

Detailed List of Nikon Lens Hoods

I would like to share this useful information on older Nikon lens hoods.

A list of Nikon lens hoods, originally compiled by Rick Housh, and further maintained by Ed van de Zilver currently, consists of very in depth information about the lens hoods made specifically for the older Nikon lenses.

The list can be accessed directly on Ed van de Zilver’s website here.

[Update 28/03/2025: The page on Ed van de Zilver’s site seems to have gone down for several months now, and since I had gotten prior permission from him, I have reproduced his list on my page here. If anyone knows how I can contact him again please let me know.]

While it does not cover the more current bayonet hoods (HB- prefix hoods), which anyway is very specific in shape and size to their respective lenses, it is a useful reference to know which lens hoods to get for older manual focus or AF-D lenses.

The list also goes one step further and includes two extra information, which is extremely handy to know - the diameter of the front of the lens hoods, and the depth of the lens hood.

I say this because most of the older lens hoods now are now out of production, and may be hard to find even on the used market.

So if you look for after-market third party generic lens hoods, knowing the original front diameter and depth of the lens hood can give a good estimation on whether a generic lens hood would cause vignetting on your lens.

** Side note: Just in case you are wondering what the prefixes of Nikon lens hoods mean:

• HN- : Screw-in Lens Hood (nejikomi)

• HS- : Snap-on Lens Hood

• HR- : Rubber Lens Hood

• HK- : Slip-on Lens Hood (kabuse)

• HB- : Bayonet Lens Hood

Nikon Z8 Firmware 2.00 (Auto Image Rotation)

Z8’s FW 2.00 introduced a new setting, Auto Image Rotation under the Playback Menu, and as I was going through the options setting up my camera, I thought that this option sounded pretty confusing, especially since the next option just below is it called Auto-Rotate Pictures, and thought perhaps I could do some explaining.

Anyway it seems like what Auto Image Rotation does is to include or exclude rotation(orientation) data (most probably in the EXIF) when the image is saved. This data is then used when loading the images in the computer, so that images shot in vertical orientation can be automatically rotated and displayed properly as shot.

Similarly, the next setting, Auto-Rotate Pictures, if turned on, would use the same embedded rotation data to rotate vertical images during playback (i.e. when using the back LCD horizontally, vertical images would be rotated to be vertical with black bars beside it)

So once you know what these two options are actually for, the effects are as such:

• Auto Image Rotation “On”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “On” - This is the default settings. Images shot will rotate properly on PC, and also rotate during playback when using the camera in horizontal position.

• Auto Image Rotation “On”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “Off” - I use this pair of settings personally. Images shot will rotate properly on PC, but during playback images will always be displayed in landscape orientation.

• Auto Image Rotation “Off”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “On” - Images shot will always be displayed in landscape orientation on PC and at the back of camera.

• Auto Image Rotation “Off”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “Off” - Images shot will always be displayed in landscape orientation on PC and at the back of camera.

Hope it clears some confusion for any one out there who finds these pair of settings puzzling.

Anyway the Japanese menu option for this is “縦横位置情報の記録” - literally translated to “Recording Orientation Data”, and it explains what this option actually does clearly. While I get that there might be character limits for the menu items, why not just call it “Orientation Data” or “Image Rotation Data”, which makes it much easier to understand?

Side note 1: more information on this can be accessed on the Z8’s FW 2.00 supplementary manual (page 48 to be exact)

Side note 2: Auto-Rotate Pictures used to be called “Rotate Tall” in older Nikon bodies, so if you know what Rotate Tall does then it might be easier to understand.

** Extra Information Update (14/2/2024)

There seems to be a bug when these settings are set:

Playback Menu’s Auto Image Rotation ON
Playback Menu’s Auto-Rotate Pictures ON
Setup Menu’s Auto Rotate Info Display OFF

With these particular settings in place, when the camera is held in a vertical orientation and you playback a vertical image, the D-pad and touch controls for panning around the image act as though the camera is in horizontal position (in simple words, it’s moving in the wrong direction)

Have escalated this issue to the service center for them to look into it.

** Bugfix Update (23/4/2024)

Nikon has released FW2.01 (can be downloaded here) which addressed the issue mentioned above, and contains some other minor bug fixes.

Tresorit Send - Secure File Sharing Service

Before I get started, let me just say this upfront: no this is not a sponsored article, nor are there any paid ads or affiliate links in here.

Some time back, I was looking for a simple, secure file sharing service to deliver files to my clients. I might have multiple file deliveries with overlapping download durations, so typical methods like using Google Drive or Dropbox to generate shared links were not feasible unless I upgraded to a paid plan with way more storage.

In Japan the de-facto file sharing service is called Gigafile, which I shall not link here as I personally am totally not fond of it - ads are everywhere on the site, and I have never managed to find any notes on how uploaded files are encrypted or secured so I just assume it is non-existent.

That was when I stumbled upon Tresorit Send. Tresorit provides secure cloud storage solutions, with extra emphasis on security, and Tresorit Send is a free standalone product provided by them that uses similar underlying technologies in their secure cloud storage solutions.

While you do not need an account with Tresorit to use Tresorit Send, a valid e-mail address is required during upload (for admin control, more on this later).

The way to use it is pretty straightforward - simply select your files through their website or browser plugin, fill in your e-mail address, add password protection if desired, and start the upload process.

(Side note: I do recommend the browser plugin - makes the entire process more seamless)

The files are encrypted locally on-the-fly as they are uploaded, and when the upload process is completed, a URL is generated for sharing. Both the path to the files and the decryption key are embedded in the generated URL, and as a user accesses the shared URL, the files are decrypted on-the-fly as they are being downloaded.

If password protection was selected during upload, the user accessing the shared URL must key in the password before being able to start the decryption process.

An admin link is also sent to your e-mail address which allows you to check how many times the file has been accessed, as well as to revoke the link any time. It is important to note that the admin link does not contain the link to the actual file in any manner (for security reasons), and as such if you lose the original generated URL your only way is to just re-upload and get a new URL.

More in depth information on the service and its technologies can be read in their FAQ here.

Being a free service it does have certain limitations and restrictions:

• Maximum total file size is 5GB per link.

• Maximum number of files is 100 per link.

• Each link can only be accessed 10 times.

• Each link is only active for 7 days.

• Admin links only show number of downloads, not detailed statistics like IP addresses.

• The service is only available in English, which may matter to some users.

While you can circumvent the maximum file number limit by zipping up your files prior to upload, removing the other restrictions and limitations (except for the English language only restriction) would require you to subscribe to their cloud storage solutions and using it to generate a secure link.

To be fair, 5GB/link is really generous for a free service, and the duration of the active link is decent too since most of my clients would download it within a few days upon receipt.

However, a certain OS (from a certain fruit) does sometimes not show when a file is downloading, especially when using an embedded browser, so there are instances whereby my clients just spammed the download button and exceeded the 10-times download limit unknowingly within seconds.

Anyway, something to take note of is that since encryption and decryption happens locally on-the-fly, for large files it is actually a pretty resource intensive process, so depending on your machine’s/device’s specs it may take much longer than anticipated to upload or download a file.

CompactFlash Association’s VPG Certified Card List

Just thought it might be good to share it here (and for my own personal reference too).

CompactFlash Association (CFA), the body which sets the standards for all things related to CompactFlash, has recently published a list of cards which have passed their VPG tests.

VPG, or Video Performance Guarantee, is a standard set by CFA for CFexpress cards (both Type A and Type B) which indicates the minimum sustained write speeds when writing to the card continuously. Cards which pass the tests set by CFA are awarded a VPG200 (minimum 200MB/s) or VPG400 (minimum 400MB/s) certification (as of writing only these two levels are available).

The VPG ratings do look to be on the conservative side, as most of the cards (especially the pSLC ones) are definitely capable of much higher sustained write speeds, and even the current generation TLC ones do report having good sustained write speeds too. I guess the VPG ratings take into account writing the entire card from empty to full continuously and making sure there are no frame drops throughout the entire write process?

While the testing methods are not transparent, having an official list direct from CFA do bring about a peace of mind when purchasing new cards as it will act as a good reference to counter manufacturers just blatantly sticking any labels they want on their cards.

And since I am on this topic, while it is always nice to grab a good deal, be wary of no-brand cards or never-heard-of cards. It is not worth it to risk losing images, or worse frying your cameras just to save a bit on the cards.

(If you’re interested, I have an entry previously written about the cards I am using currently. Don’t worry there are no affiliate links or ads.)

List of Recommended CFexpress Cards for Nikon Cameras

Just want to put this list out here as a reference for anyone who needs information regarding CFexpress cards for Nikon cameras.

Note that this is not an actual in-depth review with synthetic speed test benchmarks (which are widely available online), but rather from my personal experience from using the cards on a regular basis.

(Side note: The official list of recommended cards by Nikon can be found here.)

• Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB (Exact model used: SDCFE-064G-GN4NN) [Not Recommended]
  Sandisk is a renowned brand with a very good track record for reliability, and I’ve been using their products (SD cards and the old school CF cards) in my cameras for as long as I can remember.
  While I have nothing but praises to say about their Extreme Pro line of SD and CF cards, unfortunately I did not have good experience with their CFexpress cards. The 64GB CFexpress card that I used gets hot really fast, like literally to the point where you feel unsafe to touch it with your bare hands. This causes thermal throttling issues to kick in many times even though I was not shooting at high burst rates, and several times it caused my camera to freeze up as the thermal throttling caused buffer errors, and entire series of shots were lost as the buffer could not write to the card before the freeze.
  Some other people recommend the higher capacity cards (256GB and above) would not have thermal throttling issues, but personally I’d try to avoid this card for Nikon cameras, as another key thing to take note of when purchasing is that the -xxxIN suffix cards will totally not work in Nikon cameras at all.
  [[Tested in Z6 and Z7]]

• Delkin Devices Power 128GB (Exact model used: DCFX1-128) [Highly Recommended]
  Delkin Devices have been around for a little while now, but unfortunately in Japan they do not have a large presence so I did not know of them until fairly recently. I contacted their customer service to enquire about their products and was met with very helpful and warm responses, which led me to buy a Power 128GB card to test out. It’s very well-built and feels very solid in your hands, has reliable read and write speeds and I have not encountered any thermal throttling issues so far. I’ve used it in both work situations as well as personal casual shots, and have not encountered any errors with it yet.
  One thing to take note is that Delkin cards do not come with a recovery software bundled - they do partner with a recovery software company (LC Technology) should you need to recover files from your card, but it requires a paid license so just keep that in mind if you prefer to have a recovery software on standby.
  [[Tested in Z6, Z7, Z6II]]

• Delkin Devices Power 1TB G4 (Exact model used: DCFXBP1TBG4) [Still in testing]
  Just received the newly launched 1TB G4 card, and am still running it through normal usage and long term tests before reaching any conclusions.

• Nextorage NX-B1PRO 165GB (Exact model used: NX-B1PRO165G) [Highly Recommended]
  Nextorage is an up-and-coming brand, established by ex-engineers and staff from Sony’s memory storage arm. I was personally intrigued by them as they do have the technical expertise and experience in flash memory products, as well as being very aggressive and pushing boundaries of such products. I managed to grab a B1PRO 165GB card during a sale event, and am highly satisfied with it. It has a robust and solid build, and has a very high minimum sustained write speed of 1800MB/s, and has not encountered any thermal throttling issues in my usage with it thus far. While I can’t exactly objectively quantify the minimum sustained write speed that they claim, I have not encountered any hiccups in using it in my Z8 at high burst rates of 14-bit lossless raw files. The card does run a little warm when shooting long bursts, but does not go into the “are you sure this termperature is OK??” type of hot at all.
  [[Tested in Z6, Z7, Z6II, Z8]]

Capture One Pro Lens Profiles

When images are loaded or imported into Capture One Pro, lens profiles are automatically applied if they are available.

While the profiles made by the Capture One team are pretty accurate and work well, one shortcoming of using their profiles (or the Generic Pincushion/Generic Distortion profiles) is that any form of distortion correction will cause some pixel loss, so even if no resizing is done and the images are exported at full size, there is a chance that you will end up with images with slightly varying dimensions (depending on lens used and amount of distortion correction applied).

I have found that one way to circumvent this, if your camera body allows for it, is to use the “Manufacturer Profile” option, so even if distortion corrections are applied, the dimensions would remain the same.

Keysticks + Gamepad for Image Culling

A while ago I had this idea about using my gamepad for image culling.

And after experimenting with it with various software, I have to say I am really pleased that it works really well, and has sped up my work flow quite a bit!

The key-mapping software I am using is called Keysticks, a free open-source software, and am coupling it with my Xbox One wireless controller.

My current layout is like this:

• D-pad mimics the directional arrow keys

• Right joystick mimics the mouse cursor movement

• "A" button for 1-star rating

• "B" button for 0-star rating

• "X" button for 5-star rating

• "Y" button for "Hand" tool

• Right trigger for mouse double-click

• Right shoulder button for mouse single-click

• Left trigger for mouse scroll-up

• Left shoulder button for mouse scroll-down

And my workflow for culling is as such:

• After ingesting the files into Capture One Pro, first I press "Y" to make sure the hand tool is selected

• As I go through the images using the D-pad, I use the joystick to move my mouse cursor to roughly where I want to check for critical focus. A tap of the right trigger button will zoom in to 100% at the mouse location, and another tap would send it back to fit screen mode, making it easy to quickly zoom in and out to check critical focus.

• In the first round of image culling, I tag the images that have misfocused shots/blur shots/closed eyes with 1-star rating by tapping the "A" button. In the event I accidentally tag something wrongly, I cancel it using the "B" button (0-star rating).

• These 1-star rating images are moved to a separate folder, and I go through the remaining images in the original folder to select images I want to post process. This is done by using the "X" button to give them 5-star ratings, and cancelling accidental tags with the "B" button as well.

• If I need to check on some small details around the image (without the need for 100% zoom), I can do so with the left trigger button and left shoulder button (which mimics mouse scroll functions), and panning around can be done by pressing and holding the right shoulder button and moving the joystick.

• And finally by filtering to only display the 5-star rated images, I then proceed back to my keyboard and mouse for processing the images (yea I know I know..am just not a huge fan of pen tablets)

Using the gamepad to do the culling is an enjoyable relaxing experience so to speak, as I can literally lay back with a bad posture on my chair while going through the images.

I really want to give a shoutout to Keysticks for the wonderful software!

Now I wonder if a portable version that could run off a USB drive without any installation could be developed......