Scribblings About Things
Shoutout to Think Tank Photo’s Great Customer Service
I have been using quite a number of Think Tank Photo products over the years, many of which are still going strong after all this while and still see regular use in my assignments. I usually equip the modular belt system with a digital holster when I am on location, but ferry them there in the lovely Urban Access 15 backpack - this has been my go-to set up for several years now.
I believe there is no doubt or question about the quality of their products, as in addition from my own personal experience, many independent reviews or forum talk give their products great praises too.
However one thing that has not been mentioned much is the quality of their customer service - tl;dr version? It’s great!
Case 1: My digital holster’s supplied strap has worn out terribly over the years, and I contacted them to get a quotation for a replacement strap as I could not find the part available on their website. The response - they asked for my shipping address, and a replacement strap was shipped out to me at no cost, which completely surprised me!
Case 2: I contacted them as I wanted to know if certain equipment could fit into a bag. A while later a snapshot was sent to me showing how the said equipment could be packed in.
Case 3: This happened to a fellow photographer friend of mine - he lost the rain cover for his bag as he was packing in a hurry after shooting in bad weather. He contacted customer support as he could not find a replacement rain cover locally, and they sent him an exact replacement at no cost.
I always believe that great customer service goes a long way, and my experience with them have definitely locked me in as a loyal customer!
(Now I’m just waiting for a bag with Streetwalker Hard Drive’s capacity, but in Urban Access’s material and look…)
Lenses Wishlist
In all honesty, the splendid performance of the high zoom ratio lenses in the Nikon Z system has opened up many possibilities of new lens pairing combinations in my workflow (and of many of my fellow Nikon-shooting acquaintances too)
Since I am in scribbling mood tonight, just want to write about some lenses that I wish would magically appear in the Z-system so I can further optimize my layout.
Compact non-S 90mm f/2.2 or 105mm f/2.5 - While the S-line primes are great (and I love my 50mm 1.8S), I do wish to see more compact lenses in the system. They had done it with series-E lenses before, they can do it again.
85-135mm f/2 S - Make this lens internal focusing and slightly shorter than the 70-200mm f/2.8 S and I am sure many portrait photographers will drool over it.
35-150mm f/2.8 S - Tamron has shown that this is possible - add some Nikon sauce to the optical formula, optimize its sharpness at max aperture, and slap on the S label. Heck it could be a f/4 S and I would still get it.
65mm f/2 S - Internally focusing, more affordable to mere mortals than the 58mm f/0.95. Give it half-macro abilities as a bonus.
New Nikon Z Body on the Horizon?
Earlier today my daily go-to rumor site, NikonRumors, reported that a 67MP image had been uploaded to a social media channel by one of Nikon’s overseas subsidiaries.
This is really exciting news, as it may mean a new body going to be announced soon, or perhaps a new firmware update to allow pixel-shift high resolution shots to be taken.
Anyway, I agree with the report that if this image is to be believed to have come from a new camera body, it would most probably not be a Z8, but rather a Z7III.
Reasons being 1: Z7II was on discount a few months back, 2: 1st-gen Z6/Z7 have been officially discontinued, 3: it makes sense in terms on lineup segregation.
From the way I see it, and with a bit of wishlisty-hope embedded, I kind of think the lineup would turn out in this fashion:
Z5 line - entry level FF with SD card slot(s), cheaper design parts (i.e. lower res LCD), lack of top screen, older design sensor with moderate MP, lower FPS, non-gripped design, uses EN-EL15
Z6 line - all-rounder FF with CFe/XQD + SD slots, top screen, moderate MP non-stacked sensor, high FPS, good noise control, good video, non-gripped design, uses EN-EL15
Z7 line - highest resolution FF with CFe/XQD + SD slots, top screen, high MP non-stacked sensor, moderate FPS, decent noise control, decent video, non-gripped design, uses EN-EL15
Unicorn Z8 line - Mini-flagship FF with CFe/XQD + SD slots, high MP stacked sensor, high FPS, good noise control, good video, non-gripped design, no mechanical shutter, uses EN-EL15, unlimited buffer with restrictions
Z9 line - Flagship with dual CFe/XQD slots, high MP stacked sensor, very high FPS, good noise control, good video, gripped design, no mechanical shutter, uses larger batteries, virtually unlimited buffer
So as of writing, the Z5, Z6II, and Z7II are slated for updates, and this is what I think might happen:
Z5II - upgraded with Expeed 7 CPU, upgraded with Z6’s 24MP BSI sensor, perhaps without an EVF, but cannot happen until Z6II has been phased out
Z6III - upgraded with Expeed 7 CPU, slightly higher MP BSI sensor (33MP?), improved FPS, improved buffer speed for unlimited RAW shots with appropriate CFe card, 6K video
Z7III - upgraded with Expeed 7 CPU, slightly higher MP BSI sensor (67MP?), similar FPS with Z7II, hand-held high resolution stacking
And if you include APS-C, the Z50 is also slated for update, which I believe will really benefit from an Expeed 7 CPU, new AF algorithms, and USB-C port.
And if the chatter about the ZF is to be believed, I think it would most probably be a Z6II in nice clothes powered by Expeed 7.
I personally think that this lineup segregation makes sense, and also coincides with the lens roadmap - the pancake 26mm would pair well with an EVF-less Z5II or a ZF, the non-S 200-600mm would pair well with Z6III’s speed and price range, the S 85mm would pair well with the high resolution Z7III as the ultimate short telephoto prime lens.
Well, just my thoughts on the subject, so don’t flame me if these turn out to be absolutely drunk scribblings and not a single sentence comes out as predicted.
Wishlist: Live View Exposure Preview for Nikon Z bodies When Used With Flashes
New AF algorithms, faster frame rates and the likes in new firmware updates are definitely nice to have - and let's be honest here I am really happy to see how much my Z6 and Z7 have transformed from firmware v2.00 into its current state at v3.40.
However the one feature that I really want implemented is the ability to totally enable live view exposure preview when using flashes.
As of now when the camera detects a flash attached to the hotshoe, it automatically disables live view exposure regardless what your d8 settings (for Z6/Z7) or d9 settings (for Z6II /Z7II) are.
Which creates 2 huge problems when using strobes as fill light - I don't know how much ambient exposure there is, and especially in backlit situations my main subject could get so dark that AF wouldn’t work properly.
My current solution is to map one of the Fn keys to disable flash, so by holding down the Fn button flash is disabled = settings are applied to live view = I can get a gauge of my ambient exposure and AF works as usual.
I think it would be simpler if there could be a firmware fix to just improve this - have a On/Off/Auto mode for d8 (d9 for the Mark IIs), where On will force live view exposure to be always on, Off will force it to be always off, and Auto will leave it on as default unless a flash is detected in the hotshoe.
Dear Nikon if you're reading this please see if this could be implemented! Many of my fellow Nikon Z shooters and I would definitely be very thankful!