Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 for Nikon Z-mount Announced

Tamron has just announced their latest Z-mount lens, the wide-aperture standard 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 lens.

Official press release here in English and Japanese.

According to reports and reviews of the E-mount version, this G2 lens has significant performance and handling improvements over the G1 lens that precedes it. And given that the G1 lens acted as the basis of the current Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 lens, I would expect similar improvements of the new lens over the Nikon version.

With increasing lens prices throughout the board, I thought that it was a very refreshing breather to see this new lens being released in Japan at reasonable prices, similar to the current Nikon Z 28-75/2.8, and not that different from the E-mount version of the G2 lens at launch.

To be honest I was quite surprised about this announcement, since this lens was manufactured by Tamron under licensing agreement with Nikon, even though it would be competing directly with the Nikon Z 28-75/2.8, which is still an active model in the lens lineup.

I think there is no doubt that the Nikon Z 28-75/2.8 is based on the G1 version of the Tamron lens, but when it came in Nikon colors, there were many theories floating around the internet about who was the one actually building the lenses, and similarly predictions about the collaboration and agreement between the two companies started to find their way around too.

I do not think any one except for the parties directly involved in the negotiation and manufacturing processes would know exactly how the Nikon Z 28-75/2.8 was built.

So now that we have the 2 lenses in very similar price brackets, and assuming this G2 lens provides improvements over the Nikon Z lens similar to that in the E-mount camp, image quality and AF performance would definitely favor this new G2 lens, making the current Z 28-75/2.8 a tough sell unless serious sales or cashback campaigns are put in place to move them.

If not for pricing difference, I guess the only reasons one could still consider the Z 28-75/2.8 would be:

• Preference over the Nikon-styled rings and barrel material, over the Tamron-styled rings and barrel material

• Nikon’s SIC lens coating vs Tamron’s BBAR lens coating

• Nikon’s weather sealing vs Tamron’s weather sealing

• Being able to update the lens directly via camera body (Nikon) vs being able to update the lens directly via USB-C (Tamron)

Nevertheless, the launch of this lens also set an important precedence - it shows like Nikon does allow third party lens manufacturers to license lenses even if they are direct competition to Nikon’s own offerings.

This would mean that until now it has been the lens manufacturers who are unwilling to build things in the Z-mount, rather than being restricted by Nikon.

Anyway, time to go back to my previous post to add a little edit in the available standard zoom lenses for the Z-mount.

Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR Officially Announced

Nikon has just announced their new superzoom lens for the Z mount, the Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR.

Official press release statements can be accessed here (in English and in Japanese), as well as the product page here (in English and in Japanese).

Based on the technical specifications released, the new lens weighs in at 725g, is 141.5mm long with 77mm filter threads.

Comparing this with the other Z superzoom already on the market, the Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR, which comes in at 570g, 114mm length and takes 67mm filters, the new lens is no doubt larger and heavier, but provides twice as much reach in the telephoto range.

MTF curves seem reasonable for a superzoom of modest aperture values - the new lens looks to have good contrast in the center of the frame with significant sharpness falloff outside the DX circle, and the telephoto side is a weaker performer than the wide side of the lens. The curves predict that fine detail resolution would deteriorate really fast once out of the center of the image circle, which is typical for most superzooms I think, and we will only know the extent of it after production samples get into the hands on reviewers and consumers I guess.

With this release, Nikon users now have an expansive selection of standard lenses to choose from, depending on one’s needs and budget:

• 24-50mm f/4-6.3 = smallest sized standard zoom

• 24-70mm f/4 S = compact standard zoom balancing size and quality very well (collapsible design)

• 24-70mm f/2.8 S = no-compromise standard zoom focused on image quality and focus speed

• 24-120mm f/4 S = moderately-sized 5x standard zoom that provides flexibility with very good performance throughout

• 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR = 8.3x superzoom in a modestly compact size with good performance throughout

• 28-75mm f/2.8 = lightweight f/2.8 standard zoom

• Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 = improved version of the Nikon 28-75mm f/2.8 with better image quality and AF motors

• 28-400mm f/4-8 = 14.2x superzoom in a modest size

Having such a wide focal length coverage, I can foresee this lens being a popular lens for travel, or even as a all-in-one backup lens of sorts for working professionals.

One interesting note is its close focusing capabilities - it can focus down to 0.2m at the widest focal length (28mm), at which a magnification ratio of 0.35x is achieved. This would certainly come in handy for anyone using it for travel, since close-up shots of food and what not are possible in tight spaces without the need for a closer focusing lens, cementing its position as a do-it-all lens.

Anyway just for reference, here are the minimum focus distances at the various focal lengths:

• 28mm = 0.2m

• 35mm = 0.36m

• 50mm = 0.5m

• 70mm = 0.57m

• 105mm = 0.6m

• 200mm = 0.8m

• 300mm = 1.2m

• 400mm = 1.2m

Images of the lens show that the lens does extend very significantly when zoomed in, which is to be expected as it covers such a wide range of focal lengths. I guess it might be problematic for video users to balance it on a gimbal, so definitely a point to take note when considering this lens.

While the aperture values will not win any prizes for fastest superzoom lens produced (according to reports it slows down to f/8 at the 200mm mark), it seems like a pretty economical and convenient way to get access to the 400mm focal length, if the performance of the lens at that focal length meets one’s needs or demands.

That said, I think it is asking for the impossible to expect this lens to produce images like the S-line primes or S-line zooms, so one has to consider if the convenience of having a large focal length is more important that ultimate image quality at the expense of lugging extra weight and/or changing lenses in the field.

Oh, and did I also mention that the lens comes with a square hood? I actually like the design of the hood a lot lol.

**Edited on 2024/3/28 to include the newly announced Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 in the list.

Are We Getting Too Hooked on Camera Firmware Updates?

I have been wanting to write a piece on this issue for a while now, and it just happened that earlier today a new firmware update came out for the Z6II (FW1.62 here) and Z7II (FW1.62 here), and observing the reaction online spurred me to write this piece today.

So the firmware updates this time round addressed a couple of bugs regarding the camera’s operation, and also implemented some minor changes in its wireless connectivity settings.

Definitely nothing major, but personally I appreciate the effort made by Nikon to address these glitches and improving operation stability for everyday use.

However, there is so much noise about how this firmware update is too minor, and a FW2.00 with proper AF updates should be the one being released.

Gosh, seeing how people keep repeating the same thing every time a minor update is out is really unbearable.

I, for one, definitely appreciate that issues are fixed as soon as possible in the forms of minor updates, instead of waiting for a release with a larger update.

And in this particular case, not once has Nikon promised a FW2.00 update for the Z6II/Z7II, but just speculation from users and online keyboard pros.

Would I be happy if a FW2.00 came out for my Z6II and brought about improved AF algorithms and new features? Definitely!

But I bought my Z6II knowing well its limitations and capabilities, and any other feature that is added via FW would just be a touch of nice gesture from the manufacturer.

Similarly for the Z8, I also purchased it knowing that it promised similar levels of performance of its bigger sibling, the Z9. Z8’s FW2.00 came as a surprise as it added a ton of new features and customization to the camera, and while I am in no doubt very satisfied with the new features implemented in Z8’s FW2.00, none of them were promised from the beginning.

Would a theoretical Z8 FW3.00 bring new features that we have not thought of? Very highly probable. Would Z8 end at FW2.00 and only bug fixes be released in the future? Equally probable too, I would say.

I still remember those days whereby a firmware update for DSLR was so rare that, normally only critical bugs are fixed.

Some may argue that cameras these days are more “computer” than “camera”, and to that point I agree whole-heartedly also. However feeling entitled to constant major firmware updates that would implement new major features every time is just asking for the impossible.

And at least over here in Nikon we do see some major firmware updates every now and then, and we have also seen that Nikon tries to put the best and newest software features into the flagship Z9 first before it trickles down to the other models.

Be glad for that, as over in the orange camp, their flagships are not getting that much love, and the noise due to this is even worse there.

tl;dr - Purchase a camera based on what it is capable of at the time of purchase, and be glad that the manufacturer is even making an effort to fix minor bugs. Any major firmware update that implements new features should be seen as a nice privilege, rather than feeling absurdly entitled for them.

/end rant

Impressions of Last Epoch

One of the games that have had a huge success so far in 2024 is the hack-and-slash action RPG Last Epoch.

I myself am a huge fan of hack-and-slash action RPGs, but recently there seem to be no good ARPGs around.

(In case you are wondering, I did thoroughly enjoy the first two installments of the big D, but the 3rd installment did not click well with me so I decided to skip the 4th).

I had heard interesting things about this game prior to its official 1.0 release, so I purchased a copy of it while it was still in its early access form (though just a couple of weeks before its 1.0 release) to try it out, as well as look for classes or builds that I could play when the official release comes about.

While no, it does not have mind-blowing AAA graphics, nor neither are there voice acting for all the dialogs, it does not hinder the fact that this is an entertaining and captivating game, one that I honestly enjoyed as it stays true to the spirit of hack-and-slash games, allowing experimentation with different builds and customizations without absurdly heavy penalties on the player.

And in fact I am very glad that my not-so-high-end machine could run the game smoothly without major framerate drops.

Now that I have completed the main story (Chapter 9 as of writing), I would like to share about what I find enjoyable in this game for anyone considering it.

Please note that there might be minor spoilers from this point on so if you want to experience the story and gameplay in its purest form you might want to just close this window, head over to Steam right now and purchase a copy to try out yourself.

Prologue

The story begins as one of the four Gods of the world started to wage war with the others, and each character class has a backstory that led them to be entangled in this war. One particular interesting note is that in the early access version the introductory cutscene was different for each character class, explaining the background of the character and the reason for being part of the war, but with the 1.0 release the cutscene became a common generic one for all characters. In all honesty I did like knowing about my character’s motivation to take part in the war, so I do hope they would bring back the character specific cutscenes in a later version again.

Classes and Skills

There are 5 main characters (classes) to choose from, and each class has 3 masteries (or subclass) that you could choose as you proceed with the story, unlocking specific passive skills and bonuses to build the character with. The implementation of the passive skills system is definitely worth mentioning as it deserves high praise - choosing a specific subclass would provide your character subclass-specific bonuses, as well as unlock the entire passive skill tree of that subclass for you to spend points on, but you are still able to add points to the first row of the other two subclasses if you desire so. This brings a lot of customization options to build your player as you could mash certain passive skills from the other trees with your inherent subclass bonus to synergize. Respeccing the passive skill points are as simple as vising a NPC and paying some in-game gold to reset the points, so it allows for experimentations without worries.

Though one feature of the game, as mentioned by the developers themselves, is that while passive skill points can be refunded to be reallocated, the mastery chosen cannot be reset as that is part of the game experience they want to deliver. So if you want to try out a different subclass’s full passive tree and/or innate passive bonus, you would have to create a new character.

On top of the passive skills, there are also active skills like spells and what not, and the way the active skills are implemented definitely adds an entire separate dimension of customization to your character, and in my opinion deserves a huge round of applause.

Firstly, up to a maximum of 5 different skills can be equipped on your character at any one time, defaulting to the keyboard presses of Q, W, E, R and the right mouse click. You can swap the active skills around and find synergistic builds or skills that would complement your playstyle.

Each active skill has its own skill tree, and the skills would level up with you as long as they are placed in the Skill Specialization Slot. You start of with only one Skill Specialization Slot early in the game, but as your character levels up you would unlock more specialization slots, with the last slot being unlocked at character level 50. Skills that are not placed in the specialization slots can still be used if they are bound to the active skill hotkeys, just that they will not be able to level up or be customized.

The points for the skills can be respecced anytime, and a different skill can also be chosen to replace a current one in a specialization slot at anytime too. However there is a slight “skill experience” penalty for this, and you would be required to level up the skills again to regain the points for customization. That said, it is not as big a penalty as compared to other games where super rare drops or cash items are required to even reset one single skill point, so there is no worries with trying out specific skill trees.

What I thought was ingenious about the active skill tree implementation was how I could have freedom in modifying a particular base spell. I am playing a minion summoning Necromancer, and there are many ways you could spec the simple Summon Skeleton spell - while it defaults to a 50/50 mix of sword wielding skeleton warriors and ranged skeleton archers, do you like it to be 100% skeleton warriors? Or 100% skeleton archers? Or have some skeleton rogues too? Or perhaps have less skeletons but stronger skeletons? All these are possible depending on how you build the active skill trees.

And speaking of that, this is one of the few games that did not ruin the essence of the Necromancer - I enjoy having an entire army of undeads or golems walking with me, and this game allows you to do that if you wish to, instead of forcing necromancers to go with a meta bone spear build just so that you could even scratch the boss’s hide.

Storyline and Quests

Although relatively linear without much open-ended options, the story is entertaining with its twists and subtle hints of time travel continuity. I have to admit I did have to refer to online synopsis more often than once as I sometimes got lost on NPCs’ relationships with each other. That is 100% on me though.

While most of the quests are the typical “go here and defeat the dungeon boss” or “go and fetch this for me” ARPG quests, one of my favorite side quests involves having to do a time leap into the future to retrieve a quest item from a corpse so that you could open a door in the present (put this as vaguely as possible to not spoil the quest), and it captures the essence of the game’s time-traveling theme very well.

While the main story now ends at Chapter 9, this game is supposedly to have 3 more chapters in its storyline (until Chapter 12) which I guess could come in a future patch. After completing Chapter 9, the end-game content involves you exploring alternate timelines and seeing what could have happened if certain events went in a different direction. I have only completed one of the alternate timelines so far, and it definitely brings a further depth to the lore.

Final Thoughts

So tl;dr, this is definitely a game worth your time if you like playing hack-and-slash ARPGs, and offers good end-game content and replayability as well. And you get to play as a proper necromancer if you want to too.

On a final note, I think the developers do deserve praises for handling initial server issues and updating the rowdy public with transparent updates. Most recent games which require online authentication usually have rocky connection issues at launch due to influx of new players, and Last Epoch unfortunately was not spared from this misfortune. However seeing how the developers kept the player base updated with their findings and doing their best backend to solve the issues definitely instilled a lot of respect for them in me.

Difficulty Following Action RPG Stories

I have been playing Last Epoch lately, and in all honesty I am enjoying it very much - it just feels great to have an army of skellies roaming with you causing mayhem to everything that has a red life bar. I plan to write about it in more detail once I complete the main storyline, which is taking a bit longer than expected as I have to juggle with taking care of the little ones too.

Now, I am not sure if I am alone in this, but I do find myself getting lost regularly in the storylines in most hack-and-slash action RPGs (ARPGs). Not just Last Epoch, but even other titles like Diablo (and its subsequent versions), Grim Dawn, Titan Quest etc.

It is like most of the time at the beginning I learn a bit about what is happening, get to know a few characters, and as the story progresses I know I need to whack the big bad guy, but suddenly I cannot seem to recall why is a certain NPC helping me or why a certain quest is required to reach the said big bad guy - I end up having to search online for a synopsis every now and then to read up again on who’s who, who’s whose friend, and why I am doing certain things.

It is really strange that this only happens to me for hack-and-slash ARPGs, whereas in other RPGs like Disgaea series or Shining Force series (back on the Sega MD when I was a kid), or even Yakuza Like a Dragon, I tend to remember what is going on pretty well and have a deeper impression of the characters.

I wonder is it because the nature of hack-and-slash ARPGs they make you more focused on skills and items that you tend to click through the conversations?

Or perhaps the design of the dialog boxes with just a static portrait just does not leave a deep impression in the brain?

Or perhaps I just have a really short attention span and am clicking through dialog boxes really fast?

Just really intriguing.

That said, Last Epoch does have a pretty interesting and entertaining story so far, and although I had to refer to summaries online a couple of times now, I am certainly impressed with the attention to small details the developers gave in the storyline.

My Opinions on Nikon’s RED Acquisition

Just a couple of days ago a surprising announcement appeared in the late afternoon here - Nikon has acquired 100% of the cinema camera maker RED, making RED a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon.

Most of us definitely did not see this coming, so the news caught a lot of us off-guard, but in a very good way - it brings confidence to users as it shows Nikon’s commitment to improve and diversify their product lineup by expanding into the high-end movie making market and bring new video technology into their products.

I personally have not used RED products as I am not into video shooting, let alone high-end movie making, so I do not have any first hand experience or insights on RED products.

But the impression I had of RED was that they were a brand primarily associated with high-end videos and movies, with technologies such as global shutters and compressed RAW to improve quality and workflow of such productions.

Granted that the patent lawsuit (which was ultimately dismissed) a while back between RED and Nikon regarding the RAW video recording of the Z9 did somewhat paint a slightly negative image of RED, they do own rights to other technologies and have an established team of experts and technical specialists which would definitely help with development of Nikon’s video capabilities.

As I mentioned earlier I am no video shooter, and this acquisition in all honesty does not impact me directly as of now, but I do am quite intrigued with how things will turn out from this point on:

• I am sure adding a Z-mount to RED cameras is already in the roadmap, so it comes down to whether there will be a new line of Nikon Cinema lenses developed to accommodate them?

• RED currently holds a license to create cameras with RF-mount. Though highly improbable, going forward would we be able to see official RF-Z mount adapters?

• I am pretty sure RED’s video technology would trickle down to the Z-system cameras. Seems interesting to see how RED RAW and N-RAW could be further developed or integrated together.

• The access to RED’s global shutter sensor design could bring global shutter to the photography-oriented cameras sooner than anticipated.

• Focus-by-wire has improved a lot compared to the past, and has opened up new options and possibilities such as employing multiple focus groups working in tandem without complicated mechanical couplings or large increases in physical size, eliminating focus breathing in the process too. Moving forward I am eager to see how else it can be innovated which will be beneficial to both stills and videos.

Any form of healthy competition between manufacturers would definitely bring about new innovations, and as end-users of cameras I am certainly looking forward to seeing new technology or workflow improvements brought forward by Nikon or other manufacturers due to this acquisition.

Thoughts on the Synology BeeStation

Earlier this year Synology announced the BeeStation, a simple Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution to create personal cloud servers.

(For more detailed information, the official press release of the product can be accessed here, with its corresponding product page here.)

While using NAS to create a personal cloud and backup solution is definitely not a new idea, BeeStation seems to simplify the process as much as it could to appeal to a wider audience.

With your typical NAS systems, it does require one to have certain technical knowledge (like port forwarding etc), and most NAS devices come without drives so hardware installation skills are required too. In this particular aspect, I personally do think that the BeeStation is going in the right direction by simplifying the whole device set-up process so that users can just get it up and running with minimal fuss.

As of writing there seems to be only a single model available - a single bay BeeStation with a 4TB HDD pre-installed.

From what I have read online, the set-up process is pretty straightforward - after plugging it into a router, create a Synology account and activate the device via the BeeStation portal site (I wonder if it is called BeePortal?), install and sign-in to the apps on the devices (mobile/desktop) you want to have access to the BeeStation, and that’s it.

No fighting with port-forwarding rules, no fighting with expired SSL certs.

More advanced users who require specific features or higher levels of customization may find this a bit too simplistic and lack many options that the usual DSM offers, but for the target audience of this product I think that its simplicity is definitely very appealing.

I personally own a couple of Synology NAS devices and while I have no issues about them with respect to my use case, I do find it hard to recommend to friends and family who are not very comfortable with tech as initial set-up and the occasional troubleshooting do require some knowledge of how things work.

The BeeStation does look like something that I could recommend to them for a simple personal cloud solution, though I do have certain reservations about it right now:

• Which exact 4TB HDD is pre-installed?

• Can the HDD be changed to a higher capacity or a different brand by the end-user?

• Will there be RAID-1 (or SHR-1) 2-bay models down the road?

That said, I am definitely interested to see how this product line will develop over time and am keeping my eyes on it. I can see myself adding it to run alongside my current NAS’es as a family shared storage of sorts, though I would like to see how the product line evolves first.

Photography Etiquette

Just read a couple of articles regarding the infamous “Geisha paparazzi” in Kyoto. (original articles here on CNN and Petapixel).

It sounds sad, and, if I may also add, makes one look really desperate when trying to flock these ladies just to get a few snaps to share on your social media.

Looking at the video embedded in the Petapixel article, it just looks as though a group of photographers are waiting for a parade to pass by in a theme park. No, these are not cast characters - these are just regular people on their way to work, and should be given at least the decency of their own privacy and space.

You can argue that the streets are public and laws do allow general photography on public spaces. You can argue that as long as no trespassing of private properties or any physical contact is done there are no laws broken. You can argue that these ladies chose to walk the path of a Geisha and having their shots taken should not come as a surprise.

The arguments are definitely sound, but I just hope there is still some sense of etiquette, or at the very least, human decency, to not cause any distress to the ladies or commotion in the streets.

Just really disheartened to read about this news, and it would be unfortunate for everyone if new laws and rules were to be enacted that eradicated all forms of photography in that area.

While this is just one example, it seems like such behavior has become more rampant recently in various places.

I am not advocating everyone to stop shooting or dismiss street photography entirely, but just, please shoot while being considerate and respectful to your subjects and surroundings.

Nextorage NX-B2PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type-B Cards Announced

Just read that earlier today Nextorage has announced their CFexpress 4.0 Type-B cards, the NX-B2PRO.

According to the official page, the NX-B2PRO comes in 4 capacities, and while all of them are VPG400 certified, they do have slightly varying max speeds and sustained speeds:

• 165GB : Max Read 3,900 MB/s, Max Write 3,600 MB/s, Min Sustained Write 3,400 MB/s

• 330GB : Max Read 3,900 MB/s, Max Write 3,600 MB/s, Min Sustained Write 3,400 MB/s

• 660GB : Max Read 3,700 MB/s, Max Write 3,600 MB/s, Min Sustained Write 3,400 MB/s

• 1330GB : Max Read 3,700 MB/s, Max Write 3,600 MB/s, Min Sustained Write 3,200 MB/s

CFexpress 4.0 specifications doubles the theoretical bandwidth of current CFexpress 2.0 cards (actual press release of CFe 4.0 here; you can read my write-up on it here), and while none of the current camera bodies are capable of using CFe 4.0 speeds in them, the standard being backwards compatible means that it does make sense to purchase a CFe 4.0 card for future proofing.

I have had very good experience with Nextorage cards so far, and their customer support was efficient and helpful when I contacted them prior to my first purchase with them to learn more about the cards, so I definitely am glad that they are one of the first few to have CFe 4.0 cards ready and available.

With this release, they now have a simple to understand line-up for CFe-B cards:

• B1SE - Standard CFe cards with decent max speeds, but low minimum sustained write speeds (discontinued)

• B2SE - Successor to B1SE; standard CFe cards with improved max write speeds and minimum sustained write speeds

• B1PRO - High performance pSLC CFe 2.0 cards with high max speeds and high minimum sustained write speeds.

• B2PRO - High performance pSLC CFe 4.0 cards with high max speeds and high minimum sustained write speeds.

B2SE cards do offer a really good cost performance per GB if you do not require high speeds for video or high fps shooting, and definitely would recommend them (especially the 512GB version) for anyone looking for a high capacity card that is plenty fast.

The B1PRO is a great card to use with the Z8 (and I would assume the Z9 too), as even shooting in moderate bursts at high FPS in lossless compressed RAWs, the buffer does not stutter and remains responsive throughout its operations. It also remains relatively cool throughout - both during shooting and when offloading from the reader to the PC.

The B2PRO with higher speed ratings, almost double in fact, means that using them in current equipment now should make them run much cooler than the B1PRO since the speeds are way below their theoretical threshold.

Which brings me to wonder the following:

• Will there be a B3SE based on CFe 4.0 standards too? This could be a good way to get high speed high capacity cards with good cost/GB ratio.

• Will future Z cameras come with a CFe-B primary slot, and a SD+CFe-A hybrid secondary slot? If CFe-A slots run at CFe 4.0 specifications it would be performing at current CFe-B speeds now, so not much compromise on speeds need to be made.

Anyway definitely looking forward to reading B2PRO’s reviews, and keeping my eyes on it when it is time to replace or add more cards to my kit.

What Happened to Crumpler Products in Japan?

Just really curious about what happened to Crumpler products in Japan.

I own several Crumpler bags, from simple messenger bags that I used when I was in college, to camera bags and laptop bags that I still use now.

One of the ones that I still use frequently now is the Flying Duck Sling 4000 bag, as it is a very lightweight bag yet provides adequate protection, on top of being the perfect size for my kit when I need to go compact.

If I remembered correctly they used to have a flagship store here in Tokyo, but during COVID I guessed the dealership contract with the official distributor here in Japan ended and was not renewed, so the flagship store is gone and most, if not all, products have been pulled from shops and retailers.

It’s really quite disappointing as I do really like their products for their practicality and toughness, and their camera-oriented products have always been well-regarded and are reasonably priced as well.

I do sincerely hope their products will make their way back here again soon.

Opinions on Using AI Generative Content in Photos

Had a discussion with some friends a while back regarding the use of AI in photographs.

Image compositing is not a new technique, and has been used by digital artists for a long time now.

With the advent of AI and improved content generation algorithms, there are many software available now that use AI generative content to aid creating the image that you have in your mind and bringing it to life.

Examples include Photoshop’s content-aware fill and text-based generation, Luminar’s sky replacement tools, etc.

I personally think that these AI tools are definitely useful and make life easier for us, but the extent of usage would really depend on each individual, together with the notion of whether or not one is setting out to create a digital artwork or documenting a scene as true as possible.

I imagine the AI tools available now as just extensions of what are available to us now, and the extent of retouching/editing/postprocessing falls on what the photographer is set out to create - as long as one does not lie and try to pass off an image containing AI generated contents as “documented straight from the camera”, then there is no right and wrong here and up to one’s creative ambition.

Personally for me, I do not use AI generated contents and composites in my photos, just because I like to keep the images as true to life as possible. Granted that during the retouching process I might use clone/healing stamps to clean up the image a little, and apply AI denoising algorithms for shots taken in bad circumstances, but that is the extent of AI I would use in my photos and would not use compositing techniques in them and pass them off as “true photos”.

Though that being said, I do play around with AI generated content and images to create memes and stuff for fun, and I can definitely see the use cases whereby such tools would greatly benefit an artist’s creative vision. I guess just as long as you do not try to label such techniques as photography I’m totally cool with it.

Now back to the discussion with my friends, one mentioned that perhaps one day we would all do our shoots in front of a green screen and just change the background to whatever the client likes.

I do not deny that I see market potential in that, and I am pretty sure there are studios around which already offer such packages now. I can also imagine pre-wedding photoshoot clients wanting such an option in order to get that picture-perfect image.

But unless it is a commercial shoot or an artistic shoot, I for one would definitely not do that for my pre-wedding photoshoot clients.

In my opinion and experience, I feel that taking part in a shoot, especially in an outdoors location, part of the fun is visiting the location itself, part of the fun is exploring the location with the clients, and last but not least, a significant sense of satisfaction when we all work together to create an image by utilizing the location and surrounding environment.

The memories created by this is one that cannot be replicated simply by standing in front of a green screen and then swapping in a background of your liking - I just find that the fun factor is lacking too much for such a shoot.

(Well I do have to admit standing in front of a green screen might make you feel like a movie star or sorts, and that itself might be a good memory too if it is your cup of tea.)

To me, a photography session encompasses so much more than just pressing the shutter button and handing the photos over - the entire process from discussion and brainstorming, going through the shoot on the actual day with each other, and then receiving the photos at the end, is an experience that I would like my clients to enjoy and remember too.

So yeah, perhaps things might change in the future, but as for now, I would very much still prefer to put my boots on the ground and get my shots the old school style.

What If There Was a Unified Camera Mount?

I have been primarily a Nikon shooter in my photography journey so far ever since my first DSLR (the Nikon D40), and while I am happy with the performance of my gear and the technological advancements made by the company thus far, I cannot help but wonder what it would be like if all the camera mounts were unified and giving users more choices and freedom to mix and match the equipment to their liking.

In modern camera equipment, we first saw such an open system with the m43 mount where you could mix and match Olympus and Panasonic m43 gear without any major demerits. To me it was an interesting prospect, as Olympus had more stills-focused bodies and Panasonic had their video-oriented hybrids, and you could choose the body that fits your use case and choose the lenses from a wide array of available selection.

Next came the L-mount alliance spearheaded by Leica, Sigma and Panasonic. While one might argue that them being minor players it made more sense to move in this direction, it does not reduce the fact that the end-user were treated with a good selection of lenses and bodies available to them with this collaborative effort.

I started pondering over this issue since there are more players in the camera gear space now, but yet the market demand for camera equipment has been shrinking over the years, so having such collaborative efforts might create a better ecosystem and value for end-users.

I guess from the companies’ point of view perhaps it seem more lucrative to lock down the ecosystem, since unlike what you see from so-called influencers, most people who have acquired a decent amount of gear over the years would be unlikely to “switch from Brand X to Brand Y” just because of a body or lens from a competitor that performs better.

Well objectively speaking, if a body and/or lens from another ecosystem is unique enough, it is common to see people using gear from two ecosystems simultaneously, though it would be a nightmare to get your muscle memory to work with the different button allocations and stuff.

And back to the topic of a locked-down ecosystem, I think it also deprives others who are interested in a particular piece of equipment but are unable to use it with their current kit due to different mounts.

I know mount adapters exist, but how many are officially supported by the first-party manufacturers, and how many are able to operate with no compromises?

I find that a unified mount system would be immensely celebrated by end-users, since we would be able to freely mix and match out equipment without worries, and would also drive the manufacturers to provide better value for consumers since they would have to make sure their products are unique from their competitors.

Imagine being able to choose freely from the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM if you want a smaller and lighter kit, or the Nikon 50mm f/1.2S if you want a lens with optical focus breathing compensation.

Or perhaps being able to mount the behemoth Canon 28-70mm f/2 L on a Nikon or Sony body you currently own.

We have seen this happen to memory cards before - how manufacturers finally moved on from Memory Sticks, xD cards, MMC cards, etc. and decided to use SD cards as the de facto standard.

We have also seen this with phone chargers - the first move from proprietary chargers to micro-USB, and the now with USB-C even tablets and laptops can also use the same charging protocols.

It might not be that far-fetched to imagine such a change, and I for one will be very glad to see such a collaborative effort between all camera manufacturers come to fruition.

CFexpress 4.0 Specifications Announced

Just last week CompactFlash Association (CFA) announced the new standards for next-generation CFexpress 4.0 cards.

The new specifications will double the speed of current CFe cards (known as CFe 2.0 specs; don’t ask me what happened to CFe 3.0 I guess they just wanted to line-in the card specs with the PCIe version specs lol).

Now why is this exciting?

Firstly nearly all high end cameras now use CFe cards, but specifically the Type-B cards since they provide the best cost-size-performance ratio.

However Type-B cards do have a downside - it requires a special slot by itself (which is usually back-compatible with XQD specifications unless you’re using a Canon), and the slot while not as humongous as the old CF slots, definitely take up real estate as heat dissipation is a big concern for fast cards.

Enter Type-A cards, which have similar physical dimensions to the normal SD cards. This allows a single SD-card slot to accept either a SD card when inserted one-way, or accept a CFe-Type A card when inserted the other way.

Sony’s one of the major manufacturers doing it this way, and while it’s really a good move to bring CFe speeds to a higher end body while maintaining backwards compatibility with SD cards if needed, the cost-performance ratio is really bad as there’s only 1 manufacturer using it for consumer products now - Type-A cards are shunned by the other manufacturers due to the lack of speed (it’s only half that of CFe-B).

However now with CFe 4.0 specs, the Type-A cards have a theoretical max speed on CFe 2.0 Type-B cards - meaning whatever applications that CFe 2.0 Type-B could handle before without issues, the CFe 4.0 Type-A should be able to handle it gracefully too.

So just to put some numbers in for easier understanding:

A typical 45MP RAW file (14-bit lossless compressed) is 50MB

A fast camera can shoot 20FPS at full resolution = 50MB * 20shots = 1GB/s of data moving through

Currently the cameras when paired with pSLC CFe-B cards with high minimum sustained write speeds (usually in 1.3-1.5GB/s range) can fire away at 20fps all day and the camera internal memory buffer won’t fill up at all as the shots are offloaded as fast as they’re taken.

However using a CFe-A card, which have typical max write of around 800MB/s and sustained write of around 500MB/s some stuttering might happen as the buffer starts filling up and you will lose the 20fps.

The even larger culprit is the SD cards - certain camera models have a SD card slot as a 2nd card slot, and when a SD card is placed inside, it bottlenecks the entire process (if you’re writing to two cards at the same time) as write speeds for SD cards max out at 95MB/s (UHS-I) or 280MB/s (UHS-II). And also not to mention the disgusting pricing strategy of UHS-II cards.

So now back to the topic, the reason I’m really excited about the new CFe standards is because now manufacturers can have more motivation to put a hybrid SD+CFe-A slot as their 2nd slot, to maintain backwards compatibility and ease of use with SD cards, and yet not sacrifice too much in performance and speeds when needed to do a 2-card simultaneous shoot by using the Gen 4 Type-A cards.

Of course one can always argue that no matter the generation, the Type-B cards will always be twice as fast as Type-A cards, and the new Type-B cards will just open up even higher FPS shooting modes. Which brings me to the point - would you rather have an inferior SD-only slot as your backup slot where you’re locked down at 5FPS or so, or a hybrid SD+TypeA slot backup which can still shoot at 20FPS RAW which is the gold standard right now?

tl;dr I find this exciting news as on occasions I spray at 10-20 fps at my cat lol

Enjoying the Nikon Z 40mm f/2

Back in late June when Nikon announced their cashback campaign, I decided to get the Nikon Z 40mm f/2 muffin-ish lens to couple with my ex-workhorse Z6 to make a compact lightweight set-up.

According to the reviews online, many mentioned that the sharpness of the lens is not exactly awe-inspiring, especially when you are used to the quality of the S-line lenses, so I went in with that expectations in mind.

I paired the lens with a Nikon HN-2 screw-in metal hood (on top of a Nikon NC filter) to be able to put it inside my bag without using a lens cap, and this combination still remains relatively compact and does not introduce any vignetting at all.

After using it for more than a month now, I’m honestly surprised that I’m enjoying the lens way more than I had expected. The lightweight and compact size does make me bring the camera out more often, and somehow using this set reminds me of the days where things were simpler and I just wanted to take shots of things for fun or anything that is of interest to me.

As per most reviews, the sharpness is not exactly the best as compared to the rest of the Z-lineup, and at close distances the resolution and sharpness do take an additional hit in their quality. However, that being said, it is still not in the realm of unusable bad quality - shots do maintain enough detail retention even when shot wide open, particularly in the center of the frame, and sharpness improves for shots done from 2m onwards. Stopping it down to f/2.8 does bring out more resolution and contrast across the frame, so I’m pretty much using it as a f/2.8 lens now that can also open up to f/2 when the situation calls for it.

So some of the things I’ve observed or experience from using this lens so far:

• The rendering is not like the typical Z S-line lenses due to the steep sharpness falloff out of the central region, which creates a more “vintage” look typical of the F-mount lenses

• At f/2 the sharpness falloff of the out of focus areas coupled with the slight glow from spherical aberrations do actually give images an interesting atmosphere and look

• Not the best in strong backlit situations - fringing rears its ugly face and further loss of contrast happens throughout the frame

• Using the lens at f/2.8 tames the lens quite a bit and it performs closer to the typical quality known of Z-lenses

• The lightweight and compactness is definitely something that one should not overlook - I have the 50mm 1.8 S as well, and while that lens is not a behemoth so to speak, the 40mm f/2 is just so much easier to carry around

Looking forward to creating more with this lens!