Does Photography Gear Matter? (2024 Version)

We all know that the Nikon Z6III is going to be officially announced later today, and I thought while waiting for the official announcement I would like to share a bit on my opinions on this particular topic.

The topic on how important is the role of photography gear has always been a hotly debated one amongst photographers - much akin to “Protective Filter vs No Filter” or “Tilt Screen vs Fully Articulating Screen”.

I know I might be opening a can of worms here, so just as a foreword these are solely my personal opinions and I would just like to share them out over here, hoping that this insight could be of use to someone or perhaps be a point of a healthy discussion. You are definitely more than welcome to disagree with them if my ideas and principles differ from yours.

So to answer the question, if I were to give a clear-cut “Yes” or “No” answer, I would say “Yes, photography gear does matter.”

But we all know life is not always black and white, and never simple as a “Yes” or “No”, and thus if given the chance to further elaborate on the answer, my answer would be “Yes, photography gear does matter, but only if you know what you are after or lacking specifically, and understand what kind of compromises were made or had been made. More expensive gear does not always mean more useful gear.”

Many people who mention that photography gear does not matter normally do mean it as goodwill, that chasing the latest and greatest gear would not improve your photography (the infamous Gear Acquisition Syndrome, or G.A.S), but rather spending the time or effort to improve your creative vision would be more beneficial. They usually also cite the example that a seasoned and experienced photographer would be able to create images with a basic camera and kit lens as well.

These are points that I do agree with - especially that GAS is a terrifying rabbit hole to fall into and thinking that getting the next shiny piece of equipment would magically improve your photography is a dangerous thought.

So now, if I agree with this, why do I still say that I believe that photography gear matters?

As I said earlier on, I believe that the gear matters if you have a creative vision that you want to achieve, or need to improve on a certain aspect of your workflow - neither of which is possible without spending time learning and getting used to your current gear first.

Going back to the example whereby an experienced photographer would be able to take photos with a basic camera - I have no doubt that this is definitely true. However the next, and more important question would be, “Is it the wisest choice to use said gear when on an assignment?”

I am pretty sure I would choose a piece of equipment that has more direct physical buttons and robust build on my assignments as it would just be more efficient for me.

Giving some more specific examples:

• Shooting subjects from far would require telephoto lenses.

• Shooting subjects real close would require macro lenses or lenses that have very short minimal focus distances.

• Shooting subjects with smooth background blur would require big-aperture lenses.

• Shooting subjects that move around haphazardly requires a body that can lock on and track effectively.

This list can go on and on, and it drives the point that I am trying to bring here - the gear does matter in getting the shot - either being a real physical requirement, or making getting the shot easier.

What it does not do, however, is magically make you a better photographer. Sure if you use a 600mm f/4 you could easily shoot birds and wildlife with all that smooth bokeh - but things like framing, learning about heat distortion, knowing how to place the background for least distraction, anticipating the birds’ movements etc. - these are other factors you have to learn and experience in order to master the art.

And we also have to understand that every camera body and lens is a gear with a set of compromises - be it compromises in image quality, build quality, aperture ratings, autofocus motors and speed, zoom ratings, weight, size, price, etc.

Want a wide-aperture good quality lens? Be prepared for a heavy and expensive piece of equipment.

Want an all-in-one zoom lens? Be prepared for slower apertures and image quality sacrifices.

Want an all-in-one zoom lens with crazy wide aperture? You better be owning a palace and a jeep to lug that gear around.

Another important thing to know is that gear or set-up that works for someone else might not work for you. Many event photographers I personally know of use a 24-70/2.8 + 70-200/2.8 set-up, which pretty much covers most scenarios with ease. I, however, never got used to the 24-70 lenses properly, so I would prefer a 24-120/4 + 70-200/2.8 combination over that.

One factor that many people seem to forget is that the so-called “pro-grade” lenses are also usually more massive and heavier, and whether you actually enjoy carrying all this extra bulk and weight would lead to how often your camera leaves your house with you.

Quoting from my personal experiences, while I do use the 70-200/2.8 for work often, in my private time I reach out for my 85/1.8 or 40/2 way more frequently just because they are easier to carry around.

To summarize everything (#tl;dr),

• I believe gear does matter - whether to make taking a shot possible, or to make taking a shot easier

• Getting the most expensive gear might not mean getting the best gear for yourself - what requirements you need is specific to your use case and creative vision

• Learning what gear to get requires you to first learn what limitations you face in your current set-up

• Always know that what works for someone else may not always work for you

As an ending note, try not to be lured by GAS too much and just enjoy what you have - you do already have gear, and that is all that matters!

Z6III Official Teaser and Release Date Announcement

In line with most predictions and speculations (my brief writeup of it here), a couple of nights ago Nikon dropped a teaser video about the upcoming Z6III, which now has been given an official release announcement date: 17th June 2024 9PM JST.

There are many discussions around and dissecting of the information based on that short teaser video (Nikon Rumors’ post on the teaser can be accessed here), which frankly is amazing to me regarding what can be inferred from a short video teaser!

Anyway, from the official quotes in the teaser video, I think the Z6III will definitely include the pre-capture function. The Z8/Z9, as well as the more recent Zf do have this feature too, although it is limited to JPG captures only right now. While it is not a feature that I would be using frequently, I do hope RAW pre-capture is possible (and the other bodies getting it via a FW update) as it would bring better value and use case for the feature.

There’s mention of beautiful colors of the files, which led to speculations of higher dynamic range in raw files or more LUT controls for videos, and the mention of better visibility in bright situations should be a sign the viewfinder and/or back display is seeing an upgrade for better usability in daytime shoots.

There is some debate as to whether the screen is a tilt-screen (either the Z6/Z7-style or the Z8/Z9-style), or a flippy screen (the Zf-style), and to be honest from the teaser video either is still probable at this stage since the angle the shot was taken did not show anything too conclusive. Given its video-oriented specs, I do supposed a flippy-screen of some sort should make its way into the final design of the Z6III, but as a mainly stills shooter I really hope that if an articulating screen was implemented they could do it similar to the A7RV style so that at least for horizontal stills the screen and the viewfinder are still centered with the lens.

But two physical specifications were quite clear from the teaser video - there is a PASM dial in a similar location to that of the current Z6II, and it comes with a rectangular slide-in eye-cup rather than the circular ones. Personally I have no issues with this since I am already used to the same handling and form-factor of the Z6II, though I do really hope that the official Z-GR1 grip which I am using now still works with the new body.

While we would still have to wait until the official release for detailed specifications and changes to be confirmed, I do hope to see at least a couple more teasers before the announcement next week to have a small taste of what else is in stores for us!

Challenges in Designing Kit Lenses

Earlier this year Petapixel had an interview with someone from Nikon’s engineering department, and one of the topics they had talked about was the challenges faced when designing kit lenses.

Personally I found this part of the interview very insightful as this is a topic no one had talked about openly before, and while subconsciously I had a vague idea of why certain decisions were made, reading the comments made from the engineering division itself definitely put things in perspective.

To briefly summarize what this particular section of the interview was about, Ohshita-san (from Nikon’s Third Designing Department in Nikon’s Optical Engineering Division) mentioned that the design and manufacture of each lens has to be considered individually, and depending on what their identified target audience was they would tune the performance and specifications towards their needs.

He continued by saying that among these, kit lenses were the most challenging to make, as they had to be made affordable, lightweight and compact, and yet be able to showcase what the system is capable of and have an impactful first impression for new users to the system.

Truth be told, the term “kit lens” does not usually bring about a good impression of a lens, analogous to how the first zoom lenses made were vastly inferior to their prime counterparts, and most users (including myself at the beginning of my photography journey) view kit lenses as a cheap lens that comes with the body that works just OK.

Reading through this particular point mentioned in the interview, it did make me stop and appreciate the effort that went into designing a kit lens that is bound by so many different constraints, especially these days whereby many high performing kit lenses are available that do not compromise on image quality.

Looking back at when the Z6 and Z7 were first launched, it became quite clear why the 24-70/4S was the first lens to be launched together with the new mount and bodies - they had to provide a lens that could perform very well throughout its zoom range so as to portray what the new mount was capable of, yet they also had to make sure the lens had a small enough footprint to maintain the image of mirrorless cameras being more compact and convenient, and all of this with a severe price constraint slapped on it as it was meant to be a lens paired with the initial bodies to bring new users to the system.

As the lens lineup grew over the years, many people (including me) did move on to other primary lenses by outright replacing the 24-70/4S or upgrading whilst still keeping it as a backup; mainly with the 24-70/2.8S or the 24-120/4S.

This was only possible, in my opinion, because when the 24-70/4S was launched it showed the promising potential of the new mount and new technology used in the optical design, so it was easier to convince users of the Z-mount to upgrade to a different primary lens based on one’s needs, knowing that the whichever path chosen there would not be heavy compromises on the image quality.

If we look at the current FX standard zoom lens lineup for the Z mount, we can argue that there are many other lenses that could be paired as a kit with a Z body these days - and that is definitely the case whereby in different bodies have different “kit lenses”, which also differ by country and region as well.

If we take a look at the offerings in Japan, for the FX Z-bodies, we have/had these kits available:

• Z5 with 24-50/4-6.3 or 24-70/4S or 24-200/4-6.3

• Z6 (discontinued) with 24-70/4S

• Z7 (discontinued) with 24-70/4S

• Z6II with 24-70/4S (not available at launch - available much later after the Z6II’s initial launch)

• Z7II no kit option

• Z8 no kit option

• Z9 no kit option

• Zf with 40/2 SE

Some other countries and regions do have different kits available, and unfortunately I do not have any information as to why such a marketing decision was made. I do sometimes envy the other regions where you could obtain the 24-120/4S as a kit - it is totally not an option here at all!

Anyway minor rant aside, now with the Z6III launch upcoming, I do foresee that it could be available as a kit, which brings the question which lens would it be coupled with?

While I think that without a doubt the 24-70/4S and the 24-120/4S are definitely prime candidates as kit lens for the Z6III, either both kits are available or only one of them is available is up for debate - one being a more budget friendly version, whilst the other being a more versatile all-in-one lens.

However, I do think that if Nikon plans to market the video specs of the Z6III, as according to the rumored predictions are supposed to be class-leading for this price bracket, it would not be surprising to also see a launch of a PZ-styled zoom lens that is more catered towards the video market (similar to the DX 12-28/3.5-5.6 PZ), and having that offered as a kit with the Z6III as well.

Which might also perhaps explain why the Z6III seemed to have its launch delayed?

Nevertheless, moving back to the main topic on kit lenses in general, I think that I can understand why a kit lens is so important in a brand’s lineup, as it acts as a showcase example of what is possible to users which would lead to potential upgrade sales down the road. And for this I think my respect for kit lenses - and the amount of thought given into designing and manufacturing them by the engineers, have gone up significantly.

Nikon Z6III Release Finally Imminent?

Seems like there is quite a bit of buzz ongoing recently regarding the Z6III’s release, which is predicted to happen very soon according to Nikon Rumors.

Earlier this year I did mention that I expected the Z6III to arrive before spring, similar to reports and speculations from all over the net. But when Nikon Japan suddenly launched a new spring cashback campaign (which was surprising considering one campaign had just been concluded in January) that would end at the start of May, it became pretty obvious that the Z6III would not be launched in the period that all of us were expecting, and the earliest we could expect it would be in early summer after the cashback promotion has been concluded.

So winter and spring both came and went without much buzz about the Z6III, and now finally there seems to be movements going on behind the scenes to prepare for the launch.

While these are just my own observations, there are some circumstantial evidences that seem too coincidental to just completely regard them as mere coincidences.

Namely speaking:

• The spring cashback campaign ended after the Golden Week holidays here (7 May) - and past product announcements had happened around a month after a cashback campaign has ended.

• Nikon’s official online store used to sell new Z6/Z7 as “outlet items” (i.e. discounted discontinued products), and they are now no longer available.

• Similarly the online store used to sell Z6II/Z7II refurbished sets, and they are also no longer available now.

• The showroom will be temporary closed on 10 June and 17 June, with all its services and facilities not available on these two days. While no exact reason was given, it may be a training session for the new products or a closed door touch and try event?

• The web store is down for server maintenance from 3 June 10:00hrs to 4 June 13:00hrs. Looks suspicious to have down time during work hours?

Perhaps I might be reading too much into things, but these circumstantial evidences just seem to suggest something is happening.

I personally am looking forward to the new body - I am sure the Expeed 7 processor would bring about a lot of quality of life improvements from the Z6II, which can be seen in the Zf too. Truth be told, I would be totally satisfied even if the Z6III turns out just to be a Zf skinned in a modern ergonomics, since I have found the Zf performing very well on all fronts as I tried out the demo sets in the showroom, but I just could not see myself putting up with its ergonomics for long days of work with heavy lenses (as well as having a slow-ish microSD slot for backup).

That said, while I am definitely am considering adding a Z6III as my main body, I do not think I would be pre-ordering this time round, as it seems that in Japan there are more incentives to purchase it after the initial wave (like having the Z8 coupled with B1PRO 165GB CFe, or the Z9 coupled with Nikon 660GB CFe, which were not available for early adopters)

Nikon Rumors has done a great job consolidating information from reliable sources regarding the Z6III’s specs, so if anyone is interested I do recommend visiting the post here to have an idea of what to expect for the camera!

Personal Impressions on Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S Lens

So right now it is pretty much Sports Day season in most schools in Japan, and my daughter had hers last weekend. I decided to rent a copy of the Nikon Z 100-400/4.5-5.6S lens last weekend to cover the event since I doubt my 70-200/2.8S would provide enough reach for me (and am indeed thankful I went ahead with the rental!).

It was my first time handling the lens outside of the shop demo context, and there were many new interesting observations that I made when using the lens this time round that I did not notice when I played with it in the camera shops/showrooms in the past:

• The weight and physical length of the lens at 100mm is pretty similar to that of the 70-200/2.8S, so I got accustomed to the lens’ weight distribution pretty much the moment I picked it up.

• The wider girth of the lens, together with the more forward placement of the control ring, did make me accidentally hit either the manual focus ring or the control ring more often than I would like - I had to turn off both the MF in AF mode option and the custom control ring function to prevent any accidental setting changes.

• AF locks on very fast, even on the Z6II I was using it with.

• AF accuracy, however, did have some interesting quirks - when shooting a burst of slightly static (i.e slow moving) subjects while testing, usually in a burst of 5 shots in AF-C single point mode there would be 1 or 2 shots in the middle of the burst that lost focus. I thought this would be caused on the VR recentering itself in VR normal mode, so I changed to VR sport mode and accuracy got better, although still not at 100%.

• For portraits at 400mm Eye-AF worked better than single point AF, as I guess any minute vibrations that caused framing changes would be compensated by the subject detection shifting the AF points via subject detection.

• At portrait distances the lens renders very nicely with crisp details, regardless of focal length chosen, both wide open or using it as a “constant 5.6” lens.

• At longer “sports distances”, and using it nearly exclusively as a 400/5.6 lens, the lens does exhibit some sharpness drop, and some slight AF accuracy drop. Though in all honesty it could also be due to user error on my side too as I could not pan the camera fast enough for the AF to lock properly.

• And finally I also learned that 400mm is indeed hard to control!

It was definitely a fun experience shooting with that lens, especially more so when watching the little one playing around too.

The lens is also every bit as phenomenal as I expected it to be, albeit with some handling quirks, and I am glad that I went on ahead to rent it for the event as my 70-200/2.8S would never be able to provide enough range.

That said, my experience this time also reinforced the idea that I am not suited to be a sports photographer lol.

** Side Note:

For anyone looking for short-term camera equipment rentals in Japan, I definitely recommend checking Map Rental out! Their pricing is reasonable and have a very wide selection of equipment to choose from.

A handful of kits also qualify for monthly rental special rates, which could prove to be cheaper than going by daily rates when renting for a more than 2 weeks or so. However, for equipment that do not qualify for the special rates, the daily rates do stack up quite a bit for longer rentals, so other services that offer “monthly rental” or “monthly subscription rental” might prove to be more wallet friendly though!

(I am not affiliated with them in any way, just wanted to share this information from my good experience with them)

Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 VXD for Nikon Z-mount

This was one of the lenses that I had been envious of Sony users for a long time, and when the Z-mount version was announced in September 2023 I was definitely excited and grateful that Tamron had decided on this lens as one of the earlier ports to the Z-mount.

Having this lens would be a great help in solving my problem of having to switch between the 24-120/4S and the 70-200/2.8S during shoots - not that these 2 lens are slouches, and in fact I love using both of the lenses very much, but if I could have one lens that could do the work of both it would make me more efficient and also allow more options for me to include things like prime lenses in my double set-up.

That being said, having had a slightly negative experience being an early adopter (looking at you Z8 strap lugs), I decided to wait a bit for normal user reviews to roll in to see how the lens performs with the Z-mount bodies.

Based on the E-mount version’s reviews and user feedback, the general consensus on the lens has been positive with regards to the sharpness and overall image rendering, and I do not expect much difference between the E-mount and the Z-mount variants regarding the image quality.

Personally the few areas that I had interest or concerns in are:

• How fast and accurate is the autofocus in normal modes and subject detection modes for Z bodies?

• How fast and accurate is the autofocus in pin-point mode?

• How prone is the lens to zoom creeping?

• How weather resistant is the lens? (The exposed USB port seem like a weak spot to me)

After renting the lens for a bit to determine if it could properly act as a replacement for my 24-120/4S and 70-200/2.8S pair for assignments, there are some interesting observations that I encountered:

• The lens boots up slow - even slower than the 24-120/4S. However, it is even way slower when waking up from sleep, so much so that many times I thought I had forgotten to turn on the Z6II I was using it with.

• AF-S, AF-C and subject detection modes on the Z6II were pretty consistent and accurate, so I do not have much issues there with it.

• AF-S pinpoint on the other hand is a slightly different story - perhaps the motor is not properly suited for racking contrast autofocus, but it feels sluggish and does miss focus a little more than I would like (I’d say in the range of 5% or so during my time with it)

• Field curvature seems pretty strong on this lens, so using focus-and-recompose methods (even if it is a slight recompose) tend to make the initial focal plane soft - best to frame first and move the focus point (or use subject detection AF modes) to the intended subject and focus.

• With proper focusing techniques, images are sharp in the focus zone and background blur is generally pleasing. While it lacks the minute detail acuity of the Nikon S-line lenses, the lens resolves detail very well and I think deserves praise for being able to do so given such a wide zoom range.

• While I mentioned that background blur is generally pleasing, specular highlights sometimes show strong signs of onion rings within them.

• The lens hood does feel and look like it can be scratched really easily.

• I still do not like the idea of an exposed USB port.

While I think I might need some time getting used to its quirks (especially the field curvature), I am definitely pleased with the performance of the lens, and can see it being my primary workhorse lens with the 24-120/4S and 70-200/2.8S helping to fill in certain niche use cases.

After returning my rental unit I went on to purchase one copy for myself, and am definitely looking forward to working with the lens and trying out new combinations of set-ups to improve my workflow and quality of work!

Nikon Z8 Firmware 2.01 Released

Earlier today Nikon released a minor firmware update (2.01) for the Z8.

The firmware can be downloaded at the official Nikon page here.

This minor firmware update changed the default encryption keys of the camera, which is similar to the recent wave of firmware updates that have been released for the other Z bodies.

And the main attention of this minor update is to fix the issue regarding the d-pad panning the image in wrong directions when used in vertical mode. (I have written about this in more detail in this post over here).

One interesting note of this patch is the fixing of green color cast with some pictures taken. While I personally have not encountered it myself (and thus not sure what combinations of settings would trigger it), I am wondering if they changed the imaging algorithm a bit in FW2.00 since there has been some buzz in forums and discussion boards about FW2.00 RAW files looking cleaner and less noisy at higher ISOs. There is no concrete evidence so far to substantiate the high ISO improvements as far as I know, so take this statement with a pinch of salt.

That said, I am really curious what are the conditions that would trigger the green color cast. Hmm..

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