Brother’s New Printer Pricing Model

A few days back Brother announced PICOCHARGE, a new type of printer pricing model for consumers and home users. (as of writing it seems like this service is only available in Japan)

The basic concept of this new pricing model is purchasing of pre-paid print allocation.

You do have to purchase the printer (JPY 20,000) initially, and it comes with a pre-paid allocation of 1,000 pages.

When your print allocation runs out, you can choose to top-up your print allocation via their app/portal page, which currently comes in 6 tiers:

• 10 pages for JPY 200

• 50 pages for JPY 500

• 150 pages for JPY 1200

• 500 pages for JPY 3500

• 1000 pages for JPY 5000

• 3000 pages for JPY 9000

As you can see the bigger the pre-paid allocation you purchase, the less it cost to print per page.

Furthermore there is no difference in price for printing in monochrome or color - printing 1 page counts as 1 page regardless of color settings.

When the ink is about to run out you will get a notification asking you to request for new ink, which will then be delivered to you for free.

At the time of writing, I do find this a little confusing as the official site does have slightly contradicting statements in their contents:

• The special contents page (linked at the start of the article) states that replacement free ink cartridges would be sent to you when your ink runs out.

• The official news release article states that free shipping would be available for replacement cartridges - somehow the wording here sounds like you have to pay for the ink and only shipping is free?

There is no proper FAQ page up for this new service yet (only article in their FAQ is how to top-up your allocation), so right now the only information I have are from the press releases and the official site.

In all honesty I do think there might be a small miscommunication in the wording of the official news release, since by buying pre-paid allocation you are supposedly already paying for the required ink (and hence a new pricing model) - it just does not make sense to have to buy allocation AND ink at the same time.

** I will update this post again when I get more clarity regarding this issue.

That being said, if the new pricing model means just purchasing pre-paid allocation, and replacement ink cartridges are all provided at no additional cost, then I think it does make it very applicable for my use case - if I top up JPY 9000 I would be able to print my photos at JPY 3/page, which is much more economical than what I am paying for right now.

** Update 14/2/2024

Got a response from them regarding my enquiry, and yes the purchase of the print allocation includes the replacement ink cartridges, so there are no additional costs apart from having to purchase the printer initially and print allocation top-up.

CompactFlash Association’s VPG Certified Card List

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nikon Z8 Firmware 2.00 Release

Nikon has just released a firmware update (2.00) for the Z8 a couple of days ago.

I have updated my unit and tested it out, and am really liking the changes so far - please feel free to go through my Z8 equipment notes page to learn more about how I am using the Z8 with the new firmware if you are interested.

Anyway, here is a set of links for useful information regarding the new firmware update for the Z8.

Official Firmware Download Link

Official Firmware 2.00 Supplementary Manual (PDF)

FW 2.00 Video Introduction by Ricci Talks (YouTube)

I definitely recommend downloading a copy of the supplementary manual and go through it as the list of changes is really extensive.

At the end of the manual a set of default settings for the camera is also listed, so it is a useful reference if you wanted to revert any settings back to the original in the future.

Creating an Equipment Page

I have been using Obsidian as a tool to manage my equipment inventory and take notes of my observations or experience when using my stuff.

One reason why I am using Obsidian for this is because its back-linking is convenient and efficient to link up notes together, and helps a lot whenever I needed to recall or check on certain issues I had encountered before.

That said, my notes also include things like how certain gear behaves or performs, and over time my thoughts and notes kind of look like a long-term usage reference of sorts, so I thought it may be useful if I uploaded the notes here too (albeit not in the short bullets I use in my notes and in more legible sentences lol) as a form of reference for any one that may be interested.

And acts as a small backup of the notes for me as well.

I did write some opinions that looked like mini reviews and stuff on the scribblings corner too, which just got lost too easily in the sea of other things I write here, so I figured consolidating them into a page might also be easier to digest and navigate.

Unfortunately I only started using Obsidian recently, so most of my “real-time” observation notes are for my more current equipment.

But nevertheless I have decided to also include my older gear in the list - including gear that I had used in the past but already sold off and no longer own anymore, and just write down my thoughts and opinions in retrospect as they might still be a source of reference for someone out there.

There is no native simple back-linking support in Squarespace so I am going to have to resort to the typical manual hyperlinking work, so please do not start flaming me if I forget to hyperlink an item in a post or something.

So yeah, feel free to head over to my equipment list page to have a look. It might take a while before every single item there gets their own page, but definitely keep checking back if you are interested.

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.

Looks Like the Nikon Z6 III is Coming Soon

My go-to site for anything Nikon-related, Nikon Rumors, just published a set of rumored specifications of the Z6III from one of his reliable sources.

The rumored specifications seem very probable (i.e. does not sound like a wishlist of fantasy specs), and are also in line of what I am speculating and expecting of the Z6 III.

Personally while I like using the high MP Z7 and Z8 for my leisure shoots since I print and they give more room for cropping, work-wise the 24MP files hit a nice good sweet spot of quality + detail + noise performance, and am really glad they are keeping to 24MP for the Z6 line.

It’s almost a given that the Expeed 7 would be in the Z6III, and the one aspect that I’m most interested in is the improvements in autofocus tracking with subject recognition active.

My main issue with the Z6 II (and the OG Z6 and Z7 for that matter) is that while subject detection is pretty reliable and the eye AF algorithms give really good hit rates with static subjects, focus accuracy takes a huge hit the moment movement is involved, especially at wide apertures - most of the pictures of subjects (well my cat) walking towards the camera end up just 1cm or so slightly back-focused.

I do not observe this when using the Z8, which shows that the Expeed 7 can definitely keep up with the calculations, coupled with the fast data stream from the stacked sensor the calculations are made in near real-time.

Though that being said, using single point AF-C the autofocus can reliably follow moving objects as long as the AF point is kept on the subject, so I do suppose the bottleneck is the Expeed 6 CPU being unable to keep up with subject detection and tracking AF simultaneously.

So now begs the question that I really want answers to - an Expeed 7 with a slightly slower non-stacked BSI sensor, how would the AF tracking abilities with subject detection be like?

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!

List of Recommended CFexpress Cards for Nikon Cameras

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Obsidian

Lately I’ve been using Obsidian to jot down my thoughts, as well as act as an inventory management for my equipment.

I’m definitely no power user - I just have the base Obsidian installed without any addons or extensions, but boy am I impressed with how easy it is to do backlinking and see how my thoughts are connected to each other!

Wireless Keyboard Woes

Just thought of sharing this sort of hilarious incident I had with my recent wireless keyboard purchase.

At home when I am using my desk-bound laptop, as it is elevated on a laptop stand I had a wired keyboard attached to it - nothing fanciful, just a simple full-sized US-layout membrane keyboard.

In the sea of JIS-layout keyboards available here, it was seriously difficult to find a proper US-layout keyboard that did not cost an arm and a leg, so I was happy to be able to grab that wired keyboard at a very reasonable price.

As the little human is getting more active, when she’s sitting with me in front of the PC she tends to want to type on my keyboard too - I am sure anyone can imagine what sort of interesting text strings can arise from that.

So I thought of a simple solution - if I got a wireless keyboard, when she’s sitting with me I can just turn it off, so even if she hits on the keys nothing would happen. Perfect!

Looked through Amazon and found a keyboard that suits my requirements - US-layout, long lasting battery life, properly sized chiclets-styled keys.

Enter the HP 230 Wireless Keyboard. It is a simple wireless membrane keyboard that promises 16 months of battery life, and cost about JPY 2600. Perfect balance of everything for me.

Upon receiving my new keyboard I took it out of the box, plugged the USB receiver into my PC’s USB port, and searched for the On/Off switch on the keyboard.

Wait a minute..

There is no On/Off switch on the keyboard.

Anyway I just booted up my PC to see if it works, and the USB receiver and keyboard were pre-paired and could recognize each other instantly - and a tap of any key on the keyboard would bring it out of sleep mode as long as the USB receiver is active.

I do not have any issues with the keyboard itself - it works as advertised, being very comfortable to type on for a membrane keyboard, and is responsive to wake up from sleep and hibernates automatically when not in use.

The issue is with myself - I bought a wireless keyboard wanting an option to quickly turn off the keys to prevent accidental typing by the little human, but this keyboard though ticks all the other requirements for me, and just misses out on this one little feature that I was truly after.

I won’t be returning this keyboard as I like it much more than the previous wired one I was using (and not having an on/off switch sounds like a really bad reason to return the product), so I guess I’ll be putting up with more random text strings by the little human for a while more.

Capture One Pro Lens Profiles

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

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

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

Shoutout to Think Tank Photo’s Great Customer Service

I have been using quite a number of Think Tank Photo products over the years, many of which are still going strong after all this while and still see regular use in my assignments. I usually equip the modular belt system with a digital holster when I am on location, but ferry them there in the lovely Urban Access 15 backpack - this has been my go-to set up for several years now.

I believe there is no doubt or question about the quality of their products, as in addition from my own personal experience, many independent reviews or forum talk give their products great praises too.

However one thing that has not been mentioned much is the quality of their customer service - tl;dr version? It’s great!

Case 1: My digital holster’s supplied strap has worn out terribly over the years, and I contacted them to get a quotation for a replacement strap as I could not find the part available on their website. The response - they asked for my shipping address, and a replacement strap was shipped out to me at no cost, which completely surprised me!

Case 2: I contacted them as I wanted to know if certain equipment could fit into a bag. A while later a snapshot was sent to me showing how the said equipment could be packed in.

Case 3: This happened to a fellow photographer friend of mine - he lost the rain cover for his bag as he was packing in a hurry after shooting in bad weather. He contacted customer support as he could not find a replacement rain cover locally, and they sent him an exact replacement at no cost.

I always believe that great customer service goes a long way, and my experience with them have definitely locked me in as a loyal customer!

(Now I’m just waiting for a bag with Streetwalker Hard Drive’s capacity, but in Urban Access’s material and look…)

Delkin Devices CFe Type-B Cards

I had recently purchased a CFe-B 128GB card from Delkin's Power lineup, and boy am I really impressed with it.

So a little background story first. You can tl;dr this entire section if you just want to read about my thoughts on the Delkin card.

When I got my first Z6, it came with a free Nikon 64GB XQD, and I got a Sony 64GB XQD (G-series Class-E) as a backup/spare during a fire sale as the Class-F just came out.

After the firmware for CFe-B cards came out, I decided to go with SanDisk since I have been using their memory products (CF/SD/portable SSD) all the while and have had good experiences with them.

But unfortunately their CFe launch was a disaster to speak - their initial card readers had problems initializing and recognizing cards, and their first version of CFe cards could not work on Nikon bodies. I waited until Nikon listed SanDisk as a supported brand before purchasing a 64GB -NN series CFe-B card.

While the card is officially tested and supported by Nikon, the card reader was still an issue as many people were still complaining about problematic SanDisk readers, so after reading online I chanced upon Delkin's CFe-B reader (DDREADER-54), and while it’s a totally new brand to me, many long term users have raved about their products, and the card reader itself seem to have gotten wide praise as well, so I decided to give it a try.

The card reader has performed flawlessly so far - the nearly all-metal build is robust, reads really fast, and has a cap (although could be nicer if tighter) to prevent ingress of dust - totally satisfied and happy with the purchase.

But the same cannot be said for the SanDisk CFe-B card that I got - every now and then there seem to be duplicate images inside the card (exact same image with exact same file name in exact same file size.. don't ask me how it happens), my camera freezes occasionally when doing burst shots (and when it happens the entire burst is not saved), and the most frightening part is the card runs really hot.

So a while ago I was fiddling with the idea of getting a higher capacity card for my cameras, and decided to go with Delkin and try out their cards since there are a lot of positive feedback about them.

And it so happened that when I was toying with the idea of purchasing a new card, Delkin's official distributor in Japan (whose service is fantastic and I highly recommend getting your cards from them if you live here!) started a Summer sale campaign, so that pushed me to click on the shiny check-out button.

I was initially torn between the Power line and the Black line, but figured out that since I don’t shoot videos and I don’t burst at max FPS it might be overkill to get the Black line, and ta-da I ended up with the 128GB Power.

As I mentioned at the start of the post, I'm really happy and satisfied with the card.

(For those of you who tl;dr you can start reading here)

Here are the key points that impressed me:

• The cards feels very robust and well built - the back is covered in a metal casing which envelops the sides of the card, as compared to just a small metal plate on the back on the SanDisk or my XQD cards.

• Performs at expected speeds and my camera hasn't had lock-up issues so far with it.

• Runs way cooler than the SanDisk - similar or just very slightly warmer than the XQD cards when used in burst sequences.

• Easy to register warranty and eligible for 48-hour replacement program

• Nice plastic casing provided for the card (similar to the XQD ones)

And as mentioned earlier, the official distributor here works really fast and is very efficient too, which further elevates the entire experience with their products. I can foresee myself going to Delkin exclusively for my CFe-B card needs from now on.

Image Quality Differences Between Nikon Z6 and Z6II

OK so let me begin this post with a disclaimer: This is by no ways a scientific or technical post, but rather my personal thoughts and experience on the topic.

Onto the main topic - I feel that there is a difference in image quality between my Z6 and my Z6II. It’s subtle, but can be observed on quite a regular basis, with the Z6 giving ever so slightly sharper and more detailed images as compared to the Z6II.

I haven’t really seen anyone comment on this before, so thought I'd put my thoughts out to see if anyone feels the same way.

Now I remember when the original Z6/Z7 duo were released, the whole internet (OK exaggerated but you get the point) was up in arms regarding how bad the shadow banding was when you lifted exposure by 5-stops.

However when the Mark II's were out, most claimed that the issue was solved and shadow banding was not present, or if so, very negligible in most cases.

Personally when I got my Z6, the banding was the least of my concerns as I don’t jack up my exposure in post that much; on the contrary I was surprised how detailed and crisp my images were as compared to the higher MP D800 I was using prior, which I think is mainly due to the lack of AF misalignments and stabilization of my prime lenses with the Z bodies.

I’ve since added a Z6II (as well as a Z7, but let’s leave that out of the discussion today) to my kit as well, and after a year of using the Z6 and Z6II in tandem, I feel that the Z6II lacks just a little extra crisp that the Z6 is able to produce.

On paper they seem to be using identical sensors with the same number of PDAF sensors, running on the same generation processors (albeit with the Mark II having dual processors), but some circumstantial evidences got me thinking that something has changed between them.

• Solving the problem of shadow banding problem could have been done via algorithmic interpolation, which means the raw files are slightly more “cooked” than the original Z6.

• When Capture One Pro first supported Z6II's files, there was an issue with files being noisier than expected (which was addressed as incorrect noise handling and fixed in 15.1.0), which seems to suggest that the demosaicing algorithm is slightly different from the Z6.

• Change of production facilities might have caused a change in the materials used for the AA filters and PDAF masking (note that I’m not saying one facility is better than the other, just being objective that a change in location would most probably mean a change in materials used)

• Shutter mechanism seems different between the two bodies based on the sound they produce

Perhaps these small changes here and there might have led to some differences in image quality coming out from both cameras?

As I mentioned earlier this is not a technical post, just some thoughts based on my experiences, so there’s definitely a chance that I’m overthinking things and all this is just a weird concoction of jibberish conclusions.

On an ending note, just in case anyone's interested - yes the AA-filterless Z7 triumphs the Z6 hands down in terms of details and clarity, though I don’t own a Z7II (yet) to compare directly to.

Lenses Wishlist

In all honesty, the splendid performance of the high zoom ratio lenses in the Nikon Z system has opened up many possibilities of new lens pairing combinations in my workflow (and of many of my fellow Nikon-shooting acquaintances too)

Since I am in scribbling mood tonight, just want to write about some lenses that I wish would magically appear in the Z-system so I can further optimize my layout.

1. Compact non-S 90mm f/2.2 or 105mm f/2.5 - While the S-line primes are great (and I love my 50mm 1.8S), I do wish to see more compact lenses in the system. They had done it with series-E lenses before, they can do it again.

2. 85-135mm f/2 S - Make this lens internal focusing and slightly shorter than the 70-200mm f/2.8 S and I am sure many portrait photographers will drool over it.

3. 35-150mm f/2.8 S - Tamron has shown that this is possible - add some Nikon sauce to the optical formula, optimize its sharpness at max aperture, and slap on the S label. Heck it could be a f/4 S and I would still get it.

4. 65mm f/2 S - Internally focusing, more affordable to mere mortals than the 58mm f/0.95. Give it half-macro abilities as a bonus.

New Nikon Z Body on the Horizon?

Earlier today my daily go-to rumor site, NikonRumors, reported that a 67MP image had been uploaded to a social media channel by one of Nikon’s overseas subsidiaries.

This is really exciting news, as it may mean a new body going to be announced soon, or perhaps a new firmware update to allow pixel-shift high resolution shots to be taken.

Anyway, I agree with the report that if this image is to be believed to have come from a new camera body, it would most probably not be a Z8, but rather a Z7III.

Reasons being 1: Z7II was on discount a few months back, 2: 1st-gen Z6/Z7 have been officially discontinued, 3: it makes sense in terms on lineup segregation.

From the way I see it, and with a bit of wishlisty-hope embedded, I kind of think the lineup would turn out in this fashion:

Z5 line - entry level FF with SD card slot(s), cheaper design parts (i.e. lower res LCD), lack of top screen, older design sensor with moderate MP, lower FPS, non-gripped design, uses EN-EL15

Z6 line - all-rounder FF with CFe/XQD + SD slots, top screen, moderate MP non-stacked sensor, high FPS, good noise control, good video, non-gripped design, uses EN-EL15

Z7 line - highest resolution FF with CFe/XQD + SD slots, top screen, high MP non-stacked sensor, moderate FPS, decent noise control, decent video, non-gripped design, uses EN-EL15

Unicorn Z8 line - Mini-flagship FF with CFe/XQD + SD slots, high MP stacked sensor, high FPS, good noise control, good video, non-gripped design, no mechanical shutter, uses EN-EL15, unlimited buffer with restrictions

Z9 line - Flagship with dual CFe/XQD slots, high MP stacked sensor, very high FPS, good noise control, good video, gripped design, no mechanical shutter, uses larger batteries, virtually unlimited buffer

So as of writing, the Z5, Z6II, and Z7II are slated for updates, and this is what I think might happen:

Z5II - upgraded with Expeed 7 CPU, upgraded with Z6’s 24MP BSI sensor, perhaps without an EVF, but cannot happen until Z6II has been phased out

Z6III - upgraded with Expeed 7 CPU, slightly higher MP BSI sensor (33MP?), improved FPS, improved buffer speed for unlimited RAW shots with appropriate CFe card, 6K video

Z7III - upgraded with Expeed 7 CPU, slightly higher MP BSI sensor (67MP?), similar FPS with Z7II, hand-held high resolution stacking

And if you include APS-C, the Z50 is also slated for update, which I believe will really benefit from an Expeed 7 CPU, new AF algorithms, and USB-C port.

And if the chatter about the ZF is to be believed, I think it would most probably be a Z6II in nice clothes powered by Expeed 7.

I personally think that this lineup segregation makes sense, and also coincides with the lens roadmap - the pancake 26mm would pair well with an EVF-less Z5II or a ZF, the non-S 200-600mm would pair well with Z6III’s speed and price range, the S 85mm would pair well with the high resolution Z7III as the ultimate short telephoto prime lens.

Well, just my thoughts on the subject, so don’t flame me if these turn out to be absolutely drunk scribblings and not a single sentence comes out as predicted.

Wishlist: Live View Exposure Preview for Nikon Z bodies When Used With Flashes

New AF algorithms, faster frame rates and the likes in new firmware updates are definitely nice to have - and let's be honest here I am really happy to see how much my Z6 and Z7 have transformed from firmware v2.00 into its current state at v3.40.

However the one feature that I really want implemented is the ability to totally enable live view exposure preview when using flashes.

As of now when the camera detects a flash attached to the hotshoe, it automatically disables live view exposure regardless what your d8 settings (for Z6/Z7) or d9 settings (for Z6II /Z7II) are.

Which creates 2 huge problems when using strobes as fill light - I don't know how much ambient exposure there is, and especially in backlit situations my main subject could get so dark that AF wouldn’t work properly.

My current solution is to map one of the Fn keys to disable flash, so by holding down the Fn button flash is disabled = settings are applied to live view = I can get a gauge of my ambient exposure and AF works as usual.

I think it would be simpler if there could be a firmware fix to just improve this - have a On/Off/Auto mode for d8 (d9 for the Mark IIs), where On will force live view exposure to be always on, Off will force it to be always off, and Auto will leave it on as default unless a flash is detected in the hotshoe.

Dear Nikon if you're reading this please see if this could be implemented! Many of my fellow Nikon Z shooters and I would definitely be very thankful!

Changing Lens Set-up

Now that I have gotten that little bit of negativity out of my system (refer to previous short and sweet post if you’re interested), it’s time to pen down some thoughts I have recently on how to optimize my lens set-up.

I love using prime lenses, especially when using my cameras in my own personal time, but distance restrictions or movement restrictions for my paid assignments usually force me to dual-wield my 24-70/4 + 70-200/2.8 pair instead.

I’ve been toying with the idea of swapping to the newly released (and very back-ordered) Z 24-120/4, and pairing it with my lovely 105/1.4.

Or perhaps pairing it with the Z 50/1.8 might be interesting too.

But a part of me am quite worried if the lack of the 121-200mm coverage might be detrimental to my framing when physical restrictions are in place.

And also with the Z 24-120/4, I wonder how much action my current Z 24-70/4 would see.

Decisions decisions..