Andrew Reid

F2 is where the magic rendering starts for me, but no matter what look you are going for be it shallow or deep DOF, AI will be able to apply it all. To anything with a small sensor. Much harder to get rid of a shallow depth of field baked in by the optic, than to take a deep depth of field and make it shallower with AI!

For that app you still need a smartphone though don’t you?

Some of my thoughts here: https://www.eoshd.com/news/ai-will-mean-lens-prices-have-to-be-completely-reassessed-by-camera-companies/

One of the best uses of a clinical sharp image recently has been Zone of Interest. It's truly chilling. The clinical, clean, 'psychopathic' deep depth of field extenuates the banality of evil, and there is something very Nazi-ish about hyper crisp detail that really suits the mood. But then I never expect anything less than genius from Jonathan Glazer. Oscar was well deserved. Just proves that even anti-cinematic cinematography has a place... Sometimes.

Test files on the way to you now.

I am going to release on the blog a little EOSHD LOG C3 profile for Panasonic's full frame cameras and perhaps the GH6. Happy to give it out for free to any of you folk who'd like to try it out in return for a bit of feedback and some test shots. It will make your camera compatible with the ARRI look library and ALEXA LUTS. It should also be a bit easier to grade than V-LOG. It also brings ARRI LOG C wide colour gamut to the Panasonic cams. No need to wait for GH7 and pay $200 for the privilege! Happy to answer any questions relating to it and what cameras it'll work best on...

I don't think many people starting out are considering DSLRs over mirrorless. The stuff I see, even a bargain like a $1k D850 just seems to sit on the store shelves. The Z6 III isn't for people starting out anyway, it is aimed at existing Nikon DSLR users and owners of the Z6, and Z6 II... Plus they are hopeful a bunch of people might switch from other manufacturers, but it would be a brave beginner who drops $2.5k on their first camera body and a further $3k on lenses. So the $1500-2000 market and beginner market are two very different things. I am talking about the $1500-2000 range of enthusiasts who aren't beginners. The Z6 III is priced about $1000 too high for them especially in the UK. They have a massive range of mirrorless cameras to choose from on the used camera market. X-H2, X-H2S, GH6, A7 IV, A7S II, A7R II, A7R III, A7C, Z6 II, there's loads... Over at WEX they even have a special Z6 II Ukraine War Edition: ... It's sponsored by Leica, with pretty Sony crayon mode dial colours. Saw a GFX 50S for £1200 the other day, so if we take video out of the equation for these people... And realise they can go medium format 50 megapixel for that price... the Z6 III doesn't even come into their thinking at all. Why pay double the price for half the image quality?

And this is why one shouldn't get hung up on imatest The whole point of RAW for me is that the RAW sensor data is exposed in the final image, including grain texture and shadow noise. Also this seemingly standard method in tests of exposing CMOS sensors for highlights, then ramping up the blacks - think about the impact that has on colour in the mids and tonality in the shadows. Yes you are showing what kind of dynamic range is possible but in creative terms it is a step back. And when you start applying NR to the shadows in some misguided uncreative attempt to squeeze out that last 0.5 stops of dynamic range, you may as well shoot H.265 It would be interesting to take the uncompressed Cinema DNG cameras... Blackmagic Pocket 4K original firmware, Sigma Fp-L, 5D Mark III Magic Lantern, Digital Bolex and compare the image aesthetically to N-RAW and ProRes RAW, in terms of how close one or the other looks to film. And film remains the gold standard for atmosphere, warts and all. I always look at images and not so much the numbers especially when we are talking less than 1 stop differences between cameras. Unless it is a case of Alexa 35 which is far ahead of everything else.

Much like every other government service in the UK it is never staffed anyway 🙂 Unlike the terrifying one in Berlin. That Z8 + £226 flight voucher is for the price of a £2699 Z6 III at WEX by the way. I know what I'd choose!!

N-RAW isn't unprocessed really. https://www.eoshd.com/news/is-n-raw-real-raw-nikon-z9-under-the-spotlight-at-eoshd/ I found it a bit underwhelming vs the best H.265 10bit. Given the fact the file sizes are so enormous you would think the benefits would be much larger, especially when pushing the image around as much as I did in resolve.

So you get a Z8 and a free £226 towards the Tokyo flight. I don't think WEX Manchester can match that. Then again for 2.5k you can get a lightly used Fuji GFX 100 If the EOS R6 Mark II had a proper mount and lenses I would consider that used as well, as WEX do it mint for £1799!

I am currently writing a guide to all the classic digicams from Y2k. And it has made me realise that I am getting a bit bored of full frame at F1.2. I think a similar thing has happened with anamorphic. The look has been held hostage by the ad world and cheapened, overused. So in a way it is quite refreshing to spend time with a Canon G2 from 2002 with (decent for the time) 2/3" sensor, or if you want a modern 2/3" sensor, the Fuji X-30. Also fun are the tiny Canon IXUS models with CHDK for raw, and some of the older smartphones like the iPhone 4S. It has made me think that if the light isn't right and the subject isn't interesting no amount of shallow DOF can make it worthwhile so why bother? And if the light IS right and the subject IS fantastic then a deep DOF can sometimes make it look even better, sometimes not - but it's definitely a valid creative choice. I also think the modern cameras are just getting too good... too clean, too clinical, too sharp, especially the modern lenses (be it anamorphic or otherwise). And we have had this discussion for about 15 years now and not a single manufacturer has listened. There is nobody in the modern camera industry fulfilling the niche of analogue / film compact replacement camera other than the y2k CCD digicams. And don't get me started on the desire for a Digital Bolex sequel!

There we go then... a £300+ rip off Britain surcharge. The hard of thinking are currently out in force, seeking solutions from the very liars who sold them the current malaise... i.e. the Reform Party Brexiteers. It'll be interesting to see what their Liz Truss school of economics does to prices if they ever get a sniff of real power. By comparison how much is the Z8 in Japan and how much is a flight?

Two things going on here... a Brexit cost, and an inflationary cost. We have had something like 20% price rises in just over 2 years and since before covid some prices have doubled... To cope, we have had some increases in wages as well. Consumer goods prices and wages are linked. It's why online subscriptions for example cost less depending on the country. Also if the UK Nikon marketing, sales, distribution, and then on top of that WEX store staff are all needing their 10-20% pay rise it will pump up the price of cameras and lenses. Since Brexit UK has decoupled from the third largest economic region on the planet, so no longer enjoys the economies of scale as much as it used to, and shipping has become much more expensive. The currency has also taken a hit vs the USD but the yen I believe is quite weak? So that doesn't really explain, or shouldn't explain the raw deal. VAT is still very high and should really come down. Anyway it all amounts to it being £300 too much at launch for mid-range camera and they will be hoping the better than R6 II / A7 IV specs on the video side and the long pent up demand for a proper Z6 upgrade gets it over the line. What I think they have also accounted for is future discounts. They know it won't be at £2699 for very long.

I am not referencing those with just $400 but the ones with reasonable money to spend, to whom 3000 euros just cannot be justified for just one single camera that does nothing really special compared to the 6 year old original model for stills. This is high-end Apple laptop pricing territory. Also it is not within reach of those with a spare disposable $2k to upgrade from their old DSLR either. So as a 'mid-range' camera I really just think it is too expensive. I'd be interested to see how that $2500 market holds up. It is either going to cannibalise the high-end and pros will buy the Z6 III, or it will suffocate the mid-range and people will just get second hand stuff instead. It isn't a sustainable strategy. Mid range should be $2k max.

It remains to be seen what the real price will be once it hits retail in Europe, but 2650 sounds like a direct currency conversion from dollars... and therefore does not include the 20% VAT in Europe 3180 EUR would be the price including tax So therefore it makes more sense to just get a used Z8.

It isn't a faster readout. Z9 is 45 megapixel! The Z6 III only has to read 24 So the very marginal benefit in RS is due to the lower megapixel count... 6K vs 8K, not a faster chip architecture.

Here's my take on it https://www.eoshd.com/news/nikon-z6-iii-lands-with-video-aplomb-but-only-partial-excitement-for-photographers/ When it comes out at 3000 euros, you will be much better off spending the $100 less for a used Z8! After the price depreciates by about 2000 euros in 2 years, then it's a different proposition, I'll take ten. Once it hits the price of the Z6 (still nice BTW and better lowlight + DR for photos), sitting on eBay for £500 then I might even by an eleventh. But even then, I'm not sure I will need 6K/60p or want to put up with the file sizes in RAW. Which begs the question why bother, what else is on the table that it offers? And the RAW codecs just don't have that RAW look that a proper Cinema DNG codec has on a proper RAW camera like the Sigma Fp-L, especially in terms of noise and grain texture. I also think that the Japanese keep making cameras and images cleaner, sharper, better... Whereas the artist in me is starting to get very bored of that and looking for something different and more analogue. On the lenses side it's the same. So no the Z6 III doesn't really float my boat, especially not for 3000 euro. When the Sony A1 II comes out at $6k by the way, keep an eye on A1 OG prices... These may well be close to the Z6 III and Z8 soon. That 8K H.265 500Mbit/s 10bit 422 it does is the nicest one of all... and this is coming from an ex-Z9 owner....it is better than the 6K Z6 III N-RAW... Yet with an essential plus....a much more manageable size of recording.

This is a bit of a pity isn't it? Also the file sizes in ProRes RAW and N-RAW are not nice. Hopefully Nikon will do away with both in favour of R3D in future. Does it lack a mech shutter as per Z8/9? Apart from the above mentioned points and the bulkier body vs OG Z6 (not to mention bulkier price), it does seem like a very solid option but until it comes down in price, Z8 is surely the better choice.

Here comes the u-turn!

A dream GH camera, although feel a bit sorry for GH6 owners and those who weren't invited to the launch like Gerald. Incidentally Panasonic did not even email me that it was coming out or give me any press release. Panasonic marketing at their finest!

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Back to the day job

Pathetic organisation https://news.sky.com/story/robert-de-niro-has-award-withdrawn-after-calling-donald-trump-monster-outside-of-trial-13146624

The image has aged well but not the feature set. It's lacking AF, IBIS, 4K, HFR, and a good battery or audio. The Olympus E-M1 II is 400 quid and a good alternative.