Andrew Reid

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.

I do Making money out of our suffering

Sarcasm?

Yeah the irony is that these were more useful tests. Yea even ducks Theres a third component to all of this as well alongside just the shills and camera companies, and that is the audience size of the influencers. People clearly must enjoy it, and therefore the mainstream audiences and followers are all part of problem as well, and until they wake up and unfollow, I don’t see anything changing and the internet will continue to be a sinking ship !

🙂

Let's take a moment to appreciate the old treasure that is the Nikon Z6 OG, which couldn't have aged better even if it were deposited in an oak barrel in Scotland for the past 6 years. First of all it is £650 now. Secondly of course it is full frame whereas a lot of the other options for this price are crop sensor. Many of the other mirrorless full frame cameras have aged quite badly. The Panasonic S1 is superseded by a smaller cheaper camera with better AF. The Canon EOS R classic has been superseded twice by the R6 and R6 II. The formula of Z6 on the other hand has only merely been tweaked with the Z6 II that doesn't add a huge amount extra, because it just doesn't need to. And the Z8 / Z9 are insanely more money than £650. I like that it has such nice colour science out the box. It also has better custom picture profile management than Canon. The IBIS is superior to the Canon EOS R3 in every way, let alone the EOS R5 or R6 II. The 4K video and 6K sensor is superb in low light, better than the 8K+ stuff. And despite now being very cheap the top LCD and enormous, detailed EVF hold up very favourably today, in fact the EVF competes with some of the best even in 2024. The ergonomics are excellent, it doesn't put a foot wrong in terms of what it tries to do. And what it doesn't do, you probably don't need. OK, so there's no 4K/60p, or faster stacked sensor, and 120fps is limited to 1080p, but everything feels fast and responsive, including the on-sensor phase-detect AF. It is much smaller and lighter than the Panasonic S1 or S1H, yet with phase-detect AF and a very similar sensor under the hood. Z mount has also ripened well... It has a really good line up of lenses and adapters now, including the nifty Leica M mount autofocus adapter which will turn every manual focus lens into a fast and snappy autofocus optic. Plus it's the only mirrorless mount that adapts to Sony E! So you can put your native Sony mirrorless lenses on there and everything works. I can't think of a better deal for £650 at the moment on the used market for cameras. Curious to hear other opinions and what's changed in Nikon land since it came out those long 6 years ago in 2018. I can't for the life of me think of another 6 year old camera that has aged this well.

LOL!

Indeed. Gerald likes to complain in that video about all the unfair consequences for speaking his mind, yet when it comes to people like me speaking my mind about cameras, he and fellow influencer marketing colleagues like Chris Nichols just aren't at all interested (even in the case of the EOS R5), and this demonstrates that they don't respect real journalism, and don't value it enough to draw attention to it. This is because such marketeers are not the same as us - they're not filmmakers, nor are they journalists, nor are they end-users paying their own money and finding stuff out - it's quite simple - they are marketing and sales people in a fancy studio, who like to stick together with other marketing and sales people. They respect each other in terms of other marketing and sales colleagues and PR departments, rather than actual journalists, shooters or those outside the PR industry circle like artists and real filmmakers. They are opportunists. Undone and his marketeer chums like Chris, enjoy being in their little circle jerk with the camera company PR people and events. That's where they want to stay. It goes to show that the hypocrisy levels are off the chart - Gerald doesn't like free speech, and doesn't tolerate it at all when a filmmaker speaks their mind about them. And the moment a camera company has uninvited them, for whatever reason logical or not, all the toys come out the pram which shows how much this attention circle jerk means to them. Unchartered levels of window licking achieved!!

It helps standardise and unify the content, so for example Tokyo is one of the most photogenic places on the planet... That breathtaking beauty is going to be plastered all over the launch footage and test shots on the day the embargo lifts. It's why Canon took their bros to Hawaii, and not a carpark in Slough. Couple of days on a trip you can tell a lot about a camera, but it usually isn't final firmware and you can't compare very much to rival models. Although I did once bring my Leica SL to the Panasonic S1 launch 🙂 So you're right that you need longer to really get a long term insight into whether it's worth a serious investment and how it compares to a myriad of other options. So what usually comes out on YouTube is a range of quite glossy stuff that shows off the camera in the best light possible, in some of the most aesthetic situations. This has replaced the Vimeo tests of old where you had a filmmaker and model, or perhaps a videographer and a duck in the pond. And herein lies the marketing.