Ilkka Nissila

I see, I hadn't realized that. I think Nikon should be able to easily fix this in firmware, as you suggest.

I don't have the camera with me to test but according to the Z8 reference guide, in aperture priority (in video mode), the user can not manually adjust the ISO. It's always in Auto ISO mode in S, P, and A. Manual ISO is only available in manual mode. (In stills mode, Auto ISO is not coupled to a shooting mode.) When the camera is in Auto ISO mode, there is a minimum shutter speed that you can set in the ISO sensitivity settings menu. I don't know if they changed this to shutter angle when the camera is in shutter angle mode, if not, then probably it is an oversight that they didn't think of. I can check these things when I have the camera with me.

When you're in video mode, aperture priority on the Z8 doesn't necessarily give anything useful over manual mode. When selecting A mode, you select aperture manually (the same as manual mode) and the camera will choose shutter speed and ISO for you (you cannot select aperture priority and adjust ISO manually in that mode). If you go to manual mode, and select the shutter angle manually along with the aperture, by turning on Auto ISO, you get automatic exposure via the camera adjusting ISO. Why would you want the camera to adjust shutter angle during the take when Auto ISO is available? I understand that Auto ISO may not be ideal for log video as then the noise in the image will vary, but surely that's less distracting than shutter speed or angle varying during the take?

This is an important point, and has been widely discussed in other forums. The Z8 works well in terms of temperature management as long as you choose one of the coolest running CFexpress cards. Card temperatures have been tested a few years ago in https://www.thessdreview.com/our-reviews/cfexpress/delkin-black-cf-express-type-b-512gb-memory-card-review/4/ though not specifically in this camera. I have the 325 GB Prograde Digital Cobalt card and it's excellent (it was originally preferred by Nikon when the Z9 came out, as their developers found it to perform the best in the Z9), but Delkin Blacks (which are a newer card series) are very popular among the intense-shooting crowd and can be cheaper than the Prograde Digital Cobalt. If you need larger capacity than is available in Delkin Black, then Delkin Power can be considered. Note that the series have been updated by Delkin and the newest cards may be different, but I haven't heard anything negative about the new series. The Z9 has a larger body and better temperature management than the Z8 but the Z8 also does fine as long as one chooses the right CFexpress card for the extended video recording.

Since RED is working with Nikon on the autofocus, it is likely it'll be similar to Nikon camera AF if not now, in a model in the near future. The processor architecture might need to be changed to achieve parity with cameras like the Z9 so maybe a separate AF processor (Nikon's) and image processing pipeline (which would be RED's). Porting all the code across systems could take some time. As for whether AF will be good enough to use as the go-to focusing mode, eventually, I think it'll be, but perhaps not today, at least not for all uses. Retaining the focus while zooming is achieved using software and the AF motor, which is probably sufficient for most AF users who may occasionally need to use manual focus and fix the distance while zooming (which the lens will then achieve using the AF motor). Those who want a parfocal implementation via a mechanical compensation system (instead of electronic) will choose a manual focus parfocal lens. Focus ring direction can be set from the camera custom functions menu in Nikons, also how fast the ring affects focus, in most Z mount lenses and most Z cameras. I doubt, however, that the zoom direction can be changed, at least not now. The T/W switch on the lens barrel has fixed labels and those match the direction of turn of the zoom ring in Nikon's other zooms, so probably it is the same here. As for which is the correct direction of turn, for Nikon users Nikon has the correct direction which we are used to. Some other brands also have the same direction as Nikon, while others have different, so it's not like Nikon uses different orientations from all the other camera and lens manufacturers.

Arri's Alexa 35 Base Model isn't a really price reduction of the Alexa 35 as it is missing many features which you can add via additional purchases. If you build up the features to match the full Alexa 35 the price ends up being about the same.

Currently the camera market is stable and overall slowly growing. The amateur/enthusiast/professional market has been stable in size over a long time. What happened is regular consumers (to whom photography is not their spiritual or financial lifeline) stopped buying decated cameras. This caused some trouble to the traditional camera makers but they weathered this disruption. Nikon and Canon haven't stopped making DSLRs and they will produce what the people buy. I happen to prefer the optical viewfinder but because of the need to be able to photograph silently in some situations, I also needed a mirrorless camera system. But I have great regret about the absence of the OVF which I prefer when timing shots one by one (which for me results in superior keeper rate over what I can get with high frame rate continuous and much less time spent on editing). However, for shorter focal length wide-aperture lenses, mirorrless produces usually better in-focus rates so the overall result is that I am divided. For the manufacturers selling entirely new lens lineups must be profitable. For the Earth's environment, it may be a disaster.

This is why a standardized test protocol for dynamic range is needed that is not dependent on or sensitive to processing that trades off detail to reduce noise. Patch average-based DR testing would achieve that in part, but it would still need to somehow turn off temporal noise reduction to get a true idea of what the camera's hardware is capable of. The solution could be to capture 1 second of video of a patch sequence and then average the pixels spatially within each patch and over the 1 second sequence of video, and use the DR evaluated from that. This would normalize the results so that spatial and temporal noise reduction are cancelled out. The patches should be of fixed size relative to the whole frame dimensions.

Hmm. I tested N-Log with View Assist on the Zf and when metered using my Sekonic indicent meter, exposure in the viewfinder and LCD seemed correct at the metered setting.

I hadn't even noticed that there is a sticker, after using the camera for over a year. 😉 Having the battery door also access the cards means there has to be only one hatch instead of two. In a small camera, this makes some sense. Having more hatches splits the camera's surface and in this case it would probably affect how nice it is to hold with the right hand. The MicroSD card is a bit annoying; I would have preferred dual SD or SD/CFexpress type B but I solve the problem by simply having a 1 TB MicroSD card in the second slot permanently and never taking it out. I normally insert/remove the SD card and use a card reader with it, or stick it to the computer's internal SD card reader. The MicroSD card is the in-camera backup slot (for stills) and if I ever need to access those files on it, I do have a card reader for that as well, but I might use the USB-C cable to transfer those files as I don't want to handle the super-tiny MicroSD cards any more than necessary. The battery door seems similar to other Nikons with the EN-EL15c battery. I have never run into problems with it. In the Smallrig grip that came with the camera in my country (and also the Nikon GR-1 grip that is available in Japan) there is a gap in the base plate of the grip that allows batteries and cards to be accessed. The i button is an integral part of the menu system of the camera and allows accessing some important settings. I don't think Nikon should remove it from the camera as that would mean menu dives would have to be done for even some of the most common settings (since there are fewer physical controls belonging to the "modern" interface, to make space for the "traditional" dials). Another custom menu that is available is My Menu and that's a list of user-selectable menu items that is collected in a list that the user can order and access from a function button. I set the front Fn button to access My Menu. These menus are similar across Nikons of the past ten years or so, and leaving out the option to access one of them would be problematic and make camera operation slow. I don't need the joystick and the multi-controller works fine for my purposes. I use it in preference to the joystick even on cameras that have both because only the multi-controller is available on all Nikons and the joystick center button press can easily accidentally lead to slipping the jostick to the side. It's much easier to access the center button on the multi-controller reliably. I haven't noticed any quality of materials issue with the controls. I don't know what a PU grip is. There are multiple add-on grips and "skins" available for the Zf. I use the Smallrig grip when I need to use the Zf with a bit larger lens so it's a bit more comfortable to handle with a lens like 135/1.8. I don't think the camera is a good fit for really large lenses though, as it is too small and doesn't support an optional vertical grip. But in a pinch it can be used also with large lenses, just not ergonomically ideal but does the job as a backup camera. Auto ISO basically works the same as it does on all Nikon cameras that support Auto ISO. You specify the ISO you want to use and the camera overrides it when it has to do so to achieve the metered (+- EC) exposure. Since I have the front Fn button open My Menu and the Auto ISO setting is on the top of that list, I can toggle Auto ISO by pressing Fn + OK. It's no more difficult than pressing and holding ISO on other cameras and turning the sub-command dial to turn Auto ISO ON/OFF. I would argue that Fn + OK is even easier as it doesn't require any finger acrobatics. For video use, set the shutter speed dial to 1/3 STEP and use the main command dial to select shutter speed in 1/3 stop increments. Adding 1/50 and 1/120 on the shutter dial would throw off the classical settings and the idea that you can count stops by counting the clicks easily. They could of course shift the values by 1/3 stop - I believe this was available on the Df but not on the Zf or Zfc. But 1/125 s isn't 1/120 s, so specific video shutter speeds probably would make sense to offer for the main command dial when in video mode. Rumor is that Nikon will be adding shutter angle as option on the Z9 in a firmware update. I prefer the Z8's two-axis tilting screen over the one in the Zf which flips out. I find the flipping-out screen quite a nuisance as the camera strap can easily get entangled with it when opening it to the side. Another issue is that the flipped-out screen is (way) off axis whereas the two-axis tilting screen is close to being on the optical axis even when tilted. However, I think the two-axis screen would make the camera thicker and more expensive, and selfie shooters wouldn't be happy. Aperture rings are available on third-party lenses such as Viltrox, Voigtländer etc. Z6III has a faster sensor read time but more read noise than the Zf. There is in my opinion space for the higher quality Zf sensor for those who don't need the faster sensor read time and prefer the higher quality image. DISP is a different function from what is on the multi-controller up/down. DISP goes through different shooting information configurations (that one can configure if one wants to change them) during viewfinder or live view use while shooting, whereas up/down on the multi-controller moves the focus point when shooting and it shifts between different playback data displays in playback mode. Both need their own controls to scroll through. As for +/- zooming, it's been the same since at least 12 years on Nikons and I don't think they're changing it. 😉 It used to be that zooming in/out was a press-and-hold a button + turn main command dial, but I suspect most people find the separate +/- buttons easier on the fingers. What I don't like is that Nikon keeps shifting the buttons around from model to model, making it harder to instinctively use the camera without looking when using different models over time or even on the same day. I swapped the DISP and playback buttons in custom settings so that the playback button is closer to where it is on the Z8 (it's still not the same button but one above it). I don't normally press DISP all that often so it can be in more difficult-to-access location. Anyway my main complaints about the Zf (which I love to use) are that it doesn't have either of the standard Nikon connectors for firing radio flash (SB-5000) remotely and the same connectors also work for cable release which is also not available. Only via bluetooth can be the camera remote triggered and there is a slight delay associated with that, which is annoying. However, I bought the camera anyway for the reasons that (1) I love the dials-based interface and "feel", (2) it has a better high ISO image quality than the Z8 and so it's a good complement to the Z8 for low-light shooting; the mechanical shutter of the Zf also saved the day two weeks ago when I got banding on the electronic shutter of the Z8 in theatrical lights, (3) it has a slim profile so it takes very little space in the bag when I need it as a backup camera. If I changed something it would be adding a 10-pin connector so it would work with the same accessories and remote flash control as the Z8 and other recent Nikon cameras. But we have always something missing from the Nikon "fusion" models, and the Zf is the best of the line yet (Df/Zfc/Zf). Not having access to SB-5000 as radio remote is a significant problem for me as it means if I use the Zf as backup on a portrait shoot then I wouldn't be able to use those remotes if the main camera fails. So in the end I will need a third Z camera just for that purpose. It's sometimes hard to understand why Nikon takes away features that are useful. Perhaps they think SB-5000 radio remote control hasn't been that popular instead people choose cheaper options which sometimes work. The SB-5000 + WR-R10 has been very reliable for me, the best in that respect of any radio controlled flash. It just always works, and is less unwieldy on camera than Profoto. The Leica SL/SL2 are not similar cameras as they don't have mechanical dials with marked settings that one can use even with the camera off. Also the Leicas don't take Z lenses so for a Nikon lens user it's a no-go. As for the modern lenses, for me what is important is that the lineup produces a consistent look across focal lengths and the Z mount S-line does that for me. Yes, it's very modern and contrasty and that takes some getting used to be as long as there are no surprises I can work with it.

I also like the Zf build a lot. But I've used Nikon a long time and I guess one grows to the way they do things.

All the video recording modes on the Z50II are 4:2:0.

I think if you have subject with a lot of colorful texture (such as samba dancers' costumes) then the difference between h265 4:2:0 and RAW should be obvious. I don't shoot N-RAW (I don't have enough storage and don't need 8K) but I do use 4K 10-bit 422 Prores HQ. I love it, the colorful costumes look gorgeous. N-RAW doesn't come with built-in spatiotemporal noise reduction which is likely applied to h265 footage. This may be why it might appear the latter to have more dynamic range (it's not real but because of the way DR is typically measured, one may get that impression) but you can always apply similar processing to raw footage to get similar or better results. The beard details in the h265 appears more smeared than the raw. The difference should be more clear with subjects that have colorful highly detailed textures.

Unfortunately, there are countries whose leaders feel any valuable land or property that they can take by force and/or threats is their right to take, and to prevent that, other countries need to accessorize also, to defend themselves and their allies. Otherwise there will be complete anarchy and oppression of people who fall as victims. Right now, it is probably necessary to increase arms production in the West (Europe in particular). As horrible as war is, there is no way to stop it except by showing the willingness to use (equal or greater) force. Europeans don't want to live under tyranny and yet we don't have the capacity to stop it without the US because most European countries scaled down their weapons industries. Once Europe is lost, the war will spread to America soon enough and with greater capacity. For someone who has the mind for conquering land and ruling over other people, nothing is ever enough.

I hope that you mean people take to recycling centres which handle toxic electronics waste (this is at least in my country a free service). You should not throw electronics into the regular garbage.