There’s been a Bobcat in the area for the past few weeks. While not common, not the first time to have them about. It’s been seen many times and even captured on a number of “Ring” devices. Last night at dusk, Sharon gets a call from our dear friend and neighbor Don. One of the things he does is snow removal, using a large loader and a small Bobcat blower. Our neighbor tells Sharon on the phone, “I’ve got a Bobcat!” Sharon said, “Yeah, we know” because Sharon thought he was talking about his snow removal Bobcat. He said, “It’s going down my driveway past the cabin right now!” At this point, Sharon understood Don was talking about a four-legged critter and not his tractor and frantically started waving at me. “Grab your camera, Don has the bobcat!” Sharon said to me so I raced into the office, grabbed the Z6 / 180-400VR off the tripod, slipped on my shoes and raced up the street. I get up into the forest and meet up with Don a few moments later who points up the slope and says, “He’s moving!” I got a glimpse of it walking for a few seconds before going over a ridge of snow and disappearing. What you see above is what I captured, the same results I’ve gotten many times before and I know I will again. Even knowing the odds are against me, I run out the door with my camera in my hand continually and with a smile. Because while I didn’t make a single click of the camera, I saw a piece of our wild heritage in its world. It’s worth it every time, even if it is just a glimpse!
I’ve already talked about how the Z6 / Z7 have made my B&W shooting so much easier with out of the camera stunning B&W. But for many, “seeing” our color world in “B&W” prior to the digital darkroom is a real challenge. Translating full spectrum color to B&W is a craft unto itself. But the Z6 / Z7 can make it a breeze. You can look through the viewfinder (or LCD) and see your world in color and then by simply depressing the i Button, make it B&W. Stop depressing the i Button and you’re seeing full spectrum color. And when you’re ready to make your B&W photo, just go click and you’re done! You first set up the MC Picture Control with your settings (the ones I use are below). Then as the video shows below, just select MC Picture Control and once selected, depressing the i Button shows you exactly what your scene will look like in B&W. It’s a great tool to help yourself learn to “see” and capture in B&W!
At least that’s the question filling my inbox the past couple of weeks. And it’s a great question! I regret, I don’t have the answer for folks any more than I can answer which to buy, the D5 or D850. I can offer up though how I think about it for myself and make the selection when I head out to shoot. First and foremost, the Z Family is designed to compliment what you already have, not replace. In my mind, the D5 and the Z6 are on the same shelf, both the lots of frame per second body (with the Z6 being sooooo much smaller). And the D850 and the Z7 are on the same shelf, both the megapixel bodies. So when I head out shooting and grab the D5 (still my main body), I grab the Z7 which compliments it. When I head out with the D850, I grab the Z6 to compliment it. This is for still photography. When it comes to video, all I grab are the Z6 and Z7 bodies. With ten of thousands of captures on my Z bodies already, I have complete trust they are tools I can trust my clients storytelling to. Don’t know if this will help you, but this is how I answered the question for myself.
You might be like me and a little behind the eight ball with video monitor recording. It’s a learning curve I’m trying to concour. Brent has been a big help sending me videos which work better for me than some instruction manuals. Here’s one he sent on the new NinjaV I found really helpful. Part of this is an email that came into me the past week in which I provided the wrong answer from my lack of knowledge. The native ISO when using an external like the NinjaV and the Nikon Z7 and Nikon Z6 N-log is ISO800. You can’t shoot at a lower ISO using this combo.
I’m often asked how I shoot my product shots for the website. It actually changes each time I set up based on the new gear that’s in the office. This time the new is the table top counter and the Z7. Every time I want to shoot something, I have to set up the “studio” so it’s a little different each time. I take a photo of the final set up for reference for the next time. The Z7 with the Nikkor 70-180micro was great to work with as I could instantly see the photo in the EVF and make changes to exposure without moving my eye from the viewfinder. I really like using the Profoto B2 because it takes up such little space with its big light. The main light (in the OCF 1.3×1.3 softbox) is the main light at 9.7 power. The second head with the OCF Snoot was at 7.8 power. The second light gave a slight rim separating the blacks. And the SB-5000 shooting up through the table work perfectly with it all. The SB-5000 powered with the SD-9 were on M, 1/4 power. This is how I took this photo, ISO 200, Shutter Speed 1/200 f/30.
I’m asked a lot about Focus Peaking introduced in the D850. and greatly enhanced in the Z6 / Z7 working with stills as well as video. Above is what you see looking through the Z7 viewfinder in manual focus with Focus Peaking active (click on the image to enlarge, red arrows point to the yellow grid). I switched the peaking color from the default Blue to yellow cause it’s easier for me to see. The “Focus Peaking” is grabbing the edges it “sees” as sharp and overlays a yellow grid. Since I was shooting at f/32, you can see the DoF being captured as well as general focus. Now it only works when you are MANUALLY focusing but if you’re into macro, this simple feature of the Z6 / Z7 makes them work the purchase!
