Nikon Z System News and Commentary
Z8 and Z6III Get Firmware Updates
Nikon today introduced Z8 firmware 2.10 and Z6III firmware 1.10. While some are calling these "major updates," note the numbering. Nikon's true major updates are a change to the number on the left of the dot. So before we deal with what's in these updates, let's make sure to correctly identify Nikon engineering's pattern of numbering:
- X.## — When X to the left of the dot changes, that's a truly major update, generally introducing significant high level features.
- #.X# — When the X immediately to the right of the dot changes, that indicates that there are feature additions and changes. Often this has to do with an existing feature, where something is added or changed. Sometimes it has to do with a new accessory (in this case power zoom lenses).
- #.#X — If the X that changes at the end of the number, that generally indicates bug and performance fixes.
Note that each level of update can also contain things in the lower levels.
While Nikon hasn't been 100% perfect with the above, I know from interviews that the above is their internally stated goal.
Okay, now on to the Z8 2.10 firmware. The feature additions and changes here have to do with video and controls for it:
- Hi-Res Zoom is now available when Imaging area is set to DX.
- #G10 was added to include Power/Hi-Res Zoom collaboration. This allows for a continuous zoom that starts with a power zoom lens optically zooming and continues seamlessly with Hi-Res Zoom when the maximum optical focal length is reached. This feature first appeared on the Z50II.
- #G13 added Shutter mode to the list of options.
- #G15 added Zebra pattern color to the list of options.
- #G18 added options for Brightness information display.
- PHOTO SHOOTING and VIDEO RECORDING modes can be set individually in the bank system. (I don't like the way this option was done; it basically is a kludge until they do it right ;~)
- #F2 and #G2 add an option for Save and load power zoom position.
- #F10 adds Zoom ring control (PZ lens).
- #F11 and #G9 is now Assign power zoom (two consolidated power zoom features).
- Power zoom speed (zoom buttons) can be added to #F1 and #G1.
A number of bugs and performance issues were addressed, including buffer capacity changes that shouldn't happen, a lockup that happened during burst photography, a problem with Auto capture not starting properly, an ATOMOS AirGlu BT connectivity bug, and the fact that sometimes the camera could create images that wouldn't respond to i > Retouch.
The Z6III 1.10 firmware basically provides the same feature additions and changes, though Custom Setting numbering is different than for the Z8 as the two cameras each have some features the other doesn't. The big news in the Z6III firmware update has to do with bug/performance fixes:
- The noise jitter described by Horshack on dpreview has been addressed. It isn't 100% gone, but in terms of visibility, it is. One thing I had noticed is that the jitter was really in the Green/Magenta levels, and high ISO video on the Z6III with the new firmware seems to not run to a slight green tint as did the earlier version. Whatever Nikon did seems to have also addressed color shift at high ISO.
- A number of "video stopped prematurely" problems were identified and addressed. One big one was sometimes an N-RAW video would end abruptly and not record to the card.
- Audio noise for non-powered microphones set manually was addressed.
- When using a Micro-Nikkor lens on a tripod with Electronic VR active, the image would jitter. Now fixed.
- Other more esoteric or minor problems were addressed.
Curiously, the Z8 firmware does not include support for Flexible Picture Controls or Nikon Imaging Cloud. Frankly, that's a big miss by Nikon, and needs to be addressed.
Zeiss Returns With Otus
Zeiss today woke up from a long slumber—their last lens was introduced in 2019—to introduce two new lenses for mirrorless cameras, the 50mm f/1.4 Otus, and 85mm f/1.4 Otus. These new manual focus lenses are available in the Z-mount, as well as the Canon RF and Sony FE mounts. Prices are US$2500 and US$3000, respectively, so not inexpensive for manual focus lenses. As usual, Zeiss is using Distagon/Sonnar optical designs.
Commentary: It's going to be interesting to see how well these lenses fare against the Chinese onslaught of primes. That may be one reason Zeiss opted to do whatever it took to get an RF mount license, as RF is still moated against the Chinese optic makers (and most Japanese, for that matter).
I am amused by the lengths that Zeiss went to in order to explain why a manual focus lens is relevant these days. For instance: "in low light conditions by manually adjusting focus one can have more control...and achieve sharpness exactly where they want."
Or perhaps: "Some photographers simply prefer the tactile experience and control that comes with manual focusing." While it was true that the early mirrorless cameras and lenses tended to not have fine user control over focus with their fly-by-wire systems, when Zeiss was taking their long nap that changed. With my f/1.2 Nikkors, for instance, it's auto subject detect to the eye, roll focus if I want it slightly fore or aft, and I not only feel in full control of that with my camera set properly, but have things like magnification and focus peaking at fingertip control, as well. I'm unclear how Zeiss thinks that will be different than what they provide.
The good news, at least for the Nikon Z-mount versions, is that recent cameras can even subject detect in manual focus, plus the full set of examination tools is available on a lens that supplies information to the camera, as do these new Oti.
It's nice that we once again have Zeiss in the lens market, but it feels like it's too little effort way too late to make a tangible difference. Back when the DSLR Otus lenses came out, they shined as examples of well disciplined, sharp, lenses. The 55mm f/1.4 ran rings around all the Nikkor F-mount lenses. Today in the Z-mount, we have three pretty incredible 50mm Nikkors and a pair of 85's. I'm betting that the f/1.2 Nikkors out Otus the new Oti.
It's Z50II Day!
Today I've posted my complete review of the Nikon Z50II camera. In a few words: it's the best camera you can buy at its price point. Indeed, I've given it my Highly Recommended rating, which puts in the minority in Nikon's lineup.
In a few more words targeted to embarrass my friends at dpreview who need better copy editors: it is a baby Z9 generation camera. To be clear, babies have some limitations compared to adults, and that's exactly where the Z50II isn't a Z9: the Z50II has limitations the Z8 and Z9 don't, and even some that the Z6III doesn't. The real question you have to answer is whether you can live with those limitations. I hope my review helps you answer that question.
Meanwhile, today I've also published my Complete Guide to the Nikon Z50II. Because the Z50II is a complex camera, this book is several hundred pages longer than the one for the original Z50. It takes me a bit of time to work through new cameras and get my guides right because Nikon has this silly habit of making idiotic small changes that make no sense. For instance, why does the Z50II have Cycle AF-area mode assignable to a button when the Z6III doesn't? Finding and documenting all the little things that Nikon keeps fiddling with and tweaking is a time-consuming and exhausting process. And 100% unpredictable, too, as Nikon's small changes always seem random to me.
Apple Woefully Behind on RAW support
Apple's updated the raw file support for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS this month. Unfortunately, they still haven't caught up with High efficiency raw (Zf, Z8, Z9), but they also haven't caught up to the Z50II or Z6III at all. Even an intern shouldn't have taken eight months to support Lossless compressed on a Z6III. Heck, I bet they could even do it in three months (Z50II).
If you want to see the full list of currently supported raw formats, click here.
What's the Difference Between "Cine" and "Video"?
It appears that site after site is using the phrase "Nikon's first Cine lens" to describe the just introduced 28-135mm f/4 PZ lens. My Hollywood friends are saying Nyet to that. I agree. I'd call the new lens a sophisticated Video lens.
Lens for still cameras can skip a number of attributes that videographers and cinematographers value, and even among those latter two groups there are differences in opinion about what's necessary in a lens. So let me explain:
Beyond the attributes we'd associate with a still lens, here's how I see the differences:
- Video lens adds:
- little or no focus breathing
- power zoom capabilities, including speeds
- Cine lens adds to the Video lens attributes:
- T-stop aperture specificity
- parfocal (focus stays the same during zoom)
- Does not change size in any way during zoom or focus (internal zoom, internal focus)
- clear focus marking
- 0.8 MOD gearing on all rings
The 28-135mm f/4 PZ fits into those things this way:
- Has little or no focus breathing
- Has power zoom, including speed control
- Does not have t/stop specification, so harder to integrate with other lens use on set
- Is only partially parfocal (from 55-135mm)
- Doesn't change size during zoom or focus
- Has no focus markings
- Does not have 0.8 MOD gear rings (though Nikon has shown someone's slip on addition to provide this)
Hollywood isn't going to see the 28-135mm f/4 PZ as a "Cine lens," therefore. If Nikon really wants to move RED (and themselves) forward in the high-end world, Nikon will eventually need to either supply or associate itself with a set of real Cine lenses.
Another thing to note in all the discussion is that the Raptor-X is an 8K video camera that plays more to the cine crowd, while the Komodo-X is a 6K video crowd that is more attractive to the run-and-gun video crowd. However, note that the Komodo-X is a Super35 sensor camera, which is essentially APS-C or DX, so on the Komodo-X the new lens is effectively something closer to a 42-210mm f/4 lens.
The way I look at all this is "it's a start." Nikon and RED still have a great deal to work out before the full synergy of their products will be demonstrated.
I'll say this: from the standpoint of a wildlife photographer who goes deep into the wilds, the Komodo-X would be an excellent option now, as I could standardize lenses between both my still and video gear. If I were still supplying footage to the big animal shows, I'd be 100% on top of both the new Komodo-X and the new lens.
Nikon announces the 28-135mm f/4 PZ Lens
Nikon today officially announced the 28-135mm f/4 PZ lens, their first video-oriented lens for full frame Z-mount cameras. The only real surprise in the details was the fact that you can combine the physical zoom and Hi-res zoom for a continuous 28-270mm zoom effect. Zooming can be done at 11 speeds, and from the camera controls, NX Tether, NX Field, or SnapBridge. The supplied, squarish lens hood has an opening for adjusting filters with the hood in place. Price will be US$2600, and the lens will be available in April.
Nikon's press release also mentions that this new lens will be available in a bundle with the new RED Komodo-X Z-mount camera. Which brings us to this: RED today announced the Komodo-X Z-mount 6K as well as the V-RAPTOR [X] VV Z-mount camera. Both cameras autofocus with Z-mount lenses.
New Option for Dealing With N-RAW Video
Not only a new option, but an option from Nikon themselves. Okay, not exactly Nikon, but RED (owned by Nikon).
REDCINE-X PRO is an intermediary software product that is tasked with handling RED RAW, and now Nikon N-RAW, files. Up to this point, really only Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve could handle files such as the 8K N-RAW the Z8/Z9 produces. DaVinci Resolve is a bit of a kitchen sink though, in that it has ingest, codec, grading, editing, and a host of other features all thrown into it. It's a big learning sink if you haven't been using it before. When the Z9 came out with 8K N-RAW, those that were using Final Cut Pro or Premiere found themselves without any N-RAW support initially, and eventually ended up using DaVinci Resolve, with all the hassles of trying to understand one of the world's most complex software products.
Ironically, RED had the same issue that Nikon faced: if you created RED RAW files, how did you edit them? REDCINE-X PRO was the answer: it allows you to grade and transcode RED RAW (and now Nikon N-RAW) files before sending them to your video editor of choice in a format they understand. That's why I used the term "intermediary" above: REDCINE-X PRO gets added to the workflow process between your ingest and your editing.
What doesn't still seem to be enabled for N-RAW in REDCINE-X PRO is the ability to offload/transfer files from camera to computer directly (i.e. ingest). However, once you have a clip in REDCINE-X PRO there's a lot you can do with it, including frame rate overrides, pixel masking, syncing of audio, and much more than just basic image grading. Typically you'd export your work in Apple ProRes to your video editor of choice afterwards.
Bottom line, Nikon users now have a second free way of dealing with the N-RAW video that they create. If you're interested in more, go to the REDCINE-X PRO documentation page.
Speaking of .NEV files, I've added a new page on this site listing the file extensions for files you can find on your card after using them in a Z System camera.
Road Map Bingo is Now Complete
Nikon today announced the long-awaited 35mm f/1.2 S, the last lens from the now historical Nikkor Lens Road Map. We hope you've been saving up, as the list price on this new wide wizard is US$2800 (magic wand not included).
The lens is pretty much as you might expect: S-level attention as well as attempting to make a bold statement about just how good a Z-mount prime can be. You can see that both from just the spec sheet (3 aspherical, 3 ED, and one combined element), as well as Nikon's own press release wording: "...perfect combination of sharpness and atmosphere. Soft, delicate organic textures, such as skin and hair, are rendered with a natural authenticity, while reflective objects like jewelry are sharp and free of distracting color aberrations." In other words, sharp, with well-behaved bokeh.
The penalty for pushing the optical capabilities upwards—besides price—is a relatively large, heavy lens for the focal length. Let me put that into perspective:
| f/1.8 | f/1.4 | f/1.2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| length | 3.4" | 3.5" | 5.9" |
| diameter | 2.9" | 3" | 3.5" |
| weight | 13.1 ounces | 14.7 ounces | 37.4 ounces |
Thus, you have to really need all the qualities that this new lens provides, or else you may be better served by one of the other models.
At this point we know 41 of the 50 lenses Nikon was promising in the Z mount (the 28-135mm f/4 PZ S is a development announcement, but should appear soon). One might guess an 85mm f/1.4 to round out the intermediate prime set, but beyond that it's anyone's guess as to what's next. (It was pointed out to me that Nikon might "count" differently than me—I'm sure they do—and that the recently published Lens Chart shows 46 "lenses"—two of which are SE duplicates and two of which are teleconverters.)
Along with the 35mm f/1.2 S Nikon also announced the Coolpix P1100. Effectively, this is the EU-friendly version of the P1000, as about the only physical change is that a USB-C connection is now used. While many of us were hoping Nikon would bring their superzoom compact into the EXPEED7 era and all that provides, that didn't happen. I can only spot a small handful of minor changes from the P1000 to the P1100 in the menus. It doesn't look like a full team effort went into updating that camera, but rather a very small team was likely used temporarily to just address a few things. Pity.
Thing is, the P950 is still my favorite of these superzoom bridge cameras. While the P1000—and now P1100—take the lens and a few other things up a notch, the usability suffers some once you try to hold 3000mm on small subjects using contrast detect focus and a modest lens-based VR.
Let's Play the Telephoto Game
It's a constant question, and particularly for me since I teach wildlife photography workshops: what Z-mount long telephoto lens should I get?
Buried in that question are three factors that need to be considered: (1) budget; (2) quality; and (3) handling (size/weight). I constantly get the "yeah I'd get that except for X" response to my suggestions, and X tends to always be #1, #2, or #3.
So let me try a different approach. You need something that gets you to 400mm, 500mm, or 600mm. We'll look at just those options. Why? Because if you don't need at least 400mm, you're not playing the game (;~), and if you need more than 600mm, then you don't currently have many choices that don't involve a teleconverter.
I'm going to tackle this by splitting the lenses into three budget groups: inexpensive, moderately priced, and expensive. I'll use list prices, even though we have some fairly hefty discounts in play at the moment. I'll also put the lenses in price order.
Here goes:
Inexpensive
- Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 VC — US$1200. On the large side, a little slower than most Nikkor options, optically very good (review coming).
- Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 VC — US$1300. More compact travel size, optically excellent, focuses close (review coming).
- Nikon 28-400mm f/4-8 VR — US$1300. Smallest of the bunch for travel, but slowest of the lenses; surprisingly good optics, though you border on diffraction impacts and have to watch shutter speeds/camera handling at 400mm.
- Nikon 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR — US$1900. On the large side, no real extra controls, with arguably best in class optics at 400mm.
- Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S — US$2700. Now you see why I down-graded my recommendation from Highly Recommended to just Recommended: Nice size, with good extra controls, but doesn't provide better optics for the extra money. Does focus close, though.
Moderately Priced
- 400mm f/4.5 VR S — US$3300. If you can live with the fixed focal length, this lens has almost everything: compact and light, excellent controls, reasonably fast aperture, and excellent optics.
- 600mm f/6.3 VR S — US$4800. Compact and light for the focal length, excellent controls, and excellent optics.
Expensive
- 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S — US$14000. Big and heavy (in comparison to above), but top-of-the-line at everything else. Best optical choice, and clearly so. Built-in teleconverter is a huge sweetener.
- 600mm f/4 TC VR S — US$15500. Big and heavy (in comparison to above), but top-of-the-line at everything else. Best optical choice, and clearly so. Built-in teleconverter is a huge sweetener.
So here's my advice:
- Choose in the highest budget class you can afford.
- Within that class, consider only the focal length you truly need.
- Pick the best lens optically, or pick the smallest/lightest lens; there is no "both."
Here's where I'll get pushback: "but Thom, I need a zoom." Great, then you've picked the Inexpensive class of lenses, so just pick the best one for you. Right now that's likely to be the Tamron 50-400mm, Nikon 180-600mm, or Nikon 100-400mm.
"But Thom, how does it handle teleconverters?" Oh, you picked the Moderately Priced group, then, as the Inexpensive lenses either don't support a teleconverter or don't do so well with them. Good news: Both the 400mm f/4.5 and 600mm f/6.3 work really nicely with the Nikon 1.4x teleconverter.
"But Thom, I can't afford the expensive TC lenses and I seek the best." You once again picked the Moderately Priced group ;~). You'd be surprised at how well those two moderately priced lenses do. Yes, you've lost some light gathering and background separation. If you need more of those things than the 400mm f/4.5 and 600mm f/6.3 provide, well, by definition you've put yourself in the "price of a decent used car" territory. Rent the lens if you don't need it all the time. Or start saving up for it.
Now, with that said, I can say I've used every one of the above options at one time or another, and I've been pleased with the results. As I've noted before, the Tamron 50-400mm or the Nikon 28-400mm are excellent long telephoto choices with a Z50II. Surprisingly excellent.
You can get yourself all tied in knots by trying to analyze every last nuance and come up with the "best" solution. I'd defy you to tell me which lens I used on any image I've taken with all the above. We live in a world of Very Good Choices. Choose wisely.
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So, did you figure out what lens I used on the above image? Hint: it wasn't my usual 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S.
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Bonus: Just before I posted this article I noticed a couple of comparisons in Internet fora that try to get to "what looks best" between some long telephoto lens choices. This is far trickier than you might think. For instance:
- Between best case (f/2.8) and worst case (f/8), there's a potential for three stops slower shutter speed (or higher ISO). Longer shutter speeds will tend to alias edges compared to higher ones. Higher ISO values will put noise into the mix, and noise reduction may not produce strong edges.
- Likewise, body can make a difference: a Z50II doesn't have sensor VR and thus also doesn't have Synchro VR. Like the previous item, this can begin aliasing edges if you haven't nailed handling and shutter speed.
- Comparing the same final cropped size of an animal between 400mm and 600mm will tend to always make the 400mm lens look worse.
- At 20mp DX and 45mp FX, f/8 is right at the diffraction impact start. While I don't generally call that "diffraction limited" I almost always measure a lower overall MTF at f/8 than I do at f/6.3 with these telephoto lenses. Note that even a 1.4x teleconverter puts you beyond f/8 with f/6.3 lenses.
- The inexpensive lenses all have a tendency to lose some overall contrast maxed out (aperture, focal length) compared to the more expensive ones. Careful post processing can help make an inexpensive lens perform visually better.
In case you haven't figured it out, Step #1 is a critical one. If all you can afford is the inexpensive class, you're going to be compromising in some way.
