24 December:  Slowly destroyed by cats...

Z9  AF 80/2.8

I don't want to be alarmist, but a quick Google search reveals that poinsettias are poisonous to cats.

No cats allowed here, but there are lenses that'll perform the destruction for you

I left my town to meet some friends in Canberra and brought the D800 I converted to monochrome.
At an extreme level, the converted D800 (36MP) produces more real resolution and gives sharper results than my Z8 (45MP).  This is obviously not a fair comparison.
However, the shutter shock ruins any inconsequential detail it gained.  The two end up looking similar.  I tested this with a line chart.
The D800 can see minor imperfections in the 400lp/mm areas due to the chrome deposition process.  The Z8 renders all of this into soft mush.  I wish I can properly capture this.  To do that, I will have to build a relay circuit and put the camera in bulb mode with the mirror forcibly restricted so it cannot move.  Doable, but I am too lazy.  Maybe when I am back to work, I will run some tests and just claim it is for research.

These converted cameras are also painful to use.  The highlights are easily clipped.  Autofocus will not work, and there is no way to calibrate it.  Even if the image is sharply focused in the viewfinder, it will come out back-focused (my specific unit).  I have to mentally compensate for this by deliberately adjusting the focus.
I measured a slight misalignment of the sensor (it was not installed back to be perfectly flat).  This is likely not possible to do perfectly without factory tools.  The best bet is to likely raise an RMA, explain the situation, and send it back to the factory for sensor plane adjustment.

Here are some mediocre snapshots.

An intriguing image with a very clever use of the raindrops!

Thank you Pluton and thank you Ann, greetings and happy holidays.

December 24

Ammarylis ready to flower

Z7_2    Z105mm f/2.8S

Both the flower photos are incredibly beautiful, Fons.