Nikon Z6/7 mirrorless system

[fish_shooter]

Can someone explain to my how these "blur circles" (which I take are Circles of Confusion) work. By saying they are very large, is that good or bad, please?

Also, I am very interested in the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S NOCT. Where can one preorder it?

Circle of confusion is the criterion used to calculate depth of field. A good basic photography text will cover this. Not having one on hand...
See this:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_confusion
Scroll down to the table to see how it varies by format. The formula used is in the paragraph just below the table. The more one blows up (enlarges) an image (negative or digital image) the smaller the coc one should use (coc is much larger for the the large formats in the table). Therefore when one pixel peeps one should use a smaller coc, hence depth of field is less. 35mm contact prints look pretty good but when you blow them up maybe not!

[Hermann]

Birna:

Those shots with the Z6 at high ISO are unbelievably good! Really remarkable.

I can only hope Nikon will make a Z with a DX sensor in the not too distant future.

Hermann

[CS]

#312, 319, and 321 are striking, IMO.

[Frank Fremerey]

Test with Z6 at various ISO (equivalence) settings.

Hi-2 200K ('204600')

Hi-1 100K ('102400')

50K ISO (51200)

do you have 100% crops with NR=OFFF???

these are JPEG ooc?

[Bill Mellen]

Z6 rocks!

Not perfect but plenty good enough for me.

[Eddie Draaisma]

The Auto distortion control (Photo shooting menu) directly affects out-of-camera jpg’s; but for .NEF raw files it only records its setting in the .NEF metadata. It is up to the raw converter to honour this setting and compensate automatically for distortion or not.

It looks like “people move on, nothing to see here, same as in the DSLR’s” but there is something different with the Z cameras.

Firstly, ACR (and Lightroom) read the built-in lens profile (for both native Z-mount lenses and F-mount G and E lenses), and always correct for distortion, completely disregarding the auto distortion setting in the metadata. It does not seem possible to disable distortion correction. In my eyes unwanted, bad behaviour.

Secondly, with a Z-mount S-line lens attached, when auto distortion control is set to ON, the viewfinder and monitor image are LIVE corrected for distortion. I really had to check this a few times before I could believe my eyes. Very neat. It doesn’t work however with adapted F-mount lenses (I checked both E and G lenses).

Is it a useful feature? I think so, even when shooting raw. In many cases having a distortion corrected viewfinder image makes it just a little bit easier to keep the camera at level. And with a proper raw converter distortion correction can always be disabled.

[Akira]

The Auto distortion control (Photo shooting menu) directly affects out-of-camera jpg’s; but for .NEF raw files it only records its setting in the .NEF metadata. It is up to the raw converter to honour this setting and compensate automatically for distortion or not.

It looks like “people move on, nothing to see here, same as in the DSLR’s” but there is something different with the Z cameras.

Firstly, ACR (and Lightroom) read the built-in lens profile (for both native Z-mount lenses and F-mount G and E lenses), and always correct for distortion, completely disregarding the auto distortion setting in the metadata. It does not seem possible to disable distortion correction. In my eyes unwanted, bad behaviour.

Secondly, with a Z-mount S-line lens attached, when auto distortion control is set to ON, the viewfinder and monitor image are LIVE corrected for distortion. I really had to check this a few times before I could believe my eyes. Very neat. It doesn’t work however with adapted F-mount lenses (I checked both E and G lenses).

Is it a useful feature? I think so, even when shooting raw. In many cases having a distortion corrected viewfinder image makes it just a little bit easier to keep the camera at level. And with a proper raw converter distortion correction can always be disabled.

Eddie, thank you for sharing your detailed observation.

I had used the latest ACR until about a month ago, and do know that the automatic aberration correction based on the lens profile can be disabled (either or both for the distortion and the chromatic aberration).

I left both correction "on" when I used mirrorless cameras, but I switched "off" the distortion correction for the DSLR.

As you pointed out, what I see and frame in the EVFs or LCDs of the mirrorless cameras is the image whose distortion is already corrected, and thus my framing won't be affected during the processing.

On the other hand, what I see and frame in the OVF is the image in which nothing is corrected.  When I correct the distortion in the processing software, the framing changes, which I don't like.

If Z bodies won't correct the distortion of the F mount lenses even if they are attached with the genuine FTZ adapter, I would switch off the distortion correction in the software.

[Birna Rørslett]

Additionally one needs to set Option d8 ('apply settings to live view') to ON to make the finder and monitor show the corrected view. Otherwise only jpgs are corrected. Photo Ninja politely ignores any such setting in the NEF.

[Eddie Draaisma]

Additionally one needs to set Option d8 ('apply settings to live view') to ON to make the finder and monitor show the corrected view. Otherwise only jpgs are corrected. Photo Ninja politely ignores any such setting in the NEF.

Yes, forgot to mention this. This d8 setting is on by default b.t.w.

[atpaula]

Blur circles are a function of the physical size of the aperture, its shape, *and* image magnification. Smooth blur circles that overlap make smooth out-of-focus rendition.

I have a pre-order of the 58/0.95 Noct via my personal Nikon contact at Nikon Nordic. The Nikon subsidiaries do not take normal pre-orders for this lens yet, as it still is on a prototype stage of development.

Did they give you an estimate of the cost of the lens?
I suspect I'll have to sell a kidney to get the funds for it.

[Birna Rørslett]

Did they give you an estimate of the cost of the lens?
I suspect I'll have to sell a kidney to get the funds for it.

No idea of the future asking price for this lens apart from it being something very expensive. However, this lens interests me more than some of the long exotic super telephotos which I could afford today, if I had a perceived need for these. Thus I'm not too worried - and intend to keep my kidneys .

[Akira]

Additionally one needs to set Option d8 ('apply settings to live view') to ON to make the finder and monitor show the corrected view. Otherwise only jpgs are corrected. Photo Ninja politely ignores any such setting in the NEF.

Thank you, Birna, for the follow-up.

[Birna Rørslett]

I have already the Markins L-bracket (LN-Z7)  in use for both Z cameras. This bracket is very well made, not intruding upon the handling of the camera at all, and enhances the versatility of the camera both hand-held and tripod-mounted.

Yesterday I finally got the extra bracket LN-FZ made specifically for the FTZ adapter, and must say I continue to be impressed. Markins have achieved the feat of making this accessory fully compatible with the Z system with or without the camera's L-bracket.

I have added the LN-FZ to one of the FTZ adapters and keep another FTZ without the bracket. The first setup takes care of medium length lenses,  up to about 200mm, plus my Voigtländer 125/2.5 APO lenses, whilst the latter mainly serves wide-angle or normal lenses.

Only drawback of these Markins products is the pretty steep asking price, however there are makers that ask for more (no name mentioned).

[Eddie Draaisma]

The LN-FZ is very well made indeed. With only one FTZ adapter around I have it permanently attached to it.  Only one issue, I find it impossible when clamped (in a normal position to the RRS clamp) to remove the body from the FTZ. Simply not enough turning space for that.

[Birna Rørslett]

The LN-FZ is very well made indeed. With only one FTZ adapter around I have it permanently attached to it.  Only one issue, I find it impossible when clamped (in a normal position to the RRS clamp) to remove the body from the FTZ. Simply not enough turning space for that.

True enough with any Arca-type clamp I've tried. However, as one can just slide off the whole package from the clamp then remove the camera, it is a minor annoyance only.

I have several third-party mount adapters for the Z system, and they usually lack the tripod mount option thus cause no additional problems. At the same time, the lack of direct tripod support means these adapters are mainly useful with non-CPU shorter lenses, or with (non-CPU) long lenses having their own tripod collar.