Nikon’s new mirrorless system, coming in ... late September 2018

[armand]

As someone who shoots landscapes and portraits, I'm now looking with interest at the new Fujifilm GFX 50R. Seems to be priced at about the same as a Nikon Z7. The issue of lenses matters and I'm quite invested in Nikon, but otherwise ...

The 50R with the 32-64 is likely very close weight wise to what you are using right now for walk around, less zoom though. The GFX lenses are not more expensive the pro Nikons. Now, the difference in IQ is likely not that big.

[armand]

If one orders a Z7 from BH Photo today, will they receive it before the year has ended?  The problem is that for many of us these products aren't really available. Look at the D850.

D850 is still not in stock at many major stores, 1.5 years! since launch. I wanted to buy one last January for my Iceland trip. Now with all these new toys announced I’ll wait.

[chez]

I wonder how can you edit your photos on that small screen and if the screen is calibrated. I think it's waste of resources. The setup it's just not convenient for editing on the go.

If they really wanted something they could have approached the WD SSD way, make the shots available wireless for editing on an iPad, that could work if you have the battery for it.

The herds of photographers today edit their images on their phones and send directly to the net...Zeiss is just trying to duplicate this in a more conventional camera than the phone.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I wonder how can you edit your photos on that small screen and if the screen is calibrated...l

Today’s phones have screens that are better calibrated than what 99% of photographers have at home. Furthermore, 99% of people seeing our photos will do it on their phones, if not today, then tomorrow.

[faberryman]

I imagine so. The first batch are now being distributed here (London) and the shops seem to have received good supplies.

Are the lenses and adapters available as well? I read one report that the 50mm f/1.8 lens has been delayed to December.

[armand]

True, for some. I would rather do the editing on the phone directly though or even better on a larger screen tablet, with phone specific apps. As I said above, the picture could still remain on the camera hard drive and only the associated catalog would change.

I recall trying to edit in LR on smaller screen laptops (with lower resolution, HD only) and it was not fun. Not too mention it was not that fast either. In the end I was mostly selcting/deleting the obvious failures and doing few basic adjustments.
Time will tell if this one will catch up.

PS. Is the screen bent? It looks like it follows the grip, not too mention your thumb will likely rest on it, unless the camera is bigger than what I think

[Dan Wells]

While there (admittedly) aren't many of them, the initial lenses have exceptional MTF charts for their size and weight (they are that elusive creature known as a great lens that isn't super-fast). The 24-70 outscores any other normal zoom I am aware of (I'm not sure about some oddities like Leica R lenses and I know nothing about cine lenses) - it's slightly better than the best (much bigger and heavier) 24-70 f2.8 lenses, and pulls away more significantly from the f4 and variable aperture crowd. The 50 mm f1.8 is bigger and somewhat heavier than the double Gauss 50mm lenses that are basically film era designs, but it outperforms them by a huge margin (example: any other Nikon 50mm). It is MUCH smaller and lighter than the more complex "super 50" designs like the Sigma ART and the Otus, although it is slower - and it seems to perform comparably to those designs.

Initial shooting reports seem to indicate that the lenses may live up to their MTF charts - and that's one reason why I'm excited about the Z7. Nikon looks like the one for me, although I'm going to give everybody a good look at PhotoPlus.

I love Fuji (have shot their APS-C system for years - a Z7 could give me an extra stop plus of DR, ISO 64 and twice the pixels in the same size and weight) , and will give the GFX 50R a close look, but I think the weight of the glass and the lack of IS will be a problem on long hikes. If the GFX 100 were the size and weight of the 50R??? Especially if they had a few more compact lenses???

I don't trust Sony's weather sealing for what I do - having carried a camera on the outside of my pack for 450 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail last year (and with no plans to stop photographing that way), I won't take less than the best in that department. I also don't like the fact that Sony's compact lenses tend to be mediocre (with some exceptions) and Sony's great lenses tend to be big (and fast)...

Canon's sensor doesn't give me enough over my APS-C Fujis - similar DR and 6 million extra pixels aren't enough to trigger an expensive addition to my system, plus they seem to have a similar initial lens philosophy to Sony  - great fast lenses if you're willing to pay in cost, size and weight, plus average to above average compact, slower lenses.

The Panasonic mockups (and I consider a supposedly functional camera nobody is allowed to turn on to be a mockup) are much bigger and heavier than their competitors.

These are strictly my priorities - there are reasons to like each of these systems...

[faberryman]

I love Fuji (have shot their APS-C system for years - a Z7 could give me an extra stop plus of DR, ISO 64 and twice the pixels in the same size and weight)

I don't know how to insert an image, but here is a link to a size comparison to the Fuji XT3 with 35mm f/2.0 and the Nikon Z7 with 50mm f/1.8

http://j.mp/2zChRWX

[armand]

You might want to look at these too:

http://j.mp/2zCGUck

http://j.mp/2zD2vRX

Less clear cut.

[Dan Wells]

I am aware of how small the Fuji f2.0 primes are - as Armand says, the differences decrease when you're using zooms.

 I always use zooms to avoid changing lenses frequently on the trail, and that makes it closer. Another thing to consider is that in order to have any image stabilization at all (which I consider essential on the trail - tripods are darned heavy), you aren't taking advantage of the weight reduction of both the X-T2 and a prime lens - that combination is unstabilized unless the prime is the large, heavy 80mm Macro or the upcoming huge, heavy 200mm f2.0 - not Fuji's fault, 200mm f2 lenses are heavy due to physics! You either have to use a zoom or the X-H1 body to gain stabilization. Some of the primes are also non weather sealed - that varies by the lens.

 The Z7 body is comparable to the X-H1 in size and weight comparing stabilized bodies (the Nikon is actually slightly lighter when you consider that it contains the equivalent of two Fuji batteries, and, while its CIPA reports are disappointing, real world tests are seeming to show that it gets 1.5 to 2 Fuji batteries worth of performance) The Nikkor 24-70 falls in between two Fuji normal zooms in size - there is the little 18-55 f2.8-4 , which is a great little lens (best kit lens on the market for years), but it isn't as good as initial reports show the Nikkor 24-70 will be. The other option is the 16-55 f2.8, which is a fantastic lens (probably comparable to the Nikkor), but significantly heavier than the Nikkor (and it's Fuji's one and only unstabilized zoom - why did they do that?).  It requires the X-H1 for stabilization... The Nikkor 14-30 will probably be comparable to the Fuji 10-24 in size and weight.

You can get a wide variety of results out of camerasize, depending on exactly what you choose for options. Those tiny Fuji primes on the smaller bodies (and, even more so, a small Micro 4/3 body  with a pancake) allow for some very small systems. For a weather sealed kit with top-quality normal and (admittedly upcoming for Nikon) wide zooms and stabilization in either the body or lens, the differences are minimal.

[Telecaster]

I wonder how can you edit your photos on that small screen and if the screen is calibrated. I think it's waste of resources. The setup it's just not convenient for editing on the go.

If they really wanted something they could have approached the WD SSD way, make the shots available wireless for editing on an iPad, that could work if you have the battery for it.

Folks edit photos on their "phones" all the time. That kind of use is what the Zeiss camera's editing features are intended for. But if I understand it right you'll also be able to pass on your edits from the camera's Lightroom to Lightroom on your tablet or desktop/laptop. Lightroom Mobile can already do this. So…quick & easy edits for social media sharing plus the ability to refine those edits later on for other purposes.

-Dave-

[armand]

Can you share directly from the camera? If you still need a phone than I don't see the point but maybe I'm behind times.

If I can't wait until I get to a computer I usually just take a shot with the phone or rarely I send it to the phone from the camera where I might perform some basic editing before sharing. The only reason to do this in camera would be if the color profiles cannot be simulated otherwise (such as the Fuji colors).

[hogloff]

Can you share directly from the camera? If you still need a phone than I don't see the point but maybe I'm behind times.

If I can't wait until I get to a computer I usually just take a shot with the phone or rarely I send it to the phone from the camera where I might perform some basic editing before sharing. The only reason to do this in camera would be if the color profiles cannot be simulated otherwise (such as the Fuji colors).

When I travel for extended times, I like to keep family and friends up to date on my travels and always send pics. Right now I transfer from the camera to my phone, do some edits and then send out. It would be great to be able to skip and phone and just edit / send from the camera.

[SrMi]

Are the lenses and adapters available as well? I read one report that the 50mm f/1.8 lens has been delayed to December.

Z7 with 24-70, FTZ adapter, 35/1.8 are all available. Need to look for them, though (e.g., Best Buy). 50/1.8 is scheduled for the end of October.

[BernardLanguillier]

Z7 with 24-70, FTZ adapter, 35/1.8 are all available. Need to look for them, though (e.g., Best Buy). 50/1.8 is scheduled for the end of October.

The 50mm f1.8 Z is now announced on Nikon image page in Japan to become available mid December.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Kirk_C]

Can you share directly from the camera? If you still need a phone than I don't see the point but maybe I'm behind times.

Quoting Zeiss:

"The ZX1 features Wi-Fi network connectivity (in addition to Bluetooth and USB-C data transfer), allowing photographers to upload photos directly to the Web without having to first transfer images to other devices or programs"

There are a number of ways that this could be done. The camera may have an FTP client, a Drobpox type app or a simplified web browser that allows you to use WebDav or access a CMS like Cpanel. Or just simply access your Instagram account via browser. Then maybe it's just LR allows you to create a web gallery and upload it to a web server.

However they intend to facilitate it there will have to be a Wi-Fi available but you could use your smartphone as a Wi-Fi hot spot if you're off in the wild and have a cell signal.

[D Fuller]

Very interesting hands-on review by Ming Thein:
https://blog.mingthein.com/2018/09/29/2018-nikon-z7-24-70-review/

“On an absolute scale, what we have here is not revolution but thorough evolution – much as the D3 was in its day. And as the D3, this represents a massive quantum leap of innovation for conservative Nikon; though the Z7 isn’t the second coming of sliced Jesus there are enough solid improvements over the D850, and not too many compromises (some of which are firmware-fixable). For a first try, it’s remarkable effort. Put another way: I don’t care what the fanboys say, but we’re now on the third generation of Sony A7 (fourth, if you count the A9) and they still don’t operate as smoothly.

If you’re not bothered by the D850’s size and weight, or need stabilization in lenses that don’t have it, or shoot video, or use a lot of manual focus – then you can skip this generation. But if any of those things apply to you for any meaningful portion of the time, you’re likely to find the Z7 is a worthwhile addition. Just remember that there are some differences in control paradigm, with heavier reliance on customizable menus and far fewer customizable buttons. Don’t get me wrong, though: Nikon has managed something impressive: a mirrorless device retaining all of the advantages of mirrorless, but still feeling and operating with the immediacy of a good DSLR. MT”

[armand]

Very interesting hands-on review.
https://blog.mingthein.com/2018/09/29/2018-nikon-z7-24-70-review/

Funny! I opened this to post the same link.

[armand]

What I find slightly concerning is his comment in regards to the color not being as “good” as that is be one of the things going for the D850, at least for me.

Focus not being as good as a D850 is fine, I think a Fuji X-T2 level is already good enough for anything but very fast moving targets; to be honest I still use AF-S for most. For me this Z7 would give about 1.5 extra stops of DR, IBIS and a small WR zoom (if only Fuji had that 16-80 WR out). I probably don’t need the extra resolution or high ISO that much.

[gkroeger]

What I find slightly concerning is his comment in regards to the color not being as “good” as that is be one of the things going for the D850, at least for me.

If I read his post correctly, he is using ACR and raw... so the color is being created by ACR, not the camera (which is always the case in raw). It seems likely that the CFA might not be exactly the same as the D850, and that Adobe hasn't built the ideal profile for the Z7 yet. Of course some folks don't think Adobe every builds ideal profiles). I am always struck by the reviewers that go on and on about each companies "color science" and then shoot raw? Seems like there needs to be a better way for companies to supply end users with LR and ACR profiles. Adobe is the gatekeeper in many cases, and their process is far from transparent.

MT is as good a reviewer as they come, and his thoughts and observations are some of the first that I trust.

Glenn