Nikon Z6 Mirrorless Camera

[Piece Corp]

47 minutes ago, Garzan said:

That is quite a deal. If my D300s didn't spend so much of it's time in a bag in the closet I'd be very interested. :-)

You could still get a free 30 day rental, but have to be living in the US

[Garzan]

6 hours ago, Piece Corp said:

You could still get a free 30 day rental, but have to be living in the US

I'll be spending 30 days in the US, but not until February. :-)

[Piece Corp]

I went over to the Art Box tonight and snapped a few photos with my Z6

[Halfaboy]

A humble question: in which mode did you shoot above pictures (i.e. manual-, aperture- or automatic mode) ?

Thanks....

[Piece Corp]

On 17/12/2019 at 22:17, Halfaboy said:

A humble question: in which mode did you shoot above pictures (i.e. manual-, aperture- or automatic mode) ?

Thanks....

Program Mode mostly, since I used to do a lot of computer programming and I also use aperture priority and sometimes use shutter priority in low light to guarantee a sharp hand held image (and for long exposures, of course), but this camera is very good at high ISO.  I haven't yet progressed to using manual, that's coming next when I become better at reading the light source.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Piece Corp

[Piece Corp]

Here are some from a model shoot yesterday

[Piece Corp]

I ordered a cross filter from Japan on Amazon which arrived yesterday, and I was anxious to try it out.  I had a cheap Chinese-made 6-star filter for one of my other lenses and the effect was subtle.  This was from a name-brand manufacturer (Kenko) and is quite pronounced.  The effect is created by a grating in the glass that diffracts the light.

I tried daisy-chaining a polarizing filter but it caused vignetting.

I think it was most effective for stage lights

You can rotate the filter to change the angle of the rays,  here with a star rather than diagonally.

Up Soi 8 now

Times Square

Finish in familiar territory, Soi Cowboy

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by Piece Corp

[simplex]

Great model shoot! Nice natural light usage and well composed shots!

 

About the stars filter, I was close ordering one myself for my old camera, which I had to sell some time ago, but never pulled the trigger. I still might buy one when I have my new camera, because it is a very cool effect, and I really like filter photography of all kinds. I am also interested in getting real sunstars in my shots, so I did some research on how to get beautiful stars at day or night in my pictures, without a filter, and this is what I found:

 

1. It is partially dependent on the glass you use. Some does produce nice stars, and some not so much. I think it needs some testing for each piece of glass owned to see how it performs when it comes to this, what the best settings are at day and night, etc. Some glass even has a well known reputation of producing very beautiful sunstars.

 

2. sunstars are a matter of taste. Some like them with more spikes, some with less. The amount of spikes depends on the amount of aperture blades of the glass.

 

3. when beautiful lightstars are the goal, small apertures should be used. Exposure affects the intensity of the stars.

 

4. in some cases, uv filter should be removed from the lens, due to the fact that in can cause lens flare and other issues with the stars.

 

5. some have good results when the light sources are almost hidden by an object in the foreground. examples would be a tree in the foreground that is very close to the sun in the background, and almost touches it. Or at night, a sign that almost covers the light source behind it.

 

6. it is quite easy to add these stars in post, or at least tune them a bit if needed.

 

As soon as I have my gear, I will experiment with this, and report back.

 

The camera I wanted to buy got too expensive, so I passed. However, I found a great deal for the first lens I want for my kit, the sony za 16-35mm f4 oss - at the moment, everybody is selling this lens, because some new lenses came out that are brighter, lighter, smaller and quite cheap, particulary the tamron 17-28mm f2.8.

but for me, the old sony is more than good enough.

 

So I got a great deal, paid 685 chf (pretty much the same in usd) for a one year old, like new lens with still one year waranty left. New it costs 1100 upwards. still looking for a good deal on the camera, either the sony a7 ii or a7r ii.

 

Looking forward to more great photos in this thread!

 

 

Sent from my Bosch Ascenta 24" using Tapatalk

 

[Piece Corp]

Simplex,

if you’re interested in the ultimate Astro-lens, Nikon has just released the 58mm f/0.95 S Noct.  This represents the cutting edge in Lens technology.  It weights 2kg, no autofocus, and costs $8,000.

 

[Natty Bummpo]

Piece Corp, I enjoyed reading your thread. I found it very relevant since I recently took the plunge myself and bought the D850 with a Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G Lens. That little package cost a ridiculous amount of money, but I figure it will be the last DSLR or high end camera I ever buy. B&H Camera gave me a great deal with a battery pack, large Ruggard bag, and 24 month zero financing so I still have some cash left over for my next trip. 555.

The D850 is huge and I think it will take some time getting use to, but I also think the resulting photos will be worth the effort and expense. I will let you know how things go. Your Z6 photos have amazing quality and clarity even in the condensed internet form. Thanks for posting & rock on! 

G. 

P.S. I too am into a Playboy model, a different one from yours. I am looking forward to seeing her again in the spring.

[simplex]

Holy shit, what a beast that lens is! The sigma art 50mm seems quite small compared to that thing. An aperture of 0.95 is insane, talking about a creamy bokeh... Likely a perfect lens for boudoir and nude as well, that is if you have the strength to hold it long enough to get a few decent snaps... Lol

It would be a waste on me though, I am not an experienced photographer like you, my photos with that insanely expensive lens probably wouldn't look better than with a lens that costs a tenth of the price. I generally believe that beginner photographers should start with relatively cheap gear, and then upgrade if needed. I still want it though, it's fucking awesome!

I have already planned my kit and trying to buy Piece by piece (used) for good prices:

1. sony alpha 7ii or 7rii
2. 16-35mm f4 - landscape, general (bought)
3. after some time (latest when I go to thailand next time) I will get the sony za 55mm 1.8 - portraits, street, boudoir, nude... This one was a hard decision, I like the sigma 50mm better, but I use it when traveling, so weight is one of the most important criterias, next to price. Otherwise, I would get the sigma.
4. last one I will buy is the sony fe 85mm 1.8 - portraits, everything that is further away (telephoto range) possibly boudoir / nudes as well, depending on space available at the location.

With the sony alpha 7ii, the whole kit is only 1971g, including the battery. That makes it lighter than the lens posted above!

Can't wait to start photographing again!


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[Piece Corp]

I went to this event in Bangkok yesterday I saw on facebook looking to photograph some hot cars at a restaurant called M.U.S.T.  Turns out it was a community of muscle car enthusiasts having their annual meeting.  They have events and get together for road excursions just like a motorcycle club.  All the cars were American muscle cars, most when gas was 24 cents a gallon.  I don't know who can afford to drive these gas guzzlers in Thailand.  The restaurant had a buffet and played old 60's classics by the Beach Boys, Paul Revere and the Raiders, etc.  There were Thais, Swedes, Brits, and Aussies.  I was the only American, and also the only guy without a car. I sold my Mustang GT convertible when I moved to Thailand from California in 2004.

 

They hired a pair of pretties to attend the event, including Champoo who was featured previously in this thread. and there were some hot cars too, including a Steve McQueen Mustang, a Plymouth Barracuda, and a vintage Shelby Mustang!

I wish I'd brought the cross filter as the effect would have been nice in the parking lot, but I didn't now what the lighting would be like.

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Piece Corp

[Rockman]

Piece, what lens(es) do you have you use on the Z6.  I have a Nikon D5100 my first DSLR and a Nikon D500.  I'm fairly heavily vested into F mount lenses.  I reallly want a D850 and either the 85mm F1.4 or the 105mm F1.4 but thats a fairly substantial hunk of change for me..    

[Piece Corp]

43 minutes ago, Rockman said:

Piece, what lens(es) do you have you use on the Z6.  I have a Nikon D5100 my first DSLR and a Nikon D500.  I'm fairly heavily vested into F mount lenses.  I reallly want a D850 and either the 85mm F1.4 or the 105mm F1.4 but thats a fairly substantial hunk of change for me..    

My full inventory is listed on the last page.  I only have one lens for the Z mount, the 24-70mm f/4. I use my FX lenses through the adapter.

My most exotic and expensive lens is the ultra wide 14-24 f/2.8 which you can buy at any BigCamera store for a mere 61,000 baht.  It was revolutionary when first introduced a decade ago as the first ultra wide not dark at the edges.  They use a bubble front element to compensate having the light bend so sharply with the short focal length.

 

[Roadglide]

What post processing program are you using with your Z6?  I like lightroom, I have a D750, but just don't like the ideal of a monthly fee if I were to upgrade to the newer lightroom since my old program only works with the older cameras.

[Piece Corp]

6 hours ago, Roadglide said:

What post processing program are you using with your Z6?  I like lightroom, I have a D750, but just don't like the ideal of a monthly fee if I were to upgrade to the newer lightroom since my old program only works with the older cameras.

I used FastStone Image Viewer when I used the DSLR, it’s free.  I rarely do photo editing with the Z6, just a crop if I haven’t framed it properly.

[Piece Corp]

Here’s a review of the Z6

 

[Piece Corp]

Christmas in Bangkok

Who is this old farang dude?

[simplex]

Nice pics! An old santa claus dude with probably the hottest companions you could imagine, only in thailand...

Quick update on my photography kit build. (Btw. if you don't want me to post that stuff here, just let me know).

Made a great deal today. Bought the sony alpha 7r II body + sony fe 90mm 2.8 macro, sony fe 24-105 f4 oss, battery grip, tether tools cable, remote control, 2 original batteries for 2280 usd. All with 1+ years warranty still left, and basically new (shutter count less than 400...) I love the swiss second hand market! People have too much money here.

Selling the 2 lenses and the battery grip alone (after some playing around) will give me at least 1790 usd back. So I effectively paid 490 usd or less for the camera, including all the accessoires. (Retail price for that stuff is 1600+ usd).

I am planning on opening a thread once I will go to thailand (hopefully soon) in which I will write down everything I am currently learning, including explaining the kit, the pricing and all the stuff I bring with me in detail, a lot of info, books and courses about boudoir and nude photography, post processing tutorials and presets for nude and boudoir, and a lot more cool photography related stuff. My thread should basically become the entry point for everybody who wants to photograph boudoir & nude in thailand (also on a budget). I will write down all my newbie mistakes I will make, how I will find the models and my experiences in general as well, and hopefully this thread will bring some new photographers to this board, which would be awesome.

Cheers!


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[Piece Corp]

Sony is the clear leader in the mirrorless market at present.  The big advantages they have over Nikon right now are much more native glass and better continuous auto-focusing.  Nikon will need to improve in these areas to be more competitive.  I have a lot invested in Nikon glass so the Z6 was the right choice for me and the new mount gives them a great opportunity to develop amazing lenses like the 58mm f/0.95 Noct.

[simplex]

Sony is the clear leader in the mirrorless market at present.  The big advantages they have over Nikon right now are much more native glass and better continuous auto-focusing.  Nikon will need to improve in these areas to be more competitive.  I have a lot invested in Nikon glass so the Z6 was the right choice for me and the new mount gives them a great opportunity to develop amazing lenses like the 58mm f/0.95 Noct.

I agree that sony is the leader in the mirrorless market at present, however, sony cameras do have issues that are very annoying. First one for me personally is that they are not that much "fun" to shoot. The handling of the a7 cameras is just not that great. The dials and buttons are badly placed, the menu is a fucking mess and it takes too much time to actually understand the camera functions and how to turn certain stuff on or off. Shooting a sony camera feels more like work, and less like fun. But good results can be achieved, the photos look great if the gear is used correctly.

Compared to nikon or fuji etc, these are factors that are def. Less good. another factor is the color that comes out of the camera, which is a big thing for jpg shooters (I shoot raw) - however, i saw that sony has improved in that regards with the newer cameras.

The advantages that lead me to go for sony are, that they are very cheap and widely available on the second hand market. Best bang for your buck. (I mean I got the a7r II for less than 500 bucks...) - I am a beginner and I need a cheap camera, which now I have, and it is great value, even when it is over 4 years old. It is a professional camera for a very cheap price.

The second main factor is that there are many native e mount lenses, from sony and many third party manufacturers - and therefore a nice secondary market in switzerland for native sony e mount glass. like-new lenses can be bought for a fraction of the retail price.

If it weren't for these two things, I would have gone for nikon. I was very close, but sony was just so much cheaper and more widely available.

Even if nikon does currently have only a very small selection of native z mount lenses, it would be enough for me, they cover exactly what I want. The 35, 50 and 85mm f/1.8 primes are great, and the 14-30 mm perfect for landscape, better than my 16-35mm imo.

My nikon kit would be the 14-30mm, 50mm and 85mm, and maybe the 24-70mm for the allrounder.

I don't need f1.4 or 1.0... Lenses like that are by design so heavy and chunky... I prefer lighter, more compact gear that actually can be brought in a small 17 liter backpack together with my surface tablet for post processing and stuff I need during the day. 1.8 primes are perfect for that. Normal people can not even see the difference between a 1.4 and a 1.8 shot wide open anyway...




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[Piece Corp]

Took my camera out for NYE, with the cross filter

There's a new food area on Soi 11 where Cheap Charlies used to be

Tiger prawns

Zanzabar

The new hotel in the 'hood

Times Square

Finish at Soi Cowboy, where I had several bottles of Stella Artois and was happy I didn't forget and leave my camera in the bar.

[Natty Bummpo]

Happy New Year Piece,

Just wondering what gear do you bring along for an evening or day shoot.I am a minimalist and prefer to be as discreet as possible, so I all I bring along is my DSLR and attached lens inside a Think Tank Retrospective 5 V2 bag.

 

 

[Piece Corp]

12 hours ago, gogul said:

Happy New Year Piece,

Just wondering what gear do you bring along for an evening or day shoot.I am a minimalist and prefer to be as discreet as possible, so I all I bring along is my DSLR and attached lens inside a Think Tank Retrospective 5 V2 bag.

Usually carry the 24-70 mm native glass with either the ultra-wide for landscapes or the nifty fifty for low light.  I have five camera bags in variable sizes.  I bought all these bags on sale, except for the Nikon bag that was free with the camera.

Vanguard Heralder 33 (top left) is large enough to hold all my gear, has a rain cover and tripod sling but is so large and bulky that I rarely use it.  I never carry all my gear.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/835464-REG/Vanguard_HERALDER_33_The_Heralder_33_Bag.html

 

I use the National Geographic / Manfroto Earth Explorer Messenger Bag (top right) when I want to look fashionable.  It looks great but is not very practical as a camera bag since is lacks proper padding and doesn't have a rain cover, but I sometimes use it as a carry bag without the camera.

 

https://www.manfrotto.com/global/national-geographic/earth-explorer-camera-messenger-s-ng-2346/

 

The Lowepro Nova 190 AW (middle left) has been a real workhorse for me the past few years.  I picked it up for 700 baht in a closeout sale at a Bangkok Fortune Town Mall.

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/563944-REG/Lowepro_LP35263_PEU_Nova_190_AW_Shoulder.html

 

Lately, I've been using the Nikon bag (middle right)  that cane with the camera.  It has no rain cover so I pack shower caps, although weather sealing on Nikon cameras is excellent.

 

The National Geographic Basnfoto Bag (lower right) was my first camera bag.  It's too small for the D610 but I can use it for the Z6 with space for one extra lens.

https://www.amazon.com/Besnfoto-Mirrorless-Messenger-Waterproof-Compatible/dp/B07SG271TT

When I carry a small bag and want an extra lens I use the Case Logic Lens Case (lower left).  I attach it to my belt and use it for easy access to my ultra-wide lens at car shows.

 

 

[Piece Corp]

In this informative video, a Nikon engineer discusses the design decisions that went into the new Nikon Z mount, which features the shortest flange distance, and largest angle of incidence, in the industry.  These metrics theoretically allow apertures as large as f/0.69 with fast auto-focus, small size, and amazing optical quality.

https://photographylife.com/what-is-lens-mount