Nikon officially announces the Nikon Z 9, and it’s a remarkable $5499

entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
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You can get close to your red squirrels. I can't do that with my birds or dragonflies in flight or skittish wild birds! I posted this morning two acceptable crops in the Bird Portraits thread using 1000mm on the R5 (2xTC + 100-500mm). Here is the original pre-cropping, and then the final, upresolved 1.4x with Topaz. The problem here is not grain but the details being beyond resolution of the sensor. A 45 Mpx sensor gives 40% more resolution and 2x the number of pixels on target than a sensor of half that number.
Absolutely agree, but is it the sensor resolution that’s limiting the detail/sharpness, or is it due to using a 2x extender at the extreme telephoto end of a zoom?
 
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john1970

EOS R3
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Dec 27, 2015
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IMO the R3 and Z9 target two different markets; for wildlife photography I have been in situation where I want more MP, but I have also been in situation where I wished I had improved ISO performance and higher fps.

I really hope that the rumored R1 specs of having quad pixel sensor with 21 MP and 84MP flexibility materializes. With a single body one would have more MP when you want it as well has High ISO performance when needed.
 
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john1970

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Dec 27, 2015
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Absolutely agree, but is it the sensor resolution that’s limiting the detail/sharpness, or is it due to using a 2x extender at the extreme telephoto end of a zoom?
And depending on distance, there can also be atmospheric contribution to loss of resolution. A professional bird photographer once gave me three rules of advice to improve my photography:

1) Buy the longest fastest telephoto lens that you can afford
2) Learn how to approach subjects without spooking them
3) Know when to walk away from a lousy photograph

The last two are important to learn and are quite economical relative to the first one!
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Absolutely agree, but is it the sensor resolution that’s limiting the detail/sharpness, or is it due to using a 2x extender at the extreme telephoto end of a zoom?
A good question. The overall resolution of the system depends on the product of the resolutions of the sensor and lens: MTF(system) = MTF(sensor)*MTF(lens). So increasing the resolution of the sensor by 40% increases the resolution of the system compared to having the same lens on both, whatever the lens, be it good or bad. If you are asking, whether the 2xTC is any good, it is actually very good indeed on the 100-500mm, and at 1000mm it outresoves the native 800mm f/11. The old EF 2xTC III is not nearly as good. We had a thread on this: https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/threads/canon-rf-2x-extender-anyone-used-one.40408/
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
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And depending on distance, there can also be atmospheric contribution to loss of resolution. A professional bird photographer once gave me three rules of advice to improve my photography:

1) Buy the longest fastest telephoto lens that you can afford
2) Learn how to approach subjects without spooking them
3) Know when to walk away from a lousy photograph

The last two are important to learn and are quite economical relative to the first one!
Yes, definitely good advice to buy the longest and widest-aperture lens you can afford, but we’re talking about lenses that cost £30K or more, and even hiring one for a 2 week safari costs a great deal.

Learning how to approach subjects is fundamental to wildlife photography, as is developing a full knowledge of the creature’s habitat requirements, seasonality and behaviour.

I’d pay less importance on “knowing when to walk away from a lousy photograph”, in much the same way that I pay little attention to waiting for the “perfect light”. Very often I’ve found that my best photographs have been taken in far from ideal conditions. Patience can bring great rewards.
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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And depending on distance, there can also be atmospheric contribution to loss of resolution. A professional bird photographer once gave me three rules of advice to improve my photography:

1) Buy the longest fastest telephoto lens that you can afford
2) Learn how to approach subjects without spooking them
3) Know when to walk away from a lousy photograph

The last two are important to learn and are quite economical relative to the first one!
1) Needs caveats. If you are on foot, get the longest fastest lens you can carry. Then, if you don't use a tripod, the longest fastest lens that you can hand hold. And, if you are photographing objects in flight, the fastest lens that is sufficiently long but has a wide enough field of view you can work within. 2) and 3) are universally good advice.
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
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A good question. The overall resolution of the system depends on the product of the resolutions of the sensor and lens: MTF(system) = MTF(sensor)*MTF(lens). So increasing the resolution of the sensor by 40% increases the resolution of the system compared to having the same lens on both, whatever the lens, be it good or bad. If you are asking, whether the 2xTC is any good, it is actually very good indeed on the 100-500mm, and at 1000mm it outresoves the native 800mm f/11. The old EF 2xTC III is not nearly as good. We had s thread on this: https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/threads/canon-rf-2x-extender-anyone-used-one.40408/
It’s interesting to know that the RF 2x extender is a lot better than the (awful) EF 2x iii extender!
 
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john1970

EOS R3
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Yes, definitely good advice to buy the longest and widest-aperture lens you can afford, but we’re talking about lenses that cost £30K or more, and even hiring one for a 2 week safari costs a great deal.

Learning how to approach subjects is fundamental to wildlife photography, as is developing a full knowledge of the creature’s habitat requirements, seasonality and behaviour.

I’d pay less importance on “knowing when to walk away from a lousy photograph”, in much the same way that I pay little attention to waiting for the “perfect light”. Very often I’ve found that my best photographs have been taken in far from ideal conditions. Patience can bring great rewards.
Your last sentence is perfect!!
 
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DBounce

Canon Eos R3
May 3, 2016
500
544
Is the R3 better than this for the money?
As someone who preordered the R3 I regret to say the Nikon appears a much better value. What’s groundbreaking is the appearance of ProRes Raw internal recording that will be added via a firmware update. This codec plays well on Apple’s new silicon, making the post workflow much better than dealing with Canon’s notoriously difficult to playback raw light footage.
I just might cancel my R3 preorder? From now on I request demand ProRes and ProRes Raw internally. Clearly there’s a way to add it, in spite of the Red patent. As such, there’s zero reason to purchase a hybrid cameras that lacks these important codecs.
 
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Shame they went to all that trouble making the promo video for the world and couldn't figure out that the correct pronunciation of the letter Z is "zhed" not "zee". I still think the Z9 body shape looks weird compared to the EOS R3.
Merca says zee instead of zed. I am very much looking forward to my knee con zed nine.
 
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It is odd how much value people seem to put on MP. The 1Dx line and previously the Dx line of Nikon have been ~20 MP range for generations. Clearly there is a significant market for that sensor size. And for those in this market, where 20 MP is enough, the 45 MP is a potential negative due to increased file size.

What's changed is many working pros need to deliver video. The R3 has 6K video with high specs because video matters.

It's also true that most of the people who need speed aren't shooting raw but JPG. A 33MP JPG is already too big for a website by a factor of 33.
 
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Aussie shooter

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It looks good on paper but the devil is in the detail. I can only assume that with the fast readout speed they must be 100% sure that they will have removed all chamce of banding under artificial lights and ES. if they haven't the lack of MS will be a disaster. The lack of super fast shutter speed with RAW will likely be panned but i dont see it as an issue. 20fps is enough. Gotta admit. It looks like a great camera(especially for the price).
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
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I still think the Z9 body shape looks weird compared to the EOS R3.
I’d go so far as to say that the Z9 looks positively ugly alongside any of Canon’s stylish cameras, but what counts a great deal more is how the cameras compare in ergonomics, specification and performance.

If I was upgrading/switching from a Sony, and needed a high performance, gripped, sports/reportage battleship, I’d almost certainly get the Z9, but my R5 does pretty much everything that I need/want a camera to do (although I’m hoping for better battery life, eye-control AF twin, CFE-B slots and a few other improvements in the R5 Mkii).
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
UK
After a few single malts, it will be a zhed 9.
I’ve never heard anyone pronounce Nikon as Knee Conn, the name was derived from Nippon Kogaku, so it seems logical to me to pronounce it Nick On, while Nigh Conn seems very lah-dee-dah… I’ll take Zed as in Led Zeppelin too.

And what about So Knee? Or is it Sonnee?

At least with Canon there is only one way to say it!

But after a Laphroaig or three I might stretch to a Pain O Sonic…
 
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