NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO180)
On a beautiful sunny morning I decided to visit the nearby observation tower. It was a weekday so I was the only but I was greeted by the goats. What a nice surprise.
I’m still in the phase of learning my new camera after I shot exclusively with Fuji X for more than eight years. The Nikon Z8 is a beast and it is far more complex compared to my X-Pro2. AF is extremely competent but there are so many options that it can be overwhelming. So far I settled for AF-C, wide area and subject detection. In this case animal. What it means is that I don’t have to care about AF at all. The camera automatically finds the eye of my subject and focuses on it. It works just excellent. There is no need to move the AF point over my subject. I just have to frame my image and shoot.
An amazing experience. I never had a problem with the AF of my X-Pro2. It worked for me but I always used AF-S, single focus point. For portraits I used eye detection but I deactivated this function for regular subject as the camera confused a lot of subject with faces. So while I practically never had miss-focused shots on my Fuji the process of focusing was slower.
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO160)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO500)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO90)
After the goats it was time to go up the tower. I switched to the Nikon Z 20/1.8 S which shares the same filter size with the Z 24-120/4 S. That’s great because you can put the lens cap from one lens to the other one. The 24-120 is very versatile and for most this could be a single lens solution. But I just love the look of a 20mm lens so I have to switch lenses.
The image quality of the Z 20/1.8 S is fantastic but it is not perfect. First of all the lens is too big and too long. It looks like a regular 20mm lens with an FTZ adapter built in. But the most annoying thing is that there is only one ultra wide focus ring. The problem: this ring turns around freely which means that it is really hard to mount this lens. It really puzzles me that nobody came up with this during the design process of the lens. If Nikon would update this lens and make a smaller and lighter version with an aperture ring it would definitely replace my lens.
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO250)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO160)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO280)
NIKON Z 8 (20mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
NIKON Z 8 (44mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO220)
As one would expect the view from the observation tower is spectacular. On a clear day you can see the mountains. Today was not a clear day. There was a lot of fog and distant view was poor too. That’s why I focused on the tower first. Over time the fog lifted and the view improved but it never became good enough to see the mountains in the distance.
In the image below you can see a castle on a hill that was not visible when I started shooting. I was still able to get some nice images because the light is just beautiful in autumn when the sun is low and the leaves start to turn brown.
It’s not special or spectacular but I love this landscape. Rolling hills and fields, farms and villages, the wide horizon. Most tourists associate Austria with high mountains or with Vienna. I lived in Vienna for almost 20 years but I grew up in the country side so this is my Austria, this is home.
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO110)
NIKON Z 8 (83mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO100)
NIKON Z 8 (67mm, f/4, 1/500 sec, ISO64)
NIKON Z 8 (72mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO64)
NIKON Z 8 (51mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO110)
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
Because there was no chance that the distant view would improve anytime soon I decided to go down and have another look at the goats. They meanwhile went back to their barn close to the house. I was still the only person around so I got their full attention.
When the restaurant is open the goats and the cats are the main attraction for anyone visiting with kids. I’m not a kid anymore but I still love goats. It’s hard to imagine that someone doesn’t like them. For a second Kristi Noem came to my mind. If you don’t know her just google “Kristie Noem goat” or better don’t. It’s pure madness.
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO180)
NIKON Z 8 (44mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO140)
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO90)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO125)
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO64)
I saw small kittens playing in the high grass but when I went there they ran into the barn. They were still curious though so they watched me through a small opening. In those images you can see the power of a 24-120mm lens. Two images above you see two goats and the barn with the kittens in the background at 24mm. The image above and the one below were taken with the lens at 120mm from the very same spot. And with the 45MP sensor of the Z8 it would be possible to crop the image for even more reach. Thank you Nikon, the 24-120mm is almost perfect. Now make a 20-120mm please. Fun aside I’m very attracted by the 20-70/4 from Sony. I wish Nikon would make such a lens or even better a 20-40/2.8.
Even though the kittens are very small in the frame the subject detection had no problems to lock focus on the eyes. AF is crazy good on the Nikon Z8 and especially subject detection and eye AF are amazing. It’s liberating to know that your subject will be in focus without the need to move a focus point manually.
NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO64)
NIKON Z 8 (49mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO64)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO160)
Regarding camera gear we live in amazing times. 22 years ago I got a Nikon D1 and I was amazed by the capabilities of this beast. 2.7MP and 5 frames per second. Now the Nikon Z8 has a 45MP sensor and shoots up to 20 frames per second.
But not all is good. The camera market is shrinking. Less cameras and lenses sold means that prices are going up. It’s exactly what happened to stereo systems. Economy of scale. Hifi has become High End. The same will happen to cameras and lenses. We better get our gear now before we can’t afford it anymore.
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO72)