NIKON Z 8 (120mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO100)
At the peak of autumn color I went out to take some pictures from an observation tower close to where I live.
Even though this tower is close I do not visit often. I come here only in the winter in case there is frost or snow or for the autumn colours. Another reason I only visit during the darker months is light: The light is better. In summer you need to get up very early to have even a half decent light quality. Everything past the 8am is not ideal and you can’t really take pictures around noon except you embrace a special look. Winter is different. You get good light even around noon.
I was on vacation in June and I was on vacation in September or even November. Of course it’s nice to have long days but if you want to catch sunrise you have to get very early. I set my alarm clock and stood up at 4am to experience sunrise at the Zabriskie point in Death Valley. If you visit in winter you can have breakfast before you go.
NIKON Z 8 (88mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO100)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/60 sec, ISO100)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO100)
There is one big disadvantage when I visit this tower in winter. If it’s windy it gets extremely uncomfortable up there. I visited last year to take some pictures of the frosty landscape but the wind chill drove me off the tower rather quickly. I’m not born in sunny California but I’m not born in Yakutsk either.
Weather on that day was cool but not cold yet. No problem as long as you wear a jacket and a hat but I was still the only one on the tower. It was sunny and clear. Distant view was good but not perfect but you could clearly see the mountains on the horizon. The Ötscher covered in the first snow of the season is clearly visibly in the first picture of this blog post.
It’s under 2.000m but it still stands out here which shows you that Austria is not all mountains and Sound of Music. That’s Switzerland!
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO100)
NIKON Z 8 (66mm, f/4, 1/500 sec, ISO125)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/60 sec, ISO100)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO100)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO64)
This is probably the second time since I purchased the Nikon Zf this summer that I took out my Nikon Z8 to shoot pictures. That’s how much I enjoy to shoot the Nikon Zf which is much closer to my Fuji X-Pro2 in look and feel except that AF performance is very close to the Z8.
I don’t shoot sports and I don’t shoot birds anymore. Today I prefer to shoot a smaller camera with small prime lenses. I just got used to it during the 8 years where I shot nothing but the Fuji X-Pro2 and X-Pro3.
The Nikon Z8 is a dream camera. It is fast and silent and it has a fantastic sensor. When I started to shoot digital I had a Nikon D1. An even bigger and heavier DSLR with a 2.7MP that managed to shoot 5 frames per second. The Z8 has a 45MP sensor and can shoot 20 frames per second. It even has bird detection AF. I wish I had this camera back then instead of the D1. But the times have changed and now all this speed is wasted on me. Don’t get me wrong. It never hurts to have a fast camera even though you rarely need it but my Nikon Zf has a great autofocus too and it can shoot 14 frames per second in case I would ever need it.
The Nikon Zf is not as fast but it is plenty fast enough. The sensor has “only” 24MP but 24MP is plenty enough. Today I prefer the old fashion shooting style with dedicated, clearly marked knobs and I wish that Nikon would make some small lenses with aperture rings for the Zf. I’m not sure if I keep the Z8 because I have even more fun when I shoot the Zf. That said the Z8 just feels right in my hands because I used to shoot with big DSLRs for a very long time.
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO320)
NIKON Z 8 (24mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO100)
This place can get very busy during summer when you can sit outside for lunch or dinner and enjoy the view from the terrace. Then the place is bustling with hikers and mountain bikers and you need to come early or you are going to sit indoors.
But come on a cold day in autumn and winter when the restaurant isn’t open and you can have the place for yourself.
NIKON Z 8 (37mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO360)