ShunCheung

I would get the 500mm/f5.6 PF. Its value in the used market has dropped in favor of Z mount lenses. That should form a great combo with the 70-300.

Sandhill crane

The first one of the three presentations will be on Wednesday, January 24, the day after tomorrow.

Moved to the Nature Forum.

After checking with Nikon USA for a few days, this was the final answer they gave me. Please keep in mind that there was some delay because a lot of Nikon people were at the CES in Las Vegas last week, and then Monday was the Martin Luther King holiday. “After looking into it, we have identified the issue. All of the cameras that that were sold have already had the corrective service completed, but were allocated for retail before the serial numbers were updated in the look-up system. Moving forward we will take steps to help ensure that this does not happen again. If customers have any question we encourage them to call customer service who will be happy to help them.“ In other words, those refurb Z8 were already repaired for the two service advisory issues. The problem was that some Nikon customer reps were not aware of that and they issued shipping labels to some individuals to send their refurb Z8 in. I know a couple of people did. Now they are waiting for Nikon to ship their Z8 back to them, for the second time. And I never bought any refurb Z8 myself. I bought my Z8 last November, with the $300 discount for new Z8. But since I know a couple of people at Nikon, I checked with my contact. Hopefully it helps those who bought refurbs as well as Nikon to identify the hiccup inside.

White-tailed kite

For the Z6ii, FW 1.61 fixes the following issue: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/update/index/2024.html

Note: Consider keeping uploads no larger than 1600 pixels on the long side when it matters, and sticking with 1000 pixels when the image feels no pain at that resolution. On data size/compression, try to keep things under 1mb, shooting for 600kb when you can stop there. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site (at Flickr, Photobucket, your own site, etc.). New to this thread? The general guidelines for these Wednesday threads are right here: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/398109-guidelines-for-nikon-forum-wednesday-image-threads. For now, we're sticking with 1, 2, or 3 images per week as you see fit. A fun moment at the end of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra concert. Z9 with 70-200mm/f2.8 S @ 92mm, f5.6, 1/200 sed and ISO 6400.

I believe there is a time limit for editing, i.e. so many minutes since the original post. Anyway, I updated your post.

This is the additional weekly image thread for the Nature Forum. While images posted to this thread should still be nature in theme, it may contain a small amount of human-made objects and therefore less restricted than the Monday in Nature threads. Please see this discussion for more details: Alternative weekly thread in Nature forum Each participant please post no more than just one image per weekly thread. Many members will appreciate any information you are willing or able to provide regarding location, shooting process, exposure settings, equipment, and information on the subject(s), including scientific and/or common names. One lodge we stayed in Costa Rica uses bananas to attract the Great Curassow (Crax rubra). The males are black as in the image, but the females are of a lighter brown in color. Nikon Z8 with the 100-400mm zoom @ 350mm, f5.3, 1/400 sec, and ISO 800. Dieter is not available to start the thread, such that I am filling in.

Last week, I thought perhaps Brian was using a mirror (catadioptric) lens or a PF lens, but it turns out to be the Nikkor 400mm/f4.5 S in the Z mount. That lens has conventional elements, and at least I haven't noticed such bokeh on mine. Perhaps I haven't used mind in backlit situations that often.

I have been to Paris only once, and that was back in 2005, such that by no means it is a city that I am familiar with. Here is my version from a similar vintage point. Nikon D2x with 17-55mm/f2.8 DX lens @ 18mm, f2.8, 1/20 sec and ISO 800. That was the top ISO on that "ancient" camera; hence I used the lens wide open and was hand holding at a slow 1/20 second, without any tripod, IBIS, or VR. The original image is noisy, but now I get to process it again with modern LightRoom Classic denoise. Glad I posted only one image in the opening post, so that I have quota for two more, still with one remaining. 😄

Apparently: https://medium.com/illumination/best-travel-hacks-in-paris-a3cd9104c11c

This sale is over, and Nikon USA had sufficient refurb Z8 to last the entire four days. However, some people received refurb cameras that are still on the service advisory list, and they are going right back to Nikon for repair. 😔

Note: Consider keeping uploads no larger than 1600 pixels on the long side when it matters, and sticking with 1000 pixels when the image feels no pain at that resolution. On data size/compression, try to keep things under 1mb, shooting for 600kb when you can stop there. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site (at Flickr, Photobucket, your own site, etc.). New to this thread? The general guidelines for these Wednesday threads are right here: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/398109-guidelines-for-nikon-forum-wednesday-image-threads. For now, we're sticking with 1, 2, or 3 images per week as you see fit. Redhead duck (Aythya americana) Z8 + 800mm PF

Apparently the Z8 and Z9 use the feed into the EVF/LCD monitor to evaluate AF. Therefore, some people feel that they get (slightly) improved AF results in the DX crop mode. I haven't explored the DX mode for still photography because for action, I would rather capture more and then crop later on, as frequently it is difficult to keep the subject in the center of the frame. Occasionally I use DX crop for 4K video.

Brian and I had another discussion last week: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/551018-nature-unlimited-5-january-2024/#comment-5812574 Not sure Brian also used the Nikkor 400mm/f4.5 S here. He is getting some unusual bokeh. I have that lens also, and it is a conventional tele, not a PF lens.

Bald eagles

Thanks Brian. I know the crested caracara's range includes southern Texas, but I haven't done much wildlife photography in either Texas or Arizona. I was in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks last November; I know others have photographed them there but I didn't see any myself, but I have gotten a lot of pictures of them in the Falklands. I was wondering whether you were using a mirror (catadioptric) lens or perhaps a Nikkor Phase Fresnel (PF) lens. I have that 400mm/f4.5 S lens also, and it uses conventional lens elements. I am a bit surprised by that bokeh.

Paul Van Allen is a rep for Nikon USA and mainly serves the Professional Services (NPS) community in the western US. I have talked to him quite a few times at various camera stores 10, 15 years ago, but not since the pandemic. He is going to conduct a webinar on the Z8/Z9 set up three times. Initially it was only going to be on Wednesday, January 24 from Mike's Camera in Colorado, hence it will be 6PM Mountain Time (GMT -7). But it looks like Paul has added two sessions, on January 25 with Glazer's in the Seattle area and then on February 7 with Pauls Photo in the Los Angeles area. Hence the last two will start at 6pm Pacific Time (GMT -8). Sorry, for those in Europe, we are talking about late night for you. Per Nikon USA convention, I do not think those events will be recorded. It looks like the first and third events can be in person as well. The details are on Paul's FaceBook post. https://www.facebook.com/paul.vanallen.56/posts/pfbid02ibWtPJ9vHAcFPnq7iNWqYpV9udyYW15sSeWzpngyYcVknZ9w6ZxgLK6Y5XChod33l

Brian, may I ask where your caracara image was captured and which lens you used? I know their range is mostly in Mexico down to Central and South America, but it also touches Arizona and Texas in the US. The one place I have seen them the most is the Falklands, off the Atlantic coast of the southern tip of South America. And your image has interesting bokeh.

Sandhill cranes at sunrise

That YouTube video is over an hour long. Is there any particular segment that is very interesting to watch?

A number of items are on refurbished sale, including the Z8 @ $3200. The sale is for four days, but I am not sure they'll have sufficient Z8 supply to last that long, but these deals will likely come back in a couple of months, if one misses it this time. Refurbished Nikon Z 8 Body Only Mirrorless Cameras | Nikon (nikonusa.com)