My long-awaited Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8 VR S lens arrived today.

I raced into town and picked it up as soon as I received notification, took a few trial shots around the house

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and then spent the afternoon cruising around the Manly (Brisbane) foreshore on my Tigger - trying it out.

It's big, it's heavy and it's magnificent. Like Chris and Glen are experiencing with their new Canons, the latest Nikon VR is amazing.

This is 1/30th at 200mm and f/20. 1/30th!

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Or at 1/1600 f/2.8. Trying some different colour profiles too.

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Then spent a while around the Bayside on a glorious Spring day.

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So far it's been worth the wait. I get to use it on a real job on Saturday.

Later this afternoon I took it along with my Pal on our afternoon ride.

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I was riding Fat So today.

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We were just about to leave the duck pond when there was a sudden rapid movement across the surface of the water. At first I thought it was a snake, but then this beauty hauled himsef up on the rocks.

An Eastern Water Dragon about three feet long. Almost on cue.

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You're like a kid in a candy store, Dave. Did you never grow up?

Beautiful images. Such detail.

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Did you never grow up?

For a while in my 30s, when we had young kids. Apart from that ... no, not really.
And c'mon man - I worked out how to get paid for dicking around on motorcycles!

This is the last piece in the transition to mirrorless. My D800 and Canon XA-25 are 8 years old now and the image quality is starting to look it - compared to the new kit - which does offer remarkable clarity.

It's all part of cunning plans I'm working on - Low-budget content with better than phone quality production values.

http://content-pro.co/

Okay, but you’re gonna need a bigger body:

First set of rumored Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera specifications - Nikon RumorsI received a new set of Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera specifications from a reliable source: Nikon Z9 is expected in the fall of 2021 No official plans for a Nikon Z8 camera yet Prototype Z9 cameras may be tested at the Tokyo Olympics next year New Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 mirrorless lens is also rumored [...]nikonrumors.com

Nah - overkill. I don't even 'need' a Z7 for what I'm doing in print - and I rarely ever shoot in 4K now. Mostly 1080/60 is my go - and then I downsample on the render. I'm targeting social and 85% of it is watched on phones.

My next 'big' purchase will be something like:

Canon XA50 4K UHD Compact Digital Video CameraCanon XA50 4K UHD Key Features: 8.29MP, 1www.camerapro.com.au

But not till I get over this lens shock. Actually the 2x tele-converter for the 70-200 reviews very well. That's probably next. Watch this space.

I just shot some video interviews with my daughter for publishing in a YouTube channel and I shot them in 4K, which gave me the chance to zoom in when cutting to nice effect. Still gonna publish as 1080p, but I love the ability to crop.

Depends on the end use of course. Higher res where warranted. Like the chooob.

And then:

"More than 4 billion video views take place on Facebook every day. 500 million viewers watch 100 million hours of video content on Facebook daily. 65% of all Facebook video views come from mobile users. 85% of Facebook users watch videos with the sound off."

Gotta love them sub titles.

That was my thought because whoa that's a big lens especially considering the compact ones Canon and Tamron have made for mirrorless.

considering the compact ones Canon and Tamron have made for mirrorless.

https://www.camerapro.com.au/nikon-nikkor-z-24-200mm-f-4-6-3-vr-z-mount.html

I like the smaller body. It fits nicely with the big lens into my bike riding camera bag. If I need more bulk ergonomically I have the two-battery grip, but so far no need.

First shots in 'anger' with the new glass today. A photo set of a nice Shovelhead chopper for Heavy Duty Magazine around the Gold Coast.

I only used the one lens for the entire shoot. Very happy with the results. Downsampled to 2000px.

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Great images, Dave. 👏👏👏 The 70-200 has always been my favorite lens for stuff like that. I like how it compresses distance, how you can streak the background from moving objects, the wonderful bokeh.

It's funny, for stills I had that lens on all the time and now that I'm YouTubing, I have the 15-35 on, or in the studio the 28-70 f/2.0. That got me to buy the new Canon 35mm f/1.8 because apparently it has great IS and is a little shallower than the zoom. What camera nerds we are.

Cheers.

I took the 24-70 f4 S lens in the bag as well - and thought about packing the 50mm F1.8 Prime, but the 70-200 does it all for a bike mag shoot. Didn't contemplate getting the smaller one out. I'd need something a bit longer for a track day possibly. So I will go the 2x teleconverter path next.

And yeah - for video I now mainly use the 24mm F1.8 or the 50mm on the Gimbal because zoom is rendundant when you have free movement.

Although when shooting vid on the tripod next time I may rig the 70-200 because ... it would look awesome!

I prefer 'geek' thank you 😜

Just BTW, Zane who owns the chopper is a very interesting cat.

He's a very personable 30-year-old stuck in a 60's biker film time warp - like 'Chrome and Hot Leather'.

His period chopper builds are perfect.

77mm Polariser arrived today.

Out riding my rebuilt veteran Kona Hardtail yesterday evening.

1/30th f/2.8 ISO 800 @ 200mm

Bokeh is great - particularly for 1/30th.

Bumped the exposure/brightness up post in PSD.

I saw a juvenile Eastern Grey Kangaroo just here, but by the time I got the camera out he was long gone.

On the way home from ... shopping on the cruiser. That's the Lowepro bag if fits in 'perfickly'.

This is the point where I justify to myself the considerable spend.

The AD just flicked me some proofs. The chopper story scored the poster, an 8-page spread and is under strong consideration for the yet to be designed cover of Heavy Duty Magazine. Feeling good now.

davidcohen.co

Next work outing will be Saturday:

How did that go?

The news from Nikonland doesn’t seem good:

Nikon in 'Dire Straits' as its Slump is Particularly Untimely: ReportThis past year has not been kind to any camera manufacturer, but Nikon is reportedly in "dire straits" as it had yet to financially recover from previouspetapixel.com

There are lots of clickbait camera sites - Petapixel is the worst of them for hating on Nikon. I don't take anything on there even remotely seriously. First hand experience says it's a load of arse.

The good news is that Nikon have teased/announced a raft of new Z bodies and lenses and F mount glass over the last few days.

With the Mk 2 Z7 on the way I'm looking at the hugely discounted prices on the Mk1 that are starting to appear and am ... hmmmmmm ...

I really don't need the things that the Mk2 is selling. If I did weddings or such then the 2nd card slot would be important - for what I do it isn't. Burst rate isn't that important to me either. So far I can find a grey import Z7 Mk1 around $Au2k off retail.

The Speedway was washed out. A Sub-tropical depression moved in on Friday night and man it rained.