NEW Nikon Z8 + NEW Nikon Z Plena 135mm f/1.8 S
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- This is my review of the currently best portrait lens for the Nikon Z system, the NEW Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. I shot this fantastic lens over the last weekend on my NEW Nikon Z8 and was blown away by the sharpness of the lens and its super pleasant background bokeh. Of course, I also make my points by showing some sample images. Enjoy the show, like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to never miss any content on my channel :)
Music (licensed):
www.epidemicsound.com
www.storyblocks.com
www.motionarray.com
#Nikon #NikonZ8
Math your the only guy I trust on UA-cam reviewing camera gear.
Thanks for that, really appreciate your kind words.
@@mathphotographer you should get a gold medal for being honest. What makes it special is that you and I have mostly the same brands of gear
The Plena is an absolutely stunning lens with amazing output. I’m shooting it on my Nikon ZF
Nice review on the lens. Couple notes. All the Nikon 45MP cameras and starting with the 36MP D800E over 10 years ago are without OLPF. Adobe has never really fixed their raw processing to that. When influencers talk about noise, they point to cameras and sensors and that a load of crap. 99% of noise we are shown is "Bayer noise" following from inadequate deBayerisation. Withe the OLPF removed, we need much better AI in raw processing. In the 45MP camera images processed with Lightroom Classic (LrC - where the raw processing under the Develop tab is done by Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) ) we may see Bayer noise in the blurry image zones, in the darker image zones and generally the low contrast image zones. That's inadequate raw processing. And occasionally visible her in the images too, like in mine at home. When Adobe asks me if I can recommend their product to others 0..10 my answer is 0 as long as I need additional apps to get the quality that you should give me. That questionnaire comes each year a month or so before the payment of another year's subscription is due. While ACR and LrC and Photoshop are the reference on many levels, we need to compare ACR's NEF processing with Nikon's NX Studio, DxO PhotoLab and Topaz apps. Bayer noise must go.
Another thing is ACR's demosaicking. We still need a lot better of that with much better detail retrieval and less artefacts. No more crinkly lines. Gigapixel AI (Topaz) has made me aware that artefacts are not necessary and revealed that my lenses are a lot better than I thought. While American (and Japanese) software development as (c)rude generalisation does not excel in compact, efficient, maintainable, well structured code, "we" need better at the user level, and better code may just be the medicine that the doctor ordered.
Detail retrieval, perceived lens quality, sharpness, absence of artefacts must be better. A lot.
Z 8. As to "recognition AI AF", my Z 7ii becomes unreliable at LV 7 (depending on subject contrast - LV 7 is for medium, not soft not hard). How does the Z 8 fare in that respect? Images from "reviews" by influencers did not go lower than LV 10 (LV = EV at ISO 100). LV 7 is not "dark" when that's the illumination level in your living room. Your sitter's pupils will dilate a bit (if they're not on medication from the medical or street apothecary) but not too much. "Closed aperture" pupils look less attractive, fully opened pupils lose the colour of the iris too much and become unattractive. So, LV 7 is a nice ambient level. As the Z 8 can "focus" down to LV -9, using its AF system, but restricted to pinpoint or single point AF, that is at a light level when the photosites in the sensor can no longer measure light (i.e. the can no longer take an image). The Z 8/9 with the 10 times faster processor can make better frame analyses, but how does that work out for the Z 8 user?
Hello Math, When will you review the new Leica M11-D ?
The samples really say it all. The Plena is in a league of its own. Nikon claims the image quality is of the same caliber as their Z f/0.95 Noct.
Any plans to review the Zf...? It's an absolute retro beauty.
Hello As you say this lens is so sharp wide open it will show all opportunitys, to use your photo editing skills. But I will say it a lot harder to make you image shaper when they have been shot soft?
Would be cool to also review the skin smoothening feature in the z8 of your next review!
Nice pictures with the Plena, but if you used a fill flash wouldn't you have better images at lower ISO ( also because the shutter speed is under the 1/250 sec typical for DSLR)?
Ok Math your poisoned me !!! I'm going to the camera shop and pick up my Plena you pushed over the edge hahah thanks !!
Only reviewer that delivers an honest review and deals with the the strengths and weaknesses of each item.
Great review! As always.
Do you recommend a skin soften software? Would you consider doing a video tutorial on skin softening ? Thank you.
Thanks for the nice feedback! I really work with LRC and also with Topaz AI noise reduction software, works well for me. Of course I can consider doing a video on that, let's see :) Topaz software creates a plugin into LRC which is very convenient.
Unfortunately, it's a 135mm lens and not a 105mm or 85mm. I love the rendering (especially the round bokeh balls), but with a 135mm on my camera, I always have to stand so far away from my model that I almost need a megaphone.
NOT a big fan of 'one eye in focus'. When you have a model with 2 beautiful eyes, you're doing a serious injustice to your subject by not getting both in focus. Too much 'shallow depth of field' is sometimes NOT a good thing.
Can you tell me please what protective filter brand/type you would recommend for a lens of this quality and price point?
how does this plan compare with the Hasselblad XCD 90V?
Hi Math! Thanks and have a nice weekend - Greetings from Frankfurt! - Andreas
Thanks Andreas, have a nice weekend too!
Hi, I’m shooting with Fujifilm gfx100s but it’s not good for all types of photography which I like (Portrait, Landscape, Still-life). It’s heavy and bulky with gf lenses to carry around, and slow for sports and wildlife if sometimes I like to experience it! But it seems Z8 is all in one camera. The only matter important to me is if I switch to Z8, with 14bit and 45mp, could I achieve the same high images quality (detailing, colour rendering, and deep dynamic range) by gfx100s with 16bit and 102mp? Since always your comparisons and reviews are useful for me, your opinion would be very important to me to make the right decision. Thank you.
Don't worry about image quality with a Nikon Z8, its a fantastic camera. I will post soon a comparison between the Z9 and Z8 and the Z8 is my preferred choice in the Nikon World.
@@mathphotographer what do you mean not to worry!? do you belive that IQ by Z8 at 14bit is similar to 16bit at GFX?!
A good information. Where did You buy it for 2500 CHF?
I bought it at Digitec in Zurich but in CHF currency the price is different than in USD. We also typically pay a premium in Switzerland at our retailers for photo gear, unfortunately. At B&H in NYC the price is almost exactly USD 2500.
Great review! Very informative. 👏👏
Many thanks, appreciate the kind feedback.
Thanks for the vid. These eye photos all AF? use any af assist like focus peaking on the eye? Or should I wait for your Z8 vid? As looking at thee details of the photos 7 other portrait videos , I was going to ask if you think 45mp is too much for portraits but... Probably the D700 - D3-D4 is the sweet spot for portraits except for the smoothest of skin in the Nikon world.
PS; I still wonder if you were allowed only one camera & 2-3 lenses, which you would pick. I figure you for the new Hassy but hey, just a guess.
Thanks Thomas. All images were shot with continuous autofocus and 3D tracking, no manual focus. And your comment on 45MP maybe being too much for portraits is a good observation. I personally think that 24MP is the sweet spot resolution for portraits because when I look at the images I showed in this video, you clearly get so much details on skin that your photo model will want you to smooth them away :) Every little hair, every little part of the skin which is not perfectly clean becomes visible at 45MP.
@@mathphotographer exactly. Thanks for the reply.
@@mathphotographer Good to hear about the AF. See some vids where they complain it grabs the eye lashes over the pupil. Maybe not enough dof?
Thanks for a great video.
Thanks and my pleasure :)
I don't like what lightroom's AI noise reduction does to faces. I noticed it in some of your sample shots here, especially the higher ISO ones.
It seems to create artifacts that serve to highlight skin imperfections to a much greater degree than you'd see them in real life. I've stopped using it on any photos with human subjects because of this. I think the older luminance smoothing is actually much more flattering for faces, even if not as powerful at removing grain / noise.
Interesting comment, thanks for sharing. What I typically do in the Development section of LRC is a comparison of faces between before and after applying the noise reduction algorithm. I am actually quite pleased with the outcome. The old luminance reduction function at high ISO values made the faces too soft and did not preserve enough details. But I understand your point and also hope Adobe further improves the function going forward.
8:33 It's actually focused on the eyelash as opposed to the iris. This is a problem I've been waiting for Nikon to fix but so far...nothing. I'm surprised this doesn't bother more people.
Thanks as always. You are so bad, potentially, for my wallet. It seems to get lighter after your reviews. Seriously, curious on two points. First, you find the subject detection, people eye-AF faster, better, more accurate? on the Z8 vs Z9. Just curious what are the distinguishing characteristics there (I shoot the Z9), Second, I own an old copy of the Nikkor 200mm f2 VR. Not sure if you ever shot with that lens. Curious what you think about the bokeh on the Plena vs that older lens. Just curious. Appreciate your efforts!
I think his information is incorrect- any advantage the Z8 had in regards to AF was fixed with Z9 4.1 update. I do recall someone (maybe Matt Granger) mentioning there was a few small features still specific to each body. They had a theory Nikon was trying to make the Z8 geared more for portraits and the Z9 more for sports/wildlife.
@@uhoh7541 As for the AF speed/accuracy for subject (Human) eye detection and Z8 vs Z9 - I don't shoot portraits nearly as much as wildlife, so I was curious. Yes, the Z8 reportedly has a HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) compression as an option (JPG alternative) and skin smoothing etc picture profiles for "portrait" shooters that shoot compressed 8 bit files. Not aware of any other items now in the Z8 that are not in the Z9. Thanks for your comment. I am just unaware if the Z8 is faster at finding human eyes - but I agree, I'd be shocked. As for wildlife, the latest FW 4.1 update improved bird photography eye recognition and stickiness for me. Still want zebras/blinkies in stills (and not just video).
@@uhoh7541 I think that's correct, thanks for sharing. I will do a side-by-side comparison of the Z8 and Z9 before Xmas, video is almost final. Its actually hard to keep pace with the new improvements Nikon releases with new firmware. When the Z8 came out, my impression was that the AI/ML training for the algorithm was even more to the point for faces and eyes. But clearly, the Z9 is Nikon's flagship camera so they continue to improve the algorithms their too.
@@dance2jam My comment on Z8 autofocus was based on "paper specifications" as said in my other comment here. If you shoot the Plena lens with the Z8 and Z9 you will not feel any difference, both cameras have super fast and super accurate focus, in particular for object and face and eye detection.
I do not have the Nikkor 200mm f2 VR so cannot comment on bokeh in comparison to the Plena, sorry.
Please appreciate your analytical review
Thanks :)
Is it just me? Focus seems not to be on the iris but eye lashes……. 🤔
Only the last image, rest all are focused on the catch light on the iris.
Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us specially because the eye lashes has more definite structure than the iris.
Looked good to me.
@@livejames9374 yes its all good but no camera is 100%.
If I zoom in 200% instead of 100% it actually looks fine.