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Second Hockey Outing with Z9
Jan 9, 2022 20:38:46   #
rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC
 
Taking the suggestions of several folks, I took the Z9 out with the 70-200 f2.8 Z lens on it. I also changed the settings a bit to shoot mainly 1/1000, f2.8 auto ISO capped at 6400. However most were in the 3200 range, give or take a bit. I tried autofocus settings of 3D and unintentionally Wide area. NOT dynamic due to my not correctly identifying the icon.

I am going to stick with the 70-200 instead of the 24-70 I tried last time. Although I did miss a few shots very near the glass, I captured a lot more closer to the blue line. I'm also going start out with 1/1000th, f2.8, auto ISO capped at 6400, AF-C and large dynamic area to see how that goes. My plan is to shoot one period with dynamic area large, one with 3D and the final one to be determined.

I was a bit frustrated with focus this outing, BUT STRICTLY DUE TO USER ERROR! First I arrived late to the game because I had the wrong start time. As a result, I got sloppy and didn't double check my settings, opting to see that the histogram looked to be where I wanted it and the back EVF scene was nicely lit. Of course it would be when your shutter speed is a lowly 1/250! HINT - you want to cut down on processing 1100 images, shoot an entire period with the wrong settings! I lost a good number of nice shots. I also lost a number because of the area mode I chose! Dumb, dumb, dumb! But those things aside, I was happy with the images that *I* didn't mess up.

Not unexpectedly, I did note the 3D area focus seemed to perform better when the number of players moving across the scene was reduced. When I had fewer players or isolation of a player, it did a good job. I normally apply a little noise processing using Denoise, but in all honesty, the effects were hard to discern so these were spared that treatment! So once I get MY act together, I may not need to do anything to images shot at 6400 or less!

All said and done, I am really liking this camera. With upcoming shoots of basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, more hockey and possibly swimming over the next month, I will be able to give it a good workout! Looks like the D5 & “F” lenses may hit the market soon!


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Jan 9, 2022 21:07:18   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Nothing lacking in any of these images!

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Jan 9, 2022 21:19:48   #
rickberns Loc: Conroe, Texas
 
rcorne001 wrote:
Taking the suggestions of several folks, I took the Z9 out with the 70-200 f2.8 Z lens on it. I also changed the settings a bit to shoot mainly 1/1000, f2.8 auto ISO capped at 6400. However most were in the 3200 range, give or take a bit. I tried autofocus settings of 3D and unintentionally Wide area. NOT dynamic due to my not correctly identifying the icon.

I am going to stick with the 70-200 instead of the 24-70 I tried last time. Although I did miss a few shots very near the glass, I captured a lot more closer to the blue line. I'm also going start out with 1/1000th, f2.8, auto ISO capped at 6400, AF-C and large dynamic area to see how that goes. My plan is to shoot one period with dynamic area large, one with 3D and the final one to be determined.

I was a bit frustrated with focus this outing, BUT STRICTLY DUE TO USER ERROR! First I arrived late to the game because I had the wrong start time. As a result, I got sloppy and didn't double check my settings, opting to see that the histogram looked to be where I wanted it and the back EVF scene was nicely lit. Of course it would be when your shutter speed is a lowly 1/250! HINT - you want to cut down on processing 1100 images, shoot an entire period with the wrong settings! I lost a good number of nice shots. I also lost a number because of the area mode I chose! Dumb, dumb, dumb! But those things aside, I was happy with the images that *I* didn't mess up.

Not unexpectedly, I did note the 3D area focus seemed to perform better when the number of players moving across the scene was reduced. When I had fewer players or isolation of a player, it did a good job. I normally apply a little noise processing using Denoise, but in all honesty, the effects were hard to discern so these were spared that treatment! So once I get MY act together, I may not need to do anything to images shot at 6400 or less!

All said and done, I am really liking this camera. With upcoming shoots of basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, more hockey and possibly swimming over the next month, I will be able to give it a good workout! Looks like the D5 & “F” lenses may hit the market soon!
Taking the suggestions of several folks, I took th... (show quote)


Nice work Rick! The Z9 did really good despite the human errors you had (I feel for you, I do the same) during your hockey outing. Nice set of hockey pictures too.

Rick

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Jan 9, 2022 23:02:48   #
rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC
 
Thank you, sir. If you get bored you can check out the rest from this shoot on my website: https://rickcornell.zenfolio.com/p164371150

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Jan 10, 2022 05:58:38   #
OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
Nothing lacking in any of these images!



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Jan 10, 2022 06:47:08   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
rcorne001 wrote:
Thank you, sir. If you get bored you can check out the rest from this shoot on my website: https://rickcornell.zenfolio.com/p164371150


The images in the Zenfolio are all wonderful individually. But, consider another editorial pass and remove all these images that seem to be repeats because they're so similar to preceding / following versions in the slideshow sequence.

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Jan 10, 2022 07:29:21   #
rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC
 
CHG_CANON wrote:
The images in the Zenfolio are all wonderful individually. But, consider another editorial pass and remove all these images that seem to be repeats because they're so similar to preceding / following versions in the slideshow sequence.


Thank you for the suggestion. Sometimes I just can't decide which one to keep! If I wait a few days, it becomes easier when I take a fresh look, though. I'll do it soon. Oh, thank you for taking the time to look at them and your kind words.

EDIT: Wow! Just went back and took a look at them, and you nailed it! I've got some clean up to do! Thanks, again.

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Jan 10, 2022 08:07:21   #
yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey
 
Excellent set - looks like you and the Z9 are going to become very good friends!

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Jan 10, 2022 12:41:25   #
Chicago312 Loc: Western suburb, Chicago
 
These are great shots, Rick?
Just curious - do you notice any difference in shooting/photo IQ/etc between your f-mount and your z-mount lenses (ie 70-200, 24-70, etc)?
Stephen

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Jan 10, 2022 12:52:53   #
rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC
 
I find the Z lenses to be a little bit better. The adapter doesn't come into play, it is just they are a bit higher quality lens than my two Tamron f2.8 F mounts.

BTW - I saw your other post about getting a Z6 or Z6ii. I have a Z6 which I used for hockey as well and was very happy with it. Paired with the FTZ adapter and Tamron lenses, I was very happy with the results. I changed the image setting to 12 bit rather than 14 to get closer to that 12 fps rather than 9. It worked very well for me, but keep in mind should it be important to you, the Z6 only has one card slot. Personally I have never had a problem with just one slot, but others desire the two.

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Jan 10, 2022 13:46:45   #
Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada
 
rcorne001 wrote:
Taking the suggestions of several folks, I took the Z9 out with the 70-200 f2.8 Z lens on it. I also changed the settings a bit to shoot mainly 1/1000, f2.8 auto ISO capped at 6400. However most were in the 3200 range, give or take a bit. I tried autofocus settings of 3D and unintentionally Wide area. NOT dynamic due to my not correctly identifying the icon.

I am going to stick with the 70-200 instead of the 24-70 I tried last time. Although I did miss a few shots very near the glass, I captured a lot more closer to the blue line. I'm also going start out with 1/1000th, f2.8, auto ISO capped at 6400, AF-C and large dynamic area to see how that goes. My plan is to shoot one period with dynamic area large, one with 3D and the final one to be determined.

I was a bit frustrated with focus this outing, BUT STRICTLY DUE TO USER ERROR! First I arrived late to the game because I had the wrong start time. As a result, I got sloppy and didn't double check my settings, opting to see that the histogram looked to be where I wanted it and the back EVF scene was nicely lit. Of course it would be when your shutter speed is a lowly 1/250! HINT - you want to cut down on processing 1100 images, shoot an entire period with the wrong settings! I lost a good number of nice shots. I also lost a number because of the area mode I chose! Dumb, dumb, dumb! But those things aside, I was happy with the images that *I* didn't mess up.

Not unexpectedly, I did note the 3D area focus seemed to perform better when the number of players moving across the scene was reduced. When I had fewer players or isolation of a player, it did a good job. I normally apply a little noise processing using Denoise, but in all honesty, the effects were hard to discern so these were spared that treatment! So once I get MY act together, I may not need to do anything to images shot at 6400 or less!

All said and done, I am really liking this camera. With upcoming shoots of basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, more hockey and possibly swimming over the next month, I will be able to give it a good workout! Looks like the D5 & “F” lenses may hit the market soon!
Taking the suggestions of several folks, I took th... (show quote)


We have all had those lousy days. I know I have. Shooting football one night at iso 10,000 and did not need to go that high. Results ------------------delete.
Getting to know a new camera takes time. Your shots are good and I know the best is yet to come.
Jules

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Jan 10, 2022 17:58:52   #
rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC
 
Jules Karney wrote:
We have all had those lousy days. I know I have. Shooting football one night at iso 10,000 and did not need to go that high. Results ------------------delete.
Getting to know a new camera takes time. Your shots are good and I know the best is yet to come.
Jules


Thanks, Jules! At time I feel as if I am back at school. Looking at images that worked, writing down crib notes, looking at the "failures" to see if I can identify what caused the problem. But I am learning. I'm already looking forward to Friday for another round of hockey! Next week is basketball and gymnastics! Oh yeah!

I think there may be a number of folks who think they can come from their DSLRs and jump right in. Maybe they can. But I am hoping by sharing my experiences perhaps others might be saved some growing pains of their own.

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Jan 12, 2022 01:43:42   #
Grahame Loc: Fiji
 
rcorne001 wrote:
But I am hoping by sharing my experiences perhaps others might be saved some growing pains of their own.


Your comprehensive reporting and structured way of approach to assessing the Z9 is much appreciated, thank you.

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Jan 12, 2022 06:52:31   #
rcorne001 Loc: Cary, NC
 
Grahame wrote:
Your comprehensive reporting and structured way of approach to assessing the Z9 is much appreciated, thank you.


Thank you! I try to share my experiences regardless of how they make me look! I am finding the Z9 is an entirely different worlds. In fact I almost feel like I'm cheating because it can do so many focusing tasks automatically that I used to do manually.

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Jan 12, 2022 13:29:15   #
fstoprookie Loc: Central Valley of California
 
rcorne001 wrote:
Thank you! I try to share my experiences regardless of how they make me look! I am finding the Z9 is an entirely different worlds. In fact I almost feel like I'm cheating because it can do so many focusing tasks automatically that I used to do manually.


Some very nice shots. Looking forward to more shooting information. I am on the list - don't know when my Z9 will arrive, however, the more info folks like you share, the better we all will be. Yes, I think there will be a lot of D4, D5, & D6's on the market soon. Keep on shooting and sharing info. Thanks again

fstoprookie

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