Pre-ordered Nikon Z6

Okay, I did it–I finally pulled the triggered and pre-ordered the Nikon Z6 (with the FTZ mount adapter). Based on the price, specs and my needs, the Z6 made the most sense.

Let me explain why.

Price
So why the Z6 over the Z7? For starters, the Z7 is $1,400 more. That’s a substantial delta for an amateur like me. The Z7 packs a bunch of additional features, but the biggest difference is the megapixel count (45.7mp vs 24.5mp). It’s hard to justify the price difference because I rarely crop my photos, nor do I print anything the size of a wall mural. For professional photographers, paying a little more is logical because they’ll make it back–more megapixels makes cents (tee-hee). For me, the only thing that makes the Z7 more attractive is that it will be available a little sooner than the Z6.

What will I do with all that saved money? I’ll probably get a backup battery and potentially an off-board video recorder like the Atomos (so I can shoot at 4k, 10 bit, at 4:2:2). And maybe… just maybe… I’ll add another lens to the stable.

Cost of change
The reason why I chose the Z6 was because I already own Nikon glass, a strobe, and a couple of other accessories. Selling off all my gear in exchange for another brand like Sony would come at a loss. By purchasing the Z6, my D600 will substitute as a secondary camera for shooting B-roll or quickly snapping additional photos with a different prime lens. That my friend, adds another dimension to my set up.

If I wasn’t so invested into Nikon, I would have gotten a Sony mirrorless camera a long time ago. In particular, the Sony A7III is a much better value and offers some features that are a couple generations ahead of Nikon like eye tracking auto-focus.

I also know my way around the Nikon interface, so I know how to operate all the nitty gritty stuff. I’ve heard that the Z6 works exactly like all the other Nikon interfaces. Changing platforms means learning a new system–I won’t have to fumble around Sony’s infamous UI. Instead, I can just pick up the camera and start shooting.

It’s my hobby
For me, shooting photos on my phone is fun, but it’s not the same experience as shooting on a full frame camera. Call me old-school, but I’m going to miss the feeling of a mirror slapping on my D600. Perhaps it’s the same reason why I like things like driving manual sports cars and wearing automatic watches–you’re forced to slow down because of the process and limitations. That experience enables you to feel and appreciate things from a different perspective. When I post-process photos, I’m always evaluating why the photo matters. Should it be in black and white? Does it need more contrast? What is the star of this picture photo, and how do I present it in such a way that it provides a better narrative?

To me, photos are critical to the human experience. Photos act as an extensions of our memory, triggering us to recall the smells, sounds and feelings. In that brief moment, time is frozen. I used to shoot photos with my dad’s Nikon F2, but I think I really got into it when I purchased the D200–I had gotten my first big bonus working for a design agency and I sprung for it. While that particular camera body is out of date, the photos I shot have brought back so many memories. That’s the part that’s priceless.

I don’t think the Z6 will automatically make me a better photographer, but it’ll act as a tool to continue exploring the world, the people, and savoring each moment a little more… one picture at a time.

New Nikon Mirrorless Z6 and Z7

Nikon just announced the Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras today. The specs look pretty interesting. I’ve been waiting for this camera for a while, since I have a couple of Nikon lenses I want to keep using. While the new camera offers a new mount, they have an adapter that should work with my lenses. I’ll probably end up getting a couple of the new S lenses to take advantage of the 5 axis stabilization at some point.

Anyway, I’ve held out for several years now and it’s probably time to upgrade. The main feature I wanted was video, and I think the new Nikon bodies offer it. The problem with the old cameras is the focusing and video dynamic range. The ability to shoot 10bit 4:2:2 on an external drive is really interesting. I wanted to get into doing some vlogging, and this might be my opportunity.

The question now is, which one to get? I’m leaning towards the Z6 because of the price point. It doesn’t have as many features, but it saves a little money, which I can put towards either more glass or accessories (like extra batteries, memory cards, external monitor/drives, etc). I’m probably going to put in my pre-order within the next week. Stay tuned!

PS. I don’t really care that it only has one card slot. I’m not a pro photographer, so I don’t need the redundancy. My d600 has dual slots and I’ve rarely found it useful. I think if photographers need dual memory slots, go for the d850, or wait for the Z8 (which will probably be a sport model).

Expa Fireside Chat with Vishal Vasishth (Obvious Ventures, and former Exec at Patagonia)

Expa hosted a fireside chat with Vishal Vasishth, who was once part of Patagonia’s team. If you know Patagonia as a company, they were founded on the core belief of doing the right thing for the world, the people, the environment and their employees. Their purpose goes beyond making money–but rather, to preserve our planet, our resources, and empower fellow human beings.

Vishal echoed some of the culture from Patagonia–you can tell that the company deeply enriched him during his tenure there. If you want the dive deeper into the source code, check out “Let My People Go Surfing”. Yvon Chouinard (the co-founder of Patagonia) was the original activist and war poet that fought for corporate social responsibility and ethics.

I left all my notes at the office, but I wanted to share some thoughts while they were still fresh in my head. One quote that really stood out was, “A company can be a gift to the world”. This struck me because most companies are perceived as extracting value out of their customers and employees. How can a company be a catalyst to give back to the world more than it’s taken?

Vishal said he was moved by companies that he believed could be here in a hundred years, serving a global purpose. He gravitated towards founders and companies that focused on themes around sustainability of resources, health, or empowering people to do things.

As we build our own culture, I reflect on our own opportunities–to find purpose beyond financial opportunity. Vishal asked, “Is there a way to inspire your 1,000th employee with the same passion of the team when it was only 10?” There’s a saying, “99% of work isn’t worth doing, but 1% is worth dying for”. I don’t think anyone has to fall on the sword for our vision, but we should always have a north start that pulls us together to achieve something bigger, together.

The vision of empowering everyone in a company to have a voice and involving everyone in the decision making process is what moves me, personally. I’m hoping Input can help teams do their best work soon.

Anyway, it was fun hanging out with everyone at the event. If you’re in town, you should definitely attend one of these. In the mean time, here are some more photos:

Oh yeh, there was some yummy food and wine there! ^_^

Hot Pot with Joe and Jho

Justin and Joe in front of our first hot pot dinner together.”

It’s great to see these two back in town. It was fun hearing their tales of travel. Both Justin and Joe have been wandering around the world for the last couple months and their stories are pretty inspiring. They have endless tales of meeting new people, blazing new trails and getting occasional food poisoning. I’m hoping to have them over again so they can share more.

Dinner at Octavia with the Expa Squad

Photo of some of some folks from the Expa squad enjoying dinner at the chef’s table.

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted–I just wanted to take a second to thank Expa and team for inviting some us out for dinner. It’s great to get away from the office and just hang out with folks. Also, thanks Belinda for setting it up, as always. ^_^

Weekend Design Session with James and Juan

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Jamming with James and Juan at Expa.

It was cool jamming with these guys this afternoon. Their passion for design is just infectious, and I feel I’m learning a tremendous amount from this group.

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Setting up all the fonts now so I don’t have to do it again later.

As much as I want to jump ahead and design new features on Input, I actually have to take a step back and clean up our sketch files and really look at the entire system. Since we’re redesigning everything, I’m taking the time to set up everything—the fonts, the spacing, the symbols, and the asset naming. The future is looking brighter.

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Juan doing some amazing illustrations.

I’m hoping I can keep the system as simple as possible. It’ll evolve over time, but I’d like to stick to a foundation that we can build on top of for the years to come.

By the way, I’m really looking forward to reading this tomorrow:
Design Systems Handbook

And I’m currently watching a YouTube video of John Vino designing live. It’s pretty cool to watch his process.
Live UX Design with John Vino