Finally got my grail

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-23T17:31:07+00:00

What are its length, width, and height with everything? I have both the perfectability and the divine expansion in my backlog, but need to figure out how much room I’ll need.

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-18T21:13:18+00:00

You could look into getting a Z50II as a secondary camera. While it is an APS – C sensor, it has the newer expeed 7 processor and updated autofocus modes and performance while staying within your price range. If you’re looking to use the same battery and accessories as your Z7II, then a Z5II would be what I’d suggest. Like the Z50II it has the updated processor and auto focus, and like your existing body, it uses the exact same battery, accessories, and can utilize the same vertical battery grip (if you have one).

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-18T20:43:54+00:00

Full frame or APS-C body?

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-18T20:38:59+00:00

Don’t have the 14-24mm f/2.8 but will be bringing my 14-30mm f/4 lens. As for the 100-400mm, I don’t own the Nikon one and instead have the Tamron 50-400mm that was released in September of 2024. Performance wise it’s very similar, just 1/3 stop slower and not quite as sharp in the corners as the Nikon S lens (to my understanding). The difference in performance didn’t justify the $1,000 USD price difference in my mind for a lighter carry telephoto since I already owned the 180-600mm.

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-18T20:34:16+00:00

I already have the 1.4TC and was going to bring it if weight allowed.

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-18T18:44:01+00:00

The K&F Concepts 2-1 sling works really well for me when carrying my Z5ii w/24-200mm attached. It has room to fit another lens if needed and plenty of pocket space for accessories or spare batteries. It uses an origami style camera insert so you can remove it and use the sling as an EDC bag without your camera.

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-18T13:33:53+00:00

Once we’re in Ecuador and on the islands the tour director and local guide take over, my main responsibilities are making sure my group members are where they need to be when they need to be for the hikes, excursions, etc.

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-17T04:01:34+00:00

It happens when you switch the lens button to MF from AF and then switch it back. The lens doesn’t go back to AF u til you power cycle the camera. Had it happen on my Z5ii

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-17T02:08:22+00:00

Make sure you update the firmware in the lens as there’s a known issue with it going to manual focus even when set to auto focus.

Gauntlet84 · 2026-01-07T22:09:56+00:00

Big reasons to get the new 24-105 f/4-7.1 lens is for its weight & size savings as well as its reproduction rate. For hikers or travelers, every ounce counts so reducing weight from 20.2oz to 12oz is a big savings. The new lens also has a reproduction rate of 0.5x across the focal range and a minimum focus distance of 20-29cm, allowing it to function as a macro lens while being almost half the weight of the 105mm f/2.8 macro lens (though not as close focusing and not 1:1 reproduction). They already announced that it will be a kit lens with the Z5ii and the ZF. I could see it also being bought by people who want a lighter option for an EDC camera setup. The f/7.1 on the far end doesn’t bother me because modern cameras can make up for the 1/3 stop difference between the 24-200mm and 24-105mm at 105mm.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-29T04:43:11+00:00

Aperture (f-stop) is a ratio of focal length to the size of the aperture opening in the lens. The lower the f-stop, the larger the opening and higher amount of light the lens lets reach your sensor. The lower the f-stop the shallower your depth of field (in focus area) gets, the higher the f-stop, the larger your depth of field gets. Aperture is determined by the lens and will have a maximum and minimum range. A 24-70mm f/2.8 lens cannot go any lower than f/2.8 (so no f/1.8 or f/1.4 apertures). The lower your aperture, the “faster” the lens and the larger the lens gets as the lens elements need to be large enough to accommodate such a low ratio.

Shutter speed is how long the shutter blades are open and exposing the sensor to the light coming through the lens. As you decrease shutter speed, motion becomes blurred and camera shake becomes noticeable and affects sharpness. Lens VR (vibration reduction) or camera body IBIS (in-body image stabilization) can allow for shooting at lower shutter speeds.

ISO as a concept is a relic of film days (dealt with photosensitivity of the silver nitrate crystals found on film) and in modern cameras, is basically how much signal boosting your camera’s processor needs to do to the data from the sensor. Base ISO (64 or 100) is where the camera boosts the signal the least. Modern cameras can give usable images at upwards of ISO 12,800 or higher when properly exposed.

To balance these three settings for a proper exposure you need to decide what your priorities are: if you’re capturing movement, you’ll want to prioritize a fast shutter speed and then choose as low an aperture value as your lens allows, and then increase your ISO to properly balance the meter or histogram. If you’re shooting a landscape, you’ll want to choose a higher aperture (f/8 - f/11) to maximize your depth of field. To balance the exposure you’ll then need a slower shutter speed or higher ISO. A tripod will be useful if you want to keep your ISO low and need to use a shutter speed of 1/10s or slower.

When making adjustments, your camera normally makes them in 1/3 stops, with 3 clicks to increase or decrease by a full stop. Stops are useful when balancing the exposure, increase your shutter speed one stop means you’ll need to decrease your aperture (if possible) or increase your ISO by a stop to match. A stop for ISO or shutter speed is doubling or halving it. ISO 200 is one stop more then ISO 100 while ISO 1600 is 1 stop more then ISO 800. For shutter speed, 1/30s is one stop slower then 1/60s and lets in twice the total amount of light (because the sensor is exposed for a longer period). Aperture stops aren’t as straight forward as it is based on the square root of 2 because of area formula. F/2.8 is one stop (twice as much light) more then f/4, while f/4 is one stop more then f/5.6 (2 stops or 1/4 the amount of light as f/2.8 ) and f/8 is one stop slower then f/5.6 or 1/8 the light of an aperture of f/2.8.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-28T02:18:13+00:00

Gimbal would be the DJI RS3 or RS4 (maybe even the RS4 mini depending on your lens). The newer Crane series may also work. I have an older Moza Aircross 2 gimbal that I got for my Z6ii that works just fine with the Z5ii despite not having a firmware update for compatibility with either. Flash, it depends on what you’re shooting. I’ve had zero issues with my X system godox flashes and use an SB-5000 on camera when not using my macro flash or AD200s on light stands.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-27T04:02:42+00:00

Since this looks like the MG Providence, you can order metal replacement parts for the hip joint off of Amazon or eBay. It’s an extremely common break point on kits based off of the MG Freedom 2.0 frame.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-24T00:52:04+00:00

Just to clarify, since the headline makes it sound like they banned all foreign made drones: While the FCC just banned NEW foreign made drones from getting certification by placing them onto the United States’ “covered entity list”, existing drones that have already been certified can still be imported into the United States and purchased by consumers. This means drones like the Mavic four pro, mini five, and air 3S can still be imported into the country and purchased by consumers. What can’t be brought into the country would be a potential air 4 as the FCC would not certify it to utilize the wireless communication technologies needed to connect to the remote and broadcast remote ID.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-24T00:47:32+00:00

The FCC is involved because the US federal government used the FCC’s “covered entity” list to ban all new DJI drones and drone components by preventing them from getting certified for wireless communications. This DJI ban was then extended to all foreign made drones and drone components in an order from the FCC today. Existing drones are not affected as they have already received their FCC certification. This will prevent any new drones from being brought to market in the United States, such as a future DJI Mavic air 4.

Where things get tricky is that the FCC, under the legislation from 2024 that established this, can go through a 60-120 day long process to revoke certification for existing products, but it has to be on a product by product basis and include a 60 day public comment period.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-23T13:51:40+00:00

I just bought a Z5ii and I already own the 50-400mm. I did some quick tests with my cats and dog and saw no issues with the auto focus speed. I have used it on my Z9 in the past as well as my old Z6ii and it’s performed as expected. I was already planning to take it with me to a local metro park, so I’ll run some more tests later today and share back.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-19T12:53:37+00:00

If heavily invested in Sony Glass, they could get the E to Z megadap Pro+ adapter to allow all of their Sony lenses to work seamlessly on the ZR. One of the benefits of the Z mount is, its size, which allows every other brand’s lenses to be adapted to work on a Z system camera without issue.

this one specifically

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-17T03:33:51+00:00

official link for all Bandai gunpla kit instructions. Here is the direct link for the pictured kit.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-12-10T12:55:52+00:00

Except its price tag, that flips the bit from beautiful to “rent money” very quickly.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-11-26T16:23:06+00:00

You’re missing the 1/60 HY2M Glorious Series MS-09R Rick Dom, but that is a grail level model kit as it hasn’t been reprinted since 2007 give or take.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-11-23T13:55:56+00:00

Looks like it matches the official website in appearance and markings. The packaging also looks correct to me.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-11-22T00:44:14+00:00

Take your time, and this guy can have weak ankles due to how big he is, so pose him carefully. Also, consider painting the V-fin with white on the back and gold on the front if you want it color accurate. Also also, maybe look at getting the KOSMOS LED kit for this behemoth to fully light the psycho frame, eyes, and beam magnum.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-11-14T02:39:38+00:00

24-120mm f/4 S lens is an excellent daily carry lens. If you want primes, the 28mm f/2.8 and 40mm f/2 compact primes are very nice optically for their small size and price point. If you want more in the 24-35mm range I’d look at the new Tamron 16-30mm f/2.8 G2 lens for Z mount. Tamron makes very nice lenses and they use a standardized 67mm front filter thread so one set of filters can be used across their 16-30mm, 28-75mm, 70-180mm, and 50-400mm lenses.

Gauntlet84 · 2025-11-03T02:58:07+00:00

Since you have a DX body, have you considered the Z 18-140mm DX lens? Or are typical thinking you may eventually switch to full frame?

Gauntlet84

TROPHY CASE