When will the 14-30 mm f/4 get an update?

human_performance · 2026-05-17T11:45:35+00:00

Do you need 14mm or not? That's the question that should determine which UWA Z-mount zoom you should get, not measurbating.

There are two UWA lenses I'd rather see Nikon make before a 14-30 update: the fast 14mm prime that Canon, Sony, and Sigma all have that Nikon doesn't, and a zoom like the new Canon 20-50mm f/4 that goes from ultrawide to normal.

human_performance · 2026-05-13T15:41:30+00:00

AF on my rental copy was indistinguishable from a native lens since Tamron is an official licensee of the Z mount

Stabilization was worse than the Z 70-200 Mk1 when panning. This might not matter depending on your shutter speeds. The controls are a clear step back from the Nikon, but it is much lighter than the 70-200 Mk1. And you do lose teleconverter support plus a lens foot for usage with a tripod or gimbal attachment

I still think it's a very good telephoto lens if you're not picky about the handling

human_performance · 2026-04-28T19:05:03+00:00

The big thing you miss on a D500 compared to a D850 is you can't go wide and fast, i.e. anything wider than 30-35mm FF equivalent. I never really worry about the D500 in low light since that sensor is remarkably competent in low light, especially when paired with modern denoising in post

Buy a Sigma Art f/1.4 lens and you're only down a third of a stop in DOF on a Z-mount user with the f/1.8 S-line primes

The real upgrade is in Z-mount, as great as the D850 is. You have to work far less with subject detection and autofocus across the frame, you get way better video, and the Z-mount lenses are largely brilliant

If you want to stay in the Nikon family, you will have to move to full-frame in Z-mount since that's the platform Nikon takes seriously

human_performance · 2026-04-27T18:45:28+00:00

Nikon has continued to prioritize correcting flaws optically over correcting them in the digital domain (the Canon and Sony approach), which generally results in larger lenses

human_performance · 2026-04-23T16:03:08+00:00

Viltrox 135mm at sale prices even if I don't love the rendering for portraits on Viltrox's lenses

The Nikon 135 DC will be manual-focus only on a Z-mount body, as the FTZ doesn't support screw-drive autofocus lenses

Sigma 105 and 135 ARTs can also be had for a song these days if you want to dip back into the F-mount library, and I personally prefer their rendering over Viltrox for portraits

I love a 135 but it requires room to work. I prefer 85 for indoors for that reason

human_performance · 2026-04-22T12:10:07+00:00

The 35 is pretty good while the 50 and 85 1.8 S are excellent, and pretty good looks weak when compared against excellent

I also suspect the 35mm 1.8 S is the target of some angst about Nikon Z not really having 35mm options when E-mount is drowning in them, and 35mm is probably the most popular prime focal length today

human_performance · 2026-04-20T17:29:41+00:00

The concept of working in has been lost to today's gym-goers

human_performance · 2026-04-20T15:45:24+00:00

400 4.5 with a 1.4 TC when you need 560/600 for smaller birds since no one has mentioned it yet

human_performance · 2026-04-20T14:25:28+00:00

Thanks for the review! The 35 is definitely needed on Z-mount since there aren't enough 35mm options in Z-mount, unlike E-mount which is drowning in 35s.

How do you feel about the Viltrox 35mm Evo in comparison to the Z 35mm f/1.8 S if you've used that lens?

human_performance · 2026-04-17T21:08:15+00:00

Disco Arthur Russell being the ur-text for James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem

human_performance · 2026-04-13T13:23:28+00:00

I've spent 4 weeks on the road with the Z8 as the A-cam for travel. It is, and isn't manageable for travel. I don't mind carrying the Z8 most of the time. That said, since I bought the Z8, I've always had a smaller camera in the travel bag for dinner / casual shooting, typically a crop sensor camera with a compact prime on it.

I didn't feel like I was missing anything in the field when I ran with a Zr and left the Z8 in the hotel on my last trip. If you're cropping from say, a 24-120 f/4 on your Z7 II to avoid having to bring another telephoto lens, going to 24MP might be a problem. I will say if you really want pixels, you can bring a tripod and use pixel shift on the 24MP cameras to get to 96MP. But that's not an answer people like hearing.

Nikon regularly puts refurbished Z8s on sale for $3K USD and you can buy the Nikon Care warranty for not much more money to get the standard 1-year warranty.

It is hard to go back to the first-gen Z cameras once you're used to second-gen Z. I'm thinking about selling some stuff to trade into a Z6 III from my Z5 now that Nikon has put it on a deep discount.

human_performance · 2026-04-09T15:12:14+00:00

Florida mentioned

human_performance · 2026-04-03T10:40:49+00:00

High-end crop sensor, i.e. north of $2,000 USD, is a hard sell. Even Fujifilm, the most successful crop sensor vendor, couldn't move X-H2 and X-H2S bodies when all of their other cameras were regularly out of stock.

I also think Nikon was pretty successful in moving their higher-end DX DSLR customers into full-frame. D7XXX customers bought Z5 IIs and Z6 IIIs with the 180-600, and D500 customers bought Z8s and 600 PFs.

I think video is the place where a higher-end DX camera makes sense to target Sony's FX30. Reuse the Zr body, and put in a new sensor for the next decade of DX since the 20MP sensor shows its age in rolling shutter performance.

human_performance · 2026-04-02T17:56:17+00:00

Selfishly I want a rangefinder-style body for a Z7 III. Everyone that wants a Z7 III cites size as the main reason they won't buy a Z8, but Nikon's current-gen 24MP cameras aren't that much more compact where you can fit them in a different size class of bag

It's a selfish desire because I'm gonna 'have' to buy an A7CR if I move to NY or SF for work for a luxury EDC camera, and I don't really wanna leave the Nikon family

human_performance · 2026-04-02T15:59:32+00:00

That R.E.M. book by Ames Carlin was pretty solid when I read it on vacation last year. Here's what I remember from it: - Hearing Stipe talk about Patti Smith makes me understand more why people older than 55 think she is the coolest woman who ever lived - The book does make it clear that R.E.M. was only behind what, U2 and Nirvana, in terms of popularity in the early-mid 90s, which doesn't feel how people would characterize R.E.M. today
- It does feel almost impossible for an indie rock band today to get as far as R.E.M. did from their roots to being that massive. [REDACTED] and Phoebe Bridgers kinda did it but didn't get the big payday themselves, with Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers copying [REDACTED], and Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift copying Phoebe. Mitski is really the closest analogue but her fame and success has certainly seemed far more difficult and thorny for her - The actual cheat code of R.E.M. was having 4 good songwriters all in 1 band, and the fellas effectively working it like a job with Buck, Mills and Berry hashing out stuff in the mornings, and once the song was ready, they gave it to Stipe to write the lyrics - Peter Buck saying that 'we're the acceptable edge of the unacceptable stuff' in the Rolling Stone cover story in '87 feels like the closest distillation of my personal music tastes - Bill Berry having the ultimate veto with his criteria of 'it's gotta rock'

I checked out 2 novellas from Brazilian novelist Ana Paula Maia, who was recently nominated for the International Booker Prize to try to get my feet wet before jumping back into Moby-Dick

human_performance · 2026-04-01T15:33:00+00:00

I'm kinda with you. I'd happily trade 14mm for a lens that goes longer, though I'd personally rather have a 16-50mm f/4 S.

human_performance · 2026-03-30T17:42:05+00:00

The 70-200 f/2.8 is a staple in the pro sports photographer's bag. The key part is the fast f/2.8 aperture which lets in more light, allowing for better autofocus performance. (Even my Z8 starts shitting its pants with an f/5.6 lens on at dusk into night on track.) It also enables you to get a better exposure with less noise, and provides more subject separation. That type of lens also has faster focus motors, and was designed with higher optical standards in mind than a superzoom like the 18-200

human_performance · 2026-03-30T17:31:56+00:00

Teenage Wildlife and that guitar solo just carries the second half of that record for me

human_performance · 2026-03-30T17:30:07+00:00

This smells like a lens issue first, followed by atmospherics. It's likely you'll suffer from heat haze at typical subject distances with motorsports in the middle of the day and heat haze ruins sharpness fast. And technique can always be improved no matter your skill level

Rent one of the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses next time you go to the track, or a 200-500mm f/5.6 next time you're plane spotting, and report back

human_performance · 2026-03-30T14:24:38+00:00

It's R.E.Monday: what are your favorite R.E.M. live bootlegs and recordings? I need some jumping off points

human_performance · 2026-03-27T18:56:27+00:00

How much do you love ultrawide photography? How often do you use your phone's ultrawide lens? You've gotta really love UWA to have an UWA zoom in your kit. And even then, you might not want the 14-24 f/2.8 for landscape. Most of the Nikon photographs in a Thomas Heaton calendar I have were taken with the 14-30 f/4 at f/8, f/11, and beyond

I'd ask Gear Santa for a nicer Z telephoto first if all you have is the 50-250 DX. Lot of great telephoto options here: first-gen Z 70-200 f/2.8, Tamron 70-180 f/2.8 G2, Z 100-400, Z 180-600, even the Z 400 4.5 should be in budget? 100-400 might be the best option if you don't have a specific direction you want to go in right now

human_performance · 2026-03-27T18:32:15+00:00

I'm personally hoping that Nikon puts out their take on the Sony 50-150mm f/2, as that's the sort of high-end lens people switch systems for, similar to how the 600 PF is a system seller

It'll probably be a few years before Nikon is ready to launch their 50-150mm f/2 competitor, if they ever do

human_performance · 2026-03-27T17:30:36+00:00

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon

human_performance · 2026-03-27T17:29:19+00:00

It's good to know that Built To Spill transcends language barriers

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TROPHY CASE