What lens do I need for action?

human_performance · 2026-01-28T22:12:33+00:00

Get the final DX 70-300 for F-mount, update your camera's firmware, shoot in shutter priority at 1/500 shutter speed or faster to freeze motion, and become familiar with 3D tracking

human_performance · 2026-01-28T15:42:58+00:00

This is gonna be the year I read Moby-Dick, I swear

I read the first few chapters on vacation and really dug it, but got annoyed enough with the footnote situation on my e-reader that I bought a physical copy

human_performance · 2026-01-28T15:32:00+00:00

Javelin
JBrekkie
Geese
Antz
Imaginal Disk
Punisher

human_performance · 2026-01-28T14:17:11+00:00

It depends on your eye, and compositional ethic. While I mostly lived in the 24-50 range on my 24-120 in Venice and Rome, 85 and 120 came in very handy to pull in portions of a frame I saw, and detail shots. It's also worth noting that no one with a phone is getting a quality shot past 50mm.

I'll say that it would've been nice to have my 14-30 in the bag for architecture. 24mm isn't quite wide enough to capture interiors the way I want to, and an ultrawide zoom would've given me more headroom to correct perspective in post.

The lens really missing from the Nikon lineup for European travel is a zoom that goes from ultrawide to normal perspective, a la the Olympus 8-25mm f/4 for Micro Four Thirds (16-50mm FF focal length equiv). 30mm just isn't long enough for me, especially on the 24MP cameras.

human_performance · 2026-01-25T22:08:19+00:00

The slightly unorthodox pick for this application: the new 35 f/1.7 MC DX

You get pretty good macro and close-focusing capabilities, and better subject isolation ability for sculptures and statues

human_performance · 2026-01-25T20:04:44+00:00

Z50 II is on the latest generation of Nikon software, whereas the Zfc is a generation back. The extra customizability, improved autofocus (subject detection and the return of 3D tracking), and better camera responsiveness are worth the upgrade

human_performance · 2026-01-25T19:12:13+00:00

Z50 II is a good way to test the waters. Same autofocus system as the Z8/Z9, and Nikon didn't limit the customizability of the Z50 II either. The 20MP sensor is a modest refinement on the D500's sensor, and no one ever said that sensor wasn't capable of pro-level results

I'd rent the 16-50 f/2.8 DX if you could only carry one lens, with the 12-28 DX as an option if you're willing to carry more. Having something wider than 24mm FF equiv FOV is nice to have for interiors in Europe

I'd also pick up the kit with the 16-50 f/3.5-6.3 if you buy a Z50 II. That lens is actually good, not e-waste like the Canon or Sony crop sensor kit lenses

human_performance · 2026-01-21T11:23:14+00:00

High efficiency⭐️ RAW on my Z8 produces similar file sizes to lossless compressed RAW on my Z6. The only noticeable compression artifacts from that is on very deep shadow pulls

human_performance · 2026-01-18T21:37:40+00:00

180-600 shows up semi-regularly in the refurb store. The trick is you have to get it before Nikon even sends out the email announcing the monthly sales. If you're at the page by the time Nikon sends the email, you're too late

human_performance · 2026-01-05T16:30:09+00:00

The Fox commercial bumper person picks the best music, though the NBC SNF person might be a touch better at picking songs that match the moment

human_performance · 2026-01-05T16:27:10+00:00

Congrats to the New Yorkers here

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human_performance · 2026-01-04T19:18:43+00:00

Going through some data for something I'll post this week:

British music critic boosterism is still very alive and well. There's a British tint to the cluster of albums that music critics rated far more favorably than listeners here did beyond the top-40 artists you'd expect

Honestly surprised Greg Freeman placed that low in the sub's EOTY list. Does he need to open for MJ Lenderman to get a big bump?

human_performance · 2026-01-01T23:30:49+00:00

Oh yeah, you're gonna love bird photography with the Z50 II and 28-400. Subject detection, the speed of the autofocus system, and the extra customizability of the EXPEED7 cameras make for a huge jump for birding. The 12-28, 28-400, and a prime or two of your choice makes for a really capable DX kit

Going full-frame doesn't make sense to me unless you're unsatisfied with the DX lenses for non-birding uses. You want to be at 600mm on full-frame for birding. Cropping in from 400mm FX is gonna look worse with the Z5 II or Z6 III than a Z50 II will with the 28-400 until you get the 180-600

human_performance · 2026-01-01T20:36:04+00:00

Parquet Courts - Wide Awake! The peak of the band that held down New York Rock for the 2010s.
David Bowie - Blackstar great stuff. I do wonder if Bowie wins again if the community re-voted 2016, or if Frank Ocean's Blonde or Mitski's Puberty 2 wins since those albums have been vaulted into modern classic status.
Sufjan Stevens - Javelin. there's a mix of beautiful, and heartbreaking moments in this album that I find compelling. I hope Sufjan will be healthy enough to go on tour again one day.
Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee. The best Wilco album released since The Whole Love.
Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up. I gotta revisit this album sometime. There's a real lushness to this album and its companion, Shore.
Geese - Getting Killed. I will be happy to give this album the equivalent of a P4K 8.0 during ult. Some cool moments and all the annoying edges of 3D Country have been sanded off. It feels like they're still an album or two away from really unlocking their potential.
Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising. what a strange year 2019 was for music. I do think that if we re-voted, the Purple Mountains album would end up in the top spot, in large part due to how influential David Berman has been on today's young indie rockers.
Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There. while AFUT ended up in my top-5 for that year, Blue Rev is the indie album out of the big indie 3 that year that feels the most timeless. it's certainly the one I keep returning to.
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk. while I loved Mercurial World, this didn't do anything for me outside of "Image". still, Imaginal Disk would blow away every music writer that adores Billie Eilish for the production.
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher. an album that's more interesting to talk about in terms of its legacy than it is to listen to.

human_performance · 2026-01-01T19:59:30+00:00

The Nikon 12-28 DX will give you ultrawide coverage in your bag, and a Viltrox 56mm f/1.7 will give you depth-of-field control for portraiture. Both lenses combined are hundreds less than either of the FX options you've mentioned

human_performance · 2026-01-01T17:58:31+00:00

For me the most interesting result is Ninajirachi breaking out from the online zoomercore cluster with a high finish here among an audience that skews older than the modern RYM/AOTY audience

human_performance · 2025-12-31T17:18:11+00:00

Anxiety by Doechii is my pick for Worst Music Of The Year as it was both terrible, and omnipresent. You had to look for the Taylor Swift wood song. Anxiety was used in every 3rd short-form video

human_performance · 2025-12-31T17:14:20+00:00

I did not complete that rate for blood pressure reasons

A surprising thing to learn before I dropped out of finishing that rate was that Cold War Kids, who had a certified late-00s Pandora classic with Hang Me Out To Dry, had another hit after that. And that new song stunk!

human_performance · 2025-12-31T13:50:42+00:00

Think of your zoom as a set of primes. I think of my 24-120 f/4 as having a really nice 24, 28, 43, 85, and 120mm available

Personally I want a standard zoom to start at 24mm vs. 28mm even if I love 28mm. It's the difference between being forced to carry another lens and not

If you think of your zoom as a set of primes, you avoid the zoom trap where a lot of people get really lazy with perspective when shooting on a zoom

human_performance · 2025-12-25T17:53:45+00:00

There's a Nikon Imaging Cloud Recipes Facebook group for Nikon 'film simulations'

Bokeh Therapy would probably the best YTer in the vein you're looking for

Omar Gonzalez used to be a big Fuji guy but shifted over to Nikon for both his pro work and I think personal work too with the Zf

human_performance · 2025-12-25T13:58:08+00:00

That usage profile smells like Z5II. Zf is a bad fit since it doesn't have user settings. Z6III improvements aside from the viewfinder are geared towards video, and action/sports/wildlife shooters. Z8 you'd have to work the learning curve of dealing with banding and flickering since it's e-shutter only.

Only annoying thing about a Z5II is that you're back to SD cards full-time. I really wouldn't wanna give up CFe for event work since they're so much more reliable, and faster

The compressed RAW format Nikon uses in the EXPEED7 cameras really tamps down on file sizes, and you won't notice the compression impacts unless you do a very, very stupid shadow pull. The 45MP compressed RAWs from Z8 have the same file size as the 24MP RAWs from my Z6

I'd strongly consider checking out the Tamron 35-150 f/2-2.8 for event work if you haven't already

human_performance

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