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New camera day (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 days ago by limelight79@lemmy.world to c/photography@lemmy.world

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(I also posted this in cats, if it looks familiar.)

Got a new Nikon Z8 camera body the other day. The rule in our house is that the pets must be the subject of the first pictures with any new camera, so here we are, my very first picture with it (edits: cropped and applied lens correction).

Unfortunately, I forgot to switch to raw mode, so this is an edited JPG. The fact that Nikon defaults to JPG for even their pro camera that's just one step down from the flagship Z9 might say something about the people who are usually buying these cameras.

Yesterday I used the camera on my first professional shoot (real estate photography) - it went well. I'm shocked at how fast it is compared to my D750; there were a few times when I thought, "It's done already?" It'll be nice to save a little time that way - it adds up when I'm doing a 50+ picture shoot (which is really 250+ pictures, see below where I mention bracketing).

Since it's mirrorless there's a lot less clicking, just some beeps and simulated noises. Takes some getting used to!

I haven't quite figured out the top display - on the D750, it shows (among other things) how long the current frame takes to shoot - it's useful info when the shutter is open for 10 or 30 seconds (some houses are very dark, plus we bracket 5 shots, 2 stops apart). The Z8 doesn't seem to be consistently showing that info, or maybe I'm just not in tune with it yet. Sometimes it seems like it's still showing the value for the previous frame.

It's probably just me, though - time gets weird when I'm watching an LCD display that isn't doing anything, while being nervous that I didn't set up the new camera correctly.

So far I really like the camera. I'm using my F-mount Sigma wide angle lens via the FTZ II adapter for the real estate work (and other F-mount lenses, such as the 2.8 24-70 for the picture above), so I'm looking forward to getting a native Z 14-24 lens at some point in the next few months. The FTZ works great, as far as I can tell, but it'd be nice to have a smaller, lighter package, as well as a full backup rig (D750 + Sigma F 14-24, Z8 + Nikon Z 14-24), just in case something goes wrong.

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[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 days ago

Sick! Hope you enjoy it, and that's a cute photo of a cat

[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

How did you get into doing real estate photography? It seems like a decent gig. I used to work in TV but got out because of the hours when I got married and had a family. Now I’m in an unrelated field.

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Short version, I took a class and applied to a "photo mill" company, who hired me on (as a contractor).

Longer version: I took early retirement from my old career last year. I took the class on real estate photography fairly early on after that retirement, and it was taught by a guy who has been doing it ~30 years. I mostly bummed around for the summer while working part-time as a bicycle mechanic, but that work slowed down - a lot - in the fall...much like real estate, I'd later learn.

I finally got around to getting pictures of my house and some friends' houses to use as a "resume" for the company I applied to. They said it was exactly what they are looking for and signed me up immediately. Then I mostly waited - work was slow over the winter; there were a few weeks where I didn't have any jobs at all (and the bike shop didn't need me, either). Apparently a slowdown over winter is normal for professional photographers, no matter what they specialize in.

But, we had a pretty nasty snow/ice storm in February, and then the snow and ice hung around for weeks afterward - usually around here, temperatures will rise and snow will melt within a few days, but that time it stayed cold and the snow just stuck around forever. Few houses were on the market in those conditions, so I think this winter was much worse than usual. I did have a few jobs during that time and found myself walking half a block on ice over snow, hoping I didn't fall with my camera, or fall through. I "skated" across several back yards during that time. Parking was a mess. It just sucked all the way around.

In March, things started picking up. Last night I completed my 92nd job with them.

(I wrote a long "here are my observations about the job", which I removed because it was way more than you asked, but I did save it in case anyone is interested.)