Welcome to our November newsletter. It has been an active past two months. We just finished our Shootout in the Smokies Workshop. We had a full house and a special guest. For the first time in my workshop career, I invited a vendor to join us. Our sponsor, Singh-Ray filters, sent their technical expert, Howard Carhill, and his wife Karen, who spent the week loaning out Singh-Ray filters to all participants while Annette and I instructed. They were a great help and I thank them.
Singh-Ray Filters, in my view, are the best filters I have ever used. I am proud to be sponsored by Singh-Ray as well as being a technical advisor. Take a look at their line. For a special, just for looking, use VC 20 and get 20% off Singh-Ray for the next two weeks. Click below to enter their website. Check out the Vinny Colucci Blogs, Webinars and the Vinny Colucci basic landscape kits.
Above: Nikon Z7 with Z mount 24-70 f/4 at f/22. Singh-Ray LB polarizing filter and 3 stop reverse grad filter. F/22 gives us the starburst.
We have a few workshops to announce. The first is our Triple D spring time workshop with babies. It is already starting to fill. We will take a maximun of 10 participants. Lots of fun with a bonus of afternoon shoots around West Glacier.
This amazing event will fill fast now that it is released. Signup today at the link below.
Our next workshop is brand new. We will be teaching a birds in flight workshop in St. Augustine at the Alligator Farm. The event is May 2-5, 2019. Go to our website for full details. I promise you if you are having trouble with birds in flight, you will learn techniques that will get those sharp images. I have recently updated my methods of birds in flight to help teach you how to get great results. I'll also be showing my Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera and how to shoot birds in flight with this little amazing piece of equipment.
Go to our website below for further details and to register.
Birds in Flight St Augustine Workshop May 2019
We had someone drop out of our winter Triple D workshop in Montana. We have one spot open for February. Visit our link below to join our group to capture amazing images. Hope to see you there.
Triple D Winter Workshop Feb 2019
NIKON Z7 MIRRORLESS CAMERA
This will be a multiple series on my impression of the Nikon Z7. I'll not get technical as there is plenty on the internet about this camera.
First Impression on this camera
ITS A NIKON
What I mean about this is that being a Nikon shooter since 1995, I had no trouble setting up this camera. The menu was simple and followed the same format as my D5, D850 and other Nikon digitals I have shot in the past. If you are a Nikon shooter, then this is a no brainer going mirrorless. This is a true Nikon pro level work horse.
Nikon does not have many of the new K-Mount lenses out. I only bought the kit lens which is the 24-70 mm f/4. This is a great little lens and unlike most kit lenses, it is built rugged and built right. I am looking forward to the new Z-mount lens lineup starting in 2019.
Nikon also came out with the FTZ adapter which allows you to use all your F-mount Nikon lenses on it.
I have tested my Z7 and FTZ adapter with amazing results. Here is a list of tried lenses that worked perfectly. 200-500 f/5.6, 70-200 f/2.8E VR FL ED, 28-300 f/5.6, 60mm Micro f/2.8 and 500mm f/5.6 PF.
Below are a few images, including birds in flight, I have captured with the Z7:
Nikon Z7 with 24-700 f/4 K-mount. Singh-Ray LB polarizing filter. Water image has a Singh-Ray 3 stop ND filter.
Nikon Z7 with FTZ adapter. First image 500mm f/5.6 PF and second image Nikon 200-500 f/5.6. Both Hand held with VR turned on.
There were some shooting techniques that were different than my D5 or D850. Nothing that took long to fine tune. I will go over these in the next review.
The camera worked perfectly in all situations. Next month we will talk about my setup and techniques for capturing these images.
I want to thank Nikon Professional Services ( NPS ) for getting me my equipment so quickly, as well as Hunts Photo. Alan Samiljan at Hunts, as well as Gary Farber, were tremendous help with this and it is appreciated.
If you have any technical questions on the Z7 or need help setting it up feel free to contact me.
[email protected] or 252-349-1121
I have sent a lot of folks to Hunts for their Nikon gear and they always walk away with a great experience.
Here is Alans contact information. Let him know I sent you.They do have Vinny Colucci Workshop Specials.
Alan Samiljan
Hunt's Photo & Video
100 Main St.
Melrose, MA 02176
Alans hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, 8:30-5:00pm eastern
With all this new mirrorless equipment, my camera backpack has gone light. I am testing the Mindshift Backlight 26L. So far this bag has been great. I will report on it next month as well as a Hunts Photo special on this bag coming out for Vinny Colucci Workshop participants. Until next month,
Keep on Shooting
Quote of the month:
"The Path is the Journey to There"
( Vinny Colucci 2018 )