Madera Canyon: First Test of Z8

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MrFotoFool

MrFotoFool

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Yesterday afternoon I went to Madera Canyon, south of Tucson (Arizona, USA). It was my first chance to try out my Nikon Z8 (even though I have had it for two weeks). I only have two lenses so far: a used 24-70 f4 S and a new 70-200 f2.8 S. These shots are with the latter. Since I don't have a subscription to Lightroom or similar, I had to buy an upgrade from DxO PureRaw2 to DxO PureRaw3 to read the RAW files (which I can then export to Photoshop Elements 2022, which also does not read Z8 RAW).

I shoot JPEG plus RAW and these are uncropped and unadjasted camera JPEGs except for the black and white, which is cropped and processed with DxO PureRaw and PSElements and NIK SilverEfex. The best thing about the camera is the layout is virtually identical to the D850 I came from, so it feels familiar. I still need to play with autofocus settings, but at least I know the camera works!

white tailed deer_coues Z8 018.JPG
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wild turkey_goulds Z8 032.JPG
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white nosed coati Z8 037.JPG
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c HOOD Z8 064 DxO bw.jpg
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I always forget that coati's are in the southwest US. I always think of them as Central/South American. I really like the B&W version. It really brings out the striking facial markings. They must have been fairly close if these are at 200mm.
 
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Yes the coati was close. The way I found it was driving slowly and there were four ladies at a picnic table just above the road and I heard one saying "shoo, go away". I was hoping it was a coati since I have seen them approaching picnic tables, so I asked the woman what it was and sure enough. I have photographed them here a couple times before and I think it was always with a 70-200. I have seen online that people are also seeing coatis at Sabino Canyon which is on the northeast end of the Tucson metro area, but I have never seen them there.
 
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Not a bad first outing. That should be a smooth transition from the D850. I'd recommend getting in some practice/familiarity with the AF system before taking it out for any serious/important shooting. Zoo, dog park, ducks in a local park, whatever you can find to shoot.
 
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