Hiking Mount Harvey
Interactive 3D map of the hike via Relive also available
I completed this hike on October 7, 2020 but didn't post until Feb 2022. I guess I'm a little behind in my site updates. Mount Harvey sits between The Lions and Brunswick Mountain and is a significant peak close to Vancouver. I have been up all three peaks and they are all worth climbing for the stellar views and the challenge. In this post I'll cover part of the route and show some images from the summit No hardcore scrambles but there are technical sections, good boots and decent fitness are necessary. The profile is shown below, with grades in excess of 30% it will give even experience hikers a challenge.
I knew I wanted to hike Harvey when I saw it from the top of Brunswick, seen here (below) looming over the valley.
Harvey, Brunswick, and the Lions can all be accessed via the same trail starting at the end of Sunset Drive in Lions Bay. Parking is limited, get there early and make sure you pay or you will get a ticket. The trail to Brunswick peels off first (to the left), but stay on the trail marked for The Lions/Harvey.
It starts fairly easy, a nice wide trail through the forest.
After a while you will find another set of signs, but these are not as well marked and the trail for Harvey is not that obvious (quality of the photos isn't great either, sorry). Here, the big trail carries on to the right and will take you to the Lions but to the left (and up) you start your climb of Mt. Harvey.
The next while is a fairly steep slog though the forest following what is, at times, a poorly marked trail.
You eventually come out of the timber, trees give way to a meadow.
Views are spectacular, despite still needing to cover some vertical to reach the summit. You get a good view of The Lions, and the peaks beyond.
The summit is spectacular, definitely worth the climb.
A view of Brunswick Mountain, the tallest peak in the region. This angle makes it look relatively tame but the summit is amazing.
A few more images from the summit. It was such a nice day, I didn't want to come back down.
One more shot as I started my descent. The hike took 8 hours start to finish, with at least an hour on the summit to refuel and enjoy the panoramic views.
East Van Visitor
![Comet Neowise - C/2020 F3 [50mm, f/2, 10s, ISO800]](https://photo.photokaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-07-14-Neowise-Comet-MKH-12853.jpg)
Comet NEOWISE in Vancouver
We have a surprise celestial visitor right now, comet NEOWISE (named after the observatory that discovered it: Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer). The comet's visit is fleeting, it will be gone by the end of July and not return to earth for 6800 years! If you want to catch a glimpse, find a dark area and look north just over the horizon after sunset. It's faint but visible to the naked eye, and easily viewable with binoculars. Here are a few shots from West Vancouver taken on July 13th.
My first few shots were with my longest telephoto lens, a 500mm. Not that easy to find and frame at this focal length but I did manage to get some shots of the comet with it's long tail (click for larger).
![Comet Neowise - C/2020 F3 [500mm, f/5.6, 2.5s, ISO6400]](https://photo.photokaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-07-14-Neowise-Comet-MKH-12833.jpg)
A more expansive view, showing some of the landscape and what could be some aurora. I think I even managed to catch a small meteor in the shot.
![Comet Neowise - C/2020 F3 [50mm, f/1.8, 10s, ISO400]](https://photo.photokaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-07-14-Neowise-Comet-MKH-12869_1.jpg)
The comet with a passing ferry.
Wider still, with the big dipper and most of the little dipper in the frame.
![Comet Neowise - C/2020 F3 [15mm, f/4, 10s, ISO1600]](https://photo.photokaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-07-14-Neowise-Comet-MKH-12847.jpg)
Moon shot with Nikon Z7 and AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6 PF
Just a quick post showing the great performance of the Nikon Z7 combined with the AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6 PF lens. Significant crop from the full frame, edited in Capture One and Photoshop.
1/500s, ISO 200, f/8, 500mm
Lightroom Classic Panorama Merge : Boundary Warp vs Fill Edges vs Auto Crop
Today, Adobe released a new version of Lightroom Classic (v9) that has an addition to the panorama merge function: fill pixels (using content aware fill).
The new version of Photoshop (2020) also has this functionality but the images created in this post were created by Lightroom.
First, I did some basic edits to 16 raw files captured with a Nikon Z7 and Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S lens. Vertical orientation, hand held while on a hike at Chain Lakes in Washington State, USA. That’s Mount Shuksan in the distance. I loaded these images into the panorama module and it created this basic stitch (border added to see effect):
The resulting image is 26442 x 8257 pixels (218 megapixels), but it contains missing data around the perimeter (common issue when stitching). To correct for this, Lightroom gives you several options.
Auto Crop – this will create a rectangular crop of maximum size while removing all of the areas with missing information. 
26190 x 7282 (190 megapixels)
Boundary Warp – the image is stretched to fill the missing data. Pixels are moved and interpolated but the resulting image is larger than the cropped version.
26153 x 7946 (208 megapixels)
Fill Edges (new) – attempts to use Content Aware Fill to fill in the missing data (with limited success in this case, see below).
26442 x 8257 (218 megapixels)
So the new “Fill Edges” option created the largest file and preserved the pixels (no stretching) but also created odd artifacts in the file (as Content Aware Fill is known to do). See the lines in the 100% crop below from the edge of the frame. These are not present in the crop or boundary warp methods.
Detail
To make comparing some of the options a bit easier, here are some before/after sliders so you can more easily see the difference.
Original vs Boundary Warp
Original vs Fill Edges
Boundary Warp vs Fill Edges
I thought Boundary Warp might distort the image to the point that quality is degraded substantially but that doesn’t seem to be the case. After looking at both images side by side in Lightroom at 100% (1:1 view), especially at the edges where Boundary Warp has the greatest effect, I don’t see any major difference between the two techniques in terms of quality. So “Fill Edges” might work well for blue sky or other images where the edges are not detailed, but I’ll mostly stick to using Boundary Warp and Crop.
The final image (which I will edit further) is a combination of Boundary Warp (setting 40) and Auto Crop. This seems to give me the highest level of quality while preserving as much of the image size as possible.
British RAF Red Arrows North American Tour
I was sad to miss this year's Abbotsford Air Show, but did manage to see the enhanced fly over by the British RAF Red Arrows team. They have been on a North American Tour this summer and yesterday did a fly by in Victoria and here in Vancouver. Great to seem, my first time seeing this team in action.
I only had my 500mm f/5.6 PF Nikkor so getting some wider shots was just not possible. Still, it was fun to watch the team perform and I managed to get a few nice shots from the all too short event. I hope the Red Arrows team can make it to the Abbotsford Air Show one year, they would be a great additon.
Nice formation flying.
Coming right at us with trailing red and blue smoke.
Close up of the BAE Hawk T1 aircraft with modified tail. Used to inject diesel and dye to create the coloured smoke trails.
Laying down smoke
A few extra shots.
Birds, Bunnies, and Bugs with Nikon Z7 and Nikkor 500mm f/5.6 PF
Not my usual post as I just want to share the images and not write too much about an otherwise uneventful day. These images were shot at Jericho Beach in Vancouver, BC using the Nikon Z7 and Nikkor 500mm f/5.6 PF lens. The rabbits are feral and while technically wild they let people get fairly close. You certainly don't need a 500mm lens to get decent shots here. A few of my favorites from the day first then the rest.
Hiking Brunswick Mountain
You can download my GPX or KML files for use in your own GPS trackers or mapping tools.
Brunswick Mountain is the tallest peak in the North Shore Mountains at 1788m and has a panoramic view of Howe Sound and other popular peaks including the Lions. My Garmin told me I climbed 1561m over a 17 km round trip with grades over 40%, which made for a long day. The effort is worth it in the end though, it's not often you get to look down on Mt. Harvey, Sky Pilot, the Lions, and everything else around. The hike starts at the end of Sunset Drive in Lions Bay, but there are only a handful of parking spaces and this is the trailhead for several popular hikes. It's pay parking and they will ticket you. Nothing is free these days, not even hiking.
The 2D profile for the hike is shown below. It gets progressively more steep as you go.
The trail gets into dense coastal forest immediately. I took a different route up on the lower slopes than I did coming back (see map above), and it was steeper so I don't necessarily recommend that section of trail. I did find an old truck frame though which is slowly sinking into the forest.
From the initial section of gravel trail you will come to the route marker showing the way to the Lions and to Brunswick. Don't miss the marker otherwise you are climbing the Lions. The way to Brunswick is narrow and over grown, easy to miss. Once on the Brunswick trail you start climbing through the forest with only slugs to see. The trail never seems to end and around every corner is just more of the same. New views at all, you just have to get through it.
As I was hiking I started to encounter fog/clouds and I was worried that the summit might be in cloud cover but I pressed on hoping for the best.
The trees eventually start to thin out but the trail gets even steeper from this point.
After more climbing, you start to see the first views through the trees. You have already gained significant elevation by this point, but there is plenty ahead.
You will come to an intersection with the Howe Sound Crest Trail and there are makers on several trees. You can head left to Brunswick Lake, Hanover Lake, or Deeks Lake. To the right is Mount Harvey, the Lions, and eventually Cypress. Straight ahead (and up) is Brunswick, it should be somewhat obvious at this point.
The trail isn't always obvious, but there are orange markers to help lead the way.
The views are starting to get good though, making the effort easier.
The last section of the climb is steep and sometimes loose.
You will reach a plateau where you can finally see over the mountain, but the true summit is just to the right.
Some views before the final summit push.
The summit is actually three separate peaks. This is peak 1 (which you can see in on the map at the top).
If you want to try and tackle the other two peaks it is possible without any special gear. This view doesn't show it clearly but there is a definite gap between all three peaks with the gap between the first and second being the most tricky. Obviously a mistake here has high consequences so I don't recommend it unless you are comfortable with such hiking.
The gully between the first and second peaks. It's a long way down.
Raven keeping me company.
The approach to the second summit is a bit sketchy. I'm not a fan of heights and I just mad sure not to look down too much.
Once on the second peak, you will find some remnants of a structure that is now a bench. You can see the view back to the first peak here as well.
Final push to the third peak.
The third and what seems like the highest peak of the three. Standing on the highest point in the north shore, which is a very cool feeling.
It's a harsh life for the plants and animals up here.
Hikers on the first peak. Don't want to slip here.
Some final views from the summit, then the long road home.
Mount Harvey in the valley, Lions in the distance, Howe Sound to the right.
Focus Shift Shooting with the Nikon Z7 and 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro-Nikkor
None of my previous cameras had the focus shift feature so I decided to give it a try today. We had great light and my wife's flowers are in full bloom and made for good test subjects. There was a very slight breeze but the alignment seems to have done a good job with the slight movement between frames. If you don't know what focus shift shooting is you can read a bit about Nikon's implementation here. Essentially, the camera will take a series of exposures while slightly adjusting the focus between each frame. This allows a razor thin plane of focus to actually move through the subject thus getting it all in sharp focus. You need to stack the files into a single image using post processing techniques, today I tried this in Photoshop and Zerene Stacker. I had better results in Photoshop but admittedly I'm a rookie with Zerene.
One thing to note, despite having a very fast computer, processing 30 or so images, each a 45 megapixel raw file, brought the PC to its knees :) Might be time for another upgrade. I did four stacks with Photoshop and I'm sharing my Zerene shots at the end, they have issues.
I think all of the flowers shown here are varieties of dhalia.
Detail
Flower 2
Detail
Flower 3 (my favorite one)
Detail
Black and white conversion. Might need a bit more work but that is all the time I have today for editing :)
Detail
A couple of samples with Zerene. I tried both the DMap and PMax types but preferred the Photoshop stack to either. The DMap one has some very strange artifacts in the OOF areas, no idea why.
Hiking the Hope Lookout Trail
I hiked this with my six year old twins on July 6, 2019 but just posting a few pics now. The trail head starts in Hope, BC and is a short but relatively steep climb to the lookout. You get a nice panoramic view of the town below, it's well worth the effort.
As with some of my previous hikes. You can download my GPX or KML files for use in your own GPS devices.
Here are some images from the trail. High resolution panorama is shown at the end. Click for bigger versions.
I took a series of photos from the top using my high resolution camera (46 megapixel) then stitched the files into a large panorama. The smaller version is shown below, but you can get a much bigger version HERE and zoom in to look around town. I'm not posting the full size file as it's just huge and takes forever to download.
Vancouver Aquarium Macro
I have been to the Vancouver Aquarium many times before and always enjoy the visit. Today I took my six year old twins once again, and brought along my macro lens for some shots. Before we left the house, I noticed some of our flowers had recently been covered by rain. 
Even though the tanks and displays don't change too often, you always witness new and interesting behaviour by the animals that live there. It's always worth a return visit.
The best part of our visit today was that there were many butterflies on display in the tropical section. The kids loved it.
Hiking Cheam Peak in Chilliwack
On Sunday of the August long weekend my brother and I scaled Cheam Peak located just outside Chilliwack, BC. A truly breathtaking hike through alpine meadows towards an unobstructed and panoramic view of the Fraser Valley. The peak is visible as a prominent landmark from the well traveled Trans Canada Highway that will evoke great memories every time I pass by it.
You can see the location of the hike on the map below, or a larger version here. It's just east of Chilliwack but getting to the trail head is no easy feat. It's a one hour drive from Chiliwack following Chilliwack Lake Rd to Foley Creek Forest Service Rd. From there you take Chipmunk Creek Forest Service Rd where you will need a four wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance. I don't recommend anything less as you are liable to get stuck, break your vehicle, or both.
You can download my GPX or KML files for use in your own GPS trackers or mapping tools.
Here is the hike profile.
Though we had a relatively early start to the day, there were already quite a few cars in the parking area at the top.
The hike starts off with a well marked trail and gradual rise.
As you continue to gain elevation, you catch sight of a peak in the distance. I initially thought this was Cheam but it turns out this is a different peak called Lady Peak. There is a trail to that peak as well and it shares the initial part of the route with Cheam. I'll have to come back to bag that one another day :)
Since much of the elevation gain was on the drive up to the trail head, you are very quickly walking through the upper alpine area. Views are just stunning (click for bigger).
At about the half way mark of the hike, there is a slight detour that will take you to a nice view to the northeast and a look at Jones Lake.
The final stretch is well above the trees, exposed, and when we went quite hot.
Looking back from the rise to the summit.
The final stretch to the summit of Cheam, panoramic views in all directions.
Views from the summit (click for bigger).
Views from the top.
Shots from the way down, just a stellar day for a walk in the mountains.
I'm testing the app Relive which will draw the hike on a 3D map and add photos. It's fun and the result is shown below.
Relive 'Cheam Peak'
You can view some of my other hiking related posts at these links:
- Hike to Saint Marks Summit
- Hiking the Binkert Trail To The Lions
- Lynn Valley Hike – North Vancouver
- Hiking Stawamus Chief South Peak – Squamish, BC
A Visit to Pacific Northwest Raptors
Last weekend, my wife and I visited The Raptors for an all-day raptor experience. Located a short drive from Duncan on Vancouver Island and definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. We enjoyed it so much we brought our kids and their grandparents the very next day so they could experience it as well. Not only did we get to hold some awesome birds on our glove, we got to see the flying demo and participate in the Hawk Walk. Overall, a great time and highly recommended if you want to get up close to some birds of prey.
Plenty of photo opportunities as well, here are a few of my shots. All taken with my new combo of the Nikon Z7 and Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S.
Golden Eagle
Gyrfalcon, which was also in the flying demo. Very cool.
Lindsay holding this beauty.
Great Horned Owl, possibly my favorite. During the flying demo he gets so close to the audience you can feel his wingtips on your head.
Bald Eagle. Just awesome to see such a beautiful bird up close.
Boomer, the entertaining Kookaburra
Spectacled Owl
Turkey Vulture
Red Tailed Hawk coming in for a landing during the Hawk Walk.
Saker Falcon
American Kestrel
Nikon Z7 : High ISO, IBIS, Focus Peaking
I took a walk around my neighborhood with my kids to look for fall mushrooms and flowers. I wanted to test a few aspects of the Nikon Z7 including high ISO shots, ability of the in body image stabilization (IBIS) to steady shots at slower shutter speeds, and the focus peaking (which none of my previous cameras have offered). To test, I mounted my 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro Nikkor lens on the FTZ adapter and headed out. It was late afternoon light with some heavy tree cover at times, I first tested focus tracking by trying to get some shots of my kids. I was quite disappointed with the performance of the Z7/105 combo, the tracking was terrible. The camera missed almost every shot, even with the kids just walking. The 105 was never a good performer in this regard and it continues it's poor performance on the Z7.
Regardless, I tested on some static subjects and the results were quite good. Fairly clean output at ISO 3200.
Test of manual focus with peaking, worked very well.
This squirrel was running around and I managed a shot. It's acceptably sharp for web use but not ideal.
This girl was moving on the web and the web was also moving in the breeze. Of 30 or so shots only two yielded results worth sharing.
This shot was at 1/80s hand held but I tested as slow as 1/5s and could get reasonably sharp photos. I don't think that would have been possible with my D810, even with a VR lens.
Nikon Z6 & Z7 Setup and Configuration
As I did for the Nikon D800 and D810 DSLR cameras, I'm posting the settings I'm using for the Nikon Z7 along with a file you can download to use as a starting point for your own settings. Doing this forces me to go through every setting available on the camera and to understand what it does. I'm using the official Nikon Z7 Reference Manual (English version, others available) to gain an understanding of the features. Some will be familiar if you are coming from other Nikon bodies, others are brand new found only in the Z7. Note that the majority of these settings apply to the Nikon Z6 as well.
Unlike the D800/D810 that used four memory banks that were selectable in the software, the Z7 has three user configurable settings (U1, U2, U3) not unlike a D750 or D7500. I find this option far superior, personally. Also, in the D800/D810 I devoted one of the memory banks to a "point & shoot" type setup where the camera did as much of the work as possible. This was useful for my wife, who doesn't want to mess with settings. The Z7 has a fully automatic mode (Auto) selectable via the mode dial which is idea for this type of use.
I have set the three modes on my Z7 to preconfigure the camera into landscape, action, or portrait settings. Often, I make minor adjustments from the standard settings depending on what is required. If you want to use my custom settings in your camera, feel free to download my settings file here:
Firmware C: 1.00, LF: 1.00 : Download Nikon Z7 custom settings file 1.00
New firmware: I'll get to it eventually, sorry :/
I suggest you back up your own settings first (SETUP MENU -> Save/load settings -> save settings, copy the settings file from the media card to your computer). To use my custom settings file, copy it to the root folder of your media card using your computer, insert the media card into your camera and navigate to SETUP MENU -> Save/load settings -> Load settings. This will copy the settings over to your camera. Once complete, update the copyright and image comment settings to your own. If you have questions, or a suggestion feel free to leave them in the comments at the bottom of the page, I'll maintain a change log of any significant changes in my change log and post updated files as new firmware is released.
The settings are all shown below. Use the search feature at the top of the table if you are looking for a specific setting.
NIKON Z7 SETTINGS | P/S/A/M | U1 : Landscape | U2 : Action | U3 : Portrait | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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EXTERNAL CONTROLS | ||||||||
Release mode Note 1 | As needed | Continuous L (3) | Continuous H (extended) | Continuous L (3) | ||||
| Monitor Mode Button | Prioritize viewfinder | Prioritize viewfinder | Prioritize viewfinder | Prioritize viewfinder | ||||
| Exposure Mode | As selected by mode dial | Aperture Priority | Shutter Priority | Aperture Priority | ||||
PLAYBACK MENU | ||||||||
| Delete | Selected | Selected | Selected | Selected | ||||
| Playback folder | All | All | All | All | ||||
| Playback display options | "Highlights" and "Overview" | "Highlights" and "Overview" | "Highlights" and "Overview" | "Highlights" and "Overview" | ||||
| Image review | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| After delete | Continue as before | Continue as before | Continue as before | Continue as before | ||||
| After burst, show | Last image in burst | Last image in burst | Last image in burst | Last image in burst | ||||
| Rotate tall | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Slide show | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
| Rating | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
PHOTO SHOOTING MENU | ||||||||
| Storage folder | Default | Default | Default | Default | ||||
| File naming | I set to my initials: MKH | MKH | MKH | MKH | ||||
| Choose image area | FX | FX | FX | FX | ||||
| Image quality | RAW (occasionally I shoot RAW+JPEG) | RAW (occasionally I shoot RAW+JPEG) | RAW (occasionally I shoot RAW+JPEG) | RAW (occasionally I shoot RAW+JPEG) | ||||
| Image size | Large | Large | Large | Large | ||||
| NEF (RAW) recording | ||||||||
> NEF (RAW) compression | On - Lossless compressed | On - Lossless compressed | On - Lossless compressed | On - Lossless compressed | ||||
> NEF (RAW) bit depth | 14-bit | 14-bit | 14-bit | 14-bit | ||||
| ISO sensitivity settings | Manually set depending on scene | Manually set depending on scene | Manually set depending on scene | Manually set depending on scene | ||||
> ISO sensitivity | 64 (or higher if necessary) | 64 (or higher if necessary) | 64 (or higher if necessary) | 64 (or higher if necessary) | ||||
> Auto ISO sensitivity control | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
>> Maximum sensitivity | 12,800 (higher than this and the files are unusable) | 12,800 | 12,800 | 12,800 | ||||
>> Maximum sensitivity with flash | 12,800 | 12,800 | 12,800 | 12,800 | ||||
>> Minimum shutter speed | Auto (use fastest, which is 1 / 2x focal length) | Auto (use fastest, which is 1 / 2x focal length) | Auto (use fastest, which is 1 / 2x focal length) | Auto (use fastest, which is 1 / 2x focal length) | ||||
| White balance | Auto1 (irrelevant if shooting raw but useful to preview photos on the LCD) | Auto1 | Auto1 | Auto1 | ||||
| Set Picture Control | Auto (Irrelevant if shooting RAW. The only time I ever change this is to set it to Monochrome to preview in-camera what a B&W image would look like) | Auto | Auto | Auto | ||||
| Manage Picture Control | I don't use it | |||||||
| Color Space | Adobe | Adobe | Adobe | Adobe | ||||
| Active D-Lighting | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Long exposure NR | Off (turning it on doubles your exposure times as the camera takes a second dark frame exposure to subtract noise) | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| High ISO NR | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Vignette control | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Diffraction compensation | On (I suspect this doesn?t apply to RAW files but until I can confirm I will leave it on) | On | On | On | ||||
| Auto distortion control | On (can't turn off with Z-mount lens) | On | On | On | ||||
| Flicker reduction shooting | Off | Off | Off | On | ||||
| Metering | Matrix | Matrix | Center-weighted | Spot | ||||
| Flash control | TTL | TTL | TTL | TTL | ||||
| Flash mode | Fill flash | Fill flash | Fill flash | Fill flash | ||||
| Flash compensation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Focus mode Note 2 | AF-C | AF-C | AF-C | AF-C | ||||
AF-area mode Note3 | Wide-area AF (S) | Single-point AF - often manual focus override using 100% zoom on the LCD | Dynamic-area AF | Auto-area AF | ||||
| Vibration reduction | On (Normal) | On (Normal). Off when on tripod. | SPT (Sport) | On (Normal) | ||||
| Auto bracketing | Off | If needed (AE bracketing, 3-5 shots, increment 2) | Off | Off | ||||
| Multiple exposure | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| HDR | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Interval timer shooting | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
| Time-lapse movie | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
| Focus shift shooting | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
| Silent photography | As needed (note that turning this feature on disables some other features such as flicker reduction, EFC and changes frame rates | As needed | Off | As needed | ||||
MOVIE SHOOTING MENU | ||||||||
File naming Note5 | I set to my initials: MKH | MKH | MKH | MKH | ||||
| Choose image area | FX | FX | FX | FX | ||||
| Frame size/frame rate | 2160p30 (4K 30fps) | 2160p30 (4K 30fps) | 2160p30 (4K 30fps) | 2160p30 (4K 30fps) | ||||
| Movie quality | High | High | High | High | ||||
| Movie file type | MOV | MOV | MOV | MOV | ||||
| ISO sensitivity settings | Default | Default | Default | Default | ||||
| White balance | Auto1 | Auto1 | Auto1 | Auto1 | ||||
| Set Picture Control | Auto | Auto | Auto | Auto | ||||
| Manage Picture Control | Unused | |||||||
| Active D-Lighting | Normal | Normal | Normal | Normal | ||||
| High ISO NR | Normal | Normal | Normal | Normal | ||||
| Vignette control | Normal | Normal | Normal | Normal | ||||
| Diffraction compensation | On | On | On | On | ||||
| Auto distortion control | On | On | On | On | ||||
| Flicker reduction | Auto | Auto | Auto | Auto | ||||
| Metering | Matrix | Matrix | Matrix | Matrix | ||||
| Focus mode | Full-time AF | Full-time AF | Full-time AF | Full-time AF | ||||
| AF-area mode | Auto-area AF | Auto-area AF | Auto-area AF | Auto-area AF | ||||
| Vibration reduction | On | On | On | On | ||||
| Electronic VR | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Microphone sensitivity | Auto | Auto | Auto | Auto | ||||
| Attenuator | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Frequency response | Wide | Wide | Wide | Wide | ||||
| Wind noise reduction | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| Headphone volume | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||
| Timecode | Default | Default | Default | Default | ||||
CUSTOM SETTING MENU | ||||||||
| a Autofocus | ||||||||
| a1 AF-C priority selection | Focus | Focus | Release | Focus | ||||
| a2 AF-S priority selection | Focus | Focus | Focus | Focus | ||||
| a3 Focus tracking with lock-on | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||||
| a4 Auto-area AF face detection | On | On | On | On | ||||
| a5 Focus points used | All | All | 1/2 Every other point | All | ||||
| a6 Store points by orientation | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| a7 AF activation | AF-ON only (Out-of-focus release: Disable) | AF-ON only (Out-of-focus release: Disable) | AF-ON only (Out-of-focus release: Enable) | AF-ON only (Out-of-focus release: Disable) | ||||
| a8 Limit AF-area mode selection | All checked | All checked | All checked | All checked | ||||
| a9 Focus point wrap-around | Wrap | Wrap | Wrap | Wrap | ||||
| a10 Focus point options | ||||||||
> Manual focus mode | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
> Dynamic-area AF assist | On | On | On | On | ||||
| a11 Low-light AF | On | On | On | On | ||||
| a12 Built-in AF-assist illuminator | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| b Metering/exposure | ||||||||
| b1 EV steps for exposure cntrl | 1/3 step | 1/3 step | 1/3 step | 1/3 step | ||||
| b2 Easy exposure compensation | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| b3 Center-weighted area | 12mm | 12mm | 12mm | 12mm | ||||
| b4 Fine-tune optimal exposure | Default | Default | Default | Default | ||||
| c1 Shutter-release button AE-L | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| c2 Self-timer | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
| c3 Power off delay | ||||||||
> Playback | 10s | 10s | 10s | 10s | ||||
> Menus | 1m | 1m | 1m | 1m | ||||
> Image review | 10s | 10s | 10s | 10s | ||||
> Standby timer | 30s | 30s | 30s | 30s | ||||
| d Shooting/display | ||||||||
| d1 CL mode shooting speed | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| d2 Max. continuous release | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | ||||
| d3 Sync. Release mode options | Sync | Sync | Sync | Sync | ||||
| d4 Exposure delay mode | Off | 3s | Off | Off | ||||
| d5 Shutter type | Auto | Electronic front-curtain shutter | Mechanical shutter | Auto | ||||
| d6 Limit selectable image area | All checked | All checked | All checked | All checked | ||||
| d7 File number sequence | On | On | On | On | ||||
| d8 Apply settings to live view | As needed | As needed | As needed | As needed | ||||
| d9 Framing grid display | Off | On | Off | Off | ||||
| d10 Peaking highlights | As needed | On | Off | On | ||||
> Peaking level | As needed | 2 (standard) | Off | 3 (high sensitivity) | ||||
> Peaking highlight color | Red | Red | Red | Red | ||||
| d11 View all in continuous mode | On | On | On | On | ||||
| e Bracketing/flash | ||||||||
| e1 Flash sync speed | 1/200s | 1/200s | 1/200s | 1/200s | ||||
| e2 Flash shutter speed | 1/60s | 1/60s | 1/60s | 1/60s | ||||
| e3 Exposure comp. for flash | Entire frame | Entire frame | Entire frame | Entire frame | ||||
| e4 Auto flash ISO sensitivity control | Subject and background | Subject and background | Subject and background | Subject and background | ||||
| e6 Auto bracketing (mode M) | Flash/speed | Flash/speed | Flash/speed | Flash/speed | ||||
| e5 Modelling flash | On | On | On | On | ||||
| e7 Bracketing order | Under > MTR > over | Under > MTR > over | Under > MTR > over | Under > MTR > over | ||||
| f Controls | ||||||||
| f1 Customize i menu | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | ||||
f2 Custom control assignment Note 4 | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | ||||
| f3 OK button | ||||||||
> Shooting mode | Reset | Reset | Reset | Reset | ||||
> Playback mode | Zoom on/off | Zoom on/off | Zoom on/off | Zoom on/off | ||||
| f4 Shutter spd & aperture lock | ||||||||
> Shutter speed lock | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
> Aperture lock | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| f5 Customize command dials | ||||||||
> Reverse rotation | Default | Default | Default | Default | ||||
> Change main/sub | Default | Default | Default | Default | ||||
> Menus and playback | On (image review excluded) | On (image review excluded) | On (image review excluded) | On (image review excluded) | ||||
> Sub-dial frame advance | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||||
| f6 Release button to use dial | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
| f7 Reverse indicators | - 0 + | - 0 + | - 0 + | - 0 + | ||||
| g Movie | ||||||||
| g1 Customize i menu | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | ||||
| g2 Custom control assignment | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | Personal preference | ||||
| g3 OK button | Reset | Reset | Reset | Reset | ||||
| g4 AF speed | 2 (Always) | 2 (Always) | 2 (Always) | 2 (Always) | ||||
| g5 AF tracking sensitivity | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| g6 Hightlight display | Off | Off | Off | Off | ||||
SETUP MENU *3 | ||||||||
| Format memory card | As needed | |||||||
| Save user settings | As needed | |||||||
| Language | As needed | |||||||
| Time zone and date | As needed | |||||||
| Monitor brightness | 0 | |||||||
| Monitor color balance | Default | |||||||
| Viewfinder brightness | Auto | |||||||
| Viewfinder color balance | Default | |||||||
| Control panel brightness | Auto | |||||||
| Limit monitor mode selection | All checked | |||||||
| Information display | B (dark on light) | |||||||
| AF fine-tune | As needed | |||||||
| Non-CPU lens data | As needed | |||||||
| Clean image sensor | Clean at shutdown | |||||||
| Image Dust Off ref photo | As needed | |||||||
| Image Comment | Off | |||||||
| Copyright information | Set your name/site here | |||||||
| Beep options | Off | |||||||
| Touch controls | On (default) | |||||||
| HDMI | Default | |||||||
| Location data | Both on | |||||||
| Wireless remote (WR) options | Default | |||||||
| Assign remote (WR) Fn button | Off | |||||||
| Airplane mode | As needed | |||||||
| Connect to smart device | As needed | |||||||
| Connect to PC | As needed | |||||||
| Wireless transmitter (WT-7) | As needed | |||||||
| Conformity marking | As needed | |||||||
| Battery info | As needed | |||||||
| Slot emptry release lock | Lock | |||||||
| Save/load settings | As needed | |||||||
| Reset all settings | As needed | |||||||
| Firmware version | As needed | |||||||
RETOUCH MENU (I don't use it) | ||||||||
MY MENU | ||||||||
| d4 Exposure delay mode | ||||||||
| d5 Shutter type | ||||||||
| Vibration reduction | ||||||||
| Silent photography | ||||||||
| Apply settings to live view | ||||||||
| Format memory card | ||||||||
The User Settings (U1/U2/U3) do not retain the release mode settings. If you switch user modes you need to remember to switch the release mode (single, continuous, etc.)
I use the 'AF-ON' or 'back button autofocus' technique (for lack of a better term) to focus my camera. You will see that in my settings, I primarily use AF-C as the default focus mode when I use the camera. With the AF-ON technique, you decouple the focusing of the camera from the shutter press. The nice thing is that you can have both continuous, static autofocus, and manual focus modes all at the same time. Focus and recompose is also easier as you don’t have to keep the shutter half-pressed, just release the AF-ON button and the camera stops focusing. It works very well, but takes a bit of getting used to. This technique works on both Nikon and Canon cameras (likely other brands as well but I haven’t checked into it).
This will be subject to change after more testing. I'm not yet sure how well the Z7 tracks faces in the Auto-area AF mode.
Note 4: Custom control assignment (f2)
- Fn1 button : Zoom on/off -> Low magnification (50%). Allows me to zoom in 50% to check for critical focus.
- Fn2 button : My Menu - quick access to my most commonly used settings (see above for what I keep in the menu).
- AF-On : AF-On
- Sub-selector : Focus point selection
- Sub-selector center : Spot metering (useful for a quick metering override if I'm in matrix and it's not exposing the scene properly.
- Movie record button : Auto bracketing. Unlike the D800/D810 I'm used to, the Z7 does not have a dedicated bracket button so I reassigned the movie record button which is otherwise useless in photo mode.
- Lens Fn button : Spot metering. I sometimes shoot birds and a dark bird in a bright scene often gets exposed incorrectly. Spot metering lets me get exposure on the bird, not the scene.
- Lens control ring : Focus (M/A). Manual focus override, same as most lenses.
Note 5: Movie Shooting Menu/Settings
Despite having the option to shoot video with my cameras, I very rarely do. Please don't consider my video settings optimal, I almost never need them.
Nikon Z7 Setup - Change Log
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| 2019-12-15 | Added c2 Self-timer to "My Menu" for quick access. |
| 2019-12-15 | Update d5 Shutter type to use the auto shutter type feature. |
| 2019-12-15 | Fix AF area mode in U1 - removed pinpoint as it only works with AF-S which I never use. |
| 2019-12-15 | Update lens Fn button. Now have a lens that has this button (Nikkor 500mm f/5.6PF) so using it for spot metering for tricky subjects. |
| 2019-12-15 | Change Fn1 buttom from DoF preview to zoom in to 50% magnification |
| 2018-10-10 | Initial publication |
Nikon Z7 First Shots
One of my favorite places to visit is the Vancouver Aquarium, and that is exactly where I went to test out the new Nikon Z7. I only had a short amount of time so only two test shots but more to come soon.
Visit to Toronto
I had very little time to take photos in Toronto, just one night after work. Ventured to the islands off of downtown and managed to get a few nice shots. I'll try to update this post once I edit a few more.
Nikon Z7 Banding Test
Update: ISO 3200 test follows below.
I just picked up a new Nikon Z7 and there have been multiple reports of banding in recovered shadow areas. I decided to test this for myself to see when the problem might crop up. I shot a desk in my office with a monitor (seems to show up more on flat black surfaces). There was a lot of back light so the monitor is underexposed even in the 0EV frame. Settings:
- RAW (NEF)
- Processed by Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 7.5 (Camera Raw 10.5)
- No processing except:
- Profile: Adobe Color
- White Balance: Daylight
- Exposure settings for each photo noted below.
TL;DR:
- Banding is an issue for files pushed +4EV or greater.
- Banding is not visible at normal viewing sizes.
- Noise reduction can smooth out the banding effect.
100% crop from the above image in the top right corner of the monitor. No visible banding (as expected)
I then took another shot, this time with exposure compensation at -3EV, resulting shot is definitely underexposed.
The underexposed file then pushed in Lightroom to +3EV (exposure was the only adjustment). Resulting image:
100% crop from the +3 push. No visible banding.
The underexposed file then pushed in Lightroom to +4EV (exposure was the only adjustment). Resulting image:
100% crop from +4 EV push. No visible banding in the deep shadows.
However, I did see some banding crop up in some of the transition areas (light to dark) at the bottom of the monitor. It's slight but visible at 100%.
Finally, I did a +5EV push of the underexposed image. This is now very over exposed and not usable but useful for testing.
100% crop from the +5EV image. It's slightly visible when I check at 100% in Lightroom but might not come across in the exported jpg very well.
As before, most visible in the light to dark transition areas. 100% below.
Looking in other areas of the image (not just the black monitor), I can see slight banding in the +4EV and +5EV pushed images. Typically when you bump up shadows you introduce noise and in many cases some noise reduction is warranted. I observed that adding noise reduction smoothed out the effect of the banding, though it was still present. Further, the banding isn't visible at normal viewing sizes and only becomes visible as you zoom in (50% or larger viewing sizes). For print, this would translate to 14 inches on the long edge assuming no crop and 300dpi. Anything smaller and I suspect it wouldn't be visible.
For me, I can't remember ever pushing files to +4EV or greater. If I see a very high contrast scene I will often do some exposure bracketing so that I can capture detail in the shadows without pushing the file in post. I'll then blend the images for best results, and that type of workflow should avoid banding (I'll test this in the future). If I have to push files that far, they are likely just casual shots I'll post on facebook and none of my friends would know the difference. For me, this banding is a non issue.
Banding Test at ISO 3200
After posting some examples at base ISO (64) , a comment was made that the banding would become visible with less drastic editing if a higher ISO was used. I decided to test this by shooting the same scene at ISO3200. Results are below.
TL;DR:
- My testing show that banding is NOT visible at ISO3200 regardless of how much the file is pushed in Lightroom. I think the noise at higher ISO will mask any banding present.
First, normal exposure (exposure comp at 0EV). The scene has fairly extreme contrast between light (bright sunlight outside) and dark (no interior lights on, black monitor).
Now the same scene but camera has exposure compensation set to -3EV
Pushing the underexposed file by +3EV in Lightroom
100% crop from the +3EV push. I'm unable to find any visible banding in the image.
Now a +5EV push of the underexposed file. I find the file far too noisy to be useful so this is just an academic exercise to understand the behaviour of the sensor.
100% crop from the +5EV push. It's ugly but I don't see banding, just a lot of noise.
Finally, I tried some editing the 'properly' exposed file (0EV) using highlight and shadow recovery. Here the exposure is adjusted to +1EV, shadows at +100, hightlights at -100.
100% crop from the edited file, no visible banding. I checked the whole image and could not detect banding anywhere.
My conclusion is that high ISO noise masks banding and, at least for ISO 3200, banding will not be an issue in editing (noise will be, as it is with any other sensor). I might do more testing in the future to get an idea at which ISO the banding starts to become less noticeable.
Vancouver Aquarium with the iPhone X
Some photos from this weekend using the iPhone X. Captured in RAW (dng) using Adobe Lightroom Mobile (a free app) and edited with Lightroom on the desktop.
The Aquarium presents especially challenging conditions for any camera (shooting through glass, reflections, low light). Though the quality still pales to that from a camera with a larger lens and sensor I'm impressed with the photos the phone can produce. The future looks bright if this is how far we have come in only a few years.
Vancouver Aquarium with the iPhone X : 2018-09-09 : Emerald Tree Boa
Last one, not from the Aquarium but I just liked the shot :) Still an iPhone X shot.
Abbotsford Air Show 2017
I had a post about the Abbotsford Air Show, but my blog decided to act up. There were a bunch of other photos and a description of each but I had to restore from backup and now I don't want to rewrite the content. Here is a random selection instead :)
Taken with a Nikon D810 and Nikkor 200-500 f/2.8 VR and Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8.
