This article is a work in progress. Keep checking for updates…
The moment that Nikon announced that they would be bringing ProRes RAW to the camera, I was beyond excited. I already knew it had a great video sensor, and the possibility of being able to have photo RAW like editing in video sounds awesome. This post is all about my expecations with the Nikon Z6 and ProRes RAW and what the actual reality is.
Expectation #1: Initial announcement was just over a year ago. To be released in 2019. It would have been released months ago!
Reality Check #1: They call it 2019, but by the time you get it completed and returned to you, it’ll be 2020.
Expectation #2: It’ll be a firmware update. Firmware updates for every camera that I’ve ever owned are free and downloadable by everyone.
Reality Check #2: Not only does it costs $200 plus tax, you also need to pay for shipping there and to be returned.
Expectation #3: Nikon will perform the update and it’ll take some time.
Reality Check #3: They actually performed the update and shipped it within one day.
Expectation #4: I shipped it to them the moment that it was announced. I used two day shipping so that I would have it done and returned as soon as possible. My expectation is that they would ship it back, and it would be returned to me within a few days.
Reality Check #4: They shipped it on the 20th of December from New York to Washington State near many UPS major hubs, and it’ll be delivered on January 2nd! They could have sent it Pony Express on an actually horse and it would have been faster.
Expectation #5: I’m actually expecting the autofocus to work slow and terrible – like in N-Log mode. Perhaps not at all. I would hope it works the way it does in 8 bit mode, but my expectations are low on this one. Especially because I cannot find any videos online illustrating it or talking about it. Therefore, it’s probably bad. Hoping for the best.
Reality Check #5: TBA
Expectation #6: It’ll work almost exactly like N-Log. That my expectation of a true RAW workflow like photography will be completely wrong and it’ll be a minor improvement over N-Log. I hope to be able to at least to correct white balance completely in post and produce a nice video image without a lot of noise (like N-Log) and not be too sharp or over processed.
Reality Check #6:
Final Results – Was It Worth It?
