Moose Peterson’s Thoughts on z 6 & z 7

Six months later:

https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/the-z-6-months-later/

Joe

Sounds like the locker full of Z bodies have found a niche for him when the D5's and D850's aren't the right tool with the 180-400 and 800 5.6. I could make that work...lol.

I found Moose Peterson'd website very early on in my photographic "career" but quickly realized he was too much of a Nikon fanboy.  Everything they make is great ... don't get me wrong, I shoot Nikon myself (not because of his recommendations though) but they are not perfect, no (camera) company is.  Never found his critiques of gear to be well-balanced, and that is why I read Thom Hogan almost exclusively when I want to learn about the latest from Nikon.  I am sure the the new Z cameras are great at what they do, I would just prefer a few less superlatives when describing them.  Just my two cents.

Like all writing, you glean what you can from it and ignore what you don’t agree with. For example, here he says he never crops no matter what, and doesn’t disturb the animals in any way, including movement:

https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/glass-balancing-act/

I don’t agree with him about cropping or Bighorns.

The article is dated February 18, 2019 stating about this being the time of the rut for Bighorns, but the rut is generally in November and December:

https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/sent-is-in-the-air/

Reference this:

https://windriver.org/the-bighorn-sheep-rut/

Bighorn Sheep are probably one of the easiest animals to photograph once you find them. I have seen then lay down in the road at Mount Evans and refuse to let the traffic move. I have seen them amongst the visitors at RMNP next to the cars. In my area, they cause road blocks and have no fear. They approach horse equipment that has been taken off after a ride to lick the salt off the leather. No disturbing these guys.
He also calls the Flehman response a “lip curl”, which sounds a bit amateur for an experienced wildlife photographer. This podcast makes it sound like he knows a lot about sheep from working closely with biologists, but I wonder about that from his comments. Just my two cents worth about believing everything you read! Not knocking him personally, because there is a lot to learn about a lot of species and we all fall short in the knowledge arena. It’s just that we can all learn more and should be open to others ideas and opinions and sort out the nuggets of wisdom within. He does have experience with this camera.

Joe

Moose Peterson. I'll let you draw your own conclusions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AocBI4r34&t=1s

I saw Moose at Maggie Marsh in 2017 or 2016. He brought in 6 people to shoot warblers. They were referred to as Millionaires Row with all their big glass. Moose used a D5 and the 800mmF:5.6 and a SB-2500 strobe. I watched Moose blast away at tiny warblers 30 to 40 feet away. The warbler is about as large as your thumb. So the  I don't crop is a bunch of BS. I have shot at Maggie for over 10 years with a D3 and a Sigma 800mmF:5.6 AF. So I know for a fact that any shot with that setup is going to be cropped.

The day Moose Peterson say something negative about his endorsement companies and products will be the day after they stop endorsing him.

E.J. Peiker wrote:Moose Peterson.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AocBI4r34&t=1s

Wow is all I can say.

He doesn't use Post Processing because he has a warming filter.

So Moose shoots JPG then...oh no, wait he shoots RAW and edits in ACR... but he does not post process?

E.J. Peiker wrote:Moose Peterson.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AocBI4r34&t=1s

Wow!  I never heard him speak in public, just read his work.  I no longer think he is just a Nikon fanboy, but just an ass.  He contradicts himself all the time and is completely condescending.  Doesn't crop or post-process???  He gets it right all the time?    Someone commented that they appreciated his candor because he says what he thinks ... the problem is he doesn't think before he speaks.  OK, I will get off my soapbox ...

E.J. Peiker wrote:Moose Peterson.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AocBI4r34&t=1s

Wow, an ego the size of the Grand Canyon with a large pinch of condescension for good measure. I could only watch the first 3-4 minutes, and regret I cannot get those 3-4 minutes back.

Bill Chambers wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:Moose Peterson.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AocBI4r34&t=1s

Wow, an ego the size of the Grand Canyon with a large pinch of condescension for good measure. I could only watch the first 3-4 minutes, and regret I cannot get those 3-4 minutes back.

aaaagh!     I took one look at it, the interviewers, the interviewed, and bolted whilst I could, lest my sanity be taken away.... doh!  too late.... I fear therapy may be of no use... 

I have ran into Moose over the years at the Reno Air Races. He is full of himself at times. His wife is very nice though, opposites attract.

Well, I stopped watching after about 5 minutes. I stopped considering his opinion a bunch of years ago. The first Nikon 80-400 had just come out and he was saying at 400mm it was as good as his 400mm prime. I bought one and it wasn't a very good lens. Maybe I had a bad copy but it wasn't very sharp even at f8. For the record, I do currently have the 80-400 AFS and it's very good. Maybe he had a terrible copy of a 400mm prime, but I came to the conclusion that his "reviews" and opinions don't matter to me. I like Thom Hogan's reviews, I also like Steve Perry's reviews/opinions. Both are down to earth and approachable.

Baywing wrote:   I stopped considering his opinion a bunch of years ago.    I came to the conclusion that his "reviews" and opinions don't matter to me. 

I concur.  

When considering the validity of someone's reviews and opinions, I generally look at their body of work.  If it is a stellar collection of images, then I value their insights, even if their personality is a turn-off.  

If their work doesn't impress me, and I readily see things that they could've done to get much better images, then I don't value their reviews or insights, even if they are really nice and have a patient, friendly manner about them.

I don't really have much use for anything Moose says about gear or about how to do wildlife photography.   There are many other wildlife photographers whose insights I value, and who I can learn a lot from.

I thought it was a thread on cameras rather than some photographer bashing?

DChan wrote:I thought it was a thread on cameras rather than some photographer bashing?

Good point but it was about a person who is endorsing these cameras but whose endorsement has questionable if any credibility.

That said, it's probably time to shut this thread down even though I'm the one that got it into bashing territory.