"Installing" an Alphagvrd Z 8 skin ...

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

I've never been one to get a skin for my cameras, but since I get PPF for my cars, I thought I should give it a try with my Z8 and Z9, so off I went to the online alphagvrd store and bought myself a skin for both the Z8 and the Z9.

Well, I just got it installed - looks pretty good in general, although I made some very minor boo-boos that nobody will actually see (other than me), but nonetheless make the OCD person inside me scream in frustrated rage. Oh well, I'll either get over it or rip it off.

Anyway, the main thrust of this post is "HOLY COW, IT TOOK ME 5+ HOURS TO INSTALL THE DAMNED THING". I mean I suppose I should have expected it given the number of little bits of fiddly parts to attach to the camera body, but OMG. I literally didn't want to stop halfway through because if I did, the chances of me finishing it were slim to none.

Nonetheless, I'm glad I did it - hopefully it will keep the body in good condition for some time. I've still got the Z9 to do, and I'm not particularly optimistic that it will take me any less time to do it.

Does anybody else have any "war stories" about installing a skin on their Z camera, or am I just a ham-fisted dunderhead?

 

[LukeP_Photo]

The first time I put on a skin from them, I started with a lens. The first couple took quite a while to install however, I've gotten it pretty quick now. 5 hours is definitely a long time. I don't know for sure, but you are probably obsessing too much on the placement. The skins are quite forgiving of being pulled up and reapplied as long as you don't stretch them or press them too hard into place. My eyes aren't what they used to be in low contrast light so I ended up using a headlamp while installing mine and that made it much quicker and easier. I've had a skin on my Z9 for well over a year and while I'm careful with it, it still gets regular hard use. The skin has held up remarkably well and only recently do a I have a small section around the rear screen that has peeled up a little bit. I think it got caught against something while covering a game. The skins won't provide any impact protection but they've definitely prevented lots of scuffs that are showing on the skins instead of the camera or lens. The Z8 had a skin on it since I got it in June and it took me maybe an hour and a half to put on. Use the tools that come with the skins and maybe a headlamp if your eyes are like mine.

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

The first time I put on a skin from them, I started with a lens. The first couple took quite a while to install however, I've gotten it pretty quick now. 5 hours is definitely a long time. I don't know for sure, but you are probably obsessing too much on the placement. The skins are quite forgiving of being pulled up and reapplied as long as you don't stretch them or press them too hard into place. My eyes aren't what they used to be in low contrast light so I ended up using a headlamp while installing mine and that made it much quicker and easier. I've had a skin on my Z9 for well over a year and while I'm careful with it, it still gets regular hard use. The skin has held up remarkably well and only recently do a I have a small section around the rear screen that has peeled up a little bit. I think it got caught against something while covering a game. The skins won't provide any impact protection but they've definitely prevented lots of scuffs that are showing on the skins instead of the camera or lens. The Z8 had a skin on it since I got it in June and it took me maybe an hour and a half to put on. Use the tools that come with the skins and maybe a headlamp if your eyes are like mine.

Thanks! I’ll report back on how long the Z9 takes. I have to wear readers while doing it, and the light wasn’t great. Yes, I was totally obsessing about placement

I will say that I’m pretty pleased with the result. I’m hoping it will preserve the underlying fabric on the camera.

 

[KnightPhoto2]

Appreciate the thread as the Alphagvrd skins are on my to-do list for next year. I also watched the installation video on their website which was quite helpful.

I really love the blue skin but should probably get a camo one, tough decision ;-)

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Appreciate the thread as the Alphagvrd skins are on my to-do list for next year. I also watched the installation video on their website which was quite helpful.

I really love the blue skin but should probably get a camo one, tough decision ;-)

Tough choice. I went for Obsidian Black because I wanted to stick to the "stock" look as closely as possible. My intention is for it to protect the camera body from scratches, scuffs and nicks, and I'm hoping that it will work well for that.

I will say that I am super impressed with just how accurate the cutting is - there are pretty much no visible gaps between the various bits of the skin, and the feel of it is pretty good - not sure that it's quite as good a feel as the "bare" camera, but that's very much a personal impression. Not something that should put anybody off their purchase, and at less than $60 it's not a massive investment.

Right now I'm psyching myself up to install it on the Z9. Hopefully round 2 will go a little faster than round 1 did. Hah.

 

[Mackiesback]

Wow, I never heard of these before. Are they easy to remove down the road?

There is a Z9 video on the site. Maybe that will help with the 5 hour thing.

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Wow, I never heard of these before. Are they easy to remove down the road?

No idea. My hope is yes - they don't seem particularly sticky, but time will tell. Their FAQs claim they're easy to remove.

There is a Z9 video on the site. Maybe that will help with the 5 hour thing.

Yes - I did watch that as the basis for my Z8 install. I think I'm just super picky about things.

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Well, 3 hours later and the Z9 is also done. I guess I'm just slow at this stuff . My initial impressions - I'm really quite impressed by the sub-millimeter accuracy of the skin. Given that there are something like 30+ different parts that you have to separately attach, the fact that the gaps between the skins are essentially invisible (unless you're like me and peer at things with a magnifying glass), and the general fit and finish is impressive. I honestly cannot easily tell that the hard plastic parts are wrapped; it's a little easier to tell that the softer grippy parts are wrapped, but part of that is down to inaccuracy in application in certain areas on my part. I will say that it is tedious and finicky as all hell to get the skin on, but once it is on, it looks good. I deliberately went for the stock look - or as close to stock as I could get - but part of me wishes I'd gone for something more flamboyant.

Hmm. Images won't load. I'll try get those later ...

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Hmm. Images won't load. I'll try get those later ...

Looks like there are still problems uploading larger images, so here are smaller ones. The images show some of the imperfections, but they tend to magnify them quite a lot.

 

[Brian P Smith]

I was very tempted to buy a set of these for my Z7 and 50/35 combo i use as a beater walk around just for fun.. never pulled the trigger though

 

[Jerry_P_M]

I just have to wonder though. I keep reading about overheating problmes. It seems that adding a layer would hold in more heat that the camera does now.

I had no heat issue so maybe it would help prevent the rubber grips from swelling and coming loose. For me, it might be worth looking into this for that alone.

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

I just have to wonder though. I keep reading about overheating problmes. It seems that adding a layer would hold in more heat that the camera does now.

I had no heat issue so maybe it would help prevent the rubber grips from swelling and coming loose. For me, it might be worth looking into this for that alone.

The overheating really only occurs in moderately extreme circumstances. For me it will occur if I shoot a video at high frame rates/resolution after about 2 minutes of shooting. I’ve seen some people have some issues on very hot days when doing a lot of event photography.

I’ll keep an eye out on that. I doubt it will be an issue for the Z9, but we’ll see what it does to the Z8.

 

[LukeP_Photo]

I've only seen a hot card warning once with my Z8 doing photos. It was about two hours into a sports gig where it was around 100 degrees outside. There was also a fairly long sequence of rapid bursts. I was also using an SD card provided by my client for the job, which wasn't a high end card. So not video, but also not normal circumstances for me outside of working for this client. Otherwise I've not had another hard card warning since or before, but again, I'm almost always shooting stills right now anyway. The matte black does look almost stock. I've attached pics from when I first wrapped my Z9 and 70-200 over a year ago. I used the matte black on the lens and the blue version of the nocturnal waves on the Z9. I've used that on all my camera bodies for consistency but I also like the design and color. The matte black on the lens looks basically stock with a quick glance. It definitely shows more wear now, but is still holding up well. The skin on the Z9 and the other bodies is holding very well.

As far as taking them off, you can see multiple videos of them being removed and shouldn't be terribly difficult. It's all about picking the right kind of adhesive, which they've done. It does take a while to put them on, regardless of how meticulous are, depending on the complexity of the lens or camera body. But once you realize that the pieces and adhesive is quite forgiving, and you've done a couple of lens/bodies, it's gets quite a bit easier.

 

[Jerry_P_M]

I just have to wonder though. I keep reading about overheating problmes. It seems that adding a layer would hold in more heat that the camera does now.

I had no heat issue so maybe it would help prevent the rubber grips from swelling and coming loose. For me, it might be worth looking into this for that alone.

The overheating really only occurs in moderately extreme circumstances. For me it will occur if I shoot a video at high frame rates/resolution after about 2 minutes of shooting. I’ve seen some people have some issues on very hot days when doing a lot of event photography.

I’ll keep an eye out on that. I doubt it will be an issue for the Z9, but we’ll see what it does to the Z8.

I was mainly refering to the Z8. and cant imagien that wrapping the camera body, even with a thin lary of vinyl, would not hold in heat, but I imagine we will hear about it here if is a problem.

Like you, I also doubt any heat issues will arise with the Z9. I have been using mine to shoot horse shows since last December. Thats 35 events, shooting on average 8 to 14 hours a day and never any issues at all, but then I also don't do burst shooting or video.

I did also send a question to alphagvrd asking about the swelling ruber grip issue. I will let everyone know what they say when/if they reply.

 

[Mackiesback]

I just have to wonder though. I keep reading about overheating problmes. It seems that adding a layer would hold in more heat that the camera does now.

I had no heat issue so maybe it would help prevent the rubber grips from swelling and coming loose. For me, it might be worth looking into this for that alone.

The overheating really only occurs in moderately extreme circumstances. For me it will occur if I shoot a video at high frame rates/resolution after about 2 minutes of shooting. I’ve seen some people have some issues on very hot days when doing a lot of event photography.

I’ll keep an eye out on that. I doubt it will be an issue for the Z9, but we’ll see what it does to the Z8.

I was mainly refering to the Z8. and cant imagien that wrapping the camera body, even with a thin lary of vinyl, would not hold in heat, but I imagine we will hear about it here if is a problem.

Like you, I also doubt any heat issues will arise with the Z9. I have been using mine to shoot horse shows since last December. Thats 35 events, shooting on average 8 to 14 hours a day and never any issues at all, but then I also don't do burst shooting or video.

I did also send a question to alphagvrd asking about the swelling ruber grip issue. I will let everyone know what they say when/if they reply.

Since thermoplastic doesn’t breathe, I doubt there will be much difference