Nikon Z

[wilkopix]

I'm sticking with the my Nikon DSLRs certainly for the time being. I have so many lenses and bits and bobs that I have accumulated over the years that the change to mirrorless would be too expensive at the moment. The Z series looks lovely and I'm sure they are excellent but they don't really give me anything extra that I need that the D850's don't already give me.

[MDM]

6 hours ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

Just interested, do you use your existing lenses with an adapter for the Z7 or new lenses ?

 

Carol

 

I tend to use the Z lenses as I still have my DSLR kit for my F mount lenses. As Matt says, there is no problem using F mount lenses. The adapter makes the setup a little bigger and heavier so there is some loss of that mirrorless benefit. I did get one with the kit when I bought it but rarely use it. Stick a heavy F mount zoom on it and there is no weight benefit at all. 

 

If anyone is buying into the Z system, I think it is definitely worth buying the adapter and 24-70 F4 Z mount lens as a kit, as it is much more expensive to buy them separately. I would suggest that the 24-70 F4 could well be a top candidate for the best quality/price lens anywhere for any system. It makes for a very high quality carry anywhere kit, just a little over 1 kg so should not stress anyone. 

[MDM]

3 hours ago, Sally R said:

 

That's great you have both systems running Michael. I think the thing is that both mounts have their pros and cons and are different beasts. I only recently thought about mirrorless and that's why Marvin's original post was of interest to me. I have small hands and going full frame F mount DSLR has never really felt like a viable option for me. I felt I was limited to DX. But the advent of full frame mirrorless opens up a new world to me. Many people will like it for the comparable lightness and portability. As I personally really like Nikon and find them intuitive to use, and the fact that from what I've read their menu system translates over to their mirrorless cameras, the Z system does seem like something worth considering for me down the track. It's good you can run both systems side by side and also see what keeps changing with the firmware updates and how it all progresses.

 

I won't ditch my Nikon D5200 either (unless it actually dies). I have several good lens combinations with that. I know they work well and I'll gladly keep using them while I can. But if the D5200 does die or I get to the point I think I can buy into the Z system (or other mirrorless system) I will definitely consider it for the benefits that exist in those systems. Pentax may be able to survive sticking with DSLR, but Nikon as one of the biggest players had to compete with Sony, Fujifilm and others if they wanted to maintain their market share. But yes it will be interesting to see what they do with their F mounts in the future, and I understand the loyalty people have to that system.

 

I don't think there is any con to the Z mount really Sally. It has been designed to future proof the Z system. I don't know much at all about lens technology but the mount is what the real techies rave about in terms of lens design.

 

As far as small hands go, not all full frame Nikon cameras are monsters. There are several full frame cameras in the Nikon line up that are not particularly large either - the D750 is only 750g. Even the venerable D850 is not particularly large - just a few g over 1 kg in fact. It depends as much on the lens you put on it really how it handles and how heavy the setup will be. 

 

I think Nikon will go on making DSLRs for some time to come until the market for them vanishes. Nikon have a history of continuing to make older gear. They are still making some AIS lenses as far as I know and it is not long since they stopped making their last flagship SLR, the F6.

[MDM]

1 hour ago, wilkopix said:

I'm sticking with the my Nikon DSLRs certainly for the time being. I have so many lenses and bits and bobs that I have accumulated over the years that the change to mirrorless would be too expensive at the moment. The Z series looks lovely and I'm sure they are excellent but they don't really give me anything extra that I need that the D850's don't already give me.

 

I agree with that sentiment. The D850 is the ultimate DSLR I think. If you don't need mirrorless then sticking with the D850 is eminently sensible. I won't be disposing of mine anytime soon and intend to use it for the foreseeable future for sure. The image quality of the Z7 and D850 are pretty much identical - truly excellent. The D850 is definitely way better in low light (AF speed) and for action - superior AF tracking / burst shooting.

I bought into the Z system but I did have a good reason at the time. I had a temporary injury around Christmas 2018 and couldn't carry my DSLR kit in any way comfortably so I consoled myself with a Z7 kit which had just arrived on the market. Having such a light set up with the IBIS opened up a new world for me where I no longer needed to carry a tripod for landscape photography a lot of the time.

 

However, one area where the Z series really excels is video. Two years ago I had no intention of learning video and knew almost nothing but I have spent a lot of time since the beginning of the first lockdown learning to shoot and edit video to a pretty high level of expertise now, especially the editing. I learn very well from books and video tutorials so this has been very inspiring doing something totally different. It has made a huge difference to my experience of lockdown in fact. So I am glad I bought into Z system. It would be very hard now to choose if I had to pick one or the other. 

 

 

 

 

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Edited February 8, 2021 by MDM

[Simon E]

On 07/02/2021 at 18:18, MDM said:

I had Olympus OM SLR kit but they stopped making the OM kit back in the 90s leaving a lot of photographers high and dry with a dead end system. That is when I went to Nikon.

 

I think the future is going to be bright for the Nikon Z system as they are putting a lot into it and some of it is cutting edge at a seriousy good price.

 

 

I think Olympus saw that the OM range had no real future - building an AF-based system to appeal to news and sports photogs was gong to be both expensive with a small market share. They felt that starting from scratch and designing specifically for digital was the way to go, especially the optics.

 

The OM 35mm system is no less redundant now than it was then; and while you can use legacy F-mount lenses on their DSLRs this has become less and less workable as models have changed.

 

In the end it's about buying the most appropriate tools for one's intended purposes (finances permitting). I think the market is best served by a form of competition where each brand has distinct offerings, instead of multiple vendors all chasing the most popular models/format/feature list at any one time.

[MDM]

50 minutes ago, Simon E said:

 

I think Olympus saw that the OM range had no real future - building an AF-based system to appeal to news and sports photogs was gong to be both expensive with a small market share. They felt that starting from scratch and designing specifically for digital was the way to go, especially the optics.

 

The OM 35mm system is no less redundant now than it was then; and while you can use legacy F-mount lenses on their DSLRs this has become less and less workable as models have changed.

 

 

The light meters went on both my OM1 and OM2n so I was left with OM lenses and no option to buy new bodies in the late 90s because they had stopped making them. That qualifies as redundant in my estimation. Yes the lenses could be used on other cameras with adapters but I just started again with Nikon. Apart from a brief flirtation with Canon, I have never looked back. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by MDM

[sb photos]

8 hours ago, MDM said:

The light meters went on both my OM1 and OM2n so I was left with OM lenses and no option to buy new bodies in the late 90s because they had stopped making them. That qualifies as redundant in my estimation. Yes the lenses could be used on other cameras with adapters but I just started again with Nikon. Apart from a brief flirtation with Canon, I have never looked back. 

 

When they were current products I had an OM1, OM1n and OM2. Only the OM1 ever failed, and like you, the light meter. In those times it was repaired by Olympus. Later I moved to Canon, Sony, then Nikon.