Nikon Z* mirrorless

PeteStewardson said:
It's difficult. The reason for trying the X-T4 is that I really struggle carrying so much gear as daily carry. Not when I'm going out intending to take photos, I could carry the Z9 in my hand all day if I'm out shooting, but to have a camera 'just in case'. The obvious option is a DX Z camera but the DX choice for Z isn't great right now. I thought I'd see if the Fuji could replace my Nikon gear. OK so slightly unfair to compare anything to a Z9 but I only have the Z9 as I didn't get on with the Z7ii AF. I have been told the Fujis aren't action cameras, but I don't shoot action or BIF that much, so overshooting in those situations I could handle so thought I'd try it out.

Anyway, I love love love the colours out of the X-T4. I could shoot in jpeg and never worry about raw processing or file sizes again. The prime lenses are sharp as a razor, small, light weight, and metal construction. Just that worry on the rattling I noticed that makes me question long term reliability. But I've never heard of any problems in this regard as a general issue. I like the form factor, solid construction, lenses with aperture controls again. It's a really enjoyable camera to use other than one point. The AF.

It all really came down to the AF. It was odd, it was fast to acquire focus, but I found it really inconsistent at times and quite slow if something was moving to keep track of the movement. The face tracking got very confused with multiple people in the frame but I didn't try portraits this weekend. I have to say, it was a disappointment for that.

That being said, I'm now trying to justify running both systems, an X-T4 plus a couple of primes for daily carry. Or do go for a Zfc and a couple of Viltrox primes... But those colours... Did I mention the colours are simply beautiful? lol
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Budget might be an issue. But have a look at new Fuji X-H2s. With newly released 150-600.
 
PeteStewardson said:
That being said, I'm now trying to justify running both systems, an X-T4 plus a couple of primes for daily carry. Or do go for a Zfc and a couple of Viltrox primes... But those colours... Did I mention the colours are simply beautiful? lol
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I’ve just picked up an X100v as I want an everyday carry camera I can literally throw in a pocket when I’m out and about.

I also have a ZFC which I’m really quite taken with. I think if I get over the full frame/ASPC debate I prefer the ZFC over my Z6. I use it primarily with a Z28mm f2.8 & 40mm f2.

The AF is quick and reliable, the files are really nice (almost old school Nikon colours) and it feels really good in hand.

The only reason I like the X100V above it is for it’s total portability & it’s JPG engine.
 
I have to post again to say just how good 3D tracking is on the Z9.

Pick your subject, lock in and then compose and frame with ease. It’s just so fast and accurate.

Combine that with the 20 frames per second and for shooting party/crowd scenes, it’s incredible.

I bloody love it.

I hope Nikon release a baby Z9, akin to the D5/D850 combo.
 
wibbly said:
I’ve just picked up an X100v as I want an everyday carry camera I can literally throw in a pocket when I’m out and about.

I also have a ZFC which I’m really quite taken with. I think if I get over the full frame/ASPC debate I prefer the ZFC over my Z6. I use it primarily with a Z28mm f2.8 & 40mm f2.

The AF is quick and reliable, the files are really nice (almost old school Nikon colours) and it feels really good in hand.

The only reason I like the X100V above it is for it’s total portability & it’s JPG engine.
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Interesting, I’ll take a look at the X100V.

I’ve been thinking of trying a Zfc, the lens selection has been putting me off but I notice there are Viltrox 1.4 primes in 33 and 56 mm now which might be a good fit. Small and light like the Fuji ones but for the Z mount. Not sure about sharpness etc though. Those Fuji primes are so tack sharp.
 
PeteStewardson said:
Interesting, I’ll take a look at the X100V.

I’ve been thinking of trying a Zfc, the lens selection has been putting me off but I notice there are Viltrox 1.4 primes in 33 and 56 mm now which might be a good fit. Small and light like the Fuji ones but for the Z mount. Not sure about sharpness etc though. Those Fuji primes are so tack sharp.
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If you can live with a fixed lens the V is very nice.

I like the Nikon 28 & 40 lenses. They are a bit on the chunky side though. The only issue for me with Viltrox lenses is that I believe they are all clickless aperture which I find a soulless experience. I have an old cheap TT Artisans lens (for Fuji) and I don’t find clickless aperture lenses fun to use. YMMV.
 
My small rig l-bracket for my Z9 just arrived, very impressed !! Solid and didn’t realise it is 2 price so you can just mount the base plate if you wish that really moulds around the base.
 
wibbly said:
If you can live with a fixed lens the V is very nice.

I like the Nikon 28 & 40 lenses. They are a bit on the chunky side though. The only issue for me with Viltrox lenses is that I believe they are all clickless aperture which I find a soulless experience. I have an old cheap TT Artisans lens (for Fuji) and I don’t find clickless aperture lenses fun to use. YMMV.
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I actually already have the 28mm Nikon. I picked it up a while ago just in case as I found a great deal. I don’t really use it but it would go with the Zfc well. Interesting about the aperture control on the viltrox, I didn’t know they were stepless.
 
PeteStewardson said:
It's difficult. The reason for trying the X-T4 is that I really struggle carrying so much gear as daily carry. Not when I'm going out intending to take photos, I could carry the Z9 in my hand all day if I'm out shooting, but to have a camera 'just in case'. The obvious option is a DX Z camera but the DX choice for Z isn't great right now. I thought I'd see if the Fuji could replace my Nikon gear. OK so slightly unfair to compare anything to a Z9 but I only have the Z9 as I didn't get on with the Z7ii AF. I have been told the Fujis aren't action cameras, but I don't shoot action or BIF that much, so overshooting in those situations I could handle so thought I'd try it out.

Anyway, I love love love the colours out of the X-T4. I could shoot in jpeg and never worry about raw processing or file sizes again. The prime lenses are sharp as a razor, small, light weight, and metal construction. Just that worry on the rattling I noticed that makes me question long term reliability. But I've never heard of any problems in this regard as a general issue. I like the form factor, solid construction, lenses with aperture controls again. It's a really enjoyable camera to use other than one point. The AF.

It all really came down to the AF. It was odd, it was fast to acquire focus, but I found it really inconsistent at times and quite slow if something was moving to keep track of the movement. The face tracking got very confused with multiple people in the frame but I didn't try portraits this weekend. I have to say, it was a disappointment for that.

That being said, I'm now trying to justify running both systems, an X-T4 plus a couple of primes for daily carry. Or do go for a Zfc and a couple of Viltrox primes... But those colours... Did I mention the colours are simply beautiful? lol
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Weird what we consider a small enough package to carry around, admittedly I’m comfortable carrying my Z9 all day even just in case, but if I where looking for a smaller package then I would use my Z6II as it’s small enough with great quality. As you have said the AF isn’t to the same quality as the Z9 but for normal everyday shots never had an issue with it, in fact used it for several months for sports and again not really had any issues.
just thought it interesting you would discount the Z7II you already own in favour of a X-T4 or Zfc.
 
I used a Sony RX100 MKIII for many years as my pocketable carry everywhere camera, instead of lugging my D810/D850. Having moved to mirrorless, I certainly feel that the Z6/Z7 body size is small enough for everyday carry everywhere use and the RX100 hasn't taken a photo since.
 
sk66 said:
HE* opened with a custom preset in Lightroom. I see no difference between it and lossless compressed (but LR's default camera profiles aren't great). Especially because my ISO is almost always 500 or higher (I usually have the minimum set to 500)... there's nothing extra coming off the sensor for the larger file to contain/retain.
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Meant to thank you for your input, I was finding a bit more noise than I expected when using HE* but I then I never nailed exposure properly at 5000 ISO so what was I expecting lol. Also curious as to how you are setting up your camera profiles as I’m doing something similar myself, I’m finding the greens are a tad off on what I see but also what I’m looking for.
 
inView said:
Weird what we consider a small enough package to carry around, admittedly I’m comfortable carrying my Z9 all day even just in case, but if I where looking for a smaller package then I would use my Z6II as it’s small enough with great quality. As you have said the AF isn’t to the same quality as the Z9 but for normal everyday shots never had an issue with it, in fact used it for several months for sports and again not really had any issues.
just thought it interesting you would discount the Z7II you already own in favour of a X-T4 or Zfc.
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I don't own the Z7ii now which is why it's currently discounted :)
 
inView said:
Oops sorry thought you still had it….. I will shut up now haha. A cheap Z6 iMHO would be the way to go
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I'm thinking about exactly that. I like the x-t4/zfc but would prefer full frame to just make switching around easier :)
 
PeteStewardson said:
I'm thinking about exactly that. I like the x-t4/zfc but would prefer full frame to just make switching around easier :)
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I had the Z6. Lovely camera but together with the Z lenses it's not smaller than a DSLR, nor much lighter. The files I get from the Z FC are equal in IQ IMO and with the ease of MF I can put much smaller (and often cheaper) MF lenses together with it and it's still small and light. I have a small Domke F6 bag and I can fit the body and all 5 lenses I use in it and it's not a problem to carry all day long. The Z FC is a real gem that seems greatly overlooked in these forums.
 
silure130 said:
Can you give me any more info on this Trevor please. Ive never heard of this before and I can’t find much on it. I have a Z9 and use Lightroom.
Thanks
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Yep. I use Lightroom myself. It’s a colour profile not a preset. Normally in Lightroom the Adobe Colour is the default profile and you can browse to others including Camera profiles. It work exact the same way. I’m a Sony user and find the colours from these profiles more to my liking. Several of us on the Sony thread use them.
They’re not too expensive and certainly worth a try. Each profile is dedicated to a particular camera model. It’s not a one size fits all situation.
Did you visit their web page

Nikon Camera Profiles

www.colorfidelity.com
 
trevorbray said:
Yep. I use Lightroom myself. It’s a colour profile not a preset. Normally in Lightroom the Adobe Colour is the default profile and you can browse to others including Camera profiles. It work exact the same way. I’m a Sony user and find the colours from these profiles more to my liking. Several of us on the Sony thread use them.
They’re not too expensive and certainly worth a try. Each profile is dedicated to a particular camera model. It’s not a one size fits all situation.
Did you visit their web page

Nikon Camera Profiles

www.colorfidelity.com
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Thanks for thatTrevor, I’ve just looked at the site and ordered.
 
sk66 said:
There isn't much difference between a profile and a preset; and you can create either yourself.
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None really but some will use a profile as a "starting point" for their rendition - a preset is normally used to achieve the final rendition bar a few tweaks.

I don't use either being honest, I can get where I need to be with saturation, sharpness, crop, HSL, most importantly curves/levels and minor local adjustments for my landscapes
 
Well, a profile doesn't save sharpening or noise reduction settings, it also loads without altering any of the slider positions and it can be blended at less than 100% (if it's a creative/user profile).

I use custom presets for my default edits on import (including sharpening and noise reduction). Particularly with the Z9 as Lightroom's interpretation of the camera's picture control settings is far from ideal.
 
Excited to see the pre-production Z 400mm f/4.5 S lens is being shown on various YouTube videos. One I shall definitely be very tempted by.
 
I did see on Faceplace that a Z6 iii should be announced Aug or Sept.
True or not I don`t know but there it was.
 
SFTPhotography said:
It's the overdue Z8/Z7iii that has me interested. To GFX100 or to very high res 35mm - that is the question.
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My guess is that Z7iii will have the same "general"purpose sensor as in the Z9, to give a prosumer "do everything" body. With the Z8 in a pro body coming next year, but still maybe only a 60Mp sensor (which Nikon apparently already have stock of) but with a clear focus on maximising low ISO quality.

And while we are in the guessing game, I think we might also see a Z9s with a 26mp/30mp sensor (maybe the same sensor as in the Z6iii), in exactly the same body as the Z9, but with the emphasis on high speed photography (e.g. maybe 30fps in RAW), just as they did with D3x and D3s.

But maybe the Z9 (Z9s) sensors will still be too expensive to fit into a Z6iii/Z7iii.
 
myotis said:
My guess is that Z7iii will have the same "general"purpose sensor as in the Z9, to give a prosumer "do everything" body. With the Z8 in a pro body coming next year, but still maybe only a 60Mp sensor (which Nikon apparently already have stock of) but with a clear focus on maximising low ISO quality.

And while we are in the guessing game, I think we might also see a Z9s with a 26mp/30mp sensor (maybe the same sensor as in the Z6iii), in exactly the same body as the Z9, but with the emphasis on high speed photography (e.g. maybe 30fps in RAW), just as they did with D3x and D3s.

But maybe the Z9 (Z9s) sensors will still be too expensive to fit into a Z6iii/Z7iii.
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The Z8 would probably do me nicely being honest if that comes. ISO200 I deem emergency use only.
 
SFTPhotography said:
The Z8 would probably do me nicely being honest if that comes. ISO200 I deem emergency use only.
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I assume, we can assume ISO 50 (maybe 64) on a Z8, I think that the Z9 is the real replacement for the general purpose D850, which opens up the possibility for a very tightly focussed landscape/commercial photography targeted Z8.
 
myotis said:
I assume, we can assume ISO 50 (maybe 64) on a Z8, I think that the Z9 is the real replacement for the general purpose D850, which opens up the possibility for a very tightly focussed landscape/commercial photography targeted Z8.
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It's a hellish expensive replacement - I see it as a D6 replacement as it has the integrated vertical grip. Tech moves on and 45mp / 8k stills seems a minimum pixel count.

Z8 has to offer more resolution - and as least as much if not more than the D850. The sensor guard, all electronic shutter system from the Z9 built into a chassis that doesn't have the vertical grip but has the dial layout of the Z9 is where I expect where we will land.
 
SFTPhotography said:
It's a hellish expensive replacement - I see it as a D6 replacement as it has the integrated vertical grip. Tech moves on and 45mp / 8k stills seems a minimum pixel count.

Z8 has to offer more resolution - and as least as much if not more than the D850. The sensor guard, all electronic shutter system from the Z9 built into a chassis that doesn't have the vertical grip but has the dial layout of the Z9 is where I expect where we will land.
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I agree that body wise the Z8 will be a Z9 body without the grip, and higher resolution. But for me the D6 was primarily a sports/wildlife/ body, where as the D850 + Grip was much more of a general purpose camera. High resolution for landscape/commercial, but with the grip, a very adequate sports/wildlife camera. I can't remember exact prices, but the Z9 is cheaper than a D6, and not that much more expensive than a D850 + grip, especially if you take into account the Z9 is new and the D850 is pretty old.

I am aware of several wildlife photographers who were D5/D6 + D500 users, who replaced both cameras with gripped D850s. Thus making the D850 a fairly unique multi-purpose camera. But we now have the Sony A1, Canon R3 and Nikon Z9, which all seem to fill this general purpose professional camera role, which as I suggested allows Nikon to make a Z8 a more specialist camera, and anticipate a Canon R1 replacing the EOS1 and hence my suggestion for a higher speed Z9s as well. I suspect both will be lower resolution sensors 26mp - 36mp. The Z9 is already showing it's lacking a bit in the speed area, which might be resolved by a lower resolution sensor.

We just have to wait and see of course, but I will be surprised if we don't see a Z8, in a professional style body (z9 form factor without the grip) and a 60mp to 80mp sensor.
 
myotis said:
And while we are in the guessing game, I think we might also see a Z9s with a 26mp/30mp sensor (maybe the same sensor as in the Z6iii), in exactly the same body as the Z9, but with the emphasis on high speed photography (e.g. maybe 30fps in RAW)
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The Z9 can already record 33MP raw at 60fps (8.3k 60p N-raw video).
 
sk66 said:
The Z9 can already record 33MP raw at 60fps (8.3k 60p N-raw video).
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I don't think I knew that, is that without any constraints.

I was basing my comments on reviews saying the max is 20fps in raw, and making the leap that a smaller resolutions sensor dedicated camera would allow a more speed focussed camera. There is also the issue that the new Pre-release feature (I think that's what they are calling it and I'm pretty sure that's what it was called on the Nikon1) is limited to JPEGs. Which might be related to file size issues.

It's all pretty idle moment thinking, and just wondering how the Canon R1 might affect Nikon's approach.
 
myotis said:
i can’t remember exact prices but the Z9 is cheaper than a D6, and not that much more expensive than a D850 + grip, especially if you take into account the Z9 is new and the D850 is pretty old.
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Where you finding Z9 bodies not much more expensive than a D850 body? It’s currently more than double the price. :p
 
myotis said:
I don't think I knew that, is that without any constraints.
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Without constraints... it was enabled with firmware 2.0. You do have to deal with high volume video and still frame extraction to get it. And video shot suitably for still frame extraction isn't typically very useful as video.

FWIW, the Z9 doesn't really exceed the capabilities of an 8-bit jpeg, so recording in raw isn't that much of a benefit... more relevant is which profile you choose (i.e. flat) and not post processing in 8-bit. 120fps jpegs are only 11MP, but that is more than adequate for almost any use if you actually manage to record that much detail.
 
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Kieran_89 said:
Where you finding Z9 bodies not much more expensive than a D850 body? It’s currently more than double the price. :p
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I explained this badly, the "pretty old" bit of my sentence was meaning that you couldn't just look at the prices but also look at the relative prices between the D850 and the D6 and the D6 and the Z9, which suggests room for a more expensive Z9s as a replacement for the D6. But it's all idle musing.
 
Hey Z gang, I had been trying to replace my X100F with something but I haven't really enjoyed any APSC stuff, I keep thinking about my old D600. Would a Z6 be a good equivalent to the D600 in image quality?

I used to use it with the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8

I can't stretch that far these days for weight or cash, but I can get the f/4 and a prime. Probably the 40mm.

I'm drawn to the Z6 after looking at my old D600 images and still being impressed vs any of the APSCs I've tried.. plus weather sealing, IBIS etc .. cheers
 
Hiphopapotamus said:
Hey Z gang, I had been trying to replace my X100F with something but I haven't really enjoyed any APSC stuff, I keep thinking about my old D600. Would a Z6 be a good equivalent to the D600 in image quality?

I used to use it with the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8

I can't stretch that far these days for weight or cash, but I can get the f/4 and a prime. Probably the 40mm.

I'm drawn to the Z6 after looking at my old D600 images and still being impressed vs any of the APSCs I've tried.. plus weather sealing, IBIS etc .. cheers
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The Z6 would be a great choice paired with the 24-70m f4. The image quality out of the Z6 is excellent and great in low light. The (kit) 24-70mm f4 is fantastic for the price it can be got for second hand, small and light too. I don't think you'd regret that combination.
 
I’d agree with the above but if weight is a factor I’d look at some images from either a Z FC or a Z50. I see no degradation between my Z6 files and those of my Z FC. The latter is considerably smaller and lighter than the Z6 and if you add a 24-70 f/4 to the Z6 you might as well be carrying a D600 weight and size-wise.
 
Hiphopapotamus said:
Hey Z gang, I had been trying to replace my X100F with something but I haven't really enjoyed any APSC stuff, I keep thinking about my old D600. Would a Z6 be a good equivalent to the D600 in image quality?

I used to use it with the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8

I can't stretch that far these days for weight or cash, but I can get the f/4 and a prime. Probably the 40mm.

I'm drawn to the Z6 after looking at my old D600 images and still being impressed vs any of the APSCs I've tried.. plus weather sealing, IBIS etc .. cheers
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I'd been really struggling to find the right camera. I have a Z9, which is awesome, but for that 'just take the camera in case I see something to take a shot of' scenario it's a no go. Too heavy and actually, more importantly, just too big.

So I borrowed an x-T4 for a weekend, and fell in love with the colours, and how sharp the primes I had were, but the AF really frustrated me. Now I've never been a fan of the AF in the Nikon mirrorless until the Z9 either but the X-T4 was behind even the Z6 I had before all the updates. So I have since picked up another Z6 + 24-70/4, 50/1.8 and I have the 28/2.8 as well. I took that to Paris with me this week as I had a couple of hours I could walk around and shoot, all fit in a small/cheap bagsmart sling off Amazon. Now I only actually used the 24-70 so could have left the other two behind on this trip to save even more weight but it made a great travel companion.

I'm still tempted to try the Zfc instead as it's even more compact, but I wonder if I would miss the IBIS, and that 24-70/4 is just so sharp and light anyway.
 
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PeteStewardson said:
I'd been really struggling to find the right camera. I have a Z9, which is awesome, but for that 'just take the camera in case I see something to take a shot of' scenario it's a no go. Too heavy and actually, more importantly, just too big.

So I borrowed an x-T4 for a weekend, and fell in love with the colours, and how sharp the primes I had were, but the AF really frustrated me. Now I've never been a fan of the AF in the Nikon mirrorless until the Z9 either but the X-T4 was behind even the Z6 I had before all the updates. So I have since picked up another Z6 + 24-70/4, 50/1.8 and I have the 28/2.8 as well. I took that to Paris with me this week as I had a couple of hours I could walk around and shoot, all fit in a small/cheap bagsmart sling off Amazon. Now I only actually used the 24-70 so could have left the other two behind on this trip to save even more weight but it made a great travel companion.

I'm still tempted to try the Zfc instead as it's even more compact, but I wonder if I would miss the IBIS, and that 24-70/4 is just so sharp and light anyway.
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The 16-50mm sold with the Z FC is equally sharp as the 24-70 and about a third the size and weight. Well worth shooting one yourself.
 
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