Nikon Z6 and Z7 mirrorless
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I have a z7 and whilst it is different than DSLR I think it is the future. 24-70 lens is very good. Worth buying as a kit. The adapter works well but slightly bulkier than I expected. My only small grouses are that afd lenses are manual focus only and that I do not find ibis a huge improvement with non VR adapted lenses 100mm and over. With VR lenses works fine. S line lenses have excellent ibis. Z6 is almost identical except for the sensor. Lots of info. on the American sites as it was available there before Europe.
IMO the Nikon mirrorless cameras are possibly best suited to those who must have a Nikon because they simply must or maybe because they have Nikon DSLR/SLR lenses and therefore the Nikon mirrorless is the best mirrorless option or perhaps it's possible they've fallen in love with one of the new mirrorless lenses and therefore need the mirrorless body to use it on. IMO these are the instances in which Nikon mirrorless cameras make the most sense. Other than those I think that the Sony mirrorless options are perhaps the better options and at a lower price point today. Give it a few more years and the situation may change.
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First outing with the Z6. Thus far I'm rather liking it.
Newbury Twilight by Iain Buchanan, on Flickr
I have a professional interest in - and 10 years experience of - watching the prices of equipment in the months after launch. And my considered opinion is..... I have no idea whatsoever.
Obviously the exchange rate issue is potentially enormous. All photographic kit is essentially priced in Yen, and over the last 5 years the Sterling / Yen exchange rate has varied between about 125 and 195 (it's currently 143), so there's huge scope for changes there. And future movements in exchange rates are completely unpredictable because the forex markets are so efficient.
But there's another factor too, which is the behaviour of UK retailers. A few years ago it would be pretty reliably the case that UK retailers would sell equipment at RRP when it was launched, and then after the must-have-it-now-at-any-price brigade had filled their boots, the prices would start to drift down by maybe 20% to 30%. You'd have the weird spectacle that a lens might launch for, say, £1999 here and $1999 in the US, making the UK much more expensive, but a few months later the prices would have equalised. Nowadays that doesn't seem to be happening. Prices seem to be stickier than in the past.
So if I were you I wouldn't assume any future price drops. If you want the camera and the price is OK, just buy it.
Obviously the exchange rate issue is potentially enormous. All photographic kit is essentially priced in Yen, and over the last 5 years the Sterling / Yen exchange rate has varied between about 125 and 195 (it's currently 143), so there's huge scope for changes there. And future movements in exchange rates are completely unpredictable because the forex markets are so efficient.
But there's another factor too, which is the behaviour of UK retailers. A few years ago it would be pretty reliably the case that UK retailers would sell equipment at RRP when it was launched, and then after the must-have-it-now-at-any-price brigade had filled their boots, the prices would start to drift down by maybe 20% to 30%. You'd have the weird spectacle that a lens might launch for, say, £1999 here and $1999 in the US, making the UK much more expensive, but a few months later the prices would have equalised. Nowadays that doesn't seem to be happening. Prices seem to be stickier than in the past.
So if I were you I wouldn't assume any future price drops. If you want the camera and the price is OK, just buy it.
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First outing with the Z6. Thus far I'm rather liking it.
Newbury Twilight by Iain Buchanan, on Flickr
Had a chance to try out z6 over the weekend. Feels and is very comfortable to use. The touch screen is very very nicely implemented. Overall much nicer to use than Sony A7III. It's very responsive and feels like a very polished camera. Even 3rd Gen Sony's sometimes don't feel it.
It's only sticking point is the CAF. It's rather unreliable. Also no eyeAF. I am sure they'll catch up in this area but sooner the better.
I got to try the 50mm/1.8. IMO it's rather large for what it is.
It's only sticking point is the CAF. It's rather unreliable. Also no eyeAF. I am sure they'll catch up in this area but sooner the better.
I got to try the 50mm/1.8. IMO it's rather large for what it is.
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After my dabble with mirrorless with the Fuji, I shall be sticking to Dslr I'm afraid, even with a grip the handling was aweful, worse than aweful. The sensor was good, the lenses were sublime , the viewfinder was horrid. I just couldn't gel with it at all - 2000 (max) frames cost me the best part of £2000 - so I would say only commit if you are going to stick with it.
Here’s a review.
https://www.cameralabs.com/nikon-z-35mm-f1-8s-review/2/
I like the 35mm focal length but this thing is a bit pricey IMO.
Initial tests show the 50mm to be very good.
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62074768
https://www.cameralabs.com/nikon-z-35mm-f1-8s-review/2/
I like the 35mm focal length but this thing is a bit pricey IMO.
Initial tests show the 50mm to be very good.
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62074768
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Yep. Watched/read pretty much every review. Used to shoot full frame. Currently Fuji X-H1 with a selection of primes and zooms.
Cost is a factor. Hence my question about the 35. Don’t have any lenses at the moment that I want to use on it.
Thinking of adding it to my current line up and evaluating. 35mm is my favourite focal length.
Cost is a factor. Hence my question about the 35. Don’t have any lenses at the moment that I want to use on it.
Thinking of adding it to my current line up and evaluating. 35mm is my favourite focal length.
This seems to be a common theme 
I know quite a few people who say they are interested in the Z6 but they rather wait till more other people review it
I know quite a few people who say they are interested in the Z6 but they rather wait till more other people review it
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I must be missing something here about mirrorless as
1 - I thought it was meant to be lighter, but the Z6 is slightly heavier than the D750
2 - I thought it was going to be smaller due to lenses not having to work with mirrors, but the new Nikon 50mm f1.8 is larger than the Nikon 50mm f1.8 one I have for my D750
3 - I thought it'd be cheaper or at least better value, but its close to twice the price of a D750 for no apparent benefit
Oh and its only got 1 card slot so few Pros are going to want to risk that
So what's the point?
Dave
1 - I thought it was meant to be lighter, but the Z6 is slightly heavier than the D750
2 - I thought it was going to be smaller due to lenses not having to work with mirrors, but the new Nikon 50mm f1.8 is larger than the Nikon 50mm f1.8 one I have for my D750
3 - I thought it'd be cheaper or at least better value, but its close to twice the price of a D750 for no apparent benefit
Oh and its only got 1 card slot so few Pros are going to want to risk that
So what's the point?
Dave
But it's huge for a f1.8. the Sony FE55 was also called mini-otus when it was out and it's pretty sharp with an unoffensive bokeh. I can't imagine the Z 50 being much sharper and even if it's ever so slightly sharper is it really worth the size increase?
The Z bodies are just lovely to use. Leaves lot to be desired on Sony. Lenses on the other hand seems the opposite.
The Z bodies are just lovely to use. Leaves lot to be desired on Sony. Lenses on the other hand seems the opposite.
I think one thing to remember with lenses is that people expect corner to corner excellence at the widest apertures with little vignetting, CA or any other optical nasties these days so lenses are tending to be bigger, heavier and more expensive. With the bodies people have been complaining for years that mirrorless cameras are too small so the size will increase and sadly people equate weight with quality so that'll go up too especially with what the manufacturers push as their higher end models.
I do like mirrorless for the EVF which shows things that you just can't with an OVF, the WYSIWYG and in view DoF and histogram, ease of manual lens focusing etc and being able to focus anywhere in the frame is simply wonderful as there's no more focusing and recomposing.
I do like mirrorless for the EVF which shows things that you just can't with an OVF, the WYSIWYG and in view DoF and histogram, ease of manual lens focusing etc and being able to focus anywhere in the frame is simply wonderful as there's no more focusing and recomposing.
well if you need to adapt them then Z makes most sense. But if you are looking to buy native lenses then any other brand is the same. Because its a completely new mount anyway.
Sony was just an example. Talking about 35mm as mentioned above RF 35 is smaller, just as fast and focusses closer. I wonder if the Z is massively sharper to justify its big size (somehow I think not).
Sony was just an example. Talking about 35mm as mentioned above RF 35 is smaller, just as fast and focusses closer. I wonder if the Z is massively sharper to justify its big size (somehow I think not).
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That's down to the manufacturer's discretion, they can make them smaller if they want to but after a certain point that'll hurt ergonomics.
Compare the D850 to a Z7 and there's quite a difference though.
Wide angles do benefit but otherwise if you need a specific focal range and aperture it's probably going to be about the same size.
The new 50mm is a better lens at the cost of size, weight and price, which makes sense based on them already having the AF-S version available.
It's going to be massively more expensive, first thing is they're making fewer units of both the camera and lens so the costs are going to be higher and you can't really get any discounts on new lens designs as they won't drop from RRP for some time, which makes them feel massively overpriced as we're accustomed to seeing discounts or plenty of second hand copies for most of their range.
I still think this is overblown, if it's important to you then your choice is an easy one.
DSLR's have peaked, in 5-10 years how much more do you think they could improve and in that same time frame how much do you think mirrorless will have improved?
Mirrorless should *eventually* be cheaper to manufacture (assuming mobiles haven't destroyed the bottom end of the market).
Some people don't like them but I think a good EVF is a nice improvement especially if you're using manual focus.
There's nothing wrong with looking at what Nikon/Canon/Sony have put out this year and deciding it's not for you, if nothing else you can take advantage of the price reductions on older bodies/lenses.
Compare the D850 to a Z7 and there's quite a difference though.
Wide angles do benefit but otherwise if you need a specific focal range and aperture it's probably going to be about the same size.
The new 50mm is a better lens at the cost of size, weight and price, which makes sense based on them already having the AF-S version available.
It's going to be massively more expensive, first thing is they're making fewer units of both the camera and lens so the costs are going to be higher and you can't really get any discounts on new lens designs as they won't drop from RRP for some time, which makes them feel massively overpriced as we're accustomed to seeing discounts or plenty of second hand copies for most of their range.
I still think this is overblown, if it's important to you then your choice is an easy one.
DSLR's have peaked, in 5-10 years how much more do you think they could improve and in that same time frame how much do you think mirrorless will have improved?
Mirrorless should *eventually* be cheaper to manufacture (assuming mobiles haven't destroyed the bottom end of the market).
Some people don't like them but I think a good EVF is a nice improvement especially if you're using manual focus.
There's nothing wrong with looking at what Nikon/Canon/Sony have put out this year and deciding it's not for you, if nothing else you can take advantage of the price reductions on older bodies/lenses.
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