Nikon Z8 vs Z7ii for amateur photography?

[gman]

Personally, if I was getting only one mirrorless camera as a "do it all" I would want one that still includes an optional mechanical shutter (i.e. not the Z8). The reason is because there are times where rolling shutter effect is visible (even with the Z8's readout speed), but more-so due to banding issues with PWM lighting.

FWIW, I'm still using my D850 and legacy lenses for a lot of stuff... there's no reason why you have to move into mirrorless (and legacy kit is something of a bargain these days).

That was my thinking when I got my D810, which was £539 used. That's a lot of camera for the money and it's still going strong.

I still managed to get challenging shots with it, such as my dog running towards me. It certainly takes more effort than the mirrorless, but I guess that just adds to the fun! lol

 

[LongLensPhotography]

They're currently £1599 body only, it does appear that the Z7 III is just around the corner but who knows when and how much it will be. For £1599 it's a relative bargain imo. That being said for £200 more the Z6 III is a better camera if you don't want/need all those megapixels, although I hate those flip out screens and would prefer a tilt screen over that.

I would be extremely surprised if Z7 III is released as a sequel. They really need to out the Z9 II, then the Z8 II, even if they pull A1 II.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/nikon-d850-digital-slr-camera-body-1636121/ I also found this brand new. It would be absolutely bonkers for someone outside of insurance replacement to buy one at that rate. You just don't buy such equipment new.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

That was my thinking when I got my D810, which was £539 used. That's a lot of camera for the money and it's still going strong.

I still managed to get challenging shots with it, such as my dog running towards me. It certainly takes more effort than the mirrorless, but I guess that just adds to the fun! lol

Nice shot, but let's be real about it. You have a to have a highly willing dog and a lot of time on these walks. Perhaps both are true and there is nothing wrong with it.

A modern stacked sensor with high frame rate ensures this on the very first run giving you multiple options. And there are wildlife examples that can't be solved with just by throwing a lot of time at them most of the time.

For static views the body is still great, other than highly limiting wide-angle options. I believe your only quality widest choice is the same Sigma ART 28mm I have on Canon.

 

[sk66]

What about the A9III with the global shutter, that eliminates those issues.

It comes with a few IQ costs (plus financial). It has a higher base ISO (minimum amplification) which necessarily reduces DR capability and increases image noise, which also affects color accuracy, etc. E.g it loses about 2 stops or DR (compared to some like A7IV), and Sony applies noise reduction to the raw data to compensate for the increased noise.

Is this a big deal? No, probably not. For me the bigger issue is changing brands and chasing the latest greatest... in the end it generally winds up not being worth it.

 

[snerkler]

Nice shot, but let's be real about it. You have a to have a highly willing dog and a lot of time on these walks. Perhaps both are true and there is nothing wrong with it.

A modern stacked sensor with high frame rate ensures this on the very first run giving you multiple options. And there are wildlife examples that can't be solved with just by throwing a lot of time at them most of the time.

For static views the body is still great, other than highly limiting wide-angle options. I believe your only quality widest choice is the same Sigma ART 28mm I have on Canon.

Meh, I'm not sure about that I'd catch my dog doing this first time of asking with a DSLR, likewise dogs doing flyball which is extremely fast.


DSC_4073 by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr

 

[sk66]

For static views the body is still great, other than highly limiting wide-angle options. I believe your only quality widest choice is the same Sigma ART 28mm I have on Canon.

The Nikon 14-24/2.8 will give it a run... of course it costs 2x as much...

 

[wilt]

I wouldn't be jumping into the Z7 as it's older tech and the focusing isn't great for anything that moves.
The Z8 is epic, but a big jump in size and tech from the D3300.
Something like the Z5II or even the Z50II, might be better suited. Both are very good cameras.

 

[JohnMcL7]

If you don’t need the 45MP size of the Z7ii or Z8, the Z5ii is probably the best bang for buck Nikon at present…

I think this is definitely worth considering, It has a good feature set and is capable of fantastic image quality which sounds like it will do what the OP needs, if they find they really need something better they can upgrade later or if they're happy with the body they can spend the money saved on more lenses.

 

[ancient_mariner]

My main interest is broadly nature photography, ranging from landscapes to macro photography of fauna and flora. I also want something versatile for travelling, so I’d be taking photos in cities, on day trips, etc.

I’ll be visiting the Rockies soon, where I’ll be doing quite a bit of hiking. Ideally I don’t want to be carrying around a very heavy camera all day, but I’m happy to accept the extra weight of the Z8 if the improvement in image quality/capability is significant enough

I've been across and photographed in the Rockies 3 times now. Most important criteria are good dynamic range, moderate weight for when you hike up mountains, crisp lenses because there's a lot of fine detail in those landscapes. 24mp is enough for 30inch prints for the wall. Good in-body or in-lens image stabilisation for when you want to shoot at 1/8 or 1/15 to get a sense of water moving. If you buy a high resolution camera, make sure the lenses can deliver at that resolution (zooms almost certainly can't).

I can't advise which body, but no longer use Nikon. Look at it from the perspective above and see if anything stands out.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

The Nikon 14-24/2.8 will give it a run... of course it costs 2x as much...

Z one but only at 2.8. f one is hot smoking garbage

 

[gman]

Nice shot, but let's be real about it. You have a to have a highly willing dog and a lot of time on these walks. Perhaps both are true and there is nothing wrong with it.

A modern stacked sensor with high frame rate ensures this on the very first run giving you multiple options. And there are wildlife examples that can't be solved with just by throwing a lot of time at them most of the time.

For static views the body is still great, other than highly limiting wide-angle options. I believe your only quality widest choice is the same Sigma ART 28mm I have on Canon.

That'll be the "takes more effort" part that I said

 

[LongLensPhotography]

I've been across and photographed in the Rockies 3 times now. Most important criteria are good dynamic range, moderate weight for when you hike up mountains, crisp lenses because there's a lot of fine detail in those landscapes. 24mp is enough for 30inch prints for the wall. Good in-body or in-lens image stabilisation for when you want to shoot at 1/8 or 1/15 to get a sense of water moving. If you buy a high resolution camera, make sure the lenses can deliver at that resolution (zooms almost certainly can't).

I can't advise which body, but no longer use Nikon. Look at it from the perspective above and see if anything stands out.

36" is definitely doable with 22Mp when working carefully with good lens, or I wouldn't have this on my website. Tripod is pretty much a must there regardless of IBIS (this is not as effective in corners, and does not guarantee precision horizon, where software fix costs real sharpness). I would say that is pretty much the limit. You could easily deal with DR limit on tripod, in fact you do anyway - sunset is like 24 stops or more to cover fully. I won't bother answering replies that a plastic fantasic filter can do that in a single shot. HELL NO. NEVER.

Lenses is the big one. I have ruled out pretty much every standard DSLR zoom and went full ART primes - the difference in the corners is obvious and even can be seen in the centre. I have no idea how good the new Z 24-70mm f/2.8 II is. MTF is improved for sure so may be worth a test. But the range covers wide to short tele and is a major ask to do well. The likes of 24-105 or greater simply have NO CHANCE to deliver corner crisp large prints without significant post-processing workflows involving ML tools.