Sony to Nikon Anyone Changed?

russellsnr

russellsnr

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Russell
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Hi, I changed from Canon DSLR to Sony mirrorless and have enjoyed it thus far but have an itch to try Nikon, right now have Sony A7 iv and only use it for still wildlife/bird images have zero interest in video but have been looking at the Nikon Z8. Anyone changed across to the Nikon brand from Sony or even gone the other way and why please? Yes there are loads of videos on YouTube saying this is good or that is bad but always feel YouTube is the place for those wanting to make a few bob/dollars or just like the sound of their own voice where a camera forum is real world as it is not about £6000 cameras or £12000 lenses.
Thank you, Russ.
 
Russ, I went from Nikon to Sony. The main reason being that I had a Z6 (mk1 admittedly) and the EVF really gripped my sh@t. I shot mainly birds/wildlife and the lag in the EVF meant I was missing more and more shots, the Sony A7iv EVF is a different animal, responsive and very little comparable lag. The menus on the Sony are a bit of a nightmare initially but with time I got used to them. I don't think I would go back to Nikon now to be honest, the Sony A7iv is a fantastic bit of kit. hope this helps a bit.
 
After selling my Sony A9 I later ended up getting a Nikon D810, but I really miss the Sony's eye tracking AF. I went for the D810 for landscapes because of its awesome ISO64 image quality, but I'm struggling to find time to get out with it, so the times I do it is more for fast moving family stuff and the AF system is more challenging as is the greater bulk of the D810.

So I guess it depends on why you are wanting to change and if the other brand will offer what it is you need/want. I'm still very much of the opinion that Sony leads the way with autofocus, although I think the gap has been closed somewhat. If I change cameras again it will probably be for something like the Sony A7C2 that appears to be a pretty comprehensive offering in a fairly compact package.
 
toohuge said:
What is the motivation for your itch? My understanding is that the sony cameras are superior in every way to the Nikons
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Hi, after using the Sony A9, A7R iv and now the A7 iv I just fancied trying something else and looking at the Nikon Z8 reviews it seems to be a very capable camera especially for bird photography, maybe me seeing it wrong but the eye tracking on the Nikons seems to have overtaken Sony, as you say just an itch right now. Russ.
 
russellsnr said:
Hi, after using the Sony A9, A7R iv and now the A7 iv I just fancied trying something else and looking at the Nikon Z8 reviews it seems to be a very capable camera especially for bird photography, maybe me seeing it wrong but the eye tracking on the Nikons seems to have overtaken Sony, as you say just an itch right now. Russ.
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Thanks - I think the big players (sony, canon, and nikon) are all very similar now, unless there's a specific lens / lenses I'd stick with your current system
 
I use an a7iv for Bird photograpy an love it , i was Thinking about a swap to Z8 mainly because i like the pf500 lens its a bit Sharper than the 200-600 and a lot lighter plus they have the z600 and 800 pf lens which are good prices on panamoz Now , i Had a quick try of a z9 and i wasnt impressed with Tracking . But it was only a quick try and and it may not have been set up correctly
But the z8 has a lot of advantages over the sony a7iv
 
Do Nikon do free test drives, like Canon/Fuji?
 
I found image quality and focus to be comparable between the z8 and Sony A7r4. The Sony menus are pretty poor in my opinion whereas Nikon are just better organised and they don't keep changing. Even though the size of the z8 is off putting, it feels professional grade, compared to the Sony's bland mold.
 
I have used Z8 with Z400/4.5 a few times along side my A7IV. The AF wasn't any better or worst than the A7IV. The lens with 1.4x TC performed just as well as my 200-600mm and was wee bit better at longer focus distances (as you'd expect from a prime vs. zoom).

That is not say Z8 is bad by any means, A7IV is quite good for subject tracking. The main benefit of Z8 over A7IV is not in the AF tracking itself but you get blackout free shooting and higher FPS. So ultimately you end up with more keepers in comparison as a result especially while shooting action or flight shots.

Previously I had the A1 and that was best body I have used so far in terms of subject tracking. You can get used ones for around £3.6K from shops now. So its going down in price.

Z8 requires a bit more setup to get the best out of it but between canon, Nikon and Sony I don't think there is massive difference in the performance, at least not enough to want to pick one over the other.

in the end I suggest you decide system based on the lens. I am not too impressed with the Z180-600mm based on reviews. But super impressed with Z400/4.5 having used it myself. I imagine the 600mm/6.3 and 800mm/6.3 are just as good.

I was going to try out a Z8 for one of these lenses but Sony have released the 300mm f2.8. If the 300mm f2.8 with 2x TC is at least just as good 200-600mm I might be tempted to go with that lens and stay with Sony.
 
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OK, so after looking at the cost to change over think will stick with Sony as I have 70-200 F4, 100-400 and 200-600 along with the A7 iv maybe look at a used A1 once I get the boss on board
 
Also, if you want new then Panamoz do the A1 at £4k which is a pretty huge saving over the UK price of £5.8k
 
The z8/z9 are brilliant, no doubt. however, they are no better than the Sony system, especially the A1/A5r.

The single reason I would consider changing is if you want to buy a used superetelephoto lens, Otherwise stick with sony

Mike
 
There is nothing on Sony that's like the Z8.
A1 is still £1k more expensive if you grey import. Yes but get other benefits for that £1k but not sure how much people care about these:
0.9x mag 9.6 million dots EVF up to 240hz refresh rate
Mechanical shutter with 1/400s shutter sync (1/500s in APS-C mode)
Smaller body
Matched dual card slots - I guess this is important for anyone wanting to shoot RAWs to both slots. On Z8 you are limited by the slower SD card slot.

The A7RV isn't really a direct competitor to Z8. While the AF does seem very nice and so does the new IBIS, it can't do 20fps blackout free shooting :(
 
I moved from Sony to Nikon last month.
Sold my A7C and got Zf. What a dreamy camera, I LOVE IT! :D
 
Looking to change from Sony to Nikon as well. Specifically from an A6400 to a Z6. Really trying to talk myself out of it as I’ve always been a Nikon guy.
 
Pneumatic said:
Looking to change from Sony to Nikon as well. Specifically from an A6400 to a Z6. Really trying to talk myself out of it as I’ve always been a Nikon guy.
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I had the Z6. Loved it. Moved to Sony for the eye AF. For me the subject detection is definitely something I’d require. I’ve made very good use of it. Gotta say the Zf is grabbing my attention.
 
trevorbray said:
I had the Z6. Loved it. Moved to Sony for the eye AF. For me the subject detection is definitely something I’d require. I’ve made very good use of it. Gotta say the Zf is grabbing my attention.
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Just curious why to Sony rather than the Z8 or Z8 not available at that time? Just watched video on Zf looks rather small for wildlife. Thanks, Russ
 
russellsnr said:
Just curious why to Sony rather than the Z8 or Z8 not available at that time? Just watched video on Zf looks rather small for wildlife. Thanks, Russ
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I moved to the Sony A7iii. Now have A7iv and A7R5. The Z8 doesn’t appeal because it’s too big. My wildlife and action setup is Olympus. I love the subject detection of both makes for different shots.
Tend to shoot people and dog portraits with Sony. Anything moving with Olympus.
 
@russellsnr A Nikon Zf would just be an extravagant addition which I currently am avoiding.. I’m already overhorsed,..
 
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