Western Railroad Discussion > Nikon News--Emphasis Shift to Mirrorless

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?9,5180651

Neil

Been a rough go for Nikon lately. Being late to the game on mirrorless has let a lot of market share slip away. I'll be picking up a Z7 and 14-30mm next month. Hearing good things about em so far.

Debating Z6 or Z7, Z6 is faster.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
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> Debating Z6 or Z7, Z6 is faster.
>
> Out 

Anything I have read, a Z6 is more suited for railfan use.  I have a D-780 and am very happy.  Sensor wise I think similar to Z-6 and in my book that is what counts.
Maybe cause I am old or ..  I not sure why I'd want a  mirrorless,  Have some fine lenses and rebuying or using an adapter not that appealing.
Somebody can splain to me why a mirrorless would be an advantage.

Bob out.

Yea, I have $3K just lying around ready to spend right now on a Z7?
Are you guys all Drs and lawyers on here? ( Guess I’ll stick w/ my Canon 7D “antique” DSLR — ho hum)...

IC_2024 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yea, I have $3K just lying around ready to spend
> right now on a Z7?
> Are you guys all Drs and lawyers on here? ( Guess
> I’ll stick w/ my Canon 7D “antique” DSLR —
> ho hum)...


Semiconductor industry.

Photography being the primary hobby of mine, hence the justification. Compare it to say, a fisherman owning a boat. Most hobbies require atleast one moderate capital expenditure. No, I doubt many folks will have a Z7 just laying around for the cat to play with :)

robj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> callum_out Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Debating Z6 or Z7, Z6 is faster.
> >
> > Out 
>
> Anything I have read, a Z6 is more suited for
> railfan use.  I have a D-780 and am very happy. 
> Sensor wise I think similar to Z-6 and in my book
> that is what counts.
> Maybe cause I am old or ..  I not sure why I'd
> want a  mirrorless,  Have some fine lenses and
> rebuying or using an adapter not that appealing.
> Somebody can splain to me why a mirrorless would
> be an advantage.
>
> Bob out.

The main differences are that mirrorless is more compact and lighter, plus will likely have a very fast burst mode... all these because there's no mirror in the camera. If those advantages don't appeal to you, stick with the slr.

D-780 has fps rate 7, 12 if you shoot in electronic shutter mode. Z-6 has 12 fps so at tops you have a diff of 12 vs 7.  but
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Z6 can't track exposure at the advertised 12 FPS "extended" frame rate; at that rate it shoots the sequence with locked exposure, although focus attempts to track. The real still frame rate is 5.5 FPS with exposure tracking for each frame.

From Ken Rockwell what ever you think of him?
--------------------------------------------------

Anyway if you are on focus tracking with confirmed focus I doubt you see anywhere the maximum.  As far a weight, this is a mixed advantage.  If you are using your prior Nikon mount lenses the total weight difference will not be that great.  If you are buying all new lens for that mount the it is $$$.   If I were buying a mirrorless it probably would not be an interchangeable lens camera but something truly light weight and compact.

Bob
exhaustED Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> robj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > callum_out Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Debating Z6 or Z7, Z6 is faster.
> > >
> > > Out 
> >
> > Anything I have read, a Z6 is more suited for
> > railfan use.  I have a D-780 and am very
> happy. 
> > Sensor wise I think similar to Z-6 and in my
> book
> > that is what counts.
> > Maybe cause I am old or ..  I not sure why I'd
> > want a  mirrorless,  Have some fine lenses
> and
> > rebuying or using an adapter not that
> appealing.
> > Somebody can splain to me why a mirrorless
> would
> > be an advantage.
> >
> > Bob out.
>
> The main differences are that mirrorless is more
> compact and lighter, plus will likely have a very
> fast burst mode... all these because there's no
> mirror in the camera. If those advantages don't
> appeal to you, stick with the slr.

The mirrorless autofocus technology is better. Also, the settings displayed in the view finder is beautiful. And just the general greater viewfinder functionality. Finally, you need Z mount lenses to gain the full advantage but with going mirrorless and a larger mount it removed some of the chokepoints for focusing challenges. This has resulted in much sharper lenses and even the dx kit lenses are amazingly sharp.

I bought a Z7 a year ago January, and overall, I’ve been pretty happy with it. Maybe 6 out of 10.

My original intention was to use it as a travel rig, but COVID scuttled most of my travel plans last year.

For the better part of last year, when I shot with the Z7, I paired it with the Z 24-70 f/2.8 lens. I also have a couple of Z prime lenses.

When I was finally able in the fall to get ahold of the much-delayed 70-200 f/2.8 lens, I started using the Z7 more.

I’m happy with the Z7’s full-frame format, and the photo quality is great. The 70-200 f/2.8 is sweet, but it’s about as large, and heavy as its F-mount cousin.

The Z7 is a great camera for taking pictures of trees, mountains, or drying paint. But when it comes to fast-moving objects, like trains, I prefer my DSLR.

I am less-than-impressed with the electronic viewfinder. Perhaps some of my disappointment is just getting used to not being able to immediately see through the viewfinder, as you can with a camera with a mirror.

When firing off a burst of photos, I find the electronic viewfinder unable to keep up.

If you have big hands, sometimes it’s easy to fat-finger the controls on the smaller-than-DSLR controls.

I continue to have high hopes for Nikon’s mirrorless lineup, and look forward to improving the electronic viewfinder lag. I’m anxious to see what Nikon comes up with on the rumored Z8.

As for travel, I think the Z7 will be great for that. Really Right Stuff recently introduced a new travel tripod with an integrated ball, and panorama head. It’s light, compact, and pairs well with the Z7.

Posted from iPhone

robj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> D-780 has fps rate 7, 12 if you shoot in
> electronic shutter mode. Z-6 has 12 fps so at tops
> you have a diff of 12 vs 7.  but
> The Z6 can't track exposure at the advertised 12
> FPS "extended" frame rate; at that rate it shoots
> the sequence with locked exposure, although focus
> attempts to track. The real still frame rate is
> 5.5 FPS with exposure tracking for each frame.
>
> Anyway if you are on focus tracking with confirmed
> focus I doubt you see anywhere the maximum.  As
> far a weight, this is a mixed advantage.  If you
> are using your prior Nikon mount lenses the total
> weight difference will not be that great.  If you
> are buying all new lens for that mount the it is
> $$$.   If I were buying a mirrorless it probably
> would not be an interchangeable lens camera but
> something truly light weight and compact.
>

To compare like wth like, maybe you should really be comparing the 780 with the Z6 mk II. Also the 780 only got some of its performance partly by borrowing Z6 technology. Size and weight of the Z6 is unquestionably more compact/lighter, and it gets a superior review on the dpreview website.

walstib Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I bought a Z7 a year ago January, and overall,
> I’ve been pretty happy with it. Maybe 6 out of
> 10.
>
> My original intention was to use it as a travel
> rig, but COVID scuttled most of my travel plans
> last year.
>
> For the better part of last year, when I shot with
> the Z7, I paired it with the Z 24-70 f/2.8 lens. I
> also have a couple of Z prime lenses.
>
> When I was finally able in the fall to get ahold
> of the much-delayed 70-200 f/2.8 lens, I started
> using the Z7 more.
>
> I’m happy with the Z7’s full-frame format, and
> the photo quality is great. The 70-200 f/2.8 is
> sweet, but it’s about as large, and heavy as its
> F-mount cousin.
>
> The Z7 is a great camera for taking pictures of
> trees, mountains, or drying paint. But when it
> comes to fast-moving objects, like trains, I
> prefer my DSLR.
>
> I am less-than-impressed with the electronic
> viewfinder. Perhaps some of my disappointment is
> just getting used to not being able to immediately
> see through the viewfinder, as you can with a
> camera with a mirror.
>
> When firing off a burst of photos, I find the
> electronic viewfinder unable to keep up.
>
> If you have big hands, sometimes it’s easy to
> fat-finger the controls on the smaller-than-DSLR
> controls.
>
> I continue to have high hopes for Nikon’s
> mirrorless lineup, and look forward to improving
> the electronic viewfinder lag. I’m anxious to
> see what Nikon comes up with on the rumored Z8.
>
> As for travel, I think the Z7 will be great for
> that. Really Right Stuff recently introduced a new
> travel tripod with an integrated ball, and
> panorama head. It’s light, compact, and pairs
> well with the Z7.
>
> Posted from iPhone

That is interesting that those are an issue for you. My z50's view finder lag is not even close to a problem and it shows every fame when I'm in drive mode. I realize the Z7 has more buttons and such but the Z50 with it's smaller body and my big hands I have absolutely no problem.