Mirrorless body/system: Canon RP or Nikon Z5?

[ulrichsd]

I'm changing the poll to include the Canon EOS R... I know its a little more expensive and a few years old, but the refurb price on Canon's website is $1439... it seems like an improvement on my biggest issue with the RP, which is frame rate, by shooting at 8 fps w/o af or 5 w/ af. It also has a better viewfinder than the RP. Slightly better resolution than the RP and Z5, closing shutter when off and reticulating screen. It's lacking the dual cards of the Z5, but I'm not a pro, so it'd be nice to have but not a deal breaker.

Holding out that black friday it might even go down further so not that far off from the Z5 price. There are some lower cost consumer lenses in the RF line that I'd love to get, and there's nothing comparable with the Z line (or listed in their roadmap), like the 16mm ($300) and 100-400mm ($650). Nikon's only long tele is over $2k and the 14-30 is $1100.

Please fill me in if there is any reason to not get a Canon R, because that is where I'm leaning at the moment.

Thanks! Scott

 

[ulrichsd]

B&H has refurbished z6 body for $1300 or $1800 with 24-70 f4.

Seems like a great camera option! Not sure if I should get the 24-70 f/4 and buy the ftz for $250 to use my 70-300 af-s? Or just get the body + 24-200 for $2200 total?

 

[ulrichsd]

*edit* Ordered and coming Wednesday!!!

I finally decided, and it wasn't easy. I'm going to get the Z6 with 24-70 f/4 for $1800. That is the same price as the Z5 with the 24-200 and only $90 more than the RP with 24-240. Since I'm going to keep this camera for at least 5+ years, I just think I'll be a little happier with the extra features: higher frame rate (12 fps), ibis, uncropped 4k video, back side illuminated sensor, high ISO performance and better battery life. Losing the extra card slot compared to the Z5 and the flip screen of the RP, but neither of those are that important to me.

I personally like/love Canon's lens selection and the direction they are going with their lenses, consumer 100-400mm and compact primes that don't use a plastic mount like the Z 40mm f/2, but expecting/hoping Nikon will keep putting out some more stuff and I'm in no rush to buy anything else at the moment... somewhere down the line I'll look to add a prime or two and a longer telephoto - can probably splurge at that time to get something nice

Thanks all! Scott

 

[Nikon74]

Great choice!

 

[ulrichsd]

Great choice!

Thanks! I was on vacation - Disneyworld with the family - so I just stuck with the cellphone camera. I've only had the chance to take a few photos and start getting it setup, but so far I'm loving it! The EVF looks great and its quick and responsive. Looking forward to getting it out and taking more pictures with it!!

 

[ulrichsd]

- Disneyworld with the family - so I just stuck with the cellphone camera. I've only had the chance to take a few photos and start getting it setup, but so far I'm loving it! The EVF looks great

Super excited, just ordered the 14-30mm f/4 go go with the 24-70 f/4 (and using my 70-300mm with the FTZ).

 

[ac12]

Good choice on the Z6.
I shoot high school sports with a D7200 and Olympus EM1-mk2.
The 4.5fps of the Z5 would suck, for sports. After using the Olympus at 18fps, the 6fps of the D7200 is slow.

READ the specs, on the continuous frame rate. Some/many of the mfg do an advertising trick, and give the max frame rate for the continuous mode with AF only on the FIRST frame, and NO AF after that. That is OK if the subject does not move towards/away from you, like a baseball batter hitting a ball. But if the subject does move towards/away from you, like basketball or kids running around, you want the camera to AF between frames. I can count on ONE HAND, with fingers left over, the scenarios where I have shot with AF on only the FIRST frame of a burst.

I've been thinking about upgrading from the D7200 to a Z6ii.

 

[adamhiram]

Ordered and coming Wednesday!!!

Congrats, I'm sure you'll love it! If you haven't seen these other threads, I switched to mirrorless last year and documented my experiences and recommendations as I got used to the camera. I initially picked up a Z6, but ultimately ended up with a Z6II.

• Z6 - First Impressions
• Z6II - First Impressions
• Z6 II - Continuous High vs. Extended

 

[ulrichsd]

Good choice on the Z6.
I shoot high school sports with a D7200 and Olympus EM1-mk2.
The 4.5fps of the Z5 would suck, for sports. After using the Olympus at 18fps, the 6fps of the D7200 is slow.

READ the specs, on the continuous frame rate. Some/many of the mfg do an advertising trick, and give the max frame rate for the continuous mode with AF only on the FIRST frame, and NO AF after that. That is OK if the subject does not move towards/away from you, like a baseball batter hitting a ball. But if the subject does move towards/away from you, like basketball or kids running around, you want the camera to AF between frames. I can count on ONE HAND, with fingers left over, the scenarios where I have shot with AF on only the FIRST frame of a burst.

I've been thinking about upgrading from the D7200 to a Z6ii.

Thanks! Yes, the D7000 is 6 fps and I didn't want to go backwards From what I can tell the Z6 is 5.5 fps in mechanical shutter with full AF and in silent mode it is 8 fps raw or 12 fps jpg. I'll have to play with it in actual use to get a feel for it though.

 

[ulrichsd]

Congrats, I'm sure you'll love it! If you haven't seen these other threads, I switched to mirrorless last year and documented my experiences and recommendations as I got used to the camera. I initially picked up a Z6, but ultimately ended up with a Z6II.

• Z6 - First Impressions
• Z6II - First Impressions
• Z6 II - Continuous High vs. Extended

Cool, thanks so much for the links - great, detailed reviews on the Z6 and Z6ii! I was happy to see they just released a new firmware release for the Z6 and that Nikon is putting effort into their older models. The 2nd card slot is a nice to have, but honestly I've never failed one and I'm not a pro so I'm okay not having to buy a 2nd CFexpress card

So far the FTZ adapter hasn't bothered me much as I rarely use a tripod and it doesn't feel out of place on a longer telephoto that is already like 8" like the 70-300, it will likely just permanently live on that lens now that I have the Z 14-30 and 24-70. I haven't used any of my primes since the 35mm is DX and the 50mm won't autofocus, but I would have to think an FX prime would feel a bit odd on the FTZ. Sometime down the road I'll get the Z 40mm to use on the Z6.

I really had to exercise restraint to not get the F mount 200-500 since it was $300 off. I'm going to wait and see reviews/price for the Z 200-600 when it comes out... the advantage of the 200-500 is that I could still use it on my D7000 if I wanted to carry 2 bodies.

 

[ac12]

If you are like me, you will LOVE the EVF.
Being able to see your exposure BEFORE you press the shutter is really nice. Especially when the lighting is "difficult." Then you can adjust the exposure in real time before you press the shutter, rather than "shoot-chimp-adjust-then repeat" on a dSLR.

I also found that I like the brighter EVF when shooting in the gym, where the EVF is brighter than the viewfinder of my D7200, even with a f/1.8 prime on the D7200.

I would keep an eye out for a 35,40 or 50 f/1.8, for when the light gets LOW.
When the light is LOW, FAST glass wins.

 

[ulrichsd]

If you are like me, you will LOVE the EVF.

So far I've really enjoyed it, will see how it does in different conditions

I would keep an eye out for a 35,40 or 50 f/1.8, for when the light gets LOW.
When the light is LOW, FAST glass wins.

Yep, 100% agree - I love my two primes and used my dx 35 f/1.8 all the time, more than any other lens. I debated about skipping on the kit 24-70 and just getting the 40mm f/2 prime, but decided it would be nice to have and the 24-70 as part of the kit was only an extra $500. My birthday present to myself in March will be the 40mm and somewhere down the road I'll probably get the 85mm f/1.8 and/or 105mm macro.

 

[Sharpshooterr]

Hi all, I'm looking to upgrade my 10 year old D7000 to a mirrorless camera. Mainly kids photos and kids sports, with some vacation, landscape and wildlife photography. And video is nice, but secondary. I love my 35mm and 50mm primes for low profile and fast aperture, which seems like Canon has a lot more prime lens options right now. Nikon's options are more expensive and bulkier...

1. Canon RP w/ 24-105mm f4-7.1 ($1300), 100-400mm 5.6-8 ($650),16mm ($300), 50mm ($200), 85mm macro ($600) = $3050
OR
2. Nikon Z5 w/ 24-200mm ($2100) and 14-30mm ($1300) = $3400

I'm really leaning toward the RP - is there anything that I'm missing in this comparison???

Thanks,
Scott

I'm really leaning toward the RP - is there anything that I'm missing in this comparison???
Thanks,
Scott

Scott, yes, you're missing everything that happens after you take the shot. Like the paper, the ink and the printer!
Canon is a complete system from taking the shot to putting it on your wall, don't underestimate that. There's a reason Canon took over Nikon's #1 position!!!
SS

 

[ulrichsd]

Scott, yes, you're missing everything that happens after you take the shot. Like the paper, the ink and the printer!
Canon is a complete system from taking the shot to putting it on your wall, don't underestimate that. There's a reason Canon took over Nikon's #1 position!!!
SS

Interesting, but to be honest I don't print often and should probably print more I do some 4x6 family photos in frames, but for every 100 photos I share to social media, I might print one. For landscape stuff I like, I will occasionally print larger and frame, or order on canvas.

Also, I did just order the 40mm f/2 for my birthday present, which is coming on Sunday!

I've been very happy with the Z6, but there is definitely a learning curve trying to get the most out of the various autofocus settings. I wish Nikon had some sort of consumer telephoto Z lens. I'd like to get the 100-400mm, but it is expensive, I'll probably just trade in all my old DSLR lenses to pay for half of it LOL

Thanks,
Scott

 

[adamhiram]

Also, I did just order the 40mm f/2 for my birthday present, which is coming on Sunday!

Please follow up with you impressions of this lens if you don't mind! I've been considering the compact 40mm f/2 for a while, but am not sure how significant the tradeoffs are, particularly when compared to the 24-70 at comparable apertures.