New body choice...Nikon...Mirrorless...or switch?

[delarado]

Hey Guys,
I’ve been taking photos with Nikon gear for a while now. Currently in my kit bag:
Nikon D750
Nikon 28-300mm F3.5-5.6
Nikon 14-24mm F2.8
Nikon 50mm F1.4
I’m looking for a new body, the D750 is a great body but I’ve had it a while now - I’m looking for something with some more modern features, and it would be nice to have a second body to avoid lens swapping.
I generally photograph a variety of things, but I do a lot of low light stuff. My godox IR focus is indispensable to me.
Options I’m thinking for my new body:
D850
Z6/Z7 (but I’m worried about low light focus)
Wait for a Z9 (but I don’t want to wait that long, and probably didn’t want to spend that much)
Look at switching to Sony / Canon (But worried about cost of replacing glass)

It seems to me that SLR development is now basically stopped, but low light focus on mirrorless is a problem due to the sensor not being able to see IR light. I’m not against switching away from Nikon, as I know Canon are doing some amazing things with their cameras... But I don’t know much about the Canon / Sony line up - so I’m looking for opinions from you guys please!

Thanks!!

 

[AlanKlein]

Can't you convert the existing to IR and get a new one for your other work?

 

[mjcmt]

As you know D850 is the best dslr out there. If you want mirrorless I'd wait for upcoming Z6s/Z6II, whatever the model number will be. It will address a few weaknesses of Z6. You know you'll need the adaptor for G lenses which adds to size.

 

[charlie76]

I’d rather give up one of my children than give up my D850. I can’t imagine needing anything more from a camera with regard range of tones and usability. The ultra high res is a serious bonus but ..it simply just takes gorgeous pictures...I don’t know how else to put it. I’m often blown away at the quality of tones and light I see right on the RAW file. Some images take almost no PP to be where I want them to be. Low light capability is great and surprises me often with its ability to capture color and detail in low light. My $0.02 on the D850!

 

[delarado]

Thanks all, I thought that might be the feedback on the D850... I guess I’m just wondering if it’s time to go mirrorless or not now!

I just looked up the z6s/z6 ii/ z6 whatever it is... will be interesting to see what the specs are

interested to hear from current mirror less owners of all cameras really on their low light focus performance... I often work where I need an off camera IR focus for my D750 or it won’t focus... but I also realise that it’s an old camera so although mirrorless cameras dont work with an IR off camera focus, they may not need it either due to just having better capabilities?

 

[Strodav]

If you like your current glass, go with the D850. Arguably the Nikon D850 and Canon 5D Mark IV are the best dslrs ever made. If you are thinking about the future, then mirrorless is the way to go. Both the Z6 and Z7 are fine cameras and you should be able to use your current glass with an adapter ring, but I would wait and see what the specs and prices are on the Z6 II and Z7 II, announcements to happen Oct 14 (I believe). Personally, I plan on staying with my D850 for now, then might add a Z7 II after I see the independent reviews.

 

[Tropicalmemories]

A bit of counterpoint from a mirrorless user ......

If your priorities are technical areas such as low light performance, focus speed etc, then stick with your D850 - it's a fine camera.

But there are other reasons why you may want to swap to mirrorless, and for some people they are more important than the relative technical specs.

A modern top end mirrorless like a Sony A7 iii or a Nikon Z7 can equal the technical aspects of your D850, but it wont be significantly better in practice, but in my view that's not the point of mirrorless. An electronic viewfinder is a very different user experience to a mirror. You can see more on-screen information, including features such as focus peaking that make using legacy or manual focus lenses a joy, plus the ability to view in black and white. Combined with LED lighting you can also see the impact of your lights, and you can view various film effects 'real time'. You can also see the impact of exposure changes at the time - instant 'chimping' ..... and you can review images in great detail using the EVF - often with similar clarity to using a large monitor.

You also have a largely solid state device, especially when using the electronic shutter - minimizing mirror issues, plus you have a great video camera.

But to realise these benefits you need to shoot differently compared to a DSLR. If you like to spend hours in Photoshop post processing all your RAW images, or you use flash, or you never use manual focus lenses or shoot video, or you only ever apply black and white effects in post - then you may not gain much value from mirrorless. And in a while you'll also not get the latest technology - as that will be kept for the new mirrorless bodies.

So I recommend you consider if you would value what mirrorless can add to your shooting experience, rather than sweating the specs.

 

[mrca]

I still shoot film cameras a couple with no batteries, so all this hoopla over "modern features" makes me chuckle. I would keep the 750 and buy some primes. You don't say what you shoot but use flash so I expect it includes people. A nikon 105 2.0 dc would be incredible. Same with a zeiss 35 mm 2.0 distagon.

 

[greybeard]

I moved from the great D750 to the fantastic D850. I'm still discovering features of the D850 that blow me away. It has a much larger buffer over the D750 which makes it much better for sports photography. The resolution is so high that it is like having both a FX and a DX body. In DX mode it is still 19mp which saves disk space and makes the buffer pretty much limitless. It has the same focusing system as the D6 that is really out of sight. The only thing I miss from time to time is the built in flash.

 

[photoflyer]

I just got the Canon R6, my first mirrorless, and I'm sold. It sounds like Nikon has great mirrorless options. I strongly suggest looking into one of the Z's. I'd probably wait for the next one as they'll have to load it with features to complete with Canon and price it to compete as well.