The 'proper' number of card slots...

[Dave442]

I am going with 1 as the "ideal" number. I have been using one CF card slot for over ten years on both DSLR bodies so far no failures. I have four cards so the time is divided up between them on total time actually in the cameras. All the cards are SanDisk or Lexar top models when purchased (a couple are 10 years old and the other two are 5 years old).

I used to worry a lot more back when I sealed my Kodachrome in their Mailers and dropped them in some out of the way mailbox, or stepped into the darkroom with some rolls of B&W to develop.

 

[petrochemist]

I don't know who, exactly, is claiming that the new Z system is "pro" grade, because it's clearly not pro grade, but as with most technology, we get used to a certain level of technology, and will expect the technology to advance, not to regress.

So for the Nikon Z system, one card slot seems right, and they have priced them accordingly. (Oh, wait...)

Some pros expect certain things, dual card slots being one of them. To ask a pro to be satisfied with one card, however, when he/she has been using dual cards for years seems like going backward.

We will continue to see real pros who shoot events carry a minimum of two camera bodies, several lenses, more than one light, spare batteries for everything, and spare memory cards. Some even come equipped with a second shooter, who carries at least one additional camera. (naturally with spare batteries, etc.)

The biggest misconception with the two new Z cameras, and their kit lenses, is that somehow they were expected to be a "pro" system, which they are not.

What makes you so convinced they aren't 'pro grade'? Is it the lack of a second card slot, or simply that it isn't a DSLR?
They might not be suitable for every pro application, but the results I've seen suggest they'll match most pro cameras for many types of shooting.

 

[zombiesniper]

For me ideal is 2 just because I have filled 2 cards on numerous occasions.

I've heard the failure thing and when I ask when it happened I always hear "I knew a guy once". I have yet to be face to face with anyone that killed a quality card that wasn't neglected. So based on this I would say it's about as relevant as "protective filters"

My biggest issue is if you're going to give me 2 card slots pick the same F^%$#&G type of cards. What kind of moron thinks two different formats is a good thing?

 

[Derrel]

WELL...looks like we've got a four-way tie!!!

 

[480sparky]

I haven't voted because 7 isn't an option.

 

[Designer]

What makes you so convinced they aren't 'pro grade'?

This:



And this:

 

[Derrel]

Wow...two very negative mini-reviews...I watched both videos from start to finish. Similar complaints from The Angry Photographer and from Tony and Chelsea Northrup. From what these three people mentioned, the Z7 is not a pro-grade camera.

 

[Designer]

The two cameras and three lenses that currently comprise the Nikon Z system are essentially hobbyist cameras for people who want a lighter, smaller camera and lenses. The optimal user of this system is someone who is planning on traveling or hiking and wants to trim a few pounds off the baggage.

The fact that this gear is priced out of reach of the garden variety of hobbyists will assure that the hobbyists who actually purchase the system are the more wealthy type of hobbyists.

 

[Peeb]

The two cameras and three lenses that currently comprise the Nikon Z system are essentially hobbyist cameras for people who want a lighter, smaller camera and lenses. The optimal user of this system is someone who is planning on traveling or hiking and wants to trim a few pounds off the baggage.

The fact that this gear is priced out of reach of the garden variety of hobbyists will assure that the hobbyists who actually purchase the system are the more wealthy type of hobbyists.

So essentially the Z6 is the full frame version of my Fuji X-T20 for double the price.

The Z7 is more problematic to me: D850 pricing for a 'travel' rig. Tough sell.

 

[BananaRepublic]

I recently passed on the new Nikon Z6 and Z7 based on (0nly) one card slot. I did the same on the Nikon D7500 last year for the same reason: CDS ("Card Deficiency Syndrome"). HOWEVER, merely one card was just fine for me when I pulled the trigger on a Fuji X-T20, as my intended use for that camera was totally different.

So, it really kinda depends, but what I'm interested in is this: in an ideal world, what is the 'proper' number of card slots in a camera, to have a camera configured to your liking?

Please comment! Thanks

Your camera is probably more likely to fail then a genuine card nowadays.

 

[Designer]

So essentially the Z6 is the full frame version of my Fuji X-T20 for double the price.

The Z7 is more problematic to me: D850 pricing for a 'travel' rig. Tough sell.

Very tough sell.

If people are comparing the Z7 to a D850, about the only advantages the Z7 have is it being smaller and lighter in weight.

That "full frame" business is bound to snag a few purchasers, but I can't imagine why.

 

[Derrel]

Your camera is probably more likely to fail then a genuine card nowadays.

Thank goodness for somebody posting a well-reasoned comment about this issue. A little dose of reality about this issue is nice to see. And again...the Thom Hogan article about this mentions that XQD cards seem to be incredibly,incredibly robust and resistant to the types of mechanical or memory module or memory controller issues that earlier card designs(Compact Flash or CF cards, and SD cards) were sometimes prone to.

As far as cards failing in the field, while in the camera...just not something I've ever personally experienced nor have I heard of this from anybody I know. I think losing or misplacing a memory card is a much more likely occurrence than is having one actually fail during a shoot. The D1,D1h,D2x,and Canon 5D, camera I own or have owned, all had one,single CF card slot. And yet, in 17 years...no solid state memory card EVER failed on me. And at times, I shot a lot. I used to shoot some newspaper sports assignments in the early 2000's where I would shoot 700 to 800 frames at track meets, on multiple 8-gigabyte SanDisk cards, back in the 2.7-MP to 12-megapixel days of Nikon (D1,D1h,D2x).

I personally laugh a little bit inside every time I hear that "wedding photographers" must have every shot backed up on a second card...well, they need more than a second card-they need entire backup outfits, if they want to truly be prepared against any and all possible failures; spare camera, spare flashes,spare lenses,spare eyeglasses, etc.,etc..

If one want to be truly paranoid, then how about wirelessly streaming the captures directly to a notebook computer worn on your back in your backpack, transferring the images directly to the notebook computer, as they are being shot, you know, in that ultimately high-end photographer way? Or in-studio, shooting tethered, directly to the computer?

 

[Derrel]

So essentially the Z6 is the full frame version of my Fuji X-T20 for double the price.

The Z7 is more problematic to me: D850 pricing for a 'travel' rig. Tough sell.

Very tough sell.

If people are comparing the Z7 to a D850, about the only advantages the Z7 have is it being smaller and lighter in weight.

That "full frame" business is bound to snag a few purchasers, but I can't imagine why.

I watched The Angry Photographer's 29-minute mini-review of the Z7 last night. He had a 90-minute hands-on shoot with the Z7, sponsored by Nikon, USA. Ehhhh...he made a number of comments which he described as ones that he has thought through and deliberately about,very carefully, before electing to write the comments into his video script. One of these comments that he said he had carefully considered was how to describe his impression of the Z7; as a Nikon D-5000-ish level camera. Seriously, that's what he said. Twice. A Nikon D-5000-ish type of instrument.

He, and Tony and Chelsea Northrup, all agreed that the Z7 is in no way a D850-caliber option or alternative. It's just not D850 level. And that is not at all surprising, since the D850 represents the very pinnacle of Nikon's 20-plus years in d-slr development and building, and its almost sixty years of F-mount camera making.

 

[Designer]

I don't know who would seriously think the Z7 was in any way comparable to the D850, but I think I know how such a comparison may have arisen. The megapixel size of the sensors in both are about the same number, so some people will then think the other features are comparable as well.

Sensor density aside, the basic similarity between the Z7 and The D5000 is not an unreasonable conclusion.

 

[Peeb]

The two cameras and three lenses that currently comprise the Nikon Z system are essentially hobbyist cameras for people who want a lighter, smaller camera and lenses. The optimal user of this system is someone who is planning on traveling or hiking and wants to trim a few pounds off the baggage.

The fact that this gear is priced out of reach of the garden variety of hobbyists will assure that the hobbyists who actually purchase the system are the more wealthy type of hobbyists.

So essentially the Z6 is the full frame version of my Fuji X-T20 for double the price.

The Z7 is more problematic to me: D850 pricing for a 'travel' rig. Tough sell.

One thing that the Nikon sports that’s missing from the Fuji, tho, is IBIS, which is a big deal.