I am an old perrenial amateur, not rich, who has owned all of the Nikon D8XX series and currently, two D850 (my all time favorite, purchased used). When my wife and I travel to Colombia to visit her family and people I have met in Medellín, Envigado, etc. we go on bus tours together and I take photos of family and simple landscapes to save the moment for us. I shoot RAW and edit in LR CLassic, nothing technical, no BIF, no sports.
I am thinking of trading in one used D850 and a lens to purchase a used mirrorless camera, maybe a Nikon Z7ii mostly because of the similar menus, megapixel count, in hopes my images might look like my D850 shots. The reduced size/weight, also interest me.
I just purchased a used Z 85mm f/1.8S at a store, with a limited time to return it as I am on the fence about buying another camera. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (I have used an 85mm f/1.8G or 60mmm F/2.8 G /D8XX on some of our previous trips) not interested in zoom lenses. My dilemma is the camera choice purchase rather than lenses.
I use my Z6ii as a companion camera to my Z9. The lenses in the Z series have been especially great. The 85 F1.8 "works" exceptionally well. It is ideal for travel and portraits in particular. I find the 24-70 F4 is an excellent lens for travel but the 24-120 F4 would be my first choice for the scenario you describe.
I have no hesitation in recommending the Z7ii for travel. The compact body is easy to live with and if you are not aiming at BIF it is a great camera. The simplicity of operation and versatility of the camera is not to be underestimated.
The Z series will extend your photographic options and provide better results than the D850 because the clarity of the Z lenses is such a key factor. It took me a while to decide that the it's not just the edge to edge sharpness that counts it is the reduced chromatic aberration that counts.
@griffallo Thank you, good to hear the opinion of someone who has actually used and compared results. I paid $450 for the Z 85m f/1.8S Last week I took a few shots with a used Z7 ii; the sales person mounted a Z 14-30mm and then a 24-70mm f/4; at home using LR Classic, I tried to apply the Adobe lens profile in LR, in the box that reads "make" the words "built-in" appeared.
Yes it would. Adobe regards the lens correction profiles it has "built in" as the default setting. I don't think you can turn it off in Adobe LR or PS.
I enjoy the Z6ii but I especially like it because I accept that it is NOT a sports, bird photography camera. Having the Z9 completes the set for me. There are times when the Z6ii is my choice. I like the form factor, size etc. I had both cameras with me yesterday on a field excursion. The Z9 had my F-mount 500mm F4 with a 1.4 Tc on it, the Z6ii had the Z mount 105mm F2.8 on it. Both have a feature set which is optimised for specific uses. The Z9 may have a much wider set of features, but the Z6 size body is so well thought out it eventually makes itself invaluable. The Z6ii was perfect for the macro shots. There is no way I could have carried 2 Z9 size cameras. The big take away however is that the image quality from the Z6ii is a delight. If you take into account that the Z7ii is higher resolution, it is the obvious choice.
At the store, there are several used Z6ii bodies but only one Z7ii. I will take my lens and a few SD cards to the store to try/compare both cameras. The used Z7ii is selling for $700 less than than this week's sale price of a new one.
Not sure if this helps, but I've owned a Z7ii for a couple of years now. Just finished swapping out my F mount lenses for the compareable Z mount ones.
What I like about the Z7ii is the pixel count. I'm not a pro and often I take the "one last photo" by zooming out. Later I find the composition could be even better if I would adjust just a bit - making that last photo the one that I end up using.
Last year we went to Costa Rica and even with a Sigma 150-600mm F mount lens I often didn't have enough reach for the birds (usually) I was trying to capture. The pixel count again came to the rescue.
Not sure I'll get on board with the likely 60MP count cameras as the 45MP of the Z7ii works for me. It would be nice for the more advanced auto focus of the Z8/9, but the Z7ii does very well for what I need.
(The last lens I replaced was the Sigma. Loved that lens. However, the Z 180-600 is already proving to be a better lens. Not sure it is worth 2x the price, but oh well, I just won't upgrade for the next decade.)
I very much appreciate everyone's personal observations and sensible travel lens recommendations; the used Z7ii that I tried has 43k activations is selling for $300-350 less than the online used photo gear stores.
Those 400 grams, which is the difference between the two cameras, could be an important reason for buying Z 7II.
Success!
@kwongphotographyhotmail-com
Not much of a weight difference and I cannot justify my trade-in loss and expense as a hobbyist.
Thank all of you for your indepth advice. I hope others people with similar questions can get some sense of direction from all of the responses.
@kwongphotographyhotmail-com I am sticking with Nikon, I have for since the 1970's. Thank you for the historical background of "Afgan Girl" - very interesting and I undertand your point about such lasting images, are not solely the result of the sharpest lens, the latest gear.
By now you have may have already purchased the camera, but if not.....
I made the switch from the D850 to the Z7 when the Z7 first came out. I wanted a lighter/smaller camera and I was not disappointed. I found the switch from the D850 to the Z7 to be easy and image quality/look was the same.
JM
@jmotzi Thanks for your imput, making that switch can be costly. I still have not purchased a Z but I looked at a few used Z7 ii bodies during a local store used gear sale. My D850's have less than 170 & 225 activations while the used Z's with >40k activations were priced too high for my budget.
@polizonte The Z7ii is a great choice for travel photography. High resolution, light weight, moderate price compared to z8. And the ability to use a huge set of old optics via ftz. Yes, its autofocus is not as fast as modern cameras, but this is not important for leisurely travel photography.
Look at the z24-200. Yes, it is dark at 200mm. But super versatile.