Looking to upgrade from D7200 to either D850 or Z7ii

[Szczur]

Ok then guys, help me out please.
I've been wondering about upgrading my kit for a while now and it comes down to a choice between a Nikon d850 and a z7ii.
I've been shooting with a d7200 for the last 8 years and I've only recently started to feel limited by it's abilities. I'm looking to go full frame and I don't want to leave the Nikon ecosystem.
I am torn between one of Nikon's best ever dSLRs and the new tech.
On the one hand, the d850 has all I need, it's compatible with my lenses without an adapter, It will "feel right" in my hands and the battery will last and last. That last one is important as I mostly shoot wildlife and spend long hours standing around waiting for "the moment" when I need the kit to be ready. On the other hand, the d850 is only a couple of years younger than my existing kit.
The z7ii has, it seems, some issues with battery consumption, at least according to YouTube reviewers. They also say it takes half a second or so to wake up - too long. On the other hand, it's newer tech, lighter, has a silent shutter, and I've yet to find someone who regretted switching to mirrorless.
Pricing is similar. Older kit should be dropping in price as folk jump over to mirrorless, but it isn't. New lenses for the z range are about twice the price, it seems. I really don't know which way to jump. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

[billtils]

I've yet to find someone who regretted switching to mirrorless.

That probably says all that needs to be said, but here are a few notes from my switch from D810 to Z6ii,

Weight - oft quoted in reviews but is probably neither as marked nor as important as is sometimes made out - lenses don't get magically lighter. However, I do like the size and weight of the Z6 - lighter than the D810 but heavy eough to be stable when hand-held. On the subject of lenses, the only F mount lens I kept is my all-time favourite - the 300mm PF prime - and it works a treat with the FTZ 2 +/- a 1.4TC. I have the S-series 24-70 and the superb S series 105 macro (so that's 2 pretty heavy weight pieces of glass)..

Finally I have a friend who has a D850 but bought a Z5 to cover a period of post-surgery convalescence, is now fully recovered and still uses it as her main camera. My personal favourite feature is the WYSIWYG viewfinder which can be configured to include the real time histogram.

HTH

[Manfred M]

Rather than adding your question to an existing. old thread, it makes sense to start a new thread here.

I shoot the D810 and will be upgrading at some point in the future. Right now, the camera meets my needs and while a newer camera would be wonderful, I cannot justify doing so right now. I am primarily a still life, portrait and travel photographer, so my needs are a little different than yours. I am also a large format print maker, so a large sensor is quite important to what I produce.


The D850 is obsolete and is the last of the modern DSLRs that Nikon will ever build. It has the same sensor as the Z7ii, so far as I can determine, so the real difference is mirrorless versus DSLR. Nikon is no longer developing new FX lenses and has discontinued many FX lens models, however, as people are moving to mirrorless, there are a lot of used FX lenses on the market.

The Z7ii is really a first generation mirrorless camera and there seems to be little difference in terms of real-life performance between the original Z7 and the Z7ii. The Nikon shooters that I know have told me that the Z9 and Z8 are significant improvements over the Z7ii. At this point, I would have trouble justifying spending money on the Z6ii or Z7ii, given where they are in their life cycle. The same goes for buying another DSLR; unless there is an excellent price, I would have trouble going that route, especially when coupled with lens availability down the road.

Battery life will always be an issue with mirrorless cameras vs a DSLR, as the sensor is turned on for any shooting functions, but carrying an extra battery or two is not really an issue,

What you have not told us is why you want to go full-frame versus APS-C, especially for wildlife work. Unless you have a supply of FX lenses you already own, you are going to have to buy new ones when you go full-frame.

[billtils]

The D850 is obsolete

Which could be good news for you Matt. Obsolete or not the D850 is a super camera and probably an excellent fit to your photo style. The good news is you can pick one up for way less than it would have cost a year ago, and all your lenses will fit.

[pendennis]

A year ago, I opted to keep my D850, and a D810 when I bought my Z5 as an experiment. I had gotten rid of a D610 and a D750 and found the Z5 with a 24-50 "walk around" lens. It worked nicely as a "starter" mirrorless, and in no time, I got rid of the Z5 and found a low-shutter count Z7 and started adding Z lenses, in addition to my existing battery of AF-S lenses. I eventually added another Z7, and a month ago, traded both Z-7's for a Z-7ii, consolidating my Z holdings. The Z-7ii is everything I wanted, yet I've continued to use my D850 alongside the Z. I keep the D810 as a "walk-around" camera with 24-120 and 70-200 f/4 lenses.

The D850, while it may be obsolete, is a superb camera, and is really a pro-level camera for all intents and purposes. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it unless it bellies up.

[Szczur]

Hello everyone.
Thank you all for your input and I'm sorry I've not been back sooner to respond - I've had a hellish couple of weeks....
Anyway, I think I'm going to risk the z7ii.
Here's my answers to a few of your questions and observations:

I can't justify the cost of a z8 or z9 as I'm a keen hobbyist, not a pro. The price difference is significant.

Why full frame? I know where this question comes from. It's well known that there's a crop factor advantage to be had by using DX for wildlife but... as with all things there are limits. DX cameras with very high resolution are pretty much non existent. If I have to crop an image taken with a full frame device in order to get the same image, I'll often still have more pixels available afterwards than I had to begin with in the DX model. As I use a 600mm objective and, sometimes, a 2x teleconverter, getting in close to my "prey" is rarely an issue. Also, newer models have better ISO range and less noise than my old kit - worth having early in the morning it late in the evening, especially under trees. I only have one specifically DX lens so the loss isn't going to be painful.

Good news the d850 is obsolete? Yes, I thought so, but the prices have remained stubbornly high while I was hoping there'd have been a big drop by now.

I'm very drawn by the icon driven software and I'm impressed with the automatic eye identification. The fact that nobody regrets the move is, as Bill said, "all that needs to be said" but it's also pretty rare to find anyone who uses both so I was glad to see Dennis say he still enjoys both his D850 and his z7ii

I think I'd be best off using a part exchange service like MPB. They only offer about half the value of the kit you offer but what you get back is exactly as described and there are some nearly unused z7ii and ftz items on the site. I've used them before and I've been happy with the result.

Once again, thanks for your input. If I go through with it I'll be sure to let you know the result.

Cheers

Matt

[Daryl]

Yes, I have a D7200 for quite a few years now and have often wondered about going the next step, there is some members in my club that have a varying range of mirrorless and all seem to be quite happy, I have been humming and ha-ing about going there, but the price holds me back for a bit at the moment. Never know one of these days, I will probably step up from there and maybe use with my D750 as well.

[Szczur]

Once again, thanks for your input. If I go through with it I'll be sure to let you know the result.

So...... As promised.....

I decided to wait a while and spend some extra money on a different model. In the end I chose a Z8 and I'm very satisfied with the results. I toyed with the idea of changing my Sigma 600mm objective for a Nikkor model, but instead bought the ftz II adapter. What can I say? The results were very surprising. Positively so.

Sigma themselves say that many of their art objectives (including my 180-600mm model) are not fully compatible with their teleconverters. This was certainly true for me while using a D7200. When coupled with a Sigma 2001 teleconverter, the autofocus was good to about 400mm and then stopped working at longer focal lengths. However, when the same kit is mounted on my new Z8, via the ftz II, the full range works on autofocus! Result!

I am a happy convert. I have more pixel data. I have more shots per second. I have quieter kit. I have less image noise. There's not much more I need to be super-happy. The kit I use is still pretty heavy.... does anyone have an anti-gravity converter or adapter?