fcotterill
Well-known member
Fortunately there are at least 4 excellent DSLRs, but obviously with the penalties of no Mirrorless features, and they are only feasible as backups to a Z9 with f-mount optics.This old thread has returned just as I realized how challenging it is to use any Nikon Z body other than the Z9. I was perfectly happy with Z6/Z7 (I or IIs) when I was shooting them w/ a D500 for fast wildlife. About a year ago I reluctantly purchased a Z9 (price reluctance) and sold all my other cameras but the Z6II. My Z6II is more of a 2nd camera rather than a back-up, as a back-up implies that this is the camera to be used if the primary fails in the field.
At very least a Z6 (Z7) can backup with a Z Telephoto. My Z7 performed very well in so many contexts, until it was in trickier situations with active subjects (ie the D500-D5-D850 zone)...
I waited nearly 2 years for some seemingly simple firmware fixes for the Z6 - Z7 lines, namely adding options in the Custom menu for AFMode+AFOn; options for quicker control over eye-animal recognition etc would also have been useful. Eventually I gave up the wait, and ended up with a Used D5.With the exception of using the Z6II for landscape and macro subjects, it is unused... in fact, it almost seems primitive in comparison to the Z9. Nikon's slow release of a smaller camera with the Z9 button layout has been frustrating. In fact, I'd be fine if they produced a Z6III that has the Z9 configuration w minor improvements. As Karen points out at the beginning of the thread,... the switching of the UI in the heat of the moment is a formula for frustration.
It proved pointless submitting requests along formal channels within Nikon to prioritize the fixes. The irony remains one is constricted to using only 1 AF mode at any one time.... out of ~10 AF modes...
Last time I checked a Z6/Z7, the menu options still lock out much of the potential to customize the Lens-Fn buttons on the Z telephotos.
It's equally ironic how what has become generally and widely popularized as the Custom Hybrid-Focus setup in the Z9 is nothing new. It's been available since early 2016 in the D5 and D500, with D850 added in 2017
It's clear Nikon is marching to its own beat in rolling out the Z system for genres entailing action :- Maximize earnings on more expensive "Exotic" products, including the flagship Z9 and higher-priced (including fast) telephotos....then presumably only 18 months later is Nikon poised to kick off sales earning smaller profits on more affordable camera(s) with Z9 technology.However,... with all of this said, I am not sure I am up to yet another $3000 ++ purchase, thus if Nikon does introduce a smaller Z9/Z8/Z6ii, I will probably be in the "wait and see" mode.
bruce
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