Spencer14
New member
I currently have a Nikon D5600 and a Nikkor 200-500mm zoom, and I've been thinking about upgrading my camera body for a few months now. My setup is generally solid, but I have a few issues that I hope an upgraded camera body could help solve: AF struggling with birds in flight (even slow-flying raptors), low fps, and noise levels in certain conditions like a clear sky background. I'm also hoping to get higher resolution photos, since a decent amount of the time, I'm not quite satisfied with my resolution and sharpness. I've been torn between going with the D850 or upgrading to mirrorless. The thought of getting eye-tracking AF is very enticing. However, I'm on a budget and can only afford something in the $1500-$2500 range (mostly used gear). These are the options I'm considering:
Nikon D850: I've heard great things about its IQ and AF, even though it doesn't have eye-tracking. Since it's a full frame sensor instead of a crop like the D5600, any target photographed with a D850 @500mm will have "only" 26% greater resolution compared to a photo of the same target photographed with the D5600 @500mm at the same distance. I could get a 1.4X TCE and bump that up to an impressive +77%, but I don't know how much the AF will suffer and if it'll remain better than my D5600.
Nikon Z7 ii: Seems to be a mirrorless version of the D850 (same resolution and very similar price used), but I've heard mixed things about how its AF compares to the D850 and other mirrorless cameras for bird photography. I'd need to get a ZTF converter as well. Will any of the Z7's features/AF be compromised with an F lens?
Canon EOS R7: It's cheaper than the D850 and Z7 ii, so that's a plus. It also has a DX sensor (1.6x) so I'd be able to get a +44% resolution boost with my 200-500mm (I'd have to buy the Novoflex Nikon F lens to Canon RF mount converter). However, I've seen that its AF is very inconsistent and loves to wander in non-ideal lighting conditions, and I'm not sure it's worth putting up with that. Could strapping a Nikon F lens to it make those issues worse?
Which of these would be better for bird photography and satisfy my AF/resolution/noise issues? Should I go with the excellent D850 since I'm used to DSLR and have DSLR gear, or should I make the jump to a (relatively inexpensive) mirrorless camera? Any advice will be much appreciated.
Nikon D850: I've heard great things about its IQ and AF, even though it doesn't have eye-tracking. Since it's a full frame sensor instead of a crop like the D5600, any target photographed with a D850 @500mm will have "only" 26% greater resolution compared to a photo of the same target photographed with the D5600 @500mm at the same distance. I could get a 1.4X TCE and bump that up to an impressive +77%, but I don't know how much the AF will suffer and if it'll remain better than my D5600.
Nikon Z7 ii: Seems to be a mirrorless version of the D850 (same resolution and very similar price used), but I've heard mixed things about how its AF compares to the D850 and other mirrorless cameras for bird photography. I'd need to get a ZTF converter as well. Will any of the Z7's features/AF be compromised with an F lens?
Canon EOS R7: It's cheaper than the D850 and Z7 ii, so that's a plus. It also has a DX sensor (1.6x) so I'd be able to get a +44% resolution boost with my 200-500mm (I'd have to buy the Novoflex Nikon F lens to Canon RF mount converter). However, I've seen that its AF is very inconsistent and loves to wander in non-ideal lighting conditions, and I'm not sure it's worth putting up with that. Could strapping a Nikon F lens to it make those issues worse?
Which of these would be better for bird photography and satisfy my AF/resolution/noise issues? Should I go with the excellent D850 since I'm used to DSLR and have DSLR gear, or should I make the jump to a (relatively inexpensive) mirrorless camera? Any advice will be much appreciated.