Hello everyone, After being called a Troll on another photography forum I'd try my luck here.
I currently, shoot with a D3300 and have for 3 years and I feel like I hit the limit on the camera the ISO performance, AF, Durability, and so on. It has been a great camera but I'm looking to upgrade to the D850. I mainly shoot landscapes, some portraits, and Wildlife, The thing I hear about the D850 is the megapixel count on the D850 as this allows better cropping when shooting wildlife especially BIF
However, I hear everyone talking about Mirrorless and that DSLR is dead and money is best spent on Mirrorless. I don't really shoot video at all and don't see that in my future at least not now. Also is seems like mirrorless is too expensive right now but I don't want to put money into DSLR if they are "dead" as a lot of people say.
Any suggestions if I should pick up a D850 or finally go mirrorless as this is the future And DSLR's are dead
There are several ways to address your question. DSLR cameras are certainly not dead. Nikon just released the D6 - a flagship DSLR with the best focus performance of any camera in th Nikon lineup - plus a lot of other features. The D850 is still regarded as the best all around camera. The breadth of F-mount lenses - both new and used - will cover any need and almost any budget.
The D3300 is an entry level DSLR. It's a good camera, and can produce very good photos. It is an entry level camera that was released in 2014 - and it does have some limitations as you have indicated. It's probably time for an upgrade. But before you go there, what kind of budget are you thinking about? You could spend $2000 for a very capable upgrade that supports birds in flight. But you could also spend $10,000 for an upgrade that supports landscapes, ,birds in flight, and many other genres. And if you are working on wildlife and birds in flight, what kind of birds? Are you planning to travel for your bird photography, or are you photographing neighborhood songbirds that are usually perched with occasional flight shots? What percentage of your photos are going to be wildlife - and what percentage are birds in flight? Birds in flight can be a very specific genre, but it makes a difference whether it's 3-5% of your photos with an emphasis on large wading birds, or 20% of your photos with an emphasis on small songbirds.
The D850 is a fantastic all purpose camera. But it's a high resolution camera, so files will be larger. Most people don't buy a D850 with a 46 megapixel image with the intent of cropping it to 1 megapixel for posting on social media. Yes - that's possible - but if your goal is a post on social media, you probably can't tell the difference between a 1 megapixel image and a 150 kb image. If you want photos to hang on your wall, your cropping will be minimal with any camera.
The D500 is a very good DX sensor DSLR, and it has outstanding AF performance. It's likely a better choice for now - and much cheaper. It will work with your current lenses. But if you add a lens for wildlife like the Nikon 200-500 or the Nikon 300mm f/4 PF, you'll have a very capable kit. You could also look at the 70-300 AF-P for a less expensive, all purpose lens.
Yes - there is a trend toward mirrorless, and that is the long term direction. But there are lots of very good F-mount lenses, and DSLR cameras will continue to be produced for a very long time. Even if you choose mirrorless, you'll be using some F-mount lenses for wildlife on a mirrorless camera.
The Z6ii is an excellent camera, and would probably be a better all purpose camera than the Z7ii. The Z6 is a standard resolution camera, and the standard resolution makes it better for video and perhaps slightly faster in terms of focus and frame rate. The Z7ii is a high resolution camera - if that's what you need. There is no reason why you can't get good wildlife photos - including birds in flight - with a mirrorless camera like the Z6. The Z6ii is expected to have improved AF performance due to a separate AF processor - like the D850 and D500. It's also more advanced in all respects.
Right now I'd rate the D850 and D500 as slightly better for fast action such as birds in flight. But that difference only applies to fast or small birds in flight - not large wading birds or shorebirds that are easy to track. The strength is AF speed - based on a separate AF processor. The Z6 is close enough that I prefer it as an all purpose camera, but would not have that preference if I was primarily a bird photographer.
We don't know about the Z6ii, but I suspect AF performance will be significantly better due to thee AF processor and technology advances. Given the choice - I would pick a Z6ii over a D850 for wildlife. The Z6/Z6ii mirrorless cameras provide a lot of advantages over a DSLR. For example, focus is more accurate with the Z6/Z6ii, and tht makes it better for perched or slower moving subjects. I find a lot of birds are in branches or partially obstructed, so the Z6 ability to zoom through the EVF is helpful. It's also possible to invoke manual focus with focus peaking for precise focus in obstructed areas. I use the EVF like electronic binoculars on my Z6. The catch with a Z6ii kit is the lenses will be more expensive because everything is new and top quality. So while a Z6ii might be a better camera, the D500 or D850 might better fit you and your budget for the next 3-4 years.
