DSLR to Mirrorless dilemma

[Ado Wolf]

Hello Everyone, I have been pondering a question for a while now, and I guess I am not the only one. Is it the right time to make the transition to Mirrorless. My situation is as follows:

Gear: D7500, D7200, 200-500 f5.6, 70-200 f4, 105 f2.8 Macro, lenses for Landscape, Gitzo Monopod and Manfrotto tripod.

Location: I shoot mostly in heavily covered woods in Switzerland / up in the Alps. I like to travel light (combine with hikes) and I photograph mostly hand-held (and with a Monopod after sunset).

Craters: deer, fox, birds, butterflies, squirrels and anything else that moves

Challenge: I don't have a lens suitable for low light. I also want to upgrade from 200-500 (too heavy for long hikes). I have my eye on the 300 pf + TC1.4, the 300 f2.8, and the 500 pf (cannot afford much else / I am not a professional photographer). I also prefer sticking with Nikon gear (long term thinking).

I don't want to invest in more glass, however, when Mirrorless is the future. So, has anyone experience with 300 pf / 500 pf / 300 2.8 on the Z50 + FTZ? Apparently AF takes a hit, but is there a loss in image quality / acuity? What attracts me the most to the Z50 is the silent shutter. I find myself quite often just a few meters / feet away from craters (stealth mode) but then I get only 1 shot before they run off due to the sound of the shutter.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions / opinions / feedback.

Happy shooting
Ado

 

[Steve]

As you say, AF takes a hit with the FTZ adapter - over the entire range it's about half speed. However, it's not bad at normal wildlife distances since the lens doesn't have to move the physical focus ring as much the farther out a subject is. No hit in image quality at all, so so worries there.

If possible though, I'd wait and see what happens with the rumored Z6/7 "S". I think those will be better wildlife cameras.

 

[Ado Wolf]

Thanks Steve for your insider info. I believe the Z6 is currently good enough and I am certain the "S" version will even be better. I however rely alot on the 1.5 Crop-factor, particularly for Bird photography. Will the Z6 / Z7 in Crop-mode provide enough IQ?

 

[JP Onstwedder]

You might think about the 70-200/2.8 S for Z mount with the 2x tele converter. I have compared it to the 200-500/5.6 on a Z7 and it’s definitely sharper at 400mm with nicer colours. Can’t comment on AF speed yet but I’m hoping to do some birding this weekend!

 

[Ado Wolf]

Thanks for the input. I look forward to your feedback on the AP speed after your birding weekend. Happy shooting.

 

[Rassie]

Thanks Steve for your insider info. I believe the Z6 is currently good enough and I am certain the "S" version will even be better. I however rely alot on the 1.5 Crop-factor, particularly for Bird photography. Will the Z6 / Z7 in Crop-mode provide enough IQ?

I would not even consider using the Z6 in DX crop mode. You end up with a 10MP image, which is half the resolution of a D7500 image. So if you have any ideas on printing the images you won't be able to make larger prints from a DX-cropped Z6 image. The Z7 with its much higher megapixel sensor makes more sense to use in DX crop mode. In DX mode with a Z7 you end up with an image of around 20MP, same size as D7500.

 

[Steve]

Thanks Steve for your insider info. I believe the Z6 is currently good enough and I am certain the "S" version will even be better. I however rely alot on the 1.5 Crop-factor, particularly for Bird photography. Will the Z6 / Z7 in Crop-mode provide enough IQ?

Rassie (above) said exactly what I was going to say

 

[Cristobal]

Very instructive thread! I am waiting the new Z7 S product and it's review, mainly for landscape photo with a Z wild lens lighter than my 17-55; I will occasionaly use it for wildlife photo with my 500 PF; any comments will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!