Keep My Nikon Setup Or Move On?

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dystopianghost

dystopianghost

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I am in a "tough" spot right now. First world problems. I have GAS pretty bad so I am always buying new gear I have a really nice Nikon setup right now and am trying to decide if I want to stick it out or move to an R5 or a A7RV. I know it might sound kind of dumb but that's just how my brain works I get focused on an idea and then make a dumb move. I am trying to get others thoughts to maybe avoid that this time around.

My current setup is
Z8
Z7
24-70 2.8 Z
24-70 4 Z
85 1.4 F
70-200 F
200-500 5.6

I shoot a lot of different things anything from weddings to wildlife. However wildlife/macro is my passion. It was only recently that I was able to make money in wildlife which was an awesome feeling.

I attached a few recent photos I had sell at auction.
 

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You wrote a lot but never said, why do you want to change...?

I switched from Fuji to Nikon, and I had a very specific list of improvements I wanted in both the body and lens offerings. They may be great cameras, but I don't see a R5 or A7RV (not flagship) being better than your Z8 (baby flagship), and I think all of the brands have quite wonderful lens lineups now.

I've personally got a Z9 that I love, a 180-600mm that I'm happy enough with, and my future purchases will be a 800mm PF + 70-200 2.8 and maybe a Z8 or Z9ii down the line.
 
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@jcollins I wish I knew why that's what I am trying to figure out but now it's stuck in my head that I should swap. The only thing I can think of is I like pixel peaking and I heavy crop typically. Which is why the A7RV was in my head, and I shot a R5 for a long time and really enjoyed how it felt. Other than that I have no good reason. Which is why I was making this post to hopefully have someone besides my wife talking sense into me. I also agree every brand has a great lineup now, and the tech is equal now.
 
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For wildlife, it's extremely silly to swap from the current best brand (Nikon) to any other brand lol. Speaking in terms of lens offerings.

Unless you are budget constrained. If you cannot afford the top end lenses, it may make sense to swap - but probably still not likely.

Canon gear for example, is a lot cheaper - because there are a lot less offerings, especially new ones.

For someone wildlife/macro centered it doesn't look like you have a "big" dedicated wildlife lens (400 4.5, 600 6.3, 800 6.3, 400 2.8, 600 4) and I also don't see a dedicated macro lens. I would think you could easily expand your current setup before trying something else.

Posting your budget for a swap will help greatly. Also realize that if you bought most of you gear new, expect to take a 50% ish hit on the used market. It becomes very expensive, very quickly to swap systems.

If you're not willing to throw an extra $5K - $10K into swapping, you're almost certainly considering a terrible decision. To sell your 2 bodies and 5 lenses and end up with fewer bodies/lenses on the new system.
 
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nmerc_photos said:
For wildlife, it's extremely silly to swap from the current best brand (Nikon) to any other brand lol. Speaking of in terms of lens offerings.

Unless you are budget constrained. If you cannot afford the top end lenses, it may make sense to swap - but probably still not likely.

Canon gear for example, is a lot cheaper - because there are a lot less offerings, especially new ones.

For someone wildlife/macro centered it doesn't look like you have a "big" dedicated wildlife lens (400 4.5, 600 6.3, 800 6.3, 400 2.8, 600 2.8) and I also don't see a dedicated macro lens. I would think you could easily expand your current setup before trying something else.

Posting your budget for a swap will help greatly. Also realize that if you bought most of you gear new, expect to take a 50% ish hit on the used market. It becomes very expensive, very quickly to swap systems.

If you're not willing to throw an extra $5K - $10K into swapping, you're almost certainly considering a terrible decision. To sell your 2 bodies and 5 lenses and end up with fewer bodies/lenses on the new system.
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Almost word for word what my wife said XD Thankfully budget isn't a real issue, I have enough play money to be dumb clearly LOL. I think am gonna pull the trigger on a 105 mc and focus on that for a bit I think. I really do love most everything from Nikon. Just sadly alot of hate out there that clouds judgement alot of the time.
 
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I came from a A7RIV with a 100-400, sigma 105 macro for butterflies/dragonflies, insects and a 200-600 for wildlife to a Z9 with said lenses with a megadap adapter and an 800PF. What you realize is that yes you lose some resolution, but if you want to crop a lot you start to notice that the focus is just slightly off and it does not appear as sharp anymore, you cannot get away with anything but perfect focus. As for birds, wildlife - no way in hell am I going back to a blackout EVF and mechanical shutter. It is another dimension. Only way Id go back to sony is an A1 but Im not forking out for a 600 F4. With nikon if you dont care about weight you can get a 500 F4 FL e for "cheap" used - that is also another dimension in comparison to what youre used to. I could crop more with a Z9 and that lens than I could with the A7RIV and 200-600 as sharp as that is. Also the image stabilisation on long lenses are just better on Nikon. Cant speak for canon.
 
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dystopianghost said:
@jcollins I wish I knew why that's what I am trying to figure out but now it's stuck in my head that I should swap. The only thing I can think of is I like pixel peaking and I heavy crop typically. Which is why the A7RV was in my head, and I shot a R5 for a long time and really enjoyed how it felt. Other than that I have no good reason. Which is why I was making this post to hopefully have someone besides my wife talking sense into me. I also agree every brand has a great lineup now, and the tech is equal now.
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You admitted that you like to "heavy crop". This will only degrade an image. I suggest a longer lens so you crop less, and increase image quality. Nikon is currently miles ahead in the telephoto game, so I suggest you keep the Nikon system and go lens shopping.
 
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For what it's worth, I think you'd be better off to continue to build with the system you have. The Z8 is a great body, the Z7 compliments it well. I'd look at slowly moving over to Z mount lenses (maybe the 180-600 to replace the 200-500 for example) but really, there's not much to be gained by jumping ship from what you have unless there is a specific advantage a new system would offer (other than scratching the wanderlust itch!). The R5 is a good body - but what does it offer that you need that the Z8 does not? The same for the Sony A7RV -it's a good body-what does it offer than your current body doesn't ? Do you need the higher resolution (and are you willing to work with the associated larger file size) AND is that gain worth the slower FPS? Are you looking for a smaller, lighter body - and how important is that to you? Now factor in the cost loss of selling your current gear and buying the body and lenses of a new system. Build your lens kit, filling in any holes you feel you have and/or continue the move to native-mount Z lenses, and then invest in a new body by Nikon when the Z9II or Z8II comes out - and then only if it does something your current setup doesn't OR does something substantially better that will benefit you in the subjects you shoot.
 
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I was a long time Nikon shooter and switched in 2021 to Sony but back in the Nikon camp. Is Sony bad? Nope but the grass is not greener on the other side and now the happy owner of Z9's, a Z8, Z7, several wildlife lenses, macro, ... and I learned that:
- I am just used to work with Nikon and it is hard to unlearn all that to a new brand
- Nikon has amazing glass for us, wildlife shooters and love my 100-400, 180-600, 600mm PF and 600mm TC
- I was equally impressed with the image quality I got out of a A9II with a 600mm f/4

No point in being a brand loyalist but I can only give the advice to somebody to work with the brand you have unless it really doesn't work for you.
I read you really wanna change for the sake of change. Fine, but that is no up to us to hint what you should do as that feeling is totally irrelevant in discussion. You are you and there is no logic in the urge to change apart from GAS.
 
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Vincent_VdB said:
I was a long time Nikon shooter and switched in 2021 to Sony but back in the Nikon camp. Is Sony bad? Nope but the grass is not greener on the other side and now the happy owner of Z9's, a Z8, Z7, several wildlife lenses, macro, ... and I learned that:
- I am just used to work with Nikon and it is hard to unlearn all that to a new brand
- Nikon has amazing glass for us, wildlife shooters and love my 100-400, 180-600, 600mm PF and 600mm TC
- I was equally impressed with the image quality I got out of a A9II with a 600mm f/4

No point in being a brand loyalist but I can only give the advice to somebody to work with the brand you have unless it really doesn't work for you.
I read you really wanna change for the sake of change. Fine, but that is no up to us to hint what you should do as that feeling is totally irrelevant in discussion. You are you and there is no logic in the urge to change apart from GAS.
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Fair point Nikon works for me no questions asked more just suffering from GAS atm however thinking through it. It's smarter move for me to stick with Nikon giving my gear and years of exp with them. I pulled the trigger on a new lens instead. Thanks for your input.
 
I'd wait and see what the Canon R5ii and R1 have to offer. The r5ii is supposed to be announced in May and in stores by July. It should be the next big thing for birds and wildlife. Otherwise I'd stay put. The z8 is equivalent to the current R5 so no real benefit, especially since you already have Nikon glass.
 
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Keep what you have and don't chase equipment. You have a good setup you just need a nice prime like a 500 or 600 F4. Most equipment is awesome maybe some little dislikes but that's normal but for the most part there are pretty much all the same. Nikon has great glass and they're pumping out firmwares to improve their systems. Sony has the best AF but camera is to small in my opinion. Get the Nikon 180-600 it's a great value for the money and get rid of that 200-500 or trade it in.

JMO

Best of luck
 
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If you have a valid reason and you would know what to do and wouldn’t need to ask. As a pure hobbyist my interests in photography have changed throughout the years and I’ve switched systems to get something that better fit my needs at the time. I have no issues with switching systems as long as it makes sense. Some times people just need change. Given what you said, I think spending on lenses with specific purposes makes more sense. The Z8 is an amazing camera and I don’t think you would gain anything switching but would gain with specific lenses for your genre.
 
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dystopianghost said:
Almost word for word what my wife said XD Thankfully budget isn't a real issue, I have enough play money to be dumb clearly LOL. I think am gonna pull the trigger on a 105 mc and focus on that for a bit I think. I really do love most everything from Nikon. Just sadly alot of hate out there that clouds judgement alot of the time.
Click to expand...

If you're not budget conscious, the sky's the limit for you... go get a Z 105, Z 400TC, and Z800PF. Shoot that for 12 months and reevaluate.

I think you'll find that none of the other brands offer anything close to what Nikon does, when it comes to wildlife.
 
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A friend once said ”the grass is greener on the other side but it still has to be mowed.” As someone who has done what you have done on a smaller scale a few times over the years all I can say is there is no there there. The pursuit of the new shiny is exactly what marketing wants to condition in us. It won’t settle the inner issues. Something else will trigger it. Finding contentment is the best approach, IMO. But if your photography is still restless then find new subjects to try. Find things you don’t do well or subjects you don’t like and try to master them. Buy something like ”Learning To See Creatively” by Bryan Peterson and read through it.
 
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This is a question that only you can decide upon the answer.

I agree with those above who suggest that you purchase a longer lens, 600mm to 800mm, and crop your shots that way. If you want a macro lens, get the 105, too. Along with the macro lens, get some of the specialized gear to assist in macro photography, such as a very sturdy tripod and a focusing rail.

BTW, congratulations on selling some wildlife photos!
 
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Nimi said:
Is this thread for real?!?
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I’m sure it is. A lot of people want change for change’s sake even if they can’t articulate a particular benefit. I have done that a few times. I enjoyed the challenge of a new system but it didn’t solve my underlying malaise. What solved that was just accepting my opportunities and limitations.
 
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dystopianghost said:
Fair point Nikon works for me no questions asked more just suffering from GAS atm however thinking through it. It's smarter move for me to stick with Nikon giving my gear and years of exp with them. I pulled the trigger on a new lens instead. Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
So.....What did you order . I recently made the jump from a D4 and a 500/F4 to Z9 / 800 Pf and i can say it's amazing and currently over my head but i hope to fulfill my interest with them . Very nice pictures on the cat
 
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Maybe spend the money on counseling as to why you constantly need to buy new gear? Could be money better-spent? The gear you have is great, although as a wildlife photographer I also have the 600PF. Maybe buy a really expensive lens instead? You could drop $13,000-$15,000 and that might make you feel better? There is nothing wrong with the camera you currently have so it's not about better gear, it's about something else in your personality. If I were you, I'd go with the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, the ultimate lens right now.
 
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