Need Help Deciding Between Two Cameras (d850 & z8)

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Bird Guy

Bird Guy

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Hi all! I'm an amateur wildlife photographer & I've been shooting a d500 for 5 years now, with a 200-500 & a 600 f4. Lately I've been attempting to get more environmental/loose compositions of my subjects, and I often feel that I'm beginning to push up against what a crop sensor can feasibly do. I'm planning on my next camera to be a full-frame sensor for that reason, and for the longest time I was decided on a used d850. Recently however I found out that the z8 has a specific feature that'd be a game-changer for me (Pre-release capture), but with the caveat of currently being above my price range and needing either new lenses or the FTZ adapter. I'm wondering if I should purchase the d850 to give me a full-frame option now (And a 2nd camera as insurance) or wait a little while to save up for the z8. Thanks in advance!
 
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I'd save up for the Z8. While the D850 is one of the best DSLRs ever made, the Z8 will, like you said, be a game changer for your photography. Your current lenses will work fantastically on it as well, so you won't need to worry about upgrading those.

An option to help cover the cost, is to trade in or sell the D500 once you get the Z8. It won't be much, but it'll help.
 
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I'd save up for the Z8 plus FTZ plus spare battery. It just gives so much more than just pre release capture. For me, the game changers were:
-Silent shutter (very useful for nervous animals)
-No shutter / mirror vibration (no more interference with lens VR, especially with 300PF and 500 PF)
-Image can be reviewed in viewfinder (very useful when you are old and presbyopic)
-IBIS (useful when using non VR lenses)
-Subject detection
-No more AF fine tuning

No need to buy Z lenses AT ALL.

In contrast, an upgrade from D500 to D850 doesn't give you very much. If only for more field of view, you also can step back or use the zoom of your 200-500 ;)
A crop sensor can practically do the same as a full frame sensor.
 
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Hi, similar story to you. Shot D500 & D810 with 20, 24-120, 200-500, 80-400, 105 & 400 F2.8 DII for 6+ years, mostly birds and macro. Shot Nikon DSLRs for 16+ years. The D850 will be an easy upgrade from D500 and will last you many years. Plus, many bargains available for good used F lenses. I knew my D500 & D810 wouldn’t be my last camera and was thinking about my future including looking at Canon & Sony. Until the Z8 came along wasn’t interested in making the switch as I saw the Z7II a downgrade for what I did and the Z9 was too big to take on vacations but would be perfect for birding. For me Sony bodies are too small and Canon didn’t have as many lens choices for what I wanted. I prefer a bigger body and probably will always be a Nikon shooter. I haven’t retired all of my F lenses but the Z lenses are generally better. The F lenses adapt really well to the Z8 and as an added bonus I haven’t had to fine tune any. For me the Z8 was a learning curve as its AF works differently so plan on taking time to learn it. I struggled in the beginning and it took about six months of practice to get comfortable. The battery life is also different. Really have to think how long the camera is on instead of shots. I generally get 2.5-3 hours of shooting time with basically unlimited photos on a battery for birding. I thought going from an optical view finder would be hard but it wasn’t. In the beginning I wasn’t happy with the switch because the D500 was so good, but now am happy. Still miss my D500. I don’t think the imagine quality is that much better and its not like I couldn’t get the shot on my DSLR, but I knew eventually I was going to make the move. Now I am happy with the move. Good luck, I don’t think either way is a bad choice. I think it depends on where you plan on being in 5-10 years.
 
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+1 for the Z8. I never had a D850. My DSLR's were all of the crop sensor, non-pro cameras. D70S - D90 - D7000 - D7100 - D7500. After the D7500 I bit the bullet and transitioned to Z6, and later Z6II. The benefits of the mirrorless cameras were immediately apparent and at that point I would never have reverted back to DSLR's, no matter how good they were (like D500, D6, D850).

I pounced on the Z8 the moment Nikon announced it and I couldn't be happier. I would only consider a D850 now if there was no prospect of affording a Z8 in the next couple of years. Your D500 is already so very capable compared to the D850 that you won't gain nearly as many benefits if you switched to D850 now instead of Z8.

As for lenses, all my F-mount lenses perform sharper on the mirrorless bodies than they did on the DSLR's. Those included the Nikkor 200-500mm, 500mm PF, 70-200mm F/4, Sigma 105mm macro, Tamron G1 24-70mm F/2.8. Over time I replaced some of those lenses with Nikkor Z lenses. I still use the Nikkor 500mmPF as my primary wildlife lens (most times with the TC-14E III mounted), and the 70-200mm F/4.

If you can scrape by on the D500 until you can afford a Z8 I would do that, especially if purchasing a D850 now will delay your move to mirrorless.
 
The d850 is an amazing camera, and a real bargain. The Z8 is not better dynamic range nor overall image quality, but fantastic speed and autofocus tracking and subject recognition. So if that is the budget you have, go for the D850 now rather than a someday camera. If you can scrape together the funds now or soon, Z8 is like the D850 on steroids.
 
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I faced the same dilemma last year, with similar self-imposed financial constraints, and I opted for the Z8 financed through Nikon (Breadpay) for 2 years at 0% interest. I pay $180 per month and get the camera that I wanted for a small monthly fee. I realize that $180 per month may be more than your budget will allow, but it is something else to consider.

Good luck with your decision...part of me still wants a D850 just to have one.
 
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If you foresee that you will still be photographing for at least ten years or more, then I think it makes sense to save up and invest in the Z8, since everything is going mirrorless. I was a die hard D850 fan but I eventually sold both of mine (and all my F lenses) about six months ago and bought a Z8 and one lens (Z 70-200 f2.8 S ). I now have four lenses which I think is all I need (though I have said that before and am eyeing the Plena).
 
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In the last year, I've switched to mirrorless in both cameras and lenses. I was a D850 shooter and loved it, however the Z8 has a lot of advantages over the D850 as others have stated. Yes, the learning curve was steeper than it was when I upgraded from 750 - 850, but it's well worth it especially in the wildlife or sport genre. If you were shooting landscape or maybe portraits I would say stay with the D850. I had a hard time letting go of my 850 because I loved it so much, but really have not looked back. Also, you will want to buy Steve's setup book if you buy the Z8.
 
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I traded in my D850 for the Z8 and am glad that I decided to go mirrorless. I really can't think of any advantage that the D850 offers over the Z8. If a new Z8 isn't in your budget, I would look at a Nikon refurbished Z8.
 
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I bought a D850 two years ago when I had the same conundrum as you - wanting wider angle shots and a backup body. The beautiful thing about the D500+D850 combo is that they're essentially identical cameras in terms of controls and menus. It is totally seamless, moving between them. The D850 does have some extra bells and whistles. They also can take EN-EL18d batteries in their battery grips, if you get them.

So... it's more of the same, and that's a very good thing. You can get a case queen D850 for like $1500-1700 today, and stuff the rest in your savings fund for a Z8 or some glass. D5's are just a couple hundred more than that.

But...

F-mount is now a dead platform. When I bought the D850 it was clearly being phased out, but nobody knew quite when.

So if you just *have* to have a backup body and the wider angles *now*, I'd say get the D850 and enjoy the heck out of it for many years to come. Just don't expect to get much of your investment back out of it in resale.

But the best long-term move is probably to wait out the used market for Z8's or Z9's (maybe there will be some discounts to be had next year for used gear). When the inevitable Z9II drops, there will probably be some high-end Nikon mirrorless bodies on the market.

If I had been able to wait a couple years, and was in the market today, I surely would have bought a Z camera.
 
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Z8 and the FTZ until you can get Z lenses. It’s got nothing to do with the mirrorless vs DSLR though…it’s got to do with the 5 or 6 or 7 year newer tech in the sensor, processor, and AF algorithms the better hardware supports. Not really a question in my mind…while a D850 did and can still make good photos…the advantages of the newer tech and the fact that the days of the DSLR market are past make it a no brainer.
 
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Another vote for the Z8. I went from a D500 + Tamron 150-600 G2 to a Z8, initially using the FTZ converter and the Tamron. The Tamron/FTZ worked very well but the addition of the Z180-600 was a clear improvement. I didn't find the learning curve all that difficult, though I probably still only use a small portion of the Z8's capability. You can shoot in pretty much tthe same way you've been shooting and slowly add functions as you learn. Unless I missed something mirrorless is the future, so spending money an a DSLR for a primary camera doesn't make sense for me.
 
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Personally I moved to ML as quickly as I could. All the new goodies are there.

If you need to reduce costs, considered FX lens and FTZ adparter. Z lens will be sharper (generally) and lighter but there is not wrong with FX lenses and right now there is a firesle (if not lower prices) on excellent condition FX lens. Eventually you could upgrade to Z lens.
 
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I’m biased towards mirrorless, been shooting them before they were popular, so my vote would be for the Z8. Keep in mind the pre-capture is jpg only, at least for now. There are many advantages to mirrorless, subject tracking, exposure preview viewfinder, full coverage af, and with the Z8 blackout free EVF, fast frame rates, subject detection, silent shooting, pre-capture.. Of course if you are very happy with the D500, the D850:8# going to give you a very similar experience. As others have said, it is old technology now, but still very good and capable. The f mount lenses are out of development and prices are continuing to drop so it’s difficult to recommend them unless you’re looking at a tight budget. The ftz works well to adapt your lenses to the Z mount and you should be able to find a deal on a used one.
 
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I used the D500 but switched to the full frame D850 and later added a D5 as its autofocus with rapidly approaching subjects was vastly better than that of the D500 and D850. With the Z9/Z8 one gets both a camera with internal optical stabilization and a greatly improved autofocus system and subject recognition with eye detection.

I can use the 800mm PF shooting hand held as the autofocus of the Z9 is to fast that I do not need to have the subject in the frame for more than a second to lock focus and shoot. I could never do this with a DSLR camera. The subject detection is a true game changer with wildlife. With the focus on the eyes I do not need to use manual focus override with a subject partially blocked by a branch as I always needed to do with my DSLR cameras. You can find many posted images where this was the situation and see the results.

It has been 5 years since Nikon released a new lens for its DSLR cameras so for new optical designs one needs to buy S-mount lenses. Every one I have bought has been a significant improvement over my f-mount versions with the exception of the 14-24mm f/2.8 lens.
 
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Bird Guy said:
Hi all! I'm an amateur wildlife photographer & I've been shooting a d500 for 5 years now, with a 200-500 & a 600 f4. Lately I've been attempting to get more environmental/loose compositions of my subjects, and I often feel that I'm beginning to push up against what a crop sensor can feasibly do. I'm planning on my next camera to be a full-frame sensor for that reason, and for the longest time I was decided on a used d850. Recently however I found out that the z8 has a specific feature that'd be a game-changer for me (Pre-release capture), but with the caveat of currently being above my price range and needing either new lenses or the FTZ adapter. I'm wondering if I should purchase the d850 to give me a full-frame option now (And a 2nd camera as insurance) or wait a little while to save up for the z8. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but there may be a new Z6 iii on the horizon. Since it is likely to have few megapixels, there is a chance it will be able to shoot RAW pre-capture which the Z9 and Z8 cannot. And cheaper than those two but yet have all the eye/animal focus tools. One can hope.
 
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I’d recommend waiting for the upcoming Z6III and see if it has the features you desire. It’ll be much cheaper than a Z8 yet still highly capable. Moving towards mirrorless is obviously inevitable, but you don’t have to hurry! My primary body is still a D500, and I purchased a new D850 not too long ago that I plan to keep forever. However I did have a Z6, just traded in for a Zf, and as I buy the occasional lens I’m moving into Z slowly and surely.
 
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