To "Z" or not to "Z"......?????

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THANK YOU!!! I totally agree with the comment, "the so called Specs Race..." I too feel Nikon and Canon are pushing people into mirrorless. As I am composing this I have a room full of images taken with nothing greater than a 24mp cropped sensor DSLR; eight of those are 16 x 24 sized prints. Can you tell from a normal viewing distance what camera they came out of? I doubt that! I quote Ansel Adams: "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it." Ansel also said "There are no rules for good photographs, only good photographs." And one more: "You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, all the people you have loved." I have an old friend who introduced me to the Pacific Northwest, to OR and WA states. We would fly to PDX, stay at the daughter's place, then do day trips wherever we chose to go. I was our "official photographer" and chauffeur. My old friend could care less if I had the latest greatest most hyped DSLR. All that mattered, we spent time together, riding and exploring, taking pics whenever we felt like it and just making priceless memories together. My old friend and I spent New Years Days 2020 at the Space Needle and explored Chihuly Gardens and Glass on what turned out to be a Chamber of Commerce day in Seattle, eight hours of mostly sunny!!! My granddaughter did not care what Nikon I had when I treated her to Disney in California the summer of 2019. I love taking one of my old Nikkor manual focus primes from film days, mounting it on my D850 and making a day of it.
 
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At Disneyland I had my D850, my D7100 was in a locker on site as back up just in case. While my granddaughter would be into something, I chatted with several of the official Disney photographers. They were very friendly and we would compare notes. I would love to have been a guest photographer for Disney for one day or just one afternoon, to help make some memories for those visiting the Magic Kingdom. With all this virus garbage, who knows when people will be making those kinds of memories again????
 
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A side note: I get my prints done and mounted locally at a professional private photo lab. Their definition of normal viewing distance is....take the diagonal of the print and double it, that is the normal viewing distance for that size print. These are professionals who do and install wall sized custom images.
 
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It all really just comes down to: Make art with the tools you like - use what works best for you.

That's all. I don't see a "specs race". I see the top 3 or 4 camera manufacturers competing for business, and that's always healthy. You can apply this to cameras (and technology in general) going back to any point in history. Nothing stands still, everything evolves.

There are tremendous advantages to shooting with mirrorless in many situations. Moving to mirrorless is awesome.

There are tremendous advantages to shooting with a DSLR in many situations. Staying with a DSLR is awesome.

For now, we have both. Your specific needs & goals, along with trial & error, will tell you exactly what's going to work best for you. Use what you like, and make amazing images.
:)(y)
 
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Got an email notice from B & H just before the holiday, they received the Nikon Z 6II and FTZ adapter I returned. They will have no issues selling the Z 6II and FTZ adapter I returned because I never mounted the adapter nor did I even turn on the camera; they can sell it as "new" for sure. I am done with mirrorless until further notice. Will be content with my D7100 and D850 depending what happens if/when Nikon "upgrades" the D850 to...???
 
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I also shoot youth sports. My favorite combination is my D500 with a Tamron 70-200 2.8. The speed is great, the photos are tack sharp and I am able to capture some great action. I recently purchased a Z50 with the FTZ as my entry into mirrorless. I currently do not have any Z lenses. My first outing with the Z50 and FTZ adapter. had a Nikkor 70-300 3.5-5.6 mounted. Not my favorite lens .......in fact I am thinking about trading it in for a different lens. I was not happy with the color or the clarity and sharpness of the photos. My 2nd outing was with the Tamron 70-200 2.8 also using the FTZ. I did not think the speed was as good as my D500 and I was not happy with my photos. Everyone here is saying the Z50 is good for sports....this is not my experience. I felt like I missed shots due to the slow EVF. Any suggestion on how to get used to the EVF so I don't miss the action? Maybe my settings were not the best either so any recommendations will be most appreciated. HELP!!
 
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LoriH said:
I also shoot youth sports. My favorite combination is my D500 with a Tamron 70-200 2.8. The speed is great, the photos are tack sharp and I am able to capture some great action. I recently purchased a Z50 with the FTZ as my entry into mirrorless. I currently do not have any Z lenses. My first outing with the Z50 and FTZ adapter. had a Nikkor 70-300 3.5-5.6 mounted. Not my favorite lens .......in fact I am thinking about trading it in for a different lens. I was not happy with the color or the clarity and sharpness of the photos. My 2nd outing was with the Tamron 70-200 2.8 also using the FTZ. I did not think the speed was as good as my D500 and I was not happy with my photos. Everyone here is saying the Z50 is good for sports....this is not my experience. I felt like I missed shots due to the slow EVF. Any suggestion on how to get used to the EVF so I don't miss the action? Maybe my settings were not the best either so any recommendations will be most appreciated. HELP!!
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In some (most) cases, it takes time to get accustomed to the EVF. The more you shoot, the better the camera tends to get :)

However, it's not going to match your D500 for sports.
 
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Got home from work late, am employed in retail at a big box outdoor store. Got home and there was a box from B & H waiting. Thank goodness I did not have to work today; I was up until near 4 am playing with and setting up a D780. Have not taken any shots yet but intend too soon.
 
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