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  1. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    That is pretty cool. Sony has clearly made some progress on this. It will be interesting to watch whether progress continues to be incremental or whether sort of all at once the mirrorless tracking with AI completely catches up and surpasses DSLR. A bird might be more challenging than a...
  2. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Chosun I love your enthusiasm! :D I have teased you in the past because I think you have a tendency to not just count chickens before they hatch, but count eggs before they exist. ;) With all the big boys finally jumping into the mirrorless race and all of them mostly focused on full frame...
  3. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Yes, I've been kind of thinking the same thing. I've about 80% decided at this point that I will sell my "old" 500mm f/4G VR and switch to the 500mm f/5.6E PF. The weight savings is just really compelling. The PF lens at 3.2 lbs. is less than half the weight compared to my 500mm f/4G at 8.5...
  4. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    I liked this review: http://blog.michaelclarkphoto.com/?p=7395&fbclid=IwAR1kDjxKeH5A6LRKlXpdpXzJaZ5wwfjGo6n4Jpf5uR8afq-pYkWdz-gjVNo In general I like a lot of things about the Z7 for general photography apart from birds. I remain most interested in how good the native "S" lenses will be, and...
  5. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Yes, I agree for the most part. Both Z7 and Z6 are full frame. Only the Z7 operating in crop mode has the resolution desired for bird photography, and by all accounts, its C-AF & tracking is still inferior to the D500/D850, making the DSLR’s still the better choice for action. However I’m...
  6. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Ok, I was being pessimistic. I agree it would be great if someone produces an EF2Z adapter with 100% functionality. In general I tend to be a little pessimistic when it comes to what will happen in the future (especially with Nikon) and you're a bit more optimistic... I think occasionally you...
  7. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Hmmm.... If I could afford any one of those lenses, then I think I could probably also afford to just buy the best native Canon body available to pair with it. Adapters (and teleconverters) are a risky nuisance to one degree or another, especially crossing brands... yuck. Just my 2 cents...
  8. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Quite a thorough discussion of the new S lens line here: https://photographylife.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nikon-z-lenses The MTF charts for the new S lenses are encouraging. Nasim has always been quite a Nikon cheerleader, but nonetheless I have for a long time admired how he...
  9. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    These are all full frame cameras, and I still think full frame is not the ideal format for bird photography... With birds, most of the time that extra area on the full frame sensor ends up wasted. Right now I'm still using APS-C or mu-4/3 cameras for bird photography and I expect that will...
  10. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Yeah, I think I'm different from a lot of customers. There is SO much emphasis on speed, shallow depth of field and bokeh. I would be perfectly happy with an f/1.8 lens so long as the lens performs great wide open at f/1.8. I wish more lenses were designed with average maximum apertures...
  11. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Chosun, I will just add, in the interest of having a dialog and not just making a speech, I think the performance of the new S lenses is more important than the AF system setting a new standard... As important as C-AF and tracking is to bird photographers, we may just have to keep being patient...
  12. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Putting aside the drawbacks of the new Z cameras for bird photography and thinking more in terms of general all-round photography, I really think the new S lenses are key to the success of the Z6 and Z7 more than any other one thing. Camera bodies evolve, but lenses are more long-term. These...
  13. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Yup, that Z6 looks like a pretty nice camera for non-bird photography and the size of the camera itself is pretty close to the flagship micro-4/3 camera bodies (see attached image). It's a lot of camera and the price also is not too far from the price at introduction of those top micro-4/3...
  14. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    So far so good. They made progress on item #4 with these Z cameras, according to early reports. As for item #2, it's not all about sensors; I think many of their lenses have room for improvement. Maybe as they roll out the native Z mount lenses we will see the new lenses improve in...
  15. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    I agree. It's a nice looking full frame mirrorless camera and a good start. Not everything we could have hoped, but not bad and it should be good enough to finally get Nikon "in the game"... Now let's see if they can roll it all out smoothly without delays, shortages, issues, etc. Good that...
  16. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Ok, maybe Vespobuteo is right. That photo makes it more obvious these Z cameras are significantly smaller than the D850 and the reduction in size could be an issue for some. Dave
  17. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    I don’t know. The overlays in the post below make it seem they tried to keep the grip the same as the DSLR’s, with perhaps more room for your fingers. I like what I see in general as far as the design, although I prefer Fuji’s LCD that tilts to any angle...
  18. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    This latest rumor says it may not ship for another full year? Wow. If I were in the market for a new mirrorless camera (I'm not), I wouldn't wait; I'd pick something else available right now. Especially in light of how badly Nikon has rolled out some previous products, with delays and...
  19. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Hey Chosun, Yes we're having quite a lively discussion. I agree with you on many points, and we're probably closer than you might think even where we differ. I definitely agree that some of Nikon's lenses are not capable of the high resolutions of the sensors, and several lenses are sorely...
  20. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    I find several of Thom's fundamental positions very compelling/reasonable: Nikon's legacy was/is lenses. They have relaxed far too much when it comes to providing competitive lenses that are in high demand, and it has cost them customers/market share. Zoom lenses are an important part of the...
  21. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    I don't know Chosun... I can tell you are very excited about the future but I'm more concerned with simply using all the great gear I already have... I have long believed that simply GETTING OUT with the gear I have, getting more practice and more opportunities is way more important for me...
  22. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    A month ago Thom Hogan already predicted they would be quiet at CP+... At that time, although he said "Don't shoot me if this turns out to be wrong," he said it was possible we could get a DX announcement in April and launch in May. Dave
  23. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Part of the "emphasis" on FX comes from Nikon itself. They clearly have tried very hard to convince all their DX customers that they should "upgrade" to FX. But I completely agree that a full frame sensor is mostly wasted on wild bird photography. I think the best format for bird photography...
  24. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Yet more rambling speculations/predictions from Thom: http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/nikon-mirrorless-rumors.html He's telling us to expect consumer-oriented DX mirrorless first, and he says the big launch/announcement may not come until April. Dave
  25. opticoholic

    Nikon FF (and DX) Mirrorless rumours/ announcements

    Thanks Mike, That is an encouraging rumor. I like Sigma, more than Nikon when it comes to lenses lately. Thom Hogan has a new blog post where he makes his predictions for Nikon in 2018. Look down near the end for the predictions... I daresay Thom is even more long-winded than Chosun or I! :)...
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