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Charles B

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I know this sort of topic comes up a lot but given the choice and quality of equipment on offer today and the labyrinthine variety of often sketchy or uninformed advice it's not surprising that when it comes to deciding on a change you seek knowledgeable recommendations.

I would like to get a full-frame camera but am really torn between going mirrorless with the Z6 and the cheaper D610, D750 or D810 - good used examples of the DSLRs can all be had for under £1,000.

I have a number of both DX and FX lenses used with my D7500 and want to keep that for the extra reach for wildlife and a bit of astrophotography but am drawn to full frame for the extra image quality - I enjoy printing to A3 quite a bit.

So, any experience, advice or recommendations would be very gratefully received.
 
I'd never go back to DSLR's now. They can be relatively cheap but the advantages of mirrorless add up, IMO. One real game changer is face/eye detect along with being able to focus anywhere in the frame. This is fantastic for people pictures as it allows you to place the subject or the subjects face/eye anywhere in the frame. There's no faffing about with focus points, freeing you up to concentrate on composition and pressing the shutter at the moment you want to capture.

Then there's the focusing which is consistent and accurate with no DSLR micro adjusting and variance. And you can focus manually very accurately too, this is possibly the most accurate way to focus as if you have the time you can focus on an exact and precise detail and that's simply impossible with an optical DSLR.

The in view aids are great too such as in view dof and exposure cutting down greatly on the need to chimp and retake. Plus the lenses... they're often new designs and some of these lenses are the best ever... not just the aging DSLR designs.

It's just about all good :D
 
Need a bit more info. Is your budget £1k? What do you shoot with now? What do you shoot other than astro and wildlife? Which is the important?
 
As mentioned, I believe the way to go would be mirrorless. I swapped from DSLR D810 to Z7 and would never go back. Size alone makes the change worthwhile with the added bonus of EVF and focus eye/animal tracking. DX lenses will be useless but can be passed on, whilst the FX lenses work well with FTZ adapter.
 
Richard H. My budget is around £1500. I have a Nikon D7500 which is fine but would like the extra image quality, etc. that a full-frame would give me and I realise that these benefits are sometimes marginal. I take a variety of subjects - most areas save, perhaps, portraits.
 
Charles B said:
Richard H. My budget is around £1500. I have a Nikon D7500 which is fine but would like the extra image quality, etc. that a full-frame would give me and I realise that these benefits are sometimes marginal. I take a variety of subjects - most areas save, perhaps, portraits.
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I had a D7500 which like you I used for wildlife, any other type of photography I used a D750 which is a very capable DSLR, D810 will give you more pixels but not necessarily a better image than the D750.
Mirrorless is 'early days' still, the best results I have seen seem to come from the more expensive Sony offerings but other than with an adapter lenses are few and far between ... your budget wouldn't buy you many native lenses!
 
D750 is my choice of your options. I've used them for 2 years now and I'm so impressed I bought another this year new, for under £800; they are probably more now but still within your budget

I did look at mirrorless but even the cheapest swap would have cost over £3,000 and its just not worth it to me at this time

Dave
 
I was bought up on film years ago, and have used many diverse systems and formats. I could NEVER go back to flappy mirrors other than for a days out challange. If you don't have an eye or mental defect that limits you looking at flicky screens or EVFs, then there is nothing but benefits from mirror less. There are lots of different systems to suit your size, weight and other needs.
Plus a camera is a camera is a camera, six months and its out of date. Buy the cheepest that feels comfortable and matches your needs NOW, then put your money into lenses.
 
I made the swap to mirrorless from a D610 almost 2 years ago, and I'm glad that I did. But with your budget constraints it would be a toss-up between a used D750 (slightly smaller, lighter, better dynamic range) and D810 (higher resolution sensor, more 'professional' features, no AA filter on the sensor). Put any left-over money into decent primes.
 
You could get a used Sony A7II and a used Sony 35mm f2.8 for under £1k. That'd be a good start for me but I do realise this wouldn't be an awful lot of use for someone wanting to use existing Nikon lenses for wildlife pictures.
 
woof woof said:
You could get a used Sony A7II and a used Sony 35mm f2.8 for under £1k. That'd be a good start for me but I do realise this wouldn't be an awful lot of use for someone wanting to use existing Nikon lenses for wildlife pictures.
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Having made that jump, I definitely wouldn't want to get the II but rather the III, and also Nikon lenses are about the least compatible with the Sony mirrorless - at least with Canon the MC11 adapter will give AF and electronic aperture control. I think a Z6 with Nikon's adapter would work better, but that's probably blown the budget.
 
An A7III wouldn't be within budget. I maybe shouldn't have posted as there's only a minute chance the OP will be at all interested, but I just wanted to see for myself if it could be done within budget and it can... if all you want is an early generation FF mirrorless camera and one lens.

OP - Ignore my post :D
 
With your budget, I would go with the D750 or used D810 as others have suggested, and not mirrorless at this time. Your mirrorless Nikon FF alternative is (for example) a used Z6 mk1 and a kit 24-70mm lens. I think you would get a better solution with a DSLR in your budget. There is a lot going for mirrorless, that is true, but DSLRs didn't suddenly become bad overnight ;-). There is one downside I have found with mirrorless (I shoot Fuji) and that is increased sensor dust. I find I have to clean the sensors far more.
 
+1 for a good Nikon DSLR like D750. It will give you great results within your budget. If you buy used and decide to move to mirrorless later you probably won't lose much on the trade. But for now it's beyond your budget and maybe more than you need at the moment.
 
RichardH said:
With your budget, I would go with the D750 or used D810 as others have suggested, and not mirrorless at this time. Your mirrorless Nikon FF alternative is (for example) a used Z6 mk1 and a kit 24-70mm lens. I think you would get a better solution with a DSLR in your budget. There is a lot going for mirrorless, that is true, but DSLRs didn't suddenly become bad overnight ;-). There is one downside I have found with mirrorless (I shoot Fuji) and that is increased sensor dust. I find I have to clean the sensors far more.
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That's true but they have inbuilt annoyances and limitations such as focus issues, limited focus points/area and they're very possibly if not yet a dead end then one with possibly limited new options as DSLR manufacturers slow down on both camera and lens developments.

I sold all my Canon DSLR kit off ages ago but if I was still a DSLR user I'd look at the costs of changing systems and the benefits that new system could bring but also the time frames involved and my own lifestyle. For example some of us are getting older or busier... would it be worth spending thousands on a new system even if we can afford it?
 
the nikon d810 in crop mode still gives you 15mp the d850 gives 20mp in crop mode
one thing the mirrorless owners moan about is its ability to track and lock focus on things like
birds in flight . im wary about going the z series route just now as there are still teething problems
anyway its not how fancy or expensive a camera is its the idiot behind the camera that makes all the difference
the new mirrorless body is very very small compared to a DSLR
 
Charles B said:
I know this sort of topic comes up a lot but given the choice and quality of equipment on offer today and the labyrinthine variety of often sketchy or uninformed advice it's not surprising that when it comes to deciding on a change you seek knowledgeable recommendations.

I would like to get a full-frame camera but am really torn between going mirrorless with the Z6 and the cheaper D610, D750 or D810 - good used examples of the DSLRs can all be had for under £1,000.

I have a number of both DX and FX lenses used with my D7500 and want to keep that for the extra reach for wildlife and a bit of astrophotography but am drawn to full frame for the extra image quality - I enjoy printing to A3 quite a bit.

So, any experience, advice or recommendations would be very gratefully received.
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If you went to full frame Nikon DSLR how many lenses would you need to replace? Don’t forget full frame lenses on a crop sensor will appear they give you a longer reach. That means you could lose ‘reach’ by changing to full frame.

In your case there is an argument that staying with a DSLR for a few more years makes sense as you already have some compatible full frame lenses. If you had to swap all lenses and camera making the jump to mirrorless would be a more sensible choice at that point than starting to buy into full frame DSLR tech.

Mirrorless doesn’t have the full range of lenses that DSLRs have, mainly because it’s a relatively new technology. Manufacturers will start to prioritise the development of mirrorless over DSLRs (canon said they would stop manufacturing DSLR lenses to concentrate on mirrorless lens production. Nikon have released two mirrorless models - Z7 and Z7ii since the D850 was released 3 years ago).

Sony’s mirrorless product line is starting to mature. I made the jump across at the mk3 cameras were released as it had progressed enough for my needs and I was looking at realigning my lenses to reduce weight (f2.8s down to smaller f4/f5.6 lenses) so it made sense to look beNow Sony are onto the MK4 models you should be able to start picking up mk3 models at a relatively good price second hand.
 
Haven't used the D750 so can't comment. I went from a D7100 (24Mp) to a D810 and the increased detail in landscapes was very noticeable. D810 was my main landscape camera for 2-3 yeas and I loved it till it was replaced by a D850 (flippy screen for composing at my age was worth it) and the D810's been lightly used as a backup since then. If it had a flippy screen I probably wouldn't have changed- D850's great but the D810 had all the IQ I needed.

On a selfish note, the D810 is in the classifieds just now at a price well under your budget here. Coming from a good home, one careful owner (me ;)). Only selling it to go towards a second D850 (flippy screen and standard button placement across the D850 and D500 are important for an old duffer).

Also got a couple of FF lenses up separately, one of which is my 14mm 2.8 astro lens here

Hope these links aren't against the forum rules.
 
D750 is an excellent camera, especially the AF system which I think uses the second top system of Nikon's DSLRs?
 
Interesting - not seen anyone suggest a Z5? I don't think it would be a budget buster here - Z6 lite I think is how most people see it? If you don't need the video capability of the Z6, then it's well worth a look, and even has 2 card slots! You'd maybe get a lens in budget too, or at least an FTZ adapter.

I'm in the process of converting a D810 (to a Z7) and a D7100 (to a Z5). Only got the Z5 working so far, with the 24-200 lens, and I have to say I think I'm liking it - it's a great little package! EVF takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a great tool! The weight saving against the D810 will be significant, only problem I'm finding with the Z7 (and I guess the Z6 will be the same?) is the XQD / CFExpress issue - they're bloody expensive, and you need an XQD card to do a firmware upgrade to allow them to use CFExpress - which aren't much cheaper. It's almost making me consider sending the Z7 back and looking at a Z7II. Extra expense, but....

Otherwise, D810 is a great camera, though obviously bigger than you're using in terms of both size and weight - it's why I'm going mirrorless across both my cameras.
 
Jim Tod. Tried to follow your link but am told I don’t have permission to view it.
 
Charles B said:
Jim Tod. Tried to follow your link but am told I don’t have permission to view it.
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rob-nikon said:
You’ve not yet made enough posts to access the classifieds hence not having permission to view the classifieds post by him.
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Charles, I was just looking at this when Rob posted. I recall there used to be a minimum number of posts and a min duration before new members could get access to classifieds. I've read the classified rules link and it just mentions only using the classifieds if you're an established member but I did a search and found this on a similar issue so looks like 25 posts is the current requirement. I'm not a mod and the rules may have changed but if not then you're probably not far from getting access- don't know how long from hitting the post number to the system letting you in it would take.

Bobsyeruncle said:
Only 2 posts to go :)

Established Member

This shows that you've settled in properly as a member on Talk Photography. You will be awarded this when you make just 25 posts and have been a member for 30 days. Once you reach this level you can access all our restricted forums (Classifieds etc)
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If you are young and/or rich go mirrorless and grow with the system. If you are old and/or skint stick with DSLRs and grind them into the ground until you or they become obsolete.
 
James Blonde said:
Interesting - not seen anyone suggest a Z5? I don't think it would be a budget buster here - Z6 lite I think is how most people see it? If you don't need the video capability of the Z6, then it's well worth a look, and even has 2 card slots! You'd maybe get a lens in budget too, or at least an FTZ adapter.

I'm in the process of converting a D810 (to a Z7) and a D7100 (to a Z5). Only got the Z5 working so far, with the 24-200 lens, and I have to say I think I'm liking it - it's a great little package! EVF takes a bit of getting used to, but it's a great tool! The weight saving against the D810 will be significant, only problem I'm finding with the Z7 (and I guess the Z6 will be the same?) is the XQD / CFExpress issue - they're bloody expensive, and you need an XQD card to do a firmware upgrade to allow them to use CFExpress - which aren't much cheaper. It's almost making me consider sending the Z7 back and looking at a Z7II. Extra expense, but....

Otherwise, D810 is a great camera, though obviously bigger than you're using in terms of both size and weight - it's why I'm going mirrorless across both my cameras.
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I think - it may be unfamiliarity - that the impression we have of the Z5 is that it's a bit weak, like the Canon M series. But if you're finding one to be good then that's clearly not the case.
 
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