Nikon D500 and D850 vs Z8 (Page 4): Back to mirrorless. Weren't there cameras before there were mirrors?

kenArchi Loc: Seal Beach, CA

Back to mirrorless.
Weren't there cameras before there were mirrors?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Bill_de wrote:

Of course they are an investment. Every tool we buy is an investment and every time we use it we are benefiting from the investment.

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If used in a going photography business, yes. For hobbyists, no, even if we occasionally generate a little income with them.

moonhawk Loc: Land of Enchantment

larryepage wrote:

If used in a going photography business, yes. For hobbyists, no, even if we occasionally generate a little income with them.

"It's not all about money", is what I took away from his comment.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Architect1776 wrote:

Exactly as I said, except as time progresses the value goes down due to repairability issues getting worse until the DSLR can no longer be repaired.

Maybe repairing isn't necessary. I bought three old cameras and combined them into a lamp.

jotaele

Topic update nine months later.
A couple of months ago I received an email from Nikon offering a discount on the purchase of a new Z8 plus a trade in. I went for it, and I received $850 for the D500, which I applied to the Z8 purchase.
The D500 had close to 100,000 clicks if not more and had traveled with me to every continent. I thought it was a great deal and now the Z8 is my primary camera and the D850 is the secondary one for panoramas, landscapes and such.
I am still learning to use the Z8 but it is definitely superior to the D cameras in practically every sense.

A. T.

jotaele wrote:

I have had both D cameras for several years and like them both.
My question to the UHH community is, if you go mirrorless (Z8), which one of the D cameras would you give up?
I always travel with 2 cameras for the usual reasons well known to those 2 camera people. I am keeping all my F-mount lenses and will get the adapter for the Z.
Thanks in advance for your answers.

Well, I guess if you feel that a Z8 would make you a better photographer then why not get rid of everything and start over with mirrorless. And I'm not being a smart arse but so many here in this forum have asked that very question to so many who were contemplating switching to mirrorless.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

A. T. wrote:

Well, I guess if you feel that a Z8 would make you a better photographer then why not get rid of everything and start over with mirrorless. And I'm not being a smart arse but so many here in this forum have asked that very question to so many who were contemplating switching to mirrorless.

Perhaps it is the new/mirrorless equipment does make one better at photography because it opens new capabilities that the old DSLRs can't offer.

A. T.

Architect1776 wrote:

Perhaps it is the new/mirrorless equipment does make one better at photography because it opens new capabilities that the old DSLRs can't offer.

Okay, I get that.

Kevin.M Loc: Forked River, NJ

jotaele wrote:

I have had both D cameras for several years and like them both.
My question to the UHH community is, if you go mirrorless (Z8), which one of the D cameras would you give up?
I always travel with 2 cameras for the usual reasons well known to those 2 camera people. I am keeping all my F-mount lenses and will get the adapter for the Z.
Thanks in advance for your answers.

The Z8 is an amazing tool and packed with updated technology.

Depended on what you want to use the 2nd body for. Landscape, sports / wildlife, they’re both great cameras but different. I personally loved my D850 which produced some great photos. I didn’t own a D500.

Just my 2 cents.

~Kevin

Heaththiel Loc: Wisconsin

I'd just go mirrorless and never look back.

jotaele

A.T. I didn't say that the Z8 made me a better photographer. What it does, it makes it easier for me to get the pictures I want. I still keep the 2 cameras because I don't want to have to change lenses in the field and at a moment's notice. If I am shooting wildlife with a 300 or a 500 mm lens and I see a beautiful landscape, all I need to do is switch cameras in an instant, take the landscape picture and be back to the wildlife in no time.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you want to be a better photographer, there are two things you must do above all others: buy a mirrorless camera and use it.

Heaththiel Loc: Wisconsin

CHG_CANON wrote:

If you want to be a better photographer, there are two things you must do above all others: buy a mirrorless camera and use it.

LOL - Word

A. T.

jotaele wrote:

A.T. I didn't say that the Z8 made me a better photographer. What it does, it makes it easier for me to get the pictures I want. I still keep the 2 cameras because I don't want to have to change lenses in the field and at a moment's notice. If I am shooting wildlife with a 300 or a 500 mm lens and I see a beautiful landscape, all I need to do is switch cameras in an instant, take the landscape picture and be back to the wildlife in no time.

Absolutely, I get that and I didn't take what you posted to mean that you thought it would make you a better photographer. I've read so many posts where it was apparent that the person was hoping to take better photos simply by having the benefit of newer technology.

A. T.

CHG_CANON wrote:

If you want to be a better photographer, there are two things you must do above all others: buy a mirrorless camera and use it.

Paul, you crack me up. I'm going back to film and I'm going take magnificent photos with my Hasselblad, lol.