User ID

Perznally, I'm sick of this question. Not exactly.
More specifically I'm sick of knee jerk over use
of it ... as happens here.

The user is not satisfied with with his "toy" level
camera. He has sticker shock about the Nikon Z.

ALL CAMERAS ARE GOOD CAMERAS. And various
replies are steering him toward affordable choices
that will serve him verrrrrrry well without asking
"best for what?" type of questions. The very idea
of such questions brushes against the concept of
"best" ... a concept that is worth avoiding, as it
just muddies the waters with religious arguments
from fanbois and online experts.

The "BEST" choice, in such cases as we have here,
is an affordable, portable and reasonably versatile
camera. Various cameras already mentioned very
well fit the mold.

Plenty of threads begin with clearly defined needs.
The "best for what" concern is baked in. OTOH, an
open ended query doesn't benefit from pretending
that "knowing your specialty" is important ... cuz
it is seldom important. It's just intimidating. ALL
CAMERAS ARE GOOD CAMERAS, and they all do a
fine job at everything.

.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

The D5300, D850, A6500, CH4, CH5s, E-M10 mrIII, E-M1 mrII, D1x, and K30 are, as you have indicated, "GOOD CAMERAS", meet your requirement of "affordable, portable and reasonably versatile camera", and they all do a fine job at everything. But some do certain jobs much better than others. And they are certainly not interchangeable between each other. They have all kinds of different features, sizes, weight, cost, and lenses. And how does one sort out between all the above cameras? One ask questions like "What are your needs? Best for what purposes?"

If one needed to shoot in the rain, all of them could be protected, but only a few don't need any protection other than the camera itself. All cameras are technically affordable. Some are more affordable than others. Otherwise, no manufacturer would build a camera that could not be afforded by somebody. If 60 fps would be a requirement, only a few could match up to that too. And if precapture before the shutter release was a requirement, again only a few can provide that.

To me, the E-M1 mrII is affordable, and maybe a steal, at $1600. That is a far cry from the cost of a Nikon Z. And yet there are many UHHs that would balk at calling the E-M1 mrII affordable let alone "a steal". But if the features that one needs is in that "certain" camera, then that camera is the "affordable" camera no matter what the price.

When an OP doesn't supply enough information, it becomes the responsibility of all of us to ask "What are your needs? Best for what purposes?"

JD750 Loc: SoCal

That's for that user review! I am saving for a Z6. Well that definitely sucks about the F2Z and the 105 Micro. I am sorry to hear that. I hope Nikon comes up with a reasonable answer. FYI there is a great review of the Z7 (and also by similarity the Z6) at the link below, and he has some interesting things to say that make sense, about the F2Z adaptor:
https://photographylife.com/nikon-z7-firmware-update-wishlist

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

I believe you meant the a7II for your price. The a7rII is about $1400.

mackolb

To clarify: I only just discovered the problem and sent an email to my NPS representative to see if he's aware of the issue.
As any user of the newest, latest electronic technology should know, there's always a "shake down" period as problems are discovered and resolutions are offered.
This is NOT a permanent problem that keeps me from enjoying the Z6 and when it comes to macro (what Nikon refers to as Micro) and portrait photography, critical focus is arrived at manually.
I'm pleased to await a resolution and, if we discover that there's a defect in my lens and not the Z6, then I'll decide whether replacing or repairing the lens is worth the cost, knowing that it is still a great manual focus lens. In the meantime, all my other auto-focus lenses work great.

mackolb

Thanks for the link. It's not the camera!
This looks to be useful content, including reference to problems with the FTZ adapter not recognizing screw-drive AF-D lenses.
Now I know and am hoping that Nikon does come up with a fix for the FTZ.

Bill_de Loc: US

Nikon isn't likely to come up with a fix for the FTZ. It ain't broken. They decided that there were enough lenses "90" with built in motors to satisfy folks who are going to use F-mount lenses. They will concentrate on gradually building Z mount lenses.

Your AF 105 micro has no motor. Neither does mine, but I still love it.

The good news is that a third party manufacturer is working on an adapter with a motor.

https://nikonrumors.com/2018/11/28/two-new-kipon-nikon-z-autofocus-adapters-to-be-announced-in-early-2019.aspx/

Manual lens to Nikon Z autofocus adapter with built-in motor

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mackolb

Thanks, Bill.