davidb1879

RE: Senior Techie. Like Thomas 902, I own a Nikon AF-P 70-300 lens and find that the image quality is quite good. Davidb1879.

jeffhacker Loc: Dallas, Texas

I just upgraded from my Nikon D500 to a Nikon Z6 mirrorless. Lens situation ultimately left me with the kit 24-70 f/4 lens, and because I have the FTZ adapter, I kept my DX 18-300 f/3.5-f/5.6 telephoto and f/1.4 50 mm prime - so I'm actually carrying around more weight. BUT, not always - on those occasions when I just want to "grab and go", I'm carrying around much less weight - just a couple of batteries (because Mirrorless cameras use more juice, and quicker), and a tripod (sometimes) and Nikon Speedlight flash (again, sometimes). As Nikon introduces more Z mount lenses, I'll probably upgrade to a bigger telephoto (the 70-200mm f/2.8 looks good to me but costs almost as much as I paid for the new camera. But so far I'm quite happy. (I'm a guy, but 72 so close to your age for the carrying a bunch of stuff around consideration :-) ).

tomcat

My bucket list is full and with so many things to do, I won't take time to learn Sony's archaic menu. Olympus is fine because I once had a smaller model for walking around. But it didn't take very good pix at night and low light, so I traded it for a Nikkor lens. Thanks for the "words of encouragement", but I have many roads to travel and so I will go home with the "one that brung me". My wife and I are planning on our 50 states USA tour this Fall. She will take her Nikon D500 and I'll take my D750, D3s, and Z6---Nikon all the way, so we can concentrate on the moment and not the new menu.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Are you touring in an RV? If not, how do you plan to stay safe, especially with the need to use public toilets?

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Some practical, perhaps anticlimactic, advice. Consider this before you go out and spend lots of money on new or lighter gear.

I am 76 years old and I am still working, full time, as a commercial photographer. Back in the olden days, all my gear was heavy. There was a time when I worked on locations with 3 Hasselblad (medium format) camera on my person- 2 on a neck strap and one on a shoulder strap. Back in the late 60s, I word as a press photographer and that entailed 3 Nikons and some big lenses. Nowadays, for location work, I use multiple Canon bodies and various lenses. OK- I'm still pretty sturdy for an old man with a gray beard but here's the caveat:

A good part of my work is industrial photography in kinda difficult conditions- shooting pictures of "heavy" equipment, in factories, demolition, and construction job sites, working from cherry pickers, ledges, and other elevation devices or on the ground in muddy trenches. Point is- there is no way I can move around efficiently and quickly with 20+ lbs of gear, nor do I want to change lenses in places with airborne particles- sawdust, cement dust, smoke, and welding ash, and embers.

My solution was to carry one body and a zoom lens that can address most situations. Now- I like ALL my lenses but carrying around all of that stuff is impractical and would only bog me down and distract me from concentrating on all the fast occurring actions that need to be covered. I have no difficulty lifting heavy stuff and I am still relatively agile with a decent sense of balance but at the end of the day- bring out the liniment and the anti-inflammatories! I pay- the next day!

Too many photographers tend to attempt to solve their performance and photographic results issues by continuously changing gear. Many are worried that zoom lenses not quite as good (performance-wise) as primes. One would think that everyone is producing photo murals or display all the images on the Jumbotron at the nearest sports arena. With my Canon 24-105mm, I can count the pebbles in the gravel in a 24x30 display print.

On vacation trips. I used to carry a ton of gear and perhaps, in retrospect, may have missed some great impromptu images having to truck around and manage all that stuff.

At the onset of the pandemic, I locked down for a few weeks- stoped hauling around heavy gear- I still brig van-loads or certain location jobs, the gym was shut down, and when a began to get back to work... Oh- the PAIN! I proved the theory that "if you don't use it, you lose it"! I had to start "working out at home". I got those rusty dumbells out of the cellar and made like Arnold Schwarzenegger- my wife makes fun of me and says I'm gonna suffer a hernia!

Masks aren't new to me- I work in places with hazardous atmospheres. I have a supply of N-95s in my camera bags. I tell the fools that won't mask up in the midst of a pandemic that at least I can see the dust and soot on a job site- you can't see the VIRUS.

I hope you are not suffering from any rheumatological issues and that you are staying safe and healthy. So, you just may want to consider lighting your load without severely lighting your bank account. Thank you for your service as an RN. I am fortunate enough not to have spent too much time in the hospital, however, on my one stay after some minor surgery, I know that y'all are the best and do all of the HARD work!

(Download)

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I still love my D500 with the 200-500 on it and I really love my new Z7, but I put together a complete Micro 4/3 system based around a Panasonic G9 for travel and shooting from my kayak. It’s also become my hiking camera.

senior techie Loc: Boca Raton Fl

with discount of 10% the 7 day rental is $225.00. About the same as BorrowLens.com. My local camera shop is getting one for me to try out, of course not 7 days. Thanks for thinking of me.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

My rig (Nikon D850 plus all Nikon 50mm, 70-300mm,16-35mm, 24-80mm, 28-300mm, 24-120mm and backpack bag) weighs 18 pounds. I carry the D800e and 200-500mm separately for obvious reasons. The treks are shorter than they used to be!

senior techie Loc: Boca Raton Fl

You may be my twin brother, photography wise that is. My local camera store is letting me tryout the Leica Q2 to see how it handles. One of my greatest joys at our age is to look forward to all that is out there and to be reenergized and learn new things about that which I have always loved. Wishing you Happy Trails and stay safe
Norma

NormanTheGr8 Loc: Racine, Wisconsin

You could go Fuji

senior techie Loc: Boca Raton Fl

I can walk for miles in the city terrain, but my trip to Antartica with boots ,parker, et al and rugged snow and icy mountains, I realized I ain't no spring chicken any more. So having lighter options will allow me to keep on doing what I love. I hear you!!!

senior techie Loc: Boca Raton Fl

I could indeed. I am looking at a few options.

Doc Barry Loc: Huntsville, Alabama USA

Hmmmm…. I wear a $30 Casio watch and my son wears a $5,000 Rolex. He is frustrated that my watch keeps better time than his fancy watch. So I spend my money on toys for my photography interests instead. Actually I'm spending his inheritance as I tell him since I'm sure he would waste my money on worthless watches and stuff like that. To our OP, figure out what you want to purchase for whatever reason and get it! When I took a almost month tour of China a decade ago with my wife, the carry-on rules of 5 pound max (quite strongly enforced in domestic travel) kept me from carrying my D3 and lenses. So I got the best Canon compact/pocket camera available then and was sad I didn't have my D3. But as I learned to use the Canon, I was able to take over a thousand quite good photographs that we were happy with. Of course the quality would have been better with the D3 with its suite of Nikon lenses, but the Canon photos were more than adequately good. Since then, I haven't taken a trip (or will not) where I can't take my D810 and collection of lenses.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Just a note from an implant tech. Masks are not designed to protect the wearer but to prevent spread to others in close proximity. So maintain a safer distance than 6 feet, maybe 10 feet. When outside 10 feet away, reduces the risk to less than the risk of driving to the venue

geezer7 Loc: Michigan

You should follow your instincts and buy what you really want. If you don't you'll probably regret it! The only advice I have is to spend some time using only a 28mm (or zoom equivalent) lens to see if you can work with just a medium wide angle lens! Since the Leica Q2 is a fixed lens camera you'll have to deal with a single prime lens. Undoubtedly this is a fine camera and will perform magnificently. You should enjoy it!