oregonfrank Loc: Astoria, Oregon

For those of you with Nikon F mount cameras and lenses, are you planning to stay with the F mount, or are you planning to switch over to Z mount gear? And, what are your thoughts/reasons for either option? I guess there is a third choice, that is, to build a collection of both F and Z systems. Another question is more speculative: Do you think Nikon will support both systems for the long term, or will they drop F mount gear before long? Frank

BebuLamar

I would continue to stay with the F mount because I like the mirror.
I do think Nikon will drop support for the F mount but that doesn't matter to me.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

A few data points:

The Z-mount lenses are superior.

Canon is already discontinuing the manufacture of some of their EF lenses. There's no news yet on Nikon's plans.

Nikon's FTZ adapter supports F-mount lenses, with some limits for older AF capable designs.

In the realm of speculation: nothing about your F-mount lenses will change from owning a mirrorless body (disregard rumors to the otherwise).

When you express concern about 'support', do you mean repair? Other?

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

I am thinking about getting a Z6ii, but I am not in any rush to do so. I am happy with my DSLR. But, I have no intention of getting rid of my D800 or my F mount lenses either if I do decide purchase a Z6ii in the future.

Again, I am in no rush to go mirrorless, and am not having any GAS attacks either.

oregonfrank Loc: Astoria, Oregon

My concern includes repair/service, but also continued manufacture of F mount lenses. Frank

WCS

CHG_...

You are very knowledgeable so I don't doubt you. I just am not sure what you mean by "The Z-mount lenses are superior." I don't know if you mean 'for a Z-mount body' or optically, etc. Could you clarify? Thank you!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Technically, they're 'S' lenses for the Z-mount body, but most people ignore this cumbersome terminology ... Superior is pretty normally optical, at least in my book. I think 'S' is for superior.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

One would think Nikon will stop manufacture, but their long-term plans may be different than Canon's mentioned earlier. If / when they stop manufacturing, there will be an end of service too. It's harder to say for lenses vs camera bodies, where service for a camera ends may 2- to 5-years after they stop selling them, somewhat dependent on the class of the body.

Nikon already won't service Grey Market so who knows what their ideas will be on lenses.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I'm keeping my F cameras since replacing all my F lenses would cost as much as 10,000 dollars. I do like the Z system for a lot of things, but find flash photography easier and better with the F cameras. My thought is to keep the F system and hope someday Nikon will produce the equivalent of the D500 in a Z camera. While most of my shooting is done FF, I like keeping a crop frame camera to utilize the 1.5 factor on longer lenses. I know the FF cameras can be set to crop frame specs but I prefer to just have one body set up and ready to shoot without having to switch modes back and forth. I have a Z50 right now and while it is a fun, small camera to shoot, it doesn't match up to the D500.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

I too cannot afford to replace all my f mount with z mount so I'm sticking with f until like you said they have a mirrorless camera that will out do my d500 for wildlife.

ricardo00

I, like many, are waiting to see what happens. If a S/Z lens comes out that I would love to have (ie. a lightweight 600mm PF f/5.6), I would buy a mirrorless Nikon body (probably the Z7ii) tomorrow. Or if the Z9 is as light as my D500, focusses on BIF as well as the D500 plus has the low light capabilities of a D6, I would buy it (even at $6,500). It sure seems like the movement to mirrorless is like the flow of lava, an unstoppable force. And I would be surprised if the next innovative Nikon lens or camera will be in the F system. In the meantime I am loving the D500 and 500mm f/5.6 combo.

baron_silverton Loc: Los Angeles, CA

Unless you shoot fast action the Z system is definitively better - even if you are using your modern F mount lenses (the ones with AF motors in them - not the D series or earlier screw drive lenses). I shot on a D750 for years and it is a great camera, but switched to the Z6 over a year and a half ago and never really looked back. I found myself reaching for the Z6 over the D750 and this got worse as the firmware improved to the point that I did not use the D750 at all and finally sold it.

The Z6ii is even better and is now quite competent for things like eye detect AF. Subject tracking is still not as good as the competition, but getting close. The Z9 to be released this year promises to fix this and this tech will trickle down to the next versions of the lesser Z mount cameras, so I suspect by the end of 2022 the Z cameras will be as good as the competition in every respect - their S line Z mount lenses are already as good as the competition and in many cases better.

I say that the Z system is better even if you are using F mount (newer) glass because the addition of IBIS and focusing points across the screen has breathed new life into existing F mount lenses. For example, the 58mm 1.4G and the 105mm 1.4E lenses which I loved on the DSLR are both superior on the Z6ii - they now enjoy 3 axis IBIS (where they had no stabilization before) and the focusing points are across the screen - no longer clumped in the middle like a DSLR. As a result, these lenses actually perform better and are more fun to use on the Z6ii than they did or ever were on the D750.

Additionally, if you are like me and are often shooting in bright sunshine, the ability to review your shots in the EVF is by itself reason enough to switch from a DSLR and this is not to mention the plethora of other advantages that the EVF presents.

If you shoot any type of photography except for fast action you will not regret switching to the Z system version II right now. If you are a fast action/sports type shooter, just wait for the upcoming Z9 or the next generation of Z 6/7 and you will be good to go.

As far as Nikon supporting F mount - this is just a guess - but I think they might release one more body (maybe) and perhaps another lens or two but my guess is that will be it. The future is clearly mirrorless and they will be investing their R&D there - to the extent that they can just put that same tech into a new DSLR maybe they will - for example maybe a D880 (or whatever) that is essentially a D850 with the Z7ii tech in live view.

In the end, the DSLR is on the way out. This does not mean that you cannot keep your DSLR and enjoy it for years to come - it is still just as good as it ever was. It just means that the future is the Z system and lenses going forward will be for the Z system.

Again, if you can afford it and are not a hard core sports photographer you should make the switch now - the version ii Z's are extremely good - if you are a hard core sports photographer then you have six more months to wait and then you should go Z - it really will be just better across the board at this point than DSLR.
-B

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I have no plans to "switch" to the new Z cameras/S lenses. From where I currently sit with equipment, there is absolutely no incentive for me to do so. While the S lenses are superior on paper, they are not superior in any significant way that currently available equipment can realize. I have also found that for the significant majority of what do, the 21 MP provided by my D500s are completely sufficient. If a specific application requires more, my D810 offers 36 MP and my D850 offers 46MP. I know how to use my cameras...what metering pattern to use, what exposure mode to select, and how to effectively use manual exposure on those few occasions when it is the best approach.

The slight superiority of the S lenses does not justify the significantly higher cost for me, and the change of technology carries no incremental attraction. For instance, I will never use an electronic viewfinder for night sky photography, because the cost to night-adapted vision is too high.

Having said all that, if I were coming from the position of having only entry-level or consumer-level equipment (both camera and lenses), my answer might be completely different. If my technical photography skills were less, my answer might be completely different. On the other hand, if I were coming from entry-level Nikon equipment, I might also be looking for a different camera maker altogether.

The market will decide whether Nikon continues to make reflex equipment. They have already stated publicly that they plan to exit the entry-level camera market. To this point, it hasn't been obvious what that means. If they do leave that market, they will have eliminated a significant source of customers for their higher grade equipment. On the other hand, they will have eliminated a significant source of frustration for many beginning photographers. So it remains to be seen whether they will remain in the business of making equipment for photography over the long haul.

For me, the answer will be interesting, but in no way personal. I am fortunate to have two D500s, a D810, a D850, and at least as many lenses as I need. I expect that my photography equipment will outlast me at this point...at least the bulk of it. I can't imagine having any future GAS attacks. I can't imagine any photographic project that I'd be willing to undertake at this point that my current equipment would not support. So it will be like watching a great football game in which I have no personal investment. I cannot lose.

User ID

Very similar for me. Most of my Nikkors are assigned to my Sonys, cuz IBIS. My D750 has 5 VR lenses so it’s usable as well, but will ultimately be replaced by a Z with an FTZ. No need at all to get Z-mount lenses. Just don’t have much use for SLRs.

ricardo00

Are you putting us wildlife photographers in the same category as sports photographers? I only shoot children's sports (ie. my grandkids), but my wildlife moves faster than the grandkids, so need really fast autofocus (for photographing my peregrine falcons when they fly by, terns and skimmers among other wildlife shots). I could be wrong, but my understanding is that the Zs so far can't focus as fast as the D500 for these shots. Other major disadvantages for me as a wildlife photographer is the life of the battery in the Zs and the time it takes to turn on. I am sure (or I hope) it is an exaggeration, but one wildlife photographer I know says he carries 6 batteries in his pocket when he goes out for a day of shooting with his mirrorless Nikon (I carry one spare for my D500)! And I leave my camera on so that I can easily swing it up and shoot a bobcat or coyote that passes by in a fraction of a second (not sure the Z can match this yet). I am sure that eventually I will get a mirrorless but the lack of in body stabilization and ability to review in sunshine don't seem at this point to out way some of these disadvantages?