Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
Main Photography Discussion
A little help explaining mirrorless
Page 1 of 12 next> last>>
Apr 12, 2021 08:51:31   #
runakid Loc: Shelbyville, TN
 
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in our 70's. Our gear is D500/D800 [me] D7000 [kept in car camera] and my wife's D7100. All our lenses are Nikon from 50mm, 70-200, 200-500 500 pf and 500 f4.
From what I have read and heard the Nikon mirrorless system is way behind Sony.
Is switching to mirrorless now or later going to give me better pictures? Besides being lighter AND having eye detection, will the Sony improve my photos? What exactly should I expect to see if I change? Not sure if my wife is interested changing but I thought maybe just a Sony body and the 200-600 for a start.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 09:02:45   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
runakid wrote:
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in our 70's. Our gear is D500/D800 [me] D7000 [kept in car camera] and my wife's D7100. All our lenses are Nikon from 50mm, 70-200, 200-500 500 pf and 500 f4.
From what I have read and heard the Nikon mirrorless system is way behind Sony.
Is switching to mirrorless now or later going to give me better pictures? Besides being lighter AND having eye detection, will the Sony improve my photos? What exactly should I expect to see if I change? Not sure if my wife is interested changing but I thought maybe just a Sony body and the 200-600 for a start.
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in... (show quote)


Your wife has a better sense of the family's equipment needs, it seems.

For the most part, the combined weight of full-frame lenses mounted to full-frame camera bodies is the same, whether the camera has a mirror or not. If interested, consider renting a Sony and / or Nikon for a long weekend or week and get some actual hands on experience.

Are you both wildlife photographers? Are you having issues tracking wildlife today, particularly birds in flight? Have you sought help on UHH using example images and storing the files to consider the AF modes and exposure being used currently? That is, are you maximizing your equipment such that you have a basis of comparison of changing to another brand or camera format?

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 09:03:11   #
nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ
 
Most of the weight is in the lens not the body. Unless you have a significant reason to upgrade your camera body, don't. Mirrorless won't improve your photos if you're happy with the performance of your current cameras. Mirrorless has some advantages but, if you switch to Sony, you're looking at all new glass as well as a new body.

Reply
 
 
Apr 12, 2021 09:05:38   #
dbjazz Loc: Long Island, NY
 
A new mirrorless camera will not give you better photos. What you will get is lighter weight gear, better stabilization (no mirror to shake) and more photographic tools at you disposal. Better photos must come from better technique and artistic mastery on your part. Good luck.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 09:09:44   #
SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA
 
runakid wrote:
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in our 70's. Our gear is D500/D800 [me] D7000 [kept in car camera] and my wife's D7100. All our lenses are Nikon from 50mm, 70-200, 200-500 500 pf and 500 f4.
From what I have read and heard the Nikon mirrorless system is way behind Sony.
Is switching to mirrorless now or later going to give me better pictures? Besides being lighter AND having eye detection, will the Sony improve my photos? What exactly should I expect to see if I change? Not sure if my wife is interested changing but I thought maybe just a Sony body and the 200-600 for a start.
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in... (show quote)


While Nikon doesn’t have anything that will rival me Sony’s flagship Alpha 1, (at $6500), they will with the Z9 later this year, but most people don’t need those pro capabilities. The Nikon Z6II and Z7II are great cameras and they are lighter and have eye detection. And you’ll be able to continue using those lenses, (although I’m looking forward to the Z mount 200-600 coming this year). I bet your wife would love the Z50 to replace the D7000. I have the first release Z7 and I love it. It’s become my go to for most things although I still use my D500 with the 200-500 for wildlife. Mirrorless in itself won’t necessarily improve your photos. You have extremely capable cameras. What mirrorless can do is improve your shooting experience. The ergonomics and features like IBIS and seeing the exposure in the viewfinder, plus many more, can open up new possibilities and that can potentially lead to better photographs.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 09:13:39   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
runakid wrote:
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in our 70's. Our gear is D500/D800 [me] D7000 [kept in car camera] and my wife's D7100. All our lenses are Nikon from 50mm, 70-200, 200-500 500 pf and 500 f4.
From what I have read and heard the Nikon mirrorless system is way behind Sony.
Is switching to mirrorless now or later going to give me better pictures? Besides being lighter AND having eye detection, will the Sony improve my photos? What exactly should I expect to see if I change? Not sure if my wife is interested changing but I thought maybe just a Sony body and the 200-600 for a start.
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in... (show quote)


To answer your questions, switching to mirrorless will not improve your outcomes, switching to Sony may help a little when it comes to challenging AF scenarios, for pretty much everything else, very little will change, other than a zero or two in your bank statement.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 09:24:31   #
Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.
 
Is it possible for you to rent the camera you're thinking of, together with the lens, a possibility?
Depending on the weather, a few days should give you ample time to check it out, and compare the images to what you can do with your current camere.

Reply
 
 
Apr 12, 2021 10:12:02   #
JayRay Loc: Missouri
 
runakid wrote:
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in our 70's. Our gear is D500/D800 [me] D7000 [kept in car camera] and my wife's D7100. All our lenses are Nikon from 50mm, 70-200, 200-500 500 pf and 500 f4.
From what I have read and heard the Nikon mirrorless system is way behind Sony.
Is switching to mirrorless now or later going to give me better pictures? Besides being lighter AND having eye detection, will the Sony improve my photos? What exactly should I expect to see if I change? Not sure if my wife is interested changing but I thought maybe just a Sony body and the 200-600 for a start.
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in... (show quote)


It seems that most DSLR mirror camera versus digital mirrorless camera debates do not address the following:
Mirrorless auto focusing is done on the the sensor which yields more accurate focusing than a DSLR with a mirror whose auto focus usually requires fine tuned focus corrections for each lens (which works for prime lenses, but it does not work (as well) with zoom lenses because the fine tuned focus corrections actually change as your zoomed focal length changes). If you want to save weight, you need to change from a full frame to crop frame camera AND use the crop frame lenses designed for the camera body. With mirrorless you also essentially have "live view" all of the time and you see exactly what your photo will look like before you take the shot, dramatically reducing the number of your throw away images and decreasing the time required to achieve the image that you want. I was a Canon DSLR shooter for years and shifted to the mirrorless Fujifilm X-T2. My Canon equipment is now gathering dust, most of the time! Fujifilm glass is incredibly sharp and with their mirrorless auto focusing system, the image sharpness was greatly increased over what I could achieve with Canon DSLR mirror cameras. The mirrorless Fuji X camera controls are intuitive, user friendly, and mostly done with dials on top of the camera which reduces the time you spend diving into endless menus. Once you have your camera set up, you really do not have to dive into the menus (except to format your memory card). Fuji cameras are fun to shoot because of their ease of use, without having to dive into menus all of the time! Many complain about the learning curve required with Sony mirrorless and the complex Sony mirrorless menus, as they are not that intuitive or user friendly. I highly recommend the mirrorless Fujifilm X cameras, try one out at a camera store, and see what you think!
My two cents!

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 13:18:20   #
Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida
 
One important consideration in my opinion is the brand. You are both dedicated Nikon users (as am I). To transition to a whole different menu system is not convenient or satisfying. I tried a Sony A6400 for a few months. I was looking for a lighter alternative to my big heavy DSLR’s. I couldn’t get comfortable with the Sony although it took excellent pictures. I recently sold the Sony and got a Nikon Z50. It was like going home. The menus are very similar and I knew what each function or adjustment did. I found it far less frustrating.

I do think it is important to take weight into consideration. As we mature, carrying a heavy rig around for a while can be quite unpleasant. My Z50 does an excellent job and is easy to carry and to use. I hang onto the big boys because I like DSLR’s and they are great camera’s too, but they don’t get used as much as they used to.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 14:19:28   #
runakid Loc: Shelbyville, TN
 
Thanks to all. Sticking with what I've got for now.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 15:10:02   #
wide2tele Loc: Australia
 
runakid wrote:
Thanks to all. Sticking with what I've got for now.

You made the right decision imo.

Reply
 
 
Apr 12, 2021 15:40:43   #
SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA
 
JayRay wrote:
It seems that most DSLR mirror camera versus digital mirrorless camera debates do not address the following:
Mirrorless auto focusing is done on the the sensor which yields more accurate focusing than a DSLR with a mirror whose auto focus usually requires fine tuned focus corrections for each lens (which works for prime lenses, but it does not work (as well) with zoom lenses because the fine tuned focus corrections actually change as your zoomed focal length changes). If you want to save weight, you need to change from a full frame to crop frame camera AND use the crop frame lenses designed for the camera body. With mirrorless you also essentially have "live view" all of the time and you see exactly what your photo will look like before you take the shot, dramatically reducing the number of your throw away images and decreasing the time required to achieve the image that you want. I was a Canon DSLR shooter for years and shifted to the mirrorless Fujifilm X-T2. My Canon equipment is now gathering dust, most of the time! Fujifilm glass is incredibly sharp and with their mirrorless auto focusing system, the image sharpness was greatly increased over what I could achieve with Canon DSLR mirror cameras. The mirrorless Fuji X camera controls are intuitive, user friendly, and mostly done with dials on top of the camera which reduces the time you spend diving into endless menus. Once you have your camera set up, you really do not have to dive into the menus (except to format your memory card). Fuji cameras are fun to shoot because of their ease of use, without having to dive into menus all of the time! Many complain about the learning curve required with Sony mirrorless and the complex Sony mirrorless menus, as they are not that intuitive or user friendly. I highly recommend the mirrorless Fujifilm X cameras, try one out at a camera store, and see what you think!
My two cents!
It seems that most DSLR mirror camera versus digit... (show quote)


If the lenses he’s using are the 200-500, 500 PF and the 500 f/4 then there’s nothing in the Fuji lineup that gets him close. In guessing that the OP shoots a lot of wildlife. Fuji makes great cameras, but they would not be my choice for any kind of action.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 17:56:59   #
CO
 
I have to disagree with most people here. There can be improved image quality because the new Z lens mount is allowing engineers to design better lenses. The larger diameter mount and short flange distance is giving engineers more flexibility. Sony mirrorless cameras will not produce better quality images than Nikon mirrorless cameras. As a matter of fact, Nikon uses sensors that are manufactured by Sony. I rented the Nikon Z6II for two weeks recently. I was extremely impressed with the image quality. It's even a little better than my D500. Here is a photo I took with the Nikon Z6II in a studio with the 24-70mm f/4 lens.

You might want to rent first. LensRentals.com is very good.

Nikon Z6II, 24-70mm f/4 S lens
Nikon Z6II, 24-70mm f/4 S lens...
(Download)

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 18:00:57   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
When you know you need a mirrorless camera, you have the knowledge to succeed.

I only suggested our OP consider if the proposed change will actually be achieved, try a new camera via a rental, don't just start buying on hype. Make sure you 'know'.

Reply
Apr 12, 2021 18:02:00   #
IDguy Loc: Idaho
 
runakid wrote:
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in our 70's. Our gear is D500/D800 [me] D7000 [kept in car camera] and my wife's D7100. All our lenses are Nikon from 50mm, 70-200, 200-500 500 pf and 500 f4.
From what I have read and heard the Nikon mirrorless system is way behind Sony.
Is switching to mirrorless now or later going to give me better pictures? Besides being lighter AND having eye detection, will the Sony improve my photos? What exactly should I expect to see if I change? Not sure if my wife is interested changing but I thought maybe just a Sony body and the 200-600 for a start.
I am a Nikon shooter as is my wife. We are both in... (show quote)


You might hate the Sony menu system and terminology as much as I did. I dumped my Sony experiment after six months.

Very happy with my Nikon Z6 and Z50.

Reply
Page 1 of 12 next> last>>
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Main Photography Discussion
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.