jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

New friend tells me he has D7500 with Nikon's 80-400 FF lens and 16-80DX kit lens. He wants to stay with Nikon and lighten his load. He knows about the DX vs FF; but doesn't really understand why one vs the other.
I mentioned the Z series to him (He had not heard about this). And he is seriously interested in making a change.
He is not particularly into BIF or sports. He seems to be into landscape, long exposure, and close ups-flowers.....
His D7500 is 20MP and he has been more than happy with this.
Cost is not an issue.
Would you suggest he go with the Z6ii, Z6, Z5, or Z50?
He understands that he can keep his lenses and use them with the adapter. Once he lays his hands on the Z lenses; he will undoubtedly move quickly to the lighter Z lenses.
Thanks for your feedback.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

There's not much meaningful to be gained against the D7500 with the 16-80mm from a weight perspective. That lens has a lot of plastic and is not very heavy. I'd ask him what he does with that 80-400 and if he really uses the long end of it. Maybe an 18-200mm zoom would do a lot of what he wants to do with a lot less weight most of the time. From what you listed, I'm not sure why anything beyond 200mm or so is needed. But it's going to be somewhere between difficult and impossible to maintain his full current capability and cut any meaningful amount of weight.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

...I *really* like my Z6II, he would love it being familiar with the Nikon menu system (a few things to learn about mirrorless, but I was shooting pretty decently upon getting my Z6 right after it came out, so that's not a huge problem) but if he wanted the advantage of better resolution, for whatever reason, the Z7II might be his choice. If he buys into the Z ecosystem, a Z50 is an ideal, inexpensie, and quite fun addition to the FF body. The glass, overall, is phenomenal...even the two kit lenses offered with the Z50!

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Tell your friend if he is only interested in landscapes, and close ups of flowers, and cost is not an issue, he should consider a macro lens, like the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens.
The 16-80 is a DX lens, and the Z50 is a DX camera, that choice would be logical.
But if he goes Z, and price is no object, your friend should consider selling his current equipment and buying a Z6ii and three to four Z lenses. This would be his best approach, if price is no issue.

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

Two paths to go here.

If he goes with a FF body, he will need to also replace the 16-80, which is a DX lens.

If he goes with the Z50, he will certainly want to downsize the long lens to, say, one of the versions of the 70-300. As noted, the 80-400 is probably the heaviest part of his current kit.

He should hold these cameras to see how they feel in his hands. The Z50 just might be too small, or feel just right.

If likes the FF body size, the Z6II would give him the option of continuing to use SD cards, whereas the Z6 would require investing in the XQD/CFExpress ecosystem.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Z6ii or Z7ii

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Thank you all for your quick replies. My feeling is to suggest the Z6ii and move away from the DX format. The suggestion to go with new Micro 105 makes a lot of sense. The coming 24-105 would nicely replace his 16-80DX lens. And, you are right that he would likely change out his 80-400 once he starts using the Z lenses.
Thanks again.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I wouldn't suggest anything but doing research. There are thousands of links comparing DSLR to mirrorless. Once he makes that decision, he can decide which Nikon Z to get.

neillaubenthal

I went to the Z7II for a couple reasons…although for my purposes the IQ and reach of the crop sensor provide plenty of quality. First consideration…the Z50 but it doesn't have enough of the prosumer advanced capabilities so I decided to go to the full frame one. The Z6II is very nice but about the same MP as the crop sensor D7500…and with the loss of the crop factor extending focal length you get with the crop sensor for distant wildlife you effectively lose focal length. So…I bought the Z7II…and the extra MP it provides almost exactly match the loss of crop factor…and while it's not as good in low light as the 6II is due to the larger pixels on the latter…either is better in low light than the D7500 is.

You don't really lose much weight going to the FF Z bodies and glass…so if weight is important then perhaps the Z50 is a better choice.