Nikon Z5: Well I took the leap into mirrorless. I was going to wait for the Nikon Z9 to come out, but I didn’t want to wait. 😁 I received an email from Nikon about their sale. One was...

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Well I took the leap into mirrorless. I was going to wait for the Nikon Z9 to come out, but I didn’t want to wait. 😁 I received an email from Nikon about their sale. One was a refurbished Z5. I couldn’t pass it up. It was $400.00 off new and an additional 10% of the sales price. So I pulled the trigger and purchased it with the 70-200mm kit lens. I thought this was an opportunity for me to move over to mirrorless. If I didn’t care for it I could always return it. The added bonus is it only had 484 clicks on this camera.
Everything I read and saw on YouTube was generally positive.
I have only had it a couple of days but I am so far very pleased with this combination. I will continue to hold onto my D7200 of which I love. I can see adding more Z lenses down the road.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I have seen side-by-side comparisons of photos from the Z5 and the Z6 and I thought the Z5 photo was better. It had cleaner blacks and there was no sign of the grid effect of the focus points in the darks. I'd say the Z5 was a good choice.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

R.G. wrote:

I have seen side-by-side comparisons of photos from the Z5 and the Z6 and I thought the Z5 photo was better. It had cleaner blacks and there was no sign of the grid effect of the focus points in the darks. I'd say the Z5 was a good choice.

I think Nikon took some of the short coming with their first Z camera and made improvements with their second go round. Some of which the put into the Z5. Once I get my CC bill and pay off this camera, I will be adding to my Z lens inventory.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

NJFrank wrote:

I think Nikon took some of the short coming with their first Z camera and made improvements with their second go round. Some of which the put into the Z5. Once I get my CC bill and pay off this camera, I will be adding to my Z lens inventory.

I have the 24-70 f/4 which apparently out-performs the Holy Trinity 24-70 in every area except vignetting, distortion and maximum aperture. A second hand Z 24-70 f/4 can be had for about £460 (not sure what that is in dollars).

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

NJFrank wrote:

Well I took the leap into mirrorless. I was going ... (show quote)

Congratulations on your new gear. Enjoy.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

Mac wrote:

Congratulations on your new gear. Enjoy.

Thanks Mac, I am excited like a kid on Christmas morning.

tcthome Loc: NJ

NJFrank wrote:

Well I took the leap into mirrorless. I was going ... (show quote)

Good deal. 24-200 kit lens?

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

tcthome wrote:

Good deal. 24-200 kit lens?

Yes I thought it was a good deal so I bought it. That lens is considered a kit lens along with the 24-70mm lens. But after reading reviews I went with it. It is a very sharp lens.

User ID

NJFrank wrote:

Yes I thought it was a good deal so I bought it. That lens is considered a kit lens along with the 24-70mm lens. But after reading reviews I went with it. It is a very sharp lens.

Welcome to reality. Enjoy :-)

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

User ID wrote:

Welcome to reality. Enjoy :-)

Thanks, so far so good.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

The Z5 offers the best bang for the buck - key plusses - FF, IBIS, dual card slots.

Ok it doesn't have a top screen who cares - some will ?

It's also not the quickest draw at 4.5 fps but if you're not shooting high speed action no biggie.

Great value and bang for the buck for sure.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

chrisg-optical wrote:

The Z5 offers the best bang for the buck - key plusses - FF, IBIS, dual card slots.

Ok it doesn't have a top screen who cares - some will ?

It's also not the quickest draw at 4.5 fps but if you're not shooting high speed action no biggie.

Great value and bang for the buck for sure.

Everything you mentioned is so true. I would do BIF with my D7200. The burst rate is five per second. So it is a bit slower in the area. But i was able most times to catch a bird in flight with the 7200. No perfect but fine for me. the D7200 had the screen on top and i did use it but not that often. I do like that the back screen flips up on the Z5. Personally I find that more important. The knees aren't what they used to be.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Congratulations on your purchase Frank - I'm sure you and the Z5 will become fast friends. The Nikon mount allows for the engineers to design some absolutely incredible lens. I just purchased the 50mm S 1.8, and it's the sharpest lens I've ever owned.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

yssirk123 wrote:

Congratulations on your purchase Frank - I'm sure you and the Z5 will become fast friends. The Nikon mount allows for the engineers to design some absolutely incredible lens. I just purchased the 50mm S 1.8, and it's the sharpest lens I've ever owned.

Thanks Bill, I am thinking that 50mm is my next lens to purchase. After that one the next lens would be the 85mm. But that purchase is not written in stone. I will purchase the F mount converter so I can use my 100-400 mm and 150-600 mm lens.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

NJFrank wrote:

Everything you mentioned is so true. I would do B... (show quote)

Yep I've done BIF on my D7200 it's possible though not ideal as on the D500 or heaven forbid the Z9. Takes some practice.