Nonsense and more drivel. Nobody claims that a mirrorless will turn you into an Ansel Adams. Just makes shooting to a desired result easier. Interesting that you run off a roll call of people who never shot digital, only film. Don't you think any of them would have been delighted to jump at DSLR's? And subsequently mirrorless? Even Clyde Butcher, one of the last living iconic photographers now uses a Fuji GFX and a Sony A7RIV. By the way, I'm pretty sure some of your heroes did indeed shoot with mirrorless cameras. Just not as we know them in the digital age.

I've been shooting with a D850 for about four years and with a D810 for a year and a half longer than that. I also have had a couple of D500s for several years and still use them a lot...more than the full frame cameras, on fact.

I've looked seriously at the Z7 and checked out the Z6 in passing. Both are a step back from the D850 except for a couple of specific benefits that don't make any difference to me. A look at the Z9 shows it to be pretty much equal to the D850 except for a couple of specific features which again, don't matter to me. The Z9 does have practically an identical operating system and user interface to the D850, although at twice the price.

Last week, I bought a second D850 at my local camera store while they were on sale. It was their last one, and I'm now looking for a MB- D18 grip for it, which may be a challenge.

I won't try to influence your choice here. You will have to decide. I will share a little bit of a discussion I had with the owner.

It seems that buyer's remorse is quite common among D850 owners who have bought or traded for Z9s. Apparently they spend the $5500, then discover that the Z9 offers no real, tangible benefit for their photography. Quite a few "undo" the trade if their old camera is still available.

If you just want something new, your choice is really pretty simple. Shooting the Z9 will be just like shooting your D850. Menu differences are primarily just to accommodate the few new functions. Your flashes and intervalometers will just plug in and work. The A1 will be something new and completely different. All new accessories.

Lol you are correct. I am an amateur faceter or gem cutter. I cut at the Master cutter level. I spend more than a thousand dollars sometimes on a stone small enough to fit inside your baby fingernail. Then I cut it and get between 25-35 percent return out of what I started with as far as size of stone cut. So if I buy a piece of sapphire for 200.00 a carat and buy a piece of uncut sapphire that weighs 5 carats I end up with a little over a one carat cut stone. That's not set in a piece of jewelry. Yes I spend a lot of money on a hobby but at least with mine I don't have any trouble selling my stones. My issue is keeping some for my wife and I. Lol. I did spend 5000.00 on a lens for my D500 and I'll lose on that one for sure. Lol

Sounds like a "facetating" hobby! I have never tried to sell my pics, but sure you can sell your stones much more readily than I can sell my pics. Luckily I am in a position where I don't have to. And I prefer just keeping things as a "back-up", so still have my D500 (although now pretty much only use the Z9) as well as my old lenses. Occasionally my wife uses them or a visiting photographer or give them away. I can think of many hobbies that are much less productive than yours (sailing, golf, mountain climbing, etc).