alexskoz Loc: Scottsdale, Arizona

Nikon is offering this Trade in! My Camera is a 2 1/2 year Nikon D850 for a Nikon Z7 With 24 - 70 lens kit. What do you Think?

How would you rate each camera? + & -

GregWCIL Loc: Illinois

I take it you aren't really serious. If you were, you would have done some basic research and would know they both have advantages and limitations.
Then, when you asked a question here you would know to qualify it with some information about your physical shape, type of shooting and how you feel your D850 is limiting you.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I thought the 850 was the best thing since 'Sliced Bread'. Looks as though the 850 has lost its place in the "Must Have" category.

Bill_de Loc: US

Although I added a Z6 to my bag, it was too soon to surrender my D850. The Z series have some advantages, but the start time whenever it goes into sleep mode can be very frustrating. I also find the D850 focuses better in low light. Those shortcomings are the same for the Z7.

If you really are set on making the change, the trade in might be a reasonable way to go. It will be interesting to see if the market gets flooded with Nikon DSLR 'refurbs' when the trade in deal is over.

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Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

While I shoot Canon, thank you for the insight. As for my hard worker, I treat it as my baby. I might give both a look see but I'm loyal to Canon.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Keep the 850 if you shoot any moving objects. The Z is good for shooting stationary objects. It feels light in the hand and does a great job in low light, even hand-held. The 850 should be your go-to for moving objects or fast shooting. I have a D500 and a Z7.

jcboy3

Nikon D850. Excellent.

Nikon Z7. Crippled.

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

Depends on what you're doing. I love the Z7 for landscape and macro, but no way would I trade it for my D850 when it comes to wildlife / action. Also, the D850 offers a lot more customization and control. IMO, the Z7 is more of a mid-range body, where the D850 is a pro camera. Just wish they had a pro mirrorless - then we'd be all set :)

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Autofocus problems with the Z7. 2 1/2 year old great camera? Keep the great camera.

Don't tell me you trade in your car every two years as well!!

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I love my Nikon equipment and have since the 1980s and since moving to their digital system in 2006 with a D200. They are a great technology-driven company staffed with a lot of very smart people. But I've learned over the years (starting well before getting hooked up with Nikon) that nerdy companies really struggle with how to reasonably advertise and promote their equipment. (I worked for a company in a different technology industry for many years that faced the same struggle every day.)

The result tends to be over-enthusiastic advertising and attempts to create a frenzy of support. At worst, the advertising can lead to assumptions of magical performance that is just overblown. One example of this was the introduction of the D850. Pre-release publicity painted a picture of a revolutionary camera that caused there to be no need for any other camera and generated a frenzy of demand that created a supply backlog that lasted for months. Barely a year later, Nikon did exactly the same thing for the Z7 and Z6.

In my case, after the world settled down, I bought a D850 to complement my D810. The truth is that it represents a very good incremental advance over the D810. But it does not in any way call for the D810 to be retired, sold, or discarded. It is very nice, and I'm very glad to have it, but it is in no way revolutionary, and it in no way obsoletes my D810. Indeed, they work very well alongside each other.

A few months after the Z7 was introduced, my local camera store happened to have one in stock that for some reason was unsold. They offered to let me look at it, which I did. It's a fairly nice camera, but to me, it doesn't have anywhere near the reassuring "feel" of either the D810 or the D850. And even ignoring any focus system shortcomings, there doesn't seem to be anything about it that offers any real operational or artistic advantage over the D850 (or really, over the D810), at least for me, and I take photographs that often require fairly high technical capability from my cameras. Also...the Z cameras are at a significantly advanced price point over comparable DSLRs. Finally...the Z7, at least (I didn't look at a Z6), does not seem to be built to the same level of construction and ruggedness as either the D850 or the D810 (or the D500).

There are a lot of folks here who have Z6 and Z7 cameras and speak very highly of them. They may be speaking accurately, or they may only be justifying their purchase in their own minds. There is not a way to know for sure.

The thing we do know for sure is that there apparently will never be "the ultimate camera." It would be bad for business at the manufacturers.

If you don't like your D850 for some reason, then you may want to consider a trade. But even then, I'd suggest some hard looking and testing and evaluation, not just the availability of a "deal." Cameras tend to be very personal gadgets. I'd be very careful about letting any other person choose for you (or for me), whether it is the manufacturer, the national distributor, the camera store, or anyone here (including me).

Good luck as you decide. Have fun choosing.