My lenses are Nikon, so I stick with Nikon. Nikon 1 v3 has to be my favorite just because I grab it the most often. The 10-100 manual zoom and a small monopod make it the lightweight all-around king of the war chest. A close second is the D7500 with the Tamron 18-400 on a sturdier monopod for better everything at the cost of weighing twice as much. All the rest get occasional use for niche functions. I'm thinking the Z50 will replace them both unless it turns out to have some as yet untold fatal flaw.
A block of wood that takes an acceptable photograph under nearly any and all conditions would be fine with me. I'm looking for the perfect compromise camera. The Nikon 1 V3 was getting close except for the very stupid and very fragile removable EVF and mildly compromised IQ. That camera mounted on a small monopod with a 10-100mm lens weighs less than two and three-quarters of a pound. It's my go-to for walking around (compared to nearly double that weight for a similar DSLR layout). Compared to my P610 or any point and shoot I've seen the IQ for the N 1 series is outstanding, so I'm thinking even more improvement in the Z50 along with improved electronics and maintaining the same weight range. We'll see when the reports of real-life usage start to come in, but this looks like a game-changer for me.
Dave
B&H says the estimated availability is November 27.
Dave
The Z50. I haven't figured out when it ships yet. The "Buy Now" button works but when you get there it says 'out of stock'. Jared Poulin (sp?) and DPReview both have videos up on youtube showing pre-production models. Looks to me like they're trying to fix what they got complaints about with the Nikon 1 and go from there? Buy another camera, then another adaptor, then....?
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/index.page
Dave
My film cameras were always new and then I bought a D70 that was new. Every camera since that has been refurb (and a couple used). D50, D40x, D80, D7000, several Coolpix, D5500, Nikon 1 V1, 2, 3 & J1 & 5. I have an A900 laying here in a box that has needed to be sent back (I bought an extended warranty, rare for me) due to me dropping it. Other than that, I've never had one problem except for the D80 which took a dump after it had become backup to the D7000 and it's still a paperweight. Regarding the price of the D7500, I was referring to its original retail of $1249. Past time to hit the rack.
Dave
All three bodies have their pros and cons, but my point was to alert others to the low price. At less than half price I became pretty forgiving, especially about a second card slot I never used anyway and old lenses that already have modern duplicates in my bag that do work. The D7200 refurb is a hundred dollars more than the D7500 was on the Nikon USA site. So my whole point is this... It's cheap, I'm cheap, and I thought I'd share it. ;o)
Dave
The funny thing was that when I looked, that price was only available from B&H and Nikon USA, tax and free shipping or not. Usually, when Nikon deals pop up everybody seems to have them like when I got my Nikon 1 V1 kit. I may have just missed it, but that's the only two places I saw that price. Since they dumped the Nikon 1 line it gives me the feeling that the rumors about the low-end DSLR's being doomed to the same fate may be true? If a DX mirrorless is headed our way, that would make sense by way of thinning the herd and giving more definition to their lineup. We shall see soon enough, I suppose.
Dave
B&H still has them listed for sale at $599, but they seem to be gone from the Nikon USA site at that price unless I missed it. I snagged one and am quite happy with it... still learning, but very similar to my old D7000. I did a site search and couldn't find anything about this, so sorry if it's a repeat.
Dave
I can't offer much by way of recommendations for the where of it since we usually head south, but I will offer you a cautionary thought if it hasn't already been mentioned. Make your decision as early as possible concerning your itinerary and get reservations for whatever accommodations you'll need well in advance of your trip. We were talking to a nice lady in a roadside rest in South Carolina on our way to Tennesee one day in October a few years back. When I told her we were going to just stop wherever we landed and get a room, she said I was probably wrong about that. She mentioned it was "change of colors" and I thought is was some sort of military ceremony or something. Oh, how right she was. We were right at the peak of fall foliage. When we got to Kentucky about one in the morning having stopped at about fifty hotels we turned around and went back to Knoxville to get my ex-wife's dear aging aunt out of bed at three in the morning and begged for a place to sleep. Lesson learned.
I forget the MeFoto as it's pretty permanently attached to my point & shoot, but it's also great for about as little as you'll pay for a monopod. The Manfrotto has flip clamps on each segment which I prefer, but the MeFoto is fine once you're used to it. It requires a turning motion to tighten or loosen and needs to be twisted pretty firmly to get it really tight if you're going to put much load on it, but it works quite well once you're used to it. I got a Benro ball head to go with it and the total was $40 for both as the monopod was a "today's deal" for $20. It's ideal for my long zoom P610 as it's light and quite shaky at 60x and the whole thing only weighs 2.7 pounds... great for long walks and such. With any camera, if you practice you can develop a pretty good pan by pivoting on the stick and keeping the head snug but not tight so as to be able to follow up and down as well while still achieving better stability. So... either the Manfrotto or MeFoto get a thumbs up from me for a cheap but decent quality solution with both being under your $100 limit.
Agreed. Manfrotto 681B with a tilt head has served me well for years. Very sturdy and a bit heavy.
PS - I just checked and they are discontinued, but you can still find them elsewhere. They have a Manfrotto model called "The Element" that looks interesting which has good ratings for $50 (without tilt head).
A couple of other points; the D7200 has a fixed LCD and if you're using the articulating screen regularly, you'll lose that. Nikon must agree about the dual slots since they dropped them in the latest D7xxx edition. D7200 is heavier and bulkier but offers more controls and better battery life.
I just did the opposite in my quest to find small and easy with great IQ. The Nikon 1 series had the potential, but they abandoned that so I bought a D5500 for the touchscreen and lighter weight. Once I mount a lens, that weight advantage goes away and all my Sigma lenses will have to go back for service before I can use them with it and the screen has a learning curve. I keep coming back to my P610 and ignoring the blown highlights when they appear. Wish I'd spent the money on glass. Oh well, there is no cure for GAS anyway. We can only treat the symptoms by applying large quantities of cash or credit to the affected area. Good luck!
I found a reply of mine in this thread which may have been true at the time (years ago) but is no longer true. Lightzone is now a free and open source program found at lightzoneproject.org. Pretty impressive for free. You do have to sign up, but I have received no correspondence from them and once I figured out how to get to the download it was all smooth sailing. Between this, Darktable, GIMP, and Windows 10 photo (and others), I see no need for any paid software for the hobbyist unless that's part of your fun?
Sand is bad for the camera and salt may be worse. Here's a good article on shark attack:
https://www.seeker.com/shark-attacks-what-are-the-odds-1765086926.html