Nikon Z6 and Z7 Mirrorless Cameras

Wow, questions are already coming in asking if I plan to switch to the new Nikon Z6 or Z7 full frame mirrorless cameras and what the benefits would be! Let me address them here:

Short answer... not right away, but maybe later down the road, but not now.

First adopters usually also get first problems. Historically, many cameras have some kind of problem which is often found in the first cameras that come out. Software updates usually fix these, but I have had a couple of new cameras in the past requiring these updates. I'm not willing to do that again with the new mirrorless cameras. Best to let someone else "test them out" by being the first owners and see if any issues pop up.

Also, I don't shoot professionally any longer and only teach. If I were still shooting weddings, no doubt, I would get a Z6 or a Z7. The noiseless shooting of these cameras (or any mirrorless camera) would be a huge benefit during the shooting of a wedding ceremony! The loud "clunk" sound from a DSLR is just too loud during a wedding! Shooting a concert would definitely benefit from a mirrorless camera!

Any other benefits that I see with these new cameras? Camera noise (physical noise, not image quality noise) is the biggest reason for me, but also, these are lighter in weight and also weather sealed. They are made from magnesium alloy bodies... it's the same as my Nikon D4 pro camera. The downside though is that there's only one memory card slot! That's a pity as most all pro cameras have two card slots where you can designate one card as a backup card.

Another nice thing with the new cameras is 5 EV of Vibration Reduction (image stabilization) BUILT INTO the camera body! This means any lens placed on the camera would now be a stabilized lens! Even my old Nikon lenses without stabilization would now be stabilized!

Here's an interesting thing though... typically, Nikon Professional Services sends out an invitation to NPS members (pros) to purchase pro cameras before the general public get them. So far, I have not gotten this invitation email. That's not to say that I won't be getting one later, but it could also mean that Nikon doesn't see these cameras as a "pro" camera and see it only as an "enthusiast" camera which does not count towards NPS camera counts (we must own a certain number of cameras and lenses along with pro credentials to be part of the NPS). The lack of two card slots could be an indication right there that these are not "pro" cameras in their eyes. This makes me think that down the road, perhaps a BETTER pro camera in a year or two will be coming out! This is just speculation though.

So why should I consider a Nikon and not a Sony for a mirrorless camera? Well, I have a lot of Nikon lenses. With the new lens adapter for the new cameras, I could use all of my old lenses. If I jumped to Sony, I'd need to repurchase a bunch of lenses as well as a camera. That would cost over $10,000.

These are my reasons that I won't be buying a Z6 or Z7 camera immediately. Ask me again later and the answer may be, yes... I'm getting one. But I doubt it. I'd need a really good reason to buy yet another camera any time soon!