p.1 #2 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
The SLR/DSLR cameras I've used in the past decades had/have a top screen, the only exceptions being the FM and F-301. Even my 35 y.o. F-801 has a top screen.
Personally, i) I find the top screen “very” useful for immediately seeing not only the shutter speed and aperture, but also the ISO settings and battery status, without having to use the monitor or EVF, ii) I can't stand the stingy commercial policy that certain companies (not just Nikon) have.
Shame on Nikon for not including a top screen on the Z5II.
p.1 #3 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Ripolini wrote:
The SLR/DSLR cameras I've used in the past decades had/have a top screen, the only exceptions being the FM and F-301. Even my 35 y.o. F-801 has a top screen.
Personally, i) I find the top screen “very” useful for immediately seeing not only the shutter speed and aperture, but also the ISO settings and battery status, without having to use the monitor or EVF, ii) I can't stand the stingy commercial policy that certain companies (not just Nikon) have.
Shame on Nikon for not including a top screen on the Z5II.
You are probably a Z6III guy. I like them also but learned to live without them when I used Sony bodies, even the a1II lacks a top screen.
p.1 #4 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Ripolini wrote:
The SLR/DSLR cameras I've used in the past decades had/have a top screen, the only exceptions being the FM and F-301. Even my 35 y.o. F-801 has a top screen.
Personally, i) I find the top screen “very” useful for immediately seeing not only the shutter speed and aperture, but also the ISO settings and battery status, without having to use the monitor or EVF, ii) I can't stand the stingy commercial policy that certain companies (not just Nikon) have.
Shame on Nikon for not including a top screen on the Z5II.
Nikon also has a policy that you don’t have to buy the Z5II if you don’t want to. Nikon is never going to satisfy 100% of their customers with every camera. The different types of articulated screens is a good example. Some people like one type and others don’t even use the feature. The viewfinder is another. Some only want optical while others want an EVF. If the Z5II sells well, I guess many don’t mind the lack of a top screen.
p.1 #5 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
bernardl wrote:
You are probably a Z6III guy.
I don't need the AF performance of a Z6III; the performance of a Z5II would be enough for me (it's also lighter and smaller). The top screen doesn't cost the difference in price between the two cameras. So why spend hundreds of € more for a small screen that costs just a few €?
Moreover, Z6III is castrated too, being semi-stacked ...
p.1 #6 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Ripolini wrote:
The SLR/DSLR cameras I've used in the past decades had/have a top screen, the only exceptions being the FM and F-301. Even my 35 y.o. F-801 has a top screen.
Personally, i) I find the top screen “very” useful for immediately seeing not only the shutter speed and aperture, but also the ISO settings and battery status, without having to use the monitor or EVF, ii) I can't stand the stingy commercial policy that certain companies (not just Nikon) have.
Shame on Nikon for not including a top screen on the Z5II.
I have a Z7 with top screen and a Z5ii without. I mostly forget the top screen exists, the info I want is already on the rear screen that I'm composing on if my eye is not in the viewfinder.
Glad they dropped it as an easy cost-cut on the Z5's. Wish they'd just drop the screen entirely on the Expeed7 bodies and add a second rear command dial instead (like my A7IV had), that third control point that could use this space is way more valuable than a screen duplicating data shown in 2 other spots on the camera that you are more likely to be looking at anyways.
p.1 #7 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Ripolini wrote:
I don't need the AF performance of a Z6III; the performance of a Z5II would be enough for me (it's also lighter and smaller). The top screen doesn't cost the difference in price between the two cameras. So why spend hundreds of € more for a small screen that costs just a few €?
Moreover, Z6III is castrated too, being semi-stacked ...
Then I deeply apologize on behalf of Nikon for not having taken you precise needs into account.
It would seem that you don’t match the profile of the users DPreview think represent the majority of buyers in this segment. No surprise, I always knew you were special.
p.1 #9 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
bernardl wrote:
It would seem that you don’t match the profile of the users DPreview think represent the majority of buyers in this segment. No surprise, I always knew you were special.
Well, I don't know if I'm "special". For sure, I do not vote like most of EU and US guys
p.1 #12 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Hard to argue with that assessment. And the Z6 III snags to top spot for around $2,000. But these recs are just a snapshot in time, wait a few months for the Sony a7V and Canon R6 III to come out, and things might change. And then Nikon releases the Z6 IV, the Z8 II, etc, etc.
For me, it is as much about the lenses I want to use - that guides which body I put behind the lens/es.
p.1 #13 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
indusphoto wrote:
The top screen is nice but not essential, however having the mode dial on right is critical when balancing a heavy lens with left hand.
I prefer Z6III for it's performance but I will take the right hand mode dial over it's top screen.
I shoot with my 400mm f2.8 S TC a lot on Z8/Z9 and I honestly don’t remember the last time I had to urgently use the mode dial in the middle of action… I use S mode 90% of the time, set it and forget it. Then M mode 10% of the time and that’s it
But I think it’s possible to use the F1/F2 custom buttons on the right side of the camera to behave as PASM mode switch.
p.1 #14 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Z5 II is a cheap camera so obviously has to be limited for cost and feature differentiation (needs to be a reason to buy better bodies). I rather loathe SD cards so not having a CFe slot is more of a bummer than some other omissions.
p.1 #15 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Ripolini wrote:
Shareholders are even happier if costs are reduced, not prices. As a customer, I have a different feeling.
The Z5ii costs less at release than the release MSRP of any of the bodies with the top display (the cheapest of those were the Z6 at $2k on release) despite inflation.
p.1 #16 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
Sorry I don't understand how can we compare the price of Z5II to Z6's, which was the first (along with Z7) MILC introduced by Nikon. Do we wish to compare D100 to D780? D100 was way more expensive even if you neglect inflation!!
Anyway, how much would a top screen increase manufacturing costs? I bet guys at Nikon didn't add a top screen because they wanted to keep the same body as Z5. They didn't add the top screen to Z5 because they wanted to stress that the camera was an "entry level" FX MILC. The original Z5 was $1400 at launch, while the Z5 II is $1700. We realize now how much overpriced that entry level camera was.
p.1 #17 · The Z5II is DPreview's recommended camera under 2,000 US$
I use the screen a lot because it's very useful when we're not actually using the camera in the hand. It's actually very useful when the camera's off.
When I have the camera in the bag, I don't have to bring the whole thing out or move it a lot to look at the back screen to check my battery or how much shots are left in my card. Flip the switch, take a quick glance, flip it back off. On my Z9, because the LED is always on, I don't have even have to flip the switch on to check it if I have a card in there or not.
Now I also get not everyone can appreciate this kind of QoL feature, but it is useful when it's there. And since it's missing on the Z5ii, I don't see it not being there as a deal breaker either. If it's there, I'll use it. If it's not, I'll manage.
