I'm heading out on a cruise in a couple of months around the Mediterranean to Venice, Rome, and a few other stops.
I've been on cruises before, though not this one, so I realize cruises aren't ideal for photography, but you can still have some time to take images.
My question is for anyone who owns or has used both the Z7II and Z8, which one would take? I mostly use the Z8 now, however, I am seriously considering only taking a Voigtlander 50mm prime and either a Voigtlander 75m prime or a Thypoch 28mm prime, all manual focus lenses.
Since I'll likely be using manual focus lenses only, is it worth taking the Z8 or take a tad less weight and use the Z7II?
Also, I have the Nikon 24-120 F4 S lens, which is what I would usually take with the Z8 but I'm leaning towards the manual focus lenses with the Z7II.
Any thoughts? Am I nuts and should take the Z8 and only the 24-120 or take a Z7II and one or two manual focus primes with the understanding that photography is secondary to the cruise. Again, if it was a pure photography trip, I'd take both camera bodies and the 24-120 along with a prime of two, but in this case, I'm trying to keep it lighter. Also, I'm only taking a sling bag, so taking a lot of gear is pretty much out of the question.
I would encourage you to use the 24-120 as your primary lens, not the prime duo. Take your favorite prime of that group when you want to mix it up.
The zoom will keep you moving faster and will give you so much more flexibility than having to juggle the primes.
I would lean towards the camera that is more discrete and that's the Z7ii in this case. It's also cheaper and more easily replaceable in the event of accident or theft.
Cruiser and Travel Agent here,
As a Photographer I always want to take all my gear when I go out to sea. I have a couple times, but I find myself using the least. Just because I don't want to miss the moment and family time waiting to take the shot. The last several cruise all I took was my ZFC with 24-70 & Fuji 100V. I can tell you I have taken more photos with those two. Plus I don't feel I have to watch my surrounding so much with big gear. (AND SALT & SAND)
For the places that you will visit I would just take the 28. And the body does not make much difference IMO. When I travel I always only take 1 lens which I think can do the majority of the shots. It always worked out fine with no regrets. Especially when you travel with people who don’t have an interest in taking pictures it is good if you can be fast with your photography and changing lenses can take too much time.
Deciding on what to bring to Italy with pretty much the same questions. Have a Z8, Z7ii , Z6iii, ZF. I will definitely bring the ZF with 40f2 & maybe 26 Z f/2.8 as it smaller form factor will help keep it inconspicuous. I also want to bring a higher MP camera. Using the 24-120 Z. F/4 since so flexible. Z8 might be too large to carry. If I bring the Z7ii, I’m sure I’ll miss the Z8 all around better focusing. Have until May to decide. Traveling with a group. No time for my manual focus lenses. Not hijacking your thread, just curious to see the responses you get to your questions.
I have both the cameras you mention, and the Z8 is used exclusively for sports/wildlife, and the Z7II is the travel camera. Z8 is just overkill on weight, FPS, etc... and when used for single frames, it just doesn't have that satisfying shutter sound that the Z7II's have.
For a cruise you are mostly going to be shooting landscapes so you don’t need the better AF in the Z8. For traveling, smaller and lighter is paramount. I wouldn’t hesitate to leave to Z8 at home. It’s too big and the Z7ii gives you the same IQ.
I would take the z7ii and the 28mm prime. Crop to DX and you sort of have a 42mm and 19mp. If you are worried about other focal lengths, then take the 24-120. That’s the setup i took to Iceland and loved it. I used the 28mm in Reykjavik and the zoom everywhere else.I recently went on a Caribbean cruise with just a Ricoh GR IV and was quite pleased to travel so light.
I was nervous about this decision. It was easy to have in my pocket on the ship and on shore. I only wanted a longer lens once. I’m glad I didn’t lug a z7ii, 24-120 around for 7 days just for that one shot. I honestly wouldn’t have carried my z7ii around the ship and hate pictures on my phone.
I would also encourage you to take the 24-120mm f/4 S. I found it very handy when walking around. Sometimes I’d find myself wanting a wide lens and the next minute more of a telephoto lens. You can go crazy constantly changing lenses, plus you have to drag them with you. I take the 24-120mm f/4 S with me on all trips.
Regarding the camera choice, I don’t see any major advantage of taking the Z8 over the Z7II unless you expect to take some action shots.
Thanks to all who responded so far. I had been leaning towards the Z7II and that will most likely be the choice with camera bodies. I'm likely taking the Thypoch Simera 28mm lens. I have to decide between the Nikon 24-120 and the Voigtlander 50mm F2 APO.
I took the Nikon 24-120 with me to Iceland along with the 50mm as well as to Banff National Park. I used the 24-120 90% of the time. I know what others are saying and most people would agree to take the 24-120.
The only thing that is stopping me in my mind is that years ago, I took a Viking cruise, where it stopped mostly in towns similar to the upcoming trip and a Voigtlander 58mm lens rarely came off my camera. For landscapes, the 24-120 is a no brainer. Using one lens like that one is a no brainer. I just keep going back and forth because in the past on 2 cruises, the majority of my images were between 24 and 58mm. Shrugs, but yes the Z7II will be the camera body of choice.
Just want to add if you will be doing interiors of old churches and such (particularly Vatican- St Peters is the most incredible interior space) you might consider that in your planning.
Plus X on taking a 24-120 f/4S... I've owned both the Z8 and the Z7II. The Z8 is just so much more a snappy and fast shooter, so I recommend the Z8, the 24-120 f/4S, and I'd take a S35mm F/1.8 for interior shots.
