Preamble:
I bought a really nice Nikon D810 from a reputable store for $599, with only around 12k snaps on it. I felt really lucky finding it at that price point and things we're okay until I started to realize just how bad the front focusing on it was. I bought a brand new Tamron 35mm f/1.4 and even after calibrating in the TAP-In console and giving it -20 on AF Fine Tune, it wouldn't focus. I had to return it the next day. My 24mm f/1.8G and 58mm f/1.4G both require -20 AF Fine Tune as well and the 24mm still isn't dead on with that enabled.
As such, I'm sending the camera back today under warranty and they're going to evaluate for repair. They have forewarned me that it's very possible that if it's not repairable with an adjustment of the sub-mirror assembly/focusing screen/sensor alignment and requires additional parts, they may determine it's too expensive for them to repair, at which point they'd give me a refund since it's still within warranty.
Looking around, I'm not finding D810s with similarly low shutter counts and condition under $800, which is a real kick in pants. There is a local option with about 300 snaps at the $850 mark (apparently belonged to a collector of some sort), but at that point we're approaching what a Z6/Z6II or even a Z7 can be had for used.
My thinking:
The reason I went DSLR when coming back to shooting (after nearly 8 years!) for a trip I'm taking to Japan in July, besides the cost of this body and f-mount lenses, was that I wanted something that I could carry for a whole day and shoot with without worrying about having to schlepp, swap in/out, and charge a bunch of batteries. I don't shoot video either and it's of absolutely no importance to me to be able to shoot video. I also owned a D810 at launch for some studio shooting I was doing, so it was familiar and pretty effortless to pick back up and start shooting with.
At this point, I'm wondering what to do should they just refund me. The 58mm f/1.4 is such a special lens in my view that I don't want to ditch it. I know it can be adapted to Z bodies and it's length is such that I wouldn't be unhappy doing that as it doesn't seem like it would become insanely front heavy. I'd have to work out a wide angle option to replace my 24mm f/1.8G, which I'm not AS attached to and I haven't done a ton of research into it, but supposing that with the Z's manual focus peaking is all it's cracked up to be, I could find something interesting in a manual focus 24mm, if not just go for the 24mm F/1.8S.
That leaves 35mm, which I like for normalish/wide-angle portrait type work. I gather that Nikon still hasn't hit it out of the park with a 35mm that isn't the f/1.2, which I can neither afford nor would I like to schlepp. There's no way I'm adapting the Tamron 35mm f/1.4 as it's also too large and heavy for a smaller body. The heft of that lens works with a D810, but I held a Z6 with it adapted and it was goofy.
Questions:
I don't have experience using any of Nikon's mirrorless stuff. Besides some sensor resolution, would I be giving up much moving to a Z6/II and adapting the 58, then filling in the other holes in the lens lineup subsequently? My goal for this trip and some upcoming project ideas I have is to make prints at a max size of 16X20, which I think the Z6 could still manage quite well and the Z7 could definitely manage...I think?
Are 3rd party batteries good enough I can just buy 2-3 and be good on my trip? Are there good enough 3rd-party 35mm options for Z mount? Or should I just save my energy and keep on the D810 path, even though I'll have to spend ~$250 more on a body? Hold out for a D850 if I can find one around $900?
Appreciate any and all input here! I really wasn't expecting to these issues with this body, but I supposed I'm lucky I caught it well before the warranty ended. I want to be sorted and confident with my gear before the trip.
Between the Z6 and Z6ii, I would definitely recommend the mk2. I'm also in the pacific northwest, and I think you can easily find a used low mileage Z6ii for around $800-900.
For a trip to Japan, I think you'll appreciate the smaller body of the Z6ii. The 58 1.4G I agree is a fantastic lens and worth adapting with the FTZ. If you want a small and light zoom, adapting an 18-35G f3.5-4.5 wouldn't be a bad idea, and would be very inexpensive at $200 or less used. I've seen used copies of the 35 1.4 Z for around $400-450 locally and if you don't need the optical strengths of the S line 35 1.8 it wouldn't be a bad choice.
As for 3rd party batteries, I've had good luck with the Enegon brand. They work in my Z8 and should work fine with your Z6ii (they'll also work with a Z6iii without errors). The two battery kit from amazon comes with a nice USB-C dual charger.
sungphoto wrote:
Between the Z6 and Z6ii, I would definitely recommend the mk2. I'm also in the pacific northwest, and I think you can easily find a used low mileage Z6ii for around $800-900.
I think you're right about that price range for a Z6II. What makes the mk2 worth the extra money vs a Z6? It appears to me there are some video advantages, but I'm really only interested in stills.
Better autofocus, and it’s nice to be able to use an SD card versus the XQD/CFE.
loganme wrote:
I think you're right about that price range for a Z6II. What makes the mk2 worth the extra money vs a Z6? It appears to me there are some video advantages, but I'm really only interested in stills.
No real chance of finding a used Z5II for that price… But I tend to agree that it’s hard not to spend the extra 300 or 400 to get the newer camera. That said the original Z6 for stills is basically equivalent to Z6II with the exception of the single XQD slot. They can be had for about 600. Or a Z5 for 550 if you aren’t tracking action or a lot of low light AF.
AdaptedLenses wrote:
No real chance of finding a used Z5II for that price… But I tend to agree that it’s hard not to spend the extra 300 or 400 to get the newer camera. That said the original Z6 for stills is basically equivalent to Z6II with the exception of the single XQD slot. They can be had for about 600. Or a Z5 for 550 if you aren’t tracking action or a lot of low light AF.
Low-light focusing is pretty important to me. Tracking much less so, the D810 isn't exceptional at that anyhow.
It’s a small extra cost for the camera and an XQD but go Z6 in that case. Z5II and Expeed 7 is a good bit better but 2x the cost and not really 2x better at least in terms of IQ.
loganme wrote:
Low-light focusing is pretty important to me. Tracking much less so, the D810 isn't exceptional at that anyhow.
The D810 is a fantastic camera and goes with your F mount glass. I had the D810 and it was a great camera. However, AF fine tune issues can present themselves, especially with the 58 f1.4G.
Interestingly, when I purchased the 400 f2.8E FL VR, it back focused on the D810, which I had purchased 9 months earlier, and I told Nikon that a lens of this caliber should not need AF Fine tune and they agreed and I took the lens and camera to Nikon for calibration. It came back perfect but I do not know what was adjusted, the camera, lens or both.
I won't try to convince you to go to ML as that is really up to you but there are some advantages, one of them being there are generally no AF fine tune issues and the 58 f1.4G will work perfectly. All my F mount lenses - and of course my Z mount lenses - do not need AF Fine tune.
As for what ML camera, if you are happy with 24Mp, then the Z6/Z6II/Z6II or Z5II as other's have suggested will work for you. I would try to go with the latest and get the Z6III or Z5II. If you want to crop, then maybe the Z7/Z7II for that extra resolution.
For me the small differences all make the mk2 worth a couple hundred bucks more. USB power delivery while the camera is on is nice if you do things like timelapses, it’s nice to not to have to buy a bunch of new media if you don’t already have XQD/CFE cards, and I think the mk2 is still a bit better with autofocus even after the firmware update because it has dual exspeed processors vs the single one in the mk1. I recall my mk1 having some challenges with low light focus acquisition, even after the updated firmware, which I believe is also processor related. The mk2 is better with continuous AF than the mk1, and has more tracking modes, which also impact performance in AF-S mode.
That said if the OP is using manual lenses, it’s pretty much the same, and I’ve seen the mk1 Z6 go for as low as $500 used which I think is a great value. The thypoch 28 1.4 is a solid little lens and very reasonably priced, much sharper than the TTartisans I’ve tried.
IIRC the main difference in terms of video with the mk2 is 4k60, but it’s with a 1.5 crop and overheats pretty quickly in my experience. Both make equally awesome 4k30 video (6k sensor downsampled to 4k made in sharper than my z8 in 4k30), albeit with a 30 minute limit on recording.
The Z50 if you’re ok with crop sensor would also make a great camera to play around with mirrorless, as they can be found for around $400 used.
AdaptedLenses wrote:
No real chance of finding a used Z5II for that price… But I tend to agree that it’s hard not to spend the extra 300 or 400 to get the newer camera. That said the original Z6 for stills is basically equivalent to Z6II with the exception of the single XQD slot. They can be had for about 600. Or a Z5 for 550 if you aren’t tracking action or a lot of low light AF.
Lance B wrote:
The D810 is a fantastic camera and goes with your F mount glass. I had the D810 and it was a great camera. However, AF fine tune issues can present themselves, especially with the 58 f1.4G.
I do genuinely hope they can just adjust the required parts and send me the D810 back, but I suspect that if it needs parts, I'm getting a refund. Any parts + labor will swallow up their margins on that body.
The 58 f/1.4 is special, but does require some precision to shoot wide open/slightly closed down at closer distances and this body just didn't have that, try as I did to get it calibrated. I never had this issue the first time around with a D810, but then again, that body was fresh from the factory and I probably only put 10k shots on it before I moved to Sony for reasons that are still a mystery to me. Eye AF mostly, I guess haha
The 58 1.4G is a special lens. I’m looking for another copy myself.
The D850 would be better in terms of autofocus performance with the 58 1.4G compared to the d810, at least in my experience, but if I was going to Japan again I’d probably want one of the mirrorless cameras you’re considering because the body is smaller. You’re going to be on your feet a lot in Japan. Also when you’re in sacred places like monasteries it’s nice to have a a silent shutter. The D850 has a silent shutter in live view but the autofocus sucks in that mode
loganme wrote:
I do genuinely hope they can just adjust the required parts and send me the D810 back, but I suspect that if it needs parts, I'm getting a refund. Any parts + labor will swallow up their margins on that body.
The 58 f/1.4 is special, but does require some precision to shoot wide open/slightly closed down at closer distances and this body just didn't have that, try as I did to get it calibrated. I never had this issue the first time around with a D810, but then again, that body was fresh from the factory and I probably only put 10k shots on it before I moved to Sony for reasons that are still a mystery to me. Eye AF mostly, I guess haha
In August last year, I finally took the leap from getting a release year D810 to hesitantly moving to a Z8. Honestly, I wish I did it sooner. While the ergonomics of the F-mount bodies are far superior in my opinion, the AF from the Z8 is just so mind blowingly amazing in comparison that there is no chance in hell I would go back.
m.sommers00 wrote:
In August last year, I finally took the leap from getting a release year D810. Honestly, I wish I did it sooner. While the ergonomics are superior in my opinion, the AF is just so mind blowingly amazing in comparison that there is no chance in hell I would go back.
@loganme TBH your budget seems light for switching to the Z platform, especially taking the cost of the FTZ adapter into account. There's no way to find a decent Z-body and an adapter for under $1K.
