Convince me not to, that I have it figured out correctly.
All my lenses are MF, F-mount, and I can legally post here every picture I take. It's been fun and educational and I've made some new e-friends.
Lately I've been reading about how good the auto-focus is on the Z5ii, fast, accurate, good at tracking a designated target, especially compared to the Z5. It tempts me for what I'm missing, to taste the forbidden fruit. One such temptation is the Z-mount 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR, not terribly expensive, with decent reviews.
I'm certain I miss pics while focusing or changing aperture for focus' sake before resetting it for DOF or other reasons. AF would let me get some of those. A Z-mount lens would let me use shutter-priority and full-aperture focusing. And it might as well be a zoom, since that would be more versatile than a prime.
But rational thought keeps stopping me. The Z5ii has made me lazy about considering exposure and AF would make me lazy about everything! Plus there are decision I can't make. Focal length, for example. I already have primes 28 to 300mm. Something longer would seem a logical next purchase (not that really need 400+ at all) but unless it's a zoom over the range I have now it wouldn't solve the lost pics now. With an AF zoom I might never use the current primes at all. Then there's the cost. Oh yeah, there is that (though that 24-200 isn't too bad).
So it's a temptation that I can't justify. Does all that make sense?
Cheers!
It is not only the lens that plays a part in autofocusing. Your camera body is part of the process. 3-D focus tracking is controlled by the camera body not the lens.
jimmuller wrote:
So it's a temptation that I can't justify.
It's a temptation you can't justify, but is it a temptation you can resist?
I can't justify that I own heaps of Nikkor glass such as 800/8 Ai-S, AF-S 70-200E, and Z 24-70/4S, except that life is short. Each lens brings its own challenge and enjoyment to use. Hopefully, I get an interesting image in the process.
So I pulled the trigger on the new camera, and you will not believe what I bought from Adorama.
The Z7II new, for the low Nikon price ~$1900 you get the camera, two memory cards, a cheap battery and some junk. I did order it with the battery grip, another $440 but a big improvement in handling for me.
Why? I do stills, do not care about autofocus and little about video. For Stills the Z7II is rated higher (DXO Mark and reviewers) than the Z8 at nearly half the price. The Z6III was tempting but I do want the higher pixel count.
I did buy my Z6 in 2018, so it is 8 years old, a truly remarkable first mirrorless camera release by Nikon. I did buy a used Z7 a while back which I am keeping.
This is from a 2026 review:
Highlights
High-resolution powerhouse with class-leading dynamic range (a little better than the Z8 as the sensor does not have a need to do extra high resolution video)
Ideal for landscape, portrait, studio and commercial photography
Dual card slots make it genuinely professional-safe
Excellent value at today’s pricing compared to launch
@rafaelcasd I went through the same comparisons on B&H a month ago because I wanted to upgrade my Z6 (purchased on release). Despite the very attractive deals on Z bodies (Z6iii, Z8), I decided the Z6 remains an awesome camera, and perfectly able to exploit the latest Z lenses. In fact, the Z6 is using the battery that came with my D500!
Congrats on the new body Raphael, seem to be some great Z bodies around at great prices. My recently acquired Zf was about $1k used and came with the Smallrig grip.
I wanted something with the best high ISO available primarily for astro with Viltrox 16mm f1.8 af so wanted one of the new stacked backlit sensors. Of course it's pretty good at non-astro too !
I went back to Cairns for a week last week for my daughter`s 30th and had a few days spare to get back out to the rainforest.
Norm Shapiro wrote:
It is not only the lens that plays a part in autofocusing. Your camera body is part of the process. 3-D focus tracking is controlled by the camera body not the lens.
Yes, I know. I have a Z5ii but all my lenses are MF F-mount using the FTZ. That's how I can post pics in this thread. But the Z5ii gets such great reviews for its AF performance. Plus I'm locked into only Manual or Aperture Priority mode. By eschewing newer technology I'm using only a fraction of its capability. That bothers my sense of efficiency, besides making me miss some pics.
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rico wrote:
It's a temptation you can't justify, but is it a temptation you can resist?
...life is short. Each lens brings its own challenge and enjoyment to use.
He! The two key points. So far: Yes, and I'm not convinced that's a route to either challenge or more enjoyment.
Now to move things along with YAFP (Yet Another Flower Picture), some yellow.
GeorgeBo wrote:
Shooting IR gives a completely different perspective from somewhere I have been a hundred times.
PC-Nikkor 28mm f/3.5 with about 5mm rise
Converted GFX 50S with 720nm IR clip in filter
George
Beautiful result!
George, Just a quick question about your full spectrum conversion. They remove the hot box, and replace it with clear glass - so you pick the spectrum by screwing a lens filter onto the front of the lens. If you use an AF lens can it work with such a darkened field? Can you see through the filter well enough to focus and compose, or do you remove it to accomplish that?
Jim
Today we walked Battle Road from Hartwell Tavern to Nathan Meriam's house and back. Besides being a spectacular spring day it was also a great day for pictures. All taken with the 300mm f/4.5 AIS.
The Baltimore Orioles have returned to the northeast! TwoOrioles
by James Muller, on Flickr
A visual treat in spring around here is the Spring Azure butterfly, one of the first butterflies to appear in warm weather. They are small, wingspan only about an inch. In flight the tops of their wings are beautiful blue/light purple. FOr some reasonl they always appear more blue in a picture but slightly more purple in person. When they land they hold their wings together vertically so you can't see the color. They spook easily and in flight keep moving. Catching them in flight is a challenge but worth the trouble.
They have an unusual life cycle. They live only a few week, mate and lay eggs. The caterpillars hatch, eat for a while, then form their pupae and remain that way for nine months. Sort of like Ryland Grace waking up after a long space voyage then rushing to save the race.
There is another variant called the Summer Azure, similar but not appearing until later of course.
