Upgrade to a Z
- Thread starter SAW
- Start date
Hello and welcome to the forum!
One thing that will help a lot are a few answers to the following
1- Overall budget - (loose idea what you are willing to spend)
2- Anything you want to "carry over" such as extra lens you have, or is this an all new adventure
3- Less important but helpful, are size and weight (camera and lens) important for you
You have given your subject's you like and that helps a lot, there are many Z shooters here and can/will give you great feedback they will all ask the above questions first.
One thing that will help a lot are a few answers to the following
1- Overall budget - (loose idea what you are willing to spend)
2- Anything you want to "carry over" such as extra lens you have, or is this an all new adventure
3- Less important but helpful, are size and weight (camera and lens) important for you
You have given your subject's you like and that helps a lot, there are many Z shooters here and can/will give you great feedback they will all ask the above questions first.
Clovishound
Senior Member
The Z7ii makes an excellent landscape camera. The autofocus may hold you back if you are doing wildlife, especially moving wildlife, but is more than adequate for stationary subjects. One advantage is that it has a 46 MP sensor, this will allow you to crop significantly, or print large prints.
One caveat, if you plan to use the lens you have on your D3400, you will need an FTZ adapter. This runs about 300 USD. Additionally, the lens you have is probably a DX lens. That means you will only be using about half of your sensor. If you buy new, you can purchase a kit and get a discount on the kit lens. The Z 24-70 f/4 is one of those. It will add about 600 USD to the package (saving about $450 over purchasing the lens separately), and save you the 300 USD you would have to spend on an FTZ. Additionally, it is a full frame lens capable of giving you the full resolution of your camera, and is an S-line lens.
Currently the Z7ii is on sale for $1900 body only, $2500 with Z24-70 F4 lens. The Z24-70 F4 runs $1050 when purchased separately.
Not sure what prices in your country run.
One caveat, if you plan to use the lens you have on your D3400, you will need an FTZ adapter. This runs about 300 USD. Additionally, the lens you have is probably a DX lens. That means you will only be using about half of your sensor. If you buy new, you can purchase a kit and get a discount on the kit lens. The Z 24-70 f/4 is one of those. It will add about 600 USD to the package (saving about $450 over purchasing the lens separately), and save you the 300 USD you would have to spend on an FTZ. Additionally, it is a full frame lens capable of giving you the full resolution of your camera, and is an S-line lens.
Currently the Z7ii is on sale for $1900 body only, $2500 with Z24-70 F4 lens. The Z24-70 F4 runs $1050 when purchased separately.
Not sure what prices in your country run.
In addition to Clovishound's solid recommendation on the Z7II and from what the Nikon UK website indicates it would be in budget even with the 24/120 Z lens.
This brings me to ask do you want to go full frame or stay with APS-C size sensor? Nikon seems concentrated on full frame and you are in a very good place to go with the larger sensor. As someone who just got there first full frame camera (a D850) the detail is very notable and I like to do some landscape also and that is where you really notice it.
With the descriptions you have provided, unless you see yourself cropping a lot I would think the sensors in the mid 20megpix would OK for your use (maybe even better suited). If you do serious low light photography (you mentioned astro) I have some concern's with noise at high ISO values. Interestingly with the high mega pix sensors the (46MP) noise at high ISO gets to be more of an issue. They took D5's on the recent moon flyby mission for this very reason, the D5 has a 20.8MP sensor but does a great job with high ISO noise. Those photos were stunning for sure, its a good example of bigger is not always better.
We have some astro photographers on the site and hope they may help for this area. I would like to do some astro photos in the future also but I am not up on it to make good recommendation's but I know there are many things to consider for that type photography.
Using lens from the D3400 will require the FTZ or FTZII adapter, with it they will work. Very well on a Z50II for example. If you decide on full frame and your lens are DX (ASP-C) they will be limited to the view of a DX camera when mounted to a full frame. So with the cost of the adapter and possible limits I think its wise to consider new Z lens for your new camera.
I had a Z50 for quite a while, I liked it and used the FTZII adapter with F mount lens. However the cost of the Z series lens for what I like to do (bird photos) and my retired person budget I'm staying DSLR's for now.
You mentioned larger printing larger than A4, even your D3400 is capable of very large print sizes. Print houses can do magic making large prints, If you are not using photo editing software now, and want to do large printing good software (many good free issues) and a good computer for edits should be considered into the budget (just my opinion).
Hopefully these points are of some help, there are so many things to consider
This brings me to ask do you want to go full frame or stay with APS-C size sensor? Nikon seems concentrated on full frame and you are in a very good place to go with the larger sensor. As someone who just got there first full frame camera (a D850) the detail is very notable and I like to do some landscape also and that is where you really notice it.
With the descriptions you have provided, unless you see yourself cropping a lot I would think the sensors in the mid 20megpix would OK for your use (maybe even better suited). If you do serious low light photography (you mentioned astro) I have some concern's with noise at high ISO values. Interestingly with the high mega pix sensors the (46MP) noise at high ISO gets to be more of an issue. They took D5's on the recent moon flyby mission for this very reason, the D5 has a 20.8MP sensor but does a great job with high ISO noise. Those photos were stunning for sure, its a good example of bigger is not always better.
We have some astro photographers on the site and hope they may help for this area. I would like to do some astro photos in the future also but I am not up on it to make good recommendation's but I know there are many things to consider for that type photography.
Using lens from the D3400 will require the FTZ or FTZII adapter, with it they will work. Very well on a Z50II for example. If you decide on full frame and your lens are DX (ASP-C) they will be limited to the view of a DX camera when mounted to a full frame. So with the cost of the adapter and possible limits I think its wise to consider new Z lens for your new camera.
I had a Z50 for quite a while, I liked it and used the FTZII adapter with F mount lens. However the cost of the Z series lens for what I like to do (bird photos) and my retired person budget I'm staying DSLR's for now.
You mentioned larger printing larger than A4, even your D3400 is capable of very large print sizes. Print houses can do magic making large prints, If you are not using photo editing software now, and want to do large printing good software (many good free issues) and a good computer for edits should be considered into the budget (just my opinion).
Hopefully these points are of some help, there are so many things to consider
BF Hammer
Senior Member
I am curious what lens you have for your D3400? Perhaps the money spent on the FTZ adapter is better put toward a new Z mount lens. But if it's a decent full-frame lens, then there is a decision there to consider.
Z5-II, Z6-III, or Z7-II are all good choices. If you think a 24MP sensor would do the job, then Z5-II and Z6-III would be fine. The Z7-II is going to have a higher resolution sensor however it is a generation behind the other current Z bodies right now. So a Z6-III could do a pixel-shift series to be combined into a much higher-res image, but the Z7-II cannot.
Z5-II, Z6-III, or Z7-II are all good choices. If you think a 24MP sensor would do the job, then Z5-II and Z6-III would be fine. The Z7-II is going to have a higher resolution sensor however it is a generation behind the other current Z bodies right now. So a Z6-III could do a pixel-shift series to be combined into a much higher-res image, but the Z7-II cannot.
tonye
New member
Heading,,,, Upgrade to a Z. After reading the many comments and problems with these new fangled things ( especially dust ) I'm sticking with my D5200 DX and D600 FX and my many AFS and AF glass, 24mp is more than enough for me. Just my opinion, it suits for my shooting style. As the old saying goes " if it aint broke, don't fix it ". Your money, your choice.