Which would you buy.. D780 or Z6II+FTZ-II (to replace a D750)

bald_eagle

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for advice/opinions..

My D750 has started showing its age a bit (sometimes not recording the photo despite shutter actuation, occasional inability to autofocus - where I'm sure it could previously), and I'm thinking about getting either a D780 (while they're still around) or a Z6II (plus FTZ-II so I can use my F-mount glass).

I can't really afford to replace all my F-Mount glass at the moment.

I love my D750s OVF, but its LiveView focusing is pants (I seldom use LiveView)

So the question is: which would you buy and why?

Thanks in advance ;-) ;-)
Baldy.

bald_eagle

Extra question: is it now possible to connect to the camera's WiFi without using SnapBridge (i.e. without BlueTooth) from dslrDashboard on an Android device (to control the camera focus/aperture etc. and take photos - not just copy photos to the Android device)?

WestEndFoto

bald_eagle said:

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for advice/opinions..

My D750 has started showing its age a bit (sometimes not recording the photo despite shutter actuation, occasional inability to autofocus - where I'm sure it could previously), and I'm thinking about getting either a D780 (while they're still around) or a Z6II (plus FTZ-II so I can use my F-mount glass).

I can't really afford to replace all my F-Mount glass at the moment.

I love my D750s OVF, but its LiveView focusing is pants (I seldom use LiveView)

So the question is: which would you buy and why?

Thanks in advance ;-) ;-)
Baldy.

Z6ii. Your F-mount glass will be just as good and since you don't have any Z-mount glass, it is not a pain to deal with the FTZ. Until you buy something in Z.

Even better, a Z6iii.

Note, I shoot most of my AIS and D glass on a ZF, never taking the FTZii off. The best manual focus that those lenses have ever seen from any camera. I only have about half a dozen F-mount G and E lenses, but they work great on the Z bodies.

bald_eagle

WestEndFoto said:

Z6ii. Your F-mount glass will be just as good and since you don't have any Z-mount glass, it is not a pain to deal with the FTZ. Until you buy something in Z.

Even better, a Z6iii.

Note, I shoot most of my AIS and D glass on a ZF, never taking the FTZii off. The best manual focus that those lenses have ever seen from any camera. I only have about half a dozen F-mount G and E lenses, but they work great on the Z bodies.

Thanks for your reply

WestEndFoto

bald_eagle said:

WestEndFoto said:

Z6ii. Your F-mount glass will be just as good and since you don't have any Z-mount glass, it is not a pain to deal with the FTZ. Until you buy something in Z.

Even better, a Z6iii.

Note, I shoot most of my AIS and D glass on a ZF, never taking the FTZii off. The best manual focus that those lenses have ever seen from any camera. I only have about half a dozen F-mount G and E lenses, but they work great on the Z bodies.

Thanks for your reply

You are welcome.

Pistnbroke

Buy a second hand D750 lots about with low counts

donaldejose

Start your move into the Nikon mirrorless Z system and abandon DSLR's. Look to the future, not the past. If for some reason you just love the DSLR style then get a used DLSR robust enough to last a long, long time. The "pro body style" has longer shutter lives and stronger build and better weather sealing. So get a used D850 or D5 and you will be able to use them for a long, long time. Otherwise, move into the modern era and pick up new Z mount lenses over time. The Z6III should be out soon and is expected to be a killer camera at a killer price. You will love the Z system once you move into it.

photobunny

You can get a used Z6 for under £700 here, it is an excellent gateway drug to the Z system, that combined with a FtZ will let you run all your current lenses and leave you plenty left over vs a new body. The 50mm f/1.8 S is also super cheap and would give you the first taste of how the Z system runs when given native glass.

NSXTypeR

It makes sense to pick up a Nikon mirrorless now, but my only concern is if you have very heavy F-mount lenses. Would it be possible to torque the Z mount in a way that negatively affects focusing and image quality?

I too would go for the Z6.

The only exception is if you have a very large collection of F mount lenses and no budget for buying new Z mount lenses. If you get a D780 now you can shoot for a very long time without worrying about any updates or lens trade ins. Or if there's a particular F mount lens you love working with that there isn't an equivalent of in the Z mount.

I had to make a similar decision with my Nikon D7000. It was working well still but I was concerned I wouldn't be able to find a D7500 brand new. I was holding out for an update to the Z50 because I wanted to use EN-EL15 batteries, especially since I had a few lying around. I decided to just pull the trigger and get a D7500 as I had a trip to Japan coming up and I wanted to at least be somewhat accustomed to the body. I'm glad I made that decision as Nikon seems to be dragging their feet with DX mirrorless.

Capt_Spaulding

I had, and still have, a D750. I still love it, but it (and I) are approaching our expiration dates. I’m sure the 750 will still be taking great images after I’m gone, but I fell victim to the siren song of mirrorless. I bought a Z8 because I have aspirations of doing more BIF before I’m done and the 8 is the E ticket for that. After running the 8 through its paces on some landscape shots, I’m happy with my decision. Looking at the specs on the Z6ii it seem like a substantial upgrade over the D750.

If I were not so focused on birds I’m sure I’d have been happy and financially better off with a Z6ii or Z7ii. With an FTZ you’re not losing anything to a D780 and the mirrorless bodies are very, very capable.

dissent

I bought a D780 a while back, but haven't used it much (yet ...). Plan to though.

After just getting through with a new PC build and migrating all my data (Lightroom catalog, images, etc etc), I think I'm just going to stick with my F-mount kit, as it seems to be doing fine. The new Lightroom Classic is a huge improvement over my old LR setup.

donaldejose

I bought a D2x for $150.00 and a D700 for $245.00 just for fun to see what I can do with them. When you run the RAW files from those old sensors through modern software it is amazing what you can extract.

This is a 12 mp originally captured D2x RAW file processed in NX Studio to 45 mp file containing 8256 x 5483 pixels. Focus is on the head of David. ISO 100.



This is a 12 mp originally captured D700 RAW file processed in NXStudio to a 50 mp file containing 6159 x 8256 pixels. ISO 640.


Try this with your D780 RAW files. NX Studio is free and much better than many people give it credit for, especially the option of allowing you to save the file with more pixels.

More improvement can be obtained by then running the resultant NX Studio file through Topaz Photo AI.

bald_eagle

Thanks Guys for all the great comments/advice.
Sorry it's taken me a while to reply.. (been quite ill for the last couple of weeks).

I'm still undecided..

I do have a considerable investment in F-Mount glass and don't really want to start buying everything again in Z-Mount

I Just missed a Refurbished D780 on the Nikon Store here, which was quite a good price

Z6ii+FTZ is probably the way I should go (looking to the future), but would also mean investing in new Storage cards and CFExpress cards are still relatively expensive. (I only use my cards once - as soon as they're full I store them safely).

The other expense I'd have , regardless of which way I choose to go, is either a really good lightroom equivalent or subscribe to the Adobe Plan to get the latest lightroom, as I'm still using Lightroom 6 and occasionally Affinity Photo

Cheers,
Baldy