I recently gifted my first ever DSLR camera and 3 lenses to my dad for Christmas, as he has always wanted a DSLR and currently has a bridge camera. The one I had was a Nikon D5300 and the lenses were cropped sensor lenses to go with the camera.
I purchased the camera a couple of years back using STEEM that I earned on Steemit, which I learned about from my brother. I learned all about photography on the Steemit platform and I have come a long way since and feel that it is time to upgrade. It felt right to pass on the camera to a family member rather than sell it. Pay it forward guys!
I have met so many amazing people along my crypto journey and photography has been one of the common themes with the people that I engage with. it is so much fun to have a shared passion with different people across the globe. I even managed to choose this camera by taking advice from fellow photographers that had much more experience than me.
We have all moved on since the days of Steemit, and here we are on HIVE; our next step in the crypto proof of brain mining stage.
I took quite a long time out of the platform due to a relationship break-up. Unfortunately, my 16 year marriage came to an end.
Life is good again and I want to refresh my passion for photography. My 'hobby' took me out and about finding new and exciting locations that I have been able to see with fresh eyes through my lenses. I was then able to chat to and learn from passionate photographers across the globe. I want to get back into that frame of mind where I see everything through my camera lens.
I have decided to invest in a Mirrorless camera next. My main reasons for this are:
- lighter equipment
- smaller camera base (I have small hands)
- I think the mirrorless systems will be the way forward in the future.
I will stay with Nikon as I love the way they work (cue canon lovers comments hehe); so I have 4 options.
Z6 / Z6ii/ Z7 / Z7ii
My main passion is macro photography. For this genre, I need plenty of light and plenty of pixels to crop in if I need to. All of the above offer an excellent amount of pixels for most uses, however the Z7 and Z7ii do offer more than the Z6/Z6ii, with 45.7 MP as opposed to 24.5 MP.
Easy choice then right? The Z7 or Z7ii? Hmmmm... maybe not.
The Z6 and Z6ii are much better at letting light in to the sensor. With Macro photography, more light is everything. To capture those tiny details, you usually have to get really close your subject, which can mean you block out a serious amount of ambient light with your camera and shadow. You can of course counteract this using lighting, but its not always possible as little bugs don't like to stay still for long!
So we now have a tie break between the models. Until you consider cost...
Using e-infinity online, I will compare the costs. I need to purchase an adapter too so that I can use my current DSLR lenses with the mirrorless system:
Z6 with adapter - £1179.00 - Bundle price available
Z6ii with adapter - £1908.00 - Breakdown of £1739 (body only) + £169.00 (FTZ adapter)
Z7 with adapter - £1729.00 - Bundle price available
Z7ii with adapter - £2828.00 - Breakdown of £2659 (body only) + £169.00 (FTZ adapter)
You may be wondering what the benefits of buying the 'ii' versions over the original versions are. Not a great deal as far as I can see, for a non-professional user at least. You get an extra memory card slot with the ii versions and a camera grip. Apart from those upgrades, the bodies are the same. So I can rule out the 'ii' versions based on the cost.
Another issue is my trusty macro lens (which I have had since the start of my photography journey) the Tamron 90mm macro lens, is NOT compatible with the Z range yet. There are plans to upgrade the systems, however there are currently no dates for this to happen. So I would not be able to take macro shots with my new shiny camera and my old lens just yet.
I could however buy a Nikon 105mm MICRO lens, which would allow me a slightly bigger working space so I will gain lighting there and I can sell my Tamron Lens to recoup some of the costs.
Nikon AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED VR Lens - £659.00 (link here https://www.e-infin.com/uk/item/224/nikon_af-s_micro-nikkor_105mm_f/2.8g_ed_vr_lens)
If I choose the Z6 plus adapter along with a new macro lens, I will be spending £1838.00, which is only slightly more expensive than the Z7 body plus adapter, but with no lens. Plus if I sell my current Macro lens, I will possibly gain some of the money back to take it even closer to the Z7 price.
I feel for the monetary value plus my own personal requirements (more light), the Z6 plus the new Macro lens is the way forward!
Let me know what you think in the comments :)
Thank you so much for reading!
Much love, Cheryl and the Bulldogs xx