Originally posted this on the Facebook Group “Nikon Z6 Z7 Mirrorless Cameras”. This is a repost of it.

I am a little tired of seeing posts that oversell a camera. It comes off as a used car salesman. I think we need to be as transparent as possible on a camera’s merits.

Some people are looking to buy a camera and often are disappointed because they listened to some posts about selling a camera.

Nikon Z7/Z6 cameras are fantastic. I own the Nikon Z6.

We need to go back to the film cameras just before digital became prominent in 2002 to remember what I think we forgot.

We had several cameras back then.

• Viewfinder
  • 8×10
  • 5×7
  • 4×5
• Medium Format
  • 2-1/4″
  • 6×6
  • 645
  • 6×7
  • 6×9
• 35mm

When digital came along, we tried to buy one camera to do it all. The reason was simple those first digital cameras cost as much as $25,000.

Today I think we have slowly returned to where we should be. Many cameras, like the film days, work great for certain types of photography, but there isn’t one camera that does it all.

I must admit that the Nikon D850 comes close to doing it all.

After the Digital revolution in photography, we have the mirrorless revolution.

If you do this for a hobby, you will most likely buy a good digital camera that meets your needs.

If you are a pro or an amateur with the means to buy more than one camera, you will buy at least a backup camera. Then you add those unique cameras for the things that work best.

Many pros don’t buy every camera they will use. Many rent those high-end medium format cameras for those jobs that need that resolution.

Regarding Nikon Cameras for the advanced amateur or pro, here is how I break down the Nikon Line.

Nikon D5 – The ideal camera for a photojournalist. They are asked to shoot just about everything. They need a great sports camera, suitable for portraits, low light shooting, and video. A buffer of 200 RAW images is fantastic—also XQD Card Slots for speed.

Nikon D850 – This is one of the best cameras for almost anything. I believe the Nikon D5 is better for sports due to its low light and frame rates. The enormous resolution of this camera is a must for the landscape and commercial photographer who needs to make super large prints. Great for video

Nikon D750 is a great full-frame camera, but the buffer is small at 6.5 fps. It has many low-light capabilities like the D850, just not the resolution. It is the entry-level of the full frame.

Nikon D500 – While this is a smaller DX format is is pretty much the Nikon D5 in a smaller DX format

Nikon Z7 – This is the mirrorless version of the D850. Due to the DSLR’s focus, it isn’t the same, but close. The fact it has more focus points in some ways is better. Picking this camera over the D850 is for all the reasons mirrorless has advantages over DSLR.

Nikon Z6 – While very similar to the D750, the buffer is more significant than the Z6. This might be the best video camera as far as mirrorless on the market. It has a higher frame rate than the Z7 and ISO than the Z7. I bought it for those two reasons.

Why I like mirrorless

• Seeing what you are getting
  • White Balance
  • Depth-of-field
  • Exposure
• Quieter even with mechanical shutter
• Less need to Fine Tune Auto Focus
• Optional electronic shutter
• Lighter
• More focus points
• Face and Eye recognition
• No need for extra gear when doing video

Significantly, you are getting sports images with your camera. It is excellent that you can make huge prints from your smaller sensor.

When you start to compare your camera by saying, who said my ______ Camera couldn’t shoot __________ is the same as saying my Nikon ______ is as good as the Nikon __________.

That is what I have a problem with.

Show off your beautiful images. Talk about the love of your camera. Just don’t try and say your camera does everything that the entire Nikon line of cameras does because it doesn’t.

The closest camera to doing that was the Nikon D850, but even it has some limits.

In my opinion, no one camera does it all.