What's going on with Nikon?

I had a Z7ii. Have used an R5. The R5 is the better camera, no contest.

Hi,

Yep. I haven't bought a Nikon Imaging product of any sort since my Df back in 2018. Yet Nikon has made quite a profit off of me between then and now. How?

Industrial equipment. Millions of dollars in sales of equipment that carries a greater profit margin than equipment over on the Imaging side.

Stan

Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

Isn't it a bit superficial to pick out one feature of a camera, the autofocus, and judge the whole camera based on that?
What about the great S lenses, excellent dynamic range and other properties? My Z7 is great for most everything except BIF, for which I have a Z9. And I can hook up a nice little lens with built-in TC if I want...

Yes.
Note that R5 can use only 12 bits with the electronic shutter, which is not optimal for anyone shooting with an electronic shutter at base ISO (e.g., landscape).
I like that R5 has two BBF buttons that can have two different functionalities.

I always liked using my Z6...just something about the ergonomics that felt good. I'm getting used to the R5 and like it as well, but maybe after close to 20 years with Nikon the muscle memory is still there.

Sounds like an opinion to me.

It's interesting how folks get so energized by this type of discussion. I was just throwing out my remarks to see what opinions others had. I didn't mean to push temperatures up over 98.8 for some. Appreciate all the comments, especially from those who kept their cool.

I think he's saying that he prefers canon's strategy of abandoning their customers and making the new system (RF-S) even worse than the old one. The only decent RF-S lens is the 18-150, and that's because they didn't change it!

No, because everything else is a given these days. The autofocus isn't.

Literally EVERYONE has excellent lenses and great dynamic range now.

Sounds like you haven't used an R5 side by side a Z7ii.

Nikon shooters (for the record, I'm a diehard Nikon shooter) lose their F'ing minds when anyone admits that the R5 is a better camera than the Z7/Z7ii.

Respectfully, then why was your first response to the OP's post?:

It appears that he was simply looking for a discussion to his question, "What's going on with Nikon?", and didn't expect to get bullied for it.

The answer to this question is most likely the Z8, which we still have yet to see. Hopefully, we can all put this to rest if the Z8 actually materializes and is in fact a mini Z9, an actual R5 competitor.

Seems as though Nikon knows what they are doing. Who knew? 😂

It reminds me of the good old fights of 2001 or 2009 😂

Canon EOS-1D (2001) / Nikon D1x (2001)

Canon EOS-1D (2001) / Nikon D1x (2001) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Nikon D3S (2009) / Canon EOS-1D Mark IV (2009)

Nikon D3S (2009) / Canon EOS-1D Mark IV (2009) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Well, Nikon still are a great camera maker (and lens maker) and I think that last comment is a little derogatory and very misplaced. It just smacks of some misguided belief in superiority and needing justification.

These things go in cycles and that is all you can read into any of it so far. Early on in the DSLR world it was Canon, then Nikon, then when ML started it was Sony and now Canon has probably caught up with Sony. Early on in the Canon/Nikon ML offerings, Nikon was ahead of Canon but both still behind Sony. Arguably, Nikon with the Z9 is up there now, but Nikon does lack variety in that particular area of ML cameras - so far. It is also interesting that many of the Canon/Sony birders are now saying that Nikon has the edge in Z mount birding lenses over Canon and Sony. Lenses like 800 PF, 600 f4 + TC, 400 f2.8 + TC and even 400 f4.5 etc are the envy of even the Sony and Canon shooters. Even the old F mount 500 f5.6 PF via FTZ adaptor on Z mount is still much vaunted by Canon and Sony shooters due to very low weight, size and great image quality. Add to that, the 400 f4.5 at a paltry 1.25kg and add a 1.4x TC and you have a 560mm f6.3 which is great for travel and on crop of 1.5x on the Z9 or a crop sensor the "equivalent" of 600 f4.5 (f6.7) - just perfect for a ML D500 when it eventuates - and it will. Neither Canon or Sony have lenses like the 400 f4.5, 400 f2.8 + TC, 600 f4 + TC, 800 f6.3 PF nor the old 500 f5.6 PF. It's not always just about the cameras.

It's interesting you were into birding yet had a D7500 where the D500 would have been the ants pants and even now would be up there with the best ML cameras in APS C. It just seems strange that you were using a less than competent DX DSLR yet lambast Nikon for not having a competent DX ML camera - yet. I mean, how dedicated to birding were you prior to ML if you were happy with a D7500 over a D500? Also, Nikon had all the F mount lenses to suit birders for a D500 etc. Z6 was never supposed to be for birding nor the Z50, although both can do a very credible job for most birding duties other than tracking. I would have likened the Z50 in ML to the D7500 in F mount.

When I transitioned from F mount to Z mount, I kept my D500 and D850 for bird tracking duties but rarely ever used them as I actually found my Z7/Z7II did 99% of what I required for my bird photography and the Z7 could do 100% of the rest of my photography. Not only that, but I just enjoyed using the Z7/Z7II better anyway and just to add, all my F mount lenses worked perfectly on my Z7/Z7II. When I obtained the Z9 in December 2021, that is when I sold my D500, the D850 the rest of my F mount lenses, except for the 500 f5.6 PF and 400 f2.8E FL VR, but the 400 is up for sale now.

As I stated in the outset, these things go in cycles and Nikon will quickly catch up (and possibly even overtake) and release an APS C ML like a D500 and a "baby" Z9 possibly called the Z8. As Bobn2 also writes:
"I'm not at all sure what is the point of this thread.
As for Nikon, in the present circumstances they have done very well to return to profit in difficult circumstances. You might not think a whole load of their product release strategy, but it seems to be doing OK for them."

Nikon downsizing and getting back to making excellent profits is the first step to where they should be at. Downsizing was important as camera and lens sales had plumetted across all manufacturers and the fact theat they have been able to do this without too much issue quite possibly puts them in better stead long term than Canon. Nikon can now concentrate on their cameras and lenses and we will see many great ML offerings coming up.

Hi,

Back then, I had the three D1 units, the Canon 1D and 1Ds plus the Kodak 560 (Canon) and 660 (Nikon) along with the Hi ISO Nikon F5 based 620x. When the dust settled, I settled out with the newer Kodak 760c, the 660m, and the 720x. Then I added the Pro Back onto a Contax 645.

That set remained until 2018 when I finally bought a Df. I sold all the rest along the way save for the D1H and 760c. And I added a Pentax 645D, which has a Kodak CCD.

Ah. Fun times. But I did settle on Nikon over Canon there.

Stan

I've been consistently happy with the results I get from the D850, and that hasn't changed. It does feel like Nikon has completely thrown its F-mount customers overboard, but at least until one of my lenses stops working and needs a repair that no longer exists, I'm not overly upset about it. Nikon's job is to make money (i.e. make new stuff for people to buy) and if mirrorless gear is the thing that makes them profitable, cool. I just don't see a need to switch until I'm no longer satisfied with my images, and I feel like it's the gear holding me back. I haven't encountered this yet. My dumb ass is the limiting factor every time!