D500 to Mirrorless Z7ii or Z8

[ThePlanner]

Hi,

I am looking to upgrade from my current D500 to a newer mirrorless body. I have been trying to find any information on the FTZ adapter if there are any issues with focus delay, loss of quality, etc. Is anyone using the FTZ adapter with older glass and experienced any problems? I prefer to avoid buying any new glass.

I currently have a D500 with the 14-24, 24-70, 70-200 F2.8, 200-500 F5.6 and some primes. I do not mind replacing the 200-500 or primes, but the 2.8 are too costly at this moment to change.

My main photography covers (as a hobby) Landscape, wildlife and portraits.

Thanks for any advice/insights.

[Tony1963]

I’ve no idea (Canon user) but scroll down a little in this link for a bit of relevant info:

https://kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/nikon-vs-...

[Tony1963]

And:

https://kenrockwell.com/nikon/mirrorless/lenses/ft...

[Simpo Two]

I see you've got the 'FX set' of lenses

I can't comment on the Z7 or Z8 but you've probably figured out that by changing from DX to FX your lenses will suddenly seem 33% shorter.

As a D500 user myself, what shortcoming are you wishing to improve on?

[jingars]

I acquired a Z8 and FTZII adapter in June.

I noticed no difference in lens response from my D850. My F-mount lenses are a Tamron 150-600 G2, Nikkor 24-120 G ED, Nikkor 70-300 G, Nikkor 50 1.8D.
The FTZII adapter does not contain an old-school drive and so will not auto-focus the nifty fifty, or indeed any lens requiring the focus to be driven via the camera body.

As I was already on a FX body, my primary reasons for seeking to go mirrorless were:
1: Subject auto-detection.
2: Higher frame rate: 20FPS in full RAW, up to 120 FPS if you accept jpgs.
3: View of exposure prior to taking the image.
4: G.A.S. - Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

I planned to keep all of my F-mount glass. It soon became clear (if you will pardon the expression) that besides my lack of skill, the Tamron was the limiting factor - and had been on the D850 as well.

Aside from the auto focus on the 50, on the Z8 and FTZII, all of the lenses worked as well as they did on the D850.

I have subsequently acquired a Nikorr 180-600 Z, along with the 24-120 Z S. I have also acquired a fixed 50 1.8 Z S lens used from London Camera Exchange. I have a verbal capex from my Domestic Programme Manager to acquire a 14-30 f4 whilst the current Nikon promotion is running - cannot justify the 14-24 f2.8.

For sports, wildlife, anything else that moves quickly, or for one-time opportunities where you need to nail the exposure (perhaps weddings, street photography) then in my view mirrorless certainly has advantages.

However, I was already using a full frame DSLR. Moving from a crop sensor may present other challenges in terms of reach.
As has been mentioned, you could switch to DX mode - and that is something that I have programmed to the lens function button on my 180-600 - but having shelled out to go full frame then it does seem counter-intuitive to deliberately crop in camera.

I have no interest in video, but messing around with the 8K slow-mo is fun - and a great way of eating all your storage in short order.

I have not picked up my D850 since I acquired the Z8. I should sell it (and my D7500...) along with the F-mount lenses as I will not voluntarily use them now I am getting used to mirrorless.

Edited by jingars on Tuesday 14th November 12:24

[kestral]

ThePlanner said:

Hi,

I am looking to upgrade from my current D500 to a newer mirrorless body. I have been trying to find any information on the FTZ adapter if there are any issues with focus delay, loss of quality, etc. Is anyone using the FTZ adapter with older glass and experienced any problems? I prefer to avoid buying any new glass.

I currently have a D500 with the 14-24, 24-70, 70-200 F2.8, 200-500 F5.6 and some primes. I do not mind replacing the 200-500 or primes, but the 2.8 are too costly at this moment to change.

My main photography covers (as a hobby) Landscape, wildlife and portraits.

Thanks for any advice/insights.

Don't do it. It's just GAS. The D500 is a fantastic camera.

Ask yourself what does it not do that I NEED.

All this mirrorless stuff is bulled up.

Wait until Nikon do their global shutter camera. Z9's, Z8's will drop in price like a stone.

[YorkshireStu]

ThePlanner said:

Hi,

I am looking to upgrade from my current D500 to a newer mirrorless body. I have been trying to find any information on the FTZ adapter if there are any issues with focus delay, loss of quality, etc. Is anyone using the FTZ adapter with older glass and experienced any problems? I prefer to avoid buying any new glass.

I currently have a D500 with the 14-24, 24-70, 70-200 F2.8, 200-500 F5.6 and some primes. I do not mind replacing the 200-500 or primes, but the 2.8 are too costly at this moment to change.

My main photography covers (as a hobby) Landscape, wildlife and portraits.

Thanks for any advice/insights.

You'll get daft responses from certain types who have never lived with both types of cameras for any decent length of time for a proper comparison. Ignore them.

The latest mirrorless bodies aren't going to create better images. Your D500 is fine for that. However, the new camera bodies do make it 'easier' and you'll find that you have a greater number of 'keepers' following a shoot.

[StevieBee]

YorkshireStu said:

You'll get daft responses from certain types who have never lived with both types of cameras for any decent length of time for a proper comparison. Ignore them.

The latest mirrorless bodies aren't going to create better images. Your D500 is fine for that. However, the new camera bodies do make it 'easier' and you'll find that you have a greater number of 'keepers' following a shoot.

This!

I ran a D850 with top drawer glass for two years and swapped to a Sony A7iv back in the summer. The reason for the swap is that I do a lot of video work and use a Sony FX6 which uses Sony FE lenses. So I ended up having the same lenses for FX and FE fittings which was daft. The A7iv also matches the FX6 for video pretty well (much better than the D850) so can run a two camera set up for video*.

I also had a D7200 and a load of DX glass too.

But I loved the D850 and photography is still a big part of my business so I ran the 850 and A7iv side by side for a few months before committing to make the full swap. On a shoot, I'd do half on one and half on the other.

I determined that there was indeed no difference in image quality between the two. Zero. I'm sure if one was to get all anal about it, you could find difference somewhere but for me, and most importantly, my clients, there was no noticeable difference.

Operationally, it's swings and roundabouts. The auto focus on the Sony is miles better. But I prefer the optical viewfinder on the Nikon. I prefer the ergonomics of the Nikon but it weighs a ton compared to the Sony. Both have unnecessarily complex menus.

But, all things considered, taking into account my own needs, I've made the right choice.

My feeling is that there's no specific need to jump to mirrorless. You're not missing out on new tech that's going to improve your photography. There are some features that are beginning to emerge on the high-end mirrorless cameras that may well make a difference (such as the global shutter on the new Sony A9iii) but will be several years before such tech trickles down to more attainable gear.

For now, the only bit of kit that will make any tangible difference to your photographs are the lenses you use and such is the quality of lenses these days, even then you really need to know what you're looking for to sport the difference.

If you do make the switch, it's best to to do it fully which means new lenses and thus more cost. But at least then you have kit that's all properly paired and made to work together.

*Yes, I did try a FX to FE adaptor which worked optically OK but looses a lot of the integrated functions such as auto focus, etc.

Edited by StevieBee on Thursday 16th November 10:25

[ThePlanner]

Thank you for the replies.

The main reason for the replacement is for travel and as a 2nd camera body. My D7000 is no longer working, so the Z7ii would be the new main camera and the D500 be the 2nd camera body. The only other option I have is the new Leica Q3 for travel but that is a completely different topic.

Some typical photos
This was a stich together of 4 or 5 images


Late night photos of local landmarks

Edited by ThePlanner on Tuesday 14th November 19:40

[Simpo Two]

If the motivation is to have a back-up camera, I'd grab a s/h D500 to go with the first

[kestral]

ThePlanner said:

Thank you for the replies.

The main reason for the replacement is for travel and as a 2nd camera body. My D7000 is no longer working, so the Z7ii would be the new main camera and the D500 be the 2nd camera body. The only other option I have is the new Leica Q3 for travel but that is a completely different topic.

Some typical photos
This was a stich together of 4 or 5 images


Late night photos of local landmarks

Edited by ThePlanner on Tuesday 14th November 19:40

You've got GAS.

You've changed your original post.

Quote: "Hi,I am looking to upgrade from my current D500 to a newer mirrorless body". End quote.

Evidence you have GAS. You just want to spend money on a new toy.

Get the D7000 repaired. Plenty of places repair cameras.

It's a GAS, GAS, GAS.

[8bit]

StevieBee said:

YorkshireStu said:

The latest mirrorless bodies aren't going to create better images.

This!

Disagree. I had a D610 for about six years, moved to a Z6 II about a year ago and within a couple of weeks I realised I'm never going back to DSLR. The newer one is more usable at higher ISO, get a cleaner shot at the sort of ISO that would have resulted in fuzzy mess from the D610. Besides that, the OVF is a game-changer for me, now it's "what you see is what you get". The autofocus on the newer camera is much more reliable than on the D610. The Z6II is smaller and lighter too, even with the FTZ adapter fitted.

There are a couple of areas where the D610 was better though - I found it a little easier to use as there were buttons for most functions on the body - on the Z6II you have to assign stuff to functions and that sometimes means popping into a menu to change things (shutter release mode for example). Also, the battery life is much worse on the Z6 II than D610, I gather this affects all mirrorless systems though. On balance though, Z6II over D610 all day every day.

To the OP's original point - I use the FTZ with no issues on any of my lenses, most of which are Sigmas, a Tamron and a couple of older Nikons. The only issue I've found is that Lightroom no longer detects the lens brand automatically when enabling the Lens Correction tool, but generally if you select the manufacturer it will then figure out what lens model it was and apply the profile correctly.

If you can, hire one for a weekend and play with it, see how you get on as, with anything, YMMV.

HTH

[StevieBee]

8bit said:

StevieBee said:

YorkshireStu said:

The latest mirrorless bodies aren't going to create better images.

This!

Disagree. I had a D610 for about six years, moved to a Z6 II about a year ago and within a couple of weeks I realised I'm never going back to DSLR. The newer one is more usable at higher ISO, get a cleaner shot at the sort of ISO that would have resulted in fuzzy mess from the D610.

Is that a fair comparison though? The D610 came out in around 2012, using tech that had been around, at the time, for several years prior to that. Later DSLR were much improved and a better comparison to modern mirrorless units. The ISO handling on the D850 was excellent.

[8bit]

StevieBee said:

Is that a fair comparison though? The D610 came out in around 2012, using tech that had been around, at the time, for several years prior to that. Later DSLR were much improved and a better comparison to modern mirrorless units. The ISO handling on the D850 was excellent.

In your case it's a different (but I'd argue still valid) comparison but the OP has a D500, not a D850. So for them, it may well be more clear cut as it was for me.

You went from Nikon to Sony as well which changes things somewhat. If you've ever used a NIkon mirrorless system and can compare that to your D850 I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts on that?

[ThePlanner]

kestral said:

You've got GAS.

You've changed your original post.

Quote: "Hi,I am looking to upgrade from my current D500 to a newer mirrorless body". End quote.

Evidence you have GAS. You just want to spend money on a new toy.

Get the D7000 repaired. Plenty of places repair cameras.

It's a GAS, GAS, GAS.

My point about purchasing a new camera has not changed. I will be purchasing a new camera to replace the D500, and then the D500 would be a spare 2nd camera. However, it is not possible to repair the camera where I am living.

[ThePlanner]

8bit said:

StevieBee said:

Is that a fair comparison though? The D610 came out in around 2012, using tech that had been around, at the time, for several years prior to that. Later DSLR were much improved and a better comparison to modern mirrorless units. The ISO handling on the D850 was excellent.

In your case it's a different (but I'd argue still valid) comparison but the OP has a D500, not a D850. So for them, it may well be more clear cut as it was for me.

You went from Nikon to Sony as well which changes things somewhat. If you've ever used a NIkon mirrorless system and can compare that to your D850 I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts on that?

I got the D500 for sports and wildlife, but over the last few years I have done more city and landscape photography and that was the main reason I got a crop sensor.

Having a second body is ideal as my wife or daughter also do photography with me when we go out for walks in the city.

But back to the original point, I just needed some advice on the change in image quality and the performance of the lens, such as focus speed.

[8bit]

OK, I've certainly not noticed any loss of quality, performance or functionality at all using my F-mount glass with the FTZ adapter, aside from the very minor caveat I mentioned above in Lightroom (Lens Correction no longer automatically identifies the lens, you have to select the manufacturer manually then it does the rest). Most of my glass are Sigmas, one Tamron and two Nikons (50mm f/1.8G and 24-120mm f/4G ED) and all are just as they always were on the D610.

Oh, I meant to say - there are now two FTZ adapters, the original and the FTZ II. The later one is a little smaller and lighter IIRC but the original has a flat bottom with an additional thread attachment. I use a Peak Design strap which has the quick release tabs which attach to the strap lug on one side and the thread mount on the bottom of the main camera body, so the extra thread mount is handy for me as I don't need to remove the strap tab to put the camera on my tripod.

Edited by 8bit on Friday 17th November 08:20