For those of you who may be into photography, it's hard to ignore that Nikon and Canon have basically said that mirrorless is the way of the future. I follow Nikon a lot more closely than I do Canon, and they have officially/publicly announced that they will no longer be developing new DSLR bodies or lenses. Most of their last models remain in production, but the D6, D850, D780, etc are the end of the line. I believe Canon has also stopped new development.
For the most part, I'm still comfortable with my DSLRs. I mostly use a D850, but also have a D5(which I love unless I have to carry it), a Df because there's nothing quite like it, and a D800 and D810 that both still more or less serve as my back-ups to the D850(the D800 was my main camera for a while, followed by the D810, and then the D850 came along last summer).
Nikon F mount equipment is pretty seriously down in price, and I've taken that as a chance instead to beef things up. That's how I ended up with a D5 along with a 300mm f/2.8(a lens I had always wanted but honestly am now second guessing as I've barely used it). Last year I also replaced my 24-70mm f2.8G with the f/2.8E VR version.
Realizing that DSLRs were really only getting bigger and heavier, though, I started looking at a mirrorless system to supplement my DSLRs. There was a good argument to be made for something like a Z7, but equivalent glass didn't really get me the kind of size and weight reduction I was looking for. I looked at the APS-C Z mount offerings and in particular the ZFc, but was unimpressed by the fact that they're definitely lower end bodies(I'm not sure if Nikon will ever do a fresh take on the D500, but I doubt it) and their APS-C lenses are lacking a bit also.
That led me to Fujifilm, where you have an entire system basically built around the APS-C sensor and all the advantages that come with that. Next thing I know, I'm now sitting here with an X-T5, 16-80mm f/4, 23mm f/2, and 56mm f/1.2(plus a Fringer adapter for my Nikon glass). What can I say-I love the thing. Fuji has its quirks, but it's so small and light I really don't notice it the way I do the D850+even a small prime lens.
Still, though, I'm not totally sold on the EVF. It still looks washed out in bright sun(yes I've played with the settings all over the place) and I have to rely on the histogram to tell me if I'm clipping the sky since the EVF always seems to make it look that way. It gets really noisy and also finicky about switching from the screen to the viewfinder in low light. I realize the X-T5 isn't a speed/action camera, and the AF performance is good but I'd put it roughly at about Nikon D3 or D800 level. It gets distracted relatively easily in tracking and can't always keep up, especially with the 56mm lens wide open.
I understand that the latest and greatest high end offerings improve the EVF experience all around. A lot of people say that the Z9 makes them forget they're not using an optical viewfinder.
Still, though, for me I still really comfortable when I pick up one of my DSLRs after using the Fuji. I didn't fully appreciate, though, that I have come to use the rear LCD live view a lot more than I thought I would, and it can be a bit annoying when I first pick the DSLR back up to not have the live view as soon as I take my eye from the viewfinder.
So, anyone else made or considering making at least some progress into the world of mirrorless?
For the most part, I'm still comfortable with my DSLRs. I mostly use a D850, but also have a D5(which I love unless I have to carry it), a Df because there's nothing quite like it, and a D800 and D810 that both still more or less serve as my back-ups to the D850(the D800 was my main camera for a while, followed by the D810, and then the D850 came along last summer).
Nikon F mount equipment is pretty seriously down in price, and I've taken that as a chance instead to beef things up. That's how I ended up with a D5 along with a 300mm f/2.8(a lens I had always wanted but honestly am now second guessing as I've barely used it). Last year I also replaced my 24-70mm f2.8G with the f/2.8E VR version.
Realizing that DSLRs were really only getting bigger and heavier, though, I started looking at a mirrorless system to supplement my DSLRs. There was a good argument to be made for something like a Z7, but equivalent glass didn't really get me the kind of size and weight reduction I was looking for. I looked at the APS-C Z mount offerings and in particular the ZFc, but was unimpressed by the fact that they're definitely lower end bodies(I'm not sure if Nikon will ever do a fresh take on the D500, but I doubt it) and their APS-C lenses are lacking a bit also.
That led me to Fujifilm, where you have an entire system basically built around the APS-C sensor and all the advantages that come with that. Next thing I know, I'm now sitting here with an X-T5, 16-80mm f/4, 23mm f/2, and 56mm f/1.2(plus a Fringer adapter for my Nikon glass). What can I say-I love the thing. Fuji has its quirks, but it's so small and light I really don't notice it the way I do the D850+even a small prime lens.
Still, though, I'm not totally sold on the EVF. It still looks washed out in bright sun(yes I've played with the settings all over the place) and I have to rely on the histogram to tell me if I'm clipping the sky since the EVF always seems to make it look that way. It gets really noisy and also finicky about switching from the screen to the viewfinder in low light. I realize the X-T5 isn't a speed/action camera, and the AF performance is good but I'd put it roughly at about Nikon D3 or D800 level. It gets distracted relatively easily in tracking and can't always keep up, especially with the 56mm lens wide open.
I understand that the latest and greatest high end offerings improve the EVF experience all around. A lot of people say that the Z9 makes them forget they're not using an optical viewfinder.
Still, though, for me I still really comfortable when I pick up one of my DSLRs after using the Fuji. I didn't fully appreciate, though, that I have come to use the rear LCD live view a lot more than I thought I would, and it can be a bit annoying when I first pick the DSLR back up to not have the live view as soon as I take my eye from the viewfinder.
So, anyone else made or considering making at least some progress into the world of mirrorless?
