First few days with X1D II

[Neil Williams]

Nice to be back photographing with a smaller camera system rather than my usual D850 600mm f4 (Birding rig up)
First impressions its nice and compact/light and fits well in my larger hands. I initially bought the body with the 135mm XCD lens.......I was surprised how big that 135 lens is but saying that it fits well on the body. The other three lenses that I took with me were the Zeiss Otis 55mm. Hasselblad Disappointment V 50mm CFi and the Hasselblad 250mm Super Combat (haven't tried that puppy yet)
The Zeiss Otis vinegaretts like a bitch............I won't be using that again...below


The Hasselblad V Disapointment 50mm CFI worked not to bad but its heavy and not exactly sharp sharp..........below are a few examples





The last two below were shot with the 135mm XCD lens, this lens renders beautifully but at this particular location I didn't have that much use for its FOV




My 45mmP has arrived already so looking forward to using that baby

Neil
Neil

[maddogmurph]

That tree on the second photo came out Nicely Neil. I too have been contemplating moving away from my d850 kit to save same weight, perhaps to the Sony A7R IV w/ the 12-24 F2.8 GM and 70-200 F4 GM - but I'm somewhat afraid of moving away from my Zeiss 15mm F2.8 on the d850 which I know works, to either the 12-24, or 16-35 GM lenses. The bonus is that I wouldn't have to carry my 15, 24, and 70-200... eliminating a lens would be huge for weight savings, not to mention the DSLR to Mirrorless saves about 16 ounces off the top. That being said I'd expect to have to carry at least twice as many batteries, and another concern is the operation of the mirrorless in extreme cold like the Yukon, Iceland, or Norway, which I sometimes encounter.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with that Sony vs the D850?

[D Fuller]

That tree on the second photo came out Nicely Neil. I too have been contemplating moving away from my d850 kit to save same weight, perhaps to the Sony A7R IV w/ the 12-24 F2.8 GM and 70-200 F4 GM - but I'm somewhat afraid of moving away from my Zeiss 15mm F2.8 on the d850 which I know works, to either the 12-24, or 16-35 GM lenses. The bonus is that I wouldn't have to carry my 15, 24, and 70-200... eliminating a lens would be huge for weight savings, not to mention the DSLR to Mirrorless saves about 16 ounces off the top. That being said I'd expect to have to carry at least twice as many batteries, and another concern is the operation of the mirrorless in extreme cold like the Yukon, Iceland, or Norway, which I sometimes encounter.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with that Sony vs the D850?

Why would you not consider the Nikon Z7? (Or Z7II) THE 70-200 Z-mount is probably the best 70-200 ever made by anyone, and the new 14-24 (which I haven’t used) is reported to be excellent. And you can still use your Zeiss 15mm if you wish.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Great photos, never mind the gear:)

[KMRennie]

That tree on the second photo came out Nicely Neil. I too have been contemplating moving away from my d850 kit to save same weight, perhaps to the Sony A7R IV w/ the 12-24 F2.8 GM and 70-200 F4 GM - but I'm somewhat afraid of moving away from my Zeiss 15mm F2.8 on the d850 which I know works, to either the 12-24, or 16-35 GM lenses. The bonus is that I wouldn't have to carry my 15, 24, and 70-200... eliminating a lens would be huge for weight savings, not to mention the DSLR to Mirrorless saves about 16 ounces off the top. That being said I'd expect to have to carry at least twice as many batteries, and another concern is the operation of the mirrorless in extreme cold like the Yukon, Iceland, or Norway, which I sometimes encounter.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with that Sony vs the D850?

I have moved from the D810 to the A7R4. No regrets so far. I wouldn't worry about batteries. I have never gone below 50% on a full days shooting and that with wifi and bluetooth on. If you are in the habit of using live view with the D850 you may get more shots per charge with the A7R4. I have also saved a lens as I have the 16-35GM, the 24-105G and the Sigma 100-400. It hasn't been cold here so can't say about batteries in the cold. Ken

[kers]

Like the colour and tones of nr 2 very much. I agree with Paulo- the gear is not a problem anymore.

[maddogmurph]

Why would you not consider the Nikon Z7? (Or Z7II) THE 70-200 Z-mount is probably the best 70-200 ever made by anyone, and the new 14-24 (which I haven’t used) is reported to be excellent. And you can still use your Zeiss 15mm if you wish.

After weighing the two, I have concluded you are correct. Thank you for the suggestion. Although the one disappointment I've found is that the new lenses (the 70-200 F2.8 on both Sony and the Z7) are approximately 21 ounces heavier than the 70-200 F4 (which I'm more than happy with). This is disappointing because my goal is to drop weight, and if I carry my d850 with only one lens, I'm actually not saving any weight by shifting to mirrorless. Which essentially brings me full circle into probably hanging onto what I have for now as the price tag for changing systems runs $7,000 to $8,000 less whatever I can sell my old gear for, which I'd imagine is around $4,500-5,000 roughly. I'll have to decide whether $2,000 is worth a pound off my pack weight and a F2.8 vs F4 telephoto.