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Author Topic: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?  (Read 1601 times)

claskin

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Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« on: June 09, 2023, 06:13:14 pm »

I have been out of photography for several years. I was only a hobbyist but I bought a Nikon D800E with a great collection of lenses. I am now getting back into it and wondering if I should now sell the D800E for a Nikon Z8 or other mirrorless camera. Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.
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Carl Laskin

David Eckels

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2023, 10:10:50 am »

I went from an 850 to the Z7ii, impressed with handling similarity and lens performance. My only regret was giving up some of my F-mount lenses, especially the 70-200 f/4. I also like the feature of being able to see the histogram in the viewfinder. I had an 800E for years, never disappointed and I am still developing images from the past in LR/PS. Below is a stitch using the 800E; captured in 2015, developed yesterday.

claskin

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2023, 02:17:31 pm »

Thank you, David, for your insights. You are presenting a rather cogent argument for remaining with the D800E!  ;)
I will have to give up on a great selection of lenses for the 800E that I already own. I went from Canon 5D before the Nikon which may or may not have been a good move but so be it.
Thank you again

Carl
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Carl Laskin

fdisilvestro

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2023, 05:38:58 pm »

You might want to check the following thread:

https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=142559.msg1253398#msg1253398

I myself have a D800 and would buy the Z8 if I could afford it.

David Eckels

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2023, 06:46:27 pm »

Carl, I'm not disappointed with moving to mirrorless: hi ISO performance, DR, processing speed, and conveniences. I was just making the point that the 800E makes a fine digital negative. As for the Z8, not saying anything negative at all, but not enough of an increment to consider for me. If you've got "gold ring" lenses, they will perform well with any of the Z bodies. While the final image product may be perfectly acceptable, you can really see an improved IQ with the Z mount S lenses. FWIW. Good luck with your decision.

pluton

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2023, 05:22:45 pm »

I got a D800E and a D800 in 2013. I never liked the D800's as much as I liked the D3 cams I had before, but I wanted more pixels at the time. The D800/D800E sensors are really good even if the bodies are noisy and rich with vibration.
I bought a Z6ii and a Z7ii in 2023. I'm keeping the D800's and the set of lenses for now. The older Nikon and Zeiss lenses are, of course, useable on the Z cams with adapters.
Once I have both the 24-70/2.8S and the 14-24/2.8S (which clearly outperform my previous Nikon and Zeiss prime and zoom lenses) , I can release the older, lower performing wide angle F lenses.
The D800 bodies are worth so little on the used market...about $500-$600, as far as I can see... that selling them will not yield much $$$. 
I recommend---if possible--- keeping your D800E and it's good lenses until you have acquired at least some of your most preferred focal lengths in the Z system. 
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langier

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2023, 08:20:52 pm »

I went to the D800 in 2011 and LOVED the IQ! 36mp and 2K video in the same package! However, two bodies and lenses got big to travel overseas and made me stick out shooting in the streets. I bought a Panasonic GX-7 and a couple of lenses and became invisible, but missed the gorgeous Nikon files, full of deal and easy to process. The 7-14mm Panasonic lens was super and with less flair than my 14-24mm, plus the size and weight were a bonus. 16mp and low light, not so good.

So I migrated to an Olympus EM-5 MkII that I won in contest (with an image shot with my D800! :-) and kept the ball rolling. So much nicer for travel and the sensor-shift for large raw files was a plus! The EM-5 was an upgrade over the GX-7 and I was happy.

But, in my experience, the Panasonic bodies were not as well constructed and service was so-so. The Olympus did the job but then I crashed off a step and smashed the first body. A replacement body also failed... But those m43 Panasonic and Olympus lenses are gorgeous and pretty well built! The IQ from my collection was never an issue.

I started to miss the IQ I had with my Nikon system, especially with low-lighting and mixed lighting.

So when the m43 bodies were starting to fail, Nikon made their play with the 14-30mm and I started the next transition.

One body led to a second and all was well. Image quality, especially in low lighting and mixed lighting was good and files were easier to craft. The FTZ adapter was a bonus and I still use several of my F-mount lenses today.

In the mean time, I started back doing some landscape work and through 24mp files do quite well up to massive print sizes beyond the math, I wanted files over the top and went with a second-hand Z7II. It creates massive files full of detail, especially with any of my three Z zoom lenses and the several adapted F-mount lenses I still use.

For day-to-day shooting, the Z6 is enough quality for 95% of what I do. For over-the-top, the Z7 files are quite nice, definitely a step above my D800 bodies.

If you were happy with your D800E and current lenses, I'd put my efforts into getting back up to speed with it. You won't need to pay the upgrade taxes as you get back into the groove, such as media cards, storage, software, newer computers, etc., that seems to come as a necessity with nearly every new hardware upgrade one does.

If you got great images before with your camera, you can do the same today for a lot less! And most of the cameras & lenses created in the last dozen or so years are still capable of creating great images with a little practice and without spending thousands on a whole new can of worms.

The best upgrade I always recommend is to invest in the photographer through training, eduction, workshops, and photo ops with the money you save by not going for the latest (and most expensive) "toys" available and using what you already have and have used.
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claskin

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2023, 03:02:36 pm »

I thank all of you for the great replies and advice. Very much appreciated. I will stay with my D800E for the time being. I now have to buy a new printer having sold my P800 two years ago. Again, all of your comments and advice is so appreciated.
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Carl Laskin

BernardLanguillier

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2023, 08:44:34 pm »

I did D800 -> D810 -> D850 -> Z7 -> Z7II + Z9 + Z8.

I have only kept a few top F mount lenses including 19mm T/S, 28mm f1.4E, 105mm f1.5 E, Otus 100mm f1.4, Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 APO, Leica R 180mm f2.8 APO, 200mm f2.0 VR and have added a full line up of Z mount zooms and primes up to 400mm f4.5 S and 2 Voigtlander APO Lanthar (35mm f2.0 and 50mm f2.0).

For landscape work, the Z7II is just great. Very compact, great image quality,...

I do a lot of action photography too and more and more video, hence the Z9 first and now the Z8 as secondary camera. The Z8 is an incredible generalist camera. It probably has the best AF on the market for people, sports and wildlife, it's raw video quality rivals Red and Arri and outdoes Sony FX pro line in a very compact package... and landscape image quality is basically identical to Z7II/D850 (a tiny tiny deficit of DR without any real world impact), which is close to 4x5 in print.

One of the best assets of the Z system is the ability to adapt Sony FE mount lenses with excellent AF. This adds tremendous value to the investement because even if a lens you really need for an application is not (yet) available natively for Z mount, you always have the possibility to rent/buy a Sony FE mount lens to cover the gap.

If you never use AF, the Z7II is the way to go, if you are looking for a one does it all body, nothing beats a Z8 at the moment.

Cheers,
Bernard

kers

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2023, 08:30:38 am »

...
One of the best assets of the Z system is the ability to adapt Sony FE mount lenses with excellent AF. This adds tremendous value to the investement because even if a lens you really need for an application is not (yet) available natively for Z mount, you always have the possibility to rent/buy a Sony FE mount lens to cover the gap.
...
Cheers,
Bernard

Hello Bernard, Reading this the question boils up: what adapter makes the AF and all work for Sony lenses on a Z8 body?
I have particular interest in the 24mm 1.4 Sony


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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2023, 05:39:04 am »

The Megadap ETZ21 has been the top dog: https://megadap.net/product/megadap-sony-e-to-nikon-z-autofocus-adapter-etz21/

Fotodiox just released a promising one, but too early to tell: https://fotodioxpro.com/products/sne-nkz-fsn?_pos=3&_fid=dd0fa4605&_ss=c

Cheers,
Bernard

Eric Brody

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2023, 12:19:37 pm »

I agree financially with the decision to stick with the D800E... for now. I had one in the day and absolutely loved the image quality.

But... whatever you do, do NOT spend a few days with a Z7II or Z8 (or another other brand) mirrorless camera. It might end your love affair with the traditional DSLR quite quickly. I'm not going to detail all the advantages of mirrorless (even aside from the simple fact that the DSLR is essentially dead). People these days are have lots of fun with film cameras so clearly there is nothing absolute in my comments.

Bottom line is that you should enjoy your gear and if you're happy with the prints (that's what matters), relax, spend your money on your family, on travel, on ink (wow it's expensive) and paper.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Nikon D800E to Mirrorless?
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2023, 05:13:11 pm »

People these days are have lots of fun with film cameras so clearly there is nothing absolute in my comments.

Very true, I have 4 sheets of 8x10 Portra 160 film shot on my Gibellini and Voigtlander 360mm f4.5 coming back from development tonight and couldn’t be more excited. 😀



Cheers,
Bernard
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