Replacing old with...old? D-90 to D850.
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Hoag
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I am an amateur photographer (some might say enthusiast) who enjoys photography both above and below the surface.
I am going to offer what might be an unpopular POV, but take it with a grain of salt because it is nothing more than my personal opinion.
Above the surface, I shoot a Z8. I love it, and to be honest, it does virtually everything I would want it to do. The camera is nothing short of amazing!
It is, however a significant investment, and one that I am not willing to take underwater. I know first hand that no matter how meticulous you are, accidents happen and salt water does not play nicely with cameras. I view any camera that I take underwater as something that I want to last a long time, but ultimately something that I view as expendable. Any camera I take underwater I have to be ready and willing to roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders, and walk away from if something like a flood happens.
Because of that, I have gravitated toward lower cost, APS-C cameras for underwater. Again, I'm not a pro. My livelihood doesn't depend on me catching that proverbial "one in a million" shot.
The Z50II is a quite good camera and both Nauticam & Ikelite make housings for it. It is also about 1/4 of the price of a Z8. APS-C cameras also have the advantage that they tend to be smaller, lighter & easier to pack than a Full Frame camera. If a Full Frame sensor is a deal breaker, then the Z6III is slightly more than 1/2 of the cost of a Z8 and a Z7II is even less than that.
In anticipation of an upcoming trip, I recently got a new underwater camera, and in an effort to minimize cost and size, I opted for a Canon R100. I am not under any illusion that it has the same capability as my Z8 would, but I also have to recognize that for me, I am willing to accept good and don't require great, and if something does happen, I am willing to roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders & accept the loss of my R100.
Like I said, this is nothing more than my opinion.
I am going to offer what might be an unpopular POV, but take it with a grain of salt because it is nothing more than my personal opinion.
Above the surface, I shoot a Z8. I love it, and to be honest, it does virtually everything I would want it to do. The camera is nothing short of amazing!
It is, however a significant investment, and one that I am not willing to take underwater. I know first hand that no matter how meticulous you are, accidents happen and salt water does not play nicely with cameras. I view any camera that I take underwater as something that I want to last a long time, but ultimately something that I view as expendable. Any camera I take underwater I have to be ready and willing to roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders, and walk away from if something like a flood happens.
Because of that, I have gravitated toward lower cost, APS-C cameras for underwater. Again, I'm not a pro. My livelihood doesn't depend on me catching that proverbial "one in a million" shot.
The Z50II is a quite good camera and both Nauticam & Ikelite make housings for it. It is also about 1/4 of the price of a Z8. APS-C cameras also have the advantage that they tend to be smaller, lighter & easier to pack than a Full Frame camera. If a Full Frame sensor is a deal breaker, then the Z6III is slightly more than 1/2 of the cost of a Z8 and a Z7II is even less than that.
In anticipation of an upcoming trip, I recently got a new underwater camera, and in an effort to minimize cost and size, I opted for a Canon R100. I am not under any illusion that it has the same capability as my Z8 would, but I also have to recognize that for me, I am willing to accept good and don't require great, and if something does happen, I am willing to roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders & accept the loss of my R100.
Like I said, this is nothing more than my opinion.
They sell this product called Insurance. It's not that expensive, I pay about $200 a year for 25,000usd of coverage and a $500 deductible Even at a Half or Quarter of the Z8 cost, I don't want to incur that level of financial damage. Insurance is cheap peace of mind.
And flooding a Nauticam housing used with some care and attention is pretty hard to do.
Hoag
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Like I said. It is nothing more than my opinion but thank you for your condescending response.
I was planning to move up from the Nikon D3X to the D5 until my wife bought a D850. The quality difference from the D700 was incredible, even though the D700 was and is still a great camera. I joined Merry and got a D850 and have been very happy since. Until something comes along that gets better quality photos, which I have not seen evidence of, I'm sticking with the D850.
cetacean
Contributor
@MaxBottomtime
Having moved from the D850 to the Z8 about a year ago, I agree the D850 is a great camera. Having said this, the Z8 offers a couple of meaningful improvements over the D850.
Autofocus - the D850 is fast... however the intelligence in the autofocus on the Z8 (using the Z version of the 105 lens, vs. the 105 on the D850) is even better. If not faster, the added intelligence (in low light or shooting fast moving subjects) is noticeable.
EVF - it takes a while to get used to, but the EVF ends up being a better way to shoot (and review an image immediately following) than the equivalent on the D850.
There are a few other smaller differences, but nothing that adds up to anything substantial.
There is one area where the D850 clearly outshines the Z8, that's shooting blackwater. There is a clear difference in shooting the D850 with 60mm lens vs the Z8 (with the FTZ and the same 60mm lens). So much so, that I'm on plane back from the Philippines as I type this, where I took both the Z8 for shooting during the day, and the D850 for shooting on the blackwater dives. It's a little extra gear to carry, however the difference (in this scenario) is significant.
Having moved from the D850 to the Z8 about a year ago, I agree the D850 is a great camera. Having said this, the Z8 offers a couple of meaningful improvements over the D850.
Autofocus - the D850 is fast... however the intelligence in the autofocus on the Z8 (using the Z version of the 105 lens, vs. the 105 on the D850) is even better. If not faster, the added intelligence (in low light or shooting fast moving subjects) is noticeable.
EVF - it takes a while to get used to, but the EVF ends up being a better way to shoot (and review an image immediately following) than the equivalent on the D850.
There are a few other smaller differences, but nothing that adds up to anything substantial.
There is one area where the D850 clearly outshines the Z8, that's shooting blackwater. There is a clear difference in shooting the D850 with 60mm lens vs the Z8 (with the FTZ and the same 60mm lens). So much so, that I'm on plane back from the Philippines as I type this, where I took both the Z8 for shooting during the day, and the D850 for shooting on the blackwater dives. It's a little extra gear to carry, however the difference (in this scenario) is significant.
Interesting idea. Do you know of anyone using it underwater or any reviews of this lens?
BTW, I looked up the lens and discovered that there are 4 different 50mm Z mount lenses! 2.8, 1.8, 1.4, and 1.2 aperature versions! The MC is the proper macro lens, the others have longer minimal focus distances and are geared for portrait work.
Nope. In fact, I see very little reference to it in UW photo chatter.
The 2.8 is the macro one, right?
Just FYI, I am contemplating buying a Nikon camera kit and have narrowed down my lens choices, but I haven't bought anything Nikon yet. I am waiting to see what new higher-end cameras (Z8ii, Z7iii, and Z90) come out in the next few months before I decide what to buy.
I have been doing a lot of research on the Nikon kit over the past many months and getting myself educated on the subject. I checked all of the Nauticam port and lens charts for Nikon. I, of course, follow you on INTG and FB very closely
I have narrowed the lens choices to: Z105mm macro, Z50mm f/2.8 Macro, Z24-50mm (your favorite), Z14-30mm, and possibly the newest version of the wicked expensive Z24-70mm lens.
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