Switching from Nikon DSLR to Nikon Mirrorless
Mirrorless is a newer much more expensive camera and lens combo, harder on the wallet too, lol, but still keeping with Nikon, I believe it still had to be done but time will tell as I’m a Wedding Photographer in Northern Ireland and Wedding Video and also for personal use too so it feels like going back to scratch with my photography equipment.
For Nikon DSLR I’ve had a few cameras with the D610 lasting by far the longest, a 3XXX series (sorry, can’t remember what model), then the 7100, before moving full frame with the D610 and then the D750. For the most part, the DSLR has been fantastic for me and I’ve been very happy.
I didn’t want to keep any F-mount lens at all even though you can easily use Nikon’s F2Z adapter to fit these onto the Z-mount camera body. There were a couple of reasons. The adapter extends out making the lens larger and maybe the same size as the DSLR. I was afraid something could go wrong too but perhaps unlikely. The Z lens works better with photos and video. I’m not a big fan of having a modern camera body and putting the old lens on it unless you are experimenting with an old vintage-type lens. Why not slowly upgrade your gear and buy second-hand or refurb, heck I bought a refurb lens, the Nikon’s Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S from MPB, and a refurb Nikon Z6 from MPB too.
Switching from DSLR to Mirrorless
After some careful thinking, I got it down to the Z5 or Z6 with the Z6 winning out for a few different reasons. There are some advantages to the Z5 though including 2 card slots but the quality of the photos in low light was on par with my old Nikon D610 I was told when researching on Google and the video was 4k cropped which wasn’t good too. The Z6 was the superior camera body my research told me even though there is one card slot, this hasn’t bothered me as much as some other photographers and videographers. I sold all my gear to Wex after trying both MPB, Gumtree and FB Marketplace.
Pros
Lighter
Face and eye detection (face detection on video only)
Silent AF autofocus (for video)
IBIS (perhaps more for video)
LCD screen (you using the screen quite a bit more than on a Nikon DSLR as the screen is so much more useful and interactive as it’s a touch screen)
Cons
Expensive and painful on the wallet or purse
Only one card slot (Nikon Z6) and even more expensive to buy a mirrorless camera body with two card slots like the Nikon Z6II.
Nikon Z6 vs D750
If you put the Nikon Z6 vs the D750 there are several reasons the Z6 is much better but there are a few reasons why you shouldn’t bother changing. As detailed above in the pros vs cons section the Z6 is lighter but feels roughly the same, has face and eye detection which I find fantastic and worth the upgrade alone, silent AF which is great for video but doesn’t matter for stills, IBIS which is great for video but may also be good for stills as you can shoot at slower shutter speeds handheld and finally has a touchscreen which I find I’m using all the time.
Conclusion
As you can see from the pros and cons above there are a few more pros than cons. My transition from the Nikon DSLR to the Nikon Z6 mirrorless is worthwhile but I can’t speak for everyone, you will have to decide if it’s worthwhile for you.
Z6 Video Tests
It’s always advisable to test out your new mirrorless Nikon camera beforehand. Below are some of the YouTube videos I’ve filmed testing out the new mirrorless Z6.
