"Dear Nikon..." by Jared Polin - My opinion and my own Nikon story....

About Nikon cameras(Film, coolpix, DSLR and Nikon mirrorless "Z"), lenses, accessories, links and firmware updates and sample pictures.

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"Dear Nikon..." by Jared Polin - My opinion and my own Nikon story....

Post by Stany Buyle »

I just watched "Dear Nikon..." by Jared Polin...
...and I agree 100% with what he says. Objective, to the point, very well documented and "fair" towards Nikon
Of course, fanatic Nikon Z fanboys won't like it... :cry: :D
And, of course, he is doing this video to make money. Just like everybody tries to make money... :|




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Related to the above link and while I agree with what JP says in this video, my own Nikon camera story and opinion:

I have used Nikon since the eighties. Loved it, never a fanboy though. Finally, it's just equipment...
I moved from film over a Canon G2 compact camera to D100, with D1h shortly after that and D1x as well. I added a D1 as a collector's item later on.
I used Fuji Dslrs in that period too (Fuji S2 & S5)... I found the Fuji S5 an incredible camera.

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D100 was a great camera, much better than Canon 10D which I had for about one week...


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At the time of Nikon D2X, I found Nikon was falling behind Canon with their 5D, -I had one-, it was a fantastic first FF experience.
My friend Dirk Vermeirre loved it so much, -especially for black and white- that his Nikon gear started to collect dust. Until Dirk passed away he nearly exclusively used Canon Dslrs.

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Then Nikon came with their D3, this was simply a revolutionary camera, exactly how Jarid Polin says. I bought mine @ audiophil in Aachen-Germany on day one of the availability and still have it. I occasionally still use it.

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I went from my D3 and about 2 years with D700 to a D3s and D4.

Jarid Polin doesn't mention D800, which I consider -less than D3-, as another milestone in the Nikon camera history. I loved it...
Revolutionary IQ and good AF but with a lack of fps for action photography...

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Under while next to my D800 and/or my D810 I changed my D5 order after I tried a D500, which I still consider as the best wildlife camera Nikon made.
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Before the time 45Mp cameras with +12fps existed, speed combined with the advantage from the crop factor was important if you did not want to sell your house to get a Nikon 800mm... ;)
I kept my D4 next to it for lowlight.
Later I kept using my D500 next to my D850, both terrific DSLRs...
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... even though I preferred on rare occasions my D810 over my D850 because of PUFlash...

In the summer of 2018 Nikon finally released their Z program and joined the upcoming ML camera world.
I was lucky to try out Nikon Z7 months before availability, and here again, I agree with Jared, it was a great first ML product at that particular moment, and I sold my D500, D850 & D4 to finance the Z6 + Z7 combo & Z lenses.
Z6 & Z7' AF was nowhere near D500' AF, but "good enough" compared to other ML options at that time point. ZZ & Z6' AF was sometimes great & sometimes even "fantastic" :D , but unfortunately sometimes (very) frustrating... The Z6 & Z7' FU 3 was really an improvement.
The Z6 & Z7' LCD resolution, slow refresh rate, and movement limitations were other points I didn't like.


... But being able to shoot totally silent compared to former Nikon Dslr' machine gun sound, next to the outstanding IQ, unbeaten Nikon DR and all this in a compact, lightweight body, made me love Nikon Z.

  • The Z 24-70 F4 (*) is another extremely positive point I'll remember from Nikon Z. ( (*)BTW optically a much better lens than the 24-105 F4-F7.1 on my R5)
  • While I was using the Z7 next to my D850 for some weeks: :arrow: Nikon D850 vs Nikon Z7


For landscape photography Z6 & Z7 are fabulous...
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Even though Z6 & Z7 do not have the AF potential of D500 or D850, there is no problem capturing moderate action, wildlife action or BIFs with Z6 & Z7...

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But then :( -2020- Nikon released their second generation Z cameras...
Thanks to a friendly Nikon representative I had the opportunity to test a Z7II for a couple of hours.
Probably loaded with too high expectations I didn't see ANY AF improvement though and that crippled, low resolution, non-swivel LCD was still there.
Selling Z6 &/or Z7 to get Z7II &/or Z6II meant nothing else than burning money. :cry:
I was so disappointed that I canceled my Z7II & Z6II pre-orders.

On November 29th 2020, and with no plans whatsoever to change my Z6 & Z7 for something else, ... I had the opportunity to try a Canon R5 from a friend.
I was simply blown away... I had the feeling I was shooting with a mirrorless D500, autofocusing even faster than D500 and with potentially 20 x 45Mp frames per second.
The R5 body and button layout please me more than Z and last but not least, the R5' high-resolution swivel LCD is a dream.

On December 12th I got mine at audiophil Foto in Aachen-Germany.
The first 48 hours were pure horror trying to get along with a totally different system and menus. For a moment I was even thinking about returning it…

On December 20th I started to sell most of my Nikon gear to finance partly my entire brand switch with all glass I need, for fun and for my work...
I bought my lenses @ audiophil in Germany and @ Art & Craft in Belgium. Both companies provide exceptional service.

The lightweight 800mm F11 is a total unexpected extra, it provides amazing IQ and R5 makes it AF about as fast as my nikkor 200-500 did on my D500 & D850, which means fast enough to capture wildlife action in good light.

R5 is that good.


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My move to Canon is a one-way ticket but I sincerely hope Nikon catches up. They need to.

Thanks for your attention,
Kindest regards,

Stany
kindest regards,

Stany
I like better one good shot in a day than 10 bad ones in a second...
http://www.fotografie.cafe
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