I think Nikon has too many cameras that kinda all do the same thing. …I see no reason for a Z7 III, and I’d argue that there’s no reason for the Z6 III. The Video stuff should be focused on the ZR. The Z5 line should continue to be the entry - mid-range which is what the Z5 II seems to be , Z8 should be the high mega pixel camera and the Z9 should be the high performance camera. Nikon’s financials took a huge hit last year compared to Sony & Canon. So I don’t expect them to put out as many cameras if any this year…
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I’m not sure if the Z7II will or won’t be replaced - I do think that if the Z7III does arrive it will be closer in price to the Z8. There have been rumours about a 60+ MP sensor - that might be the path forward. It’s all speculation right now.
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This is only a few months old and (I think) pretty relevant to this thread:
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Yes, I can see that point. I suppose the same could be said of Sony, but they can afford to do it because they seem to sell a lot of units regardless. From a business point of view, I could see why Nikon might want to trim down their offering. From a user’s point of view, I absolutely want as much choice as possible, so the more models the merrier for me.
If the stills offering was reduced to these three models, i would have a hard time deciding (at this moment in time). The Z8 would need to shrink in both size and price. The Z5 is excellent value and would probably be my top contender, but I like higher resolutions for my landscape work. Maybe future models will go to 35MP, which is where I would start to be more comfortable. 45MP would be even better.
I actually really like Panasonic’s implementation where the base resolution is 24MP but they offer a handheld high-res mode (pixel shift) that can remove motion blur. But it doesn’t work with APS-C lenses and is still prone to motion problems in some situations.
(I don’t want to emphasize the importance of MP for most people. I realize I have a particular interest in it.)
It will be interesting to see what direction Nikon take and what they do with their RED acquisition. With my poking around Nikon forums, I did get the sense that many long-time Nikon users are a bit annoyed that the company is becoming less of a stills specialist, which is what they have historically been famous for. I guess they just need to compete in this content-creation world we now live in.
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Interesting that he recommends the Z7 line (II and III) a lot. And he found a use case for all cameras in the lineup, which would suggest he doesn’t think there are too many models.
Oh, I didn’t take it that way. DR was the main reason I bought the Z 6, which is destined to be my “forever camera”. DR so good I hardly ever use the denoise tool I sweat-coded in rawproc.
Assuredly, they have their warts. Just recently dragged their Snapbridge image sharing architecture into the '90s 
And, don’t get me going about “ISO Sensitivity” in their camera manuals…
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No problem! I just thought I’d make it clear to all in this thread because I’ve found that oftentimes people assume you’re actively looking to buy and perhaps wanting guidance on what to get when engaging in these types of discussions. But I just enjoy talking about hardware and shooting the breeze as they say.
And I was tempted by the recent Nikon sales, I must admit. That Z7II was looking very tempting, but I’ve told myself no more cameras for a year or two 
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It just seems like they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks and it’s not working. They boasted about the Z mount being revolutionary, but it feels like they haven’t really pushed that much, and they limit they amount of 3rd party lens companies so its feels very restrictive.
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For landscape use, the higher megapixel F mount cameras seem a good bet. Much cheaper used and you won’t miss the auto focus improvements.
I mostly do landscapes and cityscapes so a dslr autofocus system is just fine for me. Even on the edge cases like when I do Plane photography, I can still get the shot I want. If I were doing wildlife then I could see where a faster mirrorless system would be better.
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The 42mm Z mount relaxed a lot of constraints lens designers had to consider, and it shows in the resolution of even their non-S lenses. Not ‘revolutionary’, but good engineering.
Also, there are a crap-ton of third-party lenses for the Z mount, not sure what you’re asserting there. Thom Hogan’s current count is over 200. Canon seems a lot more demonstratively constrictive.
https://www.zsystemuser.com/z-mount-lenses/third-party-lenses/
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I don’t have the numbers, but of the full-frame manufacturers, I’d say Nikon is definitely second in terms of lens selection. The big omission is Sigma, and the theory is that Nikon has an agreement with Tamron, which prevents Sigma from making Z-mount lenses (FF at least). And then there’s the recent Viltrox lawsuit, but we’re yet to see how that one will play out.
But the Z mount is in theory the most adaptable for lenses new and old. The adapter for Sony E-mount lenses is so thin, it barely adds any weight or bulk. The Z mount s definitely a selling point for Nikon, although I’m not sure it’s enough to make users in the Sony and Canon camps to switch.
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Nikon has blocked the release of competing zooms from Tamron , Samyang and frozen out sigma on full frame. Samyang has released quite a few primes for sony and even some for canon but only handful for nikon. Sigma has only crop censor primes. Tamron has quite a few lenses that only have the sony mount. I thought Mirrorless meant smaller lenses , the stuff nikon keeps putting out are on par with the older dslr era. The weight might be slightly less but the size isn’t.
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Well, with 200 out there, someone is finding a way…
Yeah, the weight thing is a bit of a disappointment. But, if the surrounding stuff has to weigh that to support a good sensor and outstanding glass, I’ll deal with it. When I want to put things into perspective, I go to the garage and stare at my 8x10 view camera. Thinking about getting a few sheets of film, but the logistics still daunt…
Yeah there are a lot of lenses, but most are wide-angle or standard primes. There are very few zooms, especially where the focal range is covered by Nikon (3rd party not allowed even if it’d be a completely different price bracket). I’d like to see a budget 100-400 because I don’t want to pay thousands for the S line lens.
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The mount protectionism is what makes me interested in initiatives like the L mount, but momentum is slow with it, and you’re then faced with a choice of a Panasonic, Leica or Sigma body, which is, well, not much of a choice for many users considering the price of Leicas and the quirkiness of Sigma cameras. I think Panasonic make good cameras, but I’m not yet convinced by the ecosystem.
While Sony doesn’t always have the best business practices, the way they opened up the E mount was a masterly move for gaining market share. Whenever I list my pros and cons of the various systems, it’s hard not to look at the lens selection of E mount and think how much of a pull that is.
I was always a Canon shooter in my early days, but they’re towards the bottom of my list these days because of the lenses available (although still a good choice if you have or want EF lenses).
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Exactly my thoughts when I was considering my next camera, but I was disappointed regarding Sony bodies. As I already mentioned (I think I did) the premature shutter failure. If there was no problem there, I would likely be a Sony user now.
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It would also be nice if Sony released an entry-level FF body to rival the Z5ii and Canon R8 without removing things like the EVF. Those shopping in the more affordable range are forced to look at older bodies of their mid-range and high-end lines, or else opt for their vlogger-style bodies.
They do have an expansive range of cameras, so I know I’m nitpicking
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Yeah I was looking at A7 III and A7 IV was already quite expensive. A7R IV or V as well. And I didn’t want APS-C without an EVF or the other available cameras.
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It is true that in a civilized world, only cameras and lenses that comply with the ISOxxxx mount would be allowed to be sold.
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