I Bought A Camera

Back on March 22nd, I wrote a post about being in the market for a camera and why.  I wrote about what I thought my 'must haves' were as well as what also were my 'nice to haves' in an additional body.  If you didn't read that post, you may want to read it before you read this one.  You can find it here.

The primary reason for looking for a second camera is that I don't have a backup body to my Fujifilm X-T4.  Although I have no reason to worry about the X-T4 malfunctioning, the camera could suffer from 'operator error,' in other words, I could drop it, lose it or it could be stolen.  

Since I wrote that post a second reason has emerged for the need for a second camera body.  Unfortunately, I've now lost some confidence for my X-T4 to consistently accurately autofocus.  I recently wrote three blog posts, here, here and here, describing the problem.  This problem is fairly widespread and affects several camera models, from what I have read as well as from emails and comments I have received.  I'm hoping Fujifilm somehow recognizes this issue and is able to engineer a fix by firmware update.  Until then, I hesitate using the X-T4 as I now have to check the displayed focus scale distance against my visual estimation of subject distance and judge whether or not the camera is accurately autofocusing before I press the shutter.  Every time.  That is a terrible way to have to use a camera.

A third reason to acquire another body is that later this month, three lifelong friends of mine will be joining me for a cross country road trip with the Chicago to Los Angeles portion being along Route 66.  More on the road trip next week.  When I discovered the autofocus inconsistency issue with my X-T4, I then ruled out taking that camera with me on this road trip as was my original intention.  I now need a reliable mirrorless camera to take along.  

Since this road trip will not primarily be a photo-centric trip my intent is to take minimal gear—one camera and one lens, if possible.  However, since there will be some unique opportunities along Route 66 and elsewhere I do want a camera and lens with as much versatility as possible.  The lens must cover a wide range of focal lengths and be of better than average quality.  Because of these new conditions, price and lens selection have become two of the most important aspects of my selection of another camera body.  If price were no object, that would make things much easier.  Additionally, if there were a large number of excellent 'super zoom' lenses available for mirrorless cameras, that would make things easier as well.

After much research I made my decision as to what camera and lens I would buy.  It isn’t another Fujifilm camera (which would have been ideal and logical since all my lenses would work with it but it may have the same AF issue as stated above), but is one that met, as closely as possible, the criteria I set out in that previous post.  Additionally, last year I had a camera and lens combination (Olympus E-M1 Mark III + 12-100mm f/4 PRO lens) that would mostly fit my desired criteria but I don’t want to re-buy the same gear I sold off last year at this time.  I had good reason for selling and I would feel as though selling the gear I had was a wrong decision.  It wasn't.

Here are my stated ‘musts’ for a new camera body purchase that I mentioned in that March 22nd post.  If you want to read more about my reasoning for each, it is in that post.

I will add a check mark if my purchase met my criteria and a minus mark if it did not. 

✔ Price

✔ Available Lens

✔ Mirrorless Camera Body

✔ Haptics, Buttons, Dials and Menus 

✔ In-body-image-stabilization (IBIS)

✔ Joystick

 - State-of-the-art autofocus to include subject recognition (birds, animals, people, vehicles)

✔- Stacked, Backside Illuminated Sensor  (not stacked but it is BSI)

✔ Better dynamic range than my current camera

✔ Lower digital noise profiles at high ISOs than my current camera 

 - Three Main Control Dials 

✔ In-EVF horizon and histogram 

Here are my ‘wants’ and ‘nice to haves’ for features in my next camera.

✔ 4-Way Button Pad (D-Pad)

✔- A better Electronic Viewfinder (more than my current 3.68mp)

✔ Blackout-Free EVF

✔ More than 24mp

✔ Tilting LCD, not a fully articulating one 

✔ Robust Auto Exposure Bracketing 

✔ Automatic Focus Bracketing 

As you can see, the camera I chose has most of what I deemed either a 'must have' or a 'nice to have.'  I could have had all of my criteria fulfilled if I wanted to spend about $4000 US or more for the body.  A Sony A1 or a Canon R5 or Nikon Z9 would have been very nice but each costs more than the budget I set for myself.

As for the 'state-of-the-art' focus, the camera I chose focuses very well.  If I was primarily a bird or wildlife photographer, this attribute might have been higher on my priority list, but I can be very happy with the autofocusing it has.  So far, the manufacturer has upgraded the AF firmware a couple of times since it was released.

The camera doesn't have the three main dials but the way it is configured, I can work with it in all the ways I work.  I normally use the third dial for exposure compensation but camera allows me to assign that function to a ring on the lens.

The camera I chose does not have a stacked, back-side illuminated sensor.  This camera has a BSI sensor, but it is not stacked.  There are only a handful of high end cameras and one m4/3 camera that has this sensor type.  With the exception of the OM-!, they are all out of my price criteria.

Finally, the EVF is 3.68mp, which is a bit less than state-of-the-art viewfinders, but it is engineered superbly and no one has complaints about resolution, detail, contrast or color.  I'm fine with it.

Which camera and lens did I buy?  I purchased a Nikon Z7II and a Nikon 24-200mm f/4-6.3 lens.  I've not owned either one of these previously, I was able to obtain them during a Nikon factory refurbished sale.  I am fully familiar with the Nikon system, buttons, dial, menus, image quality, etc. and DXO Mark rates this camera's sensor as one of the absolute best.  The autofocus won't match the Z9, the Sony A1 or Canon R5 but the combination is significantly less expensive and will serve my purposes well.

I’m sure some of you will find this as no surprise.  More on the camera and lens as well as what kit I will configure for the Route 66 Road Trip next week.

By the way, the black and yellow question mark (Nikon colors) should have been a hint at least as to what manufacturer I chose!  Lol

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

All content on this blog is © 2013-2022 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

All content on this blog is © 2013-2022 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.