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Should Nikon produce an astrophotography camera for use with Z lenses?

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Andy Lucy said:
I think the market is bigger than you might think. The stargazerslounge forum has 73 000 members (mostly from the UK) who appear to be split about fifty-fifty between visual astronomy and astrophotography.

Converting a non-Z camera for astrophotography will not let you use Z lenses on it.

The title of my original post makes it clear that I am suggesting an astrophotography camera for use with Z lenses.
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Converting a used Z is today’s sweet spot for this class of performance. It would definitely be super convenient if it was one that has the Starlight View mode. That will beat the price and availability of any potential new astro model that might never exist.

I should add that there is one downside to conversion. Full disclosure: You lose the dust shake-off feature. That part gets damaged during access to the cover glass and Nikon does not openly sell replacements. But we’re all big kids who can keep their sensors clean.

--
Wag more; bark less.
 
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Andy Lucy said:
areallygrumpyoldsod said:
why not buy a telescope and dedicated astro sensor?
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If you want to use a telescope with a dedicated Astro camera, then you should indeed - like I have - buy a telescope and a dedicated Astro camera.

However, I also have Nikon Z lenses, which I use for astrophotography with my Nikon Z camera - but I miss the elevated H-alpha response of the dedicated astro camera. I’d like to use these lenses with an H-alpha camera and the only way to do this is by modifying an existing Z camera (as just Tony has described above for his Z7).

My contention is that it would be good to have an alternative to modifying a Z camera: i.e. that Nikon should offer their own Astro camera.

Some might rather pay £600 for a Z30A than spend £600 on a Z30 and then spend an extra £250 for a third party to modify it (at the same time invalidating the warranty). Further, I’d bet that a Z30A would - given even a little attention to detail by Nikon - be better suited for astro than a modified Z30.
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Andy Lucy said:
Comments?
Click to expand...
Not until Nikon releases Z7 iii with +60MP stacked (2x path) sensor with Expeed 8.

After that, Nikon can go for Photon counting astro-photography camera with Y mount for meta lenses. :-P
 
Here's some extra information to address or clarify some of the points that have been made.

You can’t use Z lenses on standard astrophotography cameras for three reasons:
  • The flange distance required to use Z lenses is too short for most astrophotography cameras
  • You can’t adjust focus on a Z lens unless it is attached to a Z camera
  • You can’t adjust aperture on a Z lens unless it is attached to a Z camera
Some people have commented that the astrophotography market is small and that the majority of astrophotographers use dedicated astro cameras. I don’t know the size of the market, but here are a couple of pieces of data:
  • Youtube channel “Chuck’s Astrophotography” currently has 635k subscribers.
  • On Astrobin (a website for sharing astro photos) the single most popular dedicated astrophotography camera, with 1672 users, is the APS-C ZWO ASI2600MC Pro. The most popular DSLR or Mirrorless camera is the APS-C Canon EOS D600 with 1378 users.
There is a view that serious astrophotographers use telescopes with dedicated astro cameras. That is very largely true, but for relatively short focal lengths fast camera lenses are unsurpassed. The Dragonfly Telephoto Array is a state of the art widefield imaging system – and it uses 48 Canon 400mm f/2.8 lenses. On a smaller scale I have a telescope with a 135mm focal length – the Askar FMA135. This is, to my knowledge, the best such telescope – but it is only f/4.5. I’m sure it’s performance would be easily beaten by the Nikon Plena 135mm f/1.8 lens.

Just to add some colour to this topic – here is an image from the FMA135 with a dedicated astro camera (ZWO ASI2600MC pro). The red colour of the nebula is due to the H-alpha emission (that regular cameras do not pick up well).

California Nebula
California Nebula

Regards,

Andy
 
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
The last part (astro control) may be helpful but most people I know who are serious astro shooters use a tracker and rail system that moves the camera, so its sort of independent of the camera itself. But I think at that point, most are using a telescope and other gear and perhaps just attaching their camera to it (and possibly using a modified camera).

Personally I would say no, Nikon shouldn't really do this to be honest. They should focus on the APSC and an updated Z6 first, and perhaps a few more lenses (I'd like to see a $1500 70-200 f/4 S lens personally, for example). Nikon has a lot of other things they should be spending their money/energy on. Maybe once those things are complete, they can circle back on the odd-ball projects like this.

--
NOTE: If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread/article..
 
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Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
With only two hours exposure - it seems pretty sensitive to Ha, perhaps more so than the D850 was. But more testing is needed, these are just my initial impressions. I'd still welcome a dedicated astro camera, but in reality if you can stretch, the 19 ish MP in DX crop mode of the Z 8 works well for me.

53293079759_d0e01926b2_k.jpg


NB yes - of course it won't be possible by my reconing to use Z lenses on ZWO or other dedicated astro cameras because they are focus by wire, the backfocus won't work out correctly and it will just be a general pain. That's why I don't ;-)
 
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primeshooter said:
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
With only two hours exposure - it seems pretty sensitive to Ha, perhaps more so than the D850 was. But more testing is needed, these are just my initial impressions. I'd still welcome a dedicated astro camera, but in reality if you can stretch, the 19 ish MP in DX crop mode of the Z 8 works well for me.

53293079759_d0e01926b2_k.jpg


NB yes - of course it won't be possible by my reconing to use Z lenses on ZWO or other dedicated astro cameras because they are focus by wire, the backfocus won't work out correctly and it will just be a general pain. That's why I don't ;-)
Click to expand...
Is your Z8 astro modded? Were any filters used? I'm curious because I'm starting the long journey of DSO astrophotgraphy with my Z6 and Z8. What was your setup? I currently have a Sky-watcher GTI, guide scope and camera, setup to run on N.I.N.A. The downside is the Z8 is not currently supported by N.I.N.A. so I'm using the Z6 for now.
 
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
It would be nice if Nikon to continue to offer Astro camera, if they do I would be shooting with a few now.

While I have a Z7 and Z9, but for Astro, I am shooting with a Astro Modified Sony A7R III and A7III, main reason I decided to buy and send in Sony to do the Astro modify instead of sending the Nikon because up until the Z9, only Sony camera offer Star Light View, ( Sony calls it Bright Monitoring ), it makes the composition so much easier in dark, Also Sony and Nikon offer much better fast wide angle primes, which is very crucial for Milky Way landscape, yes, even with tracker the faster lens still offer better end result, I have both Sigma 14mm F1.4 and 20mm F1.4 and Sony 14 F1.8GM and 20 F1.8G, Nikon only recently caught up with one 20 F1.8 but I still prefer the Sigma and Sony counterpart after shooting one.

I personally have zero interest in APS-C Astro camera, due to noise and DR, and more importably the lens offering, there is no APS-C lens that offer me the same FOV and max aperture equivalent to the Sigma 14 F1.4 DGDN, one of my most important Milky Way landscape lens, not even FF 20 1.4 equivalent, so I wil only stick with FF for now.
 
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Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
Andy - while I've done - and loved - astrophotography in the past, I think the simple answer is this is too much of a niche market for Nikon to devote resources to, esp if there are 3rd parties out there who will modify an existing camera for so little. Perhaps what 3rd parties are doing doesn't really enter Nikon's decisionmaking on the issue but having done astrophotography cameras in the past they must be aware of the market dynamics for such products.

--
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Dan_168 said:
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
It would be nice if Nikon to continue to offer Astro camera, if they do I would be shooting with a few now.

While I have a Z7 and Z9, but for Astro, I am shooting with a Astro Modified Sony A7R III and A7III, main reason I decided to buy and send in Sony to do the Astro modify instead of sending the Nikon because up until the Z9, only Sony camera offer Star Light View, ( Sony calls it Bright Monitoring ), it makes the composition so much easier in dark, Also Sony and Nikon offer much better fast wide angle primes, which is very crucial for Milky Way landscape, yes, even with tracker the faster lens still offer better end result, I have both Sigma 14mm F1.4 and 20mm F1.4 and Sony 14 F1.8GM and 20 F1.8G, Nikon only recently caught up with one 20 F1.8 but I still prefer the Sigma and Sony counterpart after shooting one.

I personally have zero interest in APS-C Astro camera, due to noise and DR, and more importably the lens offering, there is no APS-C lens that offer me the same FOV and max aperture equivalent to the Sigma 14 F1.4 DGDN, one of my most important Milky Way landscape lens, not even FF 20 1.4 equivalent, so I wil only stick with FF for now.
Click to expand...
I don't think the market is there to justify them doing that again. I don't know if they lost or made money (or broke even) on the D810A but my guess is they (at best) broke even. But then again they already had a D810 to start with I think, but Nikon (as part of their cost reduction plan) I think got rid of (or simply won't introduce in the Z system) cameras and lenses that did not sell too well or did not turn enough profit to justify their costs (not saying a loss here but probably minimal profits).
 
sirhawkeye64 said:
Dan_168 said:
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
It would be nice if Nikon to continue to offer Astro camera, if they do I would be shooting with a few now.

While I have a Z7 and Z9, but for Astro, I am shooting with a Astro Modified Sony A7R III and A7III, main reason I decided to buy and send in Sony to do the Astro modify instead of sending the Nikon because up until the Z9, only Sony camera offer Star Light View, ( Sony calls it Bright Monitoring ), it makes the composition so much easier in dark, Also Sony and Nikon offer much better fast wide angle primes, which is very crucial for Milky Way landscape, yes, even with tracker the faster lens still offer better end result, I have both Sigma 14mm F1.4 and 20mm F1.4 and Sony 14 F1.8GM and 20 F1.8G, Nikon only recently caught up with one 20 F1.8 but I still prefer the Sigma and Sony counterpart after shooting one.

I personally have zero interest in APS-C Astro camera, due to noise and DR, and more importably the lens offering, there is no APS-C lens that offer me the same FOV and max aperture equivalent to the Sigma 14 F1.4 DGDN, one of my most important Milky Way landscape lens, not even FF 20 1.4 equivalent, so I wil only stick with FF for now.
Click to expand...
I don't think the market is there to justify them doing that again. I don't know if they lost or made money (or broke even) on the D810A but my guess is they (at best) broke even. But then again they already had a D810 to start with I think, but Nikon (as part of their cost reduction plan) I think got rid of (or simply won't introduce in the Z system) cameras and lenses that did not sell too well or did not turn enough profit to justify their costs (not saying a loss here but probably minimal profits).
Click to expand...
I think Nikon needed to think a lot harder and take it seriously if they want to win in that arena. I wouldn't even consider the D810a. An astro camera, they obviously don't understand what that means. First thing on an astro camera is a tilt screen and it doesn't even have that...On tracking mounts we are bent double trying to see screens as it is.
 
Would love to see a Z30A, but would "settle" for an S-line 14/1.8 ;-)
 
primeshooter said:
sirhawkeye64 said:
Dan_168 said:
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
It would be nice if Nikon to continue to offer Astro camera, if they do I would be shooting with a few now.

While I have a Z7 and Z9, but for Astro, I am shooting with a Astro Modified Sony A7R III and A7III, main reason I decided to buy and send in Sony to do the Astro modify instead of sending the Nikon because up until the Z9, only Sony camera offer Star Light View, ( Sony calls it Bright Monitoring ), it makes the composition so much easier in dark, Also Sony and Nikon offer much better fast wide angle primes, which is very crucial for Milky Way landscape, yes, even with tracker the faster lens still offer better end result, I have both Sigma 14mm F1.4 and 20mm F1.4 and Sony 14 F1.8GM and 20 F1.8G, Nikon only recently caught up with one 20 F1.8 but I still prefer the Sigma and Sony counterpart after shooting one.

I personally have zero interest in APS-C Astro camera, due to noise and DR, and more importably the lens offering, there is no APS-C lens that offer me the same FOV and max aperture equivalent to the Sigma 14 F1.4 DGDN, one of my most important Milky Way landscape lens, not even FF 20 1.4 equivalent, so I wil only stick with FF for now.
Click to expand...
I don't think the market is there to justify them doing that again. I don't know if they lost or made money (or broke even) on the D810A but my guess is they (at best) broke even. But then again they already had a D810 to start with I think, but Nikon (as part of their cost reduction plan) I think got rid of (or simply won't introduce in the Z system) cameras and lenses that did not sell too well or did not turn enough profit to justify their costs (not saying a loss here but probably minimal profits).
Click to expand...
I think Nikon needed to think a lot harder and take it seriously if they want to win in that arena. I wouldn't even consider the D810a. An astro camera, they obviously don't understand what that means. First thing on an astro camera is a tilt screen and it doesn't even have that...On tracking mounts we are bent double trying to see screens as it is.
Click to expand...
They may have understood what it took but tried to cut corners and just reuse what they had (possibly thinking modification to the internals and software would be enough).

In reality, Id on't think it's an area they're going to pursue again but as for some of the limitations, they have addressed those in general (like a tilting screen which I think they' ve gotten the message from consumers on that one).
 
sirhawkeye64 said:
primeshooter said:
sirhawkeye64 said:
Dan_168 said:
Andy Lucy said:
Astrophotography cameras have a different filter arrangement on the sensor to normal cameras, which lets them record further into the red region (up to 700nm).

If you want to use Nikon Z lenses with an astrophotography camera the only way, currently, is to have a standard Nikon Z camera modified to change a filter on the sensor – which typically costs around £250 from third party companies. This isn’t ideal.

An astrophotography camera doesn’t have to be full frame: APS-C is much more common in dedicated astro cameras than is full frame. Neither does it have to have features such as IBIS or even a viewfinder, but some features are desirable to give it basic competence for astro work. These features include:
  • Capability for controlled exposures longer than 30s (already available on the Z fc)
  • USB-C PD charging (already available on the Z30)
  • Compatibility with some astro control software (already available on the Z 50)
It seems to me that Nikon should be able to make a competent APS-C camera for astrophotography that looks like the Z30 – let’s call it a Z30A - for close to the same cost as the Z30.

Nikon’s last astrophotography camera, the D810A, was launched in 2015 at a US price of $3799. According to Roland’s “Photosynthesis” website it sold only a few thousand units. I’m sure an astrophotography camera priced at about the same as the Z30 would sell far more than this.

Comments?

Andy
Click to expand...
It would be nice if Nikon to continue to offer Astro camera, if they do I would be shooting with a few now.

While I have a Z7 and Z9, but for Astro, I am shooting with a Astro Modified Sony A7R III and A7III, main reason I decided to buy and send in Sony to do the Astro modify instead of sending the Nikon because up until the Z9, only Sony camera offer Star Light View, ( Sony calls it Bright Monitoring ), it makes the composition so much easier in dark, Also Sony and Nikon offer much better fast wide angle primes, which is very crucial for Milky Way landscape, yes, even with tracker the faster lens still offer better end result, I have both Sigma 14mm F1.4 and 20mm F1.4 and Sony 14 F1.8GM and 20 F1.8G, Nikon only recently caught up with one 20 F1.8 but I still prefer the Sigma and Sony counterpart after shooting one.

I personally have zero interest in APS-C Astro camera, due to noise and DR, and more importably the lens offering, there is no APS-C lens that offer me the same FOV and max aperture equivalent to the Sigma 14 F1.4 DGDN, one of my most important Milky Way landscape lens, not even FF 20 1.4 equivalent, so I wil only stick with FF for now.
Click to expand...
I don't think the market is there to justify them doing that again. I don't know if they lost or made money (or broke even) on the D810A but my guess is they (at best) broke even. But then again they already had a D810 to start with I think, but Nikon (as part of their cost reduction plan) I think got rid of (or simply won't introduce in the Z system) cameras and lenses that did not sell too well or did not turn enough profit to justify their costs (not saying a loss here but probably minimal profits).
Click to expand...
I think Nikon needed to think a lot harder and take it seriously if they want to win in that arena. I wouldn't even consider the D810a. An astro camera, they obviously don't understand what that means. First thing on an astro camera is a tilt screen and it doesn't even have that...On tracking mounts we are bent double trying to see screens as it is.
Click to expand...
They may have understood what it took but tried to cut corners and just reuse what they had (possibly thinking modification to the internals and software would be enough).

In reality, Id on't think it's an area they're going to pursue again but as for some of the limitations, they have addressed those in general (like a tilting screen which I think they' ve gotten the message from consumers on that one).
Click to expand...
 
24Peter said:
I think the simple answer is this is too much of a niche market for Nikon to devote resources to, esp if there are 3rd parties out there who will modify an existing camera for so little. Perhaps what 3rd parties are doing doesn't really enter Nikon's decisionmaking on the issue but having done astrophotography cameras in the past they must be aware of the market dynamics for such products.
Click to expand...
Peter,

The market dynamics for a Nikon Z astro camera are unique. The D810A camera catered to F-mount lenses but these lenses could also be used on dedicated astro cameras. In contrast, Z mount lenses can only be used on Z cameras.

It's an unusual situation. Nikon have created a market - astro cameras for Z-mount lenses - that no mainstream competitor can fill.

How big is the potential market? I'd venture that there are hundreds of thousands of people that own Z-lenses that would work well for astrophotography. Although you'd get better results with prime lenses (e.g. the 400mm f/4.5, 135mm plena), the bulk of the market must be people with zoom lenses.

Thom Hogan said this about the 14-28mm Z f/4 (would be good for Milky Way shots):

"Coma is actually well handled with the lens at 14mm, which is where I'd most want that to be true (think star fields). This seems to be a trait with all the Nikkor S-line lenses."

On the 24-120mm (would be good at 120mm for wide field deep space astrophotography) Thom said:

"Coma is extremely well controlled, particularly for a 5x zoom. While not perfect, points stay near to being points and show no color fringing."

I've recently done my own tests on the 180-600mm Z lens mounted on a Z50 and found that it's pretty good, but shows some star flaring at the corner of the APS-C frame. However, stopped down a little, the performance is excellent for astro work.

It seems to me that Nikon have created a captive market for themselves - and I'm disappointed that they don't seem to want to take advantage of it.

The image below is with the Nikon Z50 and the 180-600mm lens at 600mm and f/6.7. It shows that the centre is very good, the corners less so. At 600mm the corner problem can be mitigated by shooting at f/8, or removed completely by shooting at 400mm and f/6.7.

M81 and M82
M81 and M82

Andy
 
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