z50ii for birding?

jor23

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I am tempted to get a Z8, but want to hold off so the full frame bodies get pre-capture in RAW.

meanwhile, the z50ii is on sale at the Nikon refurbished store. is it a good body to use for birding? Thanks!

I can get it now and use it together with a future full frame body.
 
It's better than 99.9999% of other camera bodies that have ever existed, and people used at least half of those for birds successfully.
 
:-)

Thanks! my first Nikon ...
It is adequate , note that I also have the Z9 and Z8.... The Z50II is small and light for quick handheld shots you also get a 1.5X Cropped View.... however you can only get 21Mpx and the battery life is not a good as the Z9's or the Z8 so get at least one extra backup battery and keep it with you every time you use the Z50II....



Mating Allen's Humming birds

Mating Allen's Humming birds
 
I am tempted to get a Z8, but want to hold off so the full frame bodies get pre-capture in RAW.

meanwhile, the z50ii is on sale at the Nikon refurbished store. is it a good body to use for birding? Thanks!

I can get it now and use it together with a future full frame body.
Well …



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It's a great camera for birding, its output is fantastic.



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Thanks. Ordered some batteries already

Are these birding doing what I think they are doing ? ...
 
I am tempted to get a Z8, but want to hold off so the full frame bodies get pre-capture in RAW.

meanwhile, the z50ii is on sale at the Nikon refurbished store. is it a good body to use for birding? Thanks!

I can get it now and use it together with a future full frame body.
Very much so.



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Yes this pair of Allen's Humming Birds are Mating .... It is very rare to catch Humming birds mating, they are very small and fast. This lasted maybe 1- 2 seconds and they were gone! It was purely luck on my part.
 
I think it does really well, especially when considering the price. Just keep in mind that it is not anywhere near as fast as the Z8 and you have EVF blackout. Normally I use the Z8 and Z9 for birds and wildlife, but I have used my Z50ii for occasional bird photography and am surprised how well it performs. I bought the Z50ii as a lightweight travel camera and it’s getting a lot more use than I anticipated.
 
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The Z50ii is good for all types of bird photography. It compliments my Z8 and D5 very well. It does have viewfinder blackout but it is very minimal. For the refurbished price of under $700 it is best value going for birding.
 
Also as a side note if you use a MacBook, there is a delay when you will get native support for RAW previewing. Still not available for the Z5 2 or Z6 3 yet, let alone the Z50 2.



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Also as a side note if you use a MacBook, there is a delay when you will get native support for RAW previewing. Still not available for the Z5 2 or Z6 3 yet, let alone the Z50 2.

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Is that Apple, or Nikon dragging its feet? I don't know, I'm not trying to raise trouble.
 
Also as a side note if you use a MacBook, there is a delay when you will get native support for RAW previewing. Still not available for the Z5 2 or Z6 3 yet, let alone the Z50 2.

8cadd3b08efa446c929adc73976a0f4d.jpg.png
Is that Apple, or Nikon dragging its feet? I don't know, I'm not trying to raise trouble.
Apple. They apparently take forever to update that stuff on their side, and we get topics about it with newer cameras every few months after one comes out. "Why can't my mac see these".

My general recommendation is to use an actual editing program instead of relying on built in stuff, but it continues to happen.
 
Also as a side note if you use a MacBook, there is a delay when you will get native support for RAW previewing. Still not available for the Z5 2 or Z6 3 yet, let alone the Z50 2.
Is that Apple, or Nikon dragging its feet? I don't know, I'm not trying to raise trouble.
Apple. They apparently take forever to update that stuff on their side, and we get topics about it with newer cameras every few months after one comes out. "Why can't my mac see these".

My general recommendation is to use an actual editing program instead of relying on built in stuff, but it continues to happen.
Thanks!
 
Should be good for perched birds?
It works great for perched birds. For birds in flight the AF works great but you have to adjust to EVF blackout and a bit more lag compared to the flagships. Everyone differs on the opinion comparing it to the D500 but for me, I’d take the Z50ii over the D500 for all bird or wildlife photography.
 

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