Would it not be wise to wait a couple of months

[whoosh1]

I mean seriously, you've added nothing to the community as a whole, you provided no argument as to WHY someone should wait.

He did provide the argument - that this forum is not objective (after all many of us are Nikon users) and does not yet have enough info to base an opinion on the Z7. He also implied that the early users like Mr.Kasson have had limited experience with the camera and it may be better to wait a couple of months before rushing out to buy. What is wrong with his advice? Take it or leave it.

Instead you pointed out the very good testing done by Jim, who has shown the Z7 to be a very good camera so far through his tests.

All very good and whatever I read from Mr.Kasson does suggest that the Z7 is a very good camera - and more importantly he does come across a level headed person and his experience is one good data point. However it is one data point by one person - with a limited experience with the camera.

You just sound like a troll, over and over posting nothing but negativity regarding the camera. It's ALWAYS wise to suggest people wait a few months when any new product comes out, there's no point in arguing otherwise, especially a first gen product. But to continue to come to this forum and not add anything of substance to the discussion is just....a waste of time.

People do succumb to ringing endorsements on a forum - and a bunch of others egging on (as evidenced by the 24 likes your post has got compared to the 9 for OP's voice of caution). I myself have succumbed on occasion - especially as a newcomer to dpreview forums a dozen years ago. A voice advising caution does "add something of substance".

 

[whoosh1]

Time to lock this thread because discussing the moderators is against the rules ;-)

It's OK to discuss what a moderator posts as a regular forum member.

Exactly. Thanks Jim in being level headed about this - I guess that is why you are a forum moderator

It is not OK to discuss the moderation.

Jim

 

[Hilifer]

For greatest product maturity and highest reliability, buying a few months before production ceases is a good plan.

Jim

I followed that responsible course for my D750 and Df, but lost the horizon when the D850 and Z7 came along. I haven’t regretted the former, a year on; and, I hope I’ve been dealt a fair hand with the Z7.

 

[rhlpetrus]

Regards

A bit disingenuous on your part, given your previous posts here and in the D5 forum since the Z were even rumored.

 

[Vince P]

before buying a Z?

This forum is clearly biased and in certain way misleading to new comers.

A saturation of curves and lines have been posted, particularly by Mr. Kasson (Moderator); but as has happened before, the camera itself which has not yet been proved, not curve-tested, might bring not pleasant surprises

Is this a Nikon’s miracle? Maybe, and then, maybe not.

Hold your horses and wait a while; marketing can be our worst enemy.

Of course conversely, if a product is better in some way, then early adopters have the most benefit and longest use of a product before the next evolution.

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

All I am saying is that people like you, not Nikon users, should wait a while. What is wrong with that?

What is wrong with that?

The obvious

You seem to be telling people they should do what you would do.

There is such as thing as a free society with people free to take their own decisions.

 

[Sitti]

If you wait couple of months, you'll miss free XQD card.

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

Of course conversely, if a product is better in some way, then early adopters have the most benefit and longest use of a product before the next evolution.

Good point - I got the D850 on the first day of release

I am glad that I did. It was worth it to me.

The Z 7 I own seems similarly an excellent camera

 

[Rail2trail]

No bias either way here. There are some foibles, it seems, but I would ‘t imagine most folks would even know without being told what to watch for.

The photos I’ve seen thus far show the Z7 to be be a powerhouse. I wouldn’t hesitate.

 

[chambeshi]

here is one pro's perspective on GAS and ‘Investing’ in equipment. His essay on the practicalities of different camera systems is also worth the read - on the Practical Envelope for which the different formats have different creative strengths. This has relevance to the questions of D850 or Z7 ?

 

[bhollis]

before buying a Z?

This forum is clearly biased and in certain way misleading to new comers.

A saturation of curves and lines have been posted, particularly by Mr. Kasson (Moderator); but as has happened before, the camera itself which has not yet been proved, not curve-tested, might bring not pleasant surprises

Is this a Nikon’s miracle? Maybe, and then, maybe not.

Hold your horses and wait a while; marketing can be our worst enemy.

At this point, I think there are a lot more knowns than unknowns with the Z7. And I'm fairly confident that it will meet my needs/wants. (Particularly after using it for the last week or so.)

All other things being equal, I agree that it's usually best to wait awhile, particularly with a first generation product. But all other things are rarely equal. In my case, I'm 65 and traveling to Europe next month with my grandson. The Z7 w/ Z 24-70 S seems like the perfect travel package for me, and I'm not interested in waiting.

 

[VBLondon]

before buying a Z?

This forum is clearly biased and in certain way misleading to new comers.

The reason you've had negative responses is the way you've chosen to word this.

There are many reasons to wait. BUT, many/most of them are detailed on this forum, perhaps in greater depth than any of the reviews I've read

- differing opinions on the AF, and how it compares to the D850 and A7Riii

- analysis of FPN and banding

- discussion on battery life, EVF latency, buffer performance

That's why your "bias" claim seems rude and unreasonable. No-one is being "misled" because whilst this forum is full of people who (subjectively) like and are happy with their Z7s, the discussion of performance uncertainties seems open and objective.

A saturation of curves and lines have been posted, particularly by Mr. Kasson (Moderator); but as has happened before, the camera itself which has not yet been proved, not curve-tested, might bring not pleasant surprises

What exactly is "curve-tested"? There's been a lot of testing. Some findings are still emerging. It seems very likely there are no major flaws, possible there are some edge case minor issues. If you are happy with this state of knowledge, you can buy the camera, if not, you should wait. But, either way, the forum is a good place to get the latest objective information to form a judgement.

Is this a Nikon’s miracle? Maybe, and then, maybe not.

What is this "miracle" nonsense? You are somehow trying to position buying a Z7 now as believing in a "miracle". Of course there's an element of risk in being an early adopter. So what? Is anyone saying this is a miraculous risk-free choice? No. People are saying they've taken the risk and seem generally happy with their choice.

Hold your horses and wait a while; marketing can be our worst enemy.

Who is spouting "marketing"? Since people have had the camera in their hands the forum is full of detailed real-world experiences and some pretty detailed testing. Who is writing about marketing claims or suggesting a decision should be made on Nikon's pre-laucnh marketing vs the actual performance users are seeing?

Your post has one underlying point "there's a degree of risk in not waiting" which is true, the dust has not settled on many questions about the exact, comparative performance of the Z7. If you'd written just that, then no-one would have objected. But, instead, you wrote a slightly trolly post about "bias"/"miracles"/"marketing" which people have rightly disagreed with.

 

[PankajDubey]

before buying a Z?

This forum is clearly biased and in certain way misleading to new comers.

A saturation of curves and lines have been posted, particularly by Mr. Kasson (Moderator); but as has happened before, the camera itself which has not yet been proved, not curve-tested, might bring not pleasant surprises

Is this a Nikon’s miracle? Maybe, and then, maybe not.

Hold your horses and wait a while; marketing can be our worst enemy.

Everyone would have their own set of wish lists before upgrading. Mine is adaptability of Tamron lenses.

i have a Tamron set of lenses that goes from 90-400 and works very well with Df and I am an occasional photographer.

18-300 mm set of lenses is all Nikon G or D or AIS - of those only 18-35 and 70-300 are G lenses .

I have no interest in video - so I can just wait.

When exhaustive and intricate things are discussed by capable people like Kasson, I chuckle and wonder why Nikon themselves would not have done it- maybe this was a compromise or by marketing choice.

What I would really like Nikon to do is to mutate into a Fuji Ninja turtle and unleash the firmware potential of their existing DSLR cameras.

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

before buying a Z?

This forum is clearly biased and in certain way misleading to new comers.

The reason you've had negative responses is the way you've chosen to word this.

There are many reasons to wait. BUT, many/most of them are detailed on this forum, perhaps in greater depth than any of the reviews I've read

- differing opinions on the AF, and how it compares to the D850 and A7Riii

Its simple - the AF is different to either the D850 or A7Riii ;-)

You either accept this or you do not - or make arrangements to test for yourself.

It costs more than a third of the cheapest new cars. Would you make a decision on buying a new car without a test drive?

In some areas I rate Z7 AF as more capable than a D850 and in some areas less so.

- analysis of FPN and banding

My attitude is why not ignore the issue?

While it may be possible to under-expose 4 stops and still get a printable result with 1 Nikon body and perhaps only 3 stops with this body my view is the vast majority of photographers are have not the slightest interest in shooting this way because of the extra post processing time involved.

- discussion on battery life, EVF latency, buffer performance

Why discussion?

Battery life (with any camera) is what it is - and carrying a spare battery is hardly an issue.

If you try a Z7 yourself you will find the internet noise about latency is largely internet myth and on the Z7 is much lower than most mirrorless.

Buffer performance is what it is.

It is either enough for the way you shoot with XQD cards or it is not.

Internet hype is that the new cards coming sometime will eliminate any concerns; though nobody knows the detail

Your post has one underlying point "there's a degree of risk in not waiting" which is true, the dust has not settled on many questions about the exact, comparative performance of the Z7. If you'd written just that, then no-one would have objected. But, instead, you wrote a slightly trolly post about "bias"/"miracles"/"marketing" which people have rightly disagreed with.

+1

However the dust has settled on the Z7 viewfinder experience. This is overall significantly better than a DSLR.

There has been little discussion of the i feature whereby the majority of regular shooting options can be changed without taking your eye from the viewfinder

While waiting (if that is a preferred option) it makes a lot of sense to me to try a Z7 to see how you get on with it at an early stage.

While I was lucky to get a Z7 on the day of release I had handled a demo model 2 weeks earlier and decided it had enough benefits for me to buy one.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is much more about how equipment is used rather than the equipment being used.

 

[MyReality]

That is the opinion of some who have been married long enough.