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Actually for gimbal use is a pita as it works only through USB so you cannot connect the gimbal to the camera, plus you have a cable from the gimbal grip to the camera that is not a good idea. Would have been Wifi or Bluetooth it would have been brilliant....

Well try and get your heads around this one… Given the choice of my 28-70 f2.8 or my 24-105 f4, I’ll take the 28-70 every time. Why? Size, weight, minimal extension of zoom but perhaps more importantly, actual focal lengths. 24 is a bit wide for me as a medium wide and I prefer 28 or 35 but in recent years, I have settled on 28 as it’s about the sweet spot for not making stuff look out of proportion. I get why some folks like 50mm but personally find it a bit too ordinary/boring so prefer 65/70. 105 is a bit ‘meh’ to me either being not much longer than 90 (which is my other principal lens/focal length) but well short of 150+ which is what I’d ideally need for longer stuff. So 28-70 used only at 28 or 70 is about 85% of my (stills) work these days with the other 15% split approx <5% 16mm and 10% 90. For video, simples, as above x1.5…although having said that, I am going to be trialling 6k 30p ‘open gate’ in a couple of weeks, as long as I can control/get around any flicker/banding. Why not just go with PAL standard 25p? No option for slow mo…which I am moving away from a little by going for a milder 80% instead of 50% ie, 30 on a 24 timeline. And having said all of that, my ideal focal length lens would be that Tamron 35-150 which would combine 2 bodies down to one, but that would mean switching systems to Sony or Nikon. And I’ve looked, but not! In the end, we’re all different and have different needs and tastes 😬

That's my point. You get stuck at the back of a cathedral with permission to shoot from there and only there and your only lens is a 28mm... A word beginning with F and rhyming with duck comes to mind 🤪

I also agree with @mercer about building a collection of MF vintage primes, and to get as fast a set as you can, but if you're really budget constrained then just focus on what focal lengths you'd need/use. You should also consider the 'worse' budget lenses - the more I looked into vintage lenses the more that it's the imperfections that give the image its feel, and the more I ran across people discovering budget lenses. Take this for example, a recent 'discovery':

If it’s any ‘consolation’, quite a few trying out Z8 and Z9, say they prefer the image out of the Z6 and Z7… Probably/maybe due to the bigger boys only having an e:shutter? But otherwise good call I think to invest in what you have. Becoming ultra-familiar with not just your tools, but your entire workflow is very important. It was one of the key deciding factors, along with cost (your dilemma also) in me not switching back to Nikon after leaving that system 12-13 years ago. Flipping 3 older bodies for 2 new bodies yes, but keeping that familiarity very close and since a long time, actually having 3 identical bodies. Also a good call by @mercer re. those lenses.

Yeah its a very cool accessory for sure! Also interesting for me to note in that video that you can switch to APS-C (DX) mode on the fly to punch-in during recording . That's awesome, I don't know of other systems allowing that kind of live crop functionality aside from clear image zoom which is similar but different. To be fair though Z9 has built-in vertical grip, bigger battery, better weather sealing, ethernet, GPS etc. Its a flagship sports/action D5 type body. Z9 will also not overheat and has longer recording times. Quite a few reports of "hot card" and overheat warning on Z8. Z8 is really a R5, A7RV competitor. Not R3/A1/Z9. Pretty amazing they did give it the same specs as their flagship. Puts pressure on Sony & Canon to deliver stacked sensor tech in their next equivalent products!

The MC-N10 remote grip allows operation of the zoom (and a host of other functions) to be controlled off camera too. Its not cheap but it adds a lot for video shooters, particularly for gimbal use.

Seems a really good camera, probably the best hybrid at the moment. It makes A1, Z9 and R3 look overpriced compared to this. Really good that Nikon is aggressive with the price/features pushing Canon and Sony. Only odd thing that apparently it cannot record video on both cards...and personally I don't like the screen as is a pita on gimbals...

A very cool feature I'd missed that came with the 3.0 Z9 FW is this "Hi-Res Zoom" which is basically what I assume is the equivalent to Sony's clear image zoom tech but with oversampled 8K to work with and zoom control can be set to lens control/focus ring. This is really sweet for prime lens shooters like myself, effectively doubling the focal range. Great way to make use of that extra resolution.

It's really hard not to root for Nikon given how hard they are working to stay relevant and trying to carve out a piece of the video pie. I am not in a position to switch from Lumix and the L-mount, but if I were in a position to do so Nikon would be the favorite. The thing is though that Lumix will release something within the next year that will make me want to stay, haha. I do hope though that Nikon is rewarded for the effort they've put in. They've definitely been amongst the most forward thinking companies since the full frame mirrorless transition, which is even more notable given how it feels like some companies are taking steps backwards (:cough: Sony :cough:)

Apparently the ghost of DPREVIEW is lurking...

I hate being tethered to recorders, its clunky, requires another set of batteries and zaps the whole point of IBIS equipped mirrorless: handheld portability. If you're always shooting on sticks I guess its just an extra step to your rig but if you wanna go handheld it kinda sucks. So its not just the setup time, its a clunky affair. Nikon really put its users in a corner with the lack of internal log. Its why I never considered those cameras despite being a long time Nikon shooter with still a couple nice vintage F-mount lenses left. Then you have the limited upgrade path, basically Z8/Z9. Expensive. And no cine line. All these could be valid motives to switch systems. As others noted, only you can decide what your best move is. If you think you can swing a Z8 down the line, maybe better to wait and do option 1. F-mount glass is definitely a good incentive to remain in the Nikon ecosystem. We often gush over new bodies but its the lens collection you wanna be thinking about longterm.

Dave Etchells just wrote an article on PetaPixel telling the story of the closure of Imaging Resource. https://petapixel.com/2023/05/10/imaging-resource-founder-shares-the-tale-of-his-sites-untimely-demise/