jonpais

Thank you for your input.

(That was in response to my post about a seller asking over $12,000 for a Noct-Nikkor.) And for the very same reason, a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese sold for $28,000 on ebay, right? And I’m sure others here can recall dozens of other such ridiculous offers. Someone can list old toenail clippings on ebay for a million dollars, it doesn’t mean a thing.

The best you could hope to sell the d600 for is around $500. There’s no FF camera at that price that meets your needs. Your best option is the GX85.

Okay, now for a few quibbles with the a7 III for those who are on the same page when it comes to Sony’s state-of-the-art FF mirrorless (that is, not some pie-in-the-sky $2,000 Canon mirrorless in 2020 with no crop, functioning DPAF in 4K, no crippled HDMI out, blah, blah) being the one to beat in 2019. Screen and EVF resolution - Sony had to cut corners somewhere to keep costs down. Can Nikon give us a 3 million dot LCD in their 24/5 mpx camera? And will zebras, histogram and PDAF all work properly in 4K as they do in 1080p? File structure - Sony’s file structure is nuts, as is the numbering system. I’d expect Nikon’s to be saner. IBIS - Sony’s stabilization is mediocre. Fuji managed to mess this one up on their smaller APS-C sensor cameras. Will Nikon be able to do any better? I know everyone here will say ‘of course they will!’, but like everything else, we’ll just have to wait and see. Dual card slots - Sony’s implementation is wonky. Will Nikon’s be better? Timelapse. Touch screen - I for one don’t use the touch screen, but can Nikon please give us a fully functioning touchscreen that allows skimming through menu items? Can they make one that’s not laggy and time-consuming like the X-H1? Codecs, etc. - I must be the only person in the entire world to actually like Sony’s colors. But just try lifting a midtone here or a highlight there, and the image falls completely apart - something I never experienced with the GH5. Everyone expects Nikon’s colors to trounce Sony’s (myself included), but will their files hold up any better to grading? And will they offer Log profiles? HDR? After all, Nikon boasts that their camera is for the next century. Another opportunity for Nikon would be to enable 10-bit with an external recorder, something not currently possible with the a7 III. disclaimer - I haven’t shot Log on the Sony yet! HFR - many are clamoring for 4K 60p. Can Nikon offer it in a $2,000 FF mirrorless? Remote app? Doubts - I’m not confident Nikon can offer anything as brilliant as Sony’s eye detect AF in stills mode. Will video AF-C transition (relatively) smoothly as it does with Sony, or will it be jarring, like it was on my X-T2? Will Nikon’s sensor perform as well in low light as Sony’s? My last and final comment about lenses ?: It’s anticipated that Nikon will announce a couple of universal zooms and a prime on the 23rd. And let’s imagine that third party manufacturers cooperate and gift us with two dozen zooms and primes, AF and manual - within months! I would still be shelling out a small fortune, because I would most likely be trading up to Nikon’s own fast native primes (16, 35, 50, 85mm f/1.4) when they’re available down the road. And for sure selling off all my third party Rokinon et al manual lenses once Voigtlander designs their own vastly superior Z mount lenses. My guess is, there will be no clear-cut winner as so many here think, and that the decision will still be as difficult as @Oliver Daniel ‘s choosing between several cinema cameras + B camera. Which begs another question - but I’ll leave that to you guys to figure out.

Lens?

Sony Distagon 35mm f/1.4 shot at f/3.5. No color correction in post.

You're killing me. I guess @kye will take the a7 III off my hands.

Did someone say ‘video’? ? Video implementation will be an afterthought. No mention of 4K in the official press release - though of course we’re expecting it if it is to have any chance at all. For sure, Nikon’s got no cinema line to protect, but neither do they have the combined decades of experience of the heavyweights or the expertise of broadcast and cinema divisions to rely on as does Sony. Not only that, but Nikon’s R&D budget is miniscule cf. to Sony’s. Sony has literally ‘stretched’ the boundaries. ?

I’ve no doubt the Nikon will be ergonomically far superior to Sony, but seriously - when’s the last time anybody inadvertantly changed the mode dial without a lock? Never happened once in my uneventful life! Additionally, a larger body and lens mount will necessarily mean no longer being able to use the original Crane, a dramatic two pounds lighter than the costlier, over-hyped DJI - which makes a huge difference when you’re carrying around a gimbal all day - and if I were into mountain climbing or hiking, I know which one I’d prefer to bring along. As far as kit lenses on flagship ILCs go, in the past I’ve found nobody in these forums objects to them, but I am loathe to be coerced into purchasing them with the body, since I’ve got no use for them at all. Higher bit rates will be welcome, but I struggle to see a difference and would really have to pixel peep to discern an iota of improvement between say, the 200Mbps files of the X-H1 vs. the meager 100Mbps of the X-T2.

???

Correctomundo - if they build the perfect camera, it will be successful. ?

I do not recall mentioning anything of the kind. Anyway, so what if I’m not? I’ve got no idea. You tell me! I’ve seen people civilly disagree with his conclusions, but before you, I’ve never heard anyone question Hugh Brownstone’s integrity. He is no shill, if that’s what you’re suggesting. Again, why don’t you enlighten us? This is a video forum, so naturally I’m concerned above all else with video performance. I subscribe to lots of YouTube channels, but I arrive at my own conclusions independently.

That's brutal. I was thinking more along the lines of the 6D mark II.

We don't even know at this point whether Nikon will license other manufacturers to make native mount lenses. This is all pure speculation that leads nowhere. A more fruitful discussion would surround Hugh Brownstone's video, in which he outlines what he believes Nikon must do in order to surpass Sony.

Where’s the footage? ??? Frankly, unless Nikon surpasses the video prowess of Sony, they could release one hundred f/.95 lenses at launch, it wouldn’t entice me.

Just like they did when Sony launched their alpha cameras and Fuji their X mount, right? And before anyone gets too worked up about a smashing lineup of Zeiss Z mount compact primes, it would be prudent to wait and see whether the Nikon is a capable video camera at all.

Beyond this forum, I haven’t heard or seen a single so-called expert as sanguine about the lens situation as some of our esteemed contributors. Most tend to err on the side of caution. They are too concerned with how well Nikon’s own adapted lenses will function with the new incompatible mount and how quickly Nikon themselves can turn out Z mount lenses. And pretty much all agree that it will take years for them to catch up with Sony’s at present sixty-odd outstanding primes and zooms. Think about it for a moment - for how many years have photographers been crying about the lack of Sony e mount lenses, and according to most, their lineup is still lacking in several key areas. And the alpha cameras are what, five years old already? Many have held off buying into the Fuji system for the same reason - the lack of lenses they consider essential for their work. And now that Sony does at last boast a fine collection of fast lenses in the focal lengths I use most, there’s a strong desire to see a whole new set of slower, compact constant aperture primes and zooms (similar to what Fuji offers with their lovely 23, 35, and 50mm f/2 jewels) - at a price we can afford! Because Sony’s brilliant sensors can see in the dark, not everyone believes that bulky, precious f/1.4 lenses are essential any longer. But let’s imagine for a moment that stalwart manufacturers like Tamron, Samyang or Tokina are already tooling up to make Z mount lenses as we speak: number one, their track record isn’t unblemished like Sigma’s, so we can’t be absolutely certain that their mechanical and optical quality will match those of say, the Art lenses (if all lenses were as uniformly excellent, reviewers would soon be out of a job!). And in many cases, adapted and third party lenses don’t focus as quickly as native OEM ones. (Besides which, I intensely dislike adaptors on mirrorless). And even were Tamron to release a plastic fantastic 16-35mm f/2.8 Z mount the very day of the FX mirrorless announcement, there’s a strong possibility you’ll end up trading it in the moment Nikon unveils their own, with superior build, weather sealing and lightning quick, inaudible focusing motors. A never-ending cycle of continually buying and upgrading! Lastly, one thing I really appreciate about Sony and Fuji are the excellent ecosystems - meaning that I don’t need to waste hours and days on the Internet researching lenses and ending up with a grab bag of optics by a half dozen different manufacturers, each with their own mechanical quirks and coloration, as I did with Panasonic.

Those are exactly the kinds of comments that kept me from even considering Sony for years, Glenn. But having shot with the a7 III for a while now, I can testify - it is a real, genuine camera, and a joy to shoot with. ? I’m hoping Nikon gets it right. Not being sarcastic here either.

You’d have to be wildly optimistic to think Canon won’t cripple the video, just as they’ve been doing forever. The 6D mkII doesn’t even do 4K, does it? 4 year-old sensor...

Since I am here for the video, I am only interested in what these cameras can bring to the table in terms of video features; and I am also highly skeptical that Nikon can suddenly leapfrog Sony (with their decades of experience) in that department with their very first try.

Those pie charts of yours I was referring to don’t refer to cinema and broadcast cameras or camcorders, afaik.

Hugh Brownstone weighs in

@mercer I can go along with counter-revolutionary. ?

I read and re-read your first statement a few times and maybe it’s the Xanax kicking in, but I don’t understand what you’re saying. Are you saying there will be a total of 20 mf and af lenses? If so, the distinction is lost on me. If for example, Voigtlander makes an e-mount 65mm APO, it’s an e mount lens, plain and simple. Regarding conclusion #2, it is no more than a case of someone hording and stockpiling and being greedy.

An old stock Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 listed on ebay for $12,800 - for all I know, several times what they should sell for, though I’m no vintage lens expert. The Noct 58mm has quite an interesting story behind its development I guess.