UPDATE: Nikon has now abandoned development of its DSLR range of cameras, so no D880!

I bet against England winning Euro 2020, and I won enough money to buy a new camera - but which one?

As you can see from the lists above, the specifications of both are pretty impressive, but the major decision is whether to buy another DSLR or whether to go mirrorless.

Up until recently, I just assumed my next camera would be the latest DSLR in Nikon’s D8xx range, which should be the D880 (if it ever arrives!), but now I’m not so sure.

What about a mirrorless camera?

I’ve watched Steve Perry’s video on wildlife photography with the existing Nikon Z6 ii and Z7 ii, and it looks like they’re not quite at a level to compete with my Nikon D850 - let alone the D880.

However, that might all change with the new Nikon Z9.

Sony has the A1, and Canon has the EOS R5, so what can Nikon come up with to match those?

Steve Perry has recently done another video comparing DSLRs and mirrorless cameras for wildlife photography, so feel free to have a look at that.

Pros and cons

I’ve used many different kinds of camera, from a film SLR when I was a kid to iPhones, a GoPro, the Nikon 1 AW1 underwater camera and the Nikon D800, D810 and D850 DSLRs.

I mainly used my DSLRs for my professional output, but there are definite pros and cons.

Here’s a quick guide to the differences between DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.

DSLR

DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex camera, and that means essentially three things:

• It’s digital rather than using film.

• It only has one lens.

• It has a mirror that flips up when you take a picture to allow light to reach the sensor.

The first two elements are the same with mirrorless cameras, so it’s only the last one that we have to take a look at.

The fundamental problem in camera design is that you can either watch the scene through the optical viewfinder or take a picture, but you can’t do both!

The DSLR solves that problem by having a mirror that flips up and back down as quickly as possible before and after the exposure.

If you’re only taking one shot at a fast shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second, say, then you hardly notice the interruption of the mirror: the optical viewfinder very briefly turns black, but then you can see everything again.

The problem comes when you’re either using long shutter speeds or when you’re taking a burst of shots on Continuous High.

In the first case, it’s impossible to see what’s going on, so you need to use a tripod or switch to Live View, which means looking at the scene on the LCD on the back of the camera.

In the second case, you can usually just about see what’s happening, but you have to put up with an annoying and confusing flicker while taking your shots, which is not great when you’re trying to take wildlife action shots!

Having to use a tripod of Live View is not ideal, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles when you have a DSLR.

Mirrorless

Mirrorless cameras adopt a very different solution to the problem.

They use an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) rather than an optical one, which means that you can always see what you’re shooting, even during the actual exposure itself.

The only downside is that the image has to be created electronically, which means you only see what the world was like a fraction of a second ago…!

In the early days of mirrorless cameras, that could be very frustrating - particularly for wildlife action shots - but the technology has improved, and the time lag has shortened dramatically.

Here’s Steve Perry’s list of the main advantages of a mirrorless cameras:

• Autofocus points all over the electronic viewfinder

• Better tracking software

• Eye detection

• Silent shutter

• Faster frame rates

• WYSIWYG exposure

• No AF fine tuning necessary

• No viewfinder blackout

• No glasses required (ie you can do everything using the EVF instead)

• Compact size

• Larger lens mounts

• More customisation possible

• Less vibration

• Better viewfinder visibility in low light

And here are the disadvantages:

• Slow start-up

• Viewfinder lag

• Shorter battery life

• Poor native lens availability

• Too small

• No cross-type AF points

• Focus can get stuck on backgrounds

• High price

Conclusion

I’ve never used a proper mirrorless camera, but I’m prepared to have a go.

Park Cameras told me before the pandemic that I might be able to borrow a Nikon Z6 or Z7, and I’m going on a trip to Canada to photograph the polar bears in November, so that might be the ideal opportunity to try one out.

Ideally, I’d like to start with the Z9, but it’s unlikely to be available then, so the Z6 or Z7 will have to do.

When it comes to lenses, it’s relatively straightforward to use F mount lenses with a Nikon mirrorless camera by means of fitting an FTZ mount adaptor.

‘FTZ’ just stands for ‘F To Z’ mount, so it simply allows you to fit regular F mount lenses to the new mirrorless Z series cameras.

There’s no glass in the FTZ adaptor, so, unlike a teleconverter, it has no impact on the widest aperture of the lens or the speed of the autofocus system.

However, that’s only an intermediate solution.

Nikon is gradually releasing a dedicated range of lenses for the Z series of cameras, and the signs are that they will be cheaper and of higher optical quality.

That means a difficult decision is waiting for me down the track if I prefer the mirrorless camera system!

We shall see…

Source: techradar, NEW CAMERA, Digital Camera World, Daily Camera News, Nikon Rumours, Gear In Stock

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