I have come over to "the Dark Side" (Switched from Sony to Nikon)

[Hoag]

My underwater camera is, and will remain a Sony A6000 in a Nauticam Housing, but I am in the process of switching to Nikon for my above the surface "real camera".

I have a theory ... no matter how meticulous I am, accidents unfortunately do happen, so I never dive with a camera that I am not willing to shrug my shoulders and accept the total loss of. To that end, I dive with a Sony A6000. It is a great little camera, but if the housing floods & I turn it into a paperweight, well, I am willing to accept the loss and (hopefully) the lessons learned.

Above the surface, however is a totally different thing! I am a firm believer in the "95/5 rule" which postulates that 95% of what makes an image great takes place less than 5 inches behind the viewfinder. I also believe that tech will not make a bad photographer suddenly into a good one, but it will make it easier for a good photographer to "get the shot".

I ordered my 1st Sony camera the morning that the A7iii was announced and have been shooting Sony ever since. Over time, I upgraded from an A7iii to an A7Riii. This week, however I ether sold or traded in all of my higher end (serious) Sony lenses & my A7Riii on a Nikon Z8 and a 24-120mm f/4 lens.

Like my other "serious" cameras, this one will never be put in a housing and will never deliberately taken underwater. (I can't afford to put a $5400 CAD camera at risk.) In the near future, I plan on getting several Nikkor lenses to replace the Sony ones. My goal is to get the following "Holy Trinity - Hoag version":

14-30mm f/4 S
24-120mm f/4 S (which I already have)
100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S

For Astro Photography, I am planning on the 20mm f/1.8 lens

I figure those 4 lenses should cover the vast majority of what I typically shoot:
Landscapes
Aviation
Birds in Flight
Astro and
Travel

I might also consider the Nisi 15mm f/4 "Sunstar lens", but that will not be a high priority. I also might have to consider taking another workshop to learn how to best exploit the Z8's power.

 

[Manatee Diver]

As someone that only does video these days but would still like a DSLR experience for photos occasionally the Z8 is pretty sexy. I also have a pile of Nikon glass that I can use with a convertor.

Now if only I wasn't poor so I can afford one, the housing, a couple of Z lenses, and all the other small stuff I would need.

 

[hilljo88]

As someone that only does video these days but would still like a DSLR experience for photos occasionally the Z8 is pretty sexy. I also have a pile of Nikon glass that I can use with a convertor.

Now if only I wasn't poor so I can afford one, the housing, a couple of Z lenses, and all the other small stuff I would need.

You probably know this, but just to clarify, the Z8 is mirrorless, not a DSLR. The best DSLR ever made, IMO, the D850 can be had used for less than half the price of a new Z8. Although they're pricey, the current slate of cameras and lenses from the major manufacturers are all spectacular. Congrats to OP on the new system.

 

[Manatee Diver]

You probably know this, but just to clarify, the Z8 is mirrorless, not a DSLR.

I speaking more of the "DSLR experience" of changing lenses and a good viewfinder.

IMO, the D850 can be had used for less than half the price of a new Z8. Although they're pricey, the current slate of cameras and lenses from the major manufacturers are all spectacular.

I've thought about the D850, but I don't take enough still photos to justify it, and the video features are lacking. The Z9 and Z8 are the only cameras on the market that could get me to upgrade from my GoPro. I want 4k120p with higher bit rate color or raw footage. Being able to use my current Nikon glass on land is a bonus.

 

[azstinger11]

I need to stay out of these photography forums, spending money I don't have on gear I didn't know I wanted tell I see posts about it lol. Super nice setup!

 

[davehicks]

My underwater camera is, and will remain a Sony A6000 in a Nauticam Housing, but I am in the process of switching to Nikon for my above the surface "real camera".

I have a theory ... no matter how meticulous I am, accidents unfortunately do happen, so I never dive with a camera that I am not willing to shrug my shoulders and accept the total loss of. To that end, I dive with a Sony A6000. It is a great little camera, but if the housing floods & I turn it into a paperweight, well, I am willing to accept the loss and (hopefully) the lessons learned.

Above the surface, however is a totally different thing! I am a firm believer in the "95/5 rule" which postulates that 95% of what makes an image great takes place less than 5 inches behind the viewfinder. I also believe that tech will not make a bad photographer suddenly into a good one, but it will make it easier for a good photographer to "get the shot".

I ordered my 1st Sony camera the morning that the A7iii was announced and have been shooting Sony ever since. Over time, I upgraded from an A7iii to an A7Riii. This week, however I ether sold or traded in all of my higher end (serious) Sony lenses & my A7Riii on a Nikon Z8 and a 24-120mm f/4 lens.

Like my other "serious" cameras, this one will never be put in a housing and will never deliberately taken underwater. (I can't afford to put a $5400 CAD camera at risk.) In the near future, I plan on getting several Nikkor lenses to replace the Sony ones. My goal is to get the following "Holy Trinity - Hoag version":

14-30mm f/4 S
24-120mm f/4 S (which I already have)
100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S

For Astro Photography, I am planning on the 20mm f/1.8 lens

I figure those 4 lenses should cover the vast majority of what I typically shoot:
Landscapes
Aviation
Birds in Flight
Astro and
Travel

I might also consider the Nisi 15mm f/4 "Sunstar lens", but that will not be a high priority. I also might have to consider taking another workshop to learn how to best exploit the Z8's power.

Congratulations! Great system from all the reviews I've read!

As a fellow Nikon shooter (D850, D500) I am curious about why you shed your Sony gear and moved to Nikon. I know plenty of people who switched the other way around. I have certainly read, heard, and seen nothing but great things about the newest Sony A7rV / A1 cameras.

What was the deciding factor that won you over with the Nikon Z8?

 

[PatW]

Until recently, I shot with a Nikon D800. I shoot primarily underwater with a Nauticam housing and used the Nikon 60 mm macro, which for some reason was called a micro lens by Nikon and a variable f stop 24-85 mm zoom. I used a super wide zoom 16-35 and the Nikon 105 micro also.

I got the Nikon Z 7 II, I have taken it on two dive trips, The first one was a learning curve. The second one worked out nicely. The camera has a better auto focus than my D800. And it handled nicely. The D7 II is especially suited for landscape photography. It is light. The lenses are less than half the weight of old F glass (an issue if you are hiking up mountain sides or into canyons or out in the boonies for birds. The camera has a native iso of 64 which gives it an unsurpassed dynamic range and color performance.

I have some old big glass but it was heavy. The nikon 100-400 is pretty light. The nice thing about it is it focuses to 3’. With a teleconverter - a 1.4 or 2, it is quite feasible to take photos of dragon flies and butterfly’s.

The Z9 reputedly has the best autofocus out there. The Z8 is supposed to be pretty close. The Z7II is a bit behind them but still pretty goood. I have yet to try it on birds in flight.

There are other Nikon mirrorless cameras out there. The Z6 II is a viable option. Less expensive and fewer megapixels which is only an issue if you are going to crop or blow up huge photos.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I need to stay out of these photography forums, spending money I don't have on gear I didn't know I wanted tell I see posts about it lol. Super nice setup!

I know right. I am trying to figure out how to stretch my budget to afford another drop light and some accessories for a project. Suddenly the little devil on my shoulder is saying "Use your credit cards for a Z8 setup."

 

[hilljo88]

My dive buddy shoots Nikon, I shoot SONY A7R3. Both systems result in great images. Note that Alex Mustard just moved from NIkon to the SONY system. For me, I think improvements with the latest camera models would be marginal at best. But I recently test shot the A7R5 with its amazing AF and I would really like to have this camera, but after buying a new housing, the total cost would be more than most cars I have owned.

 

[scrane]

If I may ask, why did you jump from Sony to Nikon? You must have taken quite a hit on your lenses. I recently went from an a7rii to the a7rv. I just couldn't face swapping out all my Sony mount lenses.
Like you, I'm keeping my new rig on dry land.