I had begun to resent the weight of my Nikon DSLRs, and even with a walkaround 18-250 lens, it just seemed too heavy to take on my daily dog walk “just in case” anything was worth a photograph. I began looking at the small mirrorless cameras.
Alternatives to a Z50
At my local store, each associate appeared to have a different favourite. I have a soft spot for Olympus, having built my first camera system around two OM2 bodies back in the 1980s – all of which I still have, sitting unloved in my basement. So I looked towards Olympus. The store manager swore by Fuji, and when I stopped by the store to look at those two, an associate had me look at Sony. When I started pricing all of these choices, I realized I was looking at a large investment to get a body and a decent assortment of lenses and of course I had begun to experience scope creep – what was originally a walkabout camera was evolving into a top-end outfit.
On another visit in March of 2020, another associate showed me the Z50. Now when the 50 first came out, I fully agreed with all of the critics who said it was totally idiotic to bring out an AP-C format for the Z mount – everyone was convinced that full-frame was the way of the future, and the Z6 and Z7 seemed to indicate that Nikon thought so too. (I had a brief fling with a Z6 the year prior, but that is a story for another day.) In any case, I had totally dismissed the Z50 as a distraction.
The day I was looking at the Z50 turned out to be the last day the camera store was open before closing due to Covid-19. In fact, the manager got a phone call to close the store while I was still there. Back at home, I did some research, and found there were several deals going on, including one for the body, 16-50, 50-250 and FTZ adapter. Then it struck me – the eureka moment.
Eureka
I was thinking of getting a second system for dog walks which would be totally incompatible with all of my Nikon equipment. Why not get a system which was only partially incompatible? Many, but not all, of my lenses would not only fit, but also auto-focus through the FTZ (the others need manual focussing); the flash equipment would work, and much of the terminology and menus would be similar. And best of all, I probably wouldn’t feel the need to get a top-of-the-line add-ons, because I had my big DSLRs whenever I needed longer, faster, (heavier) equipment.
Deliverance
I decided to get the Z50 and unfortunately had to go to another store as my store did not have the combination deal on-line, and the people I could get on the phone didn’t have the authority to give me the combo price for the individual items. Everyone was still getting used to coping with a pandemic and Canada Post was swamped delivering rolls of toilet paper, so it took three weeks to move my new outfit a dozen miles across town, but I had it in late March, in time for Spring and all the photo ops that that would encompass.
Almost a year of using the Z50
So, how do I like it? First of all, for Spring, Summer and much of Fall, I picked up the Z50 and took it with me on dog walks pretty much every day. Whenever I need to take video, it’s the Z50 I think of first, and when my daughter and I went to a local conservation area for a hike, it was the Z50 I took. I will say that it has completely replaced my Nikon P7100, which I always refer to as a “pocket” camera, and one I would sometimes take on dog walks on the off-chance there was a photo waiting. In this respect it is a total success.
Z50 Pros
My goal was to have a camera light enough to not think twice about taking it with me. This was met 100%. I also wanted the camera to be sufficiently versatile that most of the time I could get a decent shot without being frustrated by not having “enough camera”. This was mostly met by having the 50-200 on most of the time, but this was, as expected, not 100%. One can’t expect a single camera-lens to meet every eventuality, but it did pretty darned well.
As mentioned above I find it a plus that I’m not hankering to add lenses and accessories. I did get lens hoods for each lens, and an adapter for Olympus OM2 lenses. The hoods provide some physical protection for the glass, and may even occasionally block some stray light beams. Having the FTZ is good insurance, but other than testing it, I haven’t used it.
The Olympus adapter is a fun, cheap addition which lets me mount any of the nine or so OM2 mount lenses that I amassed in my youth. This turns out to be a bit of a “guess what I can do? – Gee Wiz!” type of thing, rather than being any better that other solutions – mostly because cheap lenses today are generally better than expensive lenses from the 80’s, at least for zooms. I have an f2.8 35-80 Tamron zoom that I can mount on the Z50 , but it isn’t as wide as the 16-50, or as long as the 50-250, and the few extra stops are offset by lens quality, weight and lack of auto-focus. The focus peaking does help considerably with manual focus though. I keep meaning to do more experimenting with this combo to see if I’m making the most of this opportunity.
The other gift from the OM2 adapter was the resurrection of my bellows unit and slide duplicator attachment – another summer project for further experimentation, especially since I discovered focus stacking.
Z50 Cons
The number of cons is more an indication that I am coming to the Z50 from semi-pro quality DSLRs when it would be more fair to compare it with high end point and shoot cameras.
Shutter lag – I find it difficult to track a moving subject, like a bird in flight, as my muscle memory is tuned to DSLR reactions.
The other timing issue I experience is the standby timer – I am forever surprised when I raise the camera to my eye and see nothing. Until I save up enough money to buy a second battery ($100 – really, Nikon?) I won’t extend the standby period past 1 minute, so this is frustrating.
Less physical dials and buttons – we have to go to the menus more; for instance to change the focussing or exposure methods. I know I need to experiment more with customizing buttons and the saved user profiles – there may be some answers there for simpler changes in the absence of dedicated buttons. Then again, trying to remember what F1 and F2 do on three or four cameras is getting harder in my old age.
The multi-selector is too close to the zoom buttons, and almost invariably I zoom in when I’m trying to change the location of the focus point, and then have to take the camera away from my eye to correct it, by which time the bird I was trying to focus on is long gone!
I don’t find the automatic focus modes work well for the kinds of photos I take, so I tend to stay with dynamic area or single point focussing modes. When the heron is wading in the shallows behind some bushes, it takes some patience to get the right focus. Yes, I need to download the firmware upgrade for animal eye focus.
While I understand (I think) why Nikon chose to create two lenses, I really miss the versatility of my 18-250, and carrying both Z lenses and switching them back and forth in the great outdoors while holding a dog on a leash is not ideal. Unfortunately, my Sigma 18-250 does not autofocus through the FTZ adopter, and even if it did, the weight of that lens and adapter negates the premise of a walkabout camera. Luckily, most of my photography is wildlife, so the 50-250 stays on. In fall and winter, landscapes call for a wider view, but a tree looks pretty much the same on Tuesday as it did on Monday, so I can decide to take just the 16-50 the following day.
Lastly, being a mirrorless camera, the sensor is far more exposed. I have never before experienced dust on the sensor, but I am seeing it on the Z50 on a regular basis. Maybe I’m getting more sensitive to it! One thing for sure – don’t attach a bellows unit to the camera and then compress it. Every bit of dust inside the bellows gets blown towards the sensor!
Conclusion
I have no regrets buying the Z50. I should spend some more time learning and customizing the controls, just so long as it doesn’t change it so much that I forget how to use the other Nikons. I purchased it for a lightweight walkabout camera which can capture most of the opportunities I see while walking our dog, and it does that. As I have other Nikon bodies, I think I will rarely mount other lenses using the FTZ, but the capability is there if I need it.
All I need now is a custom carry bag for the body and two lenses, with a pocket that I can use as a platform to catch the bits as I switch lenses. And a spare battery.
