For many years, I have exclusively used photos from my Nikon cameras in my designs. The Nikon D750 remains a great camera. I got mine not long after it was introduced in 2014, I am just now selling it on eBay.
As much as I loved my D750, I knew I would eventually move into the new world of mirrorless cameras. I got my mirrorless Nikon z7 in 2021. It instantly became my new favorite camera. Its 45mp sensor provides an immense amount of detail which I find valuable in my work. Even though the sensor is more powerful than the one in the D750, the z7 is smaller than the D750.
As much as I love the z7, there are problems with it. My hands are large and the z7’s smaller size does not fit comfortably in my hand. The z7’s autofocus speed is not as fast as I’d wish. I am not a professional photographer so the autofocus speed does not bother me too much. But as I began my amusement park painting cycle, I longed for Nikon’s flagship camera, the very expensive z9. As much as I wanted the z9, I could not justify its $6000 price tag.
Then Nikon released the z8. The z8 has nearly all the features of the more expensive z9 and the few features it lacks, like a built-in battery grip and a second full card slot, are unimportant to me. I bought the z8 earlier this year.
The z8 with its quick autofocus became my new favorite camera. It’s larger than the z7 and fits perfectly in my hand. In the first half of this year, I took nearly 10,000 photos with it.
I was looking forward to taking it on our vacation. I got a larger memory card and configured my Thinkpad to back up the thousands of photographs I anticipate taking during the trip.
Then I updated the camera’s firmware. I had already updated the z8’s firmware once before, from version 1.0 to 2.0. This update from version 2.0 to 2.01 was minor and should have taken a few minutes. The upgrade process stalled half-way but I left the camera alone until it finished updating. When I returned 2 hours later I discovered that the updates had not progressed. I knew something was wrong.
The z8 was dead. It wouldn’t turn on or respond to a battery.
Camera users are expected to take defective cameras to certified repair shops. I sent my z8 to a Nikon shop in New York on July 31st. The good news is that Nikon agreed to fix the camera for free because it is under warranty. The bad news is that I still haven’t received my camera or any status update from Nikon. I have no idea when I can expect to get the camera back.
My two takeaways from this experience are:
- Professional photographers need a backup camera. I don’t sell my photographs (yet) but the camera is integral to my work. I had planned to sell the z7 but now I’m glad I didn’t. The z7 saved my vacation photo experience. I need to keep the z7 as a backup.
- Using the z7 this month reminds me what a good camera it is. I’m contemplating selling the z8 and buying a z7ii. The z7ii is not as good as the z8 but the z7ii has better autofocus than the z7. With the money I save, I could buy another lens.
Photo from my recent vacation taken with my Nikon z7:
