Help needed please.

[rayyan]

Folks, thanks a lot for your responses.

I have to have a spare as Jorgen suggests and for the same reasons too.
I ' grew up ' with Nikons. So there is that familiarity. Difficult to get unfamiliar with.

Robert and G, with experience, I find that carrying a second body of the same type is what I seem to need . My purchases at different times have led to this quandary.
Jack, my iPhone is not a backup, but a complete do it all system for more things than snaps

I put my backpack, mask, gloves et all., and walked around my neighborhood, carrying The 2 Nikon systems and lenses once. The other time I did the same with the Fujis.
Honestly, the Fujis felt much lighter ( I didn't weigh them! ).

Do I really need zooms?

If nothing else, this seems to an exercise, that I need to undertake.

And you folks have helped me very much.

Thank you. Stay safe. Stay well.

 

[Shashin]

Honestly, the Fujis felt much lighter ( I didn't weigh them! ).

When I was looking for a new system, I did a comparison between a Sony FF mirrorless and an X Pro2 including similar lens setup. The Fuji in fact came out a bit over 20% lighter. (It even came out about 15% lighter than a Leica M10 setup, although that would have been canceled out by how much the Leica would have lightened my wallet. )

Now that I have traveled by air with my Fujis, I also appreciate how compact the systems is as well. While mirrorless camera bodies are very similar, the lenses aren't.

 

[Jack]

Jack, my iPhone is not a backup, but a complete do it all system for more things than snaps

My point was actually more that I no longer feel the *need* for two main bodies when I travel. My Nikons have been very reliable since the Df and D810, and now moreso the Z7 I feel very comfortable with one camera -- and the iPhone should that one camera actually fail.

Let me ask you straight out Ray (or anybody else that wants to participate): When was the last time you had a Nikon body fail you, and which body was it?

 

[Shashin]

I carry a backup not because I think the camera is unreliable, but because it might get damaged. Once climbing in the Japanese Alps, I slipped and broke my only camera. I really think of the backup as insurance. (Although working with two cameras can be very efficient as lens changes can be less frequent.)

 

[Godfrey]

...
I have to have a spare as Jorgen suggests and for the same reasons too.
I ' grew up ' with Nikons. So there is that familiarity. Difficult to get unfamiliar with.

Robert and G, with experience, I find that carrying a second body of the same type is what I seem to need . My purchases at different times have led to this quandary.
Jack, my iPhone is not a backup, but a complete do it all system for more things than snaps

I put my backpack, mask, gloves et all., and walked around my neighborhood, carrying The 2 Nikon systems and lenses once. The other time I did the same with the Fujis.
Honestly, the Fujis felt much lighter ( I didn't weigh them! ).

Do I really need zooms?

If nothing else, this seems to an exercise, that I need to undertake.
...

I grew up with Nikons too, but I haven't loved a Nikon since I sold my F3/T and FM2n. I had an F6 for a while but it didn't do much for me. I also had an D750 for a while ... but once I bought the Leica SL in 2015, I sold the Nikon a week later. Personally, I'm not particularly attracted to anything in Nikon's lineup at the present time.

That's mostly irrelevant. If you really feel you need a second body to be sure that damage in travel doesn't stop your photography, an identical body to whatever primary body or system you like is without a doubt the best way to go. I don't go that way because I've never felt the need, unless I'm on a paid shoot. And then it was insurance for my income...

Regarding zooms, that's up to you. I have a few zoom lenses but rarely reach for a zoom lens by choice. I prefer prime focal length lenses ... I find zoom lenses net me no advantage in my shooting, and they're generally heavier, larger, and slower. The zoom lenses I buy typically are at the ends of the focal length range: for instance, with a FourThirds format camera, I'm usually using a 14, 25, or 45mm lens, but I have an 11-22 and a 50-200 to cover the range of focal lengths outside my usual use in a more compact way than carrying two or three more lenses in each of those ranges might.

G

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Let me ask you straight out Ray (or anybody else that wants to participate): When was the last time you had a Nikon body fail you, and which body was it?

1. D300, placed the camera on a table with open battery hatch. Hatch broke off at the hinge.
2. D300, broke the top LCD glass while entering a car. Camera worked, but it was raining, so didn't want to cause more damage.
3. D80, shutter failure.
4. D80, broken top plate after fall to the floor.

It was the battery door incident with the D300 that lead me to buy a D2Xs.

I am not comfortable with hatches (battery and memory card) that are not properly secured. The card hatch on my D700 often opened just by brushing towards my body while running at sports events. An open hatch can easilly break off, although it hasn't actually happened to me yet with card slot hatches. This is one of the things I'm looking at when considering a new camera.

Another weak point is obviously the back LCD. This is one of the reasons why I prefer a fully articulated one. It's always turned in towards the body with my cameras, unless I use it for difficult shooting angles or to adjust settings (which I try to avoid out in the field). My Panasonic GX8 bodies are very good in these areas. Maybe that's why I've kept them for so long.

So what Nikon body would satisfy my totally unreasonable demands? The D6 obviously, and any of its older brothers and sisters. I do consider a D3, since they are cheap now. But more probably, I'll end up buying an Olympus E-M1X at some stage. It has twist locks for battery as well as for SD card slots (and it uses SD cards, which can be bought anywhere, also in the jungle), there's no top LCD to break and the back LCD is fully articulated. It also features the best weather sealing and probably the best physical build quality of any currently produced camera. It's also much smaller, lighter and not least cheaper than a D6.

Yes, I am unreasonable, but I like things that last, even when I don't take particularly well care of them, and I've been left stranded too many times with stuff that doesn't work. I'm also upgrading my 2009 Mac Pro. It's unbreakable too

Edit: Then I had a look at the user manual of the E-M1X... no, too many "why did they do that?". Nikon and Panasonic for me. Or maybe Fuji...?

 

[rayyan]

Jack,

The last time my Nikon body failed was 10/08/2011.
In Morocco, on our first day there!

The card reader went poof. I even asked folks at GetDPI to help me out.
The camera was a D700. I have to say though that no other Nikons have ever failed me.

This issue, here for me Jack, is not how reliable a camera has been. It is what do I do without a camera in a far away location, hauling a dead weight?
First time, shame on my camera.

Second time, shame on me.

I do not do photography for a living. I do it for pleasure.
Travel abroad to far away places is a very satisfying and pleasurable excuse to bring along a camera; for me.

I can do without a partner on my travels. But not without a functioning camera.
No camera, I won't travel.
Maybe, I am paranoid re: camera failure. Hence my ' must ' requirement for a second camera body.

As an example, far better for me to rent a camera and a lens or two in the U.S. then haul my gear from home.

But visiting places/provinces that I tend to frequent... speedy repair or rentals are out of the question.

And weight pulls me down ( effects of prolonged use of certain cardiac, and copd medications), along with the extreme heat, humidity, rainfall or sand while on the other hand it could be height and cold: along the way.

I want to experience a people, culture, region. My camera should be a joy. Not become a chore after a few hours of carry.

I am more and more leaning towards the Fuji X system. I have 2 X bodies. enough light weight and excellent lenses to satisfy my level of photography.

In my old age, I want to bring back the joy of photography and small adventures. Rather spend on travel than on gear.

Thank you all for your responses.

Appreciate the time you folks have taken to give me your inputs. Lovely bunch of crew here.

Stay safe. Stay well.

My point was actually more that I no longer feel the *need* for two main bodies when I travel. My Nikons have been very reliable since the Df and D810, and now moreso the Z7 I feel very comfortable with one camera -- and the iPhone should that one camera actually fail.

Let me ask you straight out Ray (or anybody else that wants to participate): When was the last time you had a Nikon body fail you, and which body was it?

 

[Jack]

Clearly different philosophies, all good. I absolutely "like to have" a camera with me when I travel, but do not "have to have" one to fulfill my enjoying the trip...

That clarified, if the one I had with me broke it would not even slow down my trip -- my iPhone would become adequate to my needs in such "emergency," and I would continue enjoying my trip. Depending on where I was, I would not hesitate to buy another camera if possible, even if only a simple P&S. Then there's the fact that my main travel companion --my wife-- always has her camera with her, so I feel pretty well covered

Different strokes folks!

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Clearly different philosophies, all good. I absolutely "like to have" a camera with me when I travel, but do not "have to have" one to fulfill my enjoying the trip...

That clarified, if the one I had with me broke it would not even slow down my trip -- my iPhone would become adequate to my needs in such "emergency," and I would continue enjoying my trip. Depending on where I was, I would not hesitate to buy another camera if possible, even if only a simple P&S. Then there's the fact that my main travel companion --my wife-- always has her camera with her, so I feel pretty well covered

Different strokes folks!

Exactly. We are all different personalities, and we all have different purposes with our travel. If I could choose, I would travel always, mostly to take photos. I have neither wife nor iPhone, so have to settle with what I have... my cameras. I prefer overcast, somewhat rainy days, when the struggle of life rises to the surface and the tourists go home.

 

[rayyan]

Jorgen,

My kind of photography. At least the kind I love to do.

 

[olafphoto]

Both are very capable systems but Fujis are just so much more fun. You want to pick them up and shoot. Of course this is my personal opinion but I would suggest taking only one system at the time. After such an experiment you will know which one is for you. It is always hard to decide if you carry both at the same time.

 

[Shashin]

Both are very capable systems but Fujis are just so much more fun.

^ This...

 

[doobs]

^ This...

Love my Fuji's!

Good luck with your final selection.