When Nikon first started with their teasers, there was a lot of excitement. Many people were intrigued about the larger lens mount and the potential for super-wide-aperture lenses. The excitement now seems to be fading and the reality of Nikon's mirrorless system is starting to set in.
It wasn't very long ago that Nikon and Canon shooters were mockingly pointing at Sony cameras: terrible battery life, the single card slot, and an ineffective focus system. It would seem like Nikon has inherited these flaws. In their latest video, Tony and Chelsea Northrup describe their first impressions using the Nikon Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras. Although the cameras they tested were pre-production models, the initial impressions are not great. Nikon really needed a home run with this camera, and so far, we're not seeing that. The Z6 and Z7 were supposed to be mirrorless versions of the Nikon D850 and the D750; instead, they seem like the less professional, more expensive option. The issue I'm seeing is that I can't seem to think of any reason why someone would want to buy the Z7 over the D850 and adapt F-mount lenses. Sure, you can shoot with native, but the price point makes things relatively difficult. In any case, the advice from Tony and Chelsea is that you may want to wait a little before ordering yours.
Check out the full video to see how these cameras perform.
I shoot a bunch but prefer Canon for many shoots because of their tilt shift lenses. My favourite is Fuji, I think Nikon made the best photography DSLR with the D850 and I use Sony for a bunch of my video work.
I shoot with Nikon film cameras though :).
You must not watch their channel much because they actually seem to like Nikon more, but they like Canon's 70-200 more than Nikon's (or anyone elses) offerings because even though Nikon makes a great lens it has too much focus breathing and Canon has almost none. The Northrups also seem to like Olympus and Fuji quite a bit.
Spy Black! You've made the big time buddy. You're on the Northrup's YouTube!
Big time? :-D
Ha! OK, I saw it. Well, I don't know about anyone else who has criticized Tony (or anyone else for that matter), but I can stand corrected. I guess I've been watching this guy's stuff for too long LOL!
So yes times change, and people too, so my apologies to Tony and Chelsea. Yes Chelsea, you're correct, I don't know you. :-)
So I don't know if they'll see this here (their video was flooded with responses), but yes, I stand corrected, and offer my apologies to both Tony and Chelsea Northrup.
I honestly am sick and tired of seeing them, and Jared as if they are the know-all-be-all of photography. There are reviews from other people like Kai Wong,Gordon Laing, Matt Granger ...just to name a few, that makes multiple valid points about the Nikon mirrorless bodies being great.
Pre-release testing is not VIABLE testing. Period! No one has one of these bodies in their hands to do full on tests for more than a day. It's bias right out of the gate an buffed up expectations that these bodies would be the holy grail of mirrorless. The fact is these are Nikon's first FF mirrorless bodies.FIRST, not third generation, not fourth, FIRST!
I can remember when Sony came out with the A7 and A7R and how people were saying similar things about them. Yet people flocked to them, and after 5 years Sony has killed it in the mirrorless market. Now that Nikon has entered with, and this is my personal opinion, booming full frame duo mirrorless bodies, people are freaking out and crying that they're being wronged. Were people wronged 5 years ago when the A7/R came out, and their adapter from A to E?
People want them to fail before they have even had a chance to prove themselves. Shows the incredible bullshit going on in this field.
Except DP Review had it for two days and their conclusion was far different.
No, not really. The staff written one, was more positive than negative. The video one was positive, even in the comments. The first impressions was pretty darn positive. All cameras have their flaws, and this is a baby, again much like the A7/R's were.
So what then - it’s not fair to compare this camera to the latest Sony’s? We should cut them some slack and compare these to the A7R2 so their feelings don’t get hurt? Nikon is not a person. They are a brand. A for profit company. And with the profit they are trying to turn from this camera, they absolutely should be compared to the latest Sony’s. If you are a Nikon fan taking this bad press to heart, I suggest you need to shift your value as a photographer away from what brand you are using. Nikon doesn’t need you to defend them. And if you are defending them when they release a product less featured than the competition at a higher price, you are doing a disservice to the rest of us who would rather hold Nikon accountable to higher standards so we all win.
I think you misunderstand my entire point. Should the Z's should be held to a high standard? Yep. Should it be compared to current generation Sony? Sure, people are doing it already. Should people downright call them shit,that they suck, or what have you because their expectations of a first gen were not met? Nope. All the reviews are from pre-release bodies that do not have final firmware ad/or issues fixed. This is not like the D850's release party where they have honed their DSLR craft and know what to push out prior to release.Again, people had issues with the A7/R's when they came out in 2013 and yet people flocked to them, and after release minds were changed. Sony grew from that, and Sony has been killing it in the mirrorless market. Should the Sony A7/R's have been dogged before release? Nope. The price point is moot to be quite frank. Spec to spec to the A7RIII is comparable as is the price point(only around $400 more). The Z7 wins in some regards, and the A7RIII wins in others.Yep, the Z6/7 have their own flaws but yet, again, these were pre-release bodies tested. If you want to compare it to the A7RIII,or the RII then by all means do so. It's not about fangirling, not about feelings. It's about giving a first gen body the chance to prove their worth outside of the pre-release hogwash.No brand is going to come out of the gate with the holy grail. Even Sony has taken years to perfect their mirrorless bodies.Saying it's shit before anyone has had a real chance to test it is doing a disservice to any consumer.
I see what you’re saying by being quick to judge a pre-release, but this is unfortunately Nikon’s doing. They are the ones that put out the over the top hype campaign, they are the ones that decided the camera was ready to have people (AKA Reviewers) come and try it out, and they are the ones that priced themselves right at the top of the mirroless market. No one is saying the camera is shite. They are however saying it’s coming across shitty ... given the hoopla, hype and price point. I like Nikon just fine, and adored my D750 when I had it. Unfortunately at this price point and feature list, the only ones probably interested in this camera would be existing Nikon users - and only a portion of them at that. So, yeah that does seem like a bit of a shitty release.
Gordon and Matt had the exact same concerns.
Nikon's new cameras look great, a couple of firmware updates and they will be awesome cameras to work with, much better then my a7m3. Totally making so much fuss about a few things that's easy to sort out.
Don't these people understand what a PRE-PRODUCTION model is ? Jesus Christ this is annoying.
Except when they were given the pre production Nikon d850 they loved it. When they tested the pre production a7iii they loved it. In this day and age they need to treat pre production as production. Give a bunch of YouTubers a camera that isn't ready to be sold yet and they will have tens of thousands of people making up their mind about the camera before it's released.
It isn't like these people snuck into a Nikon lab and found this camera just sitting there. They were invited by Nikon to come and use it knowing the guests would be reviewing it and hoping it would generate positive buzz to create presales. This isn't unusual in any industry and most of the issues people have with the Z7 are hardware related which no last minute tweaks to firmware will fix.
Why do people take advice from these two idiots. They are what’s wrong with the industry these days.
You immediately lose all credibility when all you can do is name-call. That is what is wrong with the industry these days.
I'm quite sure it'll take years before Nikon deliver decent mirror less product lines.
Coming up with a new standard of storage card just makes it harder to adopt. Give it 5 years and we should see better results.
Reviews? with S at the end of word?
There has been more than one.
couple of links plz
No. Have you been living under a rock? I'm not going to do your work for you. All you have to do is search on youtube and you'll find the plenty.
my work? hehe ))
Fair review.
Matt Granger makes some good points.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CkR9GfQHIEc
Besides vlogging, what have these two actually done that their opinion should matter? We’re at a point where people are known simply for reviewing. I’d like to know what a working photographer thinks, but then again, they probably won’t be vlogging
Not sure how you define vlogging, but vlogging isn't what they do. They actually have a very extensive body of work on their Youtube channel and it's a rare occasion that they do vlog-type videos.
They're quite serious educators and they have tons of tutorial videos that they've been putting out for years to help other people become better photographers.
They put out extended (one-hour+) guides on how to set up new cameras when they come out, going through all the menus to explain everything.
Their photography education book on Amazon has over 2300 reviews with 87% of those reviews being 5-star, followed by 9% 4-star reviews.
They recently achieved one million Youtube subscribers and they got there by helping a lot of people learn photography.
You may not like their opinion (or anyone's opinion), but to ask what someone has done that their opinion should matter begs the same question about your opinion.
We're all entitled to an opinion. And if we have to earn the right to an opinion based on what we've actually done, they certainly have done enough. They have helped A LOT of people learn photography. Selling books is not easy. Getting a million subscribers is not easy. Anyone who's launched a website or a blog knows that getting even a thousand subscribers is no small accomplishment.
And I'm not defending Tony and Chelsea, specifically. There are lots of people whose work I'm not a big fan of, but I know their names because they've put in the hard work day in and day out, over years to stand out amongst the 7 billion people on the planet.
If nothing else, you gotta acknowledge that you're commenting on their work and not the other way around. They could justifiably ask "besides commenting on others' work, what has this guy actually done that his opinion should matter?"
In their specific defense, I'll say that they put out a video to help other people make informed buying decisions. There are lots of people in this comment section being quite harsh about their review, but I suspect none of these folks can provide a link to where they themselves are putting out content aimed at helping others.
Nicely summed up, Lenzy Spot on.
"They could justifiably ask "besides commenting on others' work, what has this guy actually done that his opinion should matter?" If my video was listed under this heading, sure they could ask that. My answer would be that I’m a full time working photographer - not an “educator”, influencer or blogger. In other words, I’m someone who will potentially be using this camera for my business. Therefore, if there are other photographers in a similar position, or aiming to get there, my opinion my be helpful.
To get back to my original comment, let's consider Casey Neistat - the guy has millions of subscribers on Youtube. Does that mean that his gear reviews are valuable? That depends on what you want to do/achieve as a photographer. If you want to do short form video, then his word should be gospel to you. If you're a working photographer and your job is to interpret a clients needs and provide the with the best possible solution, Casey's reviews might not be for you.
Back to this lot, I scrolled through their first 50 videos on Youtube. Not a single one was produced for a client. They're all educational. Therefore, if I was interested in making educational content on youtube, their reviews would be relevant to me, but what do they know about creating material for clients?
There are very few photography educators out there who are also working photographers, like Joe Macnally.
Lastly, I mean no disrespect to the Northrups. My question, "Besides vlogging, what have these two actually done that their opinion should matter?" isn't rhetorical. I'm asking if they've done any client work to find out whether I should bother with their opinion.
They should postpone this early look/review... They know better. This solely looks like cashing in on the announcement hype train.
Or maybe it's being responsible because many people were potentially looking to pre-order and Tony and Chelsea merely suggest waiting instead of putting in the order. They effectively lose out on affiliate income due to this video. That doesn't sound like cashing in to me.
Ugh that’s why Nikon invited them out. For them to use and make a “review” video. Which didn’t go Nikons way. Risk you take.
Nikon had quite a few new releases that turned out to be...well, not so good.
SB-900 followed by the SB-910 that actually worked as the 900 should have and did not overheat after a short use.
The D610 right after the D600, I think it was focis issues.
The D810 right after the D800, also fixing issues, can't remember which.
The thing is, those close by releases fixed important issues that should have not been in the first place.
Oh, and Nikon did not own their mistakes at first, like with the SB900.
True, those are just preproduction units but I will not be ordering anytime soon. Not until they are a few months in use.
This guy (Tony ...) has already shown that he does not like Nikon at all. It seems to get money to talk so much bullshit ... Imagine that Tony made a video exclusively to say that the polarizing filter is useless ... This is one of the bullshit that always talks.
If someone makes a lot of money from affiliate links but then tells you not to buy a particular product and presents their reasons, would that seem self-serving?
Surely a positive video would have prompted people to use his links and he would have made more money that way.
Also, he actually states in that video that you probably will need to buy a CPL but describes why he thinks ND filters are not worth buying.
You obviously don’t watch their channel. They use the D850 for almost everything, dumbass.
Who is paying you to poo poo on this camera this much?
I don’t think anyone is paying Tony and Chelsea to be negative about this camera.
Don't forget to brag about that Sony auto focus as I watch it hunt throughout the video. Everyone should be trying to steal Canons auto focus cause nobody comes close. And they aren't coming out with this to get Sony people to move over, they are doing it to keep Nikon people with Nikon lens to stay so saying you won't switch from Sony means dirt. Does the camera help you make the images you want to make? Then buy it. If not, then don't.
So basically they want auto focus for vlog videos and magic eye focus so they can just point the camera at anything without looking and expect it to do all the work. Also make it lighter cause my lifting stuff is hard. When did people get so insane about having the camera make it easy. We've gone from megapixel wars to low light and dynamic range wars to "Get mirrorless because it's easier to use."
Photography shouldn't be easy, it should be learned and earned. Just use an iphone and that way you can take a picture while playing angry birds and texting about how cool your camera is at the same time.
One too many click-bait title articles about a camera neither of you all have touched and neither of the "reviewers" have touched as in a production sample and not an engineering sample.
I also noticed that you guys tend to miss the DPReview "preview" where they paint a totally different image about the Z7...
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-z7-first-impressions-review/6
The Northrup’s have had hands on time with the camera it’s in the video.
Doesn't sound like you paid enough attention to the video yourself my friend.
1st) We had a limited time in a terribly lit room and weren't allowed to go outside.
2nd) Pre-production sample
There's plenty of room between amazing and sucks.
I'm more than willing to bet that the Z7 goes at least in the middle ground between the two if not rated higher.
Personally, I wouldn't speak about a camera before I lay my hands on it for good, meaning at least 100+ hours of work time with it and with a production sample with retail firmware ( if not the second iteration ).
For example the bad AF performance in photos as some say from the pre-production model tests could very well change a whole lot with a new firmware.
DPR says it's almost Canon or even beating Canon by a little in Video AutoFocus.
Can it be great in Video AF and so terrible in Photo AF ? I doubt it.
You’re assuming that I’ve personally made claims about how the AF performs. I simply agree with the overall point of maybe you should wait before preordering yours.
I don't see any "article" / "newspost" regarding the good preview from DPR.
Is this bias ? At least your article was based on T&C's preview, while Larkin's was based on opinions of opinions on opinions and went as far as calling it "suck".
I'm preordering nothing.
I'm sticking with my Nikon DSLRs.
I don't care about size.
And the D850 has the best performance out there for a Full Frame sensor, it's a keeper that satisfies all my needs :)
I haven't posted anything from DPR because I agree with the Northrup's and think that maybe people should wait before they pre-order.
If you have the D850 I can see why you're not going to preorder so it sounds as though we agree on this.
Even if the new Z6/Z7 is in "pre-release" or some more firmware updates will be added, I am taking the reviews and hands on experiences into account for my next camera purchase.
I'm sure Nikon has put out some nice FFM cameras but for what I have seen so far, it won't fit for my second camera. Looking forward to seeing the maturation with Nikon FFM.
Lol ppl defending this product seem to be bthurt nikon fans who thought this is gonna take over the mirrorless world. Useless. Wait till canon blows away Nikon as usual.
Talking trash of other people, calling them fanboys, etc, while you do the very same and in a very bad way.
Oh, and remind us how Canon blows away the D850 and the D5 please :D
Yeah on second thoughts I apologize. Lol not a thing to do on social media these. Btw I got no idea abt cameras. I bought canon because of the white color lenses. If nikon made those I wud buy that camera instead :p though I shoot with a graphite fujifilm. Yes I'm shallow
The "initial reviews" for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 are not in only a YouTube video of a pre-production camera by a Canon shooter. And I'm pretty sure the D850 and D750 cannot shoot faster in burst mode, they don't shoot 10-bit video, something no Sony A camera can do AFAIK, and they, don't shoot phase detect AF in video mode, and they most certainly don't offer 5-axis IBIS like the Nikon Z cameras do. This hit job story from fstoppers, a thinly veiled ploy to give page views to a lame YouTube channel is an example of everything that is wrong with the photo gear media. Shameful.