ShunCheung Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 While both the Z6ii and Z7ii are two years old now, due to the pandemic and supply chain issues, at least in the US, we are just seeing the first discounts, although a few months ago, we saw a token $100 off for the Z7ii. The new discounts are more meaningful: Z7ii: $2600, $400 off the $3000 MSRP Z6ii: $1700, $300 off the $2000 MSRP Z5: $1000, $400 off the $1400 MSRP, but we have seen this deep discount several times over the last 2 years. D850: $2500 We have also seen this deep discount a few times, mostly in the holiday season in previous years. And many lens rebates, in both the F mount and Z mount. The 500mm/f5.6 PF, which was once very difficult to find, is off by $300 to $3300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 Received another e-mail from Nikon USA. Looks like they are dumping remaining Z7 bodies at $1800, way down from the original $3400 price tag in late 2018 and now $800 lower than the current Z7ii sale price mentioned in my opening post. That is a pretty good deal if you would like a 46MP body but a bit of out date. There doesn't seem to be any deal for the Z6. I assume Nikon has sold all of the remaining ones. https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/mirrorless-cameras/1591/z-7.html Also you can add the fairly new 24-120mm/f4 S lens to form a kit and receive $200 off that lens. Otherwise, so far there is no stand-alone discount on that 24-120mm/f4 S. (That is the 24-120/4 S, not the old 24-70/4 S.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_halliwell Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 26 minutes ago, ShunCheung said: Looks like they are dumping remaining Z7 bodies at $1800 That's a lot of camera for your money if you're aware of it's AF limitations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 4 hours ago, mike_halliwell said: if you're aware of it's AF limitations I tried it when it was first released - have the various firmware updates changed/improved the AF handling and performance? Especially the handling of selecting and tracking a moving subject? IIRC, then one had to select the subject to be tracked first and then initiate tracking - has that ridiculous procedure been changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_halliwell Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 4 minutes ago, Dieter Schaefer said: IIRC, then one had to select the subject to be tracked first and then initiate tracking - has that ridiculous procedure been changed? Not so much! Maybe I was a bit cryptic; it's a lot of camera if you use it for undemanding AF tasks like landscape, studio, still lives, fine art etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 I have had a Z6 since as soon as Nikon started shipping them four years ago (November 2018). It will never be my camera for wildlife action, birds in flight or sports, but otherwise its AF is perfectly fine for more static subjects. I continue to feel that 46MP is overkill for most people, and the Z7 was way overpriced at $3400 back in 2018, but the current fire sale deal is quite reasonable, even for a slightly dated camera. The Z5 is at $999 again. Perhaps that is an even better deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 On a related topic, B&H currently has an excellent deal on Delkin Black 325G CFx Type B card with a card reader for CFx B and UHS-II SD. That CFx B card alone is usually around $400. This combo kit was in stock a couple of days ago but obviously demand is high. You can still order but I am not sure when B&H will get more stock. I have the 512G version of this card and it is very good. Delkin Devices 325GB BLACK CFexpress Type B Memory DCFXB325R56 (bhphotovideo.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 On 12/1/2022 at 5:59 PM, ShunCheung said: You can still order but I am not sure when B&H will get more stock Just got notice that mine has shipped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg M Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Bought my D850 using the $500 discount from B&H week before last, along with the first CFExpress Type B card I've ever used. Just love the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Dieter Schaefer said: Just got notice that mine has shipped Yes, I also ordered one of those Delkin Black 325G CFx Type B card with reader. Mine was also shipped yesterday (Dec 6). B&H currently has that in stock. For those who are interested in a 325G CFx B card or even a 256G, that is a very good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Greg M said: Bought my D850 using the $500 discount from B&H week before last, along with the first CFExpress Type B card I've ever used. Just love the thing. Congratulations Greg. Nikon USA has offered that $500 discount in the last couple of holiday seasons. I think the D850 is Nikon's last great (D)SLR. For those who prefer DSLRs, it is a great buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 Received that Delkin Black 325G CFx B + reader deal from B&H. That kit is currently in stock. I thought my Sony MRW-G1 cards reader, which is compatible with both XQD and CFx B, was large. The Delkin reader is a bit longer but a bit skinner. It has a CFx B slot and a separate SD slot, and probably is not as well made as the Sony reader, but it gets the job done. It is nice to have an SD reader on it. The Sony MRW-G1 has only one card slot, but that slot works with both XQD and CFx B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Neither the Delkin nor the Prograde CFExpress reader can handle XQD cards - a bit of a bummer. On 12/7/2022 at 10:36 AM, ShunCheung said: I think the D850 is Nikon's last great (D)SLR To me definitely the best DSLR - though I can't speak for a D5 or D6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_halliwell Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Dieter Schaefer said: On 12/7/2022 at 3:36 PM, ShunCheung said: I think the D850 is Nikon's last great (D)SLR To me definitely the best DSLR - though I can't speak for a D5 or D6. New grey D850s can be got for a very 'reasonable' £1800.....😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka_nissila Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 5 hours ago, Dieter Schaefer said: Neither the Delkin nor the Prograde CFExpress reader can handle XQD cards - a bit of a bummer. To me definitely the best DSLR - though I can't speak for a D5 or D6. It really depends on the applications. I use the D850 maybe for 10% of my photos, nowdays preferring the D6 for action and Z6 II for quiet photography of people indoors. I find the D6 more pleasant to work with and its high-ISO in sports arenas to look more beautiful than the D850, and the D6 autofocus with f/1.4 and f/2 primes is much better than the D850 which I rarely would use for a moving subject with shallow depth of field as I don't find it up to the task. A Z9 might be but I don't have one. The D850 is great for bird photography though, and often I preferred the results from it for such applications when I did them during the pandemic (which restricted my ability to photograph people so I had to find other subjects). But for photographing moving people subjects especially in low to lowish light I by far prefer other cameras. One of the reasons I have not been eager to buy a Z9 is that I want to enjoy the smaller megapixel count cameras while they are available as I don't care for the pepper-filled high ISO images from the D850 and also don't want to waste time on very computationally intensive post processing to alleviate the issue yet still not get any better tonality. For nature photography I would agree, the D850 is probably the best of the Nikon DSLRs. Pity that they didn't put the D6 AF system or much better customization of controls in it. The D850 is my main camera for landscape, architecture and close-up work though the Z6 II is getting some use in close-ups now due to the IMO superior Z Nikkor 105 MC lens. But I woe the day when I have to use a high-resolution camera for indoor photography of events and people, it could be the day when I give up photography with the unnecessary extra burden it would place on the post work and storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 5 hours ago, Dieter Schaefer said: Neither the Delkin nor the Prograde CFExpress reader can handle XQD cards - a bit of a bummer. To me definitely the best DSLR - though I can't speak for a D5 or D6. If you would like to have one card reader that is compatible with both XQD and CFx B, get the Sony MRW-G1 for $100. That is the Sony reader I showed along with my new Delkin reader in the image above. Since I continue to use XQD cards in my Z6 and Z6ii, that Sony dual reader comes in handy. But now I have one more CFx B card, perhaps I can gradually phase out the use of XQD cards. (I don't own any camera body that can only use XQD but not CFx B, e.g. the D4 and D4s.) To me, the D5 was far more useful than the D850 because I shoot a lot of birds in flight, animals, etc. But the D850 is a far better "general purpose" DSLR. However, today, I rarely use DSLRs any more, and I shoot a lot more video than before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_halliwell Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 5 minutes ago, ShunCheung said: To me, the D5 was far more useful than the D850 because I shoot a lot of birds in flight, animals, etc. What does it do so much better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 1 hour ago, mike_halliwell said: What does it do so much better? The D5 has better AF and higher frame rate. But the Z9 supersedes them all now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 5 hours ago, ilkka_nissila said: Pity that they didn't put the D6 AF system +1 Indeed! 5 hours ago, ilkka_nissila said: The D850 is great for bird photography though Yep, for me even better than the D500. Here's where the higher number of MP vs the D5/D6 comes in handy. 4 hours ago, ShunCheung said: To me, the D5 was far more useful than the D850 because I shoot a lot of birds in flight, animals, etc. Strange, that's exactly what I liked the D850 for. The lower number of MP in the D5/D6 were a sufficient hindrance not balanced by the better AF and faster frame rate. Water under the bridge now as the Z9 offers all of it in one package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 11, 2022 Author Share Posted December 11, 2022 B&H is out of stock again with that Delkin card deal. But the deal is good through (at least) December 14. They were also out of stock when I ordered last week, and it took them a few days before they shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 28, 2022 Author Share Posted December 28, 2022 Those Nikon USA rebates will end on Sunday night, January 1, 2023 at midnight Eastern Time. That B&H Delkin CFx deal is still available, and they ship that particular item to outside of the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemant Deshmukh Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 I had my buy. Got my Z5 and 24-120 S at $600 kit discount pricing. Can't beat that price. 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted December 28, 2022 Author Share Posted December 28, 2022 26 minutes ago, hemant_deshmukh1 said: I had my buy. Got my Z5 and 24-120 S at $600 kit discount pricing. Can't beat that price. 😊 Congrats. I love that lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now