A couple of years after selling my Nikon Z6ii, I’ve never really gotten over the seller’s remorse, and want to get back into photography. Will admit that I had a bit of buyer’s remorse, too, because I really wanted the R6 at the time, but couldn’t justify dropping another £500 just on the body at the time (the Z6ii with 24-70 f4 kit lens was £500 cheaper than the Canon body). The Z6ii did the job, I enjoyed using it regardless, and was sad to see it go.
So, fast forward to today, and while the Z6iii with its partially stacked sensor is a beast, it’s just way too expensive. The newish Z5ii just completely blows the Z6ii that I had out of the water in just about every department. I didn’t keep anything when I sold my Z6ii, so will need to start over from scratch.
This puts me in a bit of a position, because the R6 MK3 announcement is imminent, and while it’s probably going to be a midrange monster, I’m more interested in the R6 MK2 that precedes it that will most likely have a significant price drop (either once the MK3 drops, or during Black Friday/Cyber Monday next month). It’s still an amazing camera after almost 3 years.
My issue is I’m not sure whether or not I should go for the R6 MK2 if it drops in price similar to what the Z5ii is currently going for. I just remember how good the original R6 felt in hand when I tested it in store years ago. The Z6ii ergonomics were also amazing (it felt really solid, grip amazing, etc), so going for a Z5ii would be seamless, and I already know my way around everything.
There are obviously pros and cons to both: I’d be tied into an ecosystem (familiar with Nikon, and not extensively used Canon since my 550D), and that means the lenses, too. Nikon now has an amazing lineup of Z lenses, and is also open to 3rd parties, so can keep the cost down. Canon, however, refuses to open their mount for 3rd parties, and RF lenses are eye wateringly, even prohibitively expensive.
I’m by no means a prosumer, I just want something nice for travel, birding, portraits, maybe a bit of sport/cars. The Z5ii covers all those bases with the Expeed 7 processor and autofocus capabilities of the higher up models, as well as the very capable BSI sensor from the Z6ii. What it lacks is a top screen (which was handy, but not a deal breaker) and it doesn’t have a magnesium alloy body. The R6 MK2 has the Digic X processor, amazing autofocus, amazing in-hand feel, a great (newer) sensor - but it’s FSI.
So, which would YOU go for? Only thing holding me back from going for the R6 MK2 is the cost of RF glass (and obviously the body cost until it drops). Yes, I could adapt to EF as well, but a lot of the EF glass is also comparatively expensive.
