WTB: DSLR for ski touring (looking for suggestions/info)

[Supermoon]

Has anyone made the recent jump from a FF DSLR to a Fuji mirrorless?

My D750 + 24-120 was stolen/disappeared last week while on vacation and I'm starting the insurance process for replacement. I've lugged various Nikon SLRs around for adventures over the last 20 years - for my own IQ satisfaction and TechTalk-type personal fulfillment (no website, no paid work, just a SSD full of files). With time and a bit of reflection I've realized my lifestyle and reality for using a camera seems to lean towards a Fuji XT-2 setup - cheaper, lighter, smaller with weather resistance and good IQ.

I'm not interested in a smaller DSLR and wouldn't put the money towards a Z6 setup; Fuji is my only consideration for now, besides just getting another D750. The D750 + 24-120 is 1500g all-in. The XT-2 + 18-135 would be 1000g. Curious for anyone's experience.

I switched between the D750 w/ the 24-120 to a Z6 with the 24-70. Kept my 70-200 and got the adapter. Honestly, the main reason I switched was that I got tired of lugging the D750 around, especially while traveling, and I have had a bunch more video work coming my way lately. The Z6 is I think the best video dSLR/FF mirrorless out there right now and I save over a pound of weight. It's definitely more money, though.

You could also look into some of the smaller Sony mirrorless systems like the a6000 series. I don't have experience with those or the Fuji, but lots of people love them for lightweight mirrorless systems.

Edit: also something like the Sony Cybershot RX100 V might be a good option as well.

[justcuz]

Has anyone made the recent jump from a FF DSLR to a Fuji mirrorless?

My D750 + 24-120 was stolen/disappeared last week while on vacation and I'm starting the insurance process for replacement. I've lugged various Nikon SLRs around for adventures over the last 20 years - for my own IQ satisfaction and TechTalk-type personal fulfillment (no website, no paid work, just a SSD full of files). With time and a bit of reflection I've realized my lifestyle and reality for using a camera seems to lean towards a Fuji XT-2 setup - cheaper, lighter, smaller with weather resistance and good IQ.

I'm not interested in a smaller DSLR and wouldn't put the money towards a Z6 setup; Fuji is my only consideration for now, besides just getting another D750. The D750 + 24-120 is 1500g all-in. The XT-2 + 18-135 would be 1000g. Curious for anyone's experience.

I have and I ended up going back. I did exactly this; went to Fuji for the lens and size scenario. I was intrigued with the lenses and shot almost exclusively prime. I went to Fuji from the original Sony a7 because of the cost of the lenses for the Sony and thought I could get as good of results. After a year or so I realized there was only one lens on the Fuji side I really loved (56 1.2) and that was as expensive as a FF lens anyway. To boot, the camera couldn’t make up for the fact that I’m a shitty photographer like the FF could.

In the end I went back to FF. It’s really hard to beat now with the mirrorless stuff getting better everyday.


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[alpinevibes]

I have and I ended up going back. I did exactly this; went to Fuji for the lens and size scenario. I was intrigued with the lenses and shot almost exclusively prime. I went to Fuji from the original Sony a7 because of the cost of the lenses for the Sony and thought I could get as good of results. After a year or so I realized there was only one lens on the Fuji side I really loved (56 1.2) and that was as expensive as a FF lens anyway. To boot, the camera couldn’t make up for the fact that I’m a shitty photographer like the FF could.

In the end I went back to FF. It’s really hard to beat now with the mirrorless stuff getting better everyday.

I switched between the D750 w/ the 24-120 to a Z6 with the 24-70. Kept my 70-200 and got the adapter. Honestly, the main reason I switched was that I got tired of lugging the D750 around, especially while traveling, and I have had a bunch more video work coming my way lately. The Z6 is I think the best video dSLR/FF mirrorless out there right now and I save over a pound of weight. It's definitely more money, though.

I'm late in my reply, but I appreciate the feedback. Just got confirmation from Geico that I'm getting $1700 back after the $500 deductible. I'm leaning towards sticking with the D750+24-120, but I still might try to borrow a Fuji setup and see if I can accept the change. Z6 would be cool, but I can't really throw another $1300 at that. D750 makes such great images; hard to pass on that look.

[alpinevibes]

Update/slight rant:

I was able to borrow an XT-1 and 18-55 yesterday for a tour; it was a fast crew so I wasn't waiting around or stopping much to setup shots. IQ was ok and the weight/size was great, but my DSLR tactile experience and expectations were woefully undeserved. Button spacing, instant action and consistent visiblity would be hard to give up.

Overall functionality was very challenging with both thin and midweight gloves and sunglasses. I could barely see the EVF and the image save graphics (shooting RAW) would block the EVF constantly. Not surprisingly, the buttons were tiny and tight while having gloves on and top dials were getting moved a lot when I was taking it in and out of the bag. On top of that, there's no separation or tactile difference between the three rings on the lens. You think you're zooming, but instead the MF or Aperture ring is just spinning; never had that issue before.

Probably not the setup for me. A7ii's have a great price now, maybe that could be a good compromise. But ultimately really feeling the D750 pull again.

[smmokan]

Try an updated mirrorless before giving up... the X-T1 is pretty dated as far as features and tech goes. Also, the Fuji system is notorious for being very specific when it comes to usability and ergonomics.


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[Timberridge]

Just bought an X-T3 after the old Nikon gave up the ghost. Looked at the X-T30. That size was great for adventures, but the lack of weather sealing was a deal breaker. Now I have to spend some time learning all the new Fujifilm menus but I'm looking forward to shooting more video w/ it as well.

[alpinevibes]

I came back to the D750 + 24-120; got it for the right price and I'll just keep schlepping the weight. Really loving it fresh and brand new.

[SKIP IN7RO]

I came back to the D750 + 24-120; got it for the right price and I'll just keep schlepping the weight. Really loving it fresh and brand new.

Great deal on that kit! Just over 3 lbs. seems reasonable for that setup. I wonder why the 750 is more heavily discounted than the d610?

[alpinevibes]

Great deal on that kit! Just over 3 lbs. seems reasonable for that setup. I wonder why the 750 is more heavily discounted than the d610?

I got the deal they're still running - $1797 new for the kit, including a Rode video mic that I sold off for $100.

Regarding the discounting - My guess is it's an inventory issue. Nikon's been heavily discounting the D750 for a few years and I'm guessing it saw bigger production and sales numbers, from the beginning, compared to the D610. Now with the Z6/7 taking over that part of their market, they're really trying to clear out stock before it's too late. D610 and D750 are functionally about the same, but the D610 seemed to be always be left on the side and out of the marketing buzz.

[SKIP IN7RO]

^ I went down the rabbit hole the last couple of days researching the current crop of Nikons. It appears a D760 and a D6 will be announced later this year with the D760 being labeled the "baby D5". Some of the prices I have found on Nikons are pretty amazing. Abe's has them all on sale.

[mcfarlandandrew]

If you can give up on lowlight, high ISO shooting (which i rarely need skiing or paddling) the Sony RX10M4 is worth a look. Weather sealed, 24-600/2.4-4 lens, 24fps, fast focusing and tracking. I’m done lugging my FF gear up the hill. Just returned from a month in Africa and a week in the camera hell known as burning man and the thing is still going strong. I tried an a6500/10-18/18-135 setup for a few months before switching and just couldn’t find a reason to carry three lenses with a shorter overall range, for what, to my eye, looked like very little advantage in image quality. The a6500 still sucked in low light compared to my FF canon and the cost of jumping to FF mirrorless was prohibitive. I’ve made some 20x30 prints of ISO 100/200 shots from the RX10M4 and the sharpness and noise is on par with my canon 6d, especially when viewed from a normal distance. The two cons I’ve run into so far are the zoom mechanism (takes 2sec to go from 24-600) and crappy battery life (I’m getting 300ish shots). The batteries are cheap and small so I walk around with 3 or 4. I bought the RX10M4 with a healthy dose of skepticism about the sensor size, really expecting it to be a short term relationship, but it’s here to stay.


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