Hey everyone, what’s up? Zig here with another brief weekly update!

How’s it goin’? How’s your holiday season coming along? Mine is…coming together! Things are a little rushed, but at least I’ve finished all my holiday shopping and I just need to wrap a few more gifts. I recently purchased a Nikon Z6 and wanted to briefly talk about my reasons for upgrading (from a Nikon D5500), as well as talk about something important that comes up around this time of year; upgrading.

So, I recently pre-ordered a new Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera body (and an FTZ lens adapter) from B&H photo video as an upgrade from my current Nikon D5500 body and it finally arrived! I’m incredibly excited about upgrading, but I wanted to share a few of the reasons behind my ultimate decision of picking this specific camera body and why I even considered upgrading at all;

First, there’s one immediate difference between these two bodies besides the price; the sensor. The Nikon D5500 has a 24.2MP (megapixel) DX-Format (cropped) sensor. The DX is an important thing to note because a DX-Format sensor limits you to a smaller scene when you’re shooting. It crops your scene and forces you to put more distance between you and your subject in order to fill the frame which has been a hassle for me to handle in the past. The Nikon Z6, on the other hand, has a full-frame FX-Format (uncropped) 24.5MP CMOS sensor. Because of this, I don’t have to work around my camera body as much anymore and I’m able to fill the frame much more easily when I’m out shooting. There’s a lot less respositioning and movement on my part which becomes a lot more noticeable when you’re out shooting all day long. The sensor is also newer with multiple improvements to autofocusing, which I have definitely seen in action with my own test shots.

Another major advantage of upgrading to the Z6 is its software capabilities. It definitely beats the D5500 when it comes to doing more for me. For instance, it has a focus stacking mode which is incredibly useful for shooting two of my favorite styles of photography; macro and landscapes. The settings and configuration menus provide much more control over what the camera does compared to the D5500, as well, but that lends itself to the fact that the Z6 is an overall much more feature-packed camera compared to the D5500. Some more things I like about the Z6 is the body itself. It’s weather-sealed, has in-body stabliziation, has a touchscreen, is relatively light compared to most high-end DSLRs, has a very comfortable grip, and last, but certainly not least has an EVF (electronic viewfinder) which is an absolutely incredible tool to use. It has many more dials and programmable buttons compared to the D5500, as well, but as of right now, I’m not sure what features I’d like to program in to those for quick access.

Now, I’ve been listing a ton of things I like about the Z6 compared to the D5500, but there was something else I wanted to bring up in this post that I think a lot of photographers, especially me, struggle with whenever camera manufacturers release a new line of equipment. I call that something Upgrade Hype. Upgrade Hype is when you start seeing the marketing posts from companies like Nikon and Sony and Canon as they show off all their new tech and ultra-crisp promo footage and I get it. It’s really fun to see the cutting-edge equipment come out onto the market, but it can definitely be dangerous if you’re not in a position to spend a ton of money on new equipment or if you’re not really in a spot where you need to upgrade at all. For me, I was definitely debating whether or not I really needed to upgrade, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t think I did. I definitely wanted to for a number of reasons, but I could have continued shooting with my D5500 kit and done just as well with the subjects I’m currently shooting. However, I did heavily consider the fact that this new body could help enhance those types of shots, as well as open up new opportunities for me to learn and experiment with. So while it wasn’t a necessity for me to have a new mirrorless camera, it definitely has its benefits. It also makes shooting more enjoyable since I have a bit more creative control over the final shot without having to make too many adjustments via editing after a shoot. One thing I should mention, however, is that I was also in a very fortunate situation where I had a bunch of credit with the store that I had won in an online giveaway so that definitely influenced my decision in regards to when I was going to upgrade.

In the end, I think it’s just a good idea to calmly assess whether or not you need or even can afford to upgrade whenever new gear gets released. It’s important to do this with any big purchase, but it’s especially important when you’re in a market where “the next big thing” gets announced and released every few months. It’s an easy way to spend everything on new baseline gear when you could be using that money to outfit your current setup.

Anyway, I realize this post might read very rant-y, but I hope it definitely is something you think about before making a large purchase. For me, personally, I can’t see myself upgrading for quite some time. I will be focusing on acquiring new lenses and lighting equipment, but in terms of camera bodies, I think I’ll be set for a large chunk of the foreseeable future.

What about you guys? How do you approach the idea of buying new equipment? Do you like staying on the cutting-edge of the tech or do you prefer sticking with the tried-and-true methods you already use? Let me know in the comments, and as always, thanks so much for all of your support!

- Zig