Nikon F-Mount: End of a Photographic Era

[William Monfredo]

Suppliers will sell their existing stock of Nikon F lenses and cameras, and they won't be replaced with newly manufactured ones.
The F-mount began in 1959, so it's had quite a run for over six decades. There's closeout deals right now on some good glass and cameras.
The F-mount lenses can still be used on Z-mount cameras with an adapter. It might not be the most elegant, small, or light, but it does work well.

 

[Brett Roberts]

I never imagined I'd turn into a Luddite in my 30s! I'm still shooting with Nikon DSLRs and F-mount lenses. For still photography of storms, I've thus far never found the cost-benefit for mirrorless bodies compelling... not even close, really. It seems to me the benefits are highly concentrated in video, followed by autofocus-centric action photography like sports and wildlife, followed by scenarios like backpacking where every ounce of weight shed from your bag is worth that weight in gold. It just so happens that chasing has virtually no overlap with any of those (unless you're using the mirrorless body to shoot storm video, of course).

FWIW, I've owned a Nikon D850 for a couple years now and am very happy with it. At least until remaining stock runs out, it's going for roughly half its 2017 introductory price ($1800 now vs. $3300 then). Eight years is an eternity in the gear world, but here's the thing... its 45 MP sensor is on par with the bleeding edge, eye-wateringly expensive Z8 and Z9 mirrorless bodies. So D850 vs. Z9 image quality with equivalent lenses is more or less identical. Innovation in this market has shifted almost entirely away from raw sensor performance and toward myriad gizmos and features that don't help our use case all that much.

I'd argue for storms, the only real benefit of Nikon mirrorless over Nikon DSLRs is access to the superior and growing ecosystem of Z-mount lenses. That's not a small thing; in fact, it's important enough that I'd probably still recommend mirrorless for most chasers looking to get into photography from scratch (although there may be budget-related scenarios where I'd hesitate even there). But for anyone already invested in the F-mount ecosystem, snapping up some of these closeout deals is probably tempting.

 

[William Monfredo]

These days, the technology likely outstrips most people’s abilities to fully exploit it. So, using yesterday’s equipment today doesn’t present a huge problem. Cameras & lenses have become so good, that if the outcomes look less than optimal, it’s probably not the fault of the equipment.

Around 2003, the DX crop-sensor looked to be the so-called “pro” format, but by 2007, full-frame, FX sensors earned that monicker. I’ve used both, and honestly, a lot of marketing went on to convince people to pay and carry more. Sure, there’s differences, but look at what people produced when they had less than what we have now. Both are good.

I like the idea of the newer & larger Z-mount, but occasionally some lenses produce a scientific, analytical look. I often ask non-photographers what they think of an image, and they tell me what they like without over-analyzing it, and they don't mind seeing lens "character" in a photo.

 

[William Monfredo]

I've owned a Nikon D850 for a couple years now and am very happy with it... it's going for roughly half its 2017 introductory price...

I've got a D850 too, and every time I pick it up to go do some photos, I'm amazed. At those prices, it makes you think about a second body.
But lately, I'm scooping up on various brands & types of lenses for the F-mount before they're no longer available.