I little while ago I was seriously considering the Nikon Z7 – this was when it first came out in 2018. Then the Z7 II and its superior features made think I was wise to wait and then the Z8 arrived to make the Z7 look weak by comparison. But do you want to know the stupidest thing of all? If I had bought the Z7 right at the start, I’d still be perfectly happy with it today.
You see what I wanted was the 47MP resolution, Nikon’s flair for controls and ergonomics and access to the new line of Z-mount lenses – and those things haven’t changed. I wasn’t looking for 8K video and ultra-fast electronic shutter burst modes or AI subject-tracking. All the things that Nikon has done since the Z7 with the Z7 II and Z8 are things I never really wanted anyway.
And yet, predictably enough, I listed to all the naysayers and tech zealots who pointed out all the shortcomings of the Z7, all of its limitations and all of the things it ought to do that Nikon needed to put right in the next version… so of course I decided to wait. Which turned into doing nothing, and missing out on a camera which would have been perfect for me back then in 2018 and would still be perfect for me in 2026.
We’ve been brainwashed into always wanting more. More resolution, more sensitivity, more dynamic range, more codecs, more subject detection modes, more frame rates, more more more. Maybe it’s because we’re afraid of looking foolish in front of ‘experts’, maybe it’s because we’re just too greedy for features and value, maybe it’s just basic insecurity about making expensive decisions.
Maybe the camera makers have got their marketing strategy wrong. With their constant technological developments and constant churn of new camera models they may be persuading us to buy more cameras. Or some buyers at least. But there may be lots of other buyers who, just like me, end up being put off buying anything at all, just because of the rate of technological change and the sheer certainty of technological obsolescence and replacement.
I was stupid to get scared off buying the Nikon Z7. It would have been the perfect camera then and it would still be the perfect camera today. What stopped me was this fear of missing out on something better. Well, for my needs. there really wasn’t anything better, but it’s too late now.