Time to upgrade?
Hey everyone!
Im reaching out to see if anyone has any input or recommendations for me regarding possibly upgrading my set up.
I’m an intermediate wildlife photographer who’s also starting to have fun with sports photography. I currently have a Nikon Z6III with a Nikkor 180-600mm + a 1.4x Z teleconvertor. While it suits my needs, I want more resolution, especially for wildlife/birds. Unless I’m close and use f/10-f/11 I notice my shots are not hitting up to what i expected. I shoot exclusively at 840mm and I usually still crop into the image, which softens the image (amplifies the teleconvertor and reduces resolution since it’s 24.5 MP). I can admit that some of my wants can most likely be fixed or managed with the help of better settings, field work, and post-processing, but I wonder if my current set up isn’t up to the task despite being a great hybrid camera due to technical errors.
I plan to sell my pictures as a side gig to recoup the cost of my setup and have some money left over. My dream is to allow the option of high quality (or decent quality) large prints for my buyers and myself.
While 24.5 MP used to be sufficient for professional wildlife photographers (and still can be with the Canon R3 and R1), I suspect they used way more expensive, and sharper lenses than I do.
Let’s explore my options!
Option #1: Keep my current setup and improve my results by increasing my field work skills, autofocus settings, and post-processing workflow (including cropping). This option seems appealing economically, but I’m concerned I’ll hit a wall in the future. I’m new to selling gear, so if someone has more knowledge, please correct me if I’m wrong. I suspect if i dont trade in or sell now, my setup may depreciate to the point where it’s not economically friendly to upgrade.
Option #2: Sell my current setup and replace it with a Canon R5 Mark 1 or a used Canon R5II and purchase the 200-800mm lens for them.
*on the new canon set up choice, I am unsure if I need a teleconvertor or not. Im leaning towards it due to the fact that I’m still cropping on images taken at 840mm, though I’m not familiar with high megapixel sensors*
Please feel free to respond with any respectful advice you may have!!