While I eyed Z50 as a possible companion to the D500/300PF (taking place of my AW-1 which often goes along on day hikes as a wider, easily accessible and rugged camera - the zoom is excellent), I felt yet another battery type and lack of remote connector was too much of a drawback. If the Z50 does not have a lowpass filter, there is no reason it should perform much differently image wise than on the D500 as the sensor is essentially the same. However the handling might not be optimal with the 12-24mm/FTZ. It would not be that small adorable package as with the kit lens.
The Z5 could be more interesting but I really want to see how prices are dropping along with other bodies being upgraded and the system fills out before possibly jumping in, as it is a question what optics one would want in addition to the kit lens. With Covid-19 around there is really no hurry - with a bigger second wave going on here it does not look like I will be doing any important travel for quite some time. My around the neighborhood captures lately have been >90% with the D500/300PF combination.
You make some good points, Oivind.
Looking deeper, our little Z50 is priced very close to the new Z5, and IMO. the Z5 is over priced, so we will see a discount on that Z5 before long. On top of that, who knows what Black Friday pricing will offer? Sure, I'd rather have a Z6-24-70 combo, but I'm not wanting to drop an extra $1000 to get one.
The Z5 does both FX and DX, although I'm in the dark WRT how various F mount lenses function with the FTZ between them and the Z body. That's a consideration for me since my gear is mostly DX, with a small amount of F amount lenses in my bag left over from my film days. One could use the 12-24 on an FX body if they gave up the wider capabilities. How would that play out withe 12-24 mounted to an FTZ? IOW, I don't even know what I don't know about moving into the Z world. Maybe the Z50 is a better choice for me if I did move up to Z, but the lack of IBIS gives me pause as my vision and balance get worse with age.
