u/Caliginous1979

I’m currently trying to decide between a Z6 III or a Z8.

A bit about me: I’m an amateur, but I’ve been into photography for around 35 years. I shot with an FE2 and my father’s Hasselblad in the film days, my first DSLR was a D50. After using that for a few years I got a D750, which I have now used for 12 years. I absolutely love my 750, however I’m starting to want some new gear and I’m keen to get into these new cameras and what they can offer - I’ve never used a mirrorless before, never used the new autofocus systems, the new glass etc, so it is a bit of a new world for me.

I shoot a bit of everything, mainly landscape, street and wildlife when I go to places where that’s an option. I don’t shoot birds or sports or anything super fast like that. I dabble in video - I like using it and I shot a couple of short films on my D750.

After my last trip to Africa I was determined to strip back on gear - I lugged my trinity and the 200-500 around and it was too much in all honesty. For this reason something smaller and lighter is appealing, but likewise, I’ve used “heavy” cameras my whole life so the size and weight of the Z8 is not a deal breaker. I do crop a bit at times, so 45mp sounds great, but when I look at all the specs, I feel like that might be the only feature pushing me towards the Z8 - I feel like the Z6 III most likely has everything else I need. There’s a part of me though that thinks if I’m upgrading, I really need to actually upgrade and staying at 24mp doesn’t feel like that.

The other thing is future proofing - I’ll have this camera likely another 10 years. The Z8 seems like a good choice here as it seems it’s a camera that can take you in any direction you like and doesn’t need too much added to it. But if I’m honest it does seem like a lot of camera for me, maybe too much. It seems a little intimidating, but also exciting. The Z6 III seems like a camera I’d be a little more familiar with out of the box.

Lens wise I think I’m going to for the 24-120 and the 100-400 to get started with. This seems to cover what I need and I like the idea of having just two good lenses - at least to start with.

Budget is not really a deciding factor - I’m going to own this camera a long time so don’t mind paying what it costs. I can’t afford to buy camera bodies regularly though, so I want it to be a keeper.

Im not looking for anyone to solve my conundrum outright haha, just interested in people’s thoughts. Like I said - this mirrorless world and Z glass is all new to me.

As a kid in Australia in the late 80s/early 90s, I read a horror anthology paperback — the sort of giant British horror omnibus with creepy painted/airbrushed cover art (similar to Mammoth/Constable & Robinson-type books).

I thought it was The Giant Book of Horror Stories, and after finding a contents list online I realised that at least two stories I remembered (A Teacher’s Reward by Robert Phillips and The Screaming Laugh by Cornell Woolrich) are in there.

However, the story I’m actually trying to identify either:

1. is also in that anthology and I’ve confused the title/plot, or
2. came from another very similar giant horror book that my memory has merged with it.

The story I remember:

• Strong English/British feel, not American
• A man is walking/hiking in the countryside and comes across a cottage/house
• He goes inside and meets a couple living there. It becomes apparent he is not in this world anymore.
• The story becomes increasingly unsettling and genuinely creeped me out as a kid
• I think it was called “Bones”, though I now strongly suspect I may have the title wrong

Because my memory is clearly unreliable, I’m very open to the possibility that the title is completely different.

Does this ring any bells for anyone? Either the story itself or a likely anthology?