It may be a misnomer, but a mirrorless DSLR would be a great way to end the line.
After much shooting with the Nikon Z6, and far longer shooting with Nikon SLRs, I've got some thoughts.
I like the modern display of a mirrorless viewfinder. The Z6 has a fine viewfinder, and it's great to see the depth of field in real time. It's good to zoom in and confirm focus, both with the magnified view and configurable focus peaking. The quality of the viewfinder should only get better.
But I far prefer the body style of the professional D-series, whether it's the D1 through D6 lineage or the smaller D100 through D850 lineage. The controls on these larger cameras are simply more comfortably laid out.
I don't like adapting F-mount lenses to the Z-mount mirrorless camera. The FTZ adapter works well enough, though it desperately needs an AI follower for proper indexing with my (never-to-be-chipped) manual focus lenses. A screwdriver autofocus motor be nice. Make it require a battery grip or something, I don't care. But at least give it proper AI indexing.
At some point I'll give in and buy Z-mount lenses, but that's a long time in the future considering the cost, and regardless of the quality.
What I want is a D850 without the mirror and optical viewfinder. A full-time live view D850. Give it on-sensor phase detect autofocus, even with a speed penalty because of the less efficient geometry. Even contrast detect autofocus on these modern cameras is pretty good with modern lenses. A D850 with an anteater snout and an LCD in the viewfinder. What a dream.
Beyond that, we just need some compact lenses for the Z-mount. How about a pancake 24 or 28, plus a 50, plus a 105? That would be great.
