Z 6

The first thing I noticed was the image quality, especially in the higher ISO range. It was shocking to see how good my images looked.

I´ve been using the Z6 for about 6 weeks now. I´m still exploring the camera, but my initial impressions are very positive. Like any other camera, there are some pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh the cons, and there are several places where the Z6 tops my D850.

The big plus for me is the EVF. I think of the EVF as delivering everything I could do with LiveView, everything I could do with an optical viewfinder, and access to the entire menu system. I hated having to take my eye from the viewfinder for image review or to change menu settings. Now playback is available without moving my eye from the viewfinder, the iMenu provides quick access to commonly used menu items, I can check exposure before the shot using the histogram. The big win is by programming the Fn1 key to zoom, I can zoom in on a subject before taking a photo, or zoom in during playback to check focus or details - all without taking my eye from the viewfinder. For wildlife, this effectively gives me electronic binoculars and I´m getting far more good images of small birds than with a DSLR.

There have been some reports of problems with AF. The first thing to understand is that almost all the AF Area modes have changed, and they need to be used in a different manner. Using Dynamic AF for moving subjects is not the automatic choice. 3D Tracking is gone. Group has change to two new Wide modes with nearest subject priority - making them my choice for action.. You have a a new pinpoint AF for situations where you need precise point focus. You need to use Continuous High Extended for fast moving subjects to eliminate jitter and blackouts - and it works fine.

The FTZ adapter is great in allowing my older Nikon F mount lenses to work on my Z6. Just in the past week, I was using the older 300 f/4 AFS with the TC14EII teleconverter. I was able to get tack sharp images at 1/200 and 1/160 sec handheld with IBIS of the Z6. I´ve used lenses that date back to the 1970´s and they now have focus peaking for sharp focusing, zooming to check focus, and IBIS for stabilization at slower shutter speeds. New lenses without VR now have stabilization adding functionality to lenses like my 85mm f/1.8 AFS.

I generally would not use DX lenses on my camera, but I do have that option and it is much improved. The EVF provides a view of the cropped image for DX lenses. What makes this nice is it fills the viewfinder instead of having a small image surrounded by a grayed out border. DX mode could be quite useful for small distant subjects that will be cropped later anyway. DX lenses with the FTZ can save a lot of size and weight for occasions where you want a small, light kit.

The Z6 is different, but rather than expecting it to do the same thing as a D850 or D750, you need to embrace the opportunities and what it does well. It may not be the best choice for fast action, but it´s terrific for event photography or photographs while birding. I´ll be using the Z6 in addition to my D850, and would have no problem making it my only camera for almost all professional work.

I´m a professional videographer and I´ve been shooting weddings for the last 5 years with Nikon gear. I´ll write about using the Z6 for video. I´ve been using the D750 for years to shoot cinematic style Indian wedding videos, and now I´ve shot close to 12 weddings with the Z6, here are my thoughts.

The main advantage over the D750 is being able to use the EVF. When you´re out is the bright sun, it´s so much easier to use the EVF and easier to see your focus. Huge advantage. The Z6 has all the bells and whistles that the D850 has and more (minus the large megapixels), but is more affordable. Beautiful 4k, and has the extra 120 fps, Touch screen is great. The focus is lightning fast compared to the D750. I don´t use continuous focus, so I won´t talk about that, although it does have that and works much better than the D750 (for video). I´m very happy with the adapter. I think I´ll stick with using that instead of the mirrorless lenses for now. Although I do have the 24-70 and 50mm Z lenses.

Two things I´m a bit disappointed with is: #1, they don´t have the 24-120mm lens on the line up, which for video is the best lens out there. #2, they changed the LCD hinges, so that it doesn´t tilt down fully like the D750. Big mistake. I can´t tell you how many times I need to have my monopod super high up above the crowds and even though it does tilt down, it´s only about a 45 degree angle maybe, instead of all the way down like the D750 does. Those two things are the only negatives for using the Z6 over the D750. But.... I will still use the 24-120mm with the adapter. One more thing, the white balance button being on the front is awkward and not placed well. For video I use that often.

Overall, this is a great camera to shoot video with. I´ve done photo shoot also and it´s a good camera for that too.
The Nikon Z6 does incredibly good in low light, I usually film in 3200 iso, and it has zero grain. I´m guessing it´s the best out there right now for sure.

Nikon has given us two top winners, the D850 and now the Z6/Z7.

I´d give the camera 4.5 stars, if that was possible, it is a very good new addition to the Nikon line-up, but not quite a 5 star solution yet.

Aside from the innovation to provide a reference standard mirrorless camera in its first incarnation, the camera is a logical improvement to existing technology, a worthy successor to the D750, which was the low light and low noise champion for years.

The 850 and Z7 cameras rightfully claimed a top-notch place for portrait, landscape and product photography, but are much too noisy to produce high quality outputs in high ISO and low light photography. I enjoyed the 850 for a year, but sold it after getting the Z6. I specialize in night and long exposure photography, niches that push the limits of technology and rely on highest sensor and processor performance and the Z6 delivers here. It´s high ISO noise performance is almost one full stop better than that of the D750, which held the top spot for that rating for years. The images of the Z6 are incredibly smooth and ISO 6400 can now be used to create fine art photos. ISO 12800 has become truly useful where needed, and, in combination with photo stacking, can be used to create high dynamic range Milky Way photos, for example. Retaining to be in the top realms for dynamic range and ISO invariance supports that performance leadership. The banding issue from the on-sensor auto-focus that has been reported has not shown up in my images, where I often need to accommodate bright lights and push shadows by 4-5 stops. I believe this is more a problem with short exposures than with long exposure times, but I need to test that theory.

I also do a lot of long exposure photography, where exposure times of 8-15 minutes are common and the few instances where I took 15 (the tree and star trails) and 30 minute (the moon streak) single exposures produced outstanding image quality, with amazingly few hot spots, the fixed pattern noise that shows up in these kinds of exposures. I did not have to use dark frames for subtraction, or the built-in Long Exposure Noise Reduction, as the final image was smooth and without many hot spots.

On the down side, the camera needs getting used to it, as the button layout is dramatically different from other pro and semi-pro models, and some of the buttons are very small. More importantly, the camera has some quirky behaviors, especially around the LCD turning on and off (or not), the top panel LCD not being able to be turned off and some behaviors not being consistent. Also, the camera takes a good 2-3 seconds to start up, which becomes annoying because the viewfinder won´t work without it, but turning off the camera is necessary to save battery life. And I will never understand why Nikon cannot provide exposure times of 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 an 60 minutes, which would be simple text additions to a firmware lookup table. All that could be easily tweaked, provided and improved with firmware releases, but Nikon does not have a good track record of improving cameras through firmware, in favor of pushing users to buy new camera models. Digital cameras are becoming more computerized and it is time to provide regular updates of the firmware, even for non-critical improvements.

All in all, the Z6 is the new Nikon champion for low noise and is highly recommended for low light and long exposure photography! Find me on Instagram under the same username to see more examples taken with the Z6.

Image quality is nearly identical to the extremely good D750, but the focusing is not. With the native S series lens it is sure enough to get by, but add the 24-120 f4.0 or for that matter any adapted nikkor lens and it is less so. I have had times where the camera confirms focus (in Focus Priority) but the final image is soft. EFCS is on, so I´m sure it is not a vibration issue. Where is the Group AFS? Focus on the focusing Nikon!!!

One memory card. This I don´t understand, I won´t shoot this camera professionally, it will remain a personal camera only, which is too limiting considering the price.

Video is excellent and works well for my needs.

Looks like Nikon is FINALLY sharing info with Adobe as my NEFs import with the camera settings in place. I can´t tell you how much this is appreciated and so long over due.

Lenses, we need lenses! Oh, and a grip!!!!!!! I returned a Z 7 because of the above failings, I could not justify the price when the D850 focused so much more sure and accurately and for less money.

But, it is not completely intuitive which means that one needs to read the manual and watch some setup videos on YouTube. With that said, I love this camera. Using the viewfinder you will find the image so bright and this translates to the final image. My other suggestion is to purchase the adapter and the zoom, I only purchased the adapter and now want the zoom. Using a mirrorless camera is different than using a DSLR but I think you will come to love it.

As a Nikon photographer since 1972, I´ve learned to ignore the reviews by non professionals who have only handled a camera for a few minutes. As the photographer for a ballet company, university theatre department, opera department and other performing arts groups the Z6 met every requirement. Focus was accurate, color rendition, even with the stage LCD lights was pretty much dead on. Being able to work in a silent mode was liberating. Battery life (850-1,000 12 bit compressed RAW) exceeded expectations, and the buffer never created an issue. While this won´t replace my D850 or D500, it is very much the replacement for my workhorse D750s. I had been experimenting with the Fuijifilm X series, but this gets me the mirrorless advantages while retaining the great Nikon glass I already had. Thanks, Nikon.

I´ve had a lot of cameras, including many Nikons, from an F4, to a D3, D800s, and more. Once I got into Nikon, I haven´t changed as I´ve been completely satisfied, from camera bodies to lenses to accessories. They´re extremely well designed and built, and trouble-free. But large DSLRs with big, fast lenses are heavy to carry around all day, and so the new mirrorless cameras help to solve that problem. I waited for the Z6 because I don´t need the resolution of the Z7 for my portrait and travel work. The Z6 offers everything else, and so far I´ve been extremely satisfied. It handles like a full-sized DSLR, but is much lighter. In-camera vibration reduction is fabulous. I also love face recognition, as I don´t miss the shots when my focus on eyes wasn´t right on. The 24-70 lens is excellent. I´m still learning little tricks with this camera, but right now I can say I´m totally satisfied.

I was all nikon for photos and video until I got a Sony A7sii. NIkon was just lacking in video (no 4k, no IBIS, no LOG profile). Unfortunately sony lenses are expensive so I wasn´t using adapters to use my Nikon glass. This left me with no AF lenses and I had to carry two cameras if I wanted good photos and video of an event. The Z6 combines my A7Sii and my Nikon D750 into one body. It has superior video to anything else Nikon has out right now. The photo capabilities are similar or surpass the D750. Yes it is missing two slots, but everything else it does right makes up for it to me.