Nikon Z6: Tested on Community questions
Product test

Nikon Z6: Tested on Community questions

David Lee
28.3.2019
Translation: machine translated

I tried out the Nikon Z6. And I did so with regard to the points that interest you. Here you can find out how well SLR lenses work, what the electronic viewfinder is good for and how the autofocus works in the dark.

You have chosen: The Z6 is to be tested, not the Z7. And you are generally interested in how the mirrorless camera compares to various Nikon SLR cameras. In addition to the Z6, I also had the D750 SLR camera at my disposal for this test. The Z6 is considered the mirrorless counterpart to the D750, while the Z7 is more the counterpart to the D850. All this, of course, with lenses from both systems and the adapter that enables SLR lenses to be connected to the Z system.

Nikon Z 6 Kit 24-70mm + FTZ lens adapter (24 - 70 mm, 24.50 Mpx, Full frame)
Cameras

Nikon Z 6 Kit 24-70mm + FTZ lens adapter

24 - 70 mm, 24.50 Mpx, Full frame

Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S (Nikon Z, full size, APS-C / DX)
Lenses

Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S

Nikon Z, full size, APS-C / DX

Nikon D750 Body (24.30 Mpx, Full frame)
Cameras

Nikon D750 Body

24.30 Mpx, Full frame

Nikon Z 6 Kit 24-70mm + FTZ lens adapter (24 - 70 mm, 24.50 Mpx, Full frame)

Nikon Z 6 Kit 24-70mm + FTZ lens adapter

24 - 70 mm, 24.50 Mpx, Full frame

Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S (Nikon Z, full size, APS-C / DX)

Nikon Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S

Nikon Z, full size, APS-C / DX

Nikon D750 Body (24.30 Mpx, Full frame)

Nikon D750 Body

24.30 Mpx, Full frame

Autofocus in difficult conditions

How does the autofocus behave at dusk and in the dark? Is the Z6 a valid D750 successor?
antoniusmaximus

The autofocus of the Nikon Z6 also works when there is very little structure in focus, for example on a white wall. The D750 fails in such situations. The Z6 also benefits from better structure recognition in dim light, as contrasts are generally low there.

The focussing system of an SLR camera works in a fundamentally different way to that of a mirrorless camera. There may therefore be situations in which the D750 does the better job. On the whole, however, the autofocus of the Z6 seems superior to me. One clear advantage is that the autofocus covers almost the entire image, whereas with an SLR it can only focus on a more or less large centre zone.

Focussing on the chain in the dark: works.
Focussing on the chain in the dark: works.

Another advantage of mirrorless cameras is focus peaking: with manual focus, the camera marks the contours in the viewfinder that are in focus at the current aperture and distance. Under the menu item d10 "Contour filter for lights", you can select both the sensitivity and the marking colour for focus peaking.

Event photography

I'm definitely more interested in the Z6: How does it work in the studio, with flash, with the new viewfinder? Or in event photography, low light, possibly with flash?
edith_urs

Unfortunately, I can't say anything about studio photography. The existing flash units are compatible with the Z system. However, the Z6 does not have a built-in flash and therefore cannot trigger an unleashed slave flash by light.

Event photography can mean many things. But the Z6 has plus points for various aspects:

  • It can trigger silently if required

  • In combination with the 24-70mm F4 lens, it is compact, lightweight and unobtrusive. See picture below.
  • It is fast.
  • It has very little noise at high ISO sensitivity. Here is a graphic comparing the Z6 with the Nikon Z7, the D850 and the Sony A7 III.
  • It has a built-in five-axis image stabiliser.
  • It has a strong video function.

The D750 on the left, the Z6 on the right, each with a matching 24-70mm lens. Admittedly, the lens of the D750 is slightly faster (F2.8 compared to F4.0). However, the low-light performance of the Z6 is so good that even F4 is usually sufficient. If not, simply screw on a small, fast fixed focal length.

What would be practical for event photography, but the Z6 lacks, is an eye autofocus. The camera only has one card slot. You'll have to decide for yourself whether you want to use it for a wedding. I think: If you really want to play it safe, you need two cameras anyway, not just two card slots.

Electronic viewfinder

I heard somewhere that the image in the viewfinder is displayed with a certain delay. That would definitely put me off buying one. I would automatically trigger the shutter too late... I'm used to looking through an optical viewfinder that displays the scene in real time.
a.hotz

In photo mode there is no visible delay. The viewfinder is excellent and an important reason why I had a lot of fun trying out the camera.

In video mode, however, the frame rate is never higher than the recording frequency. This means that if you only record at 25p, you will only see 25p in the viewfinder, and this can lead to a jerky image and a delay if you move your hand quickly. With Full HD, I simply switch to 60p and the problem disappears. With 4K, however, I stop at 30p.

On the large LCD, by the way, you have the jerks with every setting. But it bothers me less there. I can't say why.

User UrsusMB writes that the viewfinder and especially the colour of the sky irritates him and wanted to know how I deal with it. I can't understand the problem at all. Basically, the image in the viewfinder looks the same as it does afterwards in the photo - in contrast to the image of an SLR camera. I think that's a big advantage.

Even in dim light, the electronic viewfinder provides me with a very clear, practically noise-free image in which I can recognise all the details. The viewfinder image of an SLR camera, on the other hand, forces me to fly blind in the dark.

In my first attempts, the viewfinder always remained black for about half a second after a shot. This can be quite annoying when shooting animals and action shots. However, the problem disappears when I set the image control to "Monitor only".

Compatibility with the SLR lenses

Various users ask about compatibility with SLR lenses and whether there really is no disadvantage.

In terms of optics, the adapter is simply a hole that creates the correct distance between the sensor and the lens. This has no effect on the image quality. The adapter transmits all the information that needs to be exchanged between the lens and the camera. I tried out the speed of the autofocus with my 70-300mm lens and didn't notice any deterioration compared to my Nikon D7500. On the contrary. Action, sports and wildlife photography are no problem with the telephoto and the adapter.

My lens is of the AF-S type. These lenses work with the adapter without restriction. Of course, this also applies to the newer AF-P type lenses.

Nikon AF-S 70-300mm, f/4.5-5.6G VR (Nikon F, full size)
Lenses

Nikon AF-S 70-300mm, f/4.5-5.6G VR

Nikon F, full size

Nikon AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR (Nikon F, full size, APS-C / DX)
Lenses
EUR599,–

Nikon AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

Nikon F, full size, APS-C / DX

In addition to AF-P and AF-S, there is an even older system: AF. Lenses of this type are still in use and even on sale, I myself use the 50 mm.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D - (EU) (Nikon F, full size)

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D - (EU)

Nikon F, full size

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D - (EU) (Nikon F, full size)
Lenses

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D - (EU)

Nikon F, full size

There is one limitation with these lenses. The autofocus does not work. This is because these lenses do not have their own autofocus motor. The camera has to do this. However, this does not work with the Nikon Z and the adapter.

What does work with these lenses, however, is focus peaking. With focus peaking, you set the focus distance manually, but the camera shows you which parts of the image are in focus with the current setting. With the Nikon Z6, you have to set the setting to "manual focus", although the camera is already forced to operate in manual focus with the AF lens anyway. I find that a bit confusing.

DX lenses can also be used with the adapter on the Z6. DX lenses are lenses that are not suitable for full-frame sensors, but only for cameras with a smaller APS-C sensor. The camera crops the image section accordingly and the resolution is reduced to 10 megapixels (3936×2624 pixels). This cropping cannot be deactivated, although some DX lenses expose well beyond the DX field.

Last but not least: FX and DX lenses without image stabilisation are upgraded, as the camera has a built-in image stabiliser. This also works with the adapter.

Sensor contamination

avec un usage intensif en extérieur, je suis très partagé avec la question de la mise à nu du capteur lors d'un chagement d'optique. For me, this remains a barrier to the purchase of a camera of this type. It seems that Canon has found a solution on one of its mirrorless (RP) models by placing an obturator in front of the capteur.
depot333

If I understand the French article correctly, the point is that the sensor of mirrorless cameras is very susceptible to dirt. That's true, of course. When I received the Z6 for testing, the sensor was completely dirty. I don't know what the person in front of me did with the camera, but the risk of dirt is real. The Canon EOS R (but not the RP) has built-in protection against this. Small consolation: there is now a cleaning kit that is significantly cheaper than the one from Visible Dust.

Cleaning was also very easy for me. The sensor was clean again with a single wipe - in stark contrast to my previous attempt with another camera. But that's a matter of luck and has nothing to do with the camera.

  • Guide

    Marks on your camera sensor – how to get rid of them

    by David Lee

HDR and dynamics

And what is the camera's dynamic range in terms of light and shadow? Is there or is there an automatic HDR mode? I use a D7100.
matze45

Yes, there is an automatic HDR mode. This shoots two images in succession, whereby the exposure difference can be set automatically or manually. The HDR mode can only be activated for JPEGs because the end result is always a JPEG. However, it also saves the individual images in RAW if desired, so that you can create your own HDR on the computer.

Whether you need this feature is a matter of opinion. According to DxoMark, the dynamic range of the sensor is not the very best, but much better than that of the D7100. Which is not surprising, as the D7100 is not only getting on in years, but also has a smaller sensor.

Here are some values from DxOMark:

Nikon Z614.3
Nikon Z714.6
Nikon D85014.8
Sony A7 III14.7
Nikon D75014.5
Nikon D710013.7

This table refers to the performance at 100 ISO. With this tool you can view the dynamic range of different cameras across the entire ISO spectrum. This is what it looks like with the cameras above
.

Battery life and charging

Nobody asked about this, but I'll make this point anyway. It's no secret that mirrorless system cameras have a poorer battery life than SLR cameras. Even if the difference in everyday use is usually not as great as the CIPA measurements suggest.

That's why I would also recommend at least two batteries for the Nikon Z6, even if you don't need a spare battery for every shoot. The cool thing is that if you are switching from a newer Nikon SLR camera such as the D7500, D750, D810 or D850, you can also use the previous batteries on the Z6. This is because both models use the EN-EL15 battery.

However, there are different subtypes of this type, and you can only use the USB charging function of the Z6 with type B.

In the test, I was able to take significantly more photos on one battery charge than the CIPA value of 310 - at least twice as many. The CIPA standard requires the screen or viewfinder to be switched on for 30 seconds between each photo. This is hardly ever the case in normal everyday life.

Conclusion

Although I have only picked out specific points, I would like to summarise briefly. I have a very positive impression of the Z6 and consider it to be at least on a par with the Sony A7 III. The Sony may have a slight advantage when it comes to focus for action shots, but the Nikon has a body with a better grip and a handling that I personally like better. For owners of a Nikon D750, the Z6 is a sensible upgrade. There is no doubt that there is new competition in the field of mirrorless full-frame cameras, which we as photographers can only benefit from. <p

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My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.


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