Nikon Z6 Review

Nikon Z6 Review - Is Z6 the best camera you can buy this year in 2020? Well, let's find out!

Let's start with it's specifications (as given on Nikon's website)-

Effective pixels- 24.5 MP

Sensor size- 35.9 mm x  23.9 mm

Image sensor format- FX

Storage media- CFexpress (Type B), XQD Type Memory

(Only one card slot)

ISO sensitivity- ISO 100 - 51,200 in steps of 1/3 or 1/2 EV. Can also be set to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 1 EV (ISO 50 equivalent) below ISO 100 or to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1 or 2 EV (ISO 204,800 equivalent) above ISO 51,200; auto ISO sensitivity control available

Movie- 4K UHD 3,840x2,160 / 30 fps

4K UHD 3,840x2,160 / 25 fps

4K UHD 3,840x2,160 / 24 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 120 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 100 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 60 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 50 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 30 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 25 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 / 24 fps

Full HD 1,920x1,080 slow-mo / 30 fps x4

Full HD 1,920x1,080 slow-mo / 25 fps x4

Full HD 1,920x1,080 slow-mo / 24 fps x5

Actual frame rates for 120p, 100p, 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, and 24p are 119.88, 100, 59.94, 50, 29.97, 25, and 23.976 fps respectively

Quality selection available at all sizes except

3,840 x 2,160, 1,920 x 1,080 120p/100p, and 1,920 x 1,080 slow-mo, when quality is fixed at high

Monitor size- 3.2 in. diagonal

Monitor type- Tilting TFT, Touch-Sensitive LCD

Battery- One EN-EL15b rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL15a/EN-EL15 can also be used, but note that fewer pictures can be taken on a single charge and that charging AC adapter can be used to charge EN-EL15b batteries only

Now that we're done with the technical gizmo, let's jump into the review! I bought this Z series camera in August of 2019. For me, it was a major upgrade, from Nikon D5200 to Nikon Z6. So obviously, I was incredibly satisfied with my decision to buy this camera since anyone who goes from an entry level crop sensor camera to a full-frame camera will always love the upgrade initially. But as I used this more and more, I realised a few things which I've divided into pros and cons.

PROS-

1) Ergonomics- This camera feels incredible. It just sticks to your hand like it was meant to be! The grip is deep enough, even for someone like me who has long fingers. The button layout is pretty accessible. I never felt like the button placement could be better. And most of all, it is a well-balanced camera.

2) Menu system- As is the case with all Nikon cameras, the menu system is simple, easy to navigate, with a lot of customization options. And if you're already coming from a different Nikon camera, you won't have any trouble getting used to this menu system.

3) IBIS- So this does have IBIS i.e. in-body image stabilization. It works pretty good. I've been able to shoot handled with shutter speed of as slow as 1/5s. And pair it with a lens that has VR in it and boom, you've even more stabilization.

4) Electronic viewfinder- Two words; crisp and reliable. The electronic viewfinder is incredible. The colors are pretty accurate. There is a bit of a yellow cast but it isn't anything that would change your perception of color altogether. I would still argue Nikon Z6 has one of the best electronic viewfinders in the full-frame market right now.

5) Storage- The Z6 takes an XQD card or CFexpress Type B card, which I think was a smart move by Nikon. I have shot in a lot of different scenarios using this camera where I've had to shoot in continuous high shooting mode while putting out 14 bit uncompressed RAW files. You'd think the buffer would fill up and the camera will stop momentarily but that isn't the case. Not even close. I've never filled up the buffer. And the credit mostly goes to my 32GB XQD card, which I got bundled with the FTZ kit.

6) FTZ adapter- I personally don't own any native glass for the Z6 because it didn't make any sense to put that extra dough into getting a 24-70 f/4 kit lens, how much ever sharp it might be. I'd rather save up and get an f/2.8 zoom sometime later. Anyway. Instead, I bought the FTZ adapter, along with an 85mm f/1.8G lens which was released all the way back in 2012. And I had little to no issues with it's performance with the Z6. The auto-focusing was very quick (not as good as it is with any native lens). The sharpness also holds really well. I also use a 50mm f/1.8G lens and I found no issues as far as compatibility is concerned.

7) Battery life- This one surprised me. I went into this mirrorless system thinking I'll have poor battery life and I'll need to buy 3-4 batteries in order to keep shooting for long duration. However, I got a good glimpse of the battery performance when I shot an event in Hyderabad, 2 weeks after I bought this camera. I was shooting from 7:30 in the morning to 9:30 at night, with about 20-30 minutes of break, twice. So pretty much I had no time to go and put my battery to charge. But somehow, the Z6 lasted the entire day with about 6-7% battery life to spare at the end! Now, does this mean it's as good as it's DSLR counterpart? NO. The existence of an electronic viewfinder alone is the reason why it cannot compete with any DSLR in battery life. But, when compared to a DSLM, it is so much better. And besides, this camera has a feature that enables you to keep either your monitor or viewfinder on, meaning you can save some battery life here. I personally shoot using the viewfinder almost always, except when I have to shoot in an awkward angle.

8) High ISO performance- I always try my best to shoot at ISO 100 but in the situation where I'd have to bump it up, I can do that all the way up to ISO 6400. It is definitely noisy but it is still usable. But once you cross this, things become a bit unusable. However, if you're uploading to Instagram, you can still get away with ISO 12800!

9) Subject tracking- So the firmware upgrade ver. 3.00 added this long awaited feature and this changed my shooting workflow entirely. Now, what I've done is I've mapped Fn1 button to Subject tracking. So whenever I'm shooting, I'm always in AF-Area and AF-C mode. This does Eye/face AF and so I can easily acquire people in focus whenever they're in frame. Now let's say my subject isn't a person anymore but a moving car. So all I've to do is press Fn1, which will bring the tracking box up and I could either move the box using the sub-selector to my subject or I could simply pan my camera and position the tracking box over my subject and either half press the shutter button or press AF-On button and my subject immediately gets tracked. Now even though the explanation is pretty elaborate, the process itself takes less than 2 seconds. No, I'm not exaggerating! This workflow allows me to shoot in any scenario with AF-area mode and AF-C mode, maximizing my chances of getting the shot that I want.

These are some of the positive aspects of Z6 that I feel are pretty important. Now let's address the negative side of this camera.

CONS-

1) Only one card slot- Although it was smart to allow the use of XQD and CFexpress type B cards, it wasn't very smart to include only one card slot!

2) FTZ adapter- Ok I've a love-hate relationship with this. Even though I may not have had any issues with its performance, I do find that it's not so ergonomic and kills the balance of the camera. Once you have the adapter on, you cannot keep your camera flat on a surface since the FTZ adapter bulges out at the bottom. It might not be that big of a deal but I feel it could have been dealt with.

3) Battery grip- So yes, there is a battery grip available but it makes no sense to me, honestly. Because of the lack of electrical contacts in the camera body, the battery grip serves no more purpose than a battery holder. There are no controls on it that you could use when shooting in portrait orientation. P.S.- I don't own a battery grip for the Z6. This view is based on whatever I've read online from other creators!

4) No N-log video in-camera- That's right. You don't have the option to shoot N-log in-camera. Granted, Nikon did advertise this product more as a filmmaker's camera, assuming everyone who buys this would either rig it out for proper filmmaking projects or do hybrid shooting but honestly, I do feel that a lot of indie content creators would have appreciated having this feature in-camera.

5) Lenses- Nikon Z6 was released back in 14th November, 2018. It has been more than a year and there are only 2 pro lenses out- Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S. 14-24 f/2.8 isn't out yet. Although, it might be announced before 2020 ends. For more information on the roadmap, follow this link! The f/1.4 or f/1.2 primes are not out yet, as of 15th July, 2020. Granted, there are f/1.8 primes and a few other zoom lenses out but I don't see them as a serious professional lens. I still use an 85mm f/1.8G because it suits my work right now. But I'm waiting for a better alternative to come out of this Z system!

6) No 4k 60fps- I would have loved to have 4k at 60fps but unfortunately, Z6 doesn't offer that.

7) Not really 12fps shooting- It does 12 fps only with JPEG and 12 bit RAW files. It does 9 fps with 14-bit RAW files. And if you want full AF/AE support, it does about 5 to 5.5 fps, irrespective of the file format, in continuous H mode. But I guess this was expected.

Now, I left out one key part of this camera and that is it's Auto-focus performance. I'm mostly neutral about this. I don't think the auto-focus is a plus for the Z6 but I also don't think it's bad. For most intents and purposes, you'd be fine with the auto-focus. But I also need to consider it's competition. Sony has done amazingly. How much ever bad their camera displays might be, how much ever bad their ergonomics might be, even if they still need SD cards to work with, but Sony has nailed the auto-focus game. This and the incredible low light performance are the two factors that has allowed Sony to dominate the mirrorless camera market. Then you have Canon with their dual-pixel auto-focus that brought a revolution for Canon cameras. Right now, an entry level crop sensor M50 dominates the full-frame Z6 in auto-focusing! It's insane!

My final thoughts-

From everything I've said above, I'd like to point one key piece of information which I think is the sole reason for Nikon Z6 to have such mixed reviews.

Sony came out with their first full-frame mirrorless camera in 2013. And it was an absolute hit. Slowly but surely, Sony's share in the camera market started increasing. Then in October of 2018, Canon released the EOS R. At the same time, global camera sales were decreasing. And this has been happening since smartphone cameras became relevant. So, I think that Nikon was forced to push out a full-frame mirrorless camera of it's own as quickly as it can in order to stay relevant in the camera market. And in November, 2018, that is exactly what happened. That is the reason why the Z6 was so incomplete when it first hit the market. I feel Nikon Z6 after firmware upgrade ver.3.00 is how it should have left the factory, along with electrical contacts for a proper battery grip. There is no other way I can explain why a company like Nikon can come up with such an incomplete camera. The Z6 I've now is on a whole new level, compared to the first time it left the factory.

Do I recommend this camera?-

Yes! Once you've done all the firmware upgrades, Nikon Z6 becomes a very capable camera. The pros outweigh the cons easily!

Considerations before buying Nikon Z6-

So according to Nikon rumours, Nikon is set to announce the release of the updated versions of the Z6 and Z7. And this update will address the issues that the Z6 has. Although there's nothing mentioned about any major AF improvement, all the other issues such as one card slot, no electrical contacts for a vertical grip, and no 4k 60fps has been solved. As for the price, well, no information is out yet.

So what could this mean for you? For starters, the new Z6s can be your new camera. But if you're on a budget and you want a capable full-frame camera at a reasonable price, you're in luck because the price of Z6 will go down even more once Z6s gets released.

Keep in mind that this section of my review is based on rumours. I'll update it once Nikon comes up with an official statement.

So that is all for my review! I hope you found it useful! If you've any specific query regarding this camera that I haven't covered, feel free to comment down below or DM me on Instagram @the_sarcasticegg! You can also email me at rahulpremkumarphotography@gmail.com

I also have a youtube channel. Feel free to check it out here!

You can check out Nikon Z6 on Amazon using this link-

https://amzn.to/30duOCI

Here are Nikon's other mirrorless camera options and lenses on Amazon-

Nikon Z7- https://amzn.to/2OvUchn

Nikon Z50- https://amzn.to/2WrDAf5

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24MM F/1.8 S- https://amzn.to/2C91hSJ

Nikon NIKKOR Z 35MM F/1.8 S- https://amzn.to/38ZSSg6

Nikon NIKKOR Z 50 mm f/1.8 S- https://amzn.to/2WppOtg

Nikon NIKKOR Z 85MM F/1.8 S- https://amzn.to/30j7LpM

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-70MM F/2.8 S- https://amzn.to/2WnRSxg

Nikon Z DX 16-50 VR (for crop sensor)- https://amzn.to/30g3VxR