# Z6 - First Impressions



## adamhiram (Sep 18, 2020)

I recently picked up a Z6 and wanted to share my first impressions, similar to this thread from @Peeb last year.

I purchased it from Adorama for $1844 with an FTZ adapter, with the intention of using adapted F-mount lenses until I get around to picking up some native glass.  As of this post I have not had a chance to shoot with it yet, but figured I would use this as a running thread with my thoughts as I get up to speed.  For reference, I am coming from a D500, which has a crop sensor, but solid build, and is an autofocus monster.

Ergonomics

My first impression is that this thing is really small, but feels solid
Wow, the Z lens mount is huge!
Feels good in the hand, familiar Nikon feel with a nice deep grip
FTZ adapter

Nice snug fit, autofocuses modern G lenses as well as any DSLR
Why does the bottom protrude lower than the bottom of the body so it can't stand up now.  What a strange design.  This piece is an integrated tripod mount, but I can't imagine when I would want to mount the tripod to the adapter, rather than to the body or lens.  Not a big deal, just an odd design decision.
First time using an adapted lens

I mounted a 50mm f/1.8G lens to the FTZ adapter and it works just fine
It looks a bit strange, something that I guess comes with the territory of using an adapter
It feels very front-heavy.  I don't mind a heavy body as long as it feels balanced, but this is a smaller lighter weight body with the lens extended further out.  Even something as lightweight as the 50mm f/1.8G feels a little unbalanced.  I'm curious if it feels the same with native Z-mount lenses, particularly some of the longer or heavier ones.
I'm also curious if the battery grip might help it feel more balanced, although I haven't heard many good things about the grip for Z6/Z7.
Diopter adjustment

This might not be particularly useful for most, but this could have been a deal breaker for me. I wear glasses, really dislike pressing my glasses to the eyecup, and haven't been able to wear contacts for a long time.  I've always adjusted the diopter and added a correction eyepiece so I can see through the viewfinder clearly without my glasses.
I asked in this forum.  I asked my local camera shop as well as Adorama.  I even contacted Nikon support.  They all told me the same thing - the Z6/Z7 use a different eyepiece than SLRs, and the standard rectangular eyepiece accessories will not fit.  There are no correction eyepieces available for their mirrorless bodies.
As it turns out, all of them were mistaken - *the DK-20C rectangular correction eyepieces fit just fine*.  I'm not sure if it interferes with the eye sensor just above the viewfinder, but it fits and it works.
More importantly, the diopter range on the Z6 is wider than with prior DSLRs I've owned, going all the way to -4.0.  This was actually sufficient for me, so the addition of a correction eyepiece was not needed.  I just thought I would document that here in case it helps someone else, since I was unable to find this information elsewhere.
Battery

My biggest question right now is how long the battery will last compared to a DSLR.  I've heard everything from a few hundred shots to 1000+ shots and still going at the end of the day.  I understand it is more about how long the viewfinder is on than how many shots I take, so I'll have to wait and see how it goes.
It comes with an EN-EL15b battery, which I understand is basically identical to the EN-EL15 spare batteries I already own, but can be charged via USB.  Also, the Z6 does not include the USB charger and I don't plan on spending $60 for it, so there's really no benefit to to this as far as I'm concerned.
It uses the same MH-25a charger that came with my D500
The first shot

The shutter has a very quiet muffled sound.  I guess a quiet shutter is one of the benefits of mirrorless, but there's just something so satisfying about the solid ker-chunk sound of a DSLR shutter.  I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough.
That's about it so far.  The one potential deal breaker for me was the diopter adjustment and availability of correction eyepieces, and both turned out to be non-issues.  I'm excited to try out the eye-AF, and of course use some of my fast primes on a full frame body for the first time.  Additional posts to come as I get up to speed.


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## Derrel (Sep 18, 2020)

Congratulations on the new machine. I am pretty sure you will find that full frame is actually quite a wonderful format especially in studio.

I am glad the eyepiece correction is sufficient for your vision. I always appreciate your careful and thoughtful reviews, and this brief write-up is no exception. I have seen a couple of dPreview video reviews of the Nikon Z-line models done by Chris Nichols, and his extremely positive experiences have opened my eyes to a possible Nikon Z future... But my current lens collection has me thinking about staying in the DSLR realm.


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## adamhiram (Sep 18, 2020)

@Derrel as always thank you for the kind words and sage advice!


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## smoke665 (Sep 19, 2020)

Congratulations on the new purchase. As with anything new there will be a learning curve as you become acquainted with it, but you seem to have a methodical approach that will serve you well in the process. Now you really need to start posting some samples!


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## Dean_Gretsch (Sep 19, 2020)

I am impressed with your review. As @Derrel said, it is very meticulous and well presented. As a disclaimer, I am a Canon user


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## nmoody (Sep 19, 2020)

Sounds like you have a good fit for you. Can’t wait to see what you produce with it.


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## JBPhotog (Sep 19, 2020)

Congrats on the Z6 acquisition, it looks to be a fun camera with plenty of new bells and whistles. Looking forward to your images and feedback after you run it through the mill.  Happy to hear the diopter issue has a solution.

One thought on the FTZ adapter 'hanging low' so to speak, is to accommodate mounting on a tripod head and keeping the camera base plate out of the way. Many tripod head designs have large foot prints and if you mount an Arca Swiss plate to the base of the FTZ adapter it might hit the camera.


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## adamhiram (Sep 19, 2020)

A few additional observations:

I was surprised to see the buttons don't light up.  Not a big deal, but I definitely appreciated that with my D500 and assumed that was something Nikon was doing with all of their newer bodies
The articulating screen has a more limited range of motion than the D500 or D750.  The screen on my D500 can tilt up or down 90°, which I believe is the same with other Nikon DSLRs.  On the Z6, it can tilt up 90° for low angle shots, but can only tilt down about 45°.  While still usable, this does impact use for overhead shots, including some of the recent copy work I've been doing.
It looks like the maximum flash sync speed is 1/200, instead of 1/250.  No real impact there, just surprised to see it get 1/3 stop slower on a newer body.
Something I've been starting to think about is what lenses to use.  Obviously this discussion is not specific to this camera and is a matter of personal preference, but I am considering going with all primes.  I already have F-mount 50mm and 85mm, so perhaps a 35mm would be a good addition as a slightly wider than normal walk around lens.  I've never been without a normal zoom and would love a 24-70 f/2.8, but I just can't justify $2300 for something I rarely use.  The only catch would be traveling or family events where I don't want to bring 3-4 lenses, and might want something wider at times.  I am currently considering a 24-70 f/4 as a general walk around lens, but even at about $600 bundled in, I'm not sure I'd get much use out of it.  Also, most reviews rate it as not bad for a kit lens, hardly a ringing endorsement.

To be continued.


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## adamhiram (Sep 20, 2020)

Learning about AF and AF-area modes today and how they differ from a DLR.

I just tried Eye-AF for the first time and I am blown away.  From what I gather, it’s not as good as Sony’s latest offerings, but I’ve never used those so I’m still pretty impressed.  Face tracking works well too when the subject is too far away for Eye-AF.
Subject tracking is pretty amazing too.  I think this is what DSLRs were trying to do with 3D tracking in live view, except this works through the viewfinder and is actually usable.
Switching AF-Area modes is kind of tedious and feels like an afterthought.  On my D500 there was an AF-Area mode button on the left and I would use the 2 command dials to switch between AF-S and AF-C and the different AF-area modes.  On the Z6, I have to hold the camera with my right hand, hit the Fn2 button with my right ring finger, and move the control dials with my right thumb and right pointer finger.  It’s an ergonomic nightmare.  Of course this can be switched using the on-screen menu too, but then what’s the point of all the buttons?  Hopefully I can assign these settings to the custom user modes (U1, U2, U3) to make this easier, but I really don’t like this as designed.
Lastly, changing the AF-area mode in AF-S (single AF) also changes it in AF-C (continuous AF).  For example, I typically shoot in single point AF in AF-S, but want to use Auto-Area AF in AF-C to take advantage of Eye-AF and subject tracking, but when I switch back to AF-S, now that’s in Auto-Area.  When I change that back to single point, now when I switch to AF-C that’s changed to single point.  I can’t imagine why they would do this, especially when compounded by the ergonomic hassles of switching modes as mentioned above.  Again, hopefully I can just assign customer user settings with U1, U2, and U3.


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## adamhiram (Sep 20, 2020)

Something else I seem to be struggling with is the monitor/screen and playback.  I haven’t figured out if this body just requires a lot of customization to work as desired, or if I’m trying to make a mirrorless camera work like a DSLR because that’s what I am familiar with.

I currently have Monitor Mode set to “Prioritize Viewfinder”, which keeps the monitor off unless I am navigating menus or playing back images.  However the default setting is to have the screen always on unless you put it to your eye.  I don’t want to have to cycle through 4 different monitor modes when I press the button, I want everything in the viewfinder unless I turn on live view or need it for menus/playback.  These options can be limited in the setup menu, but it seems strange that the default mode is to immediately turn on live view on the large external screen and drain the battery faster.
Somewhat related to this is image review after taking a shot.  If I turn it on, it displays for 4 seconds on the monitor, but also displays for 4s in the viewfinder, which I don’t want.  At least it can be cleared quickly by half-pressing the shutter button.  There is an option for monitor only, but that doesn’t seem to do anything - perhaps because I normally keep the monitor turned off, as per the previous comment.  That leaves me with 2 options: leave it off and hit the Play button to review images, or always remember to half-press the shutter to clear the screen.


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## cgw (Sep 20, 2020)

Customize these functions with a view to extending battery life, e.g., "chimp on demand" rather than "auto chimp," and killing the VF image display. No idea how your Nikon works but my Fujis slurped up power with redundant displays.


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## adamhiram (Sep 23, 2020)

Some updates after a few days shooting with the Z6...

I still find switching AF and AF-area modes to be very cumbersome

One individual I spoke with said he wasn’t bothered because he typically sets it once before a shoot and rarely needs to switch.
I actuallly don’t find single-point AF-S to be particularly useful on the Z6.  My D5100 had 15 selectable focus points in the viewfinder, and my D500 had 45, but being mirrorless the Z6 has 273.  That’s great for subject tracking, not so great when I have to select it with a joystick or D-pad; by the time I select the appropriate focus point I already missed the shot.  It can be customized to skip every other focus point, which might help in single-point AF-area mode, and of course using the touchscreen is an option.
So far, I find AF-C subject tracking to be the most useful.  It is essentially focusing and recomposing, except it continues to track the subject when I recompose.
AF-Assist illuminator

I’m really not sure why this is here.  The Z6 seems to focus just fine in lowlight, and the lens blocks 2/3 of the illuminator anyway.  It’s just a bright light that feels like more of a nuisance than helper.  Easily turned off in custom settings.
Remote shutter release

The user manual implies that the only way to do this is using their $200 wireless transceiver set.
While it doesn’t have a 10-pin remote terminal like my D500 has, the “accessory terminal” does the same thing and works with my existing Phottix and Yongnuo wireless triggers.  It just needed a different cable, and works exactly as expected.
Tripod mount on FTZ adapter

This still seems odd to me, and I ran into a new issue when attaching my BlackRapid camera strap.
By itself the camera strap attaches to the tripod mount and works fine.
However I typically use a QR plate in conjunction with the strap and now the QR plate doesn’t fit when connected directly to the camera since the FTZ adapter is in the way.
I don’t know how comfortable I am connecting my camera strap to the FTZ adapter instead of directly to the camera, and it also looks strange connecting a large RC2 or Arca QR plate to the tiny footprint of the FTZ adapter.
I’ll make due with it for now, as it is the only option available, but I definitely look forward to using native lenses where this is no longer an issue.
Still getting used to full frame field of view

Obviously this is not specific to the Z6, but was still part of my experience
50mm feels more like a 35mm on a crop body now
85mm no longer feels like a short telephoto, and it feels odd how much closer to the subject I need to get to fill the frame
So far I don’t miss the wider end of the zoom range on my 17-55, but I actually find myself wanting something longer.  Perhaps a 70-200 or 3rd party 135mm is in my future.
No sample photos yet

I’ve been taking photos all week, but the hard drive in my iMac is failing. This is the first drive failure I’ve had in almost 30 years, and ironically is the only time I have ever owned a machine that is not user serviceable.  Go figure.
In the process of troubleshooting, I updated to MacOS Catalina.  Now my Spyder4Pro monitor calibration tool is no longer supported, even though it still works just fine.  DataColor’s justification was simply, ‘come on, it came out in 2012, just buy a new one’.  So like a sucker, I just ordered a Spyder5Pro.
I found a 3rd party Mac repair shop that is replacing my 3TB fusion drive with a 4TB SSD, so hopefully this not only fixes the problem, but speeds up workflow.


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## JBPhotog (Sep 23, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> Some updates after a few days shooting with the Z6...
> Tripod mount on FTZ adapter
> 
> This still seems odd to me, and I ran into a new issue when attaching my BlackRapid camera strap.
> ...




Have you looked at other options to sling the camera, personally I'm not a fan of anything threaded into a socket that could unthread itself? See this page to info and the following links for the hardware:
Quick Disconnect System  | Kirk Photo

For example, replace the Black Rapid threaded swivel adapter with a QD swivel like one of these:
MS1® MS3® QD Adapter
or
QD Sling Swivel

Then add an Arca Swiss plate that has a built in QD swivel socket like one of these:
https://www.reallyrightstuff.com/z7-plates?quantity=1&custcol37=7&custcol50=1
or
L-Bracket for Nikon Z7 and Z6 - Z7 and Z6 - Nikon - Camera Mounting   | Kirk Photo
These will easily lock up the camera to the strap and allow it to swivel while mounted into the L=bracket.

You could also add one of these to the FTZ adapter so it too has an Arca Swiss QR plate when you are mounting big lenses:
https://www.kirkphoto.com/camera-mo...ersal-camera-plate-for-nikon-ftz-adapter.html


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## adamhiram (Sep 24, 2020)

JBPhotog said:


> Have you looked at other options to sling the camera, personally I'm not a fan of anything threaded into a socket that could unthread itself?


I've been pretty happy with the BlackRapid system, and don't really see any reason to change now.  It occurred to me that I actually have 2 tripod mounts now, which means I can attach the strap to the camera, and connect the QR plate to the FTZ adapter when needed, and it's not a big deal.  But another idea, now that you mentioned Kirk, is an L-bracket.  I've wanted one for a while, and Kirk makes a nice one for the Z6/Z7 that looks like it would fit the bill and has built-in Arca plates.  Something to think about another time.

Good news about my iMac - 1 day in the shop and I'm now back up and running with a 4TB SSD.  Just need to reinstall apps and restore my data from backup.


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## JBPhotog (Sep 24, 2020)

You could probably keep the BR strap and just replace the 1/4-20 swivel with a QD as mentioned in my post above which will connect directly to the Kirk L-bracket via the built in QD socket.

FWIW, the Kirk L-bracket is the way to go as it is designed to fit the base of the camera and will not twist. This means there is less tension required on the tripod socket to stay in place and the benefit of quick transitions from landscape to portrait mode. IMHO, they are indispensable.

Good to hear about your iMac, an SSD is fantastic.


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## Pixeldawg1 (Sep 25, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> Why does the bottom protrude lower than the bottom of the body so it can't stand up now.  What a strange design.  This piece is an integrated tripod mount, but I can't imagine when I would want to mount the tripod to the adapter, rather than to the body or lens.  Not a big deal, just an odd design decision.





When you use a modern tripod, you will understand and appreciate it. The triod socket is located in it, and allows for both camera and lens to be dismounted while leaving the other on the tripod. It works quite well, actually.


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## Pixeldawg1 (Sep 25, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> I recently picked up a Z6 and wanted to share my first impressions, similar to this thread from @Peeb last year.
> 
> Diopter adjustment
> 
> ...



I told you that it would fit! I checked it with one of my other cameras. You read it here FIRST!!! Hahaha!  

In regard to battery life, I think it is at least as good as the other premium Nikon cameras. I am very pleased with the battery life.

You will get used to the shutter noise and eventually love it. Bothered me when I first had my Z7, but now, seems all of the other DSLR's are noisy.


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## adamhiram (Sep 25, 2020)

Pixeldawg1 said:


> When you use a modern tripod, you will understand and appreciate it. The triod socket is located in it, and allows for both camera and lens to be dismounted while leaving the other on the tripod. It works quite well, actually.


I still think it’s a flawed design, and a quick Google search found many people had the same complaint.  Here’s why, in my opinion.

I can’t imagine when I would want to attach the tripod to the adaptor, unless it helped balance the camera a little better.  If a lens is big enough that it includes its own tripod foot, I’ll mount that to the tripod.  Otherwise I want the tripod connected directly to the body.  QR plates make connecting and disconnecting from the tripod a fairly trivial task.
If someone is using a mixture of F-mount and Z-mount lenses during a shoot and using a tripod, it will interrupt workflow.  For example, consider a portrait shoot using a Z-mount 50mm and an adapted F-mount 85mm.  The 85mm needs the QR plate removed from the body to fit the FTZ adapter.  The 50mm will need the QR plate reattached to the body once the FTZ adapter is removed.
I think an L-bracket is the best solution here.  The Kirk bracket I looked at has built-in Arca style dovetails on the bracket, and provides sufficient space to attach a Manfrotto RC2 plate on it if needed. I’m not in a rush to pick one up, but it’s a little frustrating that Nikon actually created a new problem to solve.

Edit: Wow, it turns out this is a big enough issue that there are products available to solve this specific problem.  Here is one option I came across, though there were quite a few others.

Edit #2: Here's a better video explaining the problem and simple solution.  Kirk L-bracket seems like a good option, and will likely be added to my kit soon.


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## adamhiram (Sep 26, 2020)

More updates and observations...

Shooting in AF-S single point is actually very usable.  Selecting focus points in the EVF actually isn't much different than doing so in the viewfinder in my D500, even with more focus points.  The big difference is they cover almost the entire frame, which is nice.
EyeAF works quite well in good lighting when I fill the frame with the subject's face.  This applies to both AF-S and AF-C.  Once the subject gets a little further away or a shoot a little wider, it loses the eye and does a decent job with face recognition. I still need to test how well it works with darker skin tones, low-light, and darker skin tones in low-light.
Subject tracking works very well as long as I keep the subject in the frame.  Otherwise, it hunts a bit and seems to have about a 50/50 chance of either finding the subject or just giving up.
Continuous shooting is pretty impressive, but it's not actually 12fps.  Continuous-H is 5.5fps, and continuous-H-extended is only 9fps if you shoot in 14-bit Raw instead of 12-bit.  I'm still not really sure what the difference is with the faster extended mode; it used to be that AF continued to work but exposure was locked after the first shot, but that seems to have changed with a firmware update.
I am still undecided on whether I like more things being controlled electronically.  For example, they freed up 3 slots on the control dial by moving continuous shooting and self-timer to a dedicated button, which I don't mind.  However they also got rid of the AF-mode/area button, as I mentioned previously, and moved lens VR toggle to electronic menus for native Z-mount lenses, which are much more convenient to just have switches or buttons.  It's still a learning curve, but at least it is very customizable with 3 custom user settings on the control dial and quite a few buttons that can be reassigned.


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## Pixeldawg1 (Sep 26, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> More updates and observations...
> 
> Shooting in AF-S single point is actually very usable.  Selecting focus points in the EVF actually isn't much different than doing so in the viewfinder in my D500, even with more focus points.  The big difference is they cover almost the entire frame, which is nice.
> EyeAF works quite well in good lighting when I fill the frame with the subject's face.  This applies to both AF-S and AF-C.  Once the subject gets a little further away or a shoot a little wider, it loses the eye and does a decent job with face recognition. I still need to test how well it works with darker skin tones, low-light, and darker skin tones in low-light.
> ...



Where did you see this would be 12 FPS? I have only seen 9.

Cordially,

Mark


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## adamhiram (Sep 26, 2020)

Pixeldawg1 said:


> Where did you see this would be 12 FPS? I have only seen 9.


From the Z6/Z7 user manual - 12fps in 12-bit Raw, 9fps in 14-bit Raw.  Z7 is 9fps and 8fps.


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## Pixeldawg1 (Sep 26, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> Pixeldawg1 said:
> 
> 
> > Where did you see this would be 12 FPS? I have only seen 9.
> ...



Just checked my Z7 and it says 9. How interesting. A sure way to check is to photograph a digital stop watch and see how many frames are fired within a second. I think a cool experiment to try.


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## adamhiram (Sep 26, 2020)

Pixeldawg1 said:


> Just checked my Z7 and it says 9. How interesting.


I am still not clear on the difference between “continuous high“ and ”continuous high extended”, other than a higher frame rate.  From what I’ve read, with extended mode auto exposure only worked for the first shot, and the exposure would remain locked for the rest of the burst.  However it sounds like this changed with the 2.0 firmware release (they are on 3.1 now), and quite frankly it didn’t sound like much of a limitation anyway, especially if you’re already shooting in full manual.  I’ll gladly take the 9fps over the slower 5.5 if I need it, but otherwise I don’t know what else is actually different.

On an unrelated note, I like to have the beep enabled when using AF-S single point focus, so I turned it on in settings.  However now it also makes an audible beep on every tap when I use the the touchscreen, which is definitely not something I want.  I am finding there are a number of settings that are less granular than they were on previous DSLRs.


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## adamhiram (Sep 28, 2020)

I got a chance to set up some strobes over the weekend to see how I liked shooting with the Z6 in a studio environment, and I found it very enjoyable to use.

Something really interesting I found is that the EVF shows you what your actual exposure will look like.  That's great in semi-automatic modes like aperture priority, or in manual mode when relying on natural light.  I wasn't sure what to do when using strobes, where the first thing I do is step down the exposure to eliminate ambient light.  I thought I might need to switch to aperture priority to focus, then back to manual to shoot, or at least rely heavily on modeling lights.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that when it detected the flash trigger in the hotshoe, it adjusted the image in the EVF to show my composition and allow me to focus.

Focusing is a breeze.  For still objects, AF-S with pinpoint AF worked best, but single point AF worked just as well.  With a human subject, single point AF-S is usually my go-to, but AF-C with auto-area AF (Eye/face tracking) worked very well.

Here is a low-key product shot I did for some of the gear I will likely be selling soon.

Key light camera right in a vertical 12x56" gridded strip box to create the vertical highlights.
Rim lighting from a horizontal 10x24" gridded strip box behind and camera left
Black seamless background, and a wooden board wrapped in black Duvetyne for the tabletop.

Hopefully the brightness and white balance look right.  After having to rebuild my iMac, I also switched to a new calibration tool (DataColor SpyderXPro) that feels like it leaves my display too bright and slightly warm, so we'll see how that affects my editing moving forward.




20200927-DSC_0189a by adamhiram, on Flickr


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## JBPhotog (Sep 28, 2020)

Nice review of the studio experience.

Might I recommend some white reflector cards to illuminate the gold descriptors on each lens, some are too dark to read easily. FWIW, most online sellers choose a white background, it shows off the product better.

What nit did you calibrate to with the DataColor SpyderXPro?


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## adamhiram (Sep 28, 2020)

JBPhotog said:


> What nit did you calibrate to with the DataColor SpyderXPro?


I calibrated to a brightness target of 120 cd/m^2 and white point of 5800, which I recall being the same as with my SPyder4Pro (which became obsolete as soon as I updated to macOS Catalina).  For now I am going to trust the calibration, since I just spent a week working on an uncalibrated display that started a bit cooler and automatically dimmed in my office's indirect lighting, so perhaps I just need to readjust.


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## JBPhotog (Sep 28, 2020)

Typical post processing monitor WB is set to D65(6500K) unless you are outputting to print with is normally at D50(5000K).

However room illumination is a consideration and for the really nerdy type, they will calibrate based on time of day if located in an open office scenario. For the best PP workflow, controlled room illumination is better.


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## Pixeldawg1 (Sep 28, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> JBPhotog said:
> 
> 
> > What nit did you calibrate to with the DataColor SpyderXPro?
> ...



If you want a simple, fool proof way to set your color, and know without a doubt that it is 99.97% correct,  you should try the ExpoDisc. I use it on every shoot and boom... no color correction. When I was writing for Popular Photography & Imaging eons ago, I did a field test of this device and was sold on it. The hardest part is being able to do a custom white balance. Here is the article if you're interested in seeing/reading it:

Field Test: Expodisc

Hope this helps to make your life easier. I have no affiliation with this company, other than being a very satisfied user.

Cordially,

Mark


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## adamhiram (Oct 2, 2020)

Another limitation I came across is that I cannot disable automatic DX crop when using DX lenses.  Several of my DX lenses are quite usable on full frame - my 17-55 resolves well from 28-55, my Tokina 11-16 is usable at 16mm, and even the cheap 35mm f.1.8 looks okay with a very slight crop.  Unfortunately the option is grayed out when a DX lens is connected, resulting in a 10mp file.  It’s not something I would have used in the long run, but it would have been nice to have now.  After all, every full frame Nikon DSLR I’ve used has this option.


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## adamhiram (Oct 2, 2020)

One additional note.  I debated waiting for the second iteration of the Z6, but with nothing official other than occasional rumors I figured why wait.  Then less than 2 weeks later, Nikon announces the Z6II product launch in 2 weeks.  Now technically the launch date is within my return window, and I suppose if there's a compelling reason to upgrade I can do that. From what I've heard it may not be anything special - it will likely have a 2nd card slot and better AF, which I would love, but otherwise it sounds like pretty minor improvements.  However, it's probably going to cost $200-400 more, probably won't include an FTZ adapter which will be another $250, and most importantly, probably won't ship for a while, just like all the new Z-mount lenses they announced.  I guess we'll find out in 11 days!


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## smoke665 (Oct 3, 2020)

Pixeldawg1 said:


> If you want a simple, fool proof way to set your color, and know without a doubt that it is 99.97% correct, you should try the ExpoDisc.



I have an ExpoDisc that I've only used a few times. Granted it will set an 18% gray but final color temperature for me is somewhat subjective, unless it's a product shot, I may want something different than a true color. For me shooting a white, gray, black target at the start of a set, then adjusting with the eyedropper in LR, gives me a quick way to adjust color temperature to what I need for the image.


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## adamhiram (Oct 5, 2020)

I thought I would share some of my initial experiences and thoughts on autofocus modes and accuracy, since that was something I prioritized when switching to the Z6, and one of the reasons many switch to mirrorless.

AF-S modes

*Single-point*: Works at least as well as any DSLR I’ve used, and is what I typically use for portrait work
*Pinpoint*: Supposedly more precise but slower than single-point, intended for inanimate objects.  It seems to work just fine, but I’m not sure when I’d use this.  I read somewhere that it uses contrast detection rather than phase detection.
*Auto-area*: I can see the *EyeAF* being useful for portrait work, although I think this is more useful in AF-C
AF-C modes

*Single-point*: Works just as well as on a DSLR, and I’m just as bad at keeping the single focus point on a moving subject
*Dynamic-area*: Similar to single-point but a little more forgiving.  Works about the same as dynamic AF-C modes on my D500, typically in d25
*Wide-area*: I found these modes to be the most useful in lower contrast scenarios.  These worked more reliably than Auto-area Subject tracking, and was easier to use than single-point or dynamic-area.  My only reservation is whether they would be accurate enough with wider apertures and a much thinner depth of field.
*Auto-area Eye-AF*: Eye-AF works great as long as I try to fill the frame with the subject's face, otherwise it tends to fall back on Face-AF.  However Eye-AF seems to completely break if the subject is wearing sunglasses.
*Auto-area Face-AF*: Seems to work well in a scene where you can clearly see person's face, but is too small for Eye-AF.  With multiple people in the photo you can choose which face to focus on using the sub-selector, although at that point I’d probably just fall back on single-point to explicitly select where to focus.
*Auto-areas Subject tracking*: This works very well in high contrast environments and when you keep the subject in frame.  However in lower contrast or strongly backlit scenes, it tends to lose the subject and Wide-area works much better.  Also, if the subject leaves the frame, it doesn’t seem to find it again.  I like it a lot for most scenes.
Overall, the AF modes I would expect to find on a DSLR work as well or better than my D500, so it's definitely a win.  The modes specific to mirrorless, such as Eye-AF and Subject tracking, are very usable, especially once I got used to the strengths and limitations of each.  I’ve read reviews comparing some of these features unfavorably to Sony and Canon’s flagship mirrorless offerings, but at this price point I really can’t find anything to complain about; it checks every box for me.

Here are a few snapshots in harsh midday lighting to illustrate some of the strengths and weaknesses of Subject tracking AF.

Lens: Nikon AF-S 70-300 VR
240mm, 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO 400
Not the sharpest lens, especially from 200-300, but fast accurate autofocus.  I originally selected his face, then he looked away for a moment, and it locked onto his left knee.  This is a good example of how subject tracking is great with high contrast scenes (kept the focus area on the subject reliably), but not so great with low contrast (didn’t stay on his face with dark helmet and all dark clothing)



20201003-DSC_0205a by adamhiram, on Flickr

Lens: AF-S 85mm f/1.8
85mm, 1/3200s, f/1.8, ISO 100
I find this lens to be very sharp with beautiful bokeh, but lots of CA.  It is also pretty slow to focus, barely able to keep up - it's meant to be a portrait lens after all.  With his face filling the frame more as he rode by, subject tracking was very accurate and didn’t stray as he approached and passed.  It got the glasses instead of the eye, but close enough.



20201003-DSC_0225a by adamhiram, on Flickr

Lens: AF-S 50mm f/1.8
50mm, 1/4000s, f/1.8 ISO 100
This lens is nice and sharp with pretty decent focus speed, but not a particularly exciting focal length, in my opinion.  Eye/Face-AF didn’t detect the face well, probably because of the sunglasses.  Subject tracking was originally on his face, but wound up on the brighter area on his neck after he spun around.  Definitely not bad, but AF-C Single-point or Dynamic-area probably would have worked a little better here.



20201003-DSC_0228a by adamhiram, on Flickr

One other point of interest…. Coming from DX, my standard lineup of primes was 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm.  35 was a nice walk around lens but not a particularly interesting focal length to me, 50mm had pretty snappy AF speed and was my go-to if I had the room, and 85mm was my sharp, but slow-focusing portrait lens.  With FX, 50mm is now my boring normal prime, and 85mm is the focal length I used to use for faster action, but is not well suited to it.  That leaves me wondering if the Z-mount version can focus much faster, or if a much more expensive (and heavy) 24-70 is needed for tracking fast moving subjects in the normal zoom range.


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## JBPhotog (Oct 6, 2020)

Thanks for another detailed review.

The CA can be easily handled in post with the 85mm f1.8 and FWIW, many lenses have this issue with high contrast edges and certain lens designs suffer more.


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## adamhiram (Oct 6, 2020)

JBPhotog said:


> The CA can be easily handled in post with the 85mm f1.8 and FWIW, many lenses have this issue with high contrast edges and certain lens designs suffer more.


Agreed, the CA isn't a big deal with this lens, but it's always there when I shoot wide open in this kind of lighting.  Easily fixed in Lightroom with Lens Corrections > Manual > Fringing ("Remove chromatic aberration" isn't particularly effective).  I didn't bother for the above shot, but it was easy enough to fix in my library in a few seconds.

I've read the Z-mount 85mm f/1.8 is sharper, particularly near the edges, and has a lot less CA.  However the bigger question for me is whether it focuses faster than the F-mount, and if so, is it fast enough to use an an action lens?


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## Peeb (Oct 6, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> Another limitation I came across is that I cannot disable automatic DX crop when using DX lenses.  Several of my DX lenses are quite usable on full frame - my 17-55 resolves well from 28-55, my Tokina 11-16 is usable at 16mm, and even the cheap 35mm f.1.8 looks okay with a very slight crop.  Unfortunately the option is grayed out when a DX lens is connected, resulting in a 10mp file.  It’s not something I would have used in the long run, but it would have been nice to have now.  After all, every full frame Nikon DSLR I’ve used has this option.


I agree!  I found a cheap hack to 'beat' the auto-DX problem:  buy a cheap F-to-Z adapter with no electronics and the camera won't force you into DX crop mode.  Works like a charm!


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## adamhiram (Oct 9, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> One additional note.  I debated waiting for the second iteration of the Z6, but with nothing official other than occasional rumors I figured why wait.  Then less than 2 weeks later, Nikon announces the Z6II product launch in 2 weeks.  Now technically the launch date is within my return window, and I suppose if there's a compelling reason to upgrade I can do that. From what I've heard it may not be anything special - it will likely have a 2nd card slot and better AF, which I would love, but otherwise it sounds like pretty minor improvements.  However, it's probably going to cost $200-400 more, probably won't include an FTZ adapter which will be another $250, and most importantly, probably won't ship for a while, just like all the new Z-mount lenses they announced.  I guess we'll find out in 11 days!



It looks like this question has been answered for me by this update from nikonrumors.com.  Several people predicted the Z 6II would come in at around $2000, which would have been an easy $200 upgrade.  However, it looks like it will actually come at a 30% premium, or approximately $550 more for a 2nd card slot and better AF ($800 if they don't include an FTZ adapter).  If this turns out to be true, I can't see spending that much more for basically a newer iteration of the same camera.  Time to start looking at lenses!


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## adamhiram (Oct 14, 2020)

adamhiram said:


> Several people predicted the Z 6II would come in at around $2000, which would have been an easy $200 upgrade.


Change of plans - it turns out Nikon actually did hit this price point.  I am still within the return window for my first-gen Z6, and for $200 it’s a no-brainer for me.  The only downside is having to wait for a yet-to-be-determined release date, slated for sometime in November.

*Better Eye-AF and AF overall*.  Some have hypothesized that AF improvements may be provided for first gen Z6 users as well via firmware updates.  However, at some point raw processing power will probably factor into these improvements, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Nikon used this as a way to differentiate between the Z6 and Z6II in functionality.
*Reduced blackout in continuous shooting*.  For me, the slight bump in controls shooting frame rate is not a big selling point, but reducing the blackout period between shots will make tracking action a lot easier.
*Dual card slots*.  I never really cared about this.  Then a few weeks ago a friend had to deal with a corrupted memory card after a full day of fall family lifestyle shoots and it was a good reminder why it matters.
*Longer supported lifespan*.  While the differences between the 2 bodies may not be that significant, the Z6II is 2 years newer and is now the current model.  That means new development will likely be focused on the newer product.  Both will likely receive bug fixes, but feature updates will be for the Z6II.  The official end of life and end of vendor support for the older model will likely occur at an earlier date.  $200 for a longer support window seems pretty trivial.


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## JBPhotog (Oct 14, 2020)

What’s an extra Expeed 6 processor cost, I’m betting more than the added $200 premium of the Z6 II?

It might be worth debating on the upgrade for a New York Second, then make the pre-order call, lol.


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## adamhiram (Oct 14, 2020)

JBPhotog said:


> It might be worth debating on the upgrade for a New York Second, then make the pre-order call, lol.


Already on the waitlist at my local camera shop, and working on the Adorama return of the first gen Z6 as we speak.


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## Nikon74 (Nov 27, 2021)

Great thread and review of the Z6, thanks


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## adamhiram (Nov 27, 2021)

Nikon74 said:


> Great thread and review of the Z6, thanks


Thanks, I hope you found it useful!  I started a new thread when I switched to the Z6II here, as well as some notes on continuous shooting on the Z6II here.


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## JoeW (Oct 26, 2022)

Adam, this is a terrific thread and a great service.  I'm thinking of buying a Z6 (I currently have a D4, D800, and D500) so your experiences and insights matter a lot to me in my decision-making.


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## Peeb (Oct 26, 2022)

JoeW said:


> Adam, this is a terrific thread and a great service.  I'm thinking of buying a Z6 (I currently have a D4, D800, and D500) so your experiences and insights matter a lot to me in my decision-making.


The Z6, with latest firmware updates, is a fantastic camera.  I love the colors and white balance.  I find the high-ISO images to hold up exceptionally well; even up to 10,000 ISO.  For my use cases, the auto focus is quite excellent.  I love this camera, and have for 2 years.  Strongly recommend.  I'll post a few favorite images.




One tree, two visions by Peeb OK, on Flickr



Bison Silhouette by Peeb OK, on Flickr



Missy by Peeb OK, on Flickr




Waiting for the Eclipse (Explore 5-27-21) by Peeb OK, on Flickr




Mystical Light- Explore 2/21/22 by Peeb OK, on Flickr




Happy Easter! by Peeb OK, on Flickr


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