LONG TERM REVIEW OF NIKON Z6II FOR WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
- in this video I review my Nikon Z6II after using it for tow years for wildlife photography and filming. I cover auto focus, ISO performance, image quality, frame rate and the benefits of the electronic viewfinder.
There are examples of of stills images of slow motion footage taken over the last couple pf years.
At the end of the video I give my personal conclusion on whether you should choose the Nikon Z6II for wildlife photography.
#nikonz6ii #wildlifephotography #nikonphotography
0:00 Intro
0:50 Auto focus performance
5:24 ISO performance
7:13 Image quality
9:51 Frames per second
11:28 Conclusion should you buy a Nikon Z6II for wildlife photography?
15:04 Slow motion footage
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Good video! I have a D500 and a Z6ii and strictly for action, the D500 wins. The Z6ii is far superior in every other category though and when I do use it successfully for birds, the images are phenomenal. Both cameras are underrated in general I think.
Thanks very much Paul, pleased you enjoyed it. Yes both are very good cameras, I mainly use my Z6II for wildlife photography because of the ease of shooting video. But you're right the D500 is a great action camera. Thanks for watching, all the best, Steve.
Hi there Steve, I was at the photographic show at Hammersmith last weekend and I held a Z9 for the first time. I couldn't resist buying it. So I put a deposit on it and I'm picking it up on Monday 27th. I'm travelling to the camera centre uk in Cardiff. I'm so looking forward to using it. Remember I said would I pay for something that takes all of the skill out of photography. No I wouldn't but I've got myself what I think is going to be a great camera. Also Steve, It had £520 off at the show. All the best Steve, it's Jason from Richmond Country Park. I hope that you remember me. All the best. 😊
Hi Jason, thanks for commenting, yes I do remember you from Richmond Park. Perhaps we'll bump into one another there this year.
Good luck with the Z9 you are going to love it I'm sure. It's a superb camera for wildlife photography. All the best, Steve.
Great and very honest review Steve! I have been trying to make up my mind regarding the Z6II for some time now. I am a hobbyist with a keen interest in wildlife and bird life photography and have been shooting with a Nikon D750 for the last 3 years and am keen on shifting to the mirror less system. Your video has helped in making up my mind! Thank you.
Thanks very much Aloke, really pleased you found my video useful. Good luck with your photography. All the best, Steve.
Interesting video Steve, and the shots and video footage at the end were superb. One snag, IMHO, with the latest gear is its complexity and if new bodies get even smarter only teenagers will be able to get to grips with all the settings!
Thanks very much Mark. Yes there's lots of technology to get to grips with. Hopefully it will keep us young. All the best, Steve.
Great video, giving us your focus modes is so helpful. You sure make the Z6ll work for you, well done!
Thanks very much Steve, glad you found it useful. All the best, Steve.
I use the dynamic he describes. Works really well.
I was stood next to you when you were photographing Colin the cuckoo as I have exactly the same image of him lol. Agree with your opinions on the Z6ii as I have a Z6 and fine detail and noise control is excellent. Great sensor on the z6/z6ii.
Hi Phil, small world isn't it? Yep image quality from my Z6II is excellent. If Nikon sort out bird eye detect on the Z6III it could be a near perfect camera. Thanks for watching, maybe we'll bump into one another on another shoot. All the best, Steve.
You have some really beautiful images Steve!
Thanks very much Kris, I'm really pleased you like them. All the best, Steve.
A good video and summary of the Z6ii Steve. I haven't used mine much recently, but I aim to go out with it, along with the FTZ, x2 converter and 500pf lens for some wildlife shooting.
Thanks very much Steve. Yes I think it's a very good camera and of course it's more than possible to take great wildlife images with the Z6II. I just think Nikon is way overdue in putting bird eye detect in some of their other mirrorless bodies. Thanks for watching mate, all the best, Steve.
@@SteveHedgesPhotography I agree about the bird eye contact and even better AF performance would be good too. I'll let you know the results soon mate. Take care.
I was mainly using my D500. I too have switched over to my Z6ii.
Good advice young man... I've been shooting Nikon for over half a century, love the brand and ergonomics etc. but I feel the same about my Z6ii... They cut us short on the tech for this model... I don't really want the heavy weight of a Z9 so will look at the Z8.. I don't need 8k video etc either, just a Z6/7 type camera with tracking for wildlife etc thsys not 20 years old... The rest of the tech on the Z6 is fine...
Yes totally agree, I think when Nikon finally gets around to producing a Z6III it should finally be the camera to get. When we look at the spec of the Zf if the ZIII has a slightly higher spec I shall definitely go for it. Thanks for watching, all the best, Steve.
Great review of a great camera. I've been using a Z6 II for the last two years as well and I'm very happy with it. I'm old school with my AF, I don't expect the camera to do everything for me, so I'm not inclined to switch with every little feature here and there in the camera world. Would I buy a Z6 III? Possibly. Looking more for a Z7 III since I'm trending more towards landscape these days and looking for a higher resolution body. Don't need the AF improvements, but I can wait and see what the third generation Z cameras bring to the table and decide based on that.
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it. Yes I think the Z6II is a very good camera especially if we use the AF old school. I am looking forward to AF improvements but totally understand it's not so important for you especially if you're moving towards landscape photography. Higher resolution is definitely more important. Thanks for watching, all the best, Steve.
Yes,I am 200 percent agree with you,and I'm a big fan of Nikon,I have a question for you,that which camera will come first Nikon Z6 mark 3 or Z8? and what will be the price of those cameras?
Thank you...
Hi Sabyasachi, well I think it will be the Z8 that comes first. I'm guessing it will be priced at around £3500. I would think the Z6III will arrive at the end of the year or perhaps beginning of next year. Price possibly £2500-£2800. Thanks for watching, all the best, Steve.
Interesting video Steve, I moved over to the Sony A7riii as I mainly do landscape work. It does not have the full animal eye detection, more the “pet eye” detection. That said, really pleased with the camera. I did a lot of research before moving away from canon, who I think have shot themselves in the foot by not working with third party lens providers. I see that Nikon have just signed an agreement with Sigma for Z range adapter lenses. There is a lot to think about and in theory the customer should be the winner. However, my concern is the cost. Why does a Canon r5 of Nikon z9 cost around £5k? Nearly £2k more than their next level of camera r6 or z7ii? I feel people will be less tied to a particular brand these days.
Hi Nick, yeah totally agree with you. I think Canon are making a big mistake by not letting third party lens companies make lenses for their mirrorless system. And yes the R5 and Z9 are really expensive. For me it's about time Nikon put bird eye detect in other camera bodies. Way overdue. Still I live in hope.
Wonderfu detailedl video, I wish to buy this camera with Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens. Is this combination good? Please suggest me at this price level for wildlife photography. Thanks, best wishes.
Hi Mohan, thanks very much glad you enjoyed it. The Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens should work fine with the Z6II. I would try this combination out before you buy though because I haven't got personal experience of this set up.You would of course need to use a Z to F adapter which costs around £200. The Z6II will set you back around £2100 and the Tamron lens about £1250 although Wex Photographic have £300 off the lens at the moment. You could look at second hand equipment as well, I would buy from a camera shop because you still get a guarantee. Hope this helps, all the best, Steve.
@@SteveHedgesPhotography very good morning from India. Many thanks for details, because some users complain about it's autofocus system, should I still go to buy it or would you suggest some other similar camera at this price tag.
Hi Mohan, if you don't already have lots of Nikon lenses and you're not locked into the Nikon system I would probably go for Sony instead of Nikon. The auto focus on Sony mid range bodies is better I think. Go for a body with bird eye detect if you're into wildlife photography. You could think about the Sony A7 4 and the 200-600mm zoom lens. Please check out the camera and lens before you buy yourself because I haven't used this combination myself but I know people who are happy with this set up. Hope this helps, all the best Steve.
@@SteveHedgesPhotography thanks for your detail comment. How do you find Fuji X-T4 for early enthusiast, as It has good AF and bird eye at lower price tag, however sensor size is bit small than Z6 2.
Hi Mohan, I would certainly think about the Fuji. I don't think the smaller sensor is a problem. I got a Nikon D500 as well as my Z6II and the crop sensor on my D500 gives me lovely detailed images. You also get the extra reach from the APS-C sensor which is useful for wildlife photography. The only downside is a bit more noise at high ISO but this is normally well controlled. Plus you can always use denoise software such as Topaz. Hope this helps, Steve.
I am currently using a Nikon D5300 & Sigma 150-600 Contemporary Lens for bird photography and planning to upgrade the camera body with either Nikon Z6ii or Nikon D500. Could you please guide which camera body I should update?
Hi that's a tricky question. If you don't shoot much wildlife video footage then the D500 would be a good option. If you do shoot a lot of wildlife video then the Z6II might be better. I would also look at the Nikon Zf because that camera has a better auto focus system than the Z6II. Hope this helps. All the best Steve.
I've owned the z6ii for +2years now and it's been a camera that i havent enjoyed much for wildlife (only stills). When everything comes together and it nails it it's just amazing, i admit that, but the whole experience usually sums up to one word, "disappointment", mainly because you can never truly rely on its autofocus. Even when shooting slow bif in a plain blue sky with 9-point dynamic area you never know what it'll end up doing, and I'm so tired of it because that shouldnt even be quoted as action.
Another thing i hate about it is software related stuff... like, why cant i assign af areas to fn buttons? And why can i grab subject tracking from auto-af but not from any other mode (not even from wide area af)? It would be a nice touch to be able to easily access subject tracking at least for composition purposes on still subjects, which is an easy task z6ii should do and would also allow it to distinguish itself from a dslr... but there's a problem: to rapidly manage af areas, most wildlife users will probably assign "single point/9-dynamic/wide area" to "fn button + dial" because having more than 3 areas there is just an absolute mess (and, as you said, auto area is basically useless), so then it's just not worth it to add in the auto area only for the times when you'd like to use subject tracking, leaving you without that feature afterall.
In the end, setting this camera for efficiency means it basically becomes a dslr... but without being one. So you end up with slower af speed, laggy evf, slideshow in higher frame rates, tendency to focus backgrounds, etc. Not to mention its small size is unconfortable for using it with teles and the evf sometimes isnt bright enough. The only bennefit you get is silent shooting (but hey, this only counting that you dont need to avoid rolling shutter, which btw shows fairly easily).
I've given it a shot many times and i finally admit the z6ii doesnt cut it for wildlife, not today and not at this price point at least. I've came back to using the d500 which luckilly i still own, it is a better camera for that genre and most importantly way more reliable (you know which stuff works and which doesnt, and whatever works, it does 99% of the times).
I'm so disappointed that i'm even considering spending 4k on the z8 now that i've spent quiet some money on z lenses.
Hi Marc, I still think the Z6II is a decent camera but as you say you have to use it as a DSLR. I have managed to get many decent action shots with it. But I'm so pleased to have switched to the Z8 . The AF is such a step up and the buttons are very customizable. No evf blackout, no rolling shutter and a good frame rate. So all in all I think Nikon have nailed it with this camera. Thanks for watching, all the best Steve.
IF Nikon tracking and eye-detect doesn't work properly, whats the point of mirrorless? D850 will do better.
Hi Chris, totally agree when it comes to still images. The electronic viewfinder on a mirrorless body is better for video though. All the best, Steve.