It’s going on 4 years since I bought the Fujifilm X-Pro2, my introduction to mirrorless cameras. I have no regrets. Like many owners, I’ve appreciated Fuji’s habit of offering firmware updates that add significant features, like the addition of 4K UHD video, in late 2017. You may recall my test of that update. Last winter, I took the lightweight camera out in a snowstorm, asking if it was suitable for vlogging.

Still, the camera was not designed for video production; it’s made for, and marketed to, “street photographers” who want a compact, lightweight alternative to the DSLR. I certainly appreciated the weight reduction, especially on trips like the one I made to England, in the fall of 2016. It was the camera I turned to most often during last November’s self-assigned 30-day photo challenge.

I added 2 more lenses to the Fujinon 23mm f/1.4 bought with the camera body: the FX 10-24 f4.0 OIS and XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR. They are nice lenses — especially the 23mm prime — despite teething problems with the 10-24, which were finally fixed by a firmware update, some time after Fujifilm Canada kept mine in “repairs” for over a month.

My remaining DSLR (I traded 2 more and several lenses for the XP2), the Nikon D800, gathered dust but for studio use. As I demonstrated with my first look at the X-Pro2, the Fuji’s 24.5 megapixel CMOS sensor compared well with the Nikon’s larger, full frame 36.5 MPX sensor. Did I mention the weight reduction?

Then, in late 2018, Nikon released the much-anticipated Z cameras: the 45.75 Mpx Z7 in September and, in November, the 24.5 Mpx Z6. Their debut was met with what can only be described as a tsunami of ridicule and disparagement from the Internet “peanut gallery.”

I was almost swayed at first (by YouTube “experts”) … until I got one in my hands at a camera shop. It was love at first sight, or rather embrace. I took the plunge in April 2019, buying the Z6 body along with one the the first-released Z-mount lenses, the 50mm f/1.8S — the best “nifty fifty” I’ve ever used. A Nikon promotion included the FTX adapter (a $350 value) allowing F-mount Nikkor lenses to fit the newly-designed, wide Z-mount flange.

Ergonomically and functionally, the Z6 is a keeper. I chose it over the Z7 not only because it is ⅓ less costly than its older sibling, but because it is a better video camera, one of the best hybrids now on the market. Navigating the Nikon’s menu system was like coming home after too long at sea. The Z6 features an info “i” screen, much like the Fuji’s “Q” menu, an editable collection of most-used functions. Bonus, the Z6’s rear LCD tilts and is a touch screen to boot. More on that in an upcoming post.

For the last few years, I’ve been trying to add “videographer” to my CV, without embarrassing myself or breaking the bank. The Z6 debuted just at the right time.

Within days of taking it home, I loaded up my bag(s) with the Z6 and the X-Pro2, along with all the other impedimenta associated with video production, heading first to a local park, then my yard to compare 4K video quality, auto-focus face tracking, and low-light performance.

I even threw my iPhone XS into the mix.

Keep in mind the test is not meant by any means as a complete review of the cameras — I’ll possibly add more of my personal thoughts, without writing a technical manual, in another post/video. I’ll also reveal why I won’t be updating my X-Pro2 to the newly-released X-Pro3.

Today, I’ll leave the belated video to illustrate my experiments.