Without much fanfare, last April I purchased a Nikon Z6 24.5MP full frame mirrorless camera. My introduction to mirrorless came through the Fujifilm X series, in 2016. I enjoyed the weight savings and the image quality was fine, but wasn’t much impressed with the Fuji system as a whole, so I was eager to try Nikon’s latest entry in the competitive world of mirrorless cameras.
The Z cameras (including the 45.7MP Z7 and 20.9MP DX Format Z50) are especially attractive to photographers invested in Nikon gear; a lens adapter — the FTZ — allows the use of hundreds of traditional Nikkor F-mount lenses. I did sell off a number of my older F-mount lenses to finance the Fuji system, but I still have a few, including the excellent AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II and AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED. I also own the Nikon TC-20E III 2x Teleconverter, which works flawlessly mounted between the FTZ and F-mounts.
Even more than I longed for Nikon build quality, ergonomics and easy-to-navigate menus, I was attracted to reports of improved video quality. I haven’t been disappointed. Since I (perhaps unfairly) compared video results from the Z6 to the Fujifilm X-Pro2, I’ve explored the Z6’s video capabilities at the same time as testing my limited videography skills.
So far, I’ve stuck to in-camera recording, resisting the lure of external recorders like the Atomos Ninja V. Atomos have paired with Nikon to bring 12-bit ProRes Raw recording to the Z6. Though, as I hope the video above illustrates, internal 8-bit video is pretty nice, external 10-bit Nlog or the new ProRes Raw codecs open up a truly cinematic experience with these small, relatively inexpensive cameras.
In this video I field test my Z6 cameras with the 3 Z-mount lenses I own at the moment: NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S, the first native Z lens I bought, 14-30mm f/4 S, and 85mm f/1.8 S, which I purchased along with a second Z6 body, earlier this month during the Season of Savings.
Nikon designed the Z cameras around a new mount with a huge opening of 55mm in diameter with a back flange distance of just 16mm. This revolutionary change paves the way for advanced optics, including the just-released 58mm “Noct” lens boasting a ginormous, ultra-fast f/0.95 aperture. Can you spare me $10,500?
The S-Line lenses are considered the “cream of the crop” for the Z System. Certainly, I’ve never used sharper or better corrected lenses. Nikon have virtually eliminated chromatic abberation (colour fringing) from these optics. Boy, does that save time in post-production. They are tack sharp, right out to the corners.
Grumbling Interweb grumblers have grumbled about Nikon’s slow rollout of Z lenses. By my count, they have released no less than 10 lenses since the Z Series cameras arrived, 14 months ago. Good things take time to build. And so do my savings.