CAMERAS
ISSUE385|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MARCH2020 91
THENIKONZ6and Z7 were announced
simultaneously,and while the Z6 is the
cheaper of the two,itstill manages to be a
superbly capable mirrorless camera.
The Z6 houses a24.5-megapixel, full-frame
sensor,justshy of half the 45.7-megapixel
resolution of the Z7.The build and handling
of both models is, to the millimetre and gram,
identical, with the same tilting screen,
high-res electronic viewfinder and controls.
There’s adecent arrayofbuttons and
dials, most of which are within easy reach of
your right thumb.That leaves your lefthand
free to comfortably hold the lens. Auseful
displayontop of the camera shows key
settings such as aperture,drive mode,battery
level and card space remaining. Ajoystick
protrudes from the back of the camera and is
extremely handy forchanging the autofocus
point when shooting through the viewfinder.
This, too, is excellent: it’s made up of 3.69
million dots and is extremely bright and clear.
It’s joined by atilting, 3.2in touchscreen. The
variable-angle screen is useful forshooting
from low and high angles, but is slightly less
useful than afully articulating screen for
shooting video or portrait format images.
Youonly get one XQDmemory card slot,
which is abit of ashame considering the
price; at this level you should definitely be
looking forprofessional-grade features such
as on-the-go backups. The XQDformat is
also relatively expensive,soyou’ll need to
factor this intoyour budget.
QUICK ONTHE MARK
Auto-focusing is where the Z6 and Z7 diverge.
The Z6 has a273-point hybrid autofocus
system, which sounds like alot, until you
consider the Z7’s 493 points. Still, the Z6’s
points cover almost the whole frame and
should satisfy most photographers.
The lower-resolution sensor bringsssa
couple of benefits. First, it facilitates aaafaster
frame ratethan the Z7,giving you apppro-level
12fps to work with formoving subjecttttts.
Having fewer pixels crammed on to thhhe
sensor should also make the Z6 slightttly
better equipped forlow-light shootinggggg,
too, although judging from our time
with the Z7,the pricier camera can
hardly be improved upon.
If you already own Nikon lenses, yyyou
can use them with the Z6 via its FTZ
mount adaptor.We’ve tried it with a
variety of different lenses and it
maintains full autofocus and usabilityyy.
Expect to payaround an additional £2 222277770000
forthe adaptor or alittle less if you ggget
NIKON Z6
★★★★★
£1,849•From http://www.jessops.com
VERDICT
Nikon’s mainstream mirrorless camera gets
just about everything right
one with your
Z6 as abundle.
The Z6 has
the same level of
weather-sealing as
the Nikon D850, which
makes it well equipped to face the perils
of shooting outdoors. It feels extremely
well built and more than up to the task
of brutal outdoor shoots.GOING SPARE
Although there are many advantages to
mirrorless cameras, battery lifeisanarea
where theystill struggle to competewith
DSLRs: the Z6 has afairly paltry official rating
of 310shots. In real-world usage,you’ll
probably get more,especially with careful
power management, but it’s worth investing
in asecond battery if you tend to get
particularly snap-happy. The Z6 can be
charged via USB, so carrying apower pack
with you is another option.
Unless you crave super-high resolution,
the Z6 arguably makes more sense than the
Z7,not least because image quality is superb
in awiderange of shooting conditions.
Dynamic range is excellent, while colours
directly from the camera are natural but well
sattturaaaattteddd. DDDetttaiiilllmaynotttttbbbeonapar wiiittthhhttthhheZ7,but it’s still very good; unless
you’re pixel peeping at 100%, or
have apenchant forextreme crops,
you’ll probably be hard-pushed to spot
the difference at normal printing sizes. In
fact, in low-light situations, the Z6 actually
puts in aslightly better performance.
Focusing is swift and accurate, locking on
to most subjects with ease.Aslight levels
drop,the Z6 will hunt alittle more,but it’s
rare forittomissaltogether.Shooting
moving subjects revealed the Z6 to be pretty
competent, keeping up with fairly easy-to-
follow subjects moving predictably.
Having image stabilisation baked in is
helpful forgetting sharp shots at relatively
slow shutter speeds; another bonus for
low-light shooters. Using automatic white
balance resulted in generally accuratecolours,
while leaving the Z6 in all-purpose (matrix)
metering did agoodjob of producing
exposures that were well balanced.
As is now pretty much the norm, the Z6
shoots video in 4K. Youcan optfor 30, 25 or
24fps, or there’s up to 120fps slow motion
available if you switch to 1080p.There’s also
the option to attach an external recorder to
output 10-bit 4K footage; do this, and you’ll
be able to shoot N-LOG footageaswell, in the
nammmeofmore flexible grading. Video shooters
will be pleased to see both an external
microphone and aheadphone socket.GENERATION Z
The Z6 was one of the standout
mirrorless releases of 2019.It’s agreat
all-round performer foradvanced
enthusiasts who shoot lots of different
subjects, and would even make agood
second camera forprofessionals shooting
with other Nikon models, including the Z7,
ooooorDSLRs such as the D850 or the D5.
There are acouple of drawbacks, such
aaaslimited battery lifeand asingleXQD
cccard slot, but overall, the Z6 is avery
cccapable and desirable camera.