Nikon Z6/7 mirrorless system

[Birna Rørslett]

The power of the Z range emerges more clearly day by day ....

I'm now seriously considering having another Z6 modified as a dedicated UV or "broad spectrum" camera.

[gryphon1911]

The power of the Z range emerges more clearly day by day ....

I'm now seriously considering having another Z6 modified as a dedicated UV or "broad spectrum" camera.

I'd love to see the results of that. 

I'd love to have a dedicated B&W camera, one without the color filter array and purpose built for monochrome.  I guess I could get an existing camera modified.  Not sure if that is any cheaper than getting something like a Leica monochrome...I think I'll just live vicariously right now through my Fuji X-E3 and shooting it in Acros film simulation.   

[gryphon1911]

Oh, and another point about the Z6 and the boxing I shot.

Fresh battery before start of the day.  Took 1200 shots that night, battery was at 67%.   And yes, that was even with some chimping in there for good measure.

Turned around and used the Z6 all day, took another 1300 shots with very similar battery life characteristics.

I did shoot a lot more bursts for capturing action...but it is possible to get a good amount of shots out of the en-el15b batteries.   I thought for sure that I would need a ton of batteries, but thankfully I'm only really needing 1 extra at this point.   Good that I can share same battery with the D500.

[Birna Rørslett]

My experiences with battery capacities on the Z6 are very different. Never got anything above approx. 200 shots per charge. I pack a couple of extra batteries and don't worry too much, however.

[CS]

I'm still processing images from my big 4 day Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus.

I was hired by a company to work on Saturday for them all day.  They gave me a D5 and 24-70/2.8 to use.
On that, quickly before getting into the Z6....I am so glad I cannot afford the D5.  My GOD that thing is a crafted piece of beauty and power!

I had it powered on from 8am until 8pm, took almost 3000 shots with it and the battery was still registering full.  I had it on CH12 and AF-C/D9 and it just killed it all day long.  Even swapped out the 24-70/2.8 and popped on my Tamron 70-200/2.8 VC.  Didn't miss a beat.

Now for the Z6.  It killed it too.  I'm honestly starting to get a little PO'd with the internet Youtubers and bloggers.  They trashed the hell out of this camera for AF performance.   While I will concede that it is not at a D5/D500 level...I'm getting as good an AF performance out of this thing as I was my D700/D750 for the boxing I shot, images attached below.

I shot H+ motor drive, AF-C with dynamic area AF.  Where I was shooting from I held the camera down on the ring apron below the bottom rope and used the rear LCD, actuated the shutter with the normal release.    I used the Z 35mm f/1.8S and it was fantastic.  Tack sharp, quickly focused on what I needed.

I even shot standard JPG...so I'm not even tapping into the power of RAW with the images below.  When Nikon decides to crack the ultimate performance of the on sensor phase detection....well, that's another discussion for another time.

Anyway, please enjoy the images below.   I was shooting between 1/500 and 1/1000 of a second at f/2.2 and f/2.8.   ISO was running around 1600-2500.

Nice work, Andrew, the Z6 looks pretty capable to me. 

I have to say that a couple of those fighters look like they're been around the block more than once. Probably tougher than nails! 

[CS]

My experiences with battery capacities on the Z6 are very different. Never got anything above approx. 200 shots per charge. I pack a couple of extra batteries and don't worry too much, however.

That is a large difference in battery performance, between you and Andrew. I wonder what is causing it?

[Birna Rørslett]

Different ambient conditions - different usage patterns - different users.

I am not in the least surprised. The battery indicator on my Z6 now shows 32%, 92 frames taken.

[golunvolo]

In my experience the z6 uses a lot of power just to stay on. If shooting in a situation like a live show, with lots of images in 60-90 min, the performance is very good, easy north of 1500 shots with battery to spare. Walking around is a different issue. I usually turn int off  and on again just before the shot to extend the life as much as possible. In this situation, and specially if I´m using manual focus, taking more time and using magnification in the evf, reviews, etc...it can drop to 300 before it depletes a fresh battery. I guess the cipa takes time on in consideration in their test?
   Cold weather should not help either.

[CS]

I  am guessing that with the Z  bodies IBIS is on as long as the camera is turned on too. So, slow composition & focusing,  with IBIS running, isn't helping with battery capacity. I'm also in the habit of turning off my cameras between shots. Old habits are hard to break, although I don't have a Z.

[Birna Rørslett]

I turn off the camera frequently as I am a slow worker in terms of my shooting approach. Usually I only take 1-2 frames at the time.

[Øivind Tøien]

That is a large difference in battery performance, between you and Andrew. I wonder what is causing it?

The conclusions from my empirical analysis of power consumption of  the D500, http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,8114.msg137385.html#msg137385 is just as valid for other bodies, and likely even more so for the Z-series: What matters most is how long the camera stays on. The number of frames shot in a certain interval of camera on-time matters very little. Taking long time to frame a subject and capturing only one frame at a time and having standby timers set to a long interval will cause dramatic decrease in the number of frames on a battery vs. short standby timer and shooting bursts the whole time.  It is really (mostly) not the frames that consume power.

[CS]

Makes perfect sense, Oivind.

[CS]

I turn off the camera frequently as I am a slow worker in terms of my shooting approach. Usually I only take 1-2 frames at the time.

Me too, I've never been one to shoot volume, 1 or 2 at a time.

[Birna Rørslett]

The salient point is to *know* one's camera and its behaviour. The camera is just a pliable tool. If the maker's assumptions of usage pattern are invalid for your own use, change the attitude and instead of complaining about poor battery capacity, bring additional freshly charged batteries. Shooting experience shows how many batteries it is sensible to add to the gear pack of the day. I have typically 1-2 extra batteries with me for a day in the field.

[Anthony]

The conclusions from my empirical analysis of power consumption of  the D500, http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,8114.msg137385.html#msg137385 is just as valid for other bodies, and likely even more so for the Z-series: What matters most is how long the camera stays on. The number of frames shot in a certain interval of camera on-time matters very little. Taking long time to frame a subject and capturing only one frame at a time and having standby timers set to a long interval will cause dramatic decrease in the number of frames on a battery vs. short standby timer and shooting bursts the whole time.  It is really (mostly) not the frames that consume power.

This is consistent with my experience of the Fuji system.

Shooting single shots through the day gets about 300 out of the battery.

Shooting sports at multiple fps gets about 1000 out of the same battery.

As the batteries are small and light, it is trivial to carry spares on occasions when I expect to do a lot of shooting.