launch - Nikon Z7 II and Z6 II

[Fons Baerken]

A short Z6 ii review by nikon ambassador Jasin Boland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5_PliEiJ04

[Luc]

I just watched a webinar by Nikon Netherlands on the Z6II and Z7II. I've noted a few highlights.
- about 0,5 stop lower noise at high iso's
- less banding with shadow recovery
- viewfinder blackout improved
- faster and more precise autofocus for F lenses > 200mm and Z lenses > 70mm
- overall autofocus performance improved
- autofocus performance slow-->fast Z7-->Z6-->Z6II/Z7II
- additional/seperate autofocus modes Wide Large and Small for eye detection humans/animals
- virtual horizon less obstrusive
- better energy management --> improved battery life
- firmware upgrade possible via Snapbridge

[CardBoardBoxProcessor]

My D810 sold on eBay. Good thing because it's value was plummeting fast. Now, I make no money on photography but I really enjoy it as a hobby. I mostly shoot landscape and astrophotography. I heavily use tilt shift lenses and take like 15 minutes to set up a shot. I'm not quick. sometimes I try to do birds but that's just trying.

I could probably get a used z7 on eBay for ~$1800-2000. But then i would need the FTZ adapter and a cfe or xqd card so another couple hundred for decent size. all said I am sure it'd be $2100-2200 post switch.

I do not really think there is anything that the z7ii has that I especially need but I am told the differences between z6 and z6ii are pretty impressive. so I have a fear of regret.

should I get a z7 used or is a z7ii with it's slight alterations really going to e worth the $800 more then z7 or so it'll be in the end?

thoughts and supporting arguments please

[Michael Erlewine]

My D810 sold on eBay. Good thing because it's value was plummeting fast. Now, I make no money on photography but I really enjoy it as a hobby. I mostly shoot landscape and astrophotography. I heavily use tilt shift lenses and take like 15 minutes to set up a shot. I'm not quick. sometimes I try to do birds but that's just trying.

I could probably get a used z7 on eBay for ~$1800-2000. But then i would need the FTZ adapter and a cfe or xqd card so another couple hundred for decent size. all said I am sure it'd be $2100-2200 post switch.

I do not really think there is anything that the z7ii has that I especially need but I am told the differences between z6 and z6ii are pretty impressive. so I have a fear of regret.

should I get a z7 used or is a z7ii with it's slight alterations really going to e worth the $800 more then z7 or so it'll be in the end?

thoughts and supporting arguments please

If you are into landscape and astrophotography, probably the original Z7 is just fine. I do close-up work and landscapes, however I might spring for the Z7 II for these reasons.

The dual Expeed processors opens the door to a lot of in-camera calculations that could, with firmware upgrades, be important.

The dual processors make autofocus and tracking probably of much higher quality and usefulness.

Keep current and have something newer to trade in on the next upgrade or a larger or more pro Nikon mirrorless, although you might lose some here too.

The rest of the new or improved features you probably don’t need. We all often have regret, either way. LOL.

[PeterN]

In my brief sessions testing the Z7, I mostly tried it for indoor portraits and it would sometimes nail the focus and sometimes miss completely, and I couldn't really see what was going wrong. The image quality (when in focus) was superb with the Z 50/1.8. I hope this has been rectified in the II models (Nikon say "superior subject acquisition" which should be exactly the problem I'm talking about) and if it is, then the cameras probably can work for me.

Up till now, I mostly shot indoor portraits with the Z7 and share your experience. I thought it was me doing something wrong. It might be a reason for me to switch to the Z7Ii (or add a Z6ii)

[mxbianco]

There is a v.1.01 Firmware update already for the Z6 II (posted today on https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/382.html), addressing an overexposure issue when shooting in continuous release modes and with human/animal eye detection.

Ciao from Massimo

[MILLIREHM]

I got a quick view on the new Z6 II/Z7 II bodies. They are a bit thicker (due to the two card slot) but that  does not come to view on first sight -its not toosignificant.
Certainly there is improvement but the main annoyances of the Z6/Z7 interface are still present (which is imho the misconcepted individual menu system, the misdesigned PSAM .. U3 wheel, the disability of assigning the shooting mode to any other button than the one on the right side of the back (or the infomenu) and the lack of possibility to set exposure values in full stops.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Z7 II now is in stock in some stores in Finland.

[Hugh_3170]

Also in stock in Melbourne, Australia.

Z7 II now is in stock in some stores in Finland.

[fentriss]

Also in stock in Melbourne, Australia.

And, germany, bavaria, Munich. with adapter, 3459,--, euro. bye bye,richard

[Akira]

Dpreview just posted the review of Z6II.  Interestingly, the image quality test shows that the images of older Z6 looks cleaner with less chrominance noise at ISO 12800 and higher.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-z6-ii-review

[Airy]

From the review : "The Z6 II's image quality is indistinguishable from that of its predecessor, including at in low light, at high ISO settings."

It is also my impression, while it is apparent that the color calibration of the tested Z6 and Z6 II is different.

[Akira]

From the review : "The Z6 II's image quality is indistinguishable from that of its predecessor, including at in low light, at high ISO settings."

It is also my impression, while it is apparent that the color calibration of the tested Z6 and Z6 II is different.

Did you compare the dark grey background areas of RAW images at ISO 12800 and 25600?  Interestingly, the well lit areas look cleaner on Z6II, but the dark areas look cleaner on Z6.

[Øivind Tøien]

Did you compare the dark grey background areas of RAW images at ISO 12800 and 25600?  Interestingly, the well lit areas look cleaner on Z6II, but the dark areas look cleaner on Z6.

I cannot say I agree to that with respect to the low lights (assuming we are looking at raw files, jpgs are pretty mushy in both at high ISO). It varies a bit with dark region, I would say on average pretty much the same but perhaps generally some better detail on the Z6 II. (Both are as expected better than Z5 at high ISO.) Also the banding in the exposure latitude test is minimal compared to Z6, about the level of the Z5, Z50 and the Sony. That alone would be deciding for me (having used and still own the D7100). It will be interesting to see what Bill Claff's  stacked sensor heat maps will bring in that respect.

[Nikfuson]

Got the Z6II on loan and one of the improvements is the compass, inclinometer, whatever it is called. It is much less obtrusive...GOOD!