Hi Tom, thanks great short review. Have the same D850 and Z6 and agree the Z6 is amazing. Some scope for improvement but love it more and more. IQ is incredible and I love that every lens I attach even with FTZ is sharp. No focus calibration. See you use the 200-500 a bit? Love the flexibility and cant wait for the 200-600. I have the 500 f5.6 as well crazy small and amazing to shoot with. Love your work
Yeah the 200/500 I had on loan for a project, I actually always use the 300 2.8 as a mainstay, the new 120/300 is on my list for the end of the year and the 200/600 S looks tempting, although I’d love to see a 600 5.6 PF!
Cheers for the review Tom. I've actually been eyeing up (and saving for) a d850 for wildlife and astro for a bit now. But actually considering going for the z7. Currently using a d7500.
My own experience with the Z6 mirrors yours except the wildest of wildlife I shoot is a very active 7 week old kitten. My subjects are portraiture, architecture, product/catalog, pro ballet and fashion, in and out of the studio. I also have a beloved D850 that gathers dust. The only time I even take the D850 or D800 is when an art director insists on a large pixel count. Yes, version 3 firmware made focusing tracking much more like the D850 3D Tracking mode and if anything, is more accurate in nailing focus than DSLRs due to the lens/camera calibration variable factor in OVF mode. That is for the same reason Live View is always better for accuracy on a DSLR. The ruggedness of the Z bodies is very impressive, and that includes the excellent weather sealing. But it is hard to pick the main reasons it has become my go-to camera, but the combination is better than the sum of the specs. For example, mating it with any of the S native lenses it is always sharper corner to corner than any F mount lens on the D850. For example, the 24-70 2.8 S is far better in every way than the more expensive F mount version, and the little "kit" 24-70 f/4 holds its own with any F mount prime at the same FL. That has to be the best performing kit lens ever, and is sharper, with less CA/color fringing than my f/2.8 24-70 G and E versions that cost 4 times as much. The 1.8 primes are spectacular, for example the 50 and 85 really embarrasses and F mount 50mm 1.4 or the 85 1.4G. The only weakness in the line up so far are the missing telephoto lenses in the line-up. I use a 70-200 2.8 G and FL with the FTZ but that gives up several stops in vibration reduction compared to the native 70-200 2.8 that is delayed in general distribution. The 24-70 2.8 S is likely the best mid zoom regardless of mount or make, so there is very high hopes for the 70-200. An added bonus, for my fun shooting I often shoot in dance clubs in my adopted city of St Petersburg Russia, and supply the photos for the clubs, if the dance floor is too crowded for me to spend my time dancing. The Z6 is VERY good in the low light, better than my DSLRs, in focusing and DR, I use flash fill light so shoot at very low shutter speeds to expose the ambient general atmosphere and the flash freezes the subject. Without AF assist light, the Z6 runs circles around the very good D850 in that difficult lighting or in theater or concerts for AF performance and noise.
You probably dont care but does anyone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account?? I somehow lost my account password. I love any tips you can give me.
@Callan Casen Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and I'm trying it out now. I see it takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
My experience to date with the Z6 for wildlife had only been with the 200-500 and it was VERY frustrating with autofocus being so slow. However, I recently bought the 300mm f4 and things have improved quite a bit. It is still not a patch on the D500 for AF speed but the Z6 is now more than useable for wildlife, particularly when the light is low. The Z6 is a low light beast! I find the noise on the D500 to be too much at 3200, on the Z6 it barely needs correction. I would still lift the D500 for small birds and BIF in good light but I'm glad to have the Z6 for those early morning low light opportunities.
Great video Tom, glad you’re well! I absolutely love my Z6 way more than I ever thought aI would, it’s my principal camera now too. You didn’t mention the silent shooting feature, it’s so helpful shooting totally silent in many situations! Cant wait for the new lenses you mentioned, the 200-600 is going to be a massive seller I reckon.. stay safe mate and happy shooting.
For sure the 200-600 looks good as well as the 100-400 S, Although I really want to see a 600 PF 5.6! The Pro spec camera hopefully will really push things forward and I feel when it does come, my Z6 will be swapped over for it. The silent feature is nice for sure, although with the quiet shutter on the Z6 I never really find it a problem, maybe it sounds so quiet compared to the D850!
I bought the z6 as a second body for weddings. It was a little bit annoying to use it... i thought it was the AF. After Firmware 3.0 was release... the z6 feels like a different new camera. I've haven't used my d850 for months.. because the z6 is such a mighty camera now!
Totally, people are bashing a camera they really haven’t used and for those who have, known it’s a truly excellent piece of kit. The firmware 3.0 certainly has raised the bar and now I truly can’t wait for the next pro model as I feel we will be in for a heck of a treat!
Great review Tom, exactly matches my experience with my beloved Z7! I also turned off „Live View“ which really makes a difference in AF. I also have the Battery Pack which helps balance long and heavy lenses. Although it has no functions, it fits perfectly and not to worry about battery life is a nice bonus. Give it a try!
Yeah the battery pack I do think would help balancing but likelihood is I’ll save investing until the pro Z when I can have controls on the grip as well. The Z6 will then mostly become a backup / remote camera due to its silent abilities etc. However as of right now I’m really enjoying the Z6 in my kit, especially with the new AF upgrade! I guess with more AF points it’s even better on the Z7!
I really enjoyed this video too, I liked the way you tweaked the auto focus settings to get faster focus speed. I have a D610 and a 80-400 as my longest lens and I cant complain.I like to photograph deer’s and to photograph around the house. I was thinking about buying the d500 to get more reach or to upgrade to the z6 to better auto focus, in body stabilization and video
Tom, I'm curious if firmware version 3.4 has improved wildlife tracking? Other videos seems to show a significant improvement for eye tracking but I am curious about wildlife and birds in flight? I am considering to go from D800 to Z6 and am wondering if it will be a good trade in terms of autofocus tracking.
Nice video Tom! I´ve got to test your settings when I´m home this evening, especially the D8 setting. From my experience, the focus speed (running vom close focus to infinity and back) of the Z6 is approx 70% the speed of the D500 (which I sold too) with my 500mm f4 G VR, so the D500 was quite a bit snappier. But appart from that I'm completely with you, the Z6 ist a very capable wildlife camera, at least for my style of shooting.
@@TomMasonPhoto Thanks for this video! I used to shoot with a D500 and 500G, now got a 600FL and picked up a Z6 in december. At first I was shocked when I noticed how the AF failed to lock on birds even though I pre-focussed manually. Now I'm on firmware 3.0 and will give that d8 setting a try. I had white balance set manually on my D500 because I was thinking that processing power used for auto-wb instead should rather be used for AF but I didn't really think of it this way regarding d8 on the Z6. On the other hand, the whole idea of "what you see is what you get" was one of the big pros of mirrorless. I've set my Z6 to show me the histogram though. Works fine as well.
hy, i'm looking into nikon over a canon 6d mkii for wildlife photography. i would mount a tamron 150-600 G2. I'm doubting between the D500 or maybe this Z6, what would your choise be? thanks
Tom, love your work but can't agree with the capabilities of the Z6 for wildlife. I'm currently using the D500 and the Z6 and there is no comparison. I miss too many opportunities due to very slow acquisition,especially in lower light and I use all the settings you mention in this video. For small birds the D500 is always my goto choice. The Z6 is great in low light for slower moving subjects, the noise at 3200 barely needs corrected whereas the D500 files need to go through topaz. I'm holding off on the Z series for a while and have a D850 on order for full frame wildlife.
Tom is smoking too much weed. I own a D850, D500, Z6 (mainly video) the D500, how can I say this, blows the Z6 out of the water for high speed action or BIF accuracy, plus I disagree on low light AF. The D500 is still better than the easily confused Z6 in low light AF, and yes I am running the latest Z6 firmware.
Interesting Tom, I can't tell if you like apply settings to live view or not. I use it all the time as I'm used to that from my previous mirrorless cameras. Nicely done. Time to watch the hares video.
Sorry yeah for my shooting I don’t want them applied. Applying them means the camera has a boat load of extra processing to do and hence reduced the AF speed. With them not on more power drives the focus!
Good video Tom. I appreciate the comparisons with the D500, since I have considered changing my D500 for a Z6 for a while. I also use a D850 and find that it can take care of all flying birds for the time being, while a Z6 would mostly be used for non flying wildlife in my case, plus travel and family pictures. I am convinced that Nikon has made the right mount choice for the long turn and am not tempted by Sony, in spite of the AF prowess in the A9 line. I am convinced that Nikon will be there with the next firmware update or with the Z8. For the long term, the mount parameters are the main thing.
For sure the D850 can easily cope for flying birds and that’s what I tend to go with, the Z6 for sure is great for non flying and travel. I too am very excited for the pro Z camera and am sure the new mount will make for some very exciting lenses!
I just picked the Z6 up last week, using latest firmware, applied the settings you mentioned here, only thing I'm struggling with at times using the Nikkor 200-500 is at times when zoomed out to a small bird it just won't catch focus ( AF-C and single point or dynamic) I still feel more confident with my D500 in those situations
Tom, you said that setting d8 makes the EVF behave like a DSLR OVF in terms of what you see. To be clear I interpreted this as stating that the setting made everything about as bright as you'd experience TTL wide open (i.e. no boosting) but according to the documentation and my experience there is still boosting. Point being, shooting on an f/4 lens on my D750 vs the Z6 with d8 off is a completely different experience in a dark lit room ;) It would be more clear to state that the boosting is decoupled from WYSIWYG. From discussions I've come across as well as my own experimentation the general consensus it that the AF system's performance is impacted because this option is changing what the camera sees (see the link). That is, by decoupling the EVF/LV from WYSIWYG the AF performance improves because the AF system can now "see." I see a similar improvement just be decoupling the ISO (i.e. putting the camera into auto ISO) which further boosts this argument regarding what the camera can see. No doubt WYSIWYG does have an impact on resources and maybe in some way it is a contributing factor, but with the option off it still has to boost the signal to see (granted that's probably way easier than simulating exposure to match settings). You'd think the camera would have 2 pipelines. One that is boosted as per d8 off and used by the AF system and a 2nd for the EVF. That's more processing ergo power but better overall UX. In the meantime I'll see if this improves my batter consumption. If so then perhaps there is an argument to resources also being at play and I'll be happy with getting more snaps on a single charge. As an aside, hopefully these rumored ENL-15C batteries will boost to 2000 maH ;P In any case thank you for bringing this to our attention. It's been a topic since release but I wasn't aware of it and will experiment. www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62015861
Hey yes, so in regards to the OVF comment, basically what meant was when we look though on OVF (say on a D850) we can see what the lens looks like when wide open. As that's how the camera works to aid the AF. In the viewfinder we can of course also see the AF points + exposure meter and our current settings, but we cants see the Depth of field or impacts of those settings (ISO/Shutter/Aperture) on the final image, as we can if we were to use a Z6/Z7 With the D8 applied. Therefore when the setting is applied, the live update (that stops the lens down etc to show the live image) makes a large impact on the abilities of the AF as it has far less light to work with. I know that the EVF has to boost the ISO in viewfinder in order to maintain the brightness when in darker situations, its not like an OVF in those terms. Of course in regards to Lag and such an OVF will always be an improvement because of course there is nothing there, but I think with D8 off the camera has a major performance boost! Thanks for your detailed comment and thoughts! Cheers, Tom
The D850 is in my kit because for some jobs it's the better camera, The size and weight pairs well with my 300mm 2.8 VR, there higher MP is really useful for some of my client work where I want the best possible image quality and resolution for fine art prints. Had I have bought the Z7 I might not need it any more but I wanted the Z6 to be more of a video focused camera with the Raw video output etc and so the Z6 was far more appealing, as it gained me better ISO and low light performance and video specs that compliment my already excellent D850. They are different tools at the end of the day, if we see a Z camera with 36 odd MP with fast speeds and all the mirrorless tech and video features I'm sure that will end up as my go to camera, but for now the D850 is my faithful friend that certainly produces the goods!
Great review. Any budget or old/adapted long reach lenses you'd recommend to pair with it? I can't afford the newer z lenses in the longer range. Thanks
Personally right now there are fantastic deals on the 300mm 2.8 VR II / 200-400 F4 VR II / 500mm f4 VR and even the more recent FL versions - certainly worth a look to get some really high end glass for a great price
Hey! Thanks for a great video. I’m planning to buy the tamron G2 150-600 for birding. I’m having trouble finding info about how the z6 and that obe work together. Do you have exp/knowledge on that? all the best, Jon
Should I buy a d500(1000$) or z6(1400$), both are used. Wildlife, especially birds, are what I'm going to be shooting. I just can't make up my mind... It's be great to hear your thoughts. Any advice is welcome.
Hey Peter, the battery life is certainly drained faster than on my D850, but two batteries easily gets though a day unless I’m doing very heavy video shooting. I probably won’t get the grip for the Z6 but wait to see what the pro grip has as I do miss having the portrait controls and probably will invest as soon as possible on the pro version, the Z6 suits for most of how I use it as in most cases the camera in on the tripod if I’m shouting video with the Z6!
Does Low Light AF really slow down focus performance in AF Continuous? Low Light AF only works in AF Single (even if it's turned on while the camera is in AF Continuous). I'm also curious about performance hits by using Apply Settings To Live View. Thanks for the tips! Will investigate both of these further. 🙂
Same here, mostly for video but it wins over the other cameras every day. I can’t really wait and want to get a Z50 as well just to keep one camera on filming the vlog and one on photographing and filming the subject 😅
Nice review and just what I wanted to hear tom. I'm thinking of chopping in my d500 and getting the z6 to go with my d750, As I find the d500 iso levels shocking personally. Have you tried a 1.4 extender on the z6 with the 200-500. As I'm concerned about losing my reach going back to full frame. Also is the focus speed ok on birds on flight?
The Z6 is rather good for macro, although the Z7 might be better for the higher resolution. The use of the electronic viewfinder allows for live view of focus peaking that can be very handy for critical focus, and the ability to magnify in the viewfinder can be very useful when working with high magnifications!
Thank you so much for making this video, it was really helpful. Would you recommend z7 over z6 for its megapixel, so as to use it as 1.5x crop mode and still get enough pixels? This is specifically for birding where one would want more reach. I currently use 300 f2.8 as my only lens on my D500, wish to switch to a Full Frame.
100%. For myself I have the D850 when I need the extra resolution so I went with the Z6 but if you need the reach the Z7 would be a great choice, you loose a little on the ISO but obviously gain on the resolution!
Sorry Harish, its not my usual setup as in lockdown Ive been stuck away from home where I was supposed to be building a new office! Hopefully by the end of summer I'll be in my new workspace!
Hello Tom. Great video! I already have the 200-500mm Nikkor lens which I was using with my D500. I am now seriously considering to change to the Z6. Do you know how the 200-500 lens works with the Z6? Is it compatible, do I need an adapter, does it lacks performance compared to when its used with the d500 etc? Any honest feedback would be much appreciated. Thank you :)
I've just finished a few days with the Nikon Z6 II - Video in a day or so - personally I'd hold off for the II, the AF upgrade is really nice, faster processors and all round better performance for action thats going to give you far more of what the D500 offered than the Z6. The 200-500 works through the FTZ, have used it myself and all functions without issue, great for the moment until we have some native long lens glass for the Z system!
Great video and good to hear that the Z6 is heading in the right direction with the firmware updates! Any thoughts on the Z7 for wildlife, have you had chance to use one? I thought it would be a closer match to the D850 with having the higher resolution?
Yeah the Z7 looks great, I haven’t had a chance to use one for long but with the same design as the Z6 it’s really just a choice between the resolution or the better ISO performance, as I had a D850 in the bag already I didn’t need both!
In some ways it does look great as you can swap and get the AF benefits on the video mode, it will be very interesting If the D850 upgrade has this, then it will be a hard choice between that and a Pro Z series!
Tom Mason yes I thought a pro Z would have been here by now, it would indicate which direction Nikon and the industry are going! No doubt the current situation has shook things up, makes me wonder if the D6 will ever actually hit the shops. With the Olympics being postponed the D6 could be seen as out of date before then maybe a pro Z will replace it?
It depends on the agency, I only provide to one stock library as in general I feel the purchase rate isn't all that great especially with low commissions, i tent to sell most of my work direct and find that works best for me. Cheers, Tom
Instead of resolution, are there other reason when you would prefer your 850? I’m debating between the new 780 and the z6 mainly for travelling and Wildlife
Hi Tom I have left you a message on Flickr...this is it here as I thought you might not get it for a while!!...here it is..I wonder if you might possibly think of uploading some Z6iii photos Tom? I have been struggling to compare the photos of the Z6 with ones like this, with all the quality you have here...Is it as good do you think?..I wonder if you will see this message?
Nice idea, for myself I use the FN buttons so I can keep my hand on the camera in situ when swapping, but setting the U1,2,3 would also work for some people im sure!
Hey tom! I have checked some of your videos and I have the impression that I once heard you speaking about a film nikon camera. Do you use any nikon film camera?
I do have a few Nikon film cameras, currently a F3HP and using a F6 as well, I'll probably talk about them more in the future, they are more for my own personal work/fun/enjoyment rather than my professional work, but I might do some videos on UA-cam about them at some point!
The difference will be in a number of ways, the F4 lens of course offers an increase in light to aid the AF as well as for lower light shooting etc. Of course the 500mm f4 is a much larger lens than the new 500 PF 5.6 that reduces portability, as well as making the 500 PF 5.6 certainly balance more favourably with the Z6, however on a tripod its less of a problem and certainly how you'll likely work with the 500 F4 in the field. I don't tend to shoot 500mm often as my 300mm 2.8 is my Go to for wildlife work, but the faster prime lens with wider apertures certainly aid the speed of focus, especially in low light.
@@TomMasonPhoto now I have a 500 f4 and a 300 f4, I want to buy Z6, and I was thinking switching to 500 f5.6, because of the weight and portability, but the f4 is very tempting. Also I was thinking to switch to 400 2.8 but I think that would not be a good idea. I do a lot of work with tripod and monopod, and floating hide, but carrying the 500 f4 on a mountain is hard, especially if I camp.
Would the Z6 be a good good option for someone that wants to start doing wildlife photography, or would you be better off going for something like the D500 or D7200 / 7500 ?
If you can wait a little bit Nikon is supposed to be announcing the Z6s around October of this year (2020). That way you are comparing two current cameras, not a brand new one and one that is two years old. Might be worth keeping in mind the prince difference too, if you really can't decide don't forget you can get a Z6 refurbished by Nikon USA for $1500, 1k cheaper than a new R6.
I am really ready to go full-frame with the Z6, but I keep telling myself to wait for the Z8?? I'm not a pro, but I do have people interested in prints of some of my work. . .Think it would be wise to wait for the next Z model or go ahead with the Z6? The Z6 seems like it may be the best "bang for the buck" for someone like me.
It's actually supposed to have the same sensor as the Sony A7RV (61MP) and cost at least over $3300. I had the A7RV and although it is a great camera, plan to spend a lot more time processing and have plenty of memory on your laptop/hard drive. Also, not as good as the Z6 or A73 in low light to do the increased MP's. Get the Z7 if you're planning to make large prints.
Compared to the D5 and D850 it’s still slower in tracking. I’d say it’s D750 level in regards to focus. If you do a lot of tracking on fast moving subjects the D5 and D850 will better suit for stills
Tom Mason Thanks for the heads up on the comparison between the F Mount and Z Mount cameras. I'm mainly cover Aircraft, Athletics, Football, Car Rallying, Motorbikes road racing ,Rugby, Speedway and will upgrade to the D6. l will wait to see if a Mirrorless version of the D5/D6 either equals or surpasses the D5/D6 with regards to battery life and amount of shots with a robust camera body comes to fruition before I would even consider switching to the Z mount Nikon.
Both great cameras! I can’t wait to see what the pro Z model will be like, hoping we gain a few extra video features as well as a real grip that has portrait controls like I have for my D850
Tom Mason I’m torn wether I should get a 24-70 or the 70-200. Prob going tamron g2. As the 15-30 is a VNC l’ensemble and half the cost of Nikon’s 14-24
I think the FTZ is pretty solid TBH and a really good work between for legacy Nikon shooters. I totally understand the wait for the longer Z mount glass, I'm looking forward to seeing what the 200-600 and 100-400 can do!
Hi Tom, great video. I am thinking of changing to Nikon, I am a dog photographer would you recommend the Z6 or D850 for both action and portraits . Thanks
I think if stills are your primary focus then the D850 as an all round machine, the focus will certainly be more consistent in terms of fast moving dogs + the higher resolution is excellent for high end prints and reproduction. However if you want to do video as well then the Z6 is great!
I have mine setup at the moment for changing the Af mode (hold and rotate dials for selection) as I've re assigned my FN1 in order to start tracking when in full time AF as I'm testing out the animal AF.
@@TomMasonPhoto thanks the Z6 AF is a bit confusing for me. Think I'll wait until they eventually simplify it. I watched your video but it lost me a bit to what was actually going on with the AF.
For sure its a compromise for when I'm shooting stills and video , especially for youtube etc. If I'm working on fast action and I know its going to be consistent, my D850 will be in my hand for sure!
@@TomMasonPhoto I disagree. You get 50% more reach with the D500, more FPS, and a better buffer. But I get it, you just always shoot rabbits who stand around. You don't need that power.
It’s 1FPS more with the D5 batteries and the extra crop factor is made up when you use the D850 in crop mode, you also gain the benefit of being able to see what’s coming in and out of he frame before the shot that’s great for action shooting! I’ve used the D850 for a long time and with so many subjects the flexibility with the sensor far outweighs the D500s minor bonuses for shooting in the field, especially if you work shooting a variety of compositions/styles. I know though that some people LOVE the D500 and that’s great, it’s just not the tool I find I need professionally
@@TomMasonPhoto That's fine, I already know why you prefer the D850 over D500. I have no issue with that. I watched some of your videos and the rabbits you shoot usually don't move. The D850 needs the batter grip with both batters to get to 9 FPS, that makes that camera a heavy brick. Also the 45 mpxl RAW files are huge compared to the 21 mpxl D500 files. Plus you get 50% more reach with the crop. The D500 is the far superior camera for real wildlife shooters. For your rabbit shots you actually don't need the D850 even. You can shoot them with the Z6 only. Anyway, I get why you don't need the D500, but you can't say D850 is almost as good - it's just not... unless you want a huge and heavy setup with an inferior AF system and smaller buffer.
Taipei Geek you made your point, and like Tom, I disagree. The D850 is way more versatile and superior to the D500. But, the D500 is a great camera - Enjoy!
I'm changing brand, Nikon completely messed up their transition to mirrorless. Cameragear are insanely expensive and I am not paying more for a camera in beta test+converter.
The viewfinder is so bad to use the lense to search for bird in a tree , maybe an ostrige you will find it ,and the focus with your eye ,forget it, it's a shit for small birds and the green manual focus help is approximative at best , for macro forget it. It's a shit for birds and wildlife but I love the silent shutter
I am surprised that you being a D5 and D850 user recommending this crap for action-packed wildlife photography? The whole world knows that this a hell of crap and Nikon pushed this half baked bread into the market to hold on to ever leaving loyal customers for other brands, they took nearly 2 years to just develop a firmware update!
As a D850/D5/D500 user those cameras are built for action and speed. In this video I’m talking about the fact that the Z6 is capable for wildlife shooting. The Z6 works for me as a hybrid shooting camera as I often need to shoot both stills and video. If I’m doing fast action the D850 (with the D5 batteries for increased speed) will be in my hand for stills work. The video is about the upgrade of firmware 3 and the fact that now the camera is capable of working with action. Have you used a Z6? Because it’s not just about AF. The IQ and usability of the camera is great! Hopefully the new pro Z will be even better for action! Cheers Tom
Hi Tom, thanks great short review. Have the same D850 and Z6 and agree the Z6 is amazing. Some scope for improvement but love it more and more. IQ is incredible and I love that every lens I attach even with FTZ is sharp. No focus calibration. See you use the 200-500 a bit? Love the flexibility and cant wait for the 200-600. I have the 500 f5.6 as well crazy small and amazing to shoot with. Love your work
Yeah the 200/500 I had on loan for a project, I actually always use the 300 2.8 as a mainstay, the new 120/300 is on my list for the end of the year and the 200/600 S looks tempting, although I’d love to see a 600 5.6 PF!
Cheers for the review Tom. I've actually been eyeing up (and saving for) a d850 for wildlife and astro for a bit now. But actually considering going for the z7. Currently using a d7500.
My own experience with the Z6 mirrors yours except the wildest of wildlife I shoot is a very active 7 week old kitten. My subjects are portraiture, architecture, product/catalog, pro ballet and fashion, in and out of the studio. I also have a beloved D850 that gathers dust. The only time I even take the D850 or D800 is when an art director insists on a large pixel count.
Yes, version 3 firmware made focusing tracking much more like the D850 3D Tracking mode and if anything, is more accurate in nailing focus than DSLRs due to the lens/camera calibration variable factor in OVF mode. That is for the same reason Live View is always better for accuracy on a DSLR.
The ruggedness of the Z bodies is very impressive, and that includes the excellent weather sealing. But it is hard to pick the main reasons it has become my go-to camera, but the combination is better than the sum of the specs. For example, mating it with any of the S native lenses it is always sharper corner to corner than any F mount lens on the D850. For example, the 24-70 2.8 S is far better in every way than the more expensive F mount version, and the little "kit" 24-70 f/4 holds its own with any F mount prime at the same FL. That has to be the best performing kit lens ever, and is sharper, with less CA/color fringing than my f/2.8 24-70 G and E versions that cost 4 times as much. The 1.8 primes are spectacular, for example the 50 and 85 really embarrasses and F mount 50mm 1.4 or the 85 1.4G. The only weakness in the line up so far are the missing telephoto lenses in the line-up. I use a 70-200 2.8 G and FL with the FTZ but that gives up several stops in vibration reduction compared to the native 70-200 2.8 that is delayed in general distribution. The 24-70 2.8 S is likely the best mid zoom regardless of mount or make, so there is very high hopes for the 70-200.
An added bonus, for my fun shooting I often shoot in dance clubs in my adopted city of St Petersburg Russia, and supply the photos for the clubs, if the dance floor is too crowded for me to spend my time dancing. The Z6 is VERY good in the low light, better than my DSLRs, in focusing and DR, I use flash fill light so shoot at very low shutter speeds to expose the ambient general atmosphere and the flash freezes the subject. Without AF assist light, the Z6 runs circles around the very good D850 in that difficult lighting or in theater or concerts for AF performance and noise.
You probably dont care but does anyone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account??
I somehow lost my account password. I love any tips you can give me.
@James Brycen instablaster =)
@Callan Casen Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and I'm trying it out now.
I see it takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Callan Casen It worked and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thank you so much, you saved my account!
@James Brycen Glad I could help =)
My experience to date with the Z6 for wildlife had only been with the 200-500 and it was VERY frustrating with autofocus being so slow. However, I recently bought the 300mm f4 and things have improved quite a bit. It is still not a patch on the D500 for AF speed but the Z6 is now more than useable for wildlife, particularly when the light is low. The Z6 is a low light beast! I find the noise on the D500 to be too much at 3200, on the Z6 it barely needs correction. I would still lift the D500 for small birds and BIF in good light but I'm glad to have the Z6 for those early morning low light opportunities.
Great video Tom, glad you’re well! I absolutely love my Z6 way more than I ever thought aI would, it’s my principal camera now too. You didn’t mention the silent shooting feature, it’s so helpful shooting totally silent in many situations! Cant wait for the new lenses you mentioned, the 200-600 is going to be a massive seller I reckon.. stay safe mate and happy shooting.
For sure the 200-600 looks good as well as the 100-400 S, Although I really want to see a 600 PF 5.6! The Pro spec camera hopefully will really push things forward and I feel when it does come, my Z6 will be swapped over for it. The silent feature is nice for sure, although with the quiet shutter on the Z6 I never really find it a problem, maybe it sounds so quiet compared to the D850!
I bought the z6 as a second body for weddings. It was a little bit annoying to use it... i thought it was the AF. After Firmware 3.0 was release... the z6 feels like a different new camera. I've haven't used my d850 for months.. because the z6 is such a mighty camera now!
Totally, people are bashing a camera they really haven’t used and for those who have, known it’s a truly excellent piece of kit. The firmware 3.0 certainly has raised the bar and now I truly can’t wait for the next pro model as I feel we will be in for a heck of a treat!
Great review Tom, exactly matches my experience with my beloved Z7! I also turned off „Live View“ which really makes a difference in AF. I also have the Battery Pack which helps balance long and heavy lenses. Although it has no functions, it fits perfectly and not to worry about battery life is a nice bonus. Give it a try!
Yeah the battery pack I do think would help balancing but likelihood is I’ll save investing until the pro Z when I can have controls on the grip as well. The Z6 will then mostly become a backup / remote camera due to its silent abilities etc. However as of right now I’m really enjoying the Z6 in my kit, especially with the new AF upgrade! I guess with more AF points it’s even better on the Z7!
I really enjoyed this video too, I liked the way you tweaked the auto focus settings to get faster focus speed. I have a D610 and a 80-400 as my longest lens and I cant complain.I like to photograph deer’s and to photograph around the house. I was thinking about buying the d500 to get more reach or to upgrade to the z6 to better auto focus, in body stabilization and video
Tom, I'm curious if firmware version 3.4 has improved wildlife tracking? Other videos seems to show a significant improvement for eye tracking but I am curious about wildlife and birds in flight? I am considering to go from D800 to Z6 and am wondering if it will be a good trade in terms of autofocus tracking.
Was sat doing schoolwork but have to take a break to watch these Tom! Keep up the good work!
Haha thank you! It’s good to take a break! 😉
@@TomMasonPhoto loving your videos as ever. Can't wait for lockdown to finish to start making my own!
Nice video Tom! I´ve got to test your settings when I´m home this evening, especially the D8 setting. From my experience, the focus speed (running vom close focus to infinity and back) of the Z6 is approx 70% the speed of the D500 (which I sold too) with my 500mm f4 G VR, so the D500 was quite a bit snappier. But appart from that I'm completely with you, the Z6 ist a very capable wildlife camera, at least for my style of shooting.
It certainly is, the D8 setting is a game changer, by not applying the live updates of the image the speed improves majorly!
@@TomMasonPhoto Thanks for this video! I used to shoot with a D500 and 500G, now got a 600FL and picked up a Z6 in december. At first I was shocked when I noticed how the AF failed to lock on birds even though I pre-focussed manually. Now I'm on firmware 3.0 and will give that d8 setting a try. I had white balance set manually on my D500 because I was thinking that processing power used for auto-wb instead should rather be used for AF but I didn't really think of it this way regarding d8 on the Z6. On the other hand, the whole idea of "what you see is what you get" was one of the big pros of mirrorless. I've set my Z6 to show me the histogram though. Works fine as well.
@@TomMasonPhoto Yes, but still within only about 85% of the D500, so nope, not as good.
hy,
i'm looking into nikon over a canon 6d mkii for wildlife photography. i would mount a tamron 150-600 G2. I'm doubting between the D500 or maybe this Z6, what would your choise be? thanks
Tom, love your work but can't agree with the capabilities of the Z6 for wildlife. I'm currently using the D500 and the Z6 and there is no comparison. I miss too many opportunities due to very slow acquisition,especially in lower light and I use all the settings you mention in this video. For small birds the D500 is always my goto choice. The Z6 is great in low light for slower moving subjects, the noise at 3200 barely needs corrected whereas the D500 files need to go through topaz. I'm holding off on the Z series for a while and have a D850 on order for full frame wildlife.
Tom is smoking too much weed. I own a D850, D500, Z6 (mainly video) the D500, how can I say this, blows the Z6 out of the water for high speed action or BIF accuracy, plus I disagree on low light AF. The D500 is still better than the easily confused Z6 in low light AF, and yes I am running the latest Z6 firmware.
Interesting Tom, I can't tell if you like apply settings to live view or not. I use it all the time as I'm used to that from my previous mirrorless cameras. Nicely done. Time to watch the hares video.
Sorry yeah for my shooting I don’t want them applied. Applying them means the camera has a boat load of extra processing to do and hence reduced the AF speed. With them not on more power drives the focus!
Thank you Tom. I've never considered that.
Good video Tom. I appreciate the comparisons with the D500, since I have considered changing my D500 for a Z6 for a while. I also use a D850 and find that it can take care of all flying birds for the time being, while a Z6 would mostly be used for non flying wildlife in my case, plus travel and family pictures. I am convinced that Nikon has made the right mount choice for the long turn and am not tempted by Sony, in spite of the AF prowess in the A9 line. I am convinced that Nikon will be there with the next firmware update or with the Z8. For the long term, the mount parameters are the main thing.
For sure the D850 can easily cope for flying birds and that’s what I tend to go with, the Z6 for sure is great for non flying and travel. I too am very excited for the pro Z camera and am sure the new mount will make for some very exciting lenses!
Great video tom. Great to see you on here again. Swing us a shout about seeing more amazing destinations.
I just picked the Z6 up last week, using latest firmware, applied the settings you mentioned here, only thing I'm struggling with at times using the Nikkor 200-500 is at times when zoomed out to a small bird it just won't catch focus ( AF-C and single point or dynamic) I still feel more confident with my D500 in those situations
Tom, you said that setting d8 makes the EVF behave like a DSLR OVF in terms of what you see. To be clear I interpreted this as stating that the setting made everything about as bright as you'd experience TTL wide open (i.e. no boosting) but according to the documentation and my experience there is still boosting. Point being, shooting on an f/4 lens on my D750 vs the Z6 with d8 off is a completely different experience in a dark lit room ;) It would be more clear to state that the boosting is decoupled from WYSIWYG.
From discussions I've come across as well as my own experimentation the general consensus it that the AF system's performance is impacted because this option is changing what the camera sees (see the link). That is, by decoupling the EVF/LV from WYSIWYG the AF performance improves because the AF system can now "see." I see a similar improvement just be decoupling the ISO (i.e. putting the camera into auto ISO) which further boosts this argument regarding what the camera can see. No doubt WYSIWYG does have an impact on resources and maybe in some way it is a contributing factor, but with the option off it still has to boost the signal to see (granted that's probably way easier than simulating exposure to match settings).
You'd think the camera would have 2 pipelines. One that is boosted as per d8 off and used by the AF system and a 2nd for the EVF. That's more processing ergo power but better overall UX.
In the meantime I'll see if this improves my batter consumption. If so then perhaps there is an argument to resources also being at play and I'll be happy with getting more snaps on a single charge.
As an aside, hopefully these rumored ENL-15C batteries will boost to 2000 maH ;P
In any case thank you for bringing this to our attention. It's been a topic since release but I wasn't aware of it and will experiment.
www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62015861
Hey yes, so in regards to the OVF comment, basically what meant was when we look though on OVF (say on a D850) we can see what the lens looks like when wide open. As that's how the camera works to aid the AF. In the viewfinder we can of course also see the AF points + exposure meter and our current settings, but we cants see the Depth of field or impacts of those settings (ISO/Shutter/Aperture) on the final image, as we can if we were to use a Z6/Z7 With the D8 applied. Therefore when the setting is applied, the live update (that stops the lens down etc to show the live image) makes a large impact on the abilities of the AF as it has far less light to work with. I know that the EVF has to boost the ISO in viewfinder in order to maintain the brightness when in darker situations, its not like an OVF in those terms.
Of course in regards to Lag and such an OVF will always be an improvement because of course there is nothing there, but I think with D8 off the camera has a major performance boost!
Thanks for your detailed comment and thoughts! Cheers, Tom
Hi Tom, I also love the Z6. If you are happy with it, why do you still need the D850. What kind of edge dies it give you?
The D850 is in my kit because for some jobs it's the better camera, The size and weight pairs well with my 300mm 2.8 VR, there higher MP is really useful for some of my client work where I want the best possible image quality and resolution for fine art prints. Had I have bought the Z7 I might not need it any more but I wanted the Z6 to be more of a video focused camera with the Raw video output etc and so the Z6 was far more appealing, as it gained me better ISO and low light performance and video specs that compliment my already excellent D850.
They are different tools at the end of the day, if we see a Z camera with 36 odd MP with fast speeds and all the mirrorless tech and video features I'm sure that will end up as my go to camera, but for now the D850 is my faithful friend that certainly produces the goods!
Great review. Any budget or old/adapted long reach lenses you'd recommend to pair with it? I can't afford the newer z lenses in the longer range. Thanks
Personally right now there are fantastic deals on the 300mm 2.8 VR II / 200-400 F4 VR II / 500mm f4 VR and even the more recent FL versions - certainly worth a look to get some really high end glass for a great price
Hey! Thanks for a great video. I’m planning to buy the tamron G2 150-600 for birding. I’m having trouble finding info about how the z6 and that obe work together. Do you have exp/knowledge on that? all the best, Jon
Thank you for those settings; did not know about the two that take away from focusing speed if left on, so off they are from now on.
Hello Tom, can I ask which mode you mean when you refer to ‘group mode’ in AF-C? Are you referring to the auto-area mode?
Should I buy a d500(1000$) or z6(1400$), both are used. Wildlife, especially birds, are what I'm going to be shooting. I just can't make up my mind... It's be great to hear your thoughts. Any advice is welcome.
Nice one Tom, another great video! How do you find battery life? Will you be getting the battery grip for use with larger lenses and improved battery?
Hey Peter, the battery life is certainly drained faster than on my D850, but two batteries easily gets though a day unless I’m doing very heavy video shooting. I probably won’t get the grip for the Z6 but wait to see what the pro grip has as I do miss having the portrait controls and probably will invest as soon as possible on the pro version, the Z6 suits for most of how I use it as in most cases the camera in on the tripod if I’m shouting video with the Z6!
Does Low Light AF really slow down focus performance in AF Continuous? Low Light AF only works in AF Single (even if it's turned on while the camera is in AF Continuous). I'm also curious about performance hits by using Apply Settings To Live View. Thanks for the tips! Will investigate both of these further. 🙂
Same here, mostly for video but it wins over the other cameras every day. I can’t really wait and want to get a Z50 as well just to keep one camera on filming the vlog and one on photographing and filming the subject 😅
Nice review and just what I wanted to hear tom. I'm thinking of chopping in my d500 and getting the z6 to go with my d750, As I find the d500 iso levels shocking personally. Have you tried a 1.4 extender on the z6 with the 200-500. As I'm concerned about losing my reach going back to full frame. Also is the focus speed ok on birds on flight?
don't try tele converter on zoom it makes them slow.
do you have topaz denoise? for 80 bucks iso no longer is an issue.
hi tom ,do you think with enough updates the Nikon z50 would make a good wildlife camera,love the videos by the way ,thanks.
Great video Tom. One Question, do you see the Z6 as a good camera for macro photography? .
The Z6 is rather good for macro, although the Z7 might be better for the higher resolution. The use of the electronic viewfinder allows for live view of focus peaking that can be very handy for critical focus, and the ability to magnify in the viewfinder can be very useful when working with high magnifications!
Thank you so much for making this video, it was really helpful. Would you recommend z7 over z6 for its megapixel, so as to use it as 1.5x crop mode and still get enough pixels? This is specifically for birding where one would want more reach. I currently use 300 f2.8 as my only lens on my D500, wish to switch to a Full Frame.
100%.
For myself I have the D850 when I need the extra resolution so I went with the Z6 but if you need the reach the Z7 would be a great choice, you loose a little on the ISO but obviously gain on the resolution!
Get the Z7, the better dynamic range, color depth, and lower ISO, higher pixel count, more than make for the (non-issue) higher native ISO of the Z6.
Great video, just picked up a z6
Enjoy it! Cheers, Tom
Great video Tom. However, additional lights in room would've enhance the quality of your film. Cheers
Sorry Harish, its not my usual setup as in lockdown Ive been stuck away from home where I was supposed to be building a new office! Hopefully by the end of summer I'll be in my new workspace!
Thank you for that great video. It really helped me to make a decision.
Hello Tom. Great video!
I already have the 200-500mm Nikkor lens which I was using with my D500. I am now seriously considering to change to the Z6. Do you know how the 200-500 lens works with the Z6? Is it compatible, do I need an adapter, does it lacks performance compared to when its used with the d500 etc?
Any honest feedback would be much appreciated. Thank you :)
I've just finished a few days with the Nikon Z6 II - Video in a day or so - personally I'd hold off for the II, the AF upgrade is really nice, faster processors and all round better performance for action thats going to give you far more of what the D500 offered than the Z6. The 200-500 works through the FTZ, have used it myself and all functions without issue, great for the moment until we have some native long lens glass for the Z system!
@@TomMasonPhoto Cheers Tom, appreciate the reply. I will be patient and look in to the II more first. Have a great weekend.
Great video and good to hear that the Z6 is heading in the right direction with the firmware updates! Any thoughts on the Z7 for wildlife, have you had chance to use one? I thought it would be a closer match to the D850 with having the higher resolution?
Yeah the Z7 looks great, I haven’t had a chance to use one for long but with the same design as the Z6 it’s really just a choice between the resolution or the better ISO performance, as I had a D850 in the bag already I didn’t need both!
Tom Mason and now the D780 has mixed things up a bit! Looks promising ?
In some ways it does look great as you can swap and get the AF benefits on the video mode, it will be very interesting If the D850 upgrade has this, then it will be a hard choice between that and a Pro Z series!
Tom Mason yes I thought a pro Z would have been here by now, it would indicate which direction Nikon and the industry are going! No doubt the current situation has shook things up, makes me wonder if the D6 will ever actually hit the shops. With the Olympics being postponed the D6 could be seen as out of date before then maybe a pro Z will replace it?
Dear tom
thanks again for considering our request for making a video on wildlife with z6
Loved the video and your thoughts on this ❤️
Thank you!
Hi tom loved the vid. I was just wondering if you thought selling wildlife stock photos was worth it?
It depends on the agency, I only provide to one stock library as in general I feel the purchase rate isn't all that great especially with low commissions, i tent to sell most of my work direct and find that works best for me. Cheers, Tom
Instead of resolution, are there other reason when you would prefer your 850? I’m debating between the new 780 and the z6 mainly for travelling and Wildlife
Hi Tom I have left you a message on Flickr...this is it here as I thought you might not get it for a while!!...here it is..I wonder if you might possibly think of uploading some Z6iii photos Tom? I have been struggling to compare the photos of the Z6 with ones like this, with all the quality you have here...Is it as good do you think?..I wonder if you will see this message?
One has the U1, U2 and U3 to set up for different types of focusing.
Nice idea, for myself I use the FN buttons so I can keep my hand on the camera in situ when swapping, but setting the U1,2,3 would also work for some people im sure!
@@TomMasonPhoto Yes for the FN buttons but with the U1.... you can change their fuctions quickly.
I have pretty negative experience with birds-in-flight shooting with Z6, mostly because of the EVF lag
Hey tom! I have checked some of your videos and I have the impression that I once heard you speaking about a film nikon camera. Do you use any nikon film camera?
I do have a few Nikon film cameras, currently a F3HP and using a F6 as well, I'll probably talk about them more in the future, they are more for my own personal work/fun/enjoyment rather than my professional work, but I might do some videos on UA-cam about them at some point!
Do these tips apply to the Z6ii? Or does the extra processor make it unnecessary?
Thanks for the info. Great video. Is there a big difference between Z6+500f4 and Z6+500 f5.6?
The difference will be in a number of ways, the F4 lens of course offers an increase in light to aid the AF as well as for lower light shooting etc. Of course the 500mm f4 is a much larger lens than the new 500 PF 5.6 that reduces portability, as well as making the 500 PF 5.6 certainly balance more favourably with the Z6, however on a tripod its less of a problem and certainly how you'll likely work with the 500 F4 in the field.
I don't tend to shoot 500mm often as my 300mm 2.8 is my Go to for wildlife work, but the faster prime lens with wider apertures certainly aid the speed of focus, especially in low light.
@@TomMasonPhoto now I have a 500 f4 and a 300 f4, I want to buy Z6, and I was thinking switching to 500 f5.6, because of the weight and portability, but the f4 is very tempting. Also I was thinking to switch to 400 2.8 but I think that would not be a good idea. I do a lot of work with tripod and monopod, and floating hide, but carrying the 500 f4 on a mountain is hard, especially if I camp.
Would the Z6 be a good good option for someone that wants to start doing wildlife photography, or would you be better off going for something like the D500 or D7200 / 7500 ?
Yeah
I am new to wildlife photography and am having a hard time deciding between the Canon R6 or the Nikon Z6 any advice?
If you can wait a little bit Nikon is supposed to be announcing the Z6s around October of this year (2020). That way you are comparing two current cameras, not a brand new one and one that is two years old. Might be worth keeping in mind the prince difference too, if you really can't decide don't forget you can get a Z6 refurbished by Nikon USA for $1500, 1k cheaper than a new R6.
I am really ready to go full-frame with the Z6, but I keep telling myself to wait for the Z8?? I'm not a pro, but I do have people interested in prints of some of my work. . .Think it would be wise to wait for the next Z model or go ahead with the Z6? The Z6 seems like it may be the best "bang for the buck" for someone like me.
it could be more expensive and with bigger megapixels that you would not be usable for you.
It's actually supposed to have the same sensor as the Sony A7RV (61MP) and cost at least over $3300. I had the A7RV and although it is a great camera, plan to spend a lot more time processing and have plenty of memory on your laptop/hard drive. Also, not as good as the Z6 or A73 in low light to do the increased MP's. Get the Z7 if you're planning to make large prints.
For fast moving bird e.g. hawk/tern do u recommend dynamic area af or wide area large?
Is the firmware update good at tracking fast moving objects or still lacking in comparison to the Nikon D5
Compared to the D5 and D850 it’s still slower in tracking. I’d say it’s D750 level in regards to focus. If you do a lot of tracking on fast moving subjects the D5 and D850 will better suit for stills
Tom Mason Thanks for the heads up on the comparison between the F Mount and Z Mount cameras. I'm mainly cover Aircraft, Athletics, Football, Car Rallying, Motorbikes road racing ,Rugby, Speedway and will upgrade to the D6. l will wait to see if a Mirrorless version of the D5/D6 either equals or surpasses the D5/D6 with regards to battery life and amount of shots with a robust camera body comes to fruition before I would even consider switching to the Z mount Nikon.
Great and helpful video.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks Tom, that was very very interesting.
Glad you enjoyed it
Can you please share what settings you have for AF Tracking sensitivity and AF Speed? (g4 and g5)
awesome 👏🏻
I just got my 850 My z6 is on my list
Both great cameras! I can’t wait to see what the pro Z model will be like, hoping we gain a few extra video features as well as a real grip that has portrait controls like I have for my D850
Tom Mason I’m torn wether I should get a 24-70 or the 70-200. Prob going tamron g2. As the 15-30 is a VNC l’ensemble and half the cost of Nikon’s 14-24
Hmm it’s a hard one, secondhand the 14/24 can be had for a steal at the moment!
Tom Mason ty I’ll. Keep that in mind I was leaning towards the tamron. G2 because it as image stablization
Great stuff Tom!
Glad you enjoyed it
I don't like to use the adapter. I'm waiting for z mount lenses to come out before buying. Thanks
I think the FTZ is pretty solid TBH and a really good work between for legacy Nikon shooters. I totally understand the wait for the longer Z mount glass, I'm looking forward to seeing what the 200-600 and 100-400 can do!
What about z50 in wildlife??
Hi Tom, great video. I am thinking of changing to Nikon, I am a dog photographer would you recommend the Z6 or D850 for both action and portraits . Thanks
I think if stills are your primary focus then the D850 as an all round machine, the focus will certainly be more consistent in terms of fast moving dogs + the higher resolution is excellent for high end prints and reproduction. However if you want to do video as well then the Z6 is great!
Tom Mason thanks Tom, video is not something I really want so cool, thank you
Thaanks
No worries!
do you have any videos on the nikkon d3500 or opinyions on it
Do you own a light?
Hi what do you use the F2 button for.
I have mine setup at the moment for changing the Af mode (hold and rotate dials for selection) as I've re assigned my FN1 in order to start tracking when in full time AF as I'm testing out the animal AF.
@@TomMasonPhoto thanks the Z6 AF is a bit confusing for me. Think I'll wait until they eventually simplify it. I watched your video but it lost me a bit to what was actually going on with the AF.
Why are you backlit in a dark room?
You forgot to turn the lights on :)
The evf lag is not great for wildlife action but if you do videos or stills its enough I guess
For sure its a compromise for when I'm shooting stills and video , especially for youtube etc. If I'm working on fast action and I know its going to be consistent, my D850 will be in my hand for sure!
Nikon z6 ore sony a7 3 for wildlife
Tom, you need some better lighting mate! Just sayin
Man, I would never sell the D500. That camera is a beast. I guess you mainly shoot animals that don't move much, so you don't need that kind of power.
Aww no I have a D850 that’s largely better in every way and easily replaces it! The D500 is a beast but not compared to the D850
@@TomMasonPhoto I disagree. You get 50% more reach with the D500, more FPS, and a better buffer. But I get it, you just always shoot rabbits who stand around. You don't need that power.
It’s 1FPS more with the D5 batteries and the extra crop factor is made up when you use the D850 in crop mode, you also gain the benefit of being able to see what’s coming in and out of he frame before the shot that’s great for action shooting! I’ve used the D850 for a long time and with so many subjects the flexibility with the sensor far outweighs the D500s minor bonuses for shooting in the field, especially if you work shooting a variety of compositions/styles. I know though that some people LOVE the D500 and that’s great, it’s just not the tool I find I need professionally
@@TomMasonPhoto That's fine, I already know why you prefer the D850 over D500. I have no issue with that. I watched some of your videos and the rabbits you shoot usually don't move. The D850 needs the batter grip with both batters to get to 9 FPS, that makes that camera a heavy brick. Also the 45 mpxl RAW files are huge compared to the 21 mpxl D500 files. Plus you get 50% more reach with the crop. The D500 is the far superior camera for real wildlife shooters. For your rabbit shots you actually don't need the D850 even. You can shoot them with the Z6 only. Anyway, I get why you don't need the D500, but you can't say D850 is almost as good - it's just not... unless you want a huge and heavy setup with an inferior AF system and smaller buffer.
Taipei Geek you made your point, and like Tom, I disagree. The D850 is way more versatile and superior to the D500. But, the D500 is a great camera - Enjoy!
I'm changing brand, Nikon completely messed up their transition to mirrorless.
Cameragear are insanely expensive and I am not paying more for a camera in beta test+converter.
I own two Z6's , using them for pretty much everything. It's a great all around camera, but the focus tracking system it's garbage.
Wait until you get a Z7.
I’ll be jumping for the pro Z when we get one and missing the Z7 as I already have a D850 for the high res
Tom Mason I skipped the D850.
The viewfinder is so bad to use the lense to search for bird in a tree , maybe an ostrige you will find it ,and the focus with your eye ,forget it, it's a shit for small birds and the green manual focus help is approximative at best , for macro forget it.
It's a shit for birds and wildlife but I love the silent shutter
I am surprised that you being a D5 and D850 user recommending this crap for action-packed wildlife photography? The whole world knows that this a hell of crap and Nikon pushed this half baked bread into the market to hold on to ever leaving loyal customers for other brands, they took nearly 2 years to just develop a firmware update!
As a D850/D5/D500 user those cameras are built for action and speed. In this video I’m talking about the fact that the Z6 is capable for wildlife shooting. The Z6 works for me as a hybrid shooting camera as I often need to shoot both stills and video. If I’m doing fast action the D850 (with the D5 batteries for increased speed) will be in my hand for stills work. The video is about the upgrade of firmware 3 and the fact that now the camera is capable of working with action.
Have you used a Z6? Because it’s not just about AF. The IQ and usability of the camera is great! Hopefully the new pro Z will be even better for action! Cheers Tom
@@TomMasonPhoto Yes, used it, it is good for shooting Dead Bodies.
Utter rubbish