Your input did help me, thank you. I went the D750 in the end. I’ll wait for the Nikon mirrorless tech to mature a little and more z-mount lenses to be released. It was a tough decision, my heart said Z6 but my head said otherwise. If I’m to be brutally honest, the D750 (and the Z6) are far better than my photographic capabilities. I can’t go wrong with the D750 now and will look to upgrade to MILC in 2-3 years time. Good luck with your choice Lewis.
Thank you for this, I actually teared up. I’ve been wanting a z6 for a while but was competing it with Sony and Leica but now I’m resolute. This made me cry on how beautiful it is.
@@9karol01 Not as long as a DSLR, but not such a short amount of time as some make it out to be. With that said, I would highly recommend having a backup battery. It will come in handy.
Really Nice shots and effects! I just purchased a Nikon Z 6II for my wife from a D3300 as a surprise next month for her birthday. I hope and pray she likes it.
Great video Richard! Thank you for taking the time to demo the Z6. You're the first one I've seen demo the Z6 for astrophotography and you answered a lot of my questions about that application. I'll be purchasing the Z6 in the near future, I still love my D750 and won't be getting rid of that one anytime soon. Keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing your next video.
Thanks so much Terry. I certainly love the D750 and won't be getting rid of it that's for sure. I think the Z6 is a wonderful camera and they will work well together.
Hi Richard and thank you so much for putting these videos out. They are so helpful and the incredible amount of work you put in to produce one of these is amazing.
Splendid use of the z6 ,I loved the capabilities this one has over other cameras.somehow it's just about personal preference over specs alone to finally decided which one is the best for one.I really like the way you shoot in the dark with myriad backgrounds and exposures.
Wow!! One of the most compelling videos I’ve seen thus far for the Z6! I have been thinking of upgrading my Nikon rig to FX and was on the fence between the D750 and Z6. Your night photography techniques are really amazing and inspiring! The video performance you have demonstrated convinced me to go with a Z6. I look forward to watching and learning more from you on this mirrorless journey into photography and video. Thank you for this video!
Josh, how do you like the d850 for astro work? I have it but, I have not gone to shoot some night sky shots yet. I had the D750, and sometimes I'm wondering if I made a mistake. For me I'm finding the D850 is a different animal all together, when it comes to having to use higher shutter speeds, and what seems to be a fair amount of noise at lower ISO's. What I'm learning is exposure is critical with higher res sensor's.
@@LeonKolenda Leon. The D750 has always been better than the D850 when it comes to noise performance. This is mainly a result stemming from the pixel density. Both Outstanding cameras though. I have a Z6 and a D810. I have to tell you that your eyes will pop out of your head when you see the image quality from a Z7 or D850 from images captured in normal to bright light situations; even low light many times. But I would never spend $$$ on a Z7. The idea of having a single card slot doesn't bother me too much. I just don't like paying $3400 for any camera with a single card slot and additionally one that doesn't focus as well at a D850 and, dare I say, the D810.
@@richpoinvil9618 If you downsample to same image size the D850 and D750 are about the same but the Z6 is better then either. Up to 102,000 ISO the Z6 captures more detail, color fidelity and contrast than the D5. Over 102k nothing keeps up with the D5 but they are still going to be noisy, it is just that images don't seem to get too much worse as you increase ISO over 102k. I never cared that much for high ISO but with the Z6, I am finding that some pretty amazing captures can be had at 22k and depending on the subject, up to 51k. My other cameras to compare it to are the D850 and D800. With decent light, both of those are IQ leaders still with great DR. The Z7 matches the D850 for IQ. After all the complaints about the AF system, I was very pleasantly surprised how good it is. I mostly shoot portraits and events, ballet and theater and usually shoot single point. If I place the point on an object on the desired focal plane, it nails it every time. No DSLR can do that unless in Live View Mode, since no fine-tuning is needed. In May, Nikon releases new AF firmware that is supposed to be a very big step up in AF-C tracking performance and adds Eye-AF.
Just bought the camera, and damn am i pleased. I, like you, have a d750 which is still the second best camera I've ever used after the z6. The iso performance is ridiculous. Great video. Enjoyed the whole one. Glad I discovered your channel. Subbed
Thank you so much! I too use my d750 and it is a work horse. I have been wanting to go mirrorless for awhile now and I have been waiting on nikon's. I was worried how the z6 would do with the night photography and you just put those worries to bed. Thank you once again for taking the time to make this video and your wonderful photography.
Richard, thank you so much for the excellent review. I've been shopping these two cameras and am having a tough time deciding which to get. Nightscapes are one of my hobbies!
Just remember that the Z6 sensor is a BSI sensor so ISO performance is improved across the range. Plus the Z is smaller, lighter, superior video, with the option for F mount lenses. USB charging. 12-bit ProRES RAW video if needed.
Hi Richard, fantastic video. This is the first time Ive seen your videos and instantly subscribed. Currently own the D850 and looking at adding the Z6. Pretty sure you'll see me at one of your workshops in the future. Cheers Rick in Melbourne
Thanks for your opinions! From the start, I've imagined that if I were to get into the Z system, it would be the Z6. And, since I shoot a lot at night, this review strikes a (good) nerve with me. Have fun!
Just subbed, always been interested in nightscape photography. Also have just recently purchased Z6, my first full frame. Looking forward to learning more, great video.
Oops! I just realized I hadn’t listened to this video ... 😱! Being the one that listens to everyone of them so many times ... 😂 Well! Might be because the Z6 is now my new beloved friend 😍😍😍😍 What a beautiful and wonderfully working camera. I had a D5200 and now, the Z6 .... as I already mentioned to you .... Comparing the two cameras, I feel like I’ve gone from a Toyota (this is the car I have, by the way) to a Porsche Panamera (which I don’t have ... 😂) .... but I have the Z6 !!! That’s all right to me ! 😘😆😘
Awesome video. I just got my Nikon Z 6. I've taken some nighttime video of Christmas lights. I was very impressed with the outcome. I want to do some Nightscape images next. This video gives me something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing your experience with the camera and demonstrating what's possible.
Another great video! As ever, I am in awe of you photos! I have gone from D7100 to D750 both of which I love, and am now looking closely at the Z6. Thanks for the video!
Great video Richard, really enjoyed your views on the Z6 and it helped me realize that having the ftz adapter fitted, there is no significant change in image quality with your g lenses. I also noticed a lack of coma from the Sigma art lens, mine shows a fair amount in the corners when coupled to my D810. Hopefully with native lenses, the short flange distance will eradicate coma all together.
Thanks a lot Stirling. The FTZ seems to work really well in both stills and video mode. I love the Sigma 35. I agree that the best performers will be the native Z lenses.
Great video and reviews Sir. I like your work and love for night photography. I also like to take night photos but not pro as you.. I have only D750 , nice camera.. I never convinced myself to buy second camera body, but this z6 seems nice second body option because of light weight , amazing features and low light noise handling capabilities. Thank You !
Thanks so much for watching and your kind comments Rakesh. I also love the D750 which is a fabulous camera. I do like the smaller size of the Z6 though.
@@suzanafreittas In this video I used the Nikon 20mm f1.8G and Sigma art 35mm f1.4. Now I'm using the Nikon 20mm f1.8S and the Nikon 35mm f1.8S. The native Z mount lenses are better for the Z6. Hope that helps.
Hi Richard, great video and review of the Z6. I am a little late to the Nikon universe but am currently considering getting either the Z6 or the Z6ii - with the 20mm 1.8S lens. I am sure both are great cameras but I was wondering if you prefer one over the other for stills/nightscapes (I do not intend to do video and mostly prefer manual focusing over auto) eg: does the Z6ii provide slightly better low light advantages in terms of DR or focussing over the Z6 or are they pretty much the same when shooting nightscapes? Interested you hear your thoughts. Thanks
Thanks so much for watching Gurdeep. The image quality is exactly the same between these 2 cameras. The only things that changes were dual card slots, extended shutter speeds and the ability to power via usb. Same performance for nightscapes.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thanks very much Richard good to hear. I am excited about the possibility of getting a camera with a BSI sensor as well as taking great photos and the z6 definitely ticks that box. Hope you have a great weekend. Cheers
Great video and realistic review. I'm looking at upgrading to my first full-frame, and this has been in the 'frame' so to speak. I had been wondering about the landscape capabilities with the 'lower' MP count, even though I know it's also down to the glass, but it looks like resolution is amazing with the Z6 as well. I had been considering DSLR, but as landscape is mainly my thing along with a bit of macro - both ends of the scale, it looks like this may be a good choice. Thanks for helping.
Thanks for watching Chris. I personally think 24mp is plenty for landscape photography. Of course the Z7 has 45mp and therefore the greater ability to crop into the image ... but it wasn't too long ago that 24mp was considered very large. It's all about perspective. I love the Z6.
Great video, thanks. I’m still torn between the Z6 and the D750 though. The D750 is very affordable at the moment but the Z mount seems to be the future. If you were to invest in a new FF system today which one of the two would you choose for astro and nighscapes? Would you still buy a D750?
Thanks for the comment Frankie. Yes I would still buy a D750 for nightscapes because it is a tremendous low light camera. It just does the job without any fuss and bother. Part of the reason I say that revolves around the fact that there are so many great lenses available for the D750. The Z6 and other mirrorless cameras are certainly the future but at present there are not a lot of native Z mount lenses. I think the native Z lenses will be better for nightscapes than the older F mount lenses .. so it is a toss up. Of course you can adapt any of the F mount lenses to the Z6 ... which I have done with brilliant results ... you cannot do that with the D750. I'm probably not helping very much now am I ...!!!
Hi again Richard! I know the main purpose of the channel is mainly for nightscape images but I have a question. It is possible for you to upload a video explaining all the processes you do to create your videos? I love all your work and since I'm also a filmmaking apprentice I would like to learn how you do it. Thanks a lot and keep up the good work 👍👍👍🙏
My Nikon D750 had a brief splash in some sea water a while ago and haven't had any luck getting it to work... Currently trying to decide whether I should sent it back into Jessops to see if there's any chance of it being fixed, or if I should sell it for parts and go for a new Z6... Very tempted by the idea of mirrorless, but the native lenses are so expensive
Thanks for watching Vincent. I love both cameras but the Z6 is certainly better at higher iso's. Also it's a much better video camera. The native Z mount lenses are expensive but they haven't made a bad one yet .. they are really sharp. Having said that, the D750 is a great all round camera also .. and a lot cheaper to buy.
Fantastic review. One of the best so far on the Z6. Have you tried DX lenses on the Z6 yet? I am curious about video with Z6/DX lenses. You are getting 6k downsample to 4k on FX lenses. What happens when you shoot video in DX crop mode? Is it just ordinary 4k without the downsample from 6k? Probably yes? What about the Mbps? What kind of bitrates are you seeing with Z6/DX lenses in DX crop mode for video? Is there an appreciable loss of video quality Z6/FX vs Z6/DX lens differences aside? I suppose you could just use a Z6 with an FX lens and then just record in FX or DX modes. Im wondering if that could be a viable option when you want a bit more reach out of an FX lens.
Thanks for the comment free88 ... much appreciated. I have tried 2 Nikon DX lenses but only in 1080 50p. The 35mm f1.8DX worked really well including autofocus. The other lens I tried was the standard 18-55 kit lens which also worked pretty well. Sorry I didn't do any testing with 4k.
@@nightscapeimages.richard I know there will be limitations when using DX lenses on an FX camera, sometimes severe. Also, DX crop mode on an FX camera with just 24MP will result in 10-ish MP for stills. 10MP, though, should still be enough for non-downsampled 4k video, hopefully of a decent quality. Im just wondering how the Z6 handles this on the bitrate and IQ side, again, lenses differences aside. I do have some decent DX lens that would mostly fill out a FF senser, and maybe I would be looking at 1.1-1.3 crops in post shot in FX mode. I would be fine with that. I just think the 4k crop on the D7500/D500 is ridiculous and unusable for me. 2.75 crop is super disappointing. I am hoping to use my Tokina 11-16 F2.8 @ 15-16mm, which does fill out a FF sensor with minor vignetting (which should be eliminated by a 1.1-1.3 crop). Or, just use it in DX mode with the 1.5 crop. Still much better FOV than the D7500/D500. Most of my use is for hiking, kayaking, that sort of thing. I need to keep it light and small if possible. Traditionally, FX lenses on FX cameras would just be too big and unwieldy for my use. The 35mm F1.8 DX is another one of the gems that mostly fills out a FF with minor vignetting that is easily cropped out in post. Professional? No. Vacation videos, smaller prints? Perfectly fine.
Thank you for nice work. As an aside, it would be great if we adopted the old DIN nomenclature for ISO rather than the old ASA. The numbers are separated by 1/3 stops, but they run in sequence. So, ISO is DIN 27, ISO 800 is DIN 28, etc. The big numbers would be a lot more manageable. For example, ISO 12800 would by DIN 40, 25600 would by 41, etc..
I commented on one of your other videos the other day about the d750. From what I've seen the new Z6 seems to do better in low light. I don't need video right now. I mostly do landscape and portraits but I want to learn to do nightscapes like this. The d750 is 4 years old now with a possible replacement in the d760 coming out this year (rumor). I'd love to get the d850 but it's $2000 more not counting the expensive cards, battery grip with the larger battery and charger, more hard drive storage for the much larger files, etc. The d750 is currently $1300 unless you find it on sale. Do you think it would be worth buying now and then wait to see if the d760 even comes out and then see what the specs are? I know all companies are expanding their mirrorless line but I don't think the dslr is dead just yet. I want something that is really good in low light but I want a usable battery grip and dual card slots. If I'm going to spend a lot of money I want to get what I pay for. $1300 seems like a good price for that camera even though it's a 4 year model.
Thanks Richard. This video answered many questions I had with the Z6 re night photography. Do you have a list of the other gear you use please? ie remote controls, lights etc.
First I want to say I enjoy the video .. great review of the Z6 camera ... This is my first FX Camera.. coming from a Nikon D5300. My question is can you explain the meaning of 1x background layer 5x foreground layer .. of the picture at 3:39 minutes of the video? Is this something that done in photoshop?
Thanks for watching Mitchell. Yes that is done in photoshop. I shot one image focused on stars with no foreground lighting, then I shot 5 x foreground images from different angles and blended them together in photoshop. If you look at lots of my other videos you'll see this process.
@@nightscapeimages.richard I'm certainly sitting on the fence mate but less scared of jumping to the mirrorless side now! As you said in the video, the biggie will be how well the z6 performs with the 20mm lens they'll launch next year. My f mount 20mm is still my go to lens. If you're ever in WA give me a shout!
Thanks al lot Craig. I usually set my white balance somewhere between 3450k and 5000k depending on the lighting conditions and whether there is moonlight etc. When the moon is out the sky gets bluer and therefore the white balance needs to be warmer ... eg: higher kelvin no. If I'm shooting people with flash I set the white balance higher as well to avoid ugly skin tones. But usually when doing light painting I use a lower kelvin number and offset that with a gelled torch to balance out the foreground.
Thank you for another awesome job covering the Z6. I came across your channel when doing research on this camera and have been hooked ever since. I’m ready to make my Z6 II camera purchase (it will be used solely for nightscapes and the occasional star trail image). That being said, there is quite a buzz on the internet about banding and or concentric circles during some uses of this camera for astrophotography. Is that something you’ve had to deal with on the Z6 or something that’s likely to arise in landscape astro imaging? I know that bad news travels quickly on the web so I’m unclear as to how much of a problem it is in reality. Experience tells me that if you over stretch any image, oddities are bound to surface. I thought I’d ask before I plunk down my hard earned $2k. Thanks!!
Thanks for your comments Ron. I have 3 of the Nikon Z6 cameras and I've never had issues with banding. Sometimes with any camera when doing star trails it's advised not to enable lens profile corrections in Lightroom. For some reason this can sometimes introduce moire .. which looks like the concentric pattern you mentioned.
Thanks Richard, I think this camera will suit my needs just fine. Plus that 20mm S lens looks impressive. Even more impressive is the quality of your images. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks again.
@@nightscapeimages.richard I’ve also heard of some issues with calibration frames but I generally take darks but not flats for nightscape type images. So I don’t see much of an issue there either.
Yes I think that's the exciting part but the Z6 and Sony A7iii look pretty similar in many ways. However I much prefer the user experience with Nikon bodies.
The Z6 is higher build quality with weather sealing. The sony has no weather resistance if you are using it in changeable weather you will need to protect it from dust and moisture. The XQD card is a real advantage also, more reliable and durable besides transfers and buffer clearing is much faster.
Great video! Did you try to push the limits of video towards Astro-Vlogging, like around minimum fps and 200000 ISO ? I am wondering how close it is getting towards capturing shades of the night sky in video mode.
Thanks Aykut. Yes I have shot at 100,000 and 200,000 iso but it's pretty dirty footage. Although I think if there was some light added it would look a lot better. I had no trouble seeing stars at iso 25600 though and it's relatively clean at that up to 51,200
Great video Richard - inspirational stuff. I have the Z6 primarily for the ultra dark sky here in the approaching southern Tas winter but right now not feeling the love with noise even at standard sorts of 20 sec/3200 ISO exposures with Samyang 14/2.8. I'm even getting artefacts in daylight LE work with a quality 10 stop. Can you share your in-camera NR settings? thx :-)
Hi Nigel, thanks for watching. It's funny you should mention the noise issues you're having. When I first started using the Z6 I noticed an awful lot of hot pixels in the dark shadows of my images. The solution I found to that was to do 2 in camera sensor cleans back to back ... it worked .. no more hot pixels. The Z6 definitely handles noise reduction differently to the D750. The settings I have now in camera are Long Exposure Noise Reduction - Off and High ISO NR - Norm. When you import the files into Lightroom you'll notice there is a level of noise reduction already enabled on the raw files. This has been a subject of discussion on forums but in the end I haven't had too many issues with noise. I don't use the Samyang 14mm f2.8 even though I have 2 copies of that lens. I've used the Nikon 14-24 f2.8 and the Nikon 20mm f1.8 with no issues. Certainly no issues with noisy daylight images either although I haven't used a 10 stop filter with it yet.
Thanks very much for that Richard. I think I'll reset all the NR settings and start over again - trying your hot pixel fix too. I've read about the Z6 default import settings on the Thom blog and since observed them - should note that my daylight LE noise was with the 18-35/3.5-4.5 G which is fine on the Df with similar long exposure settings (but clearly different sensor/processor/algorithms etc. etc.). Thanks again - will persevere :-)
pictures on 23:32 and 26:00. There are lights from behind and looks as if it is from the sun or from the city. It makes the pictures looks like it was shooted at dayime. I also see more milky way photos which has some kind of similar radiance near the horizon or the bottom part of the milky way. I want to ask you how did you get that light when shooting nightscape photography? Thanks.
Fantastic shoot. Thanks for your channel. I must watch some more. Central Vic looks like a good location for what you do. Do you plan on any workshops?
Great video !., i will like to ask you for an opinion about moving from a D850 and get the Z 6....i am an amateur photographer and to be honest i do starting to have enough of carrying heavy gear....nikon d850 is great but much heavy then the Z 6 or 7...i just sold nikon 24-70 Vr for the same reason....i do planning just to reduce the amount of gear and as much is possible to travel light....for sure i keep the Nikon 24mm 1.4 ( amazing)., i will keep for the moment the Nikon 70-200mm FL ( heavy but amazing lens) and see what lens i take with me...maybe wait for the new Nikon 24-70mm Z mount and take the new 24-70mm F4 Z mount for the time being...,what it is your opinion on this Richard if you can., do yu think a bad move from d850 to Z 6.....or maybe the Z 7....?., basically i like to shoot Landscape and street photography, including night street photography!.Thank you and i will appreciate your opinion! Merry Xmas!
Hi Marcello. The D850 is a wonderful camera and it is very capable for any genre of photography. But of course the weight is a lot more than the Z series of cameras. If you need the higher resolution then you would look at the Z7 which is also a great camera. The Z6 is better in low light but is only 24 megapixel. The 24-70 f4 z mount is a great lens and I know a lot of people who use it for landscape as well as pretty much everything else. It's a bit slow at f4 for the nightscapes I do but you have the 24mm f1.4 which would cover that.The weight difference is considerable and I totally understand where you are coming from. You will notice a big difference in battery life when using the Z series cameras compared to your D850 ... they are nowhere near as battery efficient as the DSLR's. So it's hard to say what you should do ... I can assure you that the image quality from the Z6 or Z7 will be stellar and every bit as good as your D850. Just remember that you will need an FTZ adaptor to use your older lenses.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thank you so much for you advice and the quick reply!, i guess i will have to consider again the Z 7...a bit pricey here, especially for a first generation camera that has plenty room to improve...that is why i was considering not to invest so much now ....get the Z 6 and then hope for Nikon to bring an upgrade camera on the next generation....anyway, thanks again for your help and keep on with those great videos!.Merry Xmas!
@@nightscapeimages.richard - Have you ever, by any chance, published a book on astrofotog/nightscape photography? 'would love to have a hard copy on my hand to read through or use as a reference material (to develop/improve my skills). Thanks!
Thanks for this informative video. I'm wondering how well the Z6's EVF functions in extreme low-light conditions (for example: night time, new moon and near-zero ambient light) where one can barely distinguish trees and other landscape features with the naked eye? How does the EVF produce a useable, real-time image in extreme low light if the ISO is set quite low (for example 200) in anticipation of a correspondingly lengthy exposure? Does the EVF have its own separate ISO that it adjusts automatically in order to yield an image in the viewfinder? If so, does the EVF bump up its ISO significantly in extreme low-light conditions and does it produce a view of the landscape that is clear enough to check focus and composition? Any feedback will be much appreciated.
Thanks very much for watching Eric. The evf is very good in low light. In photo mode it doesn't appear to matter what iso you have selected as the image will brighten up nicely when you open up the aperture as well as lengthen the shutter speed. I tried it whilst leaving the iso at 100 and it was very easy to see a single street lamp lit road with stars overhead. Just concerning the shutter speed, it brightened up the image until I got to about 10 second shutter speed .. after that it didn't make any difference. Any increase to the iso didn't make any difference in the evf also .. obviously it does in the final image. In video mode it's different as any increase in iso shows as it normally would in the evf. Focus was really easy using focus peaking or zooming in to stars etc. Hope that's helpful.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thanks very much for your helpful reply (and apologies for my delay in acknowledging it). I have in fact ended up buying a Z6 and the EVF's performance in low light is extraordinary, much as you described. I will be putting it to a full field test during this week's new moon :)
@@EricNathanPhotographer It is funny, I thought the Z6 would be a nice travel camera and walking around kit since I take the D850 out less and less unless a paid assignment. But after shooting it for a bit over a month, the dim OVF shocks me every time I go back to the D850 or D800. The Z6 has taken a prominent position in my session. kit. It has to be pretty darn good to bench the D850.
@@stanspb763 The Z6 is a great camera however I have a few misgivings about it: after putting the Z6 to a serious low light test last week I found that the EVF was not capable of rendering a 'usably' discernible image of the landscape at new moon as I had hoped (even using f1.4 lenses). Certainly the brightness of the settings (shutter speed etc) in the EVF were so overpowering relative to the dark screen that I was unable to see whatever image was being rendered in the viewfinder (and it would seem that it's not possible to completely hide ALL the read-outs in the viewfinder to solve this issue). I could however make out the landscape when looking through the regular OVF on my D3X. The second problem I found was that even with long exposure noise reduction 'on', the raw file was riddled with noise. Admittedly it was a 75-minute exposure but my 10-year old D3X's images have far less noise under the identical settings and circumstances. I have sent a sample image to Nikon to hear why this would be. Third problem I had was the lack of backlighting for the buttons which meant I had to constantly use my head torch to find the buttons I wanted. This obviously affects one's night vision and is also somewhat annoying. Perhaps having backlighting on the buttons of a 'semi-pro' camera is expecting too much. And yes, with time I'll probably get to know where the buttons are without looking :)
Hi Richard - thx. again for your GREAT video and background technic - I always look forward to watch your new upload ! Since you change to "Sennheiser Radio Microphones" - maybe from this video, I think the quality is not then best - actually, even the old one was better... Maybe you already no - but just a kin feedback to you :)
Hi Henrik, thanks very much for watching. I've been using the same sennheiser lapel mic for all of my videos. The Nikon Z6 doesn't sound as good as my Panasonic G9. There is a mixture of both cameras in this video.
Thanks for this awesome video. I noticed that on the Z6, for the background shot, you raise the ISO up to 6400 and set the exposure duration to 15 sec, where as you usually set your camera rather to 3200 ISO/20 sec on your D750. My guess is that you consider ISO performances better on the Z6 and prioritise shorter exposure duration in order to get the sharpest background shot as posible. Am I right or is there another reason? Thanks again!
Hi Philippe, very good questions. I've actually been experimenting a bit with iso and shutter speed and even with the D750 I've been raising the iso to 6400 a lot more recently. I used to shoot mainly at iso2500 and raise the exposure in Lightroom but I think the noise levels are pretty much the same. When shooting with the 20mm focal length lens I think 20 seconds is too much as I'm seeing star trails. Sometimes this manifests in slightly bloated or oblong stars rather than points so that's why I'm lowering the shutter speed now. The other thing I'm testing is stacking for noise reduction using Sequator. So if I'm shooting multiple images with the intention of stacking I'm lowering the shutter speed even more to about 10 seconds and increasing the iso to compensate with the hope that the stacking smooths out the extra noise. So far my results are encouraging. Last night I shot using the Z6 at iso10000. Thanks again for your comments.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thank you for your answer Richard. I am impressed by the sharpness of your single shot background layers with the D750 & Z6, I personally don’t see much of a difference with works of photographers who claim to achieve theirs with multiple images staked. This might be due to the internet compression(?) I would be very interested to see the results of your new productions with staking technique and these cameras. Hope you may do a video on this one of these days. Thanks again
@@nightscapeimages.richardfirst off great vids! I was looking through the comments addressing shutter times and iso.. I've been doing a lot of reading on sensors and iso performance of nikon cameras. From my understanding the D850 is iso invariant in that you could set iso to iso 400 and boost esposure in post to the equivalent of 6400.. I thought I read somewhere that the Z6 is the same but can't find the article again. Have you tested this and could verify or shed light on that? Wonder if could you still go down to 15sec/10 sec and shoot lower at iso 400 instead of raising iso more? Getting the same results with much less noise.
I have just watched a lot of your videos and I love them, thank you for sharing all the knowledge. I’m saving for a better camera and I know that will not produce me the same images as yours ( I’ll get the ones my lesser ability will enable me to get) I have no interest in video and what I would like to learn and improve is not my landscape seascape and astrophotography. I have only m4/3 system at the moment and am looking to go full frame for this. Are there any advantages of one camera or system over another for these genres?
Hi Patricia, thanks so much for watching. For any low light photography there is no doubt that full frame is the way to go. Added to that you need a good quality fast aperture lens as well. You can get quite good results with a crop sensor such as the Fuji XT3 or Sony A6500 but the full frame is the best hands down. Micro 4/3 is a very good camera system but it falls away when the light gets low and because of the small sensor simply cannot compete with larger sensors. I'm happy to suggest particular cameras if you have any preferred brands or ideas already .. let me know.
Nightscape Images thank you so much, I am used to Olympus but have also used Nikon. I got on better with my E3 than I do with my pen f and em5. The Nikon I had was the D70. I’m open to suggestions but would like to have a camera that is easy to learn. I don’t have a set budget, if I can afford it I get it if not I wait while I save. Once again thank you and I love watching your videos
Nightscape Images I will look at both, do you suggest one over the other four people with put eyesight? The diopter doesn’t help me much as my prescription is +12. Also what lens do you suggest to start with. I do appreciate you taking the trouble to help me. Have subscribed and hit the bell thingy
@@patriciafagan3632 The Z6 is probably better in those regards. The native 24-70 f4 for the Z6 is very good as a starter. It's not the very best for nightscape photography but for everything else it's wonderful.
I am still getting into photography . I am been shooting 1 year now whit 77d and some days ago i changed to canon 5dmk2 whit mk1 24-70 2.8 L lense i know it is older set up but it is full frame and i think it is still wery capable set up. i am still searching what intrests me most in photography atm my favourite is portrait but i am getting so intrigued whit nightscape,landscape and wildlife(havent yet tested much oflandscape and nightbecause just got decent lense whit my 5dmk2 set up) hehee so it is a lot to take in i guess second year is going to decide what intrests me most but i think u can doo multiple things there is no reason to stuck whit 1 photography. I guess after second year when i am more familliar whit things i finnaly would love to upgrade to newer camera and z6 looks to be amazing :) .Any tips for a person who is just discovering diefrent aspects of photography? I like your videos a lot .
Thanks so much for watching Indrek. I would suggest getting out and shooting as much as you can in the different types of photography. You'll work out pretty quickly what you enjoy doing the most. The majority of people have more than one area of interest when it comes to photography and you'll find a lot of the techniques and camera equipment crosses over anyway. For nightscapes you'll need a good fast aperture wide angle lens. Hope it all goes well.
@@nightscapeimages.richard thank you :) ill be definetly checking out your channel a lot more.The image stacking is something what intrets me allso its something what i am not heard about a lot and not tested myself yet.
Can you notice a difference between the image quality of the D750 and Z6 when compared with the same lenses? Does stacking and editing ultimately make the end quality result the same between these two cameras? I would be grateful if you respond. I am having a hard time deciding between these cameras. Thanks you for making this video!
Thanks Holden. There is not a lot of difference between the 2 cameras. I think the Z6 is better at higher iso's and certainly better for video. The D750 has better battery life. There is no doubt that the future will be the mirrorless cameras though.
Thanks for watching. Yes there are a lot of spider webs in the truck. I use photoshop to blend the foreground and background layers together. It's a pretty simple process which I show in a few of my videos. EG: ua-cam.com/video/uJOkz3llEsQ/v-deo.html
How much of an advantage would you say the Z6 has over the D750 in terms of high iso performance? With my D750 I don’t usually go above ISO3200, are you getting clean images at iso6400?
Nightscape Images thank you so much! This camera sounds really interesting, cause I don’ t like images from my D750 above 3200. I’m gonna have to lock my wallet away before I start thinking to seriously about buying it. Great images anyway, I’m a big fan!
did you try the new tamron update on the Z6? I own a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 G2 lens and would love you use it with the Z6. I am waiting to buy the Z6 for the same reason.
I have the Tamron 85mm f1.8 and 70-200 f2.8 G2 and both are working great now after using the tap in console to update firmware with my ftz adapter whereas before it was a mess.
Just a question. If u want to make an long term investament for a camera...which can do photo and video equally good....which u should buy a7 3 or z6....I shoot most weddings in nights...
I don't have any first hand experience with the Sony A7iii but I know a number of people who use it and love it. I think the A7iii has a better ability to focus in very low light and also more native lenses available. However the Z6 is not far behind in that category and by using the FTZ adaptor there are dozens of compatible lenses. There are countless videos on this very comparison and to be honest I don't think you can go wrong either way. In my opinion the Nikon handles far better than the Sony and I also prefer the menus and usability of the Z6.
The Z6 is called the Future Proof camera for some good reasons. The data architecture is much faster and more advanced so it can use the XQD cards and in May get the ProRes RAW 12 bit video which means every other company will have to step up their game and redesign their cameras to accommodate the more advanced tech. Also in May the much anticipated revamp of the AF firmware will be released. The video performance of the Z6 is just better than the Sony but the a7III is very good with AF in stills tracking fast moving objects. That gap will probably close in May by downloading the new firmware. A few things that really matter....No ff mirrorless comes close to the Z cameras for weather sealing or build quality, and the large Z mount is making the sharpest lenses possible lighter in weight and cost. The 50mm 1.8 S is probably the sharpest 50 on the planet and is only $470. The 24-70 f4 is better corner to corner than my 24-70 2.8 G and E versions, which cost 3 and 4.5 times as much, and 3 times the weight. There looks like a very bright future for Nikon mirrorless because of that data structure with error correction and much faster rates and reliability over the SD cards. The Sony cameras have hit a hardware roadblock and will need a serious upgrade in tech, and XQD for the next version. With the hardware being over spec's on the Z, it is a camera to use for years. Sony cameras are built at a lower level so are usually replaced every version update. That gets expensive. Nikon already has the higher performance data structures so eventually will get ProRes RAW saved internally. You would need to spend $25,000 now to get that feature everyone wants. It will be the free firmware on the Nikon. Another reason the Nikon is a long term investment and return on that investment is the fact that Nikon supports their camera for a very long time with spare parts. Sony, across all divisions, has the policy of dropping parts access after a model is discontinued. You would have a very hard time repairing an a7 now or very soon. a7II Forcing people to upgrade with each model update certainly improves their sales and profits but gets pretty expensive in replacing bodies every 12-15 months.
Hi Jessica. What I'm doing is taking more than one picture to make the final image. I do that so that I can light paint the foregrounds very artistically and have the cleanest possible image. I go through the details of this process in lots of my other videos. Appreciate you watching.
Nightscape Images thank you. I am new so I’ve been living in UA-cam watching videos and I really enjoyed this one. I will most definitely check out your other videos.
You mentioned that you had two tamron lenses that didn't work with the Z6 - Could you expand on that? I'm thinking of getting one and I've got a Tamron 70-200 and 90 macro that I'd like to think I could use on the new body...
Thanks for watching Mark. I have the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 version 1 and also the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 version 1. These are both wonderful lenses but no autofocus on the Z6.
Ouch, Not sure what version of the 70-200 I have but I use it a lot! So just not auto focus but everything else works on it? I might be able to deal with that for a little while. You do great work, thanks for the information.@@nightscapeimages.richard
Yes from what I've heard the version 2 of the Tamron lenses have a firmware update available. Have not heard about any updates for the V1. Just to clarify, sometimes the autofocus does work but it is inconsistent and you can hear the focus motors working harder than usual.
Tamron has released firmware updates to work with the FTZ adaptor on Z6/7 last week. Seems to work well on the G2 series f/2.8 zooms. I update my 15-30 f/2.8 and it works well. That is such a nice wide angle zoom, its vibration reduction system lets me hand hold 1-second exposures I could never get with the Nikon 14-24 2.8.
Looking between the Z6 and D750 I have been wondering if i should stick with buying a D750 for a reasonable price or does the Z6 have enough of a improvement to be worth taking the plunge. I shoot some deep sky as well as low light and landscape. I hove almost no desire for video so im torn between the two. Any advice?
In my opinion the D750 is still a marvelous camera for low light and in fact any general photography. The Z6 is far better for video but that isn't on your wish list. The image quality is very close between the 2 cameras. I still use and love my D750. Hope that helps.
@@nightscapeimages.richard It helps a lot thanks. This sets my sights on the D750 but I still have to get over trying to justify getting the latest in camera technology.
First of all, thank you for sharing your information with us. I have 2 goals. The first is to take photos of the Milky Way and landscape. Secondly, to shoot documentary videos in my nature activities. (camping, campfire, trekking and biking) the lens I will buy is "sigma 14mm 1.8 art". I'm undecided between the d850 and the Z6. I know the d850 takes great pictures, but I'm not sure if the video is as good as the z6? It is my dream to buy the d850 but I do not want to pay so much money if I cannot shoot quality videos. I'll be glad, if you help me.
Thanks for watching Ake. Based on what you are saying the Nikon Z6 is the better option for video and I think would suit you very well. It's also a lot cheaper to buy. I use the Z6 for everything and it's wonderful in low light and high iso situations.
As i andurstand nikon z6 has image stabilizer just wondering how you turn it off, or it dosn't ruin the quality of pictures? If i remember correctly stabilizer should be off.
Thanks for watching Douglas. What I'm doing is shooting 5 separate exposures for the light painted foregrounds and blending with one shot of the background night sky. See this video. ua-cam.com/video/uPyce5NbxiE/v-deo.html
@@nightscapeimages.richard thank you , I will watch the video . I would like to do a zoom call one time with you to talk shop and what gear you have .. Love your work . I have two Nikon z6 and today I just ordered the Nikon z6 ii with the z 14-34 mm f4 . I have the z 24- 74 f4 and the z 50 1.8 . Can I shoot night photography with theses lenses?
@@douglasmoneer4284 Yes you can shoot with all of those lenses but you will find the faster aperture lenses easier to use for nightscapes. I did a video about shooting nightscapes with the 24-70 f4S lens. See here: ua-cam.com/video/dllp7BBvmPg/v-deo.html
It's about time somebody got out and used the Z6 for what it's meant for. The noise looks pretty clean at ISO 6400. I've been shooting astro landscapes with my D750 for 3 years and I am intrigued by the potential sensor improvement of the Z6 over the D750. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some side by side RAWs of the Z6 and D750 at ISO 6400 10-15 seconds so I can pixel peep and see the difference. I shoot a few low horizon northern lights time lapses each year and they are always ISO 6400 6 seconds tops on the shutter speed. If the Z6 can offer better noise performance I might have to pick one up. Also, if it's possible I'd love to see the side by side of both cameras at ISO 12,800. I time lapse at that ISO sometimes as well. You can message me at: facebook.com/kevin.roylance
Thanks for watching Kevin. I've seen some of your work and very much enjoy your style and techniques. So far from what I've noticed the Z6 is very capable at very high iso's. That shot of the windmill at 20,000 iso is one example although it got very cloudy which ruined the scene somewhat. I'll try to get some raws to you at some stage. I'll need to shoot the exact same scene with both cameras to make it a fair comparison. I must say I'm still very impressed with how well the D750 handles nightscapes ... I'm certainly not replacing them with the Z6 just adding another unit to the mix.
Hey Sir, any information on what kind of flashlight that can produce that kind of light so the color of the car or anything that we painted in the light would not have color cast? Thanks in advance for the huge help
Hi Jefri, I use the LED Lenser P7.2 usually with a cto gel over the front to do most of my light painting. I use the gel because I often lower the white balance in camera to enhance the blue colours of the sky. The cto gel is part number 205. It would be considered 1/2 cto. Hope that helps.
Nightscape Images thank you so much Richard for the quick reply! Sorry for another questions, just to convince me that I will buy the right stuff. About the flashlight LED Lenser P7.2, is it the one with 320 lumens? About the CTO Gel #205, is it the one that is half orange? Thank you so much once again, really appreciate it.
Yes Jefri, correct on both counts. You don't need an extra bright light source to light paint and the cto part no 205 is a 1/2 cto. The colour is directly related to the white balance you set in camera.
Nightscape Images last question Richard, in your case on mostly nightshot on this youtube video u share, how many kelvin you set the wb mostly, in related on flash light and the gel u r using? And one more, what is 1/2 cto means?
I usually set my kelvin to somewhere between 3500k and 5000k depending on what is happening with light pollution, cloud cover or moonlight. 1/2 cto means the strength of the gel is 1/2 of what a full cto is. Less orange in other words. You can also get 1/4 cto for a fainter colour again. The strength of the cto (orange) depends on what kelvin is set. IE: if you set 3200k you will need a stronger cto to help balance the light painting than if you set 4500k. Hope that helps.
Many thanks for a super video. I have recently watched hundreds of videos on the Z cameras as I am considering buying one. Your video was one of the best for me, as we do similar photography. I too am an astrophotgrapher and use a d750. I only wish they had illuminated buttons like the d850. The d850 would have been a choice, but I won't pay out nearly 4000€ for a camera with a useless Wifi system. By the way, you mentioned snapbridge, do you know of dslrdashboard ? If not check it out. Best wishes, Dave from Austria ( where there are no kangeroos )
One quick question, what are your experiances with banding with the z6, is it an issue in real life situations or only extremes.? @@nightscapeimages.richard
Hi Leon, I love the 20mm f1.8 and use it more than any other lens for astro. Yes it does have some coma wide open but I usually stop it down a bit. It's a great performer. Far better than the Samyangs.
@@nightscapeimages.richard That's interesting, I have a 14mm f2.8 Samyang, I used one time, and I thought the shots were good, But I'm just a real rookie at this Night sky stuff. I purchased the 20mm f1.8 because using the Samyang is cumbersome to me being a manual lens. I also got it because it was faster at 1.8, but, if you have to stop it down, It kind of defeats the purpose of getting an f1.8 no? How much do you stop it down? Great review on the Z6, That's a backside Illuminated sensor, where the D750 is not, might be why it's performing better than D750, I had a D750 also, not sure I didn't make a mistake getting the D850, I might be selling it and going with the Z6, we'll see. Keep up the good reviews mate!
The biggest issue with Samyang/Rokinon is quality control. If you get a good one then it's a great lens. I have 3 off them and none of them are as sharp as the Nikon, Sigma or Tamron lenses I have. Stopping down an f1.8 lens to f2.8 is better than shooting an f2.8 lens wide open in most cases as the edges are the most prone to imperfections. I often shoot the 20mm f1.8 at f2.2 or 2.5. The D850 is an outstanding camera and in some ways different to the Z6.
I think it's a lot easier than using snapbridge as it is a very simple device with only an on/off switch. It can also double as a flash trigger at the same time and I use it that way often. Snapbridge has to be linked via wifi and is a lot slower to get going. I think it has a very long range also which is handy and it won't drain the camera battery.
I had no trouble with mine working. I didn't do any updates to the lens and mine isn't a new one by any means. I'm assuming you mean it won't auto focus ..???
Thanks for watching Joey. I often stop down the lens a bit to get a sharper images across the frame. That's the great benefit of using these fast aperture prime lenses. Any lens will be sharper when stopped down somewhat.
This video needs a Love button. Not an over used Facebook love button. But a button for those videos that are just simply amazing. Thank you for this!
Thanks so much for watching Dove Paradise .. I'd love to see that also.
great video Richard great to see you out again and those beautiful images
Thanks a lot for watching Phill.
Your input did help me, thank you. I went the D750 in the end. I’ll wait for the Nikon mirrorless tech to mature a little and more z-mount lenses to be released. It was a tough decision, my heart said Z6 but my head said otherwise. If I’m to be brutally honest, the D750 (and the Z6) are far better than my photographic capabilities. I can’t go wrong with the D750 now and will look to upgrade to MILC in 2-3 years time. Good luck with your choice Lewis.
You won't be disappointed with your D750 Frankie ... it's an awesome camera.
i'm still using the canon 6D. Since I try to use a star tracker for everything, it's still really good. prefer it over Sony's processed raws any day
Thank you for this, I actually teared up. I’ve been wanting a z6 for a while but was competing it with Sony and Leica but now I’m resolute. This made me cry on how beautiful it is.
Thanks so much for watching, I'm really pleased it was helpful.
This was a great video! I just purchased the Z6 and am looking for to using it for astrophotography.
Good on you James
How do you feel about the batteries? Does it really not last too long?
@@9karol01 Not as long as a DSLR, but not such a short amount of time as some make it out to be. With that said, I would highly recommend having a backup battery. It will come in handy.
Really Nice shots and effects! I just purchased a Nikon Z 6II for my wife from a D3300 as a surprise next month for her birthday. I hope and pray she likes it.
Oh she will love it John. The Z6ii is by far my favourite camera ever.
Great video Richard! Thank you for taking the time to demo the Z6. You're the first one I've seen demo the Z6 for astrophotography and you answered a lot of my questions about that application. I'll be purchasing the Z6 in the near future, I still love my D750 and won't be getting rid of that one anytime soon. Keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing your next video.
Thanks so much Terry. I certainly love the D750 and won't be getting rid of it that's for sure. I think the Z6 is a wonderful camera and they will work well together.
Hi Richard and thank you so much for putting these videos out. They are so helpful and the incredible amount of work you put in to produce one of these is amazing.
Many thanks indeed LimeyDan.
Love the shooting star. Meteor
So clear and bright
Really appreciate you watching Shane
Splendid use of the z6 ,I loved the capabilities this one has over other cameras.somehow it's just about personal preference over specs alone to finally decided which one is the best for one.I really like the way you shoot in the dark with myriad backgrounds and exposures.
Thanks so much for watching. I agree about personal preference with camera gear
Wow!! One of the most compelling videos I’ve seen thus far for the Z6! I have been thinking of upgrading my Nikon rig to FX and was on the fence between the D750 and Z6. Your night photography techniques are really amazing and inspiring! The video performance you have demonstrated convinced me to go with a Z6. I look forward to watching and learning more from you on this mirrorless journey into photography and video. Thank you for this video!
Thanks a lot for watching, I really appreciate your comments.
I bought the D850 and used it for my first Milkyway season. Wanting the Z6 though... I just like cameras.
Yeah I hear you Josh ... the D850 is an outstanding camera for pretty much any type of photography ... I know you'll enjoy it.
Josh, how do you like the d850 for astro work? I have it but, I have not gone to shoot some night sky shots yet. I had the D750, and sometimes I'm wondering if I made a mistake. For me I'm finding the D850 is a different animal all together, when it comes to having to use higher shutter speeds, and what seems to be a fair amount of noise at lower ISO's. What I'm learning is exposure is critical with higher res sensor's.
@@LeonKolenda Leon. The D750 has always been better than the D850 when it comes to noise performance. This is mainly a result stemming from the pixel density. Both Outstanding cameras though. I have a Z6 and a D810. I have to tell you that your eyes will pop out of your head when you see the image quality from a Z7 or D850 from images captured in normal to bright light situations; even low light many times.
But I would never spend $$$ on a Z7. The idea of having a single card slot doesn't bother me too much. I just don't like paying $3400 for any camera with a single card slot and additionally one that doesn't focus as well at a D850 and, dare I say, the D810.
@@richpoinvil9618 If you downsample to same image size the D850 and D750 are about the same but the Z6 is better then either. Up to 102,000 ISO the Z6 captures more detail, color fidelity and contrast than the D5. Over 102k nothing keeps up with the D5 but they are still going to be noisy, it is just that images don't seem to get too much worse as you increase ISO over 102k. I never cared that much for high ISO but with the Z6, I am finding that some pretty amazing captures can be had at 22k and depending on the subject, up to 51k. My other cameras to compare it to are the D850 and D800. With decent light, both of those are IQ leaders still with great DR. The Z7 matches the D850 for IQ.
After all the complaints about the AF system, I was very pleasantly surprised how good it is. I mostly shoot portraits and events, ballet and theater and usually shoot single point. If I place the point on an object on the desired focal plane, it nails it every time. No DSLR can do that unless in Live View Mode, since no fine-tuning is needed. In May, Nikon releases new AF firmware that is supposed to be a very big step up in AF-C tracking performance and adds Eye-AF.
Thank you for the all inspiring work you create. I had already made my mind up to switch to the Nikon Z6 but this cemented it.
Thanks heaps Henry. You won't regret getting the Z6
Just bought the camera, and damn am i pleased. I, like you, have a d750 which is still the second best camera I've ever used after the z6. The iso performance is ridiculous. Great video. Enjoyed the whole one. Glad I discovered your channel. Subbed
Thanks so much for watching David, I really appreciate your support.
Thank you so much! I too use my d750 and it is a work horse. I have been wanting to go mirrorless for awhile now and I have been waiting on nikon's. I was worried how the z6 would do with the night photography and you just put those worries to bed. Thank you once again for taking the time to make this video and your wonderful photography.
Thanks so much Nathan for watching and taking the time to comment ... really appreciated.
Really nice work! Can't wait for Milky Way season in the Northern Hemisphere with this combo. The 3200 and 6400 ISO shots seem extremely clean.
Thanks heaps James. Yes what bad timing for the release of a new camera ...!!! It looks very clean at high iso's
I’ve had the Z6 for a while and have been looking for good fast aperature f-mounts... Thank you so much for the tips! Great video.
Really appreciate you watching Charlie thanks so much.
Richard, thank you so much for the excellent review. I've been shopping these two cameras and am having a tough time deciding which to get. Nightscapes are one of my hobbies!
Thanks for your comments. I haven't used the Z7 but I specifically bought the Z6 for nightscapes and it doesn't disappoint.
Nice video thanks - I'm a hybrid event shooter I use a D750. The Z6 is a great camera for my type of work I'm hoping to buy one soon.
Thank you Mark. Yes the Z6 is a great hybrid camera.
Just remember that the Z6 sensor is a BSI sensor so ISO performance is improved across the range. Plus the Z is smaller, lighter, superior video, with the option for F mount lenses. USB charging. 12-bit ProRES RAW video if needed.
Very good thoughts, appreciate your insight.
Hi Richard, fantastic video. This is the first time Ive seen your videos and instantly subscribed. Currently own the D850 and looking at adding the Z6. Pretty sure you'll see me at one of your workshops in the future.
Cheers Rick in Melbourne
Thanks so much Rick. Really appreciate you watching and subscribing. The D850 is a stellar camera and the Z6 is pretty good also.
Hehe I also instantly subscribed. First time here.
Thanks for your opinions! From the start, I've imagined that if I were to get into the Z system, it would be the Z6. And, since I shoot a lot at night, this review strikes a (good) nerve with me. Have fun!
Thanks a lot Mike. I know you'll love the Z6. I'm still working out things on the camera and it's very capable.
Great overview Richard! Thanks for going to all that effort, I’ve been keen to see some astro specific reviews of the z6.
Thanks a lot Justin, really appreciated. I know what you mean as I couldn't find any reference at all to nightscape shooting either.
Thanks for the comparison. I am also a D750 shooter looking to change to a Z6.
Thanks Dom. Yes they share a lot in common but the Z6 is obviously more advanced.
Just subbed, always been interested in nightscape photography. Also have just recently purchased Z6, my first full frame. Looking forward to learning more, great video.
Thanks so much Steve. Really appreciate that.
It's such a great camera for nightscaps. You will love it
Oops! I just realized I hadn’t listened to this video ... 😱! Being the one that listens to everyone of them so many times ... 😂
Well! Might be because the Z6 is now my new beloved friend 😍😍😍😍 What a beautiful and wonderfully working camera.
I had a D5200 and now, the Z6 .... as I already mentioned to you ....
Comparing the two cameras, I feel like I’ve gone from a Toyota (this is the car I have, by the way) to a Porsche Panamera (which I don’t have ... 😂) .... but I have the Z6 !!! That’s all right to me !
😘😆😘
You are such a character Carole ...!!!
No! No! I’m the lowest profile person. I never say weird or funny things. Really quiet ... all the time. 😂 Yep! That’s me!!!
😘😝😘
Awesome video. I just got my Nikon Z 6. I've taken some nighttime video of Christmas lights. I was very impressed with the outcome. I want to do some Nightscape images next. This video gives me something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing your experience with the camera and demonstrating what's possible.
Really appreciate you watching Cactus Tweeter. You'll love using the Z6 under the stars.
Another great video! As ever, I am in awe of you photos! I have gone from D7100 to D750 both of which I love, and am now looking closely at the Z6. Thanks for the video!
Thanks so much Alick. I also had the D7100 and D750. Both great cameras. I'm sure you'll enjoy the Z6 if you decide to get one.
Great video Richard, really enjoyed your views on the Z6 and it helped me realize that having the ftz adapter fitted, there is no significant change in image quality with your g lenses. I also noticed a lack of coma from the Sigma art lens, mine shows a fair amount in the corners when coupled to my D810. Hopefully with native lenses, the short flange distance will eradicate coma all together.
Thanks a lot Stirling. The FTZ seems to work really well in both stills and video mode. I love the Sigma 35. I agree that the best performers will be the native Z lenses.
Great video and reviews Sir. I like your work and love for night photography. I also like to take night photos but not pro as you.. I have only D750 , nice camera.. I never convinced myself to buy second camera body, but this z6 seems nice second body option because of light weight , amazing features and low light noise handling capabilities. Thank You !
Thanks so much for watching and your kind comments Rakesh. I also love the D750 which is a fabulous camera. I do like the smaller size of the Z6 though.
Absolutely beautiful!!
Thank you so much for watching Suzana
@@nightscapeimages.richard I am planning buy this camera, which lenses did you use?
@@suzanafreittas In this video I used the Nikon 20mm f1.8G and Sigma art 35mm f1.4. Now I'm using the Nikon 20mm f1.8S and the Nikon 35mm f1.8S. The native Z mount lenses are better for the Z6. Hope that helps.
@@nightscapeimages.richard perfect!! thank you!!
@@suzanafreittas You're welcome
Hi Richard, great video and review of the Z6. I am a little late to the Nikon universe but am currently considering getting either the Z6 or the Z6ii - with the 20mm 1.8S lens. I am sure both are great cameras but I was wondering if you prefer one over the other for stills/nightscapes (I do not intend to do video and mostly prefer manual focusing over auto) eg: does the Z6ii provide slightly better low light advantages in terms of DR or focussing over the Z6 or are they pretty much the same when shooting nightscapes? Interested you hear your thoughts. Thanks
Thanks so much for watching Gurdeep. The image quality is exactly the same between these 2 cameras. The only things that changes were dual card slots, extended shutter speeds and the ability to power via usb. Same performance for nightscapes.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thanks very much Richard good to hear. I am excited about the possibility of getting a camera with a BSI sensor as well as taking great photos and the z6 definitely ticks that box. Hope you have a great weekend. Cheers
Wow-doubly impressed with its low light focusing. Nice video.
Yes I was very impressed as well fingerstylefan ... thanks for commenting
14:46-48 Shooting star!
Haha ... I'm not sure but it sure looks like it TeeReezy ... well picked up.
I dont understand at all but your video talks for it self... very nice video and pictures, good job 👍👍👍 Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
Thank you so much for watching my friend. All the very best to you for 2021.
Great Video, i hope you will Show more About the Z6 in Low Light / Deep Night. I'm thinking about buying this cam since months.
Thanks again Stevie. I will certainly show more of the Z6 in the future.
Great video and realistic review. I'm looking at upgrading to my first full-frame, and this has been in the 'frame' so to speak. I had been wondering about the landscape capabilities with the 'lower' MP count, even though I know it's also down to the glass, but it looks like resolution is amazing with the Z6 as well. I had been considering DSLR, but as landscape is mainly my thing along with a bit of macro - both ends of the scale, it looks like this may be a good choice. Thanks for helping.
Thanks for watching Chris. I personally think 24mp is plenty for landscape photography. Of course the Z7 has 45mp and therefore the greater ability to crop into the image ... but it wasn't too long ago that 24mp was considered very large. It's all about perspective. I love the Z6.
Excellent review, thanks for sharing your findings. I really didn't expect to see an old MK10 Jag, lol. I've subscribed too, cheers.
Thanks for watching. Yes the old Jag is kind of rotting away out on the farm.
Thank you! Just what I needed to see.
Thanks so much for watching Leif
Great video, thanks. I’m still torn between the Z6 and the D750 though. The D750 is very affordable at the moment but the Z mount seems to be the future. If you were to invest in a new FF system today which one of the two would you choose for astro and nighscapes? Would you still buy a D750?
Thanks for the comment Frankie. Yes I would still buy a D750 for nightscapes because it is a tremendous low light camera. It just does the job without any fuss and bother. Part of the reason I say that revolves around the fact that there are so many great lenses available for the D750. The Z6 and other mirrorless cameras are certainly the future but at present there are not a lot of native Z mount lenses. I think the native Z lenses will be better for nightscapes than the older F mount lenses .. so it is a toss up.
Of course you can adapt any of the F mount lenses to the Z6 ... which I have done with brilliant results ... you cannot do that with the D750. I'm probably not helping very much now am I ...!!!
@@nightscapeimages.richard I'm in the same boat! Dilemma. Great video though
Thanks for watching Lewis ... at least we have some great options these days.
Hi again Richard!
I know the main purpose of the channel is mainly for nightscape images but I have a question.
It is possible for you to upload a video explaining all the processes you do to create your videos?
I love all your work and since I'm also a filmmaking apprentice I would like to learn how you do it.
Thanks a lot and keep up the good work 👍👍👍🙏
Thanks for your support my friend. Yes I will do a video at some stage regarding my video production.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Awesome thanks.
Missed this one, very enjoyable thankyou
That's ok Phillip, glad you liked it.
My Nikon D750 had a brief splash in some sea water a while ago and haven't had any luck getting it to work... Currently trying to decide whether I should sent it back into Jessops to see if there's any chance of it being fixed, or if I should sell it for parts and go for a new Z6... Very tempted by the idea of mirrorless, but the native lenses are so expensive
Thanks for watching Vincent. I love both cameras but the Z6 is certainly better at higher iso's. Also it's a much better video camera. The native Z mount lenses are expensive but they haven't made a bad one yet .. they are really sharp. Having said that, the D750 is a great all round camera also .. and a lot cheaper to buy.
Fantastic review. One of the best so far on the Z6. Have you tried DX lenses on the Z6 yet? I am curious about video with Z6/DX lenses. You are getting 6k downsample to 4k on FX lenses. What happens when you shoot video in DX crop mode? Is it just ordinary 4k without the downsample from 6k? Probably yes? What about the Mbps? What kind of bitrates are you seeing with Z6/DX lenses in DX crop mode for video? Is there an appreciable loss of video quality Z6/FX vs Z6/DX lens differences aside? I suppose you could just use a Z6 with an FX lens and then just record in FX or DX modes. Im wondering if that could be a viable option when you want a bit more reach out of an FX lens.
Thanks for the comment free88 ... much appreciated. I have tried 2 Nikon DX lenses but only in 1080 50p. The 35mm f1.8DX worked really well including autofocus. The other lens I tried was the standard 18-55 kit lens which also worked pretty well. Sorry I didn't do any testing with 4k.
@@nightscapeimages.richard I know there will be limitations when using DX lenses on an FX camera, sometimes severe. Also, DX crop mode on an FX camera with just 24MP will result in 10-ish MP for stills. 10MP, though, should still be enough for non-downsampled 4k video, hopefully of a decent quality. Im just wondering how the Z6 handles this on the bitrate and IQ side, again, lenses differences aside. I do have some decent DX lens that would mostly fill out a FF senser, and maybe I would be looking at 1.1-1.3 crops in post shot in FX mode. I would be fine with that. I just think the 4k crop on the D7500/D500 is ridiculous and unusable for me. 2.75 crop is super disappointing. I am hoping to use my Tokina 11-16 F2.8 @ 15-16mm, which does fill out a FF sensor with minor vignetting (which should be eliminated by a 1.1-1.3 crop). Or, just use it in DX mode with the 1.5 crop. Still much better FOV than the D7500/D500. Most of my use is for hiking, kayaking, that sort of thing. I need to keep it light and small if possible. Traditionally, FX lenses on FX cameras would just be too big and unwieldy for my use. The 35mm F1.8 DX is another one of the gems that mostly fills out a FF with minor vignetting that is easily cropped out in post. Professional? No. Vacation videos, smaller prints? Perfectly fine.
I like your thinking free88 ... give it a go I reckon.
Thank you for nice work. As an aside, it would be great if we adopted the old DIN nomenclature for ISO rather than the old ASA. The numbers are separated by 1/3 stops, but they run in sequence. So, ISO is DIN 27, ISO 800 is DIN 28, etc. The big numbers would be a lot more manageable. For example, ISO 12800 would by DIN 40, 25600 would by 41, etc..
Thanks very much for watching, really appreciate your insight.
Really cool video and amazing to see that quality at 20k ISO. Looks better than my 6d mkii at 6400 ISO :D.
Thanks heaps for watching Ville, really appreciate the comments.
I commented on one of your other videos the other day about the d750. From what I've seen the new Z6 seems to do better in low light. I don't need video right now. I mostly do landscape and portraits but I want to learn to do nightscapes like this. The d750 is 4 years old now with a possible replacement in the d760 coming out this year (rumor). I'd love to get the d850 but it's $2000 more not counting the expensive cards, battery grip with the larger battery and charger, more hard drive storage for the much larger files, etc. The d750 is currently $1300 unless you find it on sale. Do you think it would be worth buying now and then wait to see if the d760 even comes out and then see what the specs are? I know all companies are expanding their mirrorless line but I don't think the dslr is dead just yet. I want something that is really good in low light but I want a usable battery grip and dual card slots. If I'm going to spend a lot of money I want to get what I pay for. $1300 seems like a good price for that camera even though it's a 4 year model.
I think the D750 is still one of the best nightscape cameras on the market ... I have 2 off them as well as the Z6.
i ordered samyang 14 f/2.8 the Z version for mt Z 6 very cheap hopping will help me start night sky photography
Excellent .. I hope you get some wonderful images.
Thanks Richard. This video answered many questions I had with the Z6 re night photography. Do you have a list of the other gear you use please? ie remote controls, lights etc.
Thanks for watching Judy. I do mention a lot of my gear in heaps of my videos. You can also see some above here where it says Show More.
First I want to say I enjoy the video .. great review of the Z6 camera ... This is my first FX Camera.. coming from a Nikon D5300. My question is can you explain the meaning of 1x background layer 5x foreground layer .. of the picture at 3:39 minutes of the video? Is this something that done in photoshop?
Thanks for watching Mitchell. Yes that is done in photoshop. I shot one image focused on stars with no foreground lighting, then I shot 5 x foreground images from different angles and blended them together in photoshop. If you look at lots of my other videos you'll see this process.
Great video and top info mate. Just what I was after thank you.
Thanks heaps David for watching and commenting. I'm really hoping this helps those sitting on the fence regarding the Z6 for astrophotography.
@@nightscapeimages.richard I'm certainly sitting on the fence mate but less scared of jumping to the mirrorless side now! As you said in the video, the biggie will be how well the z6 performs with the 20mm lens they'll launch next year. My f mount 20mm is still my go to lens. If you're ever in WA give me a shout!
Good on you David .. I love the 20mm f1.8 also ...!!! Thanks again.
Beautiful video. Loved your work
Thank you so much Kedar
Thanks Richard .like It.
Really appreciate that Reza
Thanks so much for sharing!!!
I'm really pleased you like it Wirinhar, thanks so much for watching.
The person whom said "Life wasn't meant to be easy..." was Malcolm Fraser, former PM
Yes I remember that well
can I ask you what should I set my white balance to when I shoot at night, love your vlogs and images hopefully I wil get to your standard one day.
Thanks al lot Craig. I usually set my white balance somewhere between 3450k and 5000k depending on the lighting conditions and whether there is moonlight etc. When the moon is out the sky gets bluer and therefore the white balance needs to be warmer ... eg: higher kelvin no. If I'm shooting people with flash I set the white balance higher as well to avoid ugly skin tones. But usually when doing light painting I use a lower kelvin number and offset that with a gelled torch to balance out the foreground.
Thank you for another awesome job covering the Z6. I came across your channel when doing research on this camera and have been hooked ever since. I’m ready to make my Z6 II camera purchase (it will be used solely for nightscapes and the occasional star trail image). That being said, there is quite a buzz on the internet about banding and or concentric circles during some uses of this camera for astrophotography. Is that something you’ve had to deal with on the Z6 or something that’s likely to arise in landscape astro imaging? I know that bad news travels quickly on the web so I’m unclear as to how much of a problem it is in reality. Experience tells me that if you over stretch any image, oddities are bound to surface. I thought I’d ask before I plunk down my hard earned $2k. Thanks!!
Thanks for your comments Ron. I have 3 of the Nikon Z6 cameras and I've never had issues with banding. Sometimes with any camera when doing star trails it's advised not to enable lens profile corrections in Lightroom. For some reason this can sometimes introduce moire .. which looks like the concentric pattern you mentioned.
Thanks Richard, I think this camera will suit my needs just fine. Plus that 20mm S lens looks impressive. Even more impressive is the quality of your images. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks again.
@@ronrotunno2901 Always happy to help Ron
@@nightscapeimages.richard I’ve also heard of some issues with calibration frames but I generally take darks but not flats for nightscape type images. So I don’t see much of an issue there either.
@@ronrotunno2901 I've never taken calibration frames in my life.
Hi Richard, would you still recommend this camera in 2024 as a good second hand purchase? Thanks
Yes absolutely Roger. I'm currently using the Z6ii version but inside they are exactly the same performance.
@@nightscapeimages.richard thanks, keep the videos coming🤩
Future Lenses with that big hole ='s fantastic night photography, but still on the fence about the Z6 or Sony Aiii.
Yes I think that's the exciting part but the Z6 and Sony A7iii look pretty similar in many ways. However I much prefer the user experience with Nikon bodies.
The Z6 is higher build quality with weather sealing. The sony has no weather resistance if you are using it in changeable weather you will need to protect it from dust and moisture. The XQD card is a real advantage also, more reliable and durable besides transfers and buffer clearing is much faster.
Very true Stan
Great video! Did you try to push the limits of video towards Astro-Vlogging, like around minimum fps and 200000 ISO ?
I am wondering how close it is getting towards capturing shades of the night sky in video mode.
Thanks Aykut. Yes I have shot at 100,000 and 200,000 iso but it's pretty dirty footage. Although I think if there was some light added it would look a lot better. I had no trouble seeing stars at iso 25600 though and it's relatively clean at that up to 51,200
Great video Richard - inspirational stuff. I have the Z6 primarily for the ultra dark sky here in the approaching southern Tas winter but right now not feeling the love with noise even at standard sorts of 20 sec/3200 ISO exposures with Samyang 14/2.8. I'm even getting artefacts in daylight LE work with a quality 10 stop. Can you share your in-camera NR settings? thx :-)
Hi Nigel, thanks for watching. It's funny you should mention the noise issues you're having. When I first started using the Z6 I noticed an awful lot of hot pixels in the dark shadows of my images. The solution I found to that was to do 2 in camera sensor cleans back to back ... it worked .. no more hot pixels. The Z6 definitely handles noise reduction differently to the D750. The settings I have now in camera are Long Exposure Noise Reduction - Off and High ISO NR - Norm. When you import the files into Lightroom you'll notice there is a level of noise reduction already enabled on the raw files. This has been a subject of discussion on forums but in the end I haven't had too many issues with noise. I don't use the Samyang 14mm f2.8 even though I have 2 copies of that lens. I've used the Nikon 14-24 f2.8 and the Nikon 20mm f1.8 with no issues. Certainly no issues with noisy daylight images either although I haven't used a 10 stop filter with it yet.
Thanks very much for that Richard. I think I'll reset all the NR settings and start over again - trying your hot pixel fix too. I've read about the Z6 default import settings on the Thom blog and since observed them - should note that my daylight LE noise was with the 18-35/3.5-4.5 G which is fine on the Df with similar long exposure settings (but clearly different sensor/processor/algorithms etc. etc.). Thanks again - will persevere :-)
Hey Nigel please keep in touch, I'll be interested in your outcomes. I'm looking forward to getting down to Tassie myself this year. Take care.
pictures on 23:32 and 26:00. There are lights from behind and looks as if it is from the sun or from the city. It makes the pictures looks like it was shooted at dayime. I also see more milky way photos which has some kind of similar radiance near the horizon or the bottom part of the milky way.
I want to ask you how did you get that light when shooting nightscape photography? Thanks.
Thanks for watching Blazer. That is light pollution from small distant towns. That light will be captured when shooting long exposures at high iso's.
Fantastic shoot. Thanks for your channel. I must watch some more. Central Vic looks like a good location for what you do. Do you plan on any workshops?
Thanks so much for watching Geoffrey. I run lots of workshops between March and October. See this link: www.nightscapeimages.com.au/workshops.html
Great video !., i will like to ask you for an opinion about moving from a D850 and get the Z 6....i am an amateur photographer and to be honest i do starting to have enough of carrying heavy gear....nikon d850 is great but much heavy then the Z 6 or 7...i just sold nikon 24-70 Vr for the same reason....i do planning just to reduce the amount of gear and as much is possible to travel light....for sure i keep the Nikon 24mm 1.4 ( amazing)., i will keep for the moment the Nikon 70-200mm FL ( heavy but amazing lens) and see what lens i take with me...maybe wait for the new Nikon 24-70mm Z mount and take the new 24-70mm F4 Z mount for the time being...,what it is your opinion on this Richard if you can., do yu think a bad move from d850 to Z 6.....or maybe the Z 7....?., basically i like to shoot Landscape and street photography, including night street photography!.Thank you and i will appreciate your opinion! Merry Xmas!
Hi Marcello. The D850 is a wonderful camera and it is very capable for any genre of photography. But of course the weight is a lot more than the Z series of cameras. If you need the higher resolution then you would look at the Z7 which is also a great camera. The Z6 is better in low light but is only 24 megapixel. The 24-70 f4 z mount is a great lens and I know a lot of people who use it for landscape as well as pretty much everything else. It's a bit slow at f4 for the nightscapes I do but you have the 24mm f1.4 which would cover that.The weight difference is considerable and I totally understand where you are coming from. You will notice a big difference in battery life when using the Z series cameras compared to your D850 ... they are nowhere near as battery efficient as the DSLR's. So it's hard to say what you should do ... I can assure you that the image quality from the Z6 or Z7 will be stellar and every bit as good as your D850. Just remember that you will need an FTZ adaptor to use your older lenses.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thank you so much for you advice and the quick reply!, i guess i will have to consider again the Z 7...a bit pricey here, especially for a first generation camera that has plenty room to improve...that is why i was considering not to invest so much now ....get the Z 6 and then hope for Nikon to bring an upgrade camera on the next generation....anyway, thanks again for your help and keep on with those great videos!.Merry Xmas!
Well if you are keeping the D850 then the Z6 is the way to go as it gives a few options that are better than the D850. Merry Christmas to you also.
Thanks for making this video
Thanks so much for watching and leaving a comment ... really appreciated.
Another excellent video, subbed 👍🏻
Thanks very much Linda .. means a lot
Another great video!
Thanks very much for watching, really appreciated.
Good job
Thank you Radwan
There is 35 1.8G ED, is it worth changing to 35 1.8Z, will there be a difference in sharpness and resolution?
Yes there will be if using in a Z camera. The native Z lenses are just better.
A very thorough review. Thanks for sharing your personal experience with the Z6. 'looking forward for more reviews. 'just hit subscribe. :)
I certainly appreciate you watching and subscribing Kalasag 911. It means a lot.
@@nightscapeimages.richard - Have you ever, by any chance, published a book on astrofotog/nightscape photography? 'would love to have a hard copy on my hand to read through or use as a reference material (to develop/improve my skills). Thanks!
@@kalasag9113 No sorry i haven't published any books.
Thanks for this informative video. I'm wondering how well the Z6's EVF functions in extreme low-light conditions (for example: night time, new moon and near-zero ambient light) where one can barely distinguish trees and other landscape features with the naked eye? How does the EVF produce a useable, real-time image in extreme low light if the ISO is set quite low (for example 200) in anticipation of a correspondingly lengthy exposure? Does the EVF have its own separate ISO that it adjusts automatically in order to yield an image in the viewfinder? If so, does the EVF bump up its ISO significantly in extreme low-light conditions and does it produce a view of the landscape that is clear enough to check focus and composition? Any feedback will be much appreciated.
Thanks very much for watching Eric. The evf is very good in low light. In photo mode it doesn't appear to matter what iso you have selected as the image will brighten up nicely when you open up the aperture as well as lengthen the shutter speed. I tried it whilst leaving the iso at 100 and it was very easy to see a single street lamp lit road with stars overhead. Just concerning the shutter speed, it brightened up the image until I got to about 10 second shutter speed .. after that it didn't make any difference. Any increase to the iso didn't make any difference in the evf also .. obviously it does in the final image. In video mode it's different as any increase in iso shows as it normally would in the evf. Focus was really easy using focus peaking or zooming in to stars etc. Hope that's helpful.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thanks very much for your helpful reply (and apologies for my delay in acknowledging it). I have in fact ended up buying a Z6 and the EVF's performance in low light is extraordinary, much as you described. I will be putting it to a full field test during this week's new moon :)
Fantastic Eric
@@EricNathanPhotographer It is funny, I thought the Z6 would be a nice travel camera and walking around kit since I take the D850 out less and less unless a paid assignment. But after shooting it for a bit over a month, the dim OVF shocks me every time I go back to the D850 or D800. The Z6 has taken a prominent position in my session. kit. It has to be pretty darn good to bench the D850.
@@stanspb763 The Z6 is a great camera however I have a few misgivings about it: after putting the Z6 to a serious low light test last week I found that the EVF was not capable of rendering a 'usably' discernible image of the landscape at new moon as I had hoped (even using f1.4 lenses). Certainly the brightness of the settings (shutter speed etc) in the EVF were so overpowering relative to the dark screen that I was unable to see whatever image was being rendered in the viewfinder (and it would seem that it's not possible to completely hide ALL the read-outs in the viewfinder to solve this issue). I could however make out the landscape when looking through the regular OVF on my D3X. The second problem I found was that even with long exposure noise reduction 'on', the raw file was riddled with noise. Admittedly it was a 75-minute exposure but my 10-year old D3X's images have far less noise under the identical settings and circumstances. I have sent a sample image to Nikon to hear why this would be. Third problem I had was the lack of backlighting for the buttons which meant I had to constantly use my head torch to find the buttons I wanted. This obviously affects one's night vision and is also somewhat annoying. Perhaps having backlighting on the buttons of a 'semi-pro' camera is expecting too much. And yes, with time I'll probably get to know where the buttons are without looking :)
Hi Richard - thx. again for your GREAT video and background technic - I always look forward to watch your new upload ! Since you change to "Sennheiser Radio Microphones" - maybe from this video, I think the quality is not then best - actually, even the old one was better... Maybe you already no - but just a kin feedback to you :)
Hi Henrik, thanks very much for watching. I've been using the same sennheiser lapel mic for all of my videos. The Nikon Z6 doesn't sound as good as my Panasonic G9. There is a mixture of both cameras in this video.
Thanks for this awesome video. I noticed that on the Z6, for the background shot, you raise the ISO up to 6400 and set the exposure duration to 15 sec, where as you usually set your camera rather to 3200 ISO/20 sec on your D750. My guess is that you consider ISO performances better on the Z6 and prioritise shorter exposure duration in order to get the sharpest background shot as posible. Am I right or is there another reason? Thanks again!
Hi Philippe, very good questions. I've actually been experimenting a bit with iso and shutter speed and even with the D750 I've been raising the iso to 6400 a lot more recently. I used to shoot mainly at iso2500 and raise the exposure in Lightroom but I think the noise levels are pretty much the same. When shooting with the 20mm focal length lens I think 20 seconds is too much as I'm seeing star trails. Sometimes this manifests in slightly bloated or oblong stars rather than points so that's why I'm lowering the shutter speed now. The other thing I'm testing is stacking for noise reduction using Sequator. So if I'm shooting multiple images with the intention of stacking I'm lowering the shutter speed even more to about 10 seconds and increasing the iso to compensate with the hope that the stacking smooths out the extra noise. So far my results are encouraging. Last night I shot using the Z6 at iso10000. Thanks again for your comments.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thank you for your answer Richard. I am impressed by the sharpness of your single shot background layers with the D750 & Z6, I personally don’t see much of a difference with works of photographers who claim to achieve theirs with multiple images staked. This might be due to the internet compression(?) I would be very interested to see the results of your new productions with staking technique and these cameras. Hope you may do a video on this one of these days. Thanks again
I'm working on one right now as we speak Philippe .... !!!
@@nightscapeimages.richard Great! Thank you!
@@nightscapeimages.richardfirst off great vids!
I was looking through the comments addressing shutter times and iso.. I've been doing a lot of reading on sensors and iso performance of nikon cameras. From my understanding the D850 is iso invariant in that you could set iso to iso 400 and boost esposure in post to the equivalent of 6400.. I thought I read somewhere that the Z6 is the same but can't find the article again. Have you tested this and could verify or shed light on that?
Wonder if could you still go down to 15sec/10 sec and shoot lower at iso 400 instead of raising iso more? Getting the same results with much less noise.
I have just watched a lot of your videos and I love them, thank you for sharing all the knowledge.
I’m saving for a better camera and I know that will not produce me the same images as yours ( I’ll get the ones my lesser ability will enable me to get)
I have no interest in video and what I would like to learn and improve is not my landscape seascape and astrophotography.
I have only m4/3 system at the moment and am looking to go full frame for this.
Are there any advantages of one camera or system over another for these genres?
Hi Patricia, thanks so much for watching. For any low light photography there is no doubt that full frame is the way to go. Added to that you need a good quality fast aperture lens as well. You can get quite good results with a crop sensor such as the Fuji XT3 or Sony A6500 but the full frame is the best hands down. Micro 4/3 is a very good camera system but it falls away when the light gets low and because of the small sensor simply cannot compete with larger sensors. I'm happy to suggest particular cameras if you have any preferred brands or ideas already .. let me know.
Nightscape Images thank you so much, I am used to Olympus but have also used Nikon.
I got on better with my E3 than I do with my pen f and em5.
The Nikon I had was the D70.
I’m open to suggestions but would like to have a camera that is easy to learn.
I don’t have a set budget, if I can afford it I get it if not I wait while I save.
Once again thank you and I love watching your videos
@@patriciafagan3632 Well I love the Nikon Z6 but you could also look at the Nikon D750 which is a very solid performer.
Nightscape Images I will look at both, do you suggest one over the other four people with put eyesight? The diopter doesn’t help me much as my prescription is +12.
Also what lens do you suggest to start with.
I do appreciate you taking the trouble to help me.
Have subscribed and hit the bell thingy
@@patriciafagan3632 The Z6 is probably better in those regards. The native 24-70 f4 for the Z6 is very good as a starter. It's not the very best for nightscape photography but for everything else it's wonderful.
I am still getting into photography . I am been shooting 1 year now whit 77d and some days ago i changed to canon 5dmk2 whit mk1 24-70 2.8 L lense i know it is older set up but it is full frame and i think it is still wery capable set up. i am still searching what intrests me most in photography atm my favourite is portrait but i am getting so intrigued whit nightscape,landscape and wildlife(havent yet tested much oflandscape and nightbecause just got decent lense whit my 5dmk2 set up) hehee so it is a lot to take in i guess second year is going to decide what intrests me most but i think u can doo multiple things there is no reason to stuck whit 1 photography. I guess after second year when i am more familliar whit things i finnaly would love to upgrade to newer camera and z6 looks to be amazing :) .Any tips for a person who is just discovering diefrent aspects of photography? I like your videos a lot .
Thanks so much for watching Indrek. I would suggest getting out and shooting as much as you can in the different types of photography. You'll work out pretty quickly what you enjoy doing the most. The majority of people have more than one area of interest when it comes to photography and you'll find a lot of the techniques and camera equipment crosses over anyway. For nightscapes you'll need a good fast aperture wide angle lens. Hope it all goes well.
@@nightscapeimages.richard thank you :) ill be definetly checking out your channel a lot more.The image stacking is something what intrets me allso its something what i am not heard about a lot and not tested myself yet.
Can you notice a difference between the image quality of the D750 and Z6 when compared with the same lenses? Does stacking and editing ultimately make the end quality result the same between these two cameras? I would be grateful if you respond. I am having a hard time deciding between these cameras. Thanks you for making this video!
Thanks Holden. There is not a lot of difference between the 2 cameras. I think the Z6 is better at higher iso's and certainly better for video. The D750 has better battery life. There is no doubt that the future will be the mirrorless cameras though.
Nightscape Images ah, thank you
How does the 1 background and 4X foreground work in post processing? BTW all the spider webs in the truck freaked me out.
Thanks for watching. Yes there are a lot of spider webs in the truck. I use photoshop to blend the foreground and background layers together. It's a pretty simple process which I show in a few of my videos. EG: ua-cam.com/video/uJOkz3llEsQ/v-deo.html
How much of an advantage would you say the Z6 has over the D750 in terms of high iso performance? With my D750 I don’t usually go above ISO3200, are you getting clean images at iso6400?
Hi Aldo, yes I'm getting clean images at iso6400 and even higher if I stack them. Video is very clean up to about 20,000 iso.
Nightscape Images thank you so much! This camera sounds really interesting, cause I don’ t like images from my D750 above 3200. I’m gonna have to lock my wallet away before I start thinking to seriously about buying it. Great images anyway, I’m a big fan!
You should pay a visit to the southern flinders ranges. lots of old ruins around there.
Yes I think you're right Leg Ham ... it's on my list ...!!!
did you try the new tamron update on the Z6? I own a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 G2 lens and would love you use it with the Z6. I am waiting to buy the Z6 for the same reason.
Hi Shubhayu. I haven't tried the firmware update but I have the older Tamron 24-70 f2.8 G1 lens
I have the Tamron 85mm f1.8 and 70-200 f2.8 G2 and both are working great now after using the tap in console to update firmware with my ftz adapter whereas before it was a mess.
Fantastic Toddy
Also, you seem to be an awesome lad. I like your accent sooo much
Haha, well the Aussie accent is pretty hard to hide David ..!!!!
@@nightscapeimages.richard haha, yeah. Can you show it even more ;)
Just a question. If u want to make an long term investament for a camera...which can do photo and video equally good....which u should buy a7 3 or z6....I shoot most weddings in nights...
I don't have any first hand experience with the Sony A7iii but I know a number of people who use it and love it. I think the A7iii has a better ability to focus in very low light and also more native lenses available. However the Z6 is not far behind in that category and by using the FTZ adaptor there are dozens of compatible lenses. There are countless videos on this very comparison and to be honest I don't think you can go wrong either way. In my opinion the Nikon handles far better than the Sony and I also prefer the menus and usability of the Z6.
The Z6 is called the Future Proof camera for some good reasons. The data architecture is much faster and more advanced so it can use the XQD cards and in May get the ProRes RAW 12 bit video which means every other company will have to step up their game and redesign their cameras to accommodate the more advanced tech. Also in May the much anticipated revamp of the AF firmware will be released.
The video performance of the Z6 is just better than the Sony but the a7III is very good with AF in stills tracking fast moving objects. That gap will probably close in May by downloading the new firmware.
A few things that really matter....No ff mirrorless comes close to the Z cameras for weather sealing or build quality, and the large Z mount is making the sharpest lenses possible lighter in weight and cost. The 50mm 1.8 S is probably the sharpest 50 on the planet and is only $470. The 24-70 f4 is better corner to corner than my 24-70 2.8 G and E versions, which cost 3 and 4.5 times as much, and 3 times the weight. There looks like a very bright future for Nikon mirrorless because of that data structure with error correction and much faster rates and reliability over the SD cards. The Sony cameras have hit a hardware roadblock and will need a serious upgrade in tech, and XQD for the next version. With the hardware being over spec's on the Z, it is a camera to use for years. Sony cameras are built at a lower level so are usually replaced every version update. That gets expensive. Nikon already has the higher performance data structures so eventually will get ProRes RAW saved internally. You would need to spend $25,000 now to get that feature everyone wants. It will be the free firmware on the Nikon.
Another reason the Nikon is a long term investment and return on that investment is the fact that Nikon supports their camera for a very long time with spare parts. Sony, across all divisions, has the policy of dropping parts access after a model is discontinued. You would have a very hard time repairing an a7 now or very soon. a7II Forcing people to upgrade with each model update certainly improves their sales and profits but gets pretty expensive in replacing bodies every 12-15 months.
Great perspective Stan
Do you never get banding with Nikon Z6&7? How can you avoid that. Cheers.
I've never had any issues with banding on the Z6. Thanks heaps for watching.
So I am a beginner and just wondering if you can explain what 1x background layers and the foreground layers mean.
Hi Jessica. What I'm doing is taking more than one picture to make the final image. I do that so that I can light paint the foregrounds very artistically and have the cleanest possible image. I go through the details of this process in lots of my other videos. Appreciate you watching.
Nightscape Images thank you. I am new so I’ve been living in UA-cam watching videos and I really enjoyed this one. I will most definitely check out your other videos.
@@jessicahernandez8971 Thanks Jessica, I'm always happy to help if I can.
Nice video Richard. Did you find any banding issues?
Thanks for watching rajasimha. No I haven't noticed any banding at all.
Once I get a d500 for birding, I'm gonna get this for astrophotography.
Go for it Gareth, it's a great camera.
You mentioned that you had two tamron lenses that didn't work with the Z6 - Could you expand on that? I'm thinking of getting one and I've got a Tamron 70-200 and 90 macro that I'd like to think I could use on the new body...
Thanks for watching Mark. I have the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 version 1 and also the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 version 1. These are both wonderful lenses but no autofocus on the Z6.
Ouch, Not sure what version of the 70-200 I have but I use it a lot! So just not auto focus but everything else works on it? I might be able to deal with that for a little while. You do great work, thanks for the information.@@nightscapeimages.richard
Yes from what I've heard the version 2 of the Tamron lenses have a firmware update available. Have not heard about any updates for the V1. Just to clarify, sometimes the autofocus does work but it is inconsistent and you can hear the focus motors working harder than usual.
Tamron has released firmware updates to work with the FTZ adaptor on Z6/7 last week. Seems to work well on the G2 series f/2.8 zooms. I update my 15-30 f/2.8 and it works well. That is such a nice wide angle zoom, its vibration reduction system lets me hand hold 1-second exposures I could never get with the Nikon 14-24 2.8.
Yes I'm really impressed with the Tamron lenses ... especially the newer versions.
Looking between the Z6 and D750 I have been wondering if i should stick with buying a D750 for a reasonable price or does the Z6 have enough of a improvement to be worth taking the plunge. I shoot some deep sky as well as low light and landscape. I hove almost no desire for video so im torn between the two. Any advice?
In my opinion the D750 is still a marvelous camera for low light and in fact any general photography. The Z6 is far better for video but that isn't on your wish list. The image quality is very close between the 2 cameras. I still use and love my D750. Hope that helps.
@@nightscapeimages.richard It helps a lot thanks. This sets my sights on the D750 but I still have to get over trying to justify getting the latest in camera technology.
@@peeps-go2wh Hopefully the enjoyment of capturing wonderful images helps with that ...!!!
First of all, thank you for sharing your information with us.
I have 2 goals.
The first is to take photos of the Milky Way and landscape.
Secondly, to shoot documentary videos in my nature activities. (camping, campfire, trekking and biking)
the lens I will buy is "sigma 14mm 1.8 art".
I'm undecided between the d850 and the Z6. I know the d850 takes great pictures, but I'm not sure if the video is as good as the z6? It is my dream to buy the d850 but I do not want to pay so much money if I cannot shoot quality videos. I'll be glad, if you help me.
Thanks for watching Ake. Based on what you are saying the Nikon Z6 is the better option for video and I think would suit you very well. It's also a lot cheaper to buy. I use the Z6 for everything and it's wonderful in low light and high iso situations.
As i andurstand nikon z6 has image stabilizer just wondering how you turn it off, or it dosn't ruin the quality of pictures? If i remember correctly stabilizer should be off.
Whenever you mount the camera on a tripod you need to turn off image stabilization. You do that from the "i" menu on the back of the camera.
What is 1x background layer and 5 x forground layer mean? Is that a setting in the camera?
Thanks for watching Douglas. What I'm doing is shooting 5 separate exposures for the light painted foregrounds and blending with one shot of the background night sky. See this video. ua-cam.com/video/uPyce5NbxiE/v-deo.html
@@nightscapeimages.richard thank you , I will watch the video . I would like to do a zoom call one time with you to talk shop and what gear you have .. Love your work . I have two Nikon z6 and today I just ordered the Nikon z6 ii with the z 14-34 mm f4 . I have the z 24- 74 f4 and the z 50 1.8 . Can I shoot night photography with theses lenses?
@@douglasmoneer4284 Yes you can shoot with all of those lenses but you will find the faster aperture lenses easier to use for nightscapes. I did a video about shooting nightscapes with the 24-70 f4S lens. See here: ua-cam.com/video/dllp7BBvmPg/v-deo.html
TAMRON update is available via TAP IN console FYI. I have the 28-70 2.8 G2 and it work on the Z6 with the update.
Thanks Blake. Yes I did see that, however I have the G1 Tamrons.
It's about time somebody got out and used the Z6 for what it's meant for. The noise looks pretty clean at ISO 6400. I've been shooting astro landscapes with my D750 for 3 years and I am intrigued by the potential sensor improvement of the Z6 over the D750. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some side by side RAWs of the Z6 and D750 at ISO 6400 10-15 seconds so I can pixel peep and see the difference. I shoot a few low horizon northern lights time lapses each year and they are always ISO 6400 6 seconds tops on the shutter speed. If the Z6 can offer better noise performance I might have to pick one up. Also, if it's possible I'd love to see the side by side of both cameras at ISO 12,800. I time lapse at that ISO sometimes as well. You can message me at: facebook.com/kevin.roylance
Thanks for watching Kevin. I've seen some of your work and very much enjoy your style and techniques. So far from what I've noticed the Z6 is very capable at very high iso's. That shot of the windmill at 20,000 iso is one example although it got very cloudy which ruined the scene somewhat. I'll try to get some raws to you at some stage. I'll need to shoot the exact same scene with both cameras to make it a fair comparison. I must say I'm still very impressed with how well the D750 handles nightscapes ... I'm certainly not replacing them with the Z6 just adding another unit to the mix.
Thank you so much for tuning in, I really appreciate your encouragement and support.
Hey Sir, any information on what kind of flashlight that can produce that kind of light so the color of the car or anything that we painted in the light would not have color cast? Thanks in advance for the huge help
Hi Jefri, I use the LED Lenser P7.2 usually with a cto gel over the front to do most of my light painting. I use the gel because I often lower the white balance in camera to enhance the blue colours of the sky. The cto gel is part number 205. It would be considered 1/2 cto. Hope that helps.
Nightscape Images thank you so much Richard for the quick reply! Sorry for another questions, just to convince me that I will buy the right stuff.
About the flashlight LED Lenser P7.2, is it the one with 320 lumens?
About the CTO Gel #205, is it the one that is half orange?
Thank you so much once again, really appreciate it.
Yes Jefri, correct on both counts. You don't need an extra bright light source to light paint and the cto part no 205 is a 1/2 cto. The colour is directly related to the white balance you set in camera.
Nightscape Images last question Richard, in your case on mostly nightshot on this youtube video u share, how many kelvin you set the wb mostly, in related on flash light and the gel u r using?
And one more, what is 1/2 cto means?
I usually set my kelvin to somewhere between 3500k and 5000k depending on what is happening with light pollution, cloud cover or moonlight. 1/2 cto means the strength of the gel is 1/2 of what a full cto is. Less orange in other words. You can also get 1/4 cto for a fainter colour again. The strength of the cto (orange) depends on what kelvin is set. IE: if you set 3200k you will need a stronger cto to help balance the light painting than if you set 4500k. Hope that helps.
Many thanks for a super video. I have recently watched hundreds of videos on the Z cameras as I am considering buying one. Your video was one of the best for me, as we do similar photography. I too am an astrophotgrapher and use a d750. I only wish they had illuminated buttons like the d850. The d850 would have been a choice, but I won't pay out nearly 4000€ for a camera with a useless Wifi system. By the way, you mentioned snapbridge, do you know of dslrdashboard ? If not check it out. Best wishes, Dave from Austria ( where there are no kangeroos )
Thanks so much for the comments Dave. I have tried DSLR Dashboard but I never really got it to work properly. All the very best for 2019.
One quick question, what are your experiances with banding with the z6, is it an issue in real life situations or only extremes.?
@@nightscapeimages.richard
Have not had a problem with banding at all with the Z6 David
I'm wondering, How do you like the 20mm f1.8, for Astro? I understand it has a lot of coma and soft on the edges?
Hi Leon, I love the 20mm f1.8 and use it more than any other lens for astro. Yes it does have some coma wide open but I usually stop it down a bit. It's a great performer. Far better than the Samyangs.
@@nightscapeimages.richard That's interesting, I have a 14mm f2.8 Samyang, I used one time, and I thought the shots were good, But I'm just a real rookie at this Night sky stuff. I purchased the 20mm f1.8 because using the Samyang is cumbersome to me being a manual lens. I also got it because it was faster at 1.8, but, if you have to stop it down, It kind of defeats the purpose of getting an f1.8 no? How much do you stop it down? Great review on the Z6, That's a backside Illuminated sensor, where the D750 is not, might be why it's performing better than D750, I had a D750 also, not sure I didn't make a mistake getting the D850, I might be selling it and going with the Z6, we'll see. Keep up the good reviews mate!
The biggest issue with Samyang/Rokinon is quality control. If you get a good one then it's a great lens. I have 3 off them and none of them are as sharp as the Nikon, Sigma or Tamron lenses I have. Stopping down an f1.8 lens to f2.8 is better than shooting an f2.8 lens wide open in most cases as the edges are the most prone to imperfections. I often shoot the 20mm f1.8 at f2.2 or 2.5.
The D850 is an outstanding camera and in some ways different to the Z6.
How are you triggering the exposure? App? Cord? I'm used to using mirror up with trigger on my D850
Hi Brian, I'm using the wireless remote triggers. Yongnuo rf603nii. I show these in the video at 19:15.
@@nightscapeimages.richard Thanks for getting back to me. Do you think the trigger would be better or the same as using Snapbridge?
I think it's a lot easier than using snapbridge as it is a very simple device with only an on/off switch. It can also double as a flash trigger at the same time and I use it that way often. Snapbridge has to be linked via wifi and is a lot slower to get going. I think it has a very long range also which is handy and it won't drain the camera battery.
Hey! My sigma 35mm won't work with the ftz adapter, did you have to update the lens as well as the camera or just the camera body itself?
I had no trouble with mine working. I didn't do any updates to the lens and mine isn't a new one by any means. I'm assuming you mean it won't auto focus ..???
@Borka Dump Good suggestion
What’s the story about all the old vehicles left in the wilderness?
It's a farm in Australia Jan. They have placed them there for us to shoot images during our nightscape workshops.
for 3:26 picture, why didn't you open the widest aperture?
Thanks for watching Joey. I often stop down the lens a bit to get a sharper images across the frame. That's the great benefit of using these fast aperture prime lenses. Any lens will be sharper when stopped down somewhat.