Nikon Z6 Review: Specs, Price, and Nikon Z5 vs Z6 Comparison

The Nikon Z6 camera is two full-frame mirror-less cameras by Nikon. The camera is similar to the Z7, the primary difference in their sensors (24MP for Z6 and 46MP for Z7) and a lesser resolution. The Z6 is a perfect choice for photographers looking to upgrade their crop-sensor cameras or earlier versions of full-frame DSLRs.

Nikon Z6 Specs

The Z6 is available sold body-only piece for $1999 or with the Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4 S lens priced at $2599. The Nikon Z6 has a well-built and stylish weather-sealed body that is surprisingly light on the hold. The camera has a very excellent grip with controls on the reach of the fingers, though the user needs to stretch to reach the customizable buttons.

Nikon Z6 Review

• • Control Overview: The Z6 has a superb mode dial and OLED info display. The mode dial has an attached lock, that can be pressed down to rotate the dial. The OLED display has excellent lighting and is visible in any weather condition. One of the distinctive things about the Z6 is the exposure settings and customization options, which are exclusive to each mode.

• • Electronic Viewfinder & LCD: The Z6 has one of the sharpest and largest viewfinders one can ever find in a mirror less camera. It has 3.69 million dots and a magnification of 0.80x. There is also an eye sensor to switch between the viewfinder and LCD, with four different settings, namely automatic, viewfinder only, monitor and ‘prioritize viewfinder. The LCD of the Z6 has a high resolution of 2.1 million dots. The LCD can be tilted upward by a bit over 90° and down by 45° and comes with a touch-enabled screen.

• • Ports: The Z6 has multiple ports for headphone, external mic sockets, USB-C, HDMI and remote cable release. The rubber flaps that protect the camera ports are ‘hinged,’ so that the user doesn’t require uncovering the ones that aren’t required to be fiddled with.

• • Memory Cards & Battery: The Z6 has a single XQD card slot and is powered by a single EN-EL15b lithium-ion battery, which is cross-compatible with the Nikon D750 as well as the D800-series DSLRs. The battery can also be charged over a USB. The external charger of the camera takes only 2.5 hours for a complete charge, with USB charging taking almost the same time. The Z6 camera can cover 380 shots with the LCD and 310 shots with the viewfinder.

• • Touch Screen: The Z6 touch screen can be used for many functions- adjusting the AF point, flicking between the main menu and the customizable menu, for zooming as well as navigating images in the playback mode. It, however, cannot be used as a touchpad when the camera is held to the eye.

• • Menus: The menus on the Z6 is similar to a Nikon D200 or a new DSLR, there is not only a tabbed structure with colour-coded Custom Settings menu but also an identical set of options like the D850. One of the changes on the ‘Z’ cameras is a touch-sensitive, customizable version of the ‘i’ menu. This feature is used for making quick settings changes.

• • Auto ISO: The Z6 has a brilliant Auto ISO implementation that lets users specify an upper limit and shutter speed for the camera. Auto ISO can be used in manual exposure mode, and it gives the exposure compensation to let photographers specify the target lightness that the camera needs to maintain while clicking pictures.

• • Autofocus: Nikon has a developed hybrid AF system that is super fast responsive and accurate.

• • Video: The Nikon Z6 is the better for video among all the cameras of Z series. It consists of every capture tools of the Z7, though, the UHD 4K video is oversampled with no line-skipping feature. The Z6 can capture excellent 4K video, and users can shoot full-frame videos or even switch to the DX mode for a 1.5x crop. In short, the video quality is excellent. Additionally, the Z6 can also capture Full HD video at 120p and 100p.

• • Video settings: The Z6 has several video controls to satisfy the video lover. There are the white balance and autofocus area modes for the proper focus of the video and its brightness. Some of the video settings include file format (MOV or MP4), Picture Control (like the ‘Flat’ profile) microphone sensitivity (with an attenuator and wind noise filter,) headphone volume and the time code.

• • Video Functions: The Nikon Z6 can also produce 10-bit Log footage termed as the ‘N-Log’, over HDMI to an external recorder. Nikon also has a ‘View Assist’ function that lets photographers shoot with a ‘corrected’ preview while producing the flat, washed-out Log feed. In addition to this, the impressive feature of the Z6 is its usable autofocus in video. The move to an on-sensor phase-detection means that the camera is fully aware of the subject distance while shooting a video. Also, tracking and refocusing on subjects while capturing video is straightforward and reliable in the Z6.

Nikon Z5 vs. Nikon Z6 Review