Nikon Z6 features 4K N-LOG, 10bit HDMI output and 120fps 1080p

[Emanuel]

Don, I agree with David, I would surely do it along 4K 60p if/when available... : -)

[webrunner5]

14 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

Don, I agree with David, I would surely do it along 4K 60p if/when available... : -)

Oh I am sure a lot of us would, but the average person buying one, nah. Just like the PK4, how many will ever shoot Raw, even the BRaw if it ever comes out. I don't see why a person on here would even bother buying one of they didn't want to take advantage of the 10bit a reasonable amount of time. No need for everything to be shot in it for sure..

But we represent a damn small percentage of people that will ever buy one. A heck of a lot of people will never even shoot video on one, just photos..

[Emanuel]

P4K is a cinema camera, Nikon Z series, a hybrid one.

I find it rather useful to deliver high demanding bit rate to output as finest codec acquisition as possible.

Mediocrity is a plague.

 

Let alone any politics discussion like the one this picture may pop up in our heads:

[webrunner5]

Yeah a newer Lada is not much of a status symbol. But at least you can afford to get it repaired, unlike some of the high end Bimmers. I could not afford one if someone gave me one.

[DBounce]

1 hour ago, webrunner5 said:

Somehow I can't visualize too many Nikon shooters having an External recorder hanging off one to be honest. ?

I'm one of those that does. But that said,  the 8 bit is not bad.  It's nice to have options, especially when you are traveling light. 

[BasiliskFilm]

9 hours ago, DBounce said:

I'm one of those that does. But that said,  the 8 bit is not bad.  It's nice to have options, especially when you are traveling light. 

That's one of the attractions of the Swiss Army Knife approach of the Nikon. You can stick the same camera in small bag for spontaneous moments at unprecedented quality, but the same body can also be used in the studio for shooting 10 bit log for green screen, with a recorder and audio extras.

[hansel]

@Geoff_L it would be great to see or hear about g lenses with VR in combo with ibis. Or on top of that plus electronic VR. What works best where, e.g. For still, panning, etc....

Cheers

[Geoff_L]

2 hours ago, hansel said:

@Geoff_L it would be great to see or hear about g lenses with VR in combo with ibis. Or on top of that plus electronic VR. What works best where, e.g. For still, panning, etc....

Cheers

Yes, you're totally right. As I'm debating between the old 300 f4 and the 300 VR PF, I want to know what works (and don't) by combining ibis + ftz + vr lenses. I even got a tamron 150-600 to try out :D But, I do not have a lot of vr/G lenses anymore, so I'm gonna see what I can do (maybe borrow from friends).

[DBounce]

Here’s a quick play with high ISO... both internal and external to a Ninja V. There are no official Luts from Nikon yet. No noise reduction applied. I had some trouble getting good manual focus in low light... but that’s on me. 

 

[Danyyyel]

On 12/5/2018 at 10:33 AM, Jordan Drake said:

I do think the main purchasers for video will almost exclusively be people with a large selection of Nikkor AF glass

I don't understand the logic of this conclusion at all. I mean why should... "almost exclusively" be people with a large selection of Nikkor AF glass chose the z6.  It is nothing outrageous to say that the z6 is the best video MILC for now and only behind the XT3 if you really want 4k 60 fps and don't care about IBIS. So why should only Nikon users be interested in the top 2 best video MILC. As illustrated by the video below, the guy finding himself so much liking the z6 that he doesn't know what to choose between it and the A73 which he already has.

What some will point out is the native lens selection. If someone starts from zero for sure the Sony has more lens but Nikon has already put out a roadmap. By this time next year we will have most of the pro quality lens to cater for 80% of use, and in two years 90% of what most people use. We already have FTZ adapter which caters for everything. The only grippe with the Ftz is video, because of motor noise. But as seen by most account the F mount lens work very well with the z6 ftz adapter combo. But if you are serious about video you will never use the internal microphone but get an external one. Another thing with the FTZ adapter, waiting for native lens, I could buy new or even better used, a bunch of quality Fmount lens for the price of one new Sony lens.

The other thing about the Z lens mount is, do you buy into Sony system (which is already very costly) or buy into a new system that is planed to be future proof. With that bigger mount we can already see with Nikon and Canon that it opens new possibilities with higher quality fast lens and completely new formula as F2 zoom. Other innovation like third ring that can be programmed for smooth aperture or Iso change. So my conclusion of this conclusion, why should the z6 "almost exclusively" be people with a large selection of Nikkor AF glass, when ultimately it is at least as good and potentially much better than the competition. 

 

 

[DBounce]

@Danyyyel I owned no Fuji lenses or Nikon lenses. I like what the Nikon puts out video wise. I did buy it primarily for stills as I wanted something small and light weight. I have all the new Z lenses except for the 50mm f1.8... which I have on pre-order. So far I am enjoying this camera hugely. Not quite as much as the Fuji X-T3... I really liked the built in styles of the Fuji... and I miss the battery grip for portrait mode... and the portrait tilt. That was a great feature. But I think the Nikon is the better video camera. I don’t use internal audio for anything other than scratch or timecode. That said I might have to hook a mic up to the Z6 to see how the internal preamps sound with decent signal.

[thebrothersthre3]

9 hours ago, DBounce said:

@Danyyyel I owned no Fuji lenses or Nikon lenses. I like what the Nikon puts out video wise. I did buy it primarily for stills as I wanted something small and light weight. I have all the new Z lenses except for the 50mm f1.8... which I have on pre-order. So far I am enjoying this camera hugely. Not quite as much as the Fuji X-T3... I really liked the built in styles of the Fuji... and I miss the battery grip for portrait mode... and the portrait tilt. That was a great feature. But I think the Nikon is the better video camera. I don’t use internal audio for anything other than scratch or timecode. That said I might have to hook a mic up to the Z6 to see how the internal preamps sound with decent signal.

Because of reliability or image quality? 

We are coming so close to the holy grail of video though. Once 10 bit 4k60p comes to full frame mirrorless its gonna be the nail in the coffin. 
 

[DBounce]

36 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Because of reliability or image quality? 

We are coming so close to the holy grail of video though. Once 10 bit 4k60p comes to full frame mirrorless its gonna be the nail in the coffin. 
 

I’m speaking of image quality, but that also includes color. And we cannot discount the Nikon’s superior low light. Combined with the larger sensor you can get away with smaller and lighter f4 glass while still getting ample DOF. 

Keeping size/weight down is not only important for travel, but equally important when rigging in unusual location... like the interior of a car.

As for build... well even without my prior experience with the Fuji’s, I believe the Nikon feels sturdier. Not that the Fuji feels flimsy... because it does not. But the Nikon is a definite step up in terms of build quality. I also believe XQD cards feel less prone to breaking than their SD counterparts. Granted, they are priced like jewelry. IIRC, I paid $460 for a single Sony 256GB XQD card. So there is that. But still no worse than the CFast cards the C200 devours?

One last word on reliability. I had several crashes, and a couple of failures to recognize media during my time with the Fuji’s. I also had an issue with a brand new lens not being picked up when connected. Once my cameras died it was a final non-responsive kind of issue. They did not merely lose some functionality. Worst still is that neither body was subjected to any hash conditions or mistreatment.

The Nikon feels like my Canons in that way. I have no anxiety about taking the Nikon whilst leaving the 1DXMK2 at home. I know it will just work... and honestly that’s how it should be. It’s one of the things that keeps me away from Blackmagic. When I purchased the Fuji’s I had heard a lot of great things about them. So initially I had little worries about flying solo with the Fuji’s. The subsequent failures have altered my initial opinion. It’s a shame, because I genuinely enjoyed shooting with them. I doubt I would buy another one.

[Emanuel]

That title is beyond me... Z6 is the best one. Why not Z7 or Z series would suit better IMO : -)

[thebrothersthre3]

4 hours ago, DBounce said:

I’m speaking of image quality, but that also includes color. And we cannot discount the Nikon’s superior low light. Combined with the larger sensor you can get away with smaller and lighter f4 glass while still getting ample DOF. 

Keeping size/weight down is not only important for travel, but equally important when rigging in unusual location... like the interior of a car.

As for build... well even without my prior experience with the Fuji’s, I believe the Nikon feels sturdier. Not that the Fuji feels flimsy... because it does not. But the Nikon is a definite step up in terms of build quality. I also believe XQD cards feel less prone to breaking than their SD counterparts. Granted, they are priced like jewelry. IIRC, I paid $460 for a single Sony 256GB XQD card. So there is that. But still no worse than the CFast cards the C200 devours?

One last word on reliability. I had several crashes, and a couple of failures to recognize media during my time with the Fuji’s. I also had an issue with a brand new lens not being picked up when connected. Once my cameras died it was a final non-responsive kind of issue. They did not merely lose some functionality. Worst still is that neither body was subjected to any hash conditions or mistreatment.

The Nikon feels like my Canons in that way. I have no anxiety about taking the Nikon whilst leaving the 1DXMK2 at home. I know it will just work... and honestly that’s how it should be. It’s one of the things that keeps me away from Blackmagic. When I purchased the Fuji’s I had heard a lot of great things about them. So initially I had little worries about flying solo with the Fuji’s. The subsequent failures have altered my initial opinion. It’s a shame, because I genuinely enjoyed shooting with them. I doubt I would buy another one.

I had no idea they didn't use SD cards, kind of a bummer. Though the XQD cards are studier. 

Low light performance and IBIS are definitely huge benefits. 

[Geoff_L]

Interesting finsd concerning video AF :

The Z6 behaves differently when using adapted Sigma lens (I have to check if it is the same with an adapted Nikkor lens), native Z lens and when using the touchscreen AF. The transition is really smooth (I find it pleasing) when using the native lens, but faster with the Sigma. It's like the AF settings were ignored with the latter. When using tap focusing, the native becomes as fast as the Sigma.

[Attila Bakos]

I ask again, maybe with more success this time, can anyone with a Z6/Z7 and an external recorder shoot a short clip (few seconds) with the lens cap on and upload it somewhere? I'd appreciate it.

[DBounce]

2 hours ago, Attila Bakos said:

I ask again, maybe with more success this time, can anyone with a Z6/Z7 and an external recorder shoot a short clip (few seconds) with the lens cap on and upload it somewhere? I'd appreciate it.

What lens? Or do you mean body cap? What ISO?

[Attila Bakos]

1 hour ago, DBounce said:

What lens? Or do you mean body cap? What ISO?

Lens doesn't matter, and use native ISO for N-log, whatever that is.

Oh and could you make a second one with lots of clipped highlights?

Thanks!

[gethin]

I'm getting a bunch of people frothing on the nikon z facebook page for querying why nikon set the min shutter speed in auto modes to 1/25th, AND forced autoISO in the auto modes. You cant switch it off!  I phoned nikon today, I'm hoping there's something I'm missing somewhere. Frothy facebook people are wondering why anyone would want to use an auto mode, but for what I do it is essential. Auto iso in manual mode doesn't cut the mustard.  I've used this on canons, a couple of GH's and 2 DSLR nikons. It's baffling that the z implemation is so limited. (and why didn't they just set the min shutter to 2xfps, or at least let you specify max shutter angle).  

I'm in that weird period with a camera where you're getting to know it, and finding out all its quirks and foibles. (Controlling the IBIS via the lens. No peaking in autofocus mode, despite the fact you can change focus manually. No zebras and peaking, no level and histogram on screen at same time... and i have much to learn about autofocus.)