Nikon will announce Z6s/Z7s updates, with dual card slots and 4K 60fps

[IronFilm]

https://nikonrumors.com/2020/07/06/breaking-new-nikon-z6s-and-nikon-z7s-mirrorless-cameras-expected-later-this-year.aspx/

Quote

Incremental update to the current Z6/Z7 models

Same sensor as in the Z6/Z7

Dual EXPEED processor

Nikon EN-EL15c battery (already registered online)

USB power

Dual memory card slots (I assume dual CFexpress, but I am not sure)

4K 60 video

Vertical grip with buttons/controls (available as an optional accessory)

Expected announcement: later this year (around October) of course everything can be further delayed

When even part of the Canikon duolopy has a cheap FF camera (the Nikon Z6s) with 4K 60fps, then Sony had better have it with the new a7Smk3!

They can try to ignore the Panasonic with their S1 & 4K 60fps, but you can't ignore Nikon. You'd hope this also means the Sony a7mk4 will feel the need to have 4K 60fps in it as well.

Likewise the GH5 will no longer be part of a small select group with 4K 60fps, the GH6 should for instance has 4K 120fps. (even if they were to stick with the same sensor for the GH6, the GH5 sensor is capable of it as we've seen with the Z Cam E2-M4 and 4K 160fps!)

[gethin]

This would make me very happy.  If they could sort out the shadow banding and improve the video af a bit I'd be ecstatic

[sanveer]

7 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Likewise the GH5 will no longer be part of a small select group with 4K 60fps, the GH6 should for instance has 4K 120fps. (even if they were to stick with the same sensor for the GH6, the GH5 sensor is capable of it as we've seen with the Z Cam E2-M4 and 4K 160fps!)

Hopefully Panasonic starts coming clean about the future of M43, and especially the GH6. If it's still on, it should be future proofed, like the GH5, for another 3-4 years. Full VLog, better low light by 1.5-2 stops, 4k at 120-180fps, atleast 1.5 stops more of video dynamic range, way better video autofocus (PDAF finally), 6k at upto 60p, 14-bit photo, 3.5inch LCD, much lower lag on HDMI. 

(slightly bigger sensor?)

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, sanveer said:

(slightly bigger sensor?)

Just go for the MARS one they've got in the likes of the GH5S/GH2 and give us full access to all the sensor size's potential. 

[Andrew Reid]

In my opinion needs a lot more than what is rumoured.

What about internal 10bit?

Internal N-LOG?

Is the 4K/60p APS-C only or full frame?

Dual card slots - Dual XQD or one SD and one XQD?

Are they going to improve the body design? Make it less consumer?

More to the point... Why would somebody buy a Z6 instead of S1 or EOS R6!

[IronFilm]

16 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

In my opinion needs a lot more than what is rumoured.

Nikon Rumors is an extremely photography focused website, no surprise if they're light on the video spec details. Plus this is only the first ever leaked info about the Z6s, more info should be yet to come. Hopefully including the likes of internal N-Log / 10bit / etc! (and my own personal wishlist: TC input and waveforms!!)
 

18 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Why would somebody buy a Z6 instead of S1

1) I have slightly more faith in the future of Z Mount (which is backed by half of the historically dominant Canikon) than L Mount (which is supported by two super tiny niche camera body brands of Leica / Sigma, plus a small/midsized company which is Panasonic that has its interests split across at least two mounts already)
2) Nikon F mount lenses work far better on a Z6 than a S1
3) Z6 has the Z50 baby brother to share lenses with, the S1 doesn't. 
4) the Z6 is cheaper secondhand than the S1 by a couple of hundred bucks (and much cheaper than an R6, will take a while until the R6 prices drift down really low onto the secondhand market seeing as how the R6 isn't even released yet)

[MrSMW]

This looks quite interesting to me...

The ONLY things that stopped me moving to Z6's for hybrid work last year, was the lack of 4k 60p 10 bit internal, so if an updated model gets this, anything else is a bonus and it will be one of the strongest contenders for me in 2021 along with Canon R6 and Fuji XH2.

Happy days as far as I am concerned!

[David Bowgett]

On 7/8/2020 at 1:34 PM, Andrew Reid said:

Is the 4K/60p APS-C only or full frame?

If Nikon are putting a second Expeed processor in the body, my guess is it'll be full frame. It's the same trick that Canon used when they needed to put 1080p60 in the 7D Mark II to tick that box on the feature set, but their newest DIGIC processor at the time was only capable of 1080p30; they just bunged a second processor in there to get the job done.

[Mark Romero 2]

On 7/8/2020 at 5:34 AM, Andrew Reid said:

More to the point... Why would somebody buy a Z6 instead of S1 or EOS R6!

Yeah, a new Z6 would require  AT LEAST 10-bit internal LOG, and I would need to see some confirmation that the dynamic range matches that of the S1 V-LOG since what few tests I saw online seemed to say that it had a good stop-and-a-half LESS than the S1 did. (If someone has a link to tests showing dynamic range of N-LOG where it compares equally or favorably to the S1, please let me know.)

And 4K 60 full frame.

But then there is the lens situation...

Nikon lenses are plentiful and affordable. S1 lenses.... that's a a no.

But S1 lenses have minimal focus breathing and the zooms are about as close to being parfocal as you are going to find.

Anyway... all this just to say that I guess I am looking forward to the real world tests of the Canon R6 the most.

[Video Hummus]

Dual processors being advertised...uh oh. Olympus did the same thing and they are headed for the exits. Usually means lack of funds for investing in better tech.

[Emanuel]

Finally... when their traditional competitor launches 4K 120p -- let alone any smartphone manufacturer, well, and people still complain about Canon! LOL : )

Good news for Nikonians... my first professional SLR, pity I left but still keep my F3, so I guess this is good news for those inside their most recent ecosystem.

 

[David Bowgett]

1 hour ago, Video Hummus said:

Dual processors being advertised...uh oh. Olympus did the same thing and they are headed for the exits. Usually means lack of funds for investing in better tech.

Not necessarily. Canon have been releasing bodies with multiple DIGIC processors for quite a while now - mostly in the 1D series, but the 7D Mark II had dual DIGICs as well. Most likely Nikon's next Expeed processor isn't anywhere near ready for release yet, and they figured slapping a second one in there was good enough for what I'm guessing are incremental updates.

[Super8]

On 7/7/2020 at 10:51 PM, IronFilm said:

https://nikonrumors.com/2020/07/06/breaking-new-nikon-z6s-and-nikon-z7s-mirrorless-cameras-expected-later-this-year.aspx/

When even part of the Canikon duolopy has a cheap FF camera (the Nikon Z6s) with 4K 60fps, then Sony had better have it with the new a7Smk3!

They can try to ignore the Panasonic with their S1 & 4K 60fps, but you can't ignore Nikon. You'd hope this also means the Sony a7mk4 will feel the need to have 4K 60fps in it as well.

Likewise the GH5 will no longer be part of a small select group with 4K 60fps, the GH6 should for instance has 4K 120fps. (even if they were to stick with the same sensor for the GH6, the GH5 sensor is capable of it as we've seen with the Z Cam E2-M4 and 4K 160fps!)

Given R6 specs and price point it seems the Z6s is positioned as a useful update.    The Z6 already had IBIS and RAW out, so these new additions look better based on what Canon and I bet Sony will do.

The Z6s needs to have 10bit internal recording across the board also.

[Zeng]

On 7/10/2020 at 6:54 PM, Mark Romero 2 said:

Yeah, a new Z6 would require  AT LEAST 10-bit internal LOG, and I would need to see some confirmation that the dynamic range matches that of the S1 V-LOG since what few tests I saw online seemed to say that it had a good stop-and-a-half LESS than the S1 did. (If someone has a link to tests showing dynamic range of N-LOG where it compares equally or favorably to the S1, please let me know.)

And 4K 60 full frame.

But then there is the lens situation...

Nikon lenses are plentiful and affordable. S1 lenses.... that's a a no.

But S1 lenses have minimal focus breathing and the zooms are about as close to being parfocal as you are going to find.

Anyway... all this just to say that I guess I am looking forward to the real world tests of the Canon R6 the most.

Z6 has about the same DR as S1H. A little over 12 stops. Tested myself. Well, depending on what's acceptable to you in the shadows, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 stop more on S1H as it uses NR.

[Mark Romero 2]

21 hours ago, Zeng said:

Z6 has about the same DR as S1H. A little over 12 stops. Tested myself. Well, depending on what's acceptable to you in the shadows, maybe 1/3 to 1/2 stop more on S1H as it uses NR.

Thanks for the report. If that is truly the case (not doubting you), I would have looked harder at the Z6 + Ninja V combo. Most of the early tests I saw showed that it was about a stop and a half lower (just at 11 stops of DR). 

Are you using N-Log to text the Z6? Or RAW???

[Zeng]

I've tested it in prores RAW. 

[Danyyyel]

On 7/12/2020 at 8:03 PM, Mark Romero 2 said:

Thanks for the report. If that is truly the case (not doubting you), I would have looked harder at the Z6 + Ninja V combo. Most of the early tests I saw showed that it was about a stop and a half lower (just at 11 stops of DR). 

Are you using N-Log to text the Z6? Or RAW???

What test, the Nlog is rated at 12 stop, in photo raw the Nikon with Sony sensors are rated at 14.5+ stop. Albeit at 12 megapixel from dxolab. The thing is DR is calculated also with a level of noise. Some prefer the noise free which are about 12.5 stops. But I prefer with noise if else even film would be like 12 dr max. That is also why I think Nikon chose to put its Nlog less contrasty as to cut into the noise.

 

[Mark Romero 2]

18 hours ago, Danyyyel said:

What test, the Nlog is rated at 12 stop, in photo raw the Nikon with Sony sensors are rated at 14.5+ stop. Albeit at 12 megapixel from dxolab. The thing is DR is calculated also with a level of noise. Some prefer the noise free which are about 12.5 stops. But I prefer with noise if else even film would be like 12 dr max. That is also why I think Nikon chose to put its Nlog less contrasty as to cut into the noise.

 

One of the tests I remember was Maarten Heilbron and I thought Gerald Undone had done a test, but could be wrong. But I am pretty sure I did see another test where NLOG was about 11 stops max.

Could you share with me where you saw that NLog is rated at 12 stops?

I am hardly an engineer, but I thought that there would be a difference between the RAW that is captured by stills in the .NEF format internally and the RAW that is captured in the ProRes codecs.

[Video Hummus]

The Nikon Z series doesn’t get much attention on this forum, so I decided to take a second look at it following the release of the Z5 and upcoming Z6/7S cameras.

After looking at their lenses, My initial impressions are positive. I find the Nikon Z lenses much more compelling than the $2300-2600 Canon RF glass. For one, the Z lenses are cheaper, mainly coming in around $1000 and many well under $1000 for the variable aperture stuff and inline with Canon’s Pro 2.8 glass.

They have interesting focal lengths like 14-30mm f/4, all the usual pro 2.8 lenses (except telephoto), and really affordable f1.8 primes. The just announced 24-200 f/4-6.3 feels like the FF spiritual successor to the MFT Oly 12-100 f/4 for a relatively compact all-arounder walkabout lens. The super compact 24-50 f/4-6.3 seems like a Interesting street combo or small kit lens setup.

If they had a bit better video specs a Z50, Z6S/7S is a pretty compelling combo. Z50 makes a great B-cam or vlogging cam for BTS or story narrative bits while the Z6S handles the more cinematic stuff.

I have also noticed with Canon and Nikon the embrace of higher apertures for smaller sizes in lenses. I think Nikon Z pulls this off better, so far, imho.

It seems Canon released the usual pro 2.8 lenses first while Nikon took a more balanced approach with releasing some Pro lenses inter-mixed with unusual variable aperture designs and focal lengths.

[thebrothersthre3]

Wish they'd go all out with video. 

Prores RAW in the Z6 is compelling but its had so many issues and you have to send it in for an upgrade. 

Nikon needs to at least match Fuji's internal video specs and they should throw in RAW like in the Sigma FP with a USB-C out. Priced at around $2000 that would be a compelling option for video. They also need to get their AF in order. It's not the greatest on the Z6 and its a mess on the Z50. Autofocus in while shooting in N-LOG is also a must.