Nikon Z6 OG appreciation topic

[Andrew Reid]

Let's take a moment to appreciate the old treasure that is the Nikon Z6 OG, which couldn't have aged better even if it were deposited in an oak barrel in Scotland for the past 6 years.

First of all it is £650 now.

Secondly of course it is full frame whereas a lot of the other options for this price are crop sensor.

Many of the other mirrorless full frame cameras have aged quite badly. The Panasonic S1 is superseded by a smaller cheaper camera with better AF. The Canon EOS R classic has been superseded twice by the R6 and R6 II. The formula of Z6 on the other hand has only merely been tweaked with the Z6 II that doesn't add a huge amount extra, because it just doesn't need to.

And the Z8 / Z9 are insanely more money than £650.

I like that it has such nice colour science out the box. It also has better custom picture profile management than Canon.

The IBIS is superior to the Canon EOS R3 in every way, let alone the EOS R5 or R6 II.

The 4K video and 6K sensor is superb in low light, better than the 8K+ stuff.

And despite now being very cheap the top LCD and enormous, detailed EVF hold up very favourably today, in fact the EVF competes with some of the best even in 2024.

The ergonomics are excellent, it doesn't put a foot wrong in terms of what it tries to do. And what it doesn't do, you probably don't need. OK, so there's no 4K/60p, or faster stacked sensor, and 120fps is limited to 1080p, but everything feels fast and responsive, including the on-sensor phase-detect AF.

It is much smaller and lighter than the Panasonic S1 or S1H, yet with phase-detect AF and a very similar sensor under the hood.

Z mount has also ripened well... It has a really good line up of lenses and adapters now, including the nifty Leica M mount autofocus adapter which will turn every manual focus lens into a fast and snappy autofocus optic.

Plus it's the only mirrorless mount that adapts to Sony E!

So you can put your native Sony mirrorless lenses on there and everything works.

I can't think of a better deal for £650 at the moment on the used market for cameras.

Curious to hear other opinions and what's changed in Nikon land since it came out those long 6 years ago in 2018.

I can't for the life of me think of another 6 year old camera that has aged this well.

[IronFilm]

I reckon the only camera that aged better is the OG BMPCC! (although a very different camera, and also a fair bit older too) 

[MrSMW]

I considered it about the same time as I was looking at changing from the Fuji XH1 to the XT3 but dismissed it upon handling in a camera shop and firing off a few frames.

I found it plasticky and clunky...but actually...

Ha, I am a Z6ii user these days. For stills anyway.

For around 1250, I got an 'as new' one with battery grip as a lens platform for larger zooms and as you point out Andrew, the only major brand you can use E Mount glass on. Adapted of course.

As I have mentioned several times, I am still looking for that 'one and done' body & lens combo that ticks all my boxes and the Z6ii is surprisingly close.

In terms of size & weight, without a grip, its the 'perfect' size for me as far as cameras go, not too small or light and not too big and/or heavy.

Add the optional battery grip and it becomes even better ergonomically and as a lens platform.

An equal option in that regard is the Z9, but actually that's still a considerably heavier option and so if you don't need it's spec, the Z6ii serves very well.

The only camera for me that beats it as a 24mp lens platform, is Canon's R3. Ergonomically fantastic and ridiculously light for a built in grip camera. But without glass, 4000+ so...

My only real issue with the Z6ii though is the AF is a bit slow. I have the Zf also and it's on another level. They just need to combine the two, ie, the guts of the Zf in the Z6ii body and that should be the Z6iii.

But the OG Z6 I can't really comment other than I almost went that route but glad I did not as at that time, it probably would have been limited, especially lens-wise.

But 650 is a bit of a bargain and the same goes for many older cameras now such as the XH1 and XT3 which are still highly capable.

[ita149]

I think the OG S5 and the S1 still have the best video quality with very similar image than a raw picture file, as opposed to the recent cameras like the S5II.
Even if the S5II has better IBIS in 4K, and much better AF, these S5 and S1 are a steal for people who don't need very fast AF.

[PannySVHS]

From my experience, ease of use in reaching that best potential image quality goes to the Bmpcc and Bmmcc, among DSLMs and sub 5000 USD class of cameras. @ita149

The og S1, S5 and the S1H  provide fantastic potential in post with a modern flawless image, up there with a FX6, dethrowning a r5 in regards of dynamic range and latitude f.i.

S1 would be my steal of the current moment, regarding bang for the buck for a cinema dslm.

The og Bmpcc and Bmmcc are my image magic recording devices though.:)

 

[Dane Reindel]

If you use autofocus, ibis and like over-sharpened 4K sure its a great camera but if you don't, the Canon 5D iii 14bit 3:2 open gate raw magic lantern video is the winner in my opinion and also much cheaper

[MrSMW]

6 hours ago, ita149 said:

I think the OG S5 and the S1 still have the best video quality with very similar image than a raw picture file, as opposed to the recent cameras like the S5II.
Even if the S5II has better IBIS in 4K, and much better AF, these S5 and S1 are a steal for people who don't need very fast AF.

As someone who has owned the OG S5 and uses an S5ii and an S1H, I can confirm.

The S5ii has the best stabilisation (by far) and the best AF, (S5ii, then S1H, then OG S5) but actual picture quality, I'd rank them: S1H, OG S5 and last S5ii.

But for anyone that doesn't need the stab or the absolute best AF, the OG S5 I think is a steal.

In fact, the S5, S5ii, Z6, Z6ii and maybe some others, all share the same sensor, but perhaps with some individual brand tweaks.

The S1H has an OLPF so is a slightly different beast but I prefer the still image results I get out of the Z6ii over the S5ii. There is not that much in it, but there's a subtle difference I cannot put my finger on except there is 'something'...

[FHDcrew]

So cool to have this thread created. Hope everyone is well; haven’t been active in a while. Still love my Z6.  Super nice 8 bit image and if you nail your WB grades very nicely. Neutral with I-dynamic on high or Nikon flat with I-dynamic (for very extreme scenes) provides nice colors, decent flexibility and range in post. Grades nicely in Davinci. Autofocus is usable, nowhere near what the latest Canons and Sonys can do but still really solid. If you can get an Atomos Ninja Star you can record oversampled 6k>1080p 10 bit 422 prores which gives a beautiful image and grades just as well as anything out there. One of the best 1080p cams for the money in that regard. 
 

4k 10 bit out of the HDMI to something like a Ninja V looks great; the image holds up with really anything else (Canon R6 II, Sony FX30, etc) but it’s not my favorite setup in terms of ergonomics, weight or battery management. Nice to have as an option but I’d much rather have internal 10 bit log. That being said, the internal 8 bit is great most of the time. 

[FHDcrew]

Mixture of 8 bit and external 10 bit. The first location is definitely 8 bit. 
 

 

[Andrew Reid]

On 5/30/2024 at 6:30 AM, IronFilm said:

I reckon the only camera that aged better is the OG BMPCC! (although a very different camera, and also a fair bit older too) 

The image has aged well but not the feature set. It's lacking AF, IBIS, 4K, HFR, and a good battery or audio. The Olympus E-M1 II is 400 quid and a good alternative.

[IronFilm]

On 6/2/2024 at 10:05 AM, Andrew Reid said:

The image has aged well but not the feature set. It's lacking AF, IBIS, 4K, HFR, and a good battery or audio. The Olympus E-M1 II is 400 quid and a good alternative.

well the BMPCC for its niche as a very low budget "cinema camera" I think can kinda hold up and live without IBIS, HFR (still has 60fps, enough for most purposes), great audio, or great AF.  Because that's the type of camera it is (of course, it was aimed at bird photographers, then yeah, you need a totally different feature set!)

It's only in the last couple of years or so do I think the lack of 4K is becoming more of an issue as it ages. 

But yes, sadly the battery situation of the BMPCC has always been its biggest weakness, they should have just used a slightly bigger grip and gone with perhaps a NP-F550 or similar battery. 

[kye]

20 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

well the BMPCC for its niche as a very low budget "cinema camera" I think can kinda hold up and live without IBIS, HFR (still has 60fps, enough for most purposes), great audio, or great AF.  Because that's the type of camera it is (of course, it was aimed at bird photographers, then yeah, you need a totally different feature set!)

It's only in the last couple of years or so do I think the lack of 4K is becoming more of an issue as it ages. 

But yes, sadly the battery situation of the BMPCC has always been its biggest weakness, they should have just used a slightly bigger grip and gone with perhaps a NP-F550 or similar battery. 

It seems strange to me that because a cinema camera is small that somehow it is judged like a P&S rather than a cinema camera.  Many/most cinema cameras lack IBIS and reliable AF-C today, and even P&S cameras smaller than GX85 lack IBIS.

It is a pity that they didn't have a bigger grip / battery though.  One good way to do it would be to look at the smallest lens that would practically be used (which in this case is the 14mm F2.5 or 20mm F1.7) and then make the grip just smaller than that.

[IronFilm]

2 hours ago, kye said:

It seems strange to me that because a cinema camera is small that somehow it is judged like a P&S rather than a cinema camera.  Many/most cinema cameras lack IBIS and reliable AF-C today, and even P&S cameras smaller than GX85 lack IBIS.

If you want a cinema camera that behaves close-ish to how a modern mirrorless camera is, then it sounds like you want a Sony FX30. 

They're on sale now: US$1,599 (waiting for them become sub $1K on eBay!)

[bjohn]

12 hours ago, IronFilm said:

well the BMPCC for its niche as a very low budget "cinema camera" I think can kinda hold up and live without IBIS, HFR (still has 60fps, enough for most purposes)

The OG BMPCC only went up to 30fps; it was the BMMCC (Micro Cinema Camera) that added 60fps.

[IronFilm]

11 hours ago, bjohn said:

The OG BMPCC only went up to 30fps; it was the BMMCC (Micro Cinema Camera) that added 60fps.

whoops! Shows how long it has been since I've turned mine on... I guess it's time to sell it 

[FHDcrew]

Some 8-bit stuff I shot a few months ago and finally got around to editing.  Graded with one of the Fuji film-luts in Davinci Resolve.  I got my white balance pretty close which helped a lot.  I've found the 8-bit color to be pretty solid as long as my white balance is good and I'm not underexposed.  Need to get better at nailing those things for run-and-gun stuff.  Whenever I shoot 10 bit I get less strict with spot-on WB because I know I can tweak in post lol.

[gethin]

i dont know if this makes any sense but the z6 and z6ii have a nice fat image. I find the z8 thin. Maybe from my chemical photography days. You could punch through an overexposed fat neg, but had to work harder with a thin one.  I often stumble on stuff I shot on the z6 and think "gee that's nice".  With the z8 I can get a great image, but i've found I get the best results shooting non log flat mode with the dynamic range boost cranked at the lowest iso possible.  And then I'll still often need to denoise a bit.