Nikon Z6 - what do you think?

I am really interested in the Z cam myself, it looks very compelling but I don't know a lot of about it's af capabilities (if it has it at all).

The autofocus on panasonic s1h will improve over time, but question of how much it will improve and how long it will take to get the improvement it is needed for your needs is hard to answer. That kind of improvement may not make it till s2h/s1h II, but mark my words there will be significant improvements in the firmware releases.

 

so true for sony @Kocaman, thats why I didn't invest in Sony in the first place. Panasonic was pushing technology forward and delivered up to this date always a stable and battle tested system. In 2017 Panasonic were the first to introduce 4K60FPS without any recording limit nor overheating issues.

 

Don't expect the AF system to improve. The DFD system is based off of contrast detection, a system known for accuracy but not speed or reliability. There are lenses already out for L mount. At the S1H launch event I had some time with the 12-24 f/2.8 Art though a hall isn't the ideal location for such a lens.

As you said the AF system works but isn't exactly a pleasure or one that gives me much confidence. The only thing we can hope for is customizing in camera. That sadly will only take it so far. Like Pentax, Panasonic for w/e reason won't shift from DFD.

I did see the Z-cam (not the FF model sadly) along with the Kinefinity Terra at a local exhibition. Like with the current gen of products from China/HK/Korea they are very practical and innovative, if somewhat unpolished. Sadly RED doesn't have as much of a presence where I live so I haven't had a chance to interact with them as a brand. I do know, from people who use it in the field, that when it works the cameras area great but they are prone to crashes and bugs.

When looking at any of the brain (RED/ARRI/Zcam/BM) style cameras please be prepared to drop the notion of using AF. The only systems where video AF is reliable is Dual Pixel AF on Canon and the Phase Detection system used by Sony. Even then I'd urge serious shooters to manually pull focus when ever possible.

Since you already use the GH5 you know what to expect from their AF system. The question will be if its reliable enough for you to trust. If not do the other features offset the weakness? More often than not we need to make a deal with the devil and take the lumps of the system. Brands are paying more attention to users now than ever before but it doesn't guarantee that they will be practical.

 

There will/may be some improvements but the fundamental system in Contrast Detection. It is much better than what you see on a Nikon DSLR ,for example, but I've had it refocus continuously while recording an interview. The subject was on a chair and was not moving. The recording was done outside during summer to boot so light was not an issue.

Over the course of two days I shot everything from the G7/85 to the GH5/5S. In the sun the AF for stills worked well but for video in the shade of a tree? Not as much. The most reliability changes/improvement in AF will come first from tweaks to the lens and then firmware changes to the body.

Currently if I need to shoot video and there isn't a large budget I go for Panasonic GH5/s/S1. For stills I avoid it when possible. I should also point out, however, that the S1R is a beast when I shot it with strobes (ELB 1200 and 500s) and can give the A7RIII and Z7 a run for their money very easily. This is of course an ideal situation for any camera since I am essentially giving it enough light to perform at its best and wont reflect its performance in other shooting conditions.

The issue with Panasonic isn't output as much as operational reliability. We should be able to expect improvements over generations of the cameras rather than within the same generation. As you said improvements will come with the next model more so than from firmware updates to the current model.

 

Yea, I think I will switch with Sony, may switch to Canon later on when they have professional bodies out and perhaps better ISO and dyanmic range sensors in their cameras. I think panasonic and nikon is behind in the mirrorless game at the moment, Sony is leading and Canon is the only one close, this could change quick but we can only base our conclusions on whats currently out there.

I have a question regarding using SD cards in the A7 III and A7R III. I have several UHS I Sandisk Extreme Pro 170MB/s cards. Do these severely bottle neck the A7 III and the a7R III, not sure if i want to switch to the UHS II yet. I understand the 3rd generation of A7 cameras have a good buffer size which should help a bit.

 

If going with the R series please get at least a 95 mbp/s card but be aware that this will bottle neck badly it when shooting burst in raw. This only applies to the A7R series, slower cards are fine for the A7 series. The 300 mbps cards are ideal and what I use, they will ensure that your cards are written to quickly and efficiently.

Your 170 cards will be sufficient, get the faster cards only if you really need it. The issue isn't the buffer but rather how long the it takes to write the image to your card. This has been a weakness for Sony in the past, though not as much with the UHS II cards.

If you ever shoot the S1H please again use 300 mbps cards as the minimum since most of the higher bit rates will not work with slower cards. The slowest I've used, reliably, on a GH5/S is the 95 mbps when recording 10 bit; 422 @ 150mbps.

 

I wont be using the camera in 10fps, at most 4/5 fps to have them synch up with my flash recycle times (ad200) in the wedding reception. Will I need 300mbps for 5 fps, or will 95 be enough?

 

I'd suggest keeping under 8 fps to maximize the performance of the A7RIII. And yes you will need a faster card. IDK if its regional but I got a free 300 mpbs card with my camera. With the A7 i think its a slower card, around 150?

 

I had a Lexar 150 MB 1000X UHS II U3 and it worked flawlessly with the 400Mbit/150Mbits GH5/GH5s 4K video recording.
@death163 for interviews you should always use MF as AF can break your interview.

 

Interesting, maybe the UHS I rating on my card was the issue. Normally I do use MF as a rule of thumb when recording video, in this case it was a last minute thing and I had to cover the rest of the event solo so I just left it as is. The client was warned before hand of course but, yeah, I've had some interesting times with the Panasonic cameras.

 

For a while I was using Panasonic cameras and although they served me well, I just can't get behind the S1H. I, perhaps at my own fault, just don't put Panasonic up there with the big boys and I don't see myself ever using them for a stills camera. Especially considering I've got no experience with their color science when it comes to photo, and the different versions of the camera didn't match/pass the video specs of the GH5.

What Panasonic has is a great M43 market with the GH series. Relatively good video cameras with very cheap lens options. In the full frame world, I'd have to see what they do for a few years before I'd even consider it. But I'm so heavily invested in Nikon glass for stills that I doubt it will ever happen.

 

@s_the_ghost A warm welcome to the forum
Would the Nikon Z6 be the best option to start with full frame Nikon side or things ?
Z6 vs A73 ?

 

Thank you!

And ah man that's a bit of a loaded question, it really depends on your needs, budget, current (if any) lenses, etc.

The mirrorless Nikons still have a long way to go in the lens department. For the bodies themselves, minus the XQD card I have to say I love them, but the lenses are lacking for now. Read my last post if you haven't already (on pg 2 I believe) I explain the pros and cons of the Z-series cameras from my own experience.

My opinion would be to actually just go for a full frame DSLR from Nikon unless size was really important to you. That system isn't going away any time soon and you can still use the adapters to put the lenses on the mirrorless bodies down the line, should you decide to go mirrorless sometime in the future. If you really want to go mirrorless now, just look very closely at your lens options and keep your current and future needs in mind when making that decision.

 

Yes, that is a good advice right now. The only problem I see is that some of the z lens nikon has been releasing are a grade or two above the f mount lenses, eg 24mm, 50mm and 85mm. The 85mm goes toe to toe with 105mm 1.4 and 70-200 f2.8e fl f mount lenses, in fact its slightly sharper too and weighs less and guess what it cheaper too!

For professional use when factoring in the price of xqd cards and no redundancies, it is actually a safe bet to stay with dslrs right now. The f mount does have a few gear lenses, such as the 105 f1.4, 70-200 f2.8, 14-24 f2.8 and the new tamron 35mm f1.4 sp lens. These lenses could keep me on the f mount a little while longer.

 

Z6 does have its perks but overall the A7 III i definitely the better option when it comes to professional work. The alpha series is on its 3rd iteration, the 4th for the R line, the a7 4 will be out soon, meanwhile the z series is on its first iteration. Nikon is playing catch up and it will be for a while. I have seen some of Nikon's financial results, its not looking good for them, I don't know how long they can afford to play catch up and promise to deliver features but fail to deliver in a prompt manner and the features i.e. eye af being unreliable compared to sony and canon offerings.

 

Panasonic made a good entry, and I think they can pose a threat for the full frame in the future iterations, the foundations are there, they just need to change their af system from contrast detection to phase detection for a quicker af just like the sony. What i like about the panasonic, the body is somewhere between a dslr and mirrorless so the ergonomics are good and it has the technology of mirrorless camera. I just noticed in has 1/320 shutter flash synch speed, i dont think any of the canon nikon and sony cameras offer this, it maxes out at 1/250 for high end, 1/200 for enthusiast cameras.

 

Some systems you can reach even higher with HSS. I know I can do 1/800-ish on the D850 with my HSS flash and trigger but I haven't used it in a while!

Pretty much agree with everything you said. Good points but I have very little experience shooting with Sony. Mostly just editing files from them from time to time so I can't chime in much there. When I have used them I didn't like the layout and I didn't find them very ergonomic, something I've heard has been worked on since, though. The Z7 just like the D850 I can hold all day and use without issues. Feels nice in the hand and I'm just very partial to the Nikon button layout. When I switched from Canon to Nikon 8-10 years ago I wasn't sure about it, but then it grew on me quick and I feel like it fits extremely well with my shooting style.

The build quality of the Z lenses can vary a lot, tbh. The new 24-70 2.8 feels beautiful and although I didn't buy it, I had a hard time leaving the store without it.

Then when it comes to the primes, the 35mm and 85mm are smaller and lighter but feel too cheap to me, at least compared to the Canon mirrorless lenses. I have a soft spot for the Sigma Art series. I pretty much do 95% of my work with the 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4. The Z lenses are supposed to be sharp and all that good stuff, some of the sharpest they've put out, but when you compare them with the F mount equivalent I don't see a whole lot of difference without pixel peeping, minus perhaps less chromatic aberration like when comparing to the much cheaper 85mm 1.8G lens. And the Z lenses at F1.8 cost the same as the sigma art's at 1.4.

Also.. who actually uses eye AF? Professionals who do events and on-location work not just studio shoots where you have the best lighting and all the time in the world. I've played with it on all the brands and Nikon has a lot of catching up to do, I agree 100%, but other than the influencers promoting the brand I am skeptical people are using eye AF in the real world. To me it's more of a novelty, I just don't see the practicality of it versus a dynamic / single point AF. Too many variables like if the person turns around or you want to switch person to person quickly to catch a moment, etc. Plus eye-AF for video to me is just cringe unless its a vlog or something similarly organic / amateur in nature that isn't focused on the quality or production of the video itself.

I'd love to hear someone's take who actually uses it on a regular basis! Someone prove me wrong and show me the light

 

@Kocaman If I go for the A7 iii what lenses would you recommend to me ? I would like to step more into more serious/professional portrait, wedding and boudoir photography.
I saw some incredible pictures shot with the Fuji XT3 with the 35 1.8 and the price is pretty sweet.
Some say the A7 IV is soon to come.
Sorry if this sounds a bit confusing, I'm still figuring things out since this would mean a real long term investment.

 

For Sony, I recommend 3 portrait lens, and these are the first 3 I will be buying soon. These are good blend of performance in af, sharpness, af and value (price/performance).

Sony 35 f1.8 FE
Zeiss 55 f1.8
Sony 85 f1.8 FE

I am not sure where you are from, but if you are from europe, buy them from grey market dealers for good price. It can help you shave a few hundred euros off the price.