image © NikonUSA
All thoughts and ideas are my own personal beliefs based on years of working in the photo industry. While they may not be 100% right, or you may not agree with them all, they are just that, opinions that are open to interpretation, speculation and debate. Please feel free to comment on any aspects of the post in the comments below.
INTRODUCTION
There has been a lot of hype and speculation surrounding the new Nikon mirrorless camera. Rumor sites have been buzzing for months and fanboys have made it out to be the next coming of Jesus and haters have dismissed the camera as an utter failure even before the official announcement. To say that this is a polarizing camera is an understatement. Even after people have gotten their hands on them, we are getting reviews and opinions based on a limited amount of time shooting with the cameras.
That is nothing new if you have been around the tech blogs, and especially the photography forums.
We are going to stay away from that kind of talk and look at the camera from my perspective. A years long Nikon SLR/DSLR shooter as well as an ex-Fujifilm and a current Micro Four Thirds/Olympus shooter.
August 23, 2018, Nikon announced the following cameras, lenses and accessories for their new z-mount, 135 sensor size (FX in Nikon speak) mirrorless camera.
BODY
The Nikon Z6 is the all arounder, 24mp camera. Could be considered the mirrorless version of the D750. MSRP is $1999 body only or $2599 with the 24-70/4 lens. If you bought during launch and got a camera/lens bundle, Nikon discounted the FTZ adapter by $100.
The first launched Z7 is the high megapixel camera, 45mp. Your almost D850 but mirrorless option.
Price is $3399 body only or $3999 with the 24-70/4, same FTZ adapter discount as with the Z6.
LENS
Nikkor S-Line 24-70mm f/4
Price $999
Nikkor S-Line 35mm f/1.8
Price $849
Nikkor S-Line 50mm f/1.8
Price $599
ACCESSORIES
Battery Grip - release date TBD
FTZ Adapter - allows for full function of ~90 existing Nikon f-mount lenses and potentially manual use of D type and older lenses.
Price $249 or $149 if purchased with a camera and lens combo.
THE TECH STUFF
Let's dive into the technical aspects of the new cameras.
Camera Body
What I'm looking for from the Z6 is to see if it can handle the job of what I bought the D750 for.
Just so you have an idea in your head of the Z6 and how it compare to other mirrorless cameras on the market. Series of images below were pulled from CameraSize website.
After these images and comparisons, we'll get into the initial thoughts on the camera itself.
front
Nikon DF / Nikon D750 / Nikon Z6
top
Nikon DF / Nikon D750 / Nikon Z6
all with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G attached (Z6 has FTZ adapter)
Nikon DF / Nikon D750 / Nikon Z6
native f-mount cameras have Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
Z6 has native 50mm f/1.8S in middle
adapted 50mm f/1.8G on far right
Nikon Df / Nikon Z6
front view
Nikon Z6 / Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II
front view
Nikon Z6 / Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II / Fujifilm XH1 / Fujifilm XT3
similar fields of view
Nikon Z6 - native 50mm / Nikon Z6 - adapted 50mm / Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II - M. Zuiko 25mm f/1.8
Lens Lineup
Out of the gate three lenses were announced. A 24-70/4, 35/1.8 and 50/1.8
The 50mm was not initially available during pre-order.
My initial testing will bring me to one initial decision. Can the native 24-70/4S hold its own in IQ versus the veteran f-mount 24-70/2.8G. If IQ is something that is a wash, I can do without the f/2.8 on that lens and replace it.
Accessories
I did not get anything else outside the FTZ adapter, so I have nothing first hand that I can report on in this regard.
Why the FTZ Adapter Matters More Than You Might Think
While it is always the best option to use the native mount lenses for a given system, in the early stages of the release, only so many lenses can be made to go along with the cameras. Nikon makes some great lenses in the f-mount space and if you are like me, you have a large library of those lenses.
Seems like Nikon listened and put out an adapter that is quite versatile. Full functionality for lenses that are AF-S had AF-P and E or G type lenses. Nikon has a full list of what they consider compatible on their website and I recommend checking that out.
I've used quite a few f-mount lenses on the FTZ and Z6, more detail on that later, but just as a teaser, I've been very happy with the experience so far.
If the f-mount lenses is CPU enabled, the FTZ adapter has the ability to use the aperture lever of the lens to shift exposure for you. THis is done via a lever arm within the f-mount side of the adapter. This could make a potentially stop down metered, manual focus lens a fully meterable lens that just needs to be manually focused.
If the lens does not have a CPU, then it can still be mounted to the FTZ adapter. You change the aperture value by using the aperture ring on the lens. The only issue is that there is no way built into the camera for the aperture value to be recorded, except the widest aperture that is in the non-CPU lens data menu in the camera.
I challenge Nikon to either update the Z cameras firmware to allow a command dial to match the aperture ring value manually or to create another adapter for those non-CPU lenses with an aperture feeler arm to record those values from the lens directly.
Future potential
With the new z-mount, Nikon engineers are claiming that it is possible for them to make lenses that are fully functional as fast as f/0.65. They also claim that the communication bandwidth in the new mount can handle quite a lot and should be sufficient for all they want to do in the future, potentially for the next 100 years.
Performance
Here, we are going to be looking at overall system performance, native and adapted lens performance optically and AF/MF, metering.
Last edited:
appreciate the info. and work you put into this.
