Used prices for Z6 vs Z7

[Palouse]

I can save about 1200 14 bit lossless NEFs to a 64 gig XQD card on my Z6 (less for you Z7 folks). I never ever used the second slot in my D810 or D850. Except for firmware updates .
I believe Thom Hogan talks about the speed of the XQD vs the buffer emptying.

And Jonathon, used SD cards

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I don’t understand the hoopla about wanting two card slots. Back in the day, it was a big deal because of write speeds and being able to “ping pong” back and forth or split files to mitigate write speeds. With XQD that’s a non issue. Then there are people who claim that it’s for “backup” in case of card failures. My answer to that is 1) I’ve never had a card failure and I’ve shot in some extreme environments including cards that sat submerged in water for a couple hours. 2) if you are truly that concerned still, there are systems designed for this camera to wirelessly transmit full res images to a device as you shoot.

Card failures do happen. I almost lost out on a HUGE job due to corruption errors on my 1 slot D700 (5 figure job). Nikon is selling a camera at pro prices, but not adding pro features. Not to mention Nikon ushered in the era of dual card slots with the D3. On top of that, it allows you to carry extra storage when you want to shoot in overflow mode. Also XQD cards are less common and as I mentioned, SD or micro SD cards can be purchased in the most mundane places like at a back country 7-11 in southern Thailand next to a jungle elephant sanctuary. Good luck finding an XQD card outside of major urban hubs. Nikon can either include an SD or micro SD backup slot or dual XQD slots. Hell, even 2GB of internal memory like what Leica does would be helpful.

 

[MikEm13]

I can't remember where I read this but the article was about the CF Express cards being so fast that the buffer problem that some people have or think they will have, will be diminished to almost 0. I don't remember believing all that was said but it was interesting.

If I find it I'll post a link.

I copied this post from another forum. Just food for thought. Im not endorsing anything.

" I'm very sure Nikon engineers designed for CFExpress and Nikon was planning that all along. The common form factor of XQD made it a good interim step - and completely viable for whatever time it takes for CFExpress cards to be available.

Right now we have an in camera write speed of around 240 MB/s on the D5 writing to a fast XQD card - a 400 MB/s card (slightly slower on the D500 and D850). The starting point for CF express is twice the speed of XQD. If that translates to the new cameras, we should see write speeds of over 400 MB/s.

12-bit files from the Z7 will be around 45 MB each, so 9 files at maximum burst rate will be around 405 MB/s. At that speed, the images can all be written to the card without using the buffer.

The math for the Z6 is similar. 12 bit files will be around 26 MB, so 12 files per second will generate 310 MB. That's easily written to a CF card without using the buffer.

If you had included a second card with backup mode as an option, everything is thrown off. Your maximum write speed to two cards is much slower, so you need a large buffer in addition to the second card slot. You were probably adding several hundred dollars to the cost of the camera at retail - just for a backup mode for a few people.

I'm sure Nikon will want to test pre-production CFExpress cards from Delkin and other sources and use that to make sure the firmware performs as planned.

If someone wants 14 bit RAW, they can get the same performance at a slightly slower frame rate, but most of the high speed bursts involve higher ISO levels, so bit depth is not an issue."

 

[Cslucas34]

Card failures do happen. I almost lost out on a HUGE job due to corruption errors on my 1 slot D700 (5 figure job). Nikon is selling a camera at pro prices, but not adding pro features. Not to mention Nikon ushered in the era of dual card slots with the D3. On top of that, it allows you to carry extra storage when you want to shoot in overflow mode. Also XQD cards are less common and as I mentioned, SD or micro SD cards can be purchased in the most mundane places like at a back country 7-11 in southern Thailand next to a jungle elephant sanctuary. Good luck finding an XQD card outside of major urban hubs. Nikon can either include an SD or micro SD backup slot or dual XQD slots. Hell, even 2GB of internal memory like what Leica does would be helpful.

I never said cards don’t fail, I simply said the failure rate was very low and if that was a concern and you were a professional concerned with failure possibility then you should buy the wireless backup accessories available that would mitigate that risk. There is no reason to NEED a second card slot. It provides nothing that isn’t already available and only adds cost to the base price and limits write speed which in turn would limit buffer size use etc. it was designed very specifically with pros in mind, just most “pros” don’t use it the way it was designed to be used

 

[JeeperDon]

I don’t understand the hoopla about wanting two card slots.

Me neither. Swapping a card after 1000 pics it's way easier that swapping a film can after 35 pics.

 

[Palouse]

Pros didn't exist before the advent of 2 card slots

 

[RichZ6]

Here in the UK , Nikon have been running a 4 month promotion which ends this Thursday I believe. Just to give you an idea, you can get the the Z6 lens kit for the equivalent of $2260 (£1879), although this is about on par with USA prices currently, but as a rule of thumb we normally pay £ to your $ for most electronics anyway. So when the promo is over , the price will back up to about £2400. Maybe European promo prices are affecting the used market globally currently ? Obviously there are other reasons such as trust, being the 1st generation from Nikon. Cost of cards if not included with used will likely affect resale I’m sure.
I think give it time and prices and reputation will improve. I got my Z6 on the promo deal, but also got another instore discount on top of that (10%) . Interestingly my Z6 lens kit came with a manufacture included xqd card and I believe this was only supplied when going back to pre-order days last year!? All in all , I did ok and my kit cost me just under £1700 which is a steal here in the UK, specially with the card included. Also got the 50mm lens on promo/discount for £396 or there abouts, normally £600. I’ve only just taken delivery, so yet to explore .
So working out discount % , I got about 29-30% reduction, but that’s on brand new.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[iBob]

I was surprised to see that B&H is selling a used Z6 and Z7 body in the same condition (10 -- preowned equipment, appears as new) at very different price reductions compared to the price of a new body. The Z6 is 25% off and the Z7 is only 15% off.

Howdy, I’m new to the forum and looking for a refurb’d Z6 for my wife. Where do you recommend I look? I’m finding at the typical places (bhohoto and the like) the prices for refined are pretty close to new. I’d be grateful for recommendations. Cheers.

 

[bpdougd]

I never said cards don’t fail, I simply said the failure rate was very low and if that was a concern and you were a professional concerned with failure possibility then you should buy the wireless backup accessories available that would mitigate that risk. There is no reason to NEED a second card slot. It provides nothing that isn’t already available and only adds cost to the base price and limits write speed which in turn would limit buffer size use etc. it was designed very specifically with pros in mind, just most “pros” don’t use it the way it was designed to be used

Unless you are shooting somewhere without wireless service.

 

[Cslucas34]

Unless you are shooting somewhere without wireless service.

You don’t need wireless service. It works with WiFi that’s built into the camera.

 

[menbrial]

You don’t need wireless service. It works with WiFi that’s built into the camera.

No wifi and no wireless in the back country up here

 

[bpdougd]

You don’t need wireless service. It works with WiFi that’s built into the camera.

No wifi and no wireless in the back country up here

Precisely. There are lots of places where pictures are taken that have no wireless service of any kind. Even in places with wireless, the data service is marginal. At our cabin I get a better signal than at my home. But the data service isn't even 3 G. Uploading RAW files just isn't happening.

 

[Cslucas34]

Precisely. There are lots of places where pictures are taken that have no wireless service of any kind. Even in places with wireless, the data service is marginal. At our cabin I get a better signal than at my home. But the data service isn't even 3 G. Uploading RAW files just isn't happening.

Omg I don’t know how to explain this any easier guys. You don’t need WiFi like from a router. The camera has it built in. The devices have it built in. It’s a point to point connection that doesn’t require internet or anything other than your camera and the other device (such as your phone). It will work with no cell coverage... no internet connection. Because it’s just a point to point WiFi adhoc connection directly between your camera and whatever device you are using (I used my phone).

 

[bpdougd]

Omg I don’t know how to explain this any easier guys. You don’t need WiFi like from a router. The camera has it built in. The devices have it built in. It’s a point to point connection that doesn’t require internet or anything other than your camera and the other device (such as your phone). It will work with no cell coverage... no internet connection. Because it’s just a point to point WiFi adhoc connection directly between your camera and whatever device you are using (I used my phone).

Thanks for the clarification. I usually tote a Mac laptop with me and offload the images each evening. I have a 1TB SSD that gets a second copy of the images and then I format the card(s). I need to check out the details of the wireless transfer.

 

[acnomad]

Thanks for the clarification. I usually tote a Mac laptop with me and offload the images each evening. I have a 1TB SSD that gets a second copy of the images and then I format the card(s). I need to check out the details of the wireless transfer.

It works pretty well, but consumes a great deal of power. Be ready with an extra battery if you're transferring a large number of files.

 

[Palouse]

It works pretty well, but consumes a great deal of power. Be ready with an extra battery if you're transferring a large number of files.

This may help when it comes out later this year. Has its own rechargeable battery. https://www.diyphotography.net/wirelessly-tether-any-camera-to-your-desktop-with-air-direct/

 

[acnomad]

Howdy, I’m new to the forum and looking for a refurb’d Z6 for my wife. Where do you recommend I look? I’m finding at the typical places (bhohoto and the like) the prices for refined are pretty close to new. I’d be grateful for recommendations. Cheers.

Fredmiranda.com has a good buy/sell community. Much like Nikon Cafe, honesty and good communication are the norm. The only reason I'd recommend you look there rather than our own buy/sell forum is because of the sheer number of users at FM who are constantly selling their perfectly good lightly used gear. By contrast, it seems that Nikon Cafe users are much smaller in number and seem to have a strong tendency to keep their gear for their own enjoyment rather than churn through it.

 

[Cslucas34]

It works pretty well, but consumes a great deal of power. Be ready with an extra battery if you're transferring a large number of files.

Yes agreed it does consume battery life quite a bit! Perhaps with the battery grip it’s less of an issue. I always have several batteries with me so it’s a non issue but I realize it’s inconvenient and not everyone can afford to have several batteries.

 

[Cslucas34]

Thanks for the clarification. I usually tote a Mac laptop with me and offload the images each evening. I have a 1TB SSD that gets a second copy of the images and then I format the card(s). I need to check out the details of the wireless transfer.

Happy to help! It has served me well, I just use it to backup my images to my phone and use the phone as a portable backup. There are also devices such as Gnarbox that work out in the field on their own power as well. As a professional these two methods have completely negated the often quoted complaint of needing dual card slots (atleast for me).

 

[Pa]

I was surprised to see that B&H is selling a used Z6 and Z7 body in the same condition (10 -- preowned equipment, appears as new) at very different price reductions compared to the price of a new body. The Z6 is 25% off and the Z7 is only 15% off.

Maybe the shutter count is very different on the two cameras even though they both appear new.