Pro Moviemaker Spring 2019

GEAR NIKONZ 6

HYBRID HERO

Nikon’s Z 6 isn’t just the company’s entry-level mirrorless camera – it’s a real hybrid with plenty to please filmmakers

ABOVE The Z 6’s form factor means that it’s comfortable to hold, even one-handed, and the layout is intuitive

SPECIFICATIONS Price: Z 6 body £2099/$1996; Z 6with 24-70mm f/4 kit £2699/$2,596; Z 6with FTZ adapter £2199 / $2,246; Z 6with 24-70mmand FTZ adapter £2799/$2,846 Sensor: 24.5-megapixel BSI full-frame CMOS sensor, 35.9x23.9mm, 6048x4024px Image stabiliser: Five-axis sensor shift ISO range: 100-51,200 (expandable to ISO 50-204,800 equivalent) Shutter speeds: 30secs-1/8000sec LCD: 3.2in touchscreen 2.1mdot tilting, 100%frame coverage Viewfinder: 3.7m-dot EVF Autofocus: wide area, auto area Recording format: 4KUHD 3840x2190 30 / 25 / 24p. 1920x1080: 120 / 100 / 60 / 50 / 30 / 25 / 24p Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI-C, USB-C Storage: 1 x XQD CFexpress slot Dimensions (WxHxD): 134x100.5x67.5mm/ 5.3x4x2.7in Weight: 585g/1.29lb body only 273 phase detect points in single AF covering 90%of image area –usable in single- point, pinpoint, dynamic area,

WORDS KINGSLEY SINGLETON

N ikon’s big push intomirrorless kicked off in autumn, when it announced the full-frame Z 6 and Z 7 and several lenses. The Z 7 was available prettymuch at launch, but while it offered decent video features, it’s the recently released Z 6 that shouldmake videographers sit up and take notice. The Z 6 is simply a more capable video camera all round and can be seen as a true hybridmodel – equally adept at stills andmovies. While the Z 7 sports a high- resolution 45.7-megapixel chip with no optical low-pass filter and is aimed at ultimate stills quality, the Z 6 has a 24.5-megapixel chip with a low-pass filter to cut moiré. The resolution is still respectable and gives beautifully sharp stills, but most importantly it allows a full read of the sensor, so there isn’t any cropping or pixel binning to compromise quality. While the range of formats is the same as on the Z 7, and not dissimilar to what you’d get onmost mirrorless cameras (4K 30p at the top end), the quality of the footage is better and you don’t miss out on field of view. You can record 8-bit footage internally, but connect to an external device like an Atomos drive and you’ll get 10-bit 4:2:2 N-Log for improved dynamic range and control in grading. Even without Log, the flat picture mode gives easily editable

footage with a decent lift in dynamic range. But that’s not all: Nikon has revealed an upcoming firmware update will allow support for the ProRes Raw codec via HDMI output as well as N-Log, though you will need an Atomos Ninja V to output that. On top of that, Nikon announced a ‘filmmakers kit’ for the Z 6. Along with the body, you get a 24-70mm f/4 S lens, FTZ lens adapter, Atomos Ninja V 4K HDR recordingmonitor, Rode VideoMic Pro+, MOZA Air 2 three-axis handheld gimbal stabiliser, an extra battery and HDMI cable. It all points to a very serious commitment tomaking the Z 6 a compelling choice for videographers, – and hybrid shooters evenmore so. The Z 6 also has decent slow- motion options, though the highest 120p frame rate is limited to 1080p

BELOW The Z 6 offers face-tracking AF and will soon have eye AF via a firmware update. There’s also adjustable tracking speed and touch AF

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PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2019

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