Camera test 26
Photography News | Issue 62 | photographynews.co.uk
Continuous Hi modes. With d11 set to on, you get intermittent blackout between each shot just like aDSLR in Continuous Hi. In the HI Extended mode, there is no blackout so you get an uninterrupted, but jittery view of the last shot taken while panning. I tried the Z 6 in Hi Extended and on continuous AF and that worked pretty well. On an intercity train going at speed through a station, the AF kept up well until it got really close. A sharp-edged
subject travelling predictably is one thing though and I didn’t get the chance to try the Z 6 on more challenging sport subjects. In general use, AF speed and accuracy are good. I mostly used single point or zone and enjoyed the 90% coverage of the Z 6, which makes off-centre compositions so much easier compared with DSLRs. There’s much to enjoy on the Z 6 (as with the Z 7) and given its price point it is sure to have a wide appeal.
rates were with fixed exposure/ focus and will be much slower with autoexposure/autofocus tracking. Nikon’s claimed rate is 5.5fps with 14-bit Raw. Handling also differs in the Hi and Hi Extended modes. If you want to keep view of the subject, you need menu item d11 View in continuous mode. If this is set to ‘off’, the image blacks out after the first frame until you take your finger off the shutter button – and this is in both
Above The Z 6’s continuous AF coped well with an express train.
Verdict
Performance: Raw sizes
Features The Z 6 wants for little Handling 23/25 A compact body and good control layout equals intuitive handling Performance 24/25 The Z 6 delivers consistent high-quality pictures Value for money 24/25 In full-frame terms, the Z 6 offers great value Overall 95/100 There’s much to enjoy in the Z 6 including reliable performance Pros Image quality, high ISO performance, EVF, handling, FTZ adapter Cons One XQD card slot, silent shutter clunky Going full-frame mirrorless isn’t cheap whichever way you look at it, but the Nikon Z 6 does offers a comparatively affordable route. Money of course is a significant factor but it would count for nought if the Z 6 didn’t deliver the goods in respect of fine pictures. Nothing to worry about in that regard though, and the Z 6 is a compelling, very capable proposition, especially to existing Nikon user aspiring to go full-frame mirrorless. 24/25
Full-frame
L Raw ISO 6400
MRaw ISO 6400
S Raw ISO 6400
The Z 6 allows you to shoot Raws at three different sizes: Large, Medium and Small, giving image sizes of 6048x4024, 4528x3016 and 3024x2016 pixels and files of around 31MB, 18MB and 14MB
respectively. Medium and Small Raws are 12-bit capture only. This facility gives processing flexibility of Raw, but saves time and storage space. Generating smaller images and
files from a larger native image size means something has to give, and that’s image information. Here, we’ve shot actual images in each Raw size and at the full range of ISO speeds available
on the Z6. Files were processed identically in NX-D Capture. Images were viewed at 100% in each case and also at 100%, 75% and 50% so images were viewed at the same size.
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