Nikon goes full-frame mirrorless with the Z7 & Z6

Better late to the party, than not come at all. Nikon has finally taken the leap releasing two full-frame mirrorless cameras. After endless speculation, teaser videos, and leaks aplenty, the camera manufacturer finally lifted the lid on their biggest announcement of the year: the release of the Nikon Z6 and Z7.

Nikon’s new Z-mount system comprises the two full-frame mirrorless cameras and a range of NIKKOR Z lenses. Initially, three will be on offer and include a 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8, and 24-70mm f/4. In the near future, a 58mm f/0.95 lens, the fastest in Nikon’s history will be added to the range. Great news for Nikon users is that a new mount adapter will enable compatibility with NIKKOR F mount lenses.

While the bodies of the Z7 and Z6 appear almost identical from the outside, they differ in a number of ways. Respectively, the cameras offer 45.7 and 24.5 megapixels, ISO 64–25,600 and ISO 100–51,200 (both can be expanded one stop under and two stops over this range), and 9fps and 12fps. Both are equipped with a new backside illumination full-frame, Nikon FX-format CMOS sensor with built-in focal-plane phase-detection AF pixels, and the latest image-processing engine, EXPEED 6.

Both the Z7 and Z6 rely on a hybrid AF system with focus points covering approximately 90% of the imaging area with the former offering 493 focus points and the latter has 273 focus points. This hybrid AF system uses an algorithm optimised for the FX-format sensor, to automatically switch between focal-plane phase-detection AF and contrast-detect AF when focusing.

Nikon claims that the electronic viewfinder adopted for the cameras is comparable to optical viewfinders. The EVF is a 3.69-megapixel-dot OLED panel and has frame coverage and magnification of approximately 100% for the Z7 and 0.8× for the Z6. A fluorine coat that effectively repels dirt has been applied to the eyepiece protection window.

Both the Z7 and Z6 support recording of not only full-frame 4K UHD (3840 × 2160)/30p movies using the FX-based movie format, but also full-HD/120p movies. Additionally, Active D-Lighting, electronic vibration reduction, and focus peaking can be used with 4K UHD and Full-HD movie recording.

In another first for Nikon, both the Z7 and the Z6 are equipped with in-camera vibration reduction (VR), providing compensation for movement along five axes, allowing you to shoot with vibration reduction equivalent to a shutter speed increase of approximately 5 stops.

An interval timer option on the Z7 makes 8K time-lapse movie creation possible.

Both cameras only feature one XQD memory card slot.

Other features

The features below are common across both the Z7 and Z6:

  • Strength and durability, plus dust- and drip-resistance equivalent to the Nikon D850.
  • 3.2-inch, 2.1 megapixel-dot touch-sensitive LCD monitor with a tilting mechanism.
  • Silent photography which eliminates shake and noise caused by shutter release.
  • Peaking stack image function which enables confirmation of focus depth after shooting using focus shift, which is convenient for focus stacking.
  • Built-in Wi-Fi.

Rivals of the Z7 and Z6

The most obvious rivals of the new Nikon Z6 and Z7 are Sony's full frame A7 III and A7R III. You can see a table of the comparable specs below.

Specs: Nikon Z6 vs Sony a7 III

 

Nikon Z6

Sony a7 III

Camera Format

Mirrorless

Mirrorless

Effective megapixels

24.5MP

24.2MP

Image Resolution

6048 x 4024

6000 x 4000

Sensor Size

Full-frame

Full-frame

Sensor Dimensions

35.9 x 23.9mm

35.6mm x 23.8mm

Sensor type

CMOS

CMOS

Aspect Ratio

3:2

3:2

Lens Mount

Z-mount

E-Mount

Anti Aliasing Filter

Not specified

Yes

Rear monitor type

Articulating touchscreen

Articulating touchscreen

Rear monitor size

3.2in

3in

Rear monitor resolution

2,100,000 dots

921,600 dots

Top deck display

Yes

No

EVF size

0.5in

0.5in

EVF Resolution (dots)

3,690,000 dots

2,359,296 dots

Viewfinder Magnification

0.8x

0.78x

ISO (native)

100-51,200

100-51,200

ISO (extended)

50-204,800

50-204,800

Shutter Speed Max

1/8000s

1/8000s

Shutter Speed Min

30s

30s

Image Format

RAW (14bit), JPEG

RAW (14bit), JPEG

Stabilisation

5-axis

5-axis

Exp Compensation

-5 to +5EV

-5 to +5EV

AUTOFOCUS

 

 

AF Face Detection

Yes

Yes

AF Live View

Yes

Yes

Focus Points - Total

273 AF points

693 AF points

Focus point coverage

Not specified

93%

CONTINUOUS SHOOTING

 

 

RAW burst FPS speed

9fps

10fps

RAW buffer size

Not specified

40 Images

JPEG burst FPS speed

12fps

10 FPS

JPEG buffer size

Not specified

163 Images

VIDEO

 

 

Max Video Resolution

3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD)

3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD)

Color Depth

10-bit (HDMI) 8-bit (internal)

8-bit

Max Bitrate (MBps)

100Mbps

100 MBps

Video Codecs

MPEG-4, H.264

MPEG-4; H.264

Video Formats

MOV, MP4

XAVC S, AVCHD, MP4

Log

N-Log

S-Log

Tools - Focus Peaking

Yes

Yes

Tools - Zebra

Yes

Yes

Max FPS - UHD 2160p

30fps

30fps

Max FPS - FHD 1080p

120fps

120fps

BODY

 

 

Card slots

1

2

Weather Sealing

Yes

Yes

Dimensions

5.3 x 4 x 2.7 in

5.0 x 3.8 x 2.9 in.

Weight

675 g

650 g

LENSES

 

 

Native lenses

3

25

PRICE

Australian pricing not announced

A$3099

 

Specs: Nikon Z7 vs Sony a7R III

 

Nikon Z7

Sony a7R III

Camera Format

Mirrorless

Mirrorless

Effective megapixels

45.7MP

42.4 MP

Image Resolution

8256 x 5504

7952 x 5304

Sensor Size

Full-frame

Full-frame

Sensor Dimensions

35.9 x 23.9mm

35.9mm x 24.0mm

Sensor type

CMOS

CMOS

Aspect Ratio

3:2

3:2

Lens Mount

Z-mount

E-Mount

Anti Aliasing Filter

Not specified

No

Rear monitor type

Articulating touchscreen

Articulating touchscreen

Rear monitor size

3.2in

3in

Rear monitor resolution

2,100,000

1,440,000 dots

Top deck display

Yes

No

EVF size

0.5in

0.5in

EVF Resolution (dots)

3,690,000 dots

3,686,400 dots

Viewfinder Magnification

0.8x

0.78x

ISO (native)

64-25,600

100-32,000

ISO (extended)

32-102,400

50-102,400

Shutter Speed Max

1/8000s

1/8000s

Shutter Speed Min

30s

30s

Image Format

RAW (14bit), JPEG

RAW (14bit), JPEG

Stabilisation

5-axis

5-axis

Exp Compensation

-5 to +5EV

-5 to +5 EV

AUTOFOCUS

 

 

AF Face Detection

Yes

Yes

AF Live View

Yes

Yes

Focus Points - Total

493 AF points

425 AF Points

Focus point coverage

90%

68%

CONTINUOUS SHOOTING

 

 

RAW burst FPS speed

9fps

9.25fps

RAW buffer size

Not specified

30 Images

JPEG burst FPS speed

9fps

10 FPS

JPEG buffer size

Not specified

82 Images

VIDEO

 

 

Max Video Resolution

3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD)

3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD)

Color Depth

10-bit

10-bit (HDMI) 8-bit (internal)

Max Bitrate (MBps)

100Mbps

100 MBps

Video Codecs

MPEG-4, H.264

MPEG-4; H.264

Video Formats

MOV, MP4

XAVC S, AVCHD, MP4

Log

N-Log

S-Log

Tools - Focus Peaking

Yes

Yes

Tools - Zebra

Yes

Yes

Max FPS - UHD 2160p

30fps

30fps

Max FPS - FHD 1080p

120fps

120fps

BODY

 

 

Card slots

1

2

Weather Sealing

Yes

Yes

Dimensions

5.3 x 4 x 2.7 in

5.0 x 3.8 x 2.9 in.

Weight

675g

657 g

LENSES

Nikon Z7

Sony a7R III

Native lenses

3

25

PRICE

Australian pricing not announced

A$4,999

 The table above first appeared on www.australianphotography.com

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