Adding my two cents' worth, I've recently acquired a D6 just a few weeks back and I've made a few comments about that in other posts recently. First things first: I love it. Now, given how expensive it is, I was also hoping that I was going to love it too. I'm one of those enthusiast users so can't afford to make a doozy of a mistake with this purchase.
It has been difficult to get meaningful reviews of the camera because I just don't think there are a lot of them out there. There are some minor short reviews and even some decent ones too (one by a wedding photographer no less). Steve's review however is the only thorough exhaustive one I've yet found and I still look all the time. The original "spec" reviews earlier in the year were all disappointing and generally dismissive...video not good enough, too few MPs, FPS inadequate against competitors, sensor not up-to-date and even silent operation in Live View less than stellar. Accordingly, there was little "buzz" about this new flagship camera from Nikon. More still who thought it should've been a "D5S" at best. I think the aborted Olympics this year didn't help matters for Nikon either in getting this camera "out there" so to speak. Conversely, if Nikon does what a lot of us hope they will with a forthcoming Z mirrorless body, I think there will be some fresh buzz with that offering (let's hope).
I am and have been a very happy user of the D500/850 the last number of years and I expect to use the 850 a long while yet. My D500 has committed no sins and hasn't underperformed either but will likely be benched far more now that I have the D6. I'm in Canada and looking at my serial number (issued sequentially as I understand it) tells me these aren't exactly flying off the shelves.
I have a very good friend and fellow wildlife photographer who took the early plunge with a D6 so I've had the good fortune to see his progress with it and to experiment myself with it a bit too.
The most important criteria in my consideration were and have been focus and low light capability. Extra FPS is certainly a plus and I've already gotten images I know I'd have missed with less. Focus ability with the D500/850 are already superb and my early experience so far is that the revisions to the D6's system are additive to what's come before. This is my first Nikon D single-digit camera and I deliberated long and hard on this purchase, in no small part because of where we are on the DSLR/mirrorless dichotomy. That said, with the collection of F-mount lenses I have, along with the other bodies and accessories, a conversion to another brand was not in the offing (for me, I should stress). D5 doubters in the past have questioned image quality and that hung in my mind too. However, I have seen so many amazing shots taken with the D5 that it wasn't a significant concern for me going forward. Indeed, the output so far in my first few weeks suggests it will be strong.
I expect to get a lot of use out of this camera. My initial impressions with the D6 have been entirely consistent with what I've expected and for me it has been very additive to my bag. I like to think it's helping me get pictures that would be much more challenging in its absence. Here's an example, taken last week, and it's slightly cropped too. The transfer here appears soft but the eyes and face are tack sharp. It was also practically dark, hence the well dilated pupils. I should add that I used a Vello remote trigger with the shutter speed being so low.
600mm ,f4, 1/15, ISO 6400 (Topaz deNoise applied)
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