Z6 II or Z7 II for bird photography

[Tom-Neth]

Thinking of buying the new Z7 II. But not sure about the Z6 or Z7. Think it comes to speed versus pixels. Will use it primarily for bird photography and put the pictures on my website.
Am very curious what your advice is. I know the new cameras are not available yet and therefore no real field experiences but still would like to hear your opinions about the both cameras.

Thanks, Tom

 

[Venkatesh VT]

Every one is waiting for real world reviews of Z ii by independent experts ( read Steve) and then take call on it

 

[Tom-Neth]

Of course you are very right. But still doubting between speed and a lot of pixels. Do I really need so much pixels just for website pics.

 

[Thern]

Of course you are very right. But still doubting between speed and a lot of pixels. Do I really need so much pixels just for website pics.

No one knows yet what to expect off the next gen Zeds.
We know it’s equipped with a dual processor but what that means for .....
(Anything you can think)

Regarding your dilemma..
NO you don’t need a lot of pixels for website pics, but you need speed for certain pics otherwise you won’t be able to get them...

 

[DRwyoming]

Do I really need so much pixels just for website pics.

No, you don't really need anywhere near the Z6's 24 MPixels much less the Z7's 45 Pixels for website images. You don't even need the full resolution of a Z7/D850 for decent sized wall prints but you definitely don't need it for web images. A nearly full page image like those shared on this website with dimensions of 1200x800 pixels is under 1 Mega pixel of total image size and more typical fill images and banners on websites are much smaller than that.

Unless you're printing very large images or you crop very heavily for print images there's no real reason to use a 45 Mpixel camera. Even if you crop heavily but mostly post images on websites you'll be fine with the 24.5 Mpixel Z6.

 

[Pistnbroke]

Forget the website for birds you need pixels on image so thats the Z7ii

 

[Steve]

Depends how much you crop too. Even though you don't need a ton of pixels for website work, if you have to do some heavy cropping the Z7ii will put more pixels on your ducks. In addition, when downsampling images for the web, I have found that I seem to get nicer results when the image starts with more pixels.

Still, I think you could go either way here and the Z6ii will give you better low light capability as well.

 

[Tom-Neth]

Thanks everybody for your comments. Really appreciate it.

 

[markymark]

The amount of money you’re gonna drop when you do upgrade is even more of a reason to wait till the new Nikon Z’s are fully tried & tested.
I know the specs have been released, but I’m holding judgment till the independent real world reviews have been published, (by Steve hopefully) before I part with any ££££.

 

[Tom-Neth]

It is very wise to wait buying one of the cameras until reviews are available. I will wait until Steve comes with his findings after using them both, Steve is my benchmark. Learned so much from his reviews of lenses and cameras.

 

[Steve]

It is very wise to wait buying one of the cameras until reviews are available. I will wait until Steve comes with his findings after using them both, Steve is my benchmark. Learned so much from his reviews of lenses and cameras.

I'm planning to get an "initial impressions" type of review out soon. I won't be doing a full field review on it anytime soon though (it just costs too much to do dedicated review trips, I think I'm done with those). Still, I'm hoping to have something out for info on AF, wildlife usage, etc.

 

[Tom-Neth]

That would be great Steve. A lot of us here are looking forward to it.

 

[Oztours]

it just costs too much to do dedicated review trips, I think I'm done with those)

No need to worry Steve, those who truly appreciate what you have to say are here in this forum and we're happy to be fed your titbits and wait patiently for more concrete evidence of what's what.

 

[cohenfive]

Meh, who cares what Steve thinks.....

Looking forward to hearing some thoughts Steve. All I've heard so far is that the new gen is a much better performer, but I haven't seen any wildlife pics yet. I'm still wondering what the real world fps will be for the z7ii...using tracking af and 14 bit raw....If as fast as my d850 it will be acceptable if not competitive with canon or sony. When I go out to shoot eagles locally, most people have A9...and the amount of shutter clicks I hear is just incredible. I can't imagine having to go through that many pics at 20 fps....

 

[Steve]

Meh, who cares what Steve thinks.....

Looking forward to hearing some thoughts Steve. All I've heard so far is that the new gen is a much better performer, but I haven't seen any wildlife pics yet. I'm still wondering what the real world fps will be for the z7ii...using tracking af and 14 bit raw....If as fast as my d850 it will be acceptable if not competitive with canon or sony. When I go out to shoot eagles locally, most people have A9...and the amount of shutter clicks I hear is just incredible. I can't imagine having to go through that many pics at 20 fps....

20 FPS can be rough on the editing, but the trick is controlled bursts. The nice thing with the a9 series is no blackout - so you always have a clear view fo what's going on. So, it's easy to just lay off the shutter release when you don't like what you see - that's how I do it anyway. When things are happening though, sometimes that 20FPS frame rate can give you a lot of great choices.

 

[crjPO]

Anxiously awaiting reviews of the z6ii for birds in flight. "initial impressions" is going to be good enough for me. Much rather have that than waiting for a detailed full review.

 

[crjPO]

Depends how much you crop too. Even though you don't need a ton of pixels for website work, if you have to do some heavy cropping the Z7ii will put more pixels on your ducks. In addition, when downsampling images for the web, I have found that I seem to get nicer results when the image starts with more pixels.

Still, I think you could go either way here and the Z6ii will give you better low light capability as well.

This is why we need a mirrorless D500 equivalent camera for wildlife and birds in flight. More reach, higher pixel density and no need for full frame.

 

[gordon_g]

I'm planning to get an "initial impressions" type of review out soon. I won't be doing a full field review on it anytime soon though (it just costs too much to do dedicated review trips, I think I'm done with those). Still, I'm hoping to have something out for info on AF, wildlife usage, etc.

inquiring minds want to know... LOL. Thanks Steve, lot's of people here appreciate your views on this Topic... Im still really troubled by the Functionality of programing Buttons for AF... Maybe we would adapt but I sure use the feature A LOT now. Maybe the rumored Z9... Sigh.

 

[Steve]

inquiring minds want to know... LOL. Thanks Steve, lot's of people here appreciate your views on this Topic... Im still really troubled by the Functionality of programing Buttons for AF... Maybe we would adapt but I sure use the feature A LOT now. Maybe the rumored Z9... Sigh.

It's really weird they didn't include that feature. I think login forward - if they want to compete with the like of Sony - they are going to have to realize that software-implemented camera features should be in all of their bodies - Sony pretty much does that now. Keeping features people want from them in an effort to force a purchase of a pricer camera simply drives them to another brand that does have the features they want.

 

[cohenfive]

Maybe in the rush to get these into the market they didn't really 'finish' the firmware? I could see that happening as nikon was slipping pretty badly. These are 'stop the bleeding' cameras, as are some of the lenses on sale imo.

 

[Steve]

Maybe in the rush to get these into the market they didn't really 'finish' the firmware? I could see that happening as nikon was slipping pretty badly. These are 'stop the bleeding' cameras, as are some of the lenses on sale imo.

I think that's a distinct possibility - I think that kind of happened with the first versions.