So, if you are doing photography for years and want to switch from an old camera like Nikon Z5 or maybe Nikon Z6 and thinking about upgrading to the Nikon Z6 II so there are many reasons like autofocus, speed, build, and maybe XQD.

the Nikon Z6 II is a slight refresh of the original Nikon Z6 with a second memory card slot and processor making a bump to burst shooting.

I already talked about the Z7 which is Nayan identical to the Sony A7 III in terms of the price resolution and video capability.

So from my experience, I will share my thought on why I think you should consider choosing the Nikon Z6 II over the Nikon Z6.

Z6 II Body

It boasts a magnesium alloy body that offers optimal balance and lightness it has a deep grip design balanced weight and a sturdy build with smart button placement.

it allows you to go vertical thanks to its optimal MBN 11 that offers vertical shooting controls and a 1.9 times increase in battery performance.

Z6 II features the USBC constant power and charging that allows you to continue shooting without worrying about power running low.

So, handling and ergonomics I found to be identical with a weatherproof body and that big grip it’ll suit pro and semi-pro shooters.

Nikon Z6 II Menu

the menu options look more intuitive allowing quick one-menu access to all of the autofocus options, with the eye menu and function buttons you rarely need to dive in there in sum this is a great handling camera that feels like a DSLR and I really enjoyed shooting with it at the same time.

the menu system is a bit complex and I prefer what Canon and Sony do still if you program everything the way you want.

Nikon Z6 II Specs

• Dual card slots UHS II SD
• S1 CF Express type B/XQD
• S2 SD, SDHC, SDXC UHS II
• 14 FPS one burst 200 jpeg
• one burst 124 12 bit raw

Z6 II Image Stabilization

the Z6 II comes equipped with 5-axis in-camera image stabilization with up to 5 stops of compensation whether you’re shooting handheld in low light during fast-moving sequences or during video recording you can have confidence that the camera can keep your images sharp and steady

Screen Type

When it comes to screen the EVF houses a 3.6 million dot quad VGA display utilizing Nikon optics and coatings and now you can view the image in the EVF completely info free for a un obstructed view of your subject.

Nikon Z6 II has a 3.2 inch 2.1 million dot tilting touchscreen where you can touch everything Z6 II does not flip out and rotate but the Nikon has the best screen even from Sony A1 and Canon R6.

So, the blackout reduction times have also been shortened when shooting with the EVF or LCD in continuous h release mode the 3.2 inches 2100 dot touch operable LCD monitor tilts up and down to make high and low shooting much easier.

the screen is pleasant with a refresh rate of 60 hertz and decent contrast furthermore, the Z6 II gained dramatically in speed and efficiency.

both shooters especially Nikon users will be very comfortable with it the touch screen because it’s responsive and very useful.

Viewfinder

Z6 II utilizes an Oled Electronic viewfinder which offers a magnification of 0.8 times and a sufficient distance for those who wear glasses.

Autofocus

When it comes to autofocus thanks to increased speed the Z6 II has increased to 14 frames per second in single point AF and continuous age extended over the previous 12 fps in the z6.

the Z6 II remains at 12 frames per second while in other AF modes autofocus has been improved as well on the Z6 II with eye and face detection for both humans and animals in wide area AF l mode allowing you to isolate a smaller portion of the frame this feature also carries over in the movie recording mode.

The Z6 II has a Hybrid AF system that brings performance improvements new options for eye detection AF and an easier selection of AF modes.

It offers 273 focus points that you can choose manually or you can let the subject tracking do it automatically for you.

Autofocus tracking is really good and gives you complete satisfaction on subjects with moderate movements for burst shooting.

So, AF mode makes it possible to set the camera to only look for eyes within a smaller area of the frame this isolates the main subject from other people animals, or distracting objects outside of the wide area.

this speed has been increased to 14 fps in the jpeg mode compared to 12 fps on the Z6 model. Making this device the fastest hybrid in the Nikon range to date we also appreciate the addition of a completely silent electronic shutter.

ISO

the Z6 II is amazing to use when shooting in low light it can achieve ISO up to 51200 and when you pair it with the 24-megapixel sensor and dual xp speed processors noise is effectively reduced by maintaining both high sensitivity and resolution.

Tracking

When it comes to tracking eye detection autofocus in normal or wide area settings is available in video mode a huge benefit to keep footage looking professional and sharp on the eyes.

it’s considerably lighter and easier to pack around as for performance again there’s not a lot to talk about here that I haven’t already mentioned with Z7.

burst shooting speeds are a bit faster than the Z7 but still only 5.5 frames per second with continuous autofocus because the resolution is nearly half.

however, you can capture many more frames before the buffer fills up autofocus performance is great as long as your subject doesn’t move around much.

for action shooting the tracking system can lose the subject and focus on the background instead ruining the shot other aspects are top-notch.

in-body stabilization rivals are even beats the A7 III battery life is excellent the EVF is one of the best.

you can get through it occasionally blanks when you shoot in bursts there’s only one card slot and as xqd which is a point against the Z6.

Nikon Z6 II Sensor

the Z6 II has a 24.5 MP full-frame BSI CMOS sensor, features dual x-speed 6 processors adding increased speed and higher buffer numbers with that kind of speed boost you’re looking at storing 124 raw shots in the buffer over 35 on the previous model Z6 which is roughly 3.5 times faster.

the quality you get off of a Nikon sensor is amazing, it has a similar sensor to the Z7 but with a lower resolution and an anti-aliasing filter.

Nikon has updated the CMOS sensor BSI with a backlight on the Z6 and retained a stabilization system that allows you to use long exposure times with high sharpness at high sensitivity noise remains very well retained and jpeg format processing is efficient.

ISO Performance

the Z6 has good high ISO low-light performance but is not quite on par with Sony A7S III.

you can shoot in RAW with up to 14 bits per color which give you plenty to work within Lightroom.

Z6 II Battery Life

the battery in the Z6 II is the new EN EL-15c type battery which can be charged in the camera while is off and allows for the camera to be powered via the USB-C port while the camera is on for indefinite periods of time.

this is great for time-lapse movie recording and live streaming using Nikon’s free webcam utility also new to the Z series is the MB and 11 vertical battery grip the addition of an extra battery pro longed shoot time and the a-slot battery can also be ejected while the camera is on and hot swapped without losing power.

Nikon Z6 II Image Quality

So, overall image quality is nearly on par with Sony’s A7 III, which is quite a compliment for a brand new camera.

I found the colors to be accurate and the images crisp and sharp with few artifacts, it has largely succeeded with a Z6 which is identically priced and SPECT to the Sony A7 III.

it also edges this e6 in image quality, particularly in low-light situations, and at the moment sony has many more native lenses.

though you can use Nikon DSLR lenses with an adapter however the Nikon Z6 is a better handling camera and it actually edges as a Sony A7 III.

the Z6 II has another feature for anyone trying to apply some unique looks built into the camera 20 preset filters otherwise known as creative picture controls that can be applied and seen in real time.

when shooting photos or videos the filters can be further customized to put your own personal touch onto your images

Lenses

It’s compatible with all Z-mount lenses and each of the lenses offers a new perspective for the video which is best for stills high-speed sequences and video work.

the Z6 II gives you the ability to reverse the rotation of the focus ring on your Nikkor z lenses so that focus pulls remain consistent with your muscle memory.

Z6 II Video Features

the Z6 II features 4k ultra HD up to 30 frames per second with a full pixel readout and 4k ultra HD 60 fps it’s based setting.

the camera records 8-bit color internally for immediate use you can even use the built-in picture controls while recording to give your footage an immediate creative look.

if you’re looking to manipulate the image in post-production and have a deeper control over your image there is the 10-bit color option with n-log but that’s only available over HDMI to an external recorder the camera can utilize n-log in the new hdr or hlg output mode for more range in your footage with in-law.

you can push your footage further in post for more in tense color grades hlg produces a more out of camera polished look and a higher bit rate that can take advantage of playback on hlg or hdr displays as i mentioned to access the 10-bit analog and hdr modes you’ll have to output to an external recorder such as the atomos via HDMI pushing even further.

The Z6 II can output a 12-bit prores raw file that opens up a world of post-production options for pushing your footage to the max by taking data directly from the camera sensor.

Z6 II can do 1080p up to 120 fps in addition to the 4k UHD 60fps that is coming in the first firmware upgrade on the physical side the size weight and feel of the Z6 II is near identical to that of the Z6 so this camera should transition smoothly into your workflow.

It has similar autofocus performance and video quality but you have the ability to export 10-bit video via the HDMI part which you can’t do in the Sony A7 III.

Time Lapse Recording

the Z6 II not only offers the traditional interval timer mode as well as the in-camera time lapse but it also includes a new mode that gives you the best of both worlds allowing you to retain your individual jpeg and raw files.

while the camera automatically creates a time-lapse movie file from the series of images for the macro photographer product the Z6 II has a focus shift shooting mode in this mode you can set the camera to take a series of photos while it incrementally adjusts the focus position between pictures afterward.

when using third-party software you can combine or focus a stack of photos into a single image with surreal depth of field and sharpness this is a suite of great features with one goal in mind simplify the steps needed to create complex types of images.

Storage

Z6 II features dual card slots one that accepts CFexpress type B and XQD cards and another that accepts standard SD cards.

With the addition of a second card slot in slot number one you can use an ultra-reliable and fast cfexpress or xqd card in the second slot, you can use an sd card which gives you options and flexibility using both slots at the same time means you can use them for overflow backup or separating raw and jpeg photos whether you’re sharing images.

So, a very important feature is the addition of a second card slot opening up the possibilities for redundant shooting overflow shooting and splitting your files across multiple cards slot 1 will utilize cfexpress type b and xqd formats while slot 2 will take UHS-II SD cards with the addition of cf express type b you can now write to your card up to four times the speed of xqd.

the camera’s built-in Bluetooth and WI-FI you can get your Z6 II firmware upgrades directly from the snap bridge app when you open up the app it’ll automatically check for updates and send them wirelessly to the camera making the firmware update process simple and stress-free on the go.

Battery

the Z6 II includes EN-EL 15c version battery which can take more shots and allows the camera to be powered by an external power source while the camera is still being used.6

the live streaming from your Z6 II can be done with a simple USB-C cable without requiring complex setups the USB-C cable will both power the camera and allow a video feed when using the Nikon webcam utility for the first time in a z-series.

the Z6 II is compatible with a full-featured battery grip the mbn 11 accepts two EN-EL 15c batteries giving you 1.9 times more battery performance it has shutter release dials and a customizable function button for ergonomic and comfortable shooting.

the mbn 11 has a built-in USB-C port which is in addition to the one already in the camera this will come in handy when you want to power the camera using one port and communicate with software or other equipment with the other.

the battery closest to the door is hot-swappable so you can keep refreshing your battery without turning off the camera or draining the second battery.

And a really nice feature is the EN-EL 15 batteries they’re fully compatible with all of Nikon’s full-frame z and many DSLR cameras while those batteries are still compatible with the Z6 II.

Z6 II Weights

in terms of weight it’s built pretty well it weighs in at 1.4 pounds in 600 or 615 grams.

Nikon Z6 II Price

the Nikon Z6 II comes in at around $2000 that is well it’s like a lot of money less than the other two you know when Sony came out with the A7 III that thing came out a around $3000.

Wrapping Up

the Nikon Z6 II is a really great option to get into a full-frame game it’s not bad at all maybe the technologies in Canon R6 and Sony A1 are slightly better I guess.

when it comes to technology built in this camera, the Nikon Z6 II quality is very good their autofocus that is lacking their video is fine their stills are fine it really feels great in the hands.

their second camera is basically the first camera this is like an s version of the Nikon Z6 it’s a slight upgrade that really didn’t change very much.

Nikon Z6 II Firmware 1.4.0 AF Improvements

• Focuses more readily on the subject in the center of the frame if it fails to detect face, eyes, or subject when auto AF is selected
• Memory recall has been altered so that regardless of the focus mode selected the focus position chosen via autofocus does not change if the shutter release button is pressed halfway while memory recall is in effect.

Nikon Z6 II Firmware 1.4.0 Photography

• the camera would sometimes fail to focus on the subject in the focus area in pictures taken immediately after the battery was inserted.
• Reactivating the standby timer in the user settings mode U1, U2, U3 would cause the shutter speed to change if the stored value was slower than 30sec.

Nikon Z6 II Firmware 1.4.0 Video Improvements

• Jitter would occur in movies recorded while footage was being output to an HDMI device with 3840 x 2160:60p or 3840 x 2160: 50pselected for frame size/frame rate in the movie shooting menu.
• the movie record button would not function with certain gimbals while video was being recorded to an external device via HDMI with 3840 x 2160; 30p, 3840 x 2160; 25p, 3840 x 2160; 24p selected for frame size/frame rate in the movie shooting menu and 10bit selected for Advanced output data depth in the setup menu.

Advantages

• Eye and animal AF shooting stills or video
• Buffer capacity 3.5 times more than the original Z6
• 24.5 MP BSI Resolution that Excels in Low Light
• Increased AF Speed & tracking sensitivity
• Cinematic 4k movies
• more colour grading flexibility
• Vertical grip shooting
• Batteries without losing power
• FTZ Mount Adapter
• Compatible with F mount Nikkor Lenses
• up to 900 second exposures
• Raw support
• Autofocus modes 11
• Orientation sensor

Conclusion

Z6 II can win the award for the best full-frame camera, the Z6 II is a phenomenal camera it has phenomenal eye tracking and eyeball tracking.

the Nikon Z6 II really meets many expectations in terms of compactness ergonomics photo quality and video performance with autofocus.

There’s a continuous power supply of usbc and 4k UHD at 60fps while allowing prores Rav recording on an external recorder overall this device delivers premium performance at the best possible price quality ratio.