Nikon Z6ii and Z7ii Wildlife Photography Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ค. 2024
- Thinking about a Z6ii or Z7ii for wildlife? Then this is the video you've been looking for!
In this video, I'll discuss my experience using the Z6/7ii for wildlife photography. I've shot in various local locations and knocked out over 7000 images between the two bodies, so this isn't just a quick afternoon test and review.
We'll cover what works well, what's average, and performance aspects that are less than ideal for some wildlife scenarios. Also, note this isn't one of my full reviews, this one is tightly focused on my experience with the Z6/7ii for shooting wildlife.
Enjoy!
I pretty much ONLY watch Steve's videos. He walks the walk and talks the talk. Plus, he's a great presenter chock full of insight and no bull commentary. Thank you Steve and thankfully you get back healthy quickly!!!!
Just a quick note. I'm currently recovering from COVID - you can read bout it here:
bcgforums.com/index.php?threads/im-back.6679/
(This video was put together before I went into the hospital). Please forgive any delays in responding to comments, this thing has really set me back.
Hey steve, sad to hear you went through this hard time, hope you will recover quick well! Take care!
Good luck big guy, we hope you will return to normal fast, I just lost a Friend with that crap. I've been out on my airboat getting up close and personal with the nesting birds, if you're in Florida and fully recovered I can put you close to the nest without disturbing mom and dad. Oh and by the way I'll stick to my 2 D500's lol!
I hope you feel better very soon, all the best!
Get well Steve!
Hey Steve
When is your Sony A1 review comming?
Otherwise keep the videos comming!
Regards
YES!! Waited for this so badly Steve, great to have you back and hope you get well soon! 🙌📷
So glad you are well and getting better Steve. Was so sad to hear of your experience. You do so much for us all. I hope you know how much we appreciate you and your advice 💛
Hi Steve. I was very moved by your experience with COVID-19, and I'm very happy that you're on the road to recovery. It will take time. My thoughts are with you, Rose, your children and the rest of your family.
So happy to see a new vid from you Steve (especially about the latest Z's!). Even happier to see you back home on the road to recovery! ❤️🙏🏻
Wish you full 100% recovery Steve. You provide us with great information and I really look forwars to all your video postings.
Wishing you a quick recover Steve and appreciate the quality unbiased content you put out! Take care of yourself.
Steve - welcome back. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
As always Steve answers all the questions I had about a new Nikon release. Thanks and hope you have speedy recovery to full health.
Good you are back! And wish you all the best for a full recovery.
Love your videos Steve! Praying for a speedy recovery!!
Amazing recovery! Great to see you are right back at it helping us all to learn and grow in our photography!
I know I have benefited from these videos and books. Greatly appreciate your honest and straightforward approach.
Actually, the video was done before I went into the hospital. If I shot it now, you'd see a breathless guy that's 20 lbs lighter.
Hope you are recovering well, Good to hear from you again!
This video had perfect timing as I was definitely looking to buy into full frame with my stimulus. Thank you Steve!
Wishing you a speedy recovery mate, and as always appreciate your videos.
Glad you're back Steve! Stay well and I hope you have a swift recovery!
Hi Steve, thanks for the very useful video. Sending prayers your way for a speedy recovery !
Steve, very sorry to hear about your COVID-19 experience and glad you're on the mend. Your videos are the ones I look forward to watching as they are full of relevant information. Bought the e-Book and looking forward to putting this to use with my new Z6II. Get better soon, and take it easy!
That's very interesting thanks Steve. So very glad you're on the mend, best wishes to you and your family.
Glad you are on the mend! Another info packed video! Thanks Steve!
Yes good to have you back!!! It must have been a bummer to be down and out for such a long time.
Great to have you back Steve! Picked up the Z6ii the other week and I know what book I'm going to buy.
Sooo glad you are back and have overcome this serious disease! All the best, Steve!!!
Thanks for another great summary, Steve. Much appreciated.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Our whole family are in healthcare and have a good idea of what you’re going through - cheering for you and looking forward to you being behind your camera again. 👍
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Love this review and have been waiting for this review for a long time.
Another comprehensive report and comparison of the Z6 and Z7 derivatives and FTZ adapter
Thanks so much
Glad to hear you’re on the mend! Best wishes to you & your family. Stay safe.
Mate, I have been waiting for this review. In terms on wanting to understand AF performance you are the baseline.
THE review I’ve been waiting for... Thank you!
Glad to hear you are on the rebound!
Thank for the sharing. I have been waiting for your words for these two camera. Wish you 100% recover soon. Stay safe.
Great video as always Steve. Let me just echo the other comments and say how nice it is to see you back here, after the forum. Wish you a speedy recovery, take care!
Again Another fantastic, detailed video. Thank you, Steve.
Thanks Steve for this review. Am looking to upgrade from the Z6 to the Z7ii. Hope your recovery is full and speedy.
Great insight Steve! Thanks for your honest and transparent insight!
Welcome back Steve!! Get better soon!
So glad to hear you're feeling better.
Get well soon! I'm very happy that you're on the road to recovery.
Mr. Perry, your camera reviews Rock! Always practical, clear, logical and useful for me! Much better for me than some other sites that get stuck in details that may not matter in big picture (no pun intended).
Welcome back, Steve! Glad you are on the road to recovery. I will be heading over to purchase your Z AF book. Hope it helps! Both of us! 😉
great video as always, steve! get well soon!
Thanks Steve for another great review, I just ordered a Z6ii this morning to go along with my D780 dslr. Looking like I have your video to rely upon for the learning curve.
As close to a perfect review as possible. Thanks, Steve.
Thanks for your review. I purchased a Z6ii and have shot with it for 2 weeks. I am coming from a D500 and have been impressed with the autofocus. I have shot a high school track meet and had many more keepers with the Z6ii than I normally did with the D500.
Great comparison and review of the improvements Steve. I have the Z7ii with the new grip and I am also finding it great for wildlife except for fast action where I still use my D850. Looking forward to the Z8/Z9 releases and the telephoto Z lenses 8^)
Great review Steve! I just broke my D500 on vacation and managed to get a Z6II, absolutely love it! I think the AF works absolutely fine in most situations, as long as you know how to use it, no problems so far. Videos are great, EVF is fantastic, and I think the silent shooting is a must to photograph some really shy wildlife (an absolute necessity to photograph wolves in Italy!)..finger crossed for the Z8 and Z9, hopefully we’ll get something like an R5.
Are you missing your D500? I’m starting to think on making the move to mirrorless, but the D500 is just great…
Hope your feeling much better today Steve, great video as always. Your videos and tutorials have helped me to benefit so much more from my Z6 ii. Truly hoping the new native super telephotos will be better for wildlife photography. I use a sigma 150-600 lens with FTZ adapter for my birding but it’s a real challenge to get a consistent lock on fast moving objects.
I think the 100-400 and 200-600 are going to be really good.
Very informative video, as always,. thanks Steve!
Excellent, Steve. I currently have a Z7 (Version one) and and a Z6 II, so I was happy to hear your opinions about the Z7 II. Thank you!
Great review, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Excellent video! I just bought the Z7II (on backorder), but am keeping my D500. I do crop quite a lot so the higher MP will definitely help. Hope all goes well with your recovery.
Thank you. I'm excited to get my Z7 II but I've never had any assumption it'll replace my much loved D850. Glad you're better!
Thank you so much , I was waiting for your input regarding z6ii.
Hope you continue to heal and feel better, Steve!
Thx! What a great review. You made me take a breath and wait for a proper replacement for my D850 in regards to autofocus.
Hey Steve.. great review as always.
In your opinion, which mirrorless camera can replace Nikon D850 (mainly for wildlife)?
Thanks!
Welcome back and hoping you get better.
Thanks for the review. Good job!
Good to see you back..
Steve hello from Greece! I wish you get well soon and come back to us in full recovery! Sending you my thoughts and prayers!
Thanks Steve, top quality information as always. These are obviously excellent cameras but reading between the lines I don't see enough here to shell out £1500 plus the D500 that I have, it still does the job for me and many others I suspect 👍
This is exactly the info i needed!! Thanks
Glad you are on the mend 👍
A great real world review! Thank you. One note though is that there are many shooting situations where the Z7II/Z6II are at least as capable as competing cameras from Canon and Sony.
I really like how Nikon cameras allow for more specific ISO values. It's so weird to me in the mirrorless world how we can't use an analog slider of sorts to dial the iso in exactly where we need it, instead of 1/3rd stops
Glad you're on the mend.
Hi Steve,
My prayers for you. Wish you a speedy recovery.
Regards 🙏
Thank you for such informative insights ... wish you have a full recovery ...
Welcome back!
Great comparison of the two models and I hope the newer Z models will meet the wildlife needs. As you mentioned, I will keep my D850 with power grip for a while longer. Great info as usual and glad to read your feeling better!!!🙏
What's your thinking? I got a full refund on my d850 as they were unable to get the repair parts.
I want the z9 at the d850 price really 😂
Hoping z8 next year will be what I need, but I'm terrified of the price
@@sinetwo I don’t think the Z8 will be a Z9 and at the same price of a D850. The Z8 will have half of the features of a Z9, genes the the lower price. My comment was saying the The D850 was great with a power grip to give 9 fps for wildlife photography. Having 30-120FPS and now the 1 second pre/post capture ability with Z9 is amazing! Great you received a full refund on the D850 from Nikon or your store. I didn’t think I would buy mirrorless, but I am still using my F glass to save on the conversion cost. Looking forward to the new 200-600 and 600 release to buy my first z lens!
@@mikedavis1110 yeah I would happily sacrifice the grip of the z9 but at the moment my D500 is a killer. My only issue is the live view for low wildlife shots and that the AF in that mode is quite frankly, terrible.
Let's see what the z8 offers. Really the z9 is the dream camera, but honestly if nikon can't compete with Sony, and their bodies can't use F glass as well as the Z9, I'm gonna get a d850 again next year.
@@sinetwo Surprised to read about the AF issue for I thought the D500 was a baby D5 for it uses the same setup is my understanding with the 10 fps. As far as Sony goes I think the Z9 surpasses it with one slight issue in the AF tracking in low contrast areas or in cluttered areas. They have made firmware updates to address this issue with major improvements. The build quality of Z9 his “hands down” BETTER than a Sony, menu process and the features at a $1000+ less than Sony!! I am sure both will improve over time in firmware or newer versions. I would still get a z8/z9 for wildlife with the highest fps from Nikon. I still have my D850, D800 as backups and believe the D850 is the best DSLR on the market at a reasonable price($3000). It’s still tied for #1 on DXO’s review with 5 year newer cameras!
On the low angle shots the D500 has the tilting LCD and I didn’t think I would appreciate that feature but it is big help!
@@mikedavis1110 agree, hoping the z8 will be the wildlife killer (figuratively!)!
The d500 and the d850 have horrendous AF when in live view mode. Fine for static subjects but it'll hunt and refocus quite a lot. With a mirrorless, the screen is the "same" as the viewfinder so it's a much better experience.
Waiting it out for the Z8 to see what they offer, and then I'll decide on d850 vs z8. But for now my D500 will do, despite having a range of nice FX lenses
Excellent & Honest Review..Thanks
Glad you’re on the mend!
Hi Steve interesting review and great shots from both but I wonder if and how these bodies have improved in 2023 with the latest updates regarding to the negative things you've mentioned. Be nice to see an updated review, but for now I just feel like I need more from the z6ii for wildlife. I'd like to do video and great enlargements but the z8 is just out of my budget at the moment. I either have to wait for the iii models or save more towards the z8 or look at Sony, but thx again
Interesting. I wonder if the firmware has been updated for any of the issues he mentioned. Like tracking?
Very valuable video. Thanks a lot Steve.
Love from Sri Lanka
Sorry to hear you have been so unwell. Wishing you the best of health for the future
Great job as always. Thanks
Get well soon Steve. You are in a class of your own. I have made a contribution to help. Best wishes.
Steve you are a legend, what ever god you ascribe to must give you back to us. Stay safe my friend and get back where you belong soon. ❤️👍
Hi Steve, as always great insight and trustworthy reviews. I have watched your channel for over 4 years now and I have found your books (downloads) a great resource. I ham shooting the D500 with 200-500 and loved its results, for the money. I notice you have mentioned you sometimes use a Sony a9II, Would this be a justifiable upgrade with a 100-400 + teleconverter or will the D500 and 200-500 still give me more pixels on the subject, ie better results. Thanks and stay safe.
Hi Ian -
It depends how well you're filling the frame on the a9ii :) If you can fill the frame, then it's not a bad choice at all (although I personally am not a huge fan of the 100-400 + 1.4TC). However, if you'll have to crop to D500 proportions, I'd stick with the D500. Also, the Sony 200-600 is a great lens if you get the a9ii.
@@backcountrygallery cheers Steve, appreciate your reply. Stay safe
I’m glad you said the D500 probably gets better keeper rates. I contemplated going mirrorless and ended up with a D500 over that. Big upgrade from a d3500
Currently I use 2 D750 for rodeo or some other equine events and I have been really interested in the auto focusing system on the Z6ii and your info Steve is helpful,but lacks the certainty I'm looking for.
Thanks for this, Steve. All the info, non of the BS :) Been waiting for this; going to add the Z7ii to my bag, as backup to the D6 but also as my prime portrait and landscape camera. And glad you're on the mend!!!
Hi Steve, excellent video presentation! I am very interested in what the April 26th firmware updates will deliver to improve the action focus tracking abilities of the Z7ii to at least equal the D850 or aiming higher to that of the Sony a9.
Best wishes to you and your family, keep safe!
If it were a 2.0 update I'd be more optimistic. A "second digit" update (1.2 in this case) is usually more of a minor update.
Hi from Sweden! Im new in this area so I need to ask what lences you would recomend for the nikon both in Wildlife- and landscape photography. Thank you for a great video!🙌🏼
Great video as usual. Ill be purchasing your tutorials today and glad you’re recovering from COVID-19
Oh wow I did not know that you had covid, I wish you a good and speedy recovery.
Hope u feeling better and recover 100% brother. I think we all enjoy your reviews and content. Im a bit mix with the Z6ii or D780 for wildlife and ocasional family "get togethers" once everything goes back to normal. 👍🏽
I have both and find myself using the Z6ii more now but I also still use my D300….love that camera and just could not part with it.
Thank you Steve. I'll stick with my D850. Can't wait to see what the Z9 has to offer.
Steve hope you get well soon and recover 100%
Thanks Steve for another good video. I am still using my Nikon d4s and d810. I have so much F mount glass. I am interested in mirrorless but so far not ready to pull the trigger. However, at 68 years young maybe in the near future a lighter camera body maybe useful. So far the keeper ratio is good and in the warm, muggy and wet Mississippi environment I have no complaints with my current set up. I do not need the speed of the D4s anymore, the D810 is rather slow. Kind of on the fence to be honest to make the move.
Bloody hell Steve! Sorry to hear you have been really unwell. Great to hear you are on the mend. Scary to think of someone as young and healthy as yourself (although you probably don't feel that way right now) could get so ill. Get well soon!
Thanks!
LOL, 100% correct - I feel about as far from young and healthy as I can get at the moment. :)
@@backcountrygallery Wishing you a speedy recovery Steve. Take it easy
Right now I'm thinking about upgrading from my Z50 and your video did make my decision easier!
My greatest concern was losing the crop factor. That is why I thought as well that the higher resolution of the Z7II would come in handy. Because if I get the Z6II and start cropping I'd probably end up with a smaller resolution than I have with my Z50.
At first I was hoping to get a successor of my Z50. Or maybe a pro APS-C body like the rumored Z90, which was supposed to be something like a "mirrorless D500". But since Nikon seems to have a heavy focus on 35mm sensors and a fetish for unergonomic retro cameras with no successor to the Z6II or Z7II on the horizon, I figured I might as well buy something now since it really feels like I have outgrown the Z50 at this point, it started to hold me back a little :)
nice! I was just checking your channel last night to see if you posted this yet. score.
Very nice presentation, thank you !
Great movie and beautiful shots 📷👍
Nice review. Very sorry to hear about your Covid encounter. I hope you make a fast and complete recovery.
Hi and thx Steve for now I'm really looking forward to the 6iii as video is really my priority so I hope the next model will be awesome as the Z8 are a bit out of my budget at the moment. Doug
Nice video Steve. I will stick with my trusty D850 and D500. Will wait for the next Z iteration from Nikon.