The D810 to Z6ii story - conclusion

[billtils]

A brief recap on how I got to this point: My first venture into FF was with the classic and excellent Nikon D750. However I shot a lot of wildlife and paired the body with a Tamron 150-600mm. Did the job well enough but that isn't the greatest lens and it's heavy. The answer to the weight and quality was the truly splendid and light Nikon 300mm PF with a TC, but to keep some reach I also switched the body to a D810 for the greater pixel count (either more scope to crop, or just shoot in DX mode for a 1.5x increase in EFL).

Time marches on and inevitably the hands got a bit achy on the rheumatic side and reluctantly the D810 had to go for a Z - but which one? For me it came down to the Z7ii or Z6ii, and perhaps a bit surprisingly given the D750 to 810 story I opted for the Z6ii. There's quite a big price gap and I couldn't really see anything in what I was likely to shoot that justified it; add the better high ISO handling of the Z6ii and the choice was pretty clear for me so a new Z6ii with the "kit" 24-70mm lens along with a decent summer sale discount, and it was a no brainer. The word "kit" is in quotes because this is one of Nikon's S-series range of glass and has had rave (and justified) reviews for its quality.

I've had the rig a month now and nearing 1000 clicks in a variety of circumstances, some forced on me due to entertaining family visitors, but the rig has exceeded expectations. It takes the 300PF with 1.4TC and the FTZ2 like they were made for each other, and the 24-70 is now my go-to lens for anything that doesn't need the reach (the 70-200 zoom works just fine too, but the only time I've used it was to see how it went with the FTZ - see below). The body size, weight and shaping work perfectly for me - a wee bit of a pleasant surprise.

What next, if anything? I anticipated that there would be advantages in moving to Z glass and had traded most of my F-mount gear. I'm so impressed with the Z 'S' lens that I'm glad I did, even though there are some eye-watering price tags too ... Best guess is the 70-200 will be traded against a new 105mm 'S' macro, and the rest can wait until I've had a bit more experience in different situations (and there's more availability in the used market).

Bottom line - delighted and not a little surprised - with how things have gone.

Any downside? One niggle I need to spend time on and it's almost certainly the user not the equipement: the body has 3 'U' options where you can store the menu set up for different shots, in my case Action/Wildlife, Portrait, and Landscape. However it seems that to change exposure (I shoot M with Auto ISO mostly) you have to go out of the 'U' setting and back to 'M' - no big deal but certainly a niggle.

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the background story that lead to your decision. The direction you have gone in seems to make a lot of sense for you.

I'm struggling a little in terms of where I will be going with my next camera body. As I have largely been shooting in a studio setting for the past three years, often using a tripod, size and weight really have not made a lot of difference. We are planing to start traveling again in August (road trip to Canada's East Coast) and likely a trip to India in early 2023 (my daughter and family have just moved back there), size and weight considerations are going to become more of an issue for me.

Given how well the 28 - 300mm lens performed on my last big trip (2019 to South America), I expect that I will be looking at a mirrorless equivalent (the 24-200 is the one that seems to hit all of the right buttons for travel photography) or the 28-300 with adapter might be the best direction for me.

Regardless, I will be waiting for a Z7ii replacement that incorporates some of the Z9 technology in a smaller body before I take the plunge.

You've given me a lot to ponder; thanks!

[Stagecoach]

Any downside? One niggle I need to spend time on and it's almost certainly the user not the equipement: the body has 3 'U' options where you can store the menu set up for different shots, in my case Action/Wildlife, Portrait, and Landscape. However it seems that to change exposure (I shoot M with Auto ISO mostly) you have to go out of the 'U' setting and back to 'M' - no big deal but certainly a niggle.

Good to hear you are still pleased with the Z611 Bill.

As for the 'U' setting I'm pretty sure you will find it user error.

I use just one 'U' setting U3 which is set up for Manual Aperture and Shutter with Auto ISO, Auto Area AF along with the Fn button activating the 'Subject' target. Both speed and aperture are fully controllable (along with any other change I wish to make) without having to revert back to M.

If I make changes to say aperture or speed whilst in this 'U3' mode and turn the camera off, when turning it back on again the aperture/speed will revert back to what they were originally set at, (safe 1/1600, f/4 in my case). I use this U mode to give me the quickest change from my normal M mode with single point AF to Auto AF during race events.

[DanK]

Good to hear you are still pleased with the Z611 Bill.

As for the 'U' setting I'm pretty sure you will find it user error.

I use just one 'U' setting U3 which is set up for Manual Aperture and Shutter with Auto ISO, Auto Area AF along with the Fn button activating the 'Subject' target. Both speed and aperture are fully controllable (along with any other change I wish to make) without having to revert back to M.

If I make changes to say aperture or speed whilst in this 'U3' mode and turn the camera off, when turning it back on again the aperture/speed will revert back to what they were originally set at, (safe 1/1600, f/4 in my case). I use this U mode to give me the quickest change from my normal M mode with single point AF to Auto AF during race events.

For what it's worth, that's exactly how Canon cameras work, except that if you let the camera sit long enough to go to sleep, it reverts to the stored settings when you wake. That's messed me up a few times.

[Stagecoach]

For what it's worth, that's exactly how Canon cameras work, except that if you let the camera sit long enough to go to sleep, it reverts to the stored settings when you wake. That's messed me up a few times.

Fortunately the Z6 retains the settings when it goes to sleep. The only time any changes you have made when in a 'U' mode revert back to what they were originally set and saved at are when it is turned off.