ScottHM wrote:
Thanks everyone for your help in my decision in which camera I'll sell to buy the Z6, it looks like it'll be the D750. I use it mostly for shooting music in small clubs, and I know they'll be limitations with the Z6 but I'll have to get around those, for most of my work the other cameras I have will be just fine. I was mostly looking into the Z6 for it's video capabilities for when I'm walking around in the river this year in Katmai, and for a longer trip I'm planning 3+ weeks in Great Bear Rainforest. I generally just live out of the back of my car during these trips, but usually do very little video. The images I'm seeing with the Z6 have really opened my eyes, especially what I've seen from tek9 and turbodude....Show more →
Thanks! I'm sure you'll be happy with your decisions. Personally after using Z6 in the last 4 months I ditched the DSLR - I don't shoot BIF though.
tek9 wrote:
Thanks! I'm sure you'll be happy with your decisions. Personally after using Z6 in the last 4 months I ditched the DSLR - I don't shoot BIF though.
That's not too much of a worry, most of my wildlife work involves bears, or large mammals...I'm not much into BIF either, although from time to time I'll shoot the odd owl or other bird of prey, I still have the 850 or 500 for that, so I'm covered.
For those wondering if the Z6 can be used as a professional tool in the harshest of environments, you might enjoy this video by Morten Hilmer:
For those who do not know him, Morten is a Danish Wildlife Photographer who specializes in cold regions of the world. He is a story teller, so some of you might find the video long or boring... others (like me) will love what he does and how he presents it.
For the record, I am now using the Z6 as my one FX camera. When I do not need the crop of my D500's, I use the Z6 for my wildlife work... it has take some work to learn how to shoot it best, but things are getting better with time.
So what tips do you have for shooting with the camera? What have you learned that made it easier to shoot with?
OwlsEyes wrote:
For those wondering if the Z6 can be used as a professional tool in the harshest of environments, you might enjoy this video by Morten Hilmer:
For those who do not know him, Morten is a Danish Wildlife Photographer who specializes in cold regions of the world. He is a story teller, so some of you might find the video long or boring... others (like me) will love what he does and how he presents it.
For the record, I am now using the Z6 as my one FX camera. When I do not need the crop of my D500's, I use the Z6 for my wildlife work... it has take some work to learn how to shoot it best, but things are getting better with time.
amci4 wrote:
So what tips do you have for shooting with the camera? What have you learned that made it easier to shoot with?
- One thing has been linked to developing muscle memory. The buttons are a bit tight when compared to the D500 and D810. I find that I toggle between my back-button AF and Display button quite a lot and have practiced feeling these buttons especially in cold weather.
- I have learned to ignore the focus joystick and just work with the selection disk. The selection disk acts like the joystick but is in the same location as the D500's. As a result, I can move the joystick around seamlessly.
- Electronic front curtain has eliminated any of the unsharpness that I was getting when shooting from a tripod. My photos are now very crisp even with my telephoto lenses. I rarely shoot above 1/2000 of a second, so I am not limited by this.
- I do not rely on the auto AF, face-detection, wide-area... I use single-point or dynamic in AF-C. While it is not perfect, it tracks movement as well (maybe better) than the D810
- I shoot high frame rate but not the highest... as I said, this is not my action body. I use it for slower moving organisms.
- Other than landscapes, I never use the back LCD. I rely on the the capacity to access information inside the viewfinder and thus rarely take my eye away from the camera.
- All of my User Settings are geared for repeated settings that I normal use. I have a landscape setting that presets everything to ISO 100, manual exposure, and f/11. U1 and U2 are wildlife settings with higher Auto ISO limits, Aperture Priority and easy exposure compensation set to one of the control wheels.
OwlsEyes wrote:
- I have learned to ignore the focus joystick and just work with the selection disk. The selection disk acts like the joystick but is in the same location as the D500's.
On the D500 and now with the Z6, I just don't like the joystick. I, too, use the selection disk to move my focus point around. The joystick is just too small and too stiff for me, it actually slows me down. Sometimes I wonder if I just need to use it to get it loosened up a bit and easier to use but I still can't bring myself to use it.
You know that IBIS is mostly useless above 1/500 shutter speeds right? So that can actually cause blurry images as well if you kill that at higher shutter speeds.
OwlsEyes wrote:
- One thing has been linked to developing muscle memory. The buttons are a bit tight when compared to the D500 and D810. I find that I toggle between my back-button AF and Display button quite a lot and have practiced feeling these buttons especially in cold weather.
- I have learned to ignore the focus joystick and just work with the selection disk. The selection disk acts like the joystick but is in the same location as the D500's. As a result, I can move the joystick around seamlessly.
- Electronic front curtain has eliminated any of the unsharpness that I was getting when shooting from a tripod. My photos are now very crisp even with my telephoto lenses. I rarely shoot above 1/2000 of a second, so I am not limited by this.
- I do not rely on the auto AF, face-detection, wide-area... I use single-point or dynamic in AF-C. While it is not perfect, it tracks movement as well (maybe better) than the D810
- I shoot high frame rate but not the highest... as I said, this is not my action body. I use it for slower moving organisms.
- Other than landscapes, I never use the back LCD. I rely on the the capacity to access information inside the viewfinder and thus rarely take my eye away from the camera.
- All of my User Settings are geared for repeated settings that I normal use. I have a landscape setting that presets everything to ISO 100, manual exposure, and f/11. U1 and U2 are wildlife settings with higher Auto ISO limits, Aperture Priority and easy exposure compensation set to one of the control wheels.
amci4 wrote:
You know that IBIS is mostly useless above 1/500 shutter speeds right? So that can actually cause blurry images as well if you kill that at higher shutter speeds.
I have not seen this when "sport IBIS" is activated. In fact, I was doing landscapes with long exposures mounted to a sturdy tripod and I did not have any reduction in detail due to IBIS.
I didn’t say long exposure, I’m talking about when the shutter is fast enough not to need any stabilization.
OwlsEyes wrote:
I have not seen this when "sport IBIS" is activated. In fact, I was doing landscapes with long exposures mounted to a sturdy tripod and I did not have any reduction in detail due to IBIS.
GroovyGeek wrote:
So glad someone is giving us options other than RRS, whose ger is nice but prices have gotten ridiculously stratospheric. $185 for an L-bracket?
I am shocked that the Kirk one is not designed to be compatible with FTZ. Such a gross omission.
I will order the Z6 as soon as my trade-in from B&H comes through, and the Zelda will come with it. Just wished they offered it in straight black.
Well, I take my compliments of the Zelda back. The thing is FLIMSY. While the base is solid, the L arm flexes visibly with very moderate effort. This one is going back and alas, I have to shell out bigger bucks for either Kirk or RRS.
Can anyone confirm that
a) the Kirk indeed does NOT work with the FTZ
b) the RRS one piece works with the FTZ
I can't see myself spending $200 on the 2-piece RRS bracket.
For those who live state-side who ordered the SmallRig bracket, how long did it take for yours to arrive? I've placed two orders from SmallRig's site and here's the timeline:
- Feb 9th: ordered L-bracket
- Feb 11th: L-bracket shipped
- Feb 13th: L-bracket shipment at Origin Post, last step before heading across the ocean
- Feb 24th: L-bracket shows back up at China facility, at Origin Post step once again
- Nothing since.
- Feb 27th: ordered FTZ mount adapter
- Mar 4th: adapter shipped
- Mar 7th: at Origin Post
- Mar 17th: adapter shows up state-side in Chicago
- Mar 20th: adapter delivered to my home
I emailed SmallRig support earlier this week and they asked me to wait at least 15-30 "working" days and that some parcels take a "little longer" than that. Today is working day number 30. This is going to be a pain in my ass I think. I love having this adapter on my desk that is completely useless.
I'm sure you'll be happy with your decisions. Personally after using Z6 in the last 4 months I ditched the DSLR 
