It has been a while now since I returned the Nikon Z6 and the 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens to Lensesforhire, so I have had time to digest my thoughts on using them for street photography. As I mentioned earlier, I had the camera for two weeks over the Christmas period, because I wanted to sample Nikon's latest mirrorless offerings, especially that now, with improved firmware, the focussing is competitive with Sony.
The Nikon Z6 is smaller and lighter than my D810; it also has a silent shutter. This means it is a much more attractive prospect for street work than my full-frame DSLR. Having said that, it is, of course, larger and more obvious than my GX9, especially with the standard zoom attached.
So, why would I be interested in a Z6 for street photography, when I already have the excellent GX9? For the most part, this is just scoping what is out there, since I have no intention at present of trading in the GX9 and lenses for anything else. It is also a case that I much prefer Nikon ergonomics over those in the GX9: I've mentioned elsewhere that I find the GX9 a bit fiddly to work with, and it is very easy to mess up the settings accidentally while working. So, scoping with reason, but without intent to buy (if that makes any sense at all!)
Afternoon light at the Barbican - Z6 with 135mm f/2.8 AI-S lens
I spent some time in London and locally, just pottering and doing my usual street routine. I also brought along a lens I've not used for yonks - a venerable Nikon 135mm f/2.8 AI-S manual focus lens from film camera days. It is a lens I've never really got on with on DSLRs, but with focus peaking aiding manual focus, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Note: the comments below relate to the Z6 with firmware with which it was supplied, version 2.0.
So, what did I like?
The Z6 and 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens is a lovely package. It would be easy to use this as a day-in-day-out combination. Focusing using AF-C single point was fast and reliable, although I’ll have more to say below on other modes. The lens is gorgeous and gives images that can knock my socks off when they first come up as previews in Photomechanic.
Z6 with 135mm f/2.8 AI-S lens
Focus peaking with the 135mm AI-S transforms that lens into something I'd never expected. Not only is manual focusing quick and easy, I felt a sense of connection with the scene I'd simply not experienced for a very long time. At such stage as I ever get a full-frame mirrorless, using manual focus lenses with it is going to be a big deal. Unfortunately, the FTZ adaptor that links the F-mount lens to the Z mount camera does not allow the EXIF to be recorded, or even the aperture to be displayed in the viewfinder. Nikon seems to have no intention of supporting their older lenses – the collections of their long-standing customers – with a proper adaptor (and nor will they authorize third parties to remedy the deficit), and this is extremely disappointing.
The Z6 EVF is really good. I still don't think it is a full substitute for seeing through an optical viewfinder, but the Z6 EVF puts the GX9 in the shade (unsurprising given the price difference).
Silent shutter: having got used to it on the GX9, and now having used it on the Z6, I'm never buying another camera without it.
Z6 with 135mm f/2.8 AI-S lens: ISO 28,800
High ISO. Oh my goodness. In my first outing with this camera, I'd hit ISO9000 after dark, and was astonished at how good it was. So, I pushed it some further. A late December day in London always has lousy light, and in the depths of the Barbican complex, there is just about diddly divided by squat. I tried pushing it with the 135mm lens, and ended up at ISO28800. I've never shot that high before. And as you can see in the picture above, it is absolutely fine (well, it is not a very interesting picture, but for basic technical quality, it is fine). I don't think there is any more grain in that shot than there would be in a good scan of a Tri-X neg exposed at ISO400 (probably less). The big thing is not to over-process such a picture: use very heavily masked sharpening, so any sharpening only hits edges, and does not sharpen noise in flat areas; little-to-no luminosity noise reduction, but some chroma noise reduction, and don't try to pull too much detail out of the shadows). I described micro-4/3 files as being brittle at ISO3200: I think I would describe the Z6 files at ISO28800 the same way. Phenomenal.
I've mentioned dual IS (body and lens stabilisation) elsewhere, and it is really helpful.
On the phone, on coffee: 2019 zeitgeist. Z6 with 24-70mm f/2.8.
So, what do I not like?
Most of the time, the focussing works very well, and it is very good overall, especially now that Nikon has eye-AF working. But, having got used to the way that the Panasonic wide-area AF works, I found the Nikon Wide-area and Auto-area less predictable. The GX9 feels like it is really good at reading my mind about what I want to focus on. The Z6 - not so much. Maybe I'm now used to the GX9 way of working, but there were too many pictures that I lost through missed focus when the auto-AF didn't pick up what I was pointing at - too often, it didn’t seem to recognise that there was a subject in the frame at all. It is probably me, and with more experience, I'd get used to it, but it is an unfamiliar feeling to have so many shots with missed focus. Oh – and the tracking implementation – fuhgeddaboudit.
That is about it for street work. While it is bigger than the GX9, and it has the "serious camera" hump on top, it is a fine street companion. Nikon also has Z mount 28mm and 40mm “compact primes” on their roadmap, which have the potential to be ideal for street photography. If I didn't have the GX9, I'd definitely consider the Z6: but, for now, I'm still happy with the GX9.
Emergence of the cyberman: Broadgate. Z6 with 24-70mm f/2.8
ps - 2023-04-14. I’ve recently tried out a pair of Leica M lenses on a Z7II, the 35mm Summicron f/2 ASPH and a 28mm Summicron f/2 ASPH. They work like a charm, and give beautiful images at all apertures, the 28mm especially. I can easily see using a Z6 with lenses like these and zone focus for street photography.