- Location
- Switzerland
- Name
- Matt
It's still early days, but I want to share a couple of impressions about the Z 7 II because this camera genuinely surprises me again and again.
First and foremost, while the Z 6 is already quite a fluid camera in use - but the Z 7 II is faster in all respects, in spite of the bigger files; the most impressive aspect is AF, especially tracking, but *all* operations are quicker and more positive (and I have to repeat that the Z 6 leaves nothing to be desired in practice).
It's actually uncanny - the camera feels just that tiny bit more refined and beefier in the hand and in operation; it's not that the Z 6 feels outclassed, but to use a martial arts simile, it's as if a competent fighter was meeting a grand master. The Z 6 was only mostly superior to the D750 it replaced as my go-to camera for "serious" photography and assignements (in retrospect, I should really say "do-it-all" because that's how it turned out); the Z 7 II not only offers a major jump in IQ (that was to be expected), but also a tangible improvement in usability because of the slight, but consistent speed increase; it even feels a bit classier (I think they used a slightly different rubber type for the grip). Considering the whole package, I'm seriously impressed.
I was a bit unsure how the camera would handle with the bigger and heavier Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S - after all, the Z 6 with the 24-70mm f/4, while not being exactly bulky, is neither small nor light in absolute terms, just perfectly manageable when carried in the hand even for longer periods of time. The Z 7 II with the f/2.8 S mounted is considerably heavier, which is if course noticeable, but I'm very pleased and relieved to report that it's still quite portable, certainly on par with the D750 and the AF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D - so, I prefer to take a bag, but won't *need* one. The only thing I remain a little uneasy about is the huge front element of the f/2.8 S, but that just means I'd better use the hood at all times - I'm wary about using a protective filter in this case, I don't want any additional glass surfaces that might cause ghosting or reflections.
IQ is exactly as expected: Excellent, reliable, with very versatile files RAW files and solid JPEGs; the base ISO 64 is another welcome asset in all respects - one however that I had to explicitly set up to be used with Auto ISO as well; that's a bit of an oversight on Nikon's part in my opinion.
Finally, I'm happy to report, my long-standing concerns about the sizeable files was mostly unfounded - even my frugal home laptop with its 8GB of RAM (and a paltry Pentium N5000 CPU) does fine when loading and saving the files; it's not the fastest to begin with, and yes, the big files do take more time, but only slightly and not irritatingly so.
A very promising start, I think
M.
First and foremost, while the Z 6 is already quite a fluid camera in use - but the Z 7 II is faster in all respects, in spite of the bigger files; the most impressive aspect is AF, especially tracking, but *all* operations are quicker and more positive (and I have to repeat that the Z 6 leaves nothing to be desired in practice).
It's actually uncanny - the camera feels just that tiny bit more refined and beefier in the hand and in operation; it's not that the Z 6 feels outclassed, but to use a martial arts simile, it's as if a competent fighter was meeting a grand master. The Z 6 was only mostly superior to the D750 it replaced as my go-to camera for "serious" photography and assignements (in retrospect, I should really say "do-it-all" because that's how it turned out); the Z 7 II not only offers a major jump in IQ (that was to be expected), but also a tangible improvement in usability because of the slight, but consistent speed increase; it even feels a bit classier (I think they used a slightly different rubber type for the grip). Considering the whole package, I'm seriously impressed.
I was a bit unsure how the camera would handle with the bigger and heavier Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S - after all, the Z 6 with the 24-70mm f/4, while not being exactly bulky, is neither small nor light in absolute terms, just perfectly manageable when carried in the hand even for longer periods of time. The Z 7 II with the f/2.8 S mounted is considerably heavier, which is if course noticeable, but I'm very pleased and relieved to report that it's still quite portable, certainly on par with the D750 and the AF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D - so, I prefer to take a bag, but won't *need* one. The only thing I remain a little uneasy about is the huge front element of the f/2.8 S, but that just means I'd better use the hood at all times - I'm wary about using a protective filter in this case, I don't want any additional glass surfaces that might cause ghosting or reflections.
IQ is exactly as expected: Excellent, reliable, with very versatile files RAW files and solid JPEGs; the base ISO 64 is another welcome asset in all respects - one however that I had to explicitly set up to be used with Auto ISO as well; that's a bit of an oversight on Nikon's part in my opinion.
Finally, I'm happy to report, my long-standing concerns about the sizeable files was mostly unfounded - even my frugal home laptop with its 8GB of RAM (and a paltry Pentium N5000 CPU) does fine when loading and saving the files; it's not the fastest to begin with, and yes, the big files do take more time, but only slightly and not irritatingly so.
A very promising start, I think
M.
