Nikon Z6ii vs. Z50 Shutter Speed: First, let me say I do understand the Exposure Triangle. But I'm having some trouble figuring out why I'm seeing such a difference in shutter speed...

jcwall396 Loc: Roswell, GA

First, let me say I do understand the Exposure Triangle. But I'm having some trouble figuring out why I'm seeing such a difference in shutter speed between my Z6ii and Z50. I shoot in Aperture Priority Mode 95% of the time. I just got a new Z50 and shot some comparison images between the Z6ii and the Z50. Both cameras were set at f/8.0, ISO of 100, the exact same subject, on a cloudy day. I had the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens on the Z6 and the 16-50mm f/3.5 kit lens on the Z50.

Every single image from the Z6 had a slower shutter speed by about half than the Z50 and I can't figure out why they're so different. Ex: On the first image, the Z6ii shutter was 1/40; the Z50 was 1/80. The second image the Z6ii was at 1/60; the Z50 was 1/125. And it went on. While the images appear much the same in terms of the light, I'm concerned about the slower shutter speeds blurring movement in some images.

Any ideas?

User ID

Its only a 1/2 stop difference ? Could be even less but thaz just the way the data readout displays it. One lens likely has better light transmission than the other. Not at all surprising.

Chances are if you use the same lens on both cameras and shoot a uniformly lit blank wall the difference will go away.

And last but not least, see the attached photo. That menu line is Nikons way of "confessing" that real manufacturing tolerances can never be "zero".

(Download)

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

User ID wrote:

Its only a 1/2 stop difference ? Could be even less but thaz just the way the data readout displays it. One lens likely has better light transmission than the other. Not at all surprising.

Chances are if you use the same lens on both cameras and shoot a uniformly lit blank wall the difference will go away.

Looks like a full stop to me, which is a fair amount - maybe different metering or the exposure comp is active on one?

jcwall396 Loc: Roswell, GA

User ID wrote:

Its only a 1/2 stop difference ? Could be even less but thaz just the way the data readout displays it. One lens likely has better light transmission than the other. Not at all surprising.

Chances are if you use the same lens on both cameras and shoot a uniformly lit blank wall the difference will go away.

That's a good thought. I'll try that 24-70 on both cameras and see if that makes a difference....

jcwall396 Loc: Roswell, GA

TriX wrote:

Looks like a full stop to me, which is a fair amount - maybe different metering or the exposure comp is active on one?

I checked both cameras - metering is matrix on both and I'm shooting at -1/3 stop on both cameras. Maybe I'll try a different metering option and shoot at 0 EV and see if that makes a difference.

User ID

TriX wrote:

Looks like a full stop to me, which is a fair amount - maybe different metering or the exposure comp is active on one?

Yes youre right. I just latched onto the word "half" in his text but ignored all the posted numbers.

Could be user settings but Im still rather sold on a lens transmission difference thaz possibly combined with some slight difference in the meters.

Importantly, "user setting" doesnt hafta mean the user actual set anything. For instance, the vignette control is a "user setting" but IIRC its enabled by default unless the user disables it.

Extra thought: Make sure the aperture and shutter increments are set to 1/3EV rather than 1/2EV, just to minimize the effect of the system rounding off its numeric displays.

Grahame Loc: Fiji

jcwall396 wrote:

While the images appear much the same in terms of the light, I'm concerned about the slower shutter speeds blurring movement in some images.Any ideas?

You say they "appear" both the same in terms of light. That suggests to me you are not undertaking a 'controlled' test and undertaking 'controlled' measurements of the results.

Set up your tripod to photograph a scene (any) with reasonably constant lighting. Use the same lens on each camera in turn and adjust the FL to compensate for the FF and APS-C sensor size differences and frame the scene exactly identical. Ensure metering is set to matrix for both.

Compare the results then. If necessary, which I doubt will be the case, you can place both images into your raw editor and measure the 'brightness' difference.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

jcwall396 wrote:

That's a good thought. I'll try that 24-70 on both cameras and see if that makes a difference....

Yes, try the same lens, same f-stop, same ISO, same metering mode, and same subject and lighting. Your example differed by a whole stop 1/40 s to 1/80 s. That is quite a bit, but it does not mean anything is wrong. If they do differ don't worry just remember what works best for each camera. I own 3 similar DSLRs, and two other digital cameras, and they all are slightly different. I also have more than 35 lenses for 4 of my DSLRs, so I have lots of combinations to keep in mind. My older film cameras are a bit more similar to one another in their exposures. But that is a different story and of little significance to you. Good luck. Report back.

User ID

Maybe I should have posted both screens. 2nd screen implies that different metering patterns may exhibit different degrees of error or biasing.

(Download)

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Do both cameras utilize the same sensor type?
If not, the difference could be to intrinsic compensation differences for each sensor type to yield the same results.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

User ID wrote:

Yes youre right. I just latched onto the word &quo... (show quote)

All good suggestions…

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

jcwall396 wrote:

First, let me say I do understand the Exposure Tri... (show quote)

Post and store an example from each camera. Almost always, we'll see something in the EXIF that was not covered in the description.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

This is too basic to be likely. Were any filters involved? If so, remove them.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Just a quick reminder that the 16-50 is a variable aperture 3.5 to 6.3 over the zoom range. Unless you are at the widest angle, your indicated and effective apertures may not be the same. It is unlikely that matrix metering works exactly the same in the 2 bodies. Finally, when comparing two images...were they actually of equal brightness?

Grahame Loc: Fiji

Orphoto wrote:

Just a quick reminder that the 16-50 is a variable aperture 3.5 to 6.3 over the zoom range. Unless you are at the widest angle, your indicated and effective apertures may not be the same. It is unlikely that matrix metering works exactly the same in the 2 bodies. Finally, when comparing two images...were they actually of equal brightness?

But doesn't Nikon always display 'effective' aperture as opposed to Canon?