Some thoughts about going mirrorless, which I did about a month and 3000 pictures ago. (Nikon Z611). The mirrorless viewfinder is both good and bad. While composing the shot, pre-exposure, the screen looks a bit wimpy and “digital”. It is not rich and saturated as a mirrored viewfinder and the contrast range is limited. The brights can look washed out even when the histogram (the little one in the viewfinder which I really like) is telling you the exposure is fine. The jpeg from your RAW file that you see after making the exposure looks great. It’s just that pre-exposure shot that lets me down.

I like seeing the exposure change when I manipulate the controls, particularly in dark situations. The thing I miss the most on this camera, is not having a focus point lock. My last three Nikon digital cameras had a little toggle switch to lock the focus point to where I want it to be, but my Z611 has a mind off its own and I keep finding the focus point has shifted from where I left it. This is one of the biggest complaints about this camera I’ve on various NIKON forums.

The number one most annoying thing for me is the “Sub selector” (joy stick). It’s placed right where your thumb hits it when you pick up the camera, and, for the most part does the exact same thing as the “Multi Selector” which is right below it. It sticks up and wiggles and you end up moving it by accident and that shifts the focus point all over the view finder. There is nothing it does that other controls don’t do, and I would disable it if that was an option. It’s not.

The day I received the camera our Symphony Orchestra called me to shoot part of their live concert that had changed in the one day since we shot the rehearsal. This camera has a silent mode that doesn’t make a sound. This was great to use in a situation where I had to deal with an audience. No one even knew I was taking pictures. This is great.

Also, on the plus side, this camera focuses blisteringly fast with my fast, professional lenses. It is the fastest focusing camera I have ever had. The manual for this camera was obviously written by someone who already knew all about it and thought they could leave out information and no one would be bothered. I’ve wasted lots of time trying to figure out things that were barely or incompletely explained.

Regrets about going mirrorless? No. It was time to go full frame and chuck the mirrors. Is it as great as some say? No. It gobbles batteries, the EVF has room for improvement, there are too many controls on the body and no focus lock. In time I will master it and use its many strengths to make great picture. I’m always up for a challenge.

What do others think?

I have my custom controls setup so that I can just push the "reset button" which selects the center focus point.

If I am using tracking or the focus point is moved and I want to snap focus back to center to move to a different subject, then I just move my thumb off on AF-ON and push reset to move the focus to center.

Should be under "g2" in the custom settings menu on your Z6ii. Check out minute 28:00 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do0Va7wciTs for how Hudson Henry has his Z6ii setup.

All the Nikon DSLRs I owned, they all had that focus lock feature; because the Z6 II did not have that feature, I decided not to get one, I got a Z8 instead and it has that feature.
I see no IQ difference between images from my D850 and Z8, sometimes I take both with different lenses mounted and ready to go.
I tried using the focus peaking feature for manual focus on both the D850 and Z8, I prefer the other manual focus feature on the D850 over focus peaking, I find it quicker and more accurate for my purposes especially with Nikkor legacy glass as in old manual focus primes from film days.
Battery life can be a challenge with the Z8; typically I only turn it on when I want to get the shot. The D850, I can walk around a while and not be concerned about its battery. I have yet to attempt an in camera time lapse with the Z8; I have done a few with the D850 and with a near full charged battery can have the camera on and working for about 5 hours or longer.

BBF is all I ever use. Sometimes when I am waiting for the cello player to start or a whale to surface, my fingers will fiddle with the controls or ill push the BBF button and the camera will focus on something I dont want, then when the action starts and I lift the camera to my eye I find the focus point is not where I think it is going to be. Often when watching whales I want to lock the focus location so I know where it is going to be to catch the action. My D7500 and D300s have a toggle switch to lock that point in place. Not so on my new Z6. I guess I have to stop fiddling with the controls. Tough to do. I'm a fiddler.

Some thoughts about going mirrorless, which I did about a month and 3000 pictures ago. (Nikon Z611). The mirrorless viewfinder is both good and bad. While composing the shot, pre-exposure, the screen looks a bit wimpy and “digital”. It is not rich and saturated as a mirrored viewfinder and the contrast range is limited. The brights can look washed out even when the histogram (the little one in the viewfinder which I really like) is telling you the exposure is fine. The jpeg from your RAW file that you see after making the exposure looks great. It’s just that pre-exposure shot that lets me down.

I like seeing the exposure change when I manipulate the controls, particularly in dark situations. The thing I miss the most on this camera, is not having a focus point lock. My last three Nikon digital cameras had a little toggle switch to lock the focus point to where I want it to be, but my Z611 has a mind off its own and I keep finding the focus point has shifted from where I left it. This is one of the biggest complaints about this camera I’ve on various NIKON forums.

The number one most annoying thing for me is the “Sub selector” (joy stick). It’s placed right where your thumb hits it when you pick up the camera, and, for the most part does the exact same thing as the “Multi Selector” which is right below it. It sticks up and wiggles and you end up moving it by accident and that shifts the focus point all over the view finder. There is nothing it does that other controls don’t do, and I would disable it if that was an option. It’s not.

The day I received the camera our Symphony Orchestra called me to shoot part of their live concert that had changed in the one day since we shot the rehearsal. This camera has a silent mode that doesn’t make a sound. This was great to use in a situation where I had to deal with an audience. No one even knew I was taking pictures. This is great.

Also, on the plus side, this camera focuses blisteringly fast with my fast, professional lenses. It is the fastest focusing camera I have ever had. The manual for this camera was obviously written by someone who already knew all about it and thought they could leave out information and no one would be bothered. I’ve wasted lots of time trying to figure out things that were barely or incompletely explained.

Regrets about going mirrorless? No. It was time to go full frame and chuck the mirrors. Is it as great as some say? No. It gobbles batteries, the EVF has room for improvement, there are too many controls on the body and no focus lock. In time I will master it and use its many strengths to make great picture. I’m always up for a challenge.

What do others think?