Nikon Z6 + Atomos Ninja V

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Jul 17, 2020
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Hello everybody,
I am currently using a Canon Eos 5d classic and a Sony A7rii and I am about to pull the trigger for a Nikon Z6 by trading my Sony.

I just wanted to know some stuff about it before I actually do this step. I’ve used an entry level dslr Nikon d3300 before I got the Sony but my skills back then was a little bit limited and my taste not that certain. Actually I’ve never complain about my Nikon’s colors as I do with my Sony but I absolutely love my Canon’s. Now what I wanted is a hybrid camera that can do both photography and video very well and I am thinking about the Z6 with the Atomos Ninja V for full frame raw video. So what I wanted to know about this camera is firstly your personal experience with it and more detailed about the following.

  1. Colors and skin tones compared to Canon and Sony (mostly Canon).
  2. Battery life (photo and video) and if I can power the camera with a usb cable from a power bank for instance like how I do with Sony.
  3. Adapted lenses performance (mostly Nikon F and Canon EF. Canons would also fit my 5d so I prefer them if they work well enough). I am probably not going to get any Z lens because of the high cost. I am currently having a Canon 50mm f1.8 ii which is my only autofocus lens and all my other lenses are manual focus m42 and Pentax K lenses. So I am probably going to need at least one autofocus lens for tracking subjects when filming and moving. I am thinking of a zoom lens which would be at least 24mm wide or wider and about at least 30-35mm on the long side. So let me know if you have any suggestions and what mount would work well with focus tracking. Also I don’t care about noise from the focusing motor because I’m recording sound separately.
  4. It would sound a little bit crazy but I am currently using my adapted lenses on my Canon 5d with chipped adapters so I get the correct exif data from the camera when shooting. Would that be possible with a Canon ef adapter for the Z6? Also is there any way I can get focus confirmation from the Z6? (I know about peaking and magnifying).
  5. How is metering with manual lenses.
  6. How is ibis with manual lenses.
  7. Any tips for avoiding dust on the sensor when changing lenses.
  8. Any drawbacks, any reason to avoid this purchase.
Thank you in advance,

George.
 
The Canon r6 cannot record raw video as far as I know which is a dealbreaker for me..
I wouldn't consider that to be too important, but if you think you need it then you're pretty limited in terms of options here.

If you want the ultimate 'hybrid' camera, that's going to be the EOS R5. The Nikon cameras have good files, but fall short for autofocus (far short), and running adapted across systems is always going to be less than ideal -- whereas EF lenses are electrically native on RF (and EOS-M) cameras.
 
Hello everybody,
I am currently using a Canon Eos 5d classic and a Sony A7rii and I am about to pull the trigger for a Nikon Z6 by trading my Sony.

I just wanted to know some stuff about it before I actually do this step. I’ve used an entry level dslr Nikon d3300 before I got the Sony but my skills back then was a little bit limited and my taste not that certain. Actually I’ve never complain about my Nikon’s colors as I do with my Sony but I absolutely love my Canon’s. Now what I wanted is a hybrid camera that can do both photography and video very well and I am thinking about the Z6 with the Atomos Ninja V for full frame raw video. So what I wanted to know about this camera is firstly your personal experience with it and more detailed about the following.

  1. Colors and skin tones compared to Canon and Sony (mostly Canon).
  2. Battery life (photo and video) and if I can power the camera with a usb cable from a power bank for instance like how I do with Sony.
  3. Adapted lenses performance (mostly Nikon F and Canon EF. Canons would also fit my 5d so I prefer them if they work well enough). I am probably not going to get any Z lens because of the high cost. I am currently having a Canon 50mm f1.8 ii which is my only autofocus lens and all my other lenses are manual focus m42 and Pentax K lenses. So I am probably going to need at least one autofocus lens for tracking subjects when filming and moving. I am thinking of a zoom lens which would be at least 24mm wide or wider and about at least 30-35mm on the long side. So let me know if you have any suggestions and what mount would work well with focus tracking. Also I don’t care about noise from the focusing motor because I’m recording sound separately.
  4. It would sound a little bit crazy but I am currently using my adapted lenses on my Canon 5d with chipped adapters so I get the correct exif data from the camera when shooting. Would that be possible with a Canon ef adapter for the Z6? Also is there any way I can get focus confirmation from the Z6? (I know about peaking and magnifying).
  5. How is metering with manual lenses.
  6. How is ibis with manual lenses.
  7. Any tips for avoiding dust on the sensor when changing lenses.
  8. Any drawbacks, any reason to avoid this purchase.
Thank you in advance,

George.
1.) This is something people bring up all the time. But the truth is, you can make anything look like anything. If you're truly invested in shooting in RAW (which honestly like IdiotinCharge, I don't really recommend) then you'll be able to minutely change anything and everything to meet your liking. If that's not something you want to do, then I would again question why you want to shoot RAW in the first place. Because the point of RAW is to give you as much data as possible in order to give latitude for editing in post. If you're not interested in editing in post it makes far more sense to shoot a baked-in, non-log, look. Sony as an example has its Hybrid log modes as well as Cine color profile modes for this purpose (as does Canon and Nikon in their own varieties). However, for most people 10-bit + 4-2-2 + log is plenty of data to grade in post provided you exposed properly with the correct white balance. Raw will only start to make a difference when you want to do really extreme color alteration in post and also give benefits for things like keying and to a lesser degree, compression issues like macro blocking.
Color is always going to be a matter of taste. And this is a super unpopular opinion (because obviously you like many other have asked these questions), but honestly out of camera color doesn't matter much. And also on top of that, every camera's color science made in the past 3 years is more or less beyond excellent (like I said, unpopular opinion because people want to fight about their brands). The Z6 looks like a Nikon. Which is great. I wouldn't have a problem using Canon, Nikon, or Sony in any way shape or form if the only "sticking point" was color.
2.) Yes the Z6 allows for external power.
3.) Yes you can adapt pretty much anything to the Z6. Nikon sells their own lens mount adapters specifically from Nikon F to Nikon Z. You should be able to use any Nikon F lens that specifically doesn't require an autofocus motor. So more or less every lens from about the past 15 years. But not since the 70's or whatever. EF is also possible. I'd look into metabones for that. Pentax K should also work if there is an adapter. M42 will depend on whether or not there is space for it since it also has a short flange distance, but I would imagine that it would work.
As for autofocus, I wouldn't depend on any lens that has been adapted for this purpose. With the exception of Nikon F lenses using specifically the Nikon lens adapter. Nikon makes a 16-35 that would meet your criteria for a 24mm or wider with 35mm on the long side. They have both f/2.8 and f/4.0 varieties.
EDIT: It should also be said that Sony and Canon lead in terms of autofocus in video modes. So if autofocus is of highest importance, than other options should be considered. If you're spending a lot of time in manual focus, like it sounds like you will be, then it's much less of a concern.
4.) You asked this in the previous question. But yes. Metabones adapters should adapt fine. But I wouldn't depend on their AF performance. If you're using a Ninja V, then that should be good enough to pull focus with as well as use it's focus controls.
5.) Light is light. If it's light hitting the sensor (which it is) it will meter the same way.
6.) Generally IBIS needs to know at least the focal length. Sony as an example has a menu to manually select focal length in the absence of EXIF data coming from the lens. I haven't verified, but I would imagine Nikon is the same. If it is, then IBIS should function like any other lens of similar focal length. However, Nikon in general isn't known for their IBIS. So I wouldn't expect extreme performance anyway. It should be "adequate" but probably won't replace a gimbal for you if you want to walk and shoot video.
7.) No. But this is no different than with your Sony camera or any other camera system. There are best practices, but all sensors will need periodic cleaning. I took my cameras in at least once a year while I was with Canon. Now that I'm with Sony I generally clean my sensors myself.
If you care then always remove the lens while the body is facing down, and immediately replace with either a body cap or its next lens. That's more or less the best you can do.
8.) If you've read/watched the reviews and you're informed then no. I have a friend with a Z6 and is very happy with it. It seems to me like it's an underrated all-rounder.


The Canon R6 :)
The Canon r6 cannot record raw video as far as I know which is a dealbreaker for me..
The Canon R6 overheats when shooting video. The Nikon Z6 does not. If you're going video focused at all the R5 and R6 don't make much sense. They're photo centric cameras with some video features that can be used for very limited time frames.
The Z6 is a much better camera pretty much in every way than the R6 for this reason despite being older. The only place where the R6 might be ahead is autofocus.
The R6 can shoot RAW the same way the Z6 can with a Ninja V. Which should alleviate some of its overheating issues. But, again, being stressed about how much you can shoot and in what modes is not ideal at all if you are looking to use your camera in any video centric way.
 
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I wouldn't consider that to be too important, but if you think you need it then you're pretty limited in terms of options here.

If you want the ultimate 'hybrid' camera, that's going to be the EOS R5. The Nikon cameras have good files, but fall short for autofocus (far short), and running adapted across systems is always going to be less than ideal -- whereas EF lenses are electrically native on RF (and EOS-M) cameras.

Unfortunately the R5 is way out of my budget. For me autofocus is not the most important thing. I only shoot with vintage lenses so far and I can consider myself very well experienced in manual focusing. I just wanted to have one autofocus lens for some situations like gimbal shots where autofocus will be nice for tracking people in moving shots. But nothing more than that. So if autofocus is the main reason to avoid the z6, it is not going to be a dealbreaker for me.
 
1.) This is something people bring up all the time. But the truth is, you can make anything look like anything. If you're truly invested in shooting in RAW (which honestly like IdiotinCharge, I don't really recommend) then you'll be able to minutely change anything and everything to meet your liking. If that's not something you want to do, then I would again question why you want to shoot RAW in the first place. Because the point of RAW is to give you as much data as possible in order to give latitude for editing in post. If you're not interested in editing in post it makes far more sense to shoot a baked-in, non-log, look. Sony as an example has its Hybrid log modes as well as Cine color profile modes for this purpose (as does Canon and Nikon in their own varieties). However, for most people 10-bit + 4-2-2 + log is plenty of data to grade in post provided you exposed properly with the correct white balance. Raw will only start to make a difference when you want to do really extreme color alteration in post and also give benefits for things like keying and to a lesser degree, compression issues like macro blocking.
Color is always going to be a matter of taste. And this is a super unpopular opinion (because obviously you like many other have asked these questions), but honestly out of camera color doesn't matter much. And also on top of that, every camera's color science made in the past 3 years is more or less beyond excellent (like I said, unpopular opinion because people want to fight about their brands). The Z6 looks like a Nikon. Which is great. I wouldn't have a problem using Canon, Nikon, or Sony in any way shape or form if the only "sticking point" was color.
2.) Yes the Z6 allows for external power.
3.) Yes you can adapt pretty much anything to the Z6. Nikon sells their own lens mount adapters specifically from Nikon F to Nikon Z. You should be able to use any Nikon F lens that specifically doesn't require an autofocus motor. So more or less every lens from about the past 15 years. But not since the 70's or whatever. EF is also possible. I'd look into metabones for that. Pentax K should also work if there is an adapter. M42 will depend on whether or not there is space for it since it also has a short flange distance, but I would imagine that it would work.
As for autofocus, I wouldn't depend on any lens that has been adapted for this purpose. With the exception of Nikon F lenses using specifically the Nikon lens adapter. Nikon makes a 16-35 that would meet your criteria for a 24mm or wider with 35mm on the long side. They have both f/2.8 and f/4.0 varieties.
EDIT: It should also be said that Sony and Canon lead in terms of autofocus in video modes. So if autofocus is of highest importance, than other options should be considered. If you're spending a lot of time in manual focus, like it sounds like you will be, then it's much less of a concern.
4.) You asked this in the previous question. But yes. Metabones adapters should adapt fine. But I wouldn't depend on their AF performance. If you're using a Ninja V, then that should be good enough to pull focus with as well as use it's focus controls.
5.) Light is light. If it's light hitting the sensor (which it is) it will meter the same way.
6.) Generally IBIS needs to know at least the focal length. Sony as an example has a menu to manually select focal length in the absence of EXIF data coming from the lens. I haven't verified, but I would imagine Nikon is the same. If it is, then IBIS should function like any other lens of similar focal length. However, Nikon in general isn't known for their IBIS. So I wouldn't expect extreme performance anyway. It should be "adequate" but probably won't replace a gimbal for you if you want to walk and shoot video.
7.) No. But this is no different than with your Sony camera or any other camera system. There are best practices, but all sensors will need periodic cleaning. I took my cameras in at least once a year while I was with Canon. Now that I'm with Sony I generally clean my sensors myself.
If you care then always remove the lens while the body is facing down, and immediately replace with either a body cap or its next lens. That's more or less the best you can do.
8.) If you've read/watched the reviews and you're informed then no. I have a friend with a Z6 and is very happy with it. It seems to me like it's an underrated all-rounder.




The Canon R6 overheats when shooting video. The Nikon Z6 does not. If you're going video focused at all the R5 and R6 don't make much sense. They're photo centric cameras with some video features that can be used for very limited time frames.
The Z6 is a much better camera pretty much in every way than the R6 for this reason despite being older. The only place where the R6 might be ahead is autofocus.
The R6 can shoot RAW the same way the Z6 can with a Ninja V. Which should alleviate some of its overheating issues. But, again, being stressed about how much you can shoot and in what modes is not ideal at all if you are looking to use your camera in any video centric way.

I can perfectly understand your point about colors. I also understand that colors have to do with anyone’s personal taste. As a matter of fact I do color grade when it is needed. About video I don’t even think about not color grading my footage, besides I am interested in cinematography where color grading is a must. But in photography I find that I always color grade my Sony files but I rarely do for my Canon ones because I really like them straight out from the camera. So I care about colors for photography and not video.
As for the adapted lenses I have read that some Canon ef adapters work even better that Nikon’s official ftz adapter, so that is why I am asking. About manual lenses and chipped adapters I am not asking if I could get auto focus but if I could get focus confirmation as I get with my canon 5d (even with native lenses when manual focusing) but most important is if I can get the exif data from them. About the ibis I’m not expecting from it to replace a gimbal of course. But I’ve read some things about storing some non cpu lenses that you can recall every time which is quite different from Sony that you just enter the focal length manually every time. Storing your lenses would be nice but I don’t know if there is any limit to this database. For me that I have about 25 vintage lenses limitation could be a problem.
finally I’m not sure that r6 can record raw video... I think only pro res but not raw. Anyway both Canons are out of budget. The Z6 indeed looks more close to a cinematic camera to me. Thank you very much!
 
I can perfectly understand your point about colors. I also understand that colors have to do with anyone’s personal taste. As a matter of fact I do color grade when it is needed. About video I don’t even think about not color grading my footage, besides I am interested in cinematography where color grading is a must. But in photography I find that I always color grade my Sony files but I rarely do for my Canon ones because I really like them straight out from the camera. So I care about colors for photography and not video.
Again, I assume you're going to actually edit your RAW stills and you're not shooting in jpeg. In which case I would say it doesn't really matter. I've shot both Canon and Sony and personally I haven't felt that there was an advantage or disadvantage when it came to color. I had to change everything anyway.
I mention this example time and time again: if someone hands you a stack of 100 Canon photos, 100 Sony photos, and 100 Nikon photos all mixed together, your chance of knowing which is which past random chance is effectively zero. Everyone has their "secret sauce" in terms of look. And that essentially makes color science irrelevant.
If you believe that one camera gives you an advantage (in terms of color or anything else for that matter) and that's ultra important to you, then you should just be on that system. That'll save you and everyone else a lot of time and headache debating about it. Buy a Canon R or RP. Or a 1DX II or 1DX III if that's important to you. I'd avoid the R5 and R6 if you need lots of video.

As for the adapted lenses I have read that some Canon ef adapters work even better that Nikon’s official ftz adapter, so that is why I am asking. About manual lenses and chipped adapters I am not asking if I could get auto focus but if I could get focus confirmation as I get with my canon 5d (even with native lenses when manual focusing) but most important is if I can get the exif data from them.
That isn't possible. First off Nikon F isn't Canon EF. But even if you're saying that the adapter is better than Nikon then that also isn't possible since Nikon's FTZ adapter essentially works native to native (down to the electronics level). There isn't a way Canon's non-native EF is better than Nikon's native.
Secondly, I would doubt most of the time that you'll be able to get EXIF data with the exception of smart adapters from metabones. And that's only if they're programmed well.
Currently the best smart adapters from metabones are from Canon EF to Sony E. I can't comment on whether their adapters from Canon EF to Nikon Z are nearly as good. But knowing what little I know, I wouldn't live under the expectation that they're anywhere close to as good. None of these companies give any information about how their focus controls work (Canon, Sony, Nikon, et al). So companies like Metabones, Sigma, and Tamron have to essentially reverse engineer to figure it out. This leads to imperfect AF performance at best and unusable AF at worst (which again is why there is no way that an EF to Z adapter from metabones is better than Nikon's F to Z native to native adapter).
Other than a native to native interface, I wouldn't rely on any adapted lens' autofocus ability in a critical situation. If that's important to you, you're probably are going to have a bad time.

All of your vintage lenses will never have EXIF data regardless of platform. And your more modern ones will have limited data. If this is a deal-breaker for you, then likely there isn't a single camera that exists that will meet your requirements.

About the ibis I’m not expecting from it to replace a gimbal of course. But I’ve read some things about storing some non cpu lenses that you can recall every time which is quite different from Sony that you just enter the focal length manually every time. Storing your lenses would be nice but I don’t know if there is any limit to this database. For me that I have about 25 vintage lenses limitation could be a problem.
I would have zero expectation that you'll be able to do this, especially considering that a lot of these manual lenses won't even have contacts or give any form of EXIF data and a lot of the adapters will be dumb adapters and also not transmit data.
In short, if you're adapting a lot, this is just something you'll have to deal with. If that's a problem then I'd likely just stop shooting on vintage lenses. Otherwise it doesn't make much of a difference other than IBIS performance (and of course having the reference information later on to know what focal length you were shooting, but this is less important I would say than other aspects. Still if it's critical to you, then things do not look hopeful on any system).

finally I’m not sure that r6 can record raw video... I think only pro res but not raw. Anyway both Canons are out of budget.
It can. Well eventually anyway. It supports raw output. Currently the Ninja V can only ProRes on it, but eventually the support will be there for RAW.
Either way, again, I wouldn't use either the R5 or R6 if your goal is to shoot video. You won't get the best options in the any of the recording modes past 30 minutes. It makes zero sense to buy as a video centric camera. Buy a Z6, A7III, GH5/s, S1H, A7S III, heck even a Canon R over an R6 if you need to actually shoot video.
EDIT: Using a Ninja V does alleviate some of the heat issues from the R5 and R6 when recording video. But then you're also giving up some of it's most important modes. Namely 8k and 4k 120fps. It should extend the ability to shoot 4k downsampled from 8k though.

The Z6 indeed looks more close to a cinematic camera to me.
The camera that is going to steal the show in terms of video features and essentially being a cinema camera in a mirrorless body is the A7S III. But if you can't afford the R5 (based on what you've said before), then that camera will also be out of your budget. There is basically nothing that the FX9 does that the A7S3 doesn't do other than having much thicker files (giving much more latitude in post, all intra codecs in high-frame rates in higher bit-rates is another giving the FX9 "more signal" than the A7S3 is capable of) and cinema camera ergonomics (with everything that entails, which is important).

Thank you very much!
You're welcome. I hope you find my opinions useful.



EDIT: Grammar, spelling. I always find mistakes.
 
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Sue me.

I hate poor focus, however it's pulled, for moving or still content. There's a reason that Sony has concentrated significant on this area as well as Canon; the only reason I surmise that Panasonic hasn't is that they simply can't, and Nikon behind because they depend on Sony's scraps, are far behind in terms of processor / software development, and are a far smaller company to begin with.

It's just so distracting, regardless of the visual training that potential viewers might have. It's not something you want in your home videos let alone something you want to publish or sell. Even if viewers don't know why something is off, they know something is off, and now they're paying less attention to the content.

So, unless you're one of the few consumers that builds an entire rig and production process around manual focus, it's important that the system be able to do it well. Canon maintains their edge, Sony is working feverishly to close the gap, and everyone that's actualy trying generally in the distance somewhere.
 
Sue me.

I hate poor focus, however it's pulled, for moving or still content. There's a reason that Sony has concentrated significant on this area as well as Canon; the only reason I surmise that Panasonic hasn't is that they simply can't, and Nikon behind because they depend on Sony's scraps, are far behind in terms of processor / software development, and are a far smaller company to begin with.

It's just so distracting, regardless of the visual training that potential viewers might have. It's not something you want in your home videos let alone something you want to publish or sell. Even if viewers don't know why something is off, they know something is off, and now they're paying less attention to the content.

So, unless you're one of the few consumers that builds an entire rig and production process around manual focus, it's important that the system be able to do it well. Canon maintains their edge, Sony is working feverishly to close the gap, and everyone that's actualy trying generally in the distance somewhere.

Read up on the Nikon D500. I wont even bring up the D5.
 
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