Nikon Z6ii for birding with FTZ adaptor (1 Viewer)

[RogerioRodrigues]

Does anyone have already test the new Z6ii for birding photography , i,m specially interested on the eye focus detection and to know how it works for birds in flight .

I own 2 DSLR bodys and several F-Lenses from Nikon , but i,m still hesitant to move to mirrorless , however i,e seen the Sony A9 tracking birds in flight and that have impressed me , far better then a D5 and i guess then a D6 as well.

I do not want to change brand just wonder if the Z6ii with the new firmware 10.1 will worth while for a body replacement e.g. I own a D750 body that i could consider to replace.

 

[MikeInPA]

Not a chance. I use the Z6ii for birds all the time but eye detection for birds is just not there yet. With the vast improvement from earlier versions of firmware to the latest on the Z6 and the fact that the Z6ii has 2 processors it might happen at some point in the future. Distance for BIF will always be an issue however. I use Eye AF on my cats and it works well up to a point, once they get too far away it can't lock on and reverts to face detection.

Check out this site for BIF tests, the Z6 and Z7 come out remarkably well. Mirrorless for BIF

 

[RogerioRodrigues]

Thanks Tom , those are quite comprehensive reviews , i guess i,ve to wait or considering to have a second set more hand-well with either a Sony or Canon

 

[MikeInPA]

Thanks Tom , those are quite comprehensive reviews , i guess i,ve to wait or considering to have a second set more hand-well with either a Sony or Canon

The Nikon Mirrorless range is excellent for birds and everything else for that matter. I’ve owned the Sony A7R, A7Rii and A7Riii and a variety of Sony Lenses, the optical qualities of the G-Master range is very good. The build quality of the Sony‘s is just not up to Nikon standards IMO. Drop a Nikon Z (as I have🙄) and Nikon will repair it good as new, drop an A7 camera and it was unlikely to be repaired. Before the Sony Fan Boys jump all over me, I know this from experience. The situation may have changed in the last few years but I doubt it. The Sony Mirrorless range are excellent image taking devices and certainly were instrumental in guiding me to Mirrorless which is the future. DSLR’s will go the way of the Dodo. 😜

 

[Hermann]

The Nikon Mirrorless range is excellent for birds and everything else for that matter. I’ve owned the Sony A7R, A7Rii and A7Riii and a variety of Sony Lenses, the optical qualities of the G-Master range is very good. The build quality of the Sony‘s is just not up to Nikon standards IMO.

Plus the Sony's have got just about the worst UI I've ever seen.

Hermann

 

[MikeInPA]

Plus the Sony's have got just about the worst UI I've ever seen.

Hermann

Can't argue with that. I had read that on the latest camera it is improved.

 

[ericbowles]

Does anyone have already test the new Z6ii for birding photography , i,m specially interested on the eye focus detection and to know how it works for birds in flight .

I own 2 DSLR bodys and several F-Lenses from Nikon , but i,m still hesitant to move to mirrorless , however i,e seen the Sony A9 tracking birds in flight and that have impressed me , far better then a D5 and i guess then a D6 as well.

I do not want to change brand just wonder if the Z6ii with the new firmware 10.1 will worth while for a body replacement e.g. I own a D750 body that i could consider to replace.

I have a Z6 and Z7II. I don't find Eye AF to be any better than other modes. I've had some subjects where Animal Eye AF will work, but others where it does not work at all. I've got much more consistent results with the Wide Large and Wide Small modes.

All these cameras require a well defined subject and a well defined eye to work. Otherwise at best they fall back to regular Area AF or miss completely. Even with a well defined subject and eye, you need to be able to keep the subject in the frame. If you are struggling to frame the subject, none of these cameras will bail you out.

For me, it's worse when you get a false positive and focus on something else. I had someone in a class recently with a Sony camera trying to photograph a captive barred owl form 12 feet away. The camera kept focusing on the bird's breast. When they switched to a different mode, focus was easy.

I would not place a lot of weight on photographing a single bird in a clear sky. That's easy because there is no other potential subject in the frame.