Although time may feel like it is standing still right now, technology still marches on. Incredibly it has been a whole two years since Nikon launched its first full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7. It was roundly praised for these two cameras, which featured many of the features that its DSLR users have come to expect. They placed Nikon firmly in the full-frame mirrorless battle, which with the introduction of cameras from Canon, Panasonic, Sigma, and Leica, meant that Sony no longer had that part of the market all to itself.
It wasn’t completely positive news, though, with much of the initial criticism aimed at the fact that the pair lacked dual card slots, which for many photographers is a dealbreaker if the camera is to be used professionally. The autofocus also lagged a little behind some of its competitors, most notably Canon and Sony’s equivalent models. With the launch of the Nikon Z6 II, these two criticisms have been addressed.
As was the case two years ago, the Z6 II launches alongside its 45.7MP Z7 II counterpart, at a price of £1,999. Impressively, and going against the trend, this is £100 less than the £2,099 that the Z6 cost at launch, although the older model can currently be purchased body-only for £1,549.
Not so long ago Nikon would have named this new camera the Z6s, with it having very incremental new features over its predecessor. But Nikon has now caught up with the naming convention adopted by most other brands by adding a numerical designation, which should make it a lot easier to work out the generation of the camera (Fujifilm X100 S, T, F, V anyone?).
With the same 24.5MP full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor, the same 3.2-inch tilting display and the same 3,690 m-dot EVF, most of the Nikon Z6 II's new features are found in the camera's menu, not on its body. The only physical change that is immediately noticeable is the very welcome addition of an SD card slot. This overcomes the "only one card slot" criticism and also removes another slight annoyance that was the exclusive use of XQD cards.
Since the CFexpress format is physically the same size as XQD, Nikon has updated the firmware in the original Z cameras to use both formats, which should future-proof the camera for the next few years and give owners more options. However, the addition of an SD slot means that available cards are within everyone's reach.
The biggest difference between the Z6 II and its predecessor comes with the addition of a second EXPEED 6 image processor. This may not read as a headline feature, but it's this system that powers everything the camera is supposed to do. So doubling the potential processing power naturally has an impact on camera performance. The effect of a new processing system and improvements to the algorithms that make it all work means the Nikon Z6 II boasts faster and more accurate autofocus, faster shooting, and better low-light performance than its predecessor.
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