Thanks for the video, I just bought a used 300mm f4 at the local camera store and have been trying it out on birds in flight with not the best results. I will change my settings on the two cameras as you suggested and give it another chance. I am new to bird photography and these tips really help out a alot.
Only saw this now. I have a Z6 and Z9 and use the 500pf on the Z9 and the performance is stunning. I also bought the 300pf and use it on the Z6 mostly for bigger animals, some landscapes, and bigger birds at close distance when the 500 pf is to much lens. The Z6 is underrated and at the current price of a good quality unit, it is fantastic value. The Sigma 100-400 is also in my bag, and I use it for flexibility. So with the 2 bodies, the 500 pf the 300 pf, 100-400 sigma and nikon 24-70 f4 S I have an incredible set-up, all light weight except the Z9. I also use a 1.4TC on the 500pf for smaller birds. You have a fantastic channel and enjoy your detail reviews and recommendations.
Great video. Your testing of these various camera/lens combinations is very useful. I'm a Fuji users for birds/wildlife and this certainly helps me contemplate my future with the system. I am hanging on for the rumoured 300 and 500 'pf' lenses for the system but I won't be waiting forever.
Hi Matthiew, Thanks so much for doing this review. I have a Panasonic G85 and have been struggling with the same decision! Whether to upgrade to the Olympus OMD EM1 Mk 3 (the ergonomics, phase detection and reach) or the Nikon Z6 (Ergonomics, FF, menu system, low light performance). The auto focus of the Panasonic has been frustrating even though with practise, I'm getting better at capturing BIF. I'm primarily a stills photographer but video quality, image stability and weatherproofing are also important criteria. Now that Nikon and Canon are coming out with ML models, the light weight advantage of Panasonic and Olympus M 43's are being challenged. For me, the shape of Sony's cameras are not as comfortable as Panasonic, Olympus and Nikon. In fact, it seems that Nikon has taken a page from the Olympus OMD EM1 design for their Z6 camera body shape and dimensions. One advantage that Sony has tthat Mark Galer has promoted in a few of his videos the option to use APSC lenses on the FF cameras for extra reach. While one would compromise the resolution and trade for the extra reach, it is still a nice feature to have in the field for minimizing kit and cost. Is this available or could it be in the future on the Nikon Z system? Again, thanks very much for your comprehensive reviews and thorough, methodical testing protocols for all of the cameras for BIF over the past year with updates. The commentary is balanced and a fair assessment of all of the camera makes. Furthermore, your summary of the all in costs at the end for each camera model is really outstanding and very helpful for anyone making a decision to invest in this wonderful hobby. Andrew
Hi Andrew, thank you for such nice comment! I understand your frustration with the G85. Even the more capable G9 and GH5 struggle when it comes to BIF. You can get nice shots with patience and skills, but many times you look at your photos saying "gosh this could have been a great shot if only it was in focus!" I agree with you about the Sony design, it's not my favourite. On the other hand, I love the Nikon Z6 when it comes to ergonomics, to me it's the best among all the full frame cameras (the EOS R6 is pretty damn good too). The advantage of using the APS-C mode of a full frame camera is mainly about seeing the extra reach in the viewfinder. Otherwise you can crop in post and get the same result. But I agree it can be useful to have this already in camera. This is where the advantage of a high resolution body such as the A7R IV comes in handy, in APS-C mode you get "only" 26MP! I see potential with the Nikon Z series. I think Nikon should design more PF lenses like the 300mm f4, or the 500mm 5.6 which is another "compact" lens for the reach/aperture it has (it's expensive though). It would be nice to have some of these lenses with a native Z mount too.
Very nice work. On my 4K display, I could decide for each shot which was Z 50, which Z 6. The grain in the background gives the Z 50 away. Firmware version Z 3.1 is really much better than 2.0 and before. One thing to keep in mind is that the camera processes the sensor readouts at two different gain levels. It switches around at about 400 ISO and so it can be grainier at 400 ISO than at 800 because of that (numbers are examples). Another thing to keep in mind is that de-Bayerization and de-mosaicking of raw files are done in post - so if you use Lightroom then that adds a flavor. With shots from my Z 7, I recently discovered some raw processing noise that is present in Lightroom, not Nikon Capture NX-D, not present with the Z 7 with F glass in LR and not present in Capture One (C1 only supports two Z/S lenses and I have all Z/S 1.8 primes).
Great video and wow, can't believe how well the Z6 performed! Really shows how firmware updates can improve a camera. What I can't believe is that Nikon 300mm prime - what witchcraft have they used to get it so small 😅!!
I have the 300mm PF lens and it is lovely. I use it on a D7200 ( or even a D300S ! ) and am thinking of changing to a mirrorless body. Would I notice any change in the performance of the lens ? The review comments suggest that the teleconverters work well on the 300mm lens - is that a better option than also having the 500mm PF lens ?
Awesome, detailed review. I learned about some settings I hadn’t considered! I have a Z7 and a 300 PF, but began considering the teleconverters, so this is exactly the kind of review and analysis I hoped for. :)
Great video - one of the best quantitatively looking at focus and bird keeper rates. I have a z50 and d500 and love them both but desire the AF of the d500. This video helped me understand where the z50 ranks in the scope of the cameras im interested in.
nice video, should update this with a comparison of the z6 with the 70-200 f 2.8 and the 1.4 and 2.0 TC's offered recently, wonder which lens would win, as the 70-200 with the 2.0 gives an equivalent focal range of 150-400 + the full implementation of vr and ibis systems so one would think a killer combo for this kind of photography.
Very interesting comparison Mathieu, thanks for doing this. It would have been nice to see how the Z7 performs, but if I had to guess it would be similar to the Z50.
When I tested the Z7 (early firmware), I got a worst score than the Z6. But it has received the same firmware tweaks, so there should be an improvement there too (although it might not be as good as the Z6).
I just sold my X-T4, I don't like. 100-400, and I'm going with Z50/FTZ/TC14EIII/TC17/300PF. Z50 is so small, but so big, for the money you pay, amazing, and two kit lenses as well.
Thanks for sharing. Wonder if you would see an improvement compared to your 2020 results. Now that the Z6 has the 3.5 firmware update with rumours, there will be another update in 2023. Love the lighter weight of the Z6 mirrorless compared to my D5200.
Excellent information. Thank you. I was a bit confused by your recommendations for using VR and regular or sport in conjunction with ibis in the camera can you clarify your recommendations a bit? I’d also be curious if you have any videos on the 70 to 200 with the teleconverters with the Z6. 😊
Hi Karen, with a shutter speed of 1/2000s (or faster), it is safe to turn VR off. When I used the Z50 with the TC 2.0, I switched to the Sport mode on the lens given the extreme angle of view (900mm equivalent). Unlike the regular mode, Sport doesn't try to overcompensate for camera shakes, which is better in this case because the camera moves a lot with panning and tilting to follow the birds. If you use a camera with IBIS, the VR switch on the lens will activate or deactivate both IBIS and lens VR. If my memory serves me well, on the Z6 it combines 1 axe on the sensor and the two axes on the lens (this is because it is a DSLR lens).
Hi Mathieu, sorry to pop in a bit late. I'm considering to pair my 300 AF-S (not the PF one) with a Z-mount DX in order to get a better range. I have seen that Zfc has got lock-on setting whereas Z50 does not give the choice. Do you think this is a key point? Taking into account that keeping the subject within AF area is not so easy, I would assume that having an average lock-on setting like on the Z50 is fine enough, what do you think?
From what I've read the wide area AF modes give priority to the closest thing the camera can lock the focus on?! That's why I always stick to single point or dynamic AF. It just doesn't make much sense to place a huge rectangle above a bird and then maybe have the camera locking onto the wing instead of the eye for example. That's why I always refrained from using the wide area modes. I'm using the Z6 since it came out with the 600FL, have the newest firmware installed and don't get this keeper rate. However I rarely turn d8 off since to me having a proper exposure preview is one of the key advantages of having a mirrorless camera. I might give it another try soon but from my experience so far the combination with the 600FL can't quite yield the keeper rate shown here. I don't shoot birds against plain sky either though which probably also plays a role.
I love my Z6/Z50 but the native telephoto is very limited here in 2021 still. I was looking to spend $$$$3000 on the Z 70-200 w/ teleconverter but that would still only give me 400mm/600mm max with more compromises and more weight. Totally going to consider the 300PF with f mount teleconverters now. I prefer prime lenses anyway, as I use the 70-300 AF-P right now usually only at 300mm.
The Nikon lens data chart shows that the 300 PF lens is incompatable with the 1.4 teleconverter for purposes of auto focus. Either this is incorrect, or the lack of mirror focussing on the Z series cameras seemed to have solved a problem that existed with the F mount DSLR's. Strangly tho the same chart says that the 1.7 and 2.0 converters WERE compatable with authfocus. So that is strange. Databyter
I just looked at the 300mm user manual and it doesn't state anything about the 1.4 converters. It does say something about the 1.7E II, 2.0E, 2.0E II and 2.0E III however: "Autofocus is available only with single-servo AF (AF-S) and then only when the lens is mounted on a camera that supports f/8."
@@MathieuGasquetMirrorLessons I think Nikon is not very good in differentiating the PF 4.0 and the non PF 4.0 lens. They also have the PF showing up as the NON PF in EXIF info on Z camera processors. I have seen TODAY reviews of TC 1.4 II, and III, being used with the PF lens. The data of it not being compatable is for the older 300mm, not the newer PF. They are just terrible at updating. Also keep in mind that many of the focussing problems, and darkness problems TC's faces in the past, would not be issues in the Mirrorless Z line, since the focussing occurs on the sensor, with ALL the light from the lens, as opposed to a DSLR with partial light, Also the focussing is DONE differently on a mirrorless than a DSLR, which means that tuning and variance is less of an issue, also the newer camera's can operate with much more sensor light sensitivity, so many of the teleconverter limits of the past would actually be eliminated if you could manage to fasten the adapters together, and my understanding is that many of these have a tab that blocks certain combinations. I have seen enough via my research today tho to be ASSURED that my 300mm PF lens would work fantastically with a 1.4 II or III and an FTZ adapter. I saw many examples, and even a few of the TC 1.7 that were surprisingly sharp as well. Databyter
Great video about a pair of cameras that "can't focus!" according the hordes of people who haven't used them. Anyway, a comment about your recommendation on the autofocus settings - the focus tracking with lock on isn't a measure of how quickly the camera focuses, it's about how quickly it selects the new target under the AF point if you lose the target under the point. See this discussion - www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4520185 In addition, I prefer release priority in AF-C because the camera may not be certain of focus but it's close enough to be good. The OFF for apply settings to live view is mind-blowing. True, but surprising!
Thanks for the clarification, this is what I meant but I should have chosen better words to explain it! :-) Release priority can work well too, and I know many photographers prefer to leave it at that to not miss an important moment. But if the camera mis-focuses (beginning or middle of a sequence), it can sometimes take a few more frames to get back on track. But it's not as bad as other systems. Since the beginning I've always found the Z6 and other Z cameras to do very well when it comes to AF. And Nikon has done a nice job with firmware updates.
Thanks for the very good video. I have a question what about the 11 fps in z50 ? Is it good for bird in flight or the continues high (5) is better ? Appreciate it.
It is good, I got a sligthly lower keeper rate (69% vs 74% with 5fps) so not a big deal. Just keep in mind that at 11fps, what you see in the EVF is not live view but the images that are being recorded, so there is a small delay.
I think you got it Wrong @ 7.35. Lock on controls how long the focus will remain on your subject when it is blocked by something temporarily - like a tree between you and the bird as it flies past. The 1 setting tells it to jump quickly to the object in the focus point, the 5 setting tells it to stay at the focus distance a bit longer (so it will still be in focus when the bird gets past the tree . . .) Don't think it has anything to do with "responsiveness." Well, maybe responding to things that get in the way.
I find that the "1" setting makes the AF more reactive even without something that goes in the way momentarily, and in the case of the red kites that gives me better results because they fly really fast, close or away from the camera.
Just use a d500. You save the weight of the Adapter and with the better CG it will feel propably better. Bot to Talk about AF, Buffer and the Viewfinder.
I am considering swapping my D800 for a z6 for wildlife (paired with a 500/4 DII). Can you comment on focus tracking performance vs any nikon dslr with the 51 point system?
Tracking on Nikon mirrorless cameras is not as good as the one on Nikon's DSLRs (3d Tracking specifically). The only esception seems to be the Z9, which is the first Nikon mirrorless to have the 3D Tracking function. On the Z6 I have bbetter results by using the Single Large point.
I was thinking to move to Sony system but I should replace all my lenses (Sigma 150-600 C; Sigma Art 24-70; Nikon 20 1.8; Tamron 70-300). Since I'm getting more and more passionate about wildlife photography and my d810 af doesn't fit it too well, how do you consider the hypothesis to get a Nikon Zfc/Z50 with a Ftz for wildlife photography? I was thinking about these Dx formats to get the equivalent of 225-900 of my Sigma. I was actually thinking even about a Xt4 but I don't trust too much the format converter.
If I were you, I would consider the D500. The larger body will make the whole ergonomics with the Sigma lens much nicer and more comfortable to hold. Plus the D500 AF is better than the Z50.
yeah but it’s noticeable degraded quality though. Especially that the texture detail,color rendition and lighting are visibly reduced. and the effective depth of field due to the apperture number now is much bigger, this results in not so pleasingly background. the background becomes so much busier due to bigger depth of field. you want a dilluted and alot of out of focus ness on the background for bird photography to make the image pleasing.
In this video use iso auto max 12800… when I look U’r exif iso just 1250-2500… how can you do that… because when I’m birding use iso max 12800 and all of my picture almost use iso 12800🤣🤣🤣 event sky is so bright… LOL…
What aperture and shutter speed were you using? Honestly it really depends on the weather and the amount of light available. There were days where I also got ISO 6400 or 12800.
