anyone upgrade from Z6 to Z6ii and see big face/eye AF improvement?

[anadon5000]

I follow around our active 6-year old boy and wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade for improved face/eye AF? Don't really care about other changes too much and Z6 AF isn't bad but if Z6ii is noticeably better I may have to bite bullet and upgrade.

I've watched several YT comparison videos but am looking for real world feedback w/ kids or sports. Thanks!

 

[J-Z]

check out this video from DPRevie TV:

 

[mrjpack]

I think it’s better, snappier, quicker at what it does. But since I sold the 6 I can’t do a direct comparison. It’s not night and day but it is better.

 

[anadon5000]

I think it’s better, snappier, quicker at what it does. But since I sold the 6 I can’t do a direct comparison. It’s not night and day but it is better.

thanks, figured that's about what i would hear. hard to justify the money to upgrade for marginally better AF but unfortunately i'm a little too obsessed with AF, hit rate, etc..thx though

 

[Ernie Misner]

I think it’s better, snappier, quicker at what it does. But since I sold the 6 I can’t do a direct comparison. It’s not night and day but it is better.

thanks, figured that's about what i would hear. hard to justify the money to upgrade for marginally better AF but unfortunately i'm a little too obsessed with AF, hit rate, etc..thx though

I sure do understand getting obsessed with AF and hit rate. Hate to see you take a loss on your Z6 though and I am sure you are getting some fantastic images. Do you have any interest in a Z7II? More money though I know, but maybe down the road a bit, or wait and see other future offerings coming soon.

 

[anadon5000]

Briefly thought about z7ii but resolution is fine on z6 for me, for now. Maybe after kid gets old and I spend more time on landscape . File size, low light noise, AF and video advantages of first gen Z6 drove my decision to skip z7 but sounds like z7ii is even better now. I’d still be changing to Medium size images 80% of the time though (for smaller files) for most of my stuff. You?

 

[mrjpack]

Briefly thought about z7ii but resolution is fine on z6 for me, for now. Maybe after kid gets old and I spend more time on landscape . File size, low light noise, AF and video advantages of first gen Z6 drove my decision to skip z7 but sounds like z7ii is even better now. I’d still be changing to Medium size images 80% of the time though (for smaller files) for most of my stuff. You?

Only reason I stayed with the Z6ii is cause of cost and I own a D850. Honestly I reach for the Z camera 1st most of the time.

I think I was expecting a bigger difference between the two models, and I’m not saying I’m disappointed. I do wish I could have done a direct comparison between the two. But I needed the cash from the Z6 Sale to fund the Z6Ii purchase.

I am getting the battery grip and I like being able to send video to the second card slot. So it still had its advantages, what you really notice is start up time is greatly improved. With the Z6 I had the habit of pushing a button as I was raising it to wake it up so it would be ready when I put my eye to it, that’s no longer necessary.

 

[anadon5000]

yeah, I'll bet all of the improvements will end up being nice to have along with the future firmware updates that will come with the ii. 850 and Z6ii is a nice combo...

 

[mrjpack]

yeah, I'll bet all of the improvements will end up being nice to have along with the future firmware updates that will come with the ii. 850 and Z6ii is a nice combo...

If I still didn’t shoot some high school and club soccer, I would sell the 850 and get a Z7II. But since I can afford to wait, I’ll see what the future brings. For now, I really enjoy the Z6II. Below is the Z6II and the 50 1.8 at 1.8

 

[ericbowles]

I have a friend that just received his Z7ii, and commented on the noticeably faster AF speed compared to the Z6. I have a Z7ii on order and that's what I expect to see.

Several years ago I bought the D500 primarily because of the blazing fast AF due to the addition of a second processor for AF. The Z6ii and Z7ii have a second processor so I expect a similar improvement.

 

[Andre Yew]

It is noticeably better: it picks up faces more easily and at further distances, and seems to be stickier. However the behavior is somewhat inconsistent depending on other factors and the heuristic nature of the eye/face AF algorithm (and I'd say this about any other camera). It's probably best to borrow or rent a camera to see if it works better for you in your shooting situations,.

 

[anadon5000]

yeah, I'll bet all of the improvements will end up being nice to have along with the future firmware updates that will come with the ii. 850 and Z6ii is a nice combo...

If I still didn’t shoot some high school and club soccer, I would sell the 850 and get a Z7II. But since I can afford to wait, I’ll see what the future brings. For now, I really enjoy the Z6II. Below is the Z6II and the 50 1.8 at 1.8

That is some animal!

 

[anadon5000]

It is noticeably better: it picks up faces more easily and at further distances, and seems to be stickier. However the behavior is somewhat inconsistent depending on other factors and the heuristic nature of the eye/face AF algorithm (and I'd say this about any other camera). It's probably best to borrow or rent a camera to see if it works better for you in your shooting situations,.

Thanks, good idea to rent and try. Would still bet that firmware will improve a lot before next gen comes out, too, so don't think upgrading would be regrettable if improvement now didn't make a huge difference.

 

[phgordon]

Have a Z6 and considered an upgrade. Decided to buy a 14-30 instead.

 

[BISCUT]

I have a friend that just received his Z7ii, and commented on the noticeably faster AF speed compared to the Z6. I have a Z7ii on order and that's what I expect to see.

Several years ago I bought the D500 primarily because of the blazing fast AF due to the addition of a second processor for AF. The Z6ii and Z7ii have a second processor so I expect a similar improvement.

Wondering if you know if your friend is running the most recent firmware.

 

[24Peter]

yeah, I'll bet all of the improvements will end up being nice to have along with the future firmware updates that will come with the ii. 850 and Z6ii is a nice combo...

If I still didn’t shoot some high school and club soccer, I would sell the 850 and get a Z7II. But since I can afford to wait, I’ll see what the future brings. For now, I really enjoy the Z6II. Below is the Z6II and the 50 1.8 at 1.8

That's quite a pooch!

--
www.peteralessandriaphotography.com
Instagram
My DPReview Feature Article

 

[mrjpack]

Poor guy, my daughter has to dress him up for Christmas every year LOL...



Jim

yeah, I'll bet all of the improvements will end up being nice to have along with the future firmware updates that will come with the ii. 850 and Z6ii is a nice combo...

If I still didn’t shoot some high school and club soccer, I would sell the 850 and get a Z7II. But since I can afford to wait, I’ll see what the future brings. For now, I really enjoy the Z6II. Below is the Z6II and the 50 1.8 at 1.8

That's quite a pooch!

--
www.peteralessandriaphotography.com
Instagram
My DPReview Feature Article

 

[mrjpack]

yeah, I'll bet all of the improvements will end up being nice to have along with the future firmware updates that will come with the ii. 850 and Z6ii is a nice combo...

If I still didn’t shoot some high school and club soccer, I would sell the 850 and get a Z7II. But since I can afford to wait, I’ll see what the future brings. For now, I really enjoy the Z6II. Below is the Z6II and the 50 1.8 at 1.8

That is some animal!

One of my two Golden Doodles, my daughter torments with sweaters and stuff every Christmas...

 

[ericbowles]

I have a friend that just received his Z7ii, and commented on the noticeably faster AF speed compared to the Z6. I have a Z7ii on order and that's what I expect to see.

Several years ago I bought the D500 primarily because of the blazing fast AF due to the addition of a second processor for AF. The Z6ii and Z7ii have a second processor so I expect a similar improvement.

Wondering if you know if your friend is running the most recent firmware.

Yes - they are running the update. The test shoot was for high school basketball - notorious for low light. Images were excellent from what I saw.

 

[Jean Daniel Villiers]

I think it’s better, snappier, quicker at what it does. But since I sold the 6 I can’t do a direct comparison. It’s not night and day but it is better.

thanks, figured that's about what i would hear. hard to justify the money to upgrade for marginally better AF but unfortunately i'm a little too obsessed with AF, hit rate, etc..thx though

I sure do understand getting obsessed with AF and hit rate. Hate to see you take a loss on your Z6 though and I am sure you are getting some fantastic images. Do you have any interest in a Z7II? More money though I know, but maybe down the road a bit, or wait and see other future offerings coming soon.

I just don't understand the problem of people shooting their kids with a z6. For the last 4 days I am shooting stills for a movie which is the hardest kind of photography I have done. I mean, if you have your kids in front of you and not a full movie crew with light stands, boom operator and tight schedule that they don't give you at all time and you have to shoot as the actors move. With lights that are done for 180 angle that is 48-50 fps as motion blur is normal for movies while for stills you have to shoot at least twice that, add to that rolling shutter with silent shooting and the Arri Alexa base ISO being 800. I meant you burst shoot. How lazy are people, you have a camera that has eye autofocus and can shoot 12 fps per second, just take time a press that button. What are you going to loose. Its not as if every frame will be the one in the life time photos.

You can nowadays shoot 12 fps, very high ISO, eye autofocus etc etc. In one hour you can literally shoot a thousand photos, don't tell me you cannot get at least 10 if you are really bad, or hundreds if you have just a little skill of good photos. I will sound rude, but some people should perhaps change camera, get a smaller sensor cameras with with deep focus or your phone. If people cannot understand that these cameras need a little effort and expect the camera to do everything for them, then they are mistaken.