Nikon D6 costs 31 thousand PLN and reportedly has the best AF on the market - coverage of the premiere

Are you buying a DSLR for 31 thousand? PLN in 2020 still makes any sense? During the Polish premiere I had the opportunity to see the new flagship Nikon D6 body.

Nikon D6 was announced in autumn 2019, but only today we got to know its full specification. The Japanese boasted that it will be the most advanced SLR of this manufacturer in history. The expectations were high. There was talk of a new, stabilized matrix or extended movie function. In fact, it doesn't look so exciting. Nikon D6 looks rather as a refreshed version of the D5 model than a completely new camera. Although inside, most of the elements are new.

Identical matrix, new processor

In rumors appearing on the web, there was talk of a new sensor with stabilization. Unfortunately, nothing like that went to the final product. Nikon D6 has the same as its predecessor, full frame CMOS sensor with 20.8 Mpix resolution. The sensor allows shooting in the ISO 100-102400 sensitivity range (with the option of expanding to ISO 50 and 3,200,000). As the manufacturer's representatives assured during a press conference, the use of such and not another (new) matrix is ​​the result of many consultations with professional photographers using Nikon SLRs.

The matrix is ​​supported by the latest Expeed 6 processor. Thanks to this, the camera offers maximum continuous shooting speed up to 14 fps, with full AF support, or 10.5 fps in electronic shutter mode. Photographing in Live View we also have the option of choosing speeds of 30 and 60 fps, but then the resolution drops to just 8 and 2 Mpix. The buffer will hold up to 200 photos in a series without a break.

Especially the last resolution parameters in the context of competition sound a bit like a joke. Not to look far, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II shown in 2016 offered 60 fps at full resolution.

The biggest change is the AF system. The biggest disappointment? Movie mode

Probably the biggest change is the new AF system based on the AF MULTI-CAM 37k module with 3500 sensors. The manufacturer boasts that this is the most advanced Nikon AF system. And although the number of AF points dropped from 153 to 105, each of them is a triple cross point. As a result, the frame coverage density is 1.6x higher than on the D5. The system is also to work much more precisely and effectively. It is also worth emphasizing that the fifteen focal points are compatible with f / 8.

The sensitivity of the AF system has also been improved, which is now up to -4.5 EV in the central field and -4 EV in all other fields. The camera also offers advanced options for setting and grouping of AF points. An interesting solution is a function similar to the so-called AF traps. This means that you can specify the starting focus point in the auto focus point selection mode. To capture and keep the subject in focus, information from all 105 focus points is used, so the photographer can focus on capturing the best frame.

Nikon D6 is the first DSLR camera that allows priority focusing on the subject's eyes, but only in automatic focus area selection or 3D tracking. However, it is not known how effective this system is. Not a word about extensive tracking algorithms or the possibility of manual face selection.

Unfortunately, I don't have much to write in the field of filming. The Nikon D6 offers 4K movies, but only at 30 fps. There was definitely no recording option in 60 fps. Instead, the focus parking function has been added and the option to save in MP4 format. That's good, but it's still not enough. As you can see, Nikon D6 does not try to force itself on a filming machine, and designers focused on photographic possibilities. Perhaps this is the right solution, or maybe just a matter of savings. Its main competitor, the Canon EOS 1DX Mark III , is also a reporting corps, and offers 12-bit RAW movies at resolutions up to 5.5K.

Well-known corpus, but now with CFExpress card support

In vain to look for big changes on the body of the Nikon D6. And that's good because it's a battle-tested design that offers very good ergonomics. The camera was based on a sealed, titanium skeleton. It has a deep, comfortable grip for vertical and horizontal photos. Both the button and the knobs and dials are identically located as in the Nikon D5.

Despite this, the manufacturer introduced some changes inside. Nikon D6 received a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module, as well as GPS, which supports the standards of GPS satellites, GLONASS and Quasi Zenith. This is to give access to the location tag and UTC time stamp for photos anywhere in the world. The GPS module hides the body parts extended upwards, under the hot shoe. An interesting novelty that sports photojournalists will surely appreciate is Kensington Castle. It allows you to safely leave the camera e.g. behind a gate or in a remote place. The camera also has a dual XQD and CFExpress memory card slot. It will no longer be possible to buy a version with SD card slots.

On the back there is a 3.2-inch LCD touch screen with a resolution of 2.36 million points. The optical viewfinder covers 100% frame and zooms 0.72x.

Nikon D6 has a lot of seemingly small improvements, which reporters reportedly asked for. From the perspective of an ordinary photographer, they do not matter much, but in the world of professional photojournalists working at major events in the world, they can be at a premium. Either dollars or euros. And so Nikon D6 has a wired LAN connection in accordance with the 1000BASE-T standard and provides about 15 percent. faster transfer than the D5. Thanks to this, photos can be sent a bit faster to servers via cable.

Thanks to improved working procedures, photographers have greater opportunities to select the most important photos and prioritize them when uploading, so they gain an advantage when every second counts. In practice, this means that out of e.g. 200 pictures taken, the camera will first send the 10 most important frames marked, and only then the rest. These saved seconds can in practice decide whether a given photo will be the first in the agency and will sell worldwide, or falling into oblivion of agency collections. We also have the option of separately saving different sized JPEGs to different cards. In addition, the main menu has been improved, which is now clearer.

Nikon D6 - price and availability in Poland

Nikon D6 will cost about 31 thousand. zł. For now, it is not known exactly when the camera will hit store shelves. In the first place it will be made available to the brand ambassadors who are to photograph it during the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo. It may be available at the end of March or April.

Is it worth waiting for him? First of all, this equipment is extremely specialized, focused on the needs of professional photojournalists. Representatives of the Japanese company say that the changes compared to the D5 are the result of long conversations with their ambassadors, who submitted ideas for corrections. Nikon D6 is to meet their expectations. I do not doubt that this is the case.

Is it worth switching to it from the D5? Much depends on the needs of a particular photographer. In general, the changes are not great for 4 years of waiting. And it can disappoint. On Canon EOS 1DX Mark III paper, it crushes the Nikon D6 in many ways. The flagship Canon model is a modern SLR camera, which draws a handful of the best mirrorless solutions. In terms of movies, we don't even have anything to compare. The Nikon D6 looks like it has been around a bit in the previous decade. As if he still adhered to the idea of ​​immortal solutions from SLRs. Canon goes into the future. And Sony A9 II is already in it.

Nikon D6 costs 31 thousand PLN and reportedly has the best AF on the market - coverage of the premiere