“The Z 6’s autofocus performance is hard to fault

particularly neat, with a simple retracting mechanism to shorten the barrel when it’s not in use.

The smaller body (compared to a DSLR) means you don’t get an external drive mode dial, metering mode or AF mode control, although there is an AF-On button and a thumbstick for moving the focus point around the image area.

Otherwise, you’re reliant on an interactive ‘i’ screen for many everyday camera settings like white balance and ISO. This is no great hardship: the touch controls work really well, and the icon layout and controls are very clear.

The ability to set the focus point and fire the shutter by tapping on the screen is really useful when the camera is being used at a low angle or on a tripod.

Performance

The Z 6’s autofocus performance is hard to fault – especially when using its Z-mount lenses, which are so fast and quiet that you need the autofocus beep to reassure you that something has actually happened.

It’s fast and responsive in continuous autofocus mode too, even holding sharp focus on objects moving quickly towards the camera. The modest buffer capacity means you need to time your bursts quite carefully, but otherwise the Z 6 is a very effective camera for sports photography.

There’s no viewfinder blackout during burst shooting, but there is still some lag and ‘jumpiness’ between frames, which could make it harder to pan with a fast-moving subject. This is one area where DSLRs still have an advantage over mirrorless cameras.

The Z 6 is more effective at 4K video than Nikon’s DSLRs, however. It proved very effective at stabilising static

handheld shots, though not so much at ‘run-and-gun’ style videography, where it smoothed out smaller, jerky movements but produced some awkward framing shifts with larger movements – you’re still going to need a stabilising rig for this kind of work.

Where the Z 6 really excels is in low-light shooting. Its lower resolution means it has a one-stop ISO advantage over the Z 7, offering up to ISO 51,200 even without using its expanded mode; its two prime lenses (so far) have a fast f/1.8 maximum aperture; and its in-body stabilisation gives you more latitude still when you’re shooting in light so dim that even high ISOs and fast lenses can’t help you. When you’re shooting in low light, you often need to shoot quietly too, so the Z 6’s silent shooting mode is a major advantage in museums, theatres, social events and many sports.

Some of our test shots were taken in conditions so dark that it wasn’t very easy to make out the subject even with the naked eye, and yet the images captured were bright, saturated and remarkably detailed. Yes, the smoothing increases and detail decreases at the highest ISO settings, but this is a camera you could push up to ISO 6,400 or 12,800 in dim lighting without a second thought.

The Nikon Z 6 is always going to be somewhat overshadowed by the more powerful and higher-resolution Z 7, but it’s a much more versatile camera, as well as being much more affordable. Every camera has weaknesses, but the Z 6 almost squeezes them out of existence.

10 The touch-focus and touch-shutter options are especially useful when the camera is on a tripod or the screen is angled upwards. 11 If you don’t like setting the focus point on the touchscreen, you can use this handy thumbstick instead – it’s small but effective. 10 11

8 The retracting lens mechanism on the 24-70mm lens is simple to use, with no buttons to press, just a twist of the zoom ring. 9 The Z 6 uses an XQD memory card, so until you get an XQD card reader you’ll need to transfer your photos by cable. 8 9

The Matrix metering seems heavily geared toward preserving highlight detail.

The Z 6 has captured this decorated surface superbly, and the autofocus was practically instantaneous.

Not surprisingly, the Z 7 wins easily, but the Z 6 maintains its maximum resolution right across our test ISO range. Lab tests

The results remind us how good Sony’s 24-megapixel A7 III is. Nevertheless, the Z 6 does show a significant dynamic range advantage in the mid to upper range.

The Nikon Z 7 is a little behind, but the rest are very closely matched. The Z 6 has no clear advantage in the lab, but in real-world shooting it’s terrific.