Kit #6: Second-Hand Savings
Total cost: £2,208
Camera: Nikon Z6 (around £1,000 used)
Nikon’s first stab at a general-purpose full-frame mirrorless camera, the Z6 sports a raft of features that make it an excellent choice for travel. The 24.5MP full-frame sensor gives you plenty of resolution to work with – it’s unlikely you’ll need more than that for your travel shots, and bigger files are going to quickly clog up cards and drives. It’s a speedy camera too, with 12fps burst shooting and a well-equipped autofocus system that’s highly adept in low light.
We’ve gone for this one as it can be picked up on the second-hand market for about £1,000 less of an outlay than you’d pay for its successor, the Z6II – however, there are a few foibles to the Z6 worth being aware of. The big one, which caused quite the to-do on the camera’s release, was the curious choice to give it only a single XQD card slot, rather than the dual SD slots of a Sony A7 camera. History was not kind to this decision, and CFexpress compatibility was patched in via firmware, but be aware that picking up a Z6 does put you on the hook for pricey memory cards.
Otherwise, the Nikon Z6 is a gorgeous camera that’ll imbue your travel photography with buckets of full-frame quality. For this kit, we’ve picked a pair of lenses with different purposes – an all-in-one zoom for the day-to-day shooting, and a standard prime for when you want a little more sharpness.
Lens: Z 24-200mm F4-6.3 VR (£949)
This lens delivers really respectable image quality throughout its zoom range. It’s also one of the most compact telephotos out there, it weighs just 570g, and its body is weather-sealed extensively enough to withstand any inclement conditions. The autofocus is speedy and accurate too – you could happily use this lens all day and never chafe too much at its limitations.
Lens: Z 40mm f/2 (£259)
While the Z 24-200mm is impressively sharp for a superzoom, its maximum aperture of f/4-6.3 is pretty restrictive. The alternative is this compact prime. It’s the perfect choice to keep in your pocket, ready to pull out to make use of its f/2 aperture once light levels drop, or when you want a bit more sharpness.