Nikon Z7ii 6 months review. Did I make the right choice for landscape photography?

In this weeks video I have a bit of a disaster (which I will tell you about in the video). You know when you just have 'one of those days?' But I persevere and from Stanage Edge, where I start, I end up in Padley Gorge shooting some lovely old trees.
While I am doing that I talk to you about my impressions of the Nikon Z7ii after 6 moths of ownership. I will give you my thoughts on how it compares to the Fuji GFX system, why I didn't choose Sony or Canon and give you a few 'wants' on further updates.
There is a blog on my website that you can read here www.davepeckphotography.com/blog/nikon-z7ii-after-6-months-use-any-regrets. The idea is that they go hand in hand. In it I sum up my thoughts and go through some of the things I didn't mention in the field.
If you haven't seen it, you can watch my video about why I switched from Fuji here kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZyrhqublKd_p5Y
And my video comparing the XT4 to the GFX50R can be seen here kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2emnmSvfbpkqsk
Thanks for visiting, enjoy the video and subscribe if you haven't already. The community is growing!

[@Scooter-dm3qo]

One advantage of Nikon's doing a full in camera crop of the recorded image data is that Cropping an image can speed up the release rate, extend the image buffer, and if you chose the DX mode you get a 1.5 X digital Zoom. Because when you don't store "excess" data you are moving less data from sensor to memory. This can make the Z7 a bit more effective as a camera for Wildlife and Sports, where it is a bit slow in full frame. In addition I expect the AF will be more responsive and the image buffer will be much deeper.

[@davepeckphotography]

Hadn’t considered that, thank you. Still not convinced by the autofocus system though for wildlife. I struggled with it when shooting kestrels

[@Stop-All-War]

📸 Dave, i always carry atleast a regular plastic bag or light bin liner for changing lenses inside, if im carrying x2 lenses, x1 camera

[@davepeckphotography]

I carry a bin liner for heavy rain but I find if I’m out of the wind and quick enough I have no issues. So far anyway! Thanks for the suggestion

[@Stop-All-War]

@davepeckphotography Dust accumulates..why not eliminate it by placing your hands & lens / camera inside a bag..it's not like your changing lenses every 15mins, unless your fickle about composition.

[@dougkolb3706]

Dave, I've had the Z7ii for a little over 14 months now. Slowly been adding len's and now have the 14-30, 24-120, 100-400 and 105 macro. I'm on the waiting list for the 180-600. Recently retired and I know I'll enjoy getting out for Landscape and Wildlife

[@davepeckphotography]

Sounds great Doug. The 100-400 is on my list but I might just get 180-600 instead. I very, very occasionally shoot birds and the extra focal length will come in handy. Neither would fit in my bag though at the moment so a new bag may come first! I bought an old D7000 on Tuesday which has been converted to 720nm infrared, that’s getting explored first. Video will hopefully be up in a month or so. Hope you enjoy the videos mate.

[@Stop-All-War]

Sounds expensive, hope your buying some 'used' in mint

[@kurotaka007]

David thanks for the great video. Today I traded in all my GFX50Sii and 5 lenses for the Z8. I still shoot X mount XH2 and XH2S (for now). I stumbled on your post and really liked your content and subscribed. Decided to consolidate into 1 system (Nikon). My next pick will exchange X mount for Noy sure. Not a fan of the ZF… didn’t like the hand feel and micro SD. So Z7ii, Z6iii ir wait for a Z7iii? Then transition my X lenses to Z. I retired from Chicago to outside of Tokyo. It’s really a spectacular surrounding. Keep it up… really a nice channel. So now I’ll binge past episodes. Cheers!

[@davepeckphotography]

Thank you, glad it was some use. I must admit I miss my GFX50R but not the weight of it. Sweet sensor though. Z7iii might be a bit special for landscapes so I’ll keep my eye out for any announcements

[@T.M.G2014]

great video and fab camera , now see if mrs peck will sew up that hole in the trousers lol i did exactly the same last weekend brand new gear on and ripped lol must be a photographer thing , were rough on them hahaha... keep up the good videos dave

[@davepeckphotography]

Haha! They had already been sewn up once! Thanks for the kind words, apologies if my trouser problem offended

[@T.M.G2014]

@@davepeckphotography lol no offence haha 😛 was there any post processing done on the pics , the colour science on the images look great

[@davepeckphotography]

@Ef8_photography good! Processed in LR. A bit of vibrance, upped the yellows I think and added a vignette but not much to be honest. The best image from the shoot I forgot to put in 😂 It’s on social media somewhere

[@T.M.G2014]

@@davepeckphotography are you on instagram? Etc

[@carlb401]

Ahhh yes this one works now. I know it's too late now, but when you had the Fuji you could have bought an adapter that allows the use of Canon EF lenses on it. So you could have bought Canon 100-400mm to get the longer range you wanted. It would have been cheaper and far lighter than a Fuji long lens. 🙂

[@davepeckphotography]

That’s for looking again Carl. Hadn’t thought about an adapter tbh. I need to speak to you next time I decide to change.

[@carlb401]

@@davepeckphotography TBH unless something drastic changes i doubt you will need to change systems again, plus you don't seem like the type to change systems a lot.

[@HR-wd6cw]

For pretty much everything except sports/wildlife, the Z7 II is probably the best in he Z line-up for landscapes. It edges out the Z8 and Z9 in terms of dynamic range (although by a small amount only, maybe 1/4 of a stop) but it's lighter and smaller than the Z8/Z9 but offers the same resolution. So while others may say the Z8, I say the Z7 II (or even the original Z7) are better for landscapes.

[@davepeckphotography]

Totally agree. I want to spend money on the best sensor and lenses and everything else just needs to work easily. Z7ii does that for me.

[@HR-wd6cw]

@@davepeckphotography The Z7's senseor is good from an IQ standpoint, but it does lag in other areas though (such as its readout speed is much slower than the Z8 and Z9 which are a different design obviously -- stacked). But for me, I just wanted the best IQ possible, but as someone else mentioned, lenses are probably a bit more important than the extra 1/4 of DR the Z7 gives you over the other Z cameras (1/4 of a stop is probably not noticeable anyway in practice).

[@davepeckphotography]

It is certainly the best they do for landscapes. I’ve recently been shooting some macro images handheld which it is pretty rubbish at. I’ve bought an Olympus for that and it’s fantastic. Vlog out next week goes into more details. I was thinking about switching to micro four thirds totally but the Z7ii is just too good for landscape I can’t let it go, especially as I’m booked on a flight to Lofoten next year! I’m hoping the Z7iii maybe out by then. It will be interesting to see what developments they make.

[@thomastuorto9929]

To bad about not seeing the level & histogram on the rear screen at the same time but wouldn't leave you any room to see your composition. I shoot the D810. = In live view, press the info button & the compass style looking level appears. I level the camera, push the Info Button again & the histogram appears. Not only that but as I adjust the exposure, it shows the image/exposure changes in liveview live. You notice any changes on the Histogram while changing the metering modes in live view?For me, none between Matrix & Highlighted metering. I guess there are a couple of features on the Z8 for landscapes (like seeing in low-light) but, with the Z7II ($2300 US) on sale now, I'm not sure it is worth the price of the upgrades for Landscape style photography.

[@davepeckphotography]

Yeah I’ve adapted to that now on the Z7ii but I wish there was the option and I’m certainly not convinced that the Z8 is worth an upgrade for what I do. As for metering I pretty much use the histogram now with it set on matrix. I liked the idea of highlight metering and the shadow detail that is recoverable in the Z7ii is staggeringly good but the screen is so dark when metering for the highlights that I found it difficult to use. I’ve certainly got used to the system now and, apart from the ability to add a non destructive aspect ratio I wouldn’t change much about it.

[@thomastuorto9929]

@@davepeckphotography For the Full Frame Format, the D850, Z7II & the Sony A7RIII have some of the highest rated sensors. And I'm guessing pretty good processors & firmware because among the best for landscape photography. Enjoy your holidays & happy shooting.

[@victorlim5077]

Lenses are more important imo. Just get an adaptor. Almost all mounts can used. EF, Sony E, Leica M, etc. With exception of RF and X Mount I think.

[@davepeckphotography]

I don’t agree that they are more important but certainly focal range and sharpness are minimum requirements for a system. Tamron are beginning to make lenses for the Z system now. Rumours I’ve heard are that Tamron make the Z range of lenses for Nikon anyway. I do put a lot of importance on usability of the camera though.

[@victorlim5077]

@@davepeckphotography Usability is a bit of a subjective experience. Some like Retro. Some like Modern. Some like Canon's 3 wheel controls. Some like ISO64 for full frame. We can go on and on.

[@davepeckphotography]

@victorlim5077 oh yes absolutely. That’s why there are so many different systems. I am really impressed with the sharpness of today’s lenses though. Pretty much all systems have lenses that perform brilliantly. Years ago I would not had even considered a 24-200 as the quality would have been awful. Tbh the main factor should be the sensor, the rest is just a box to keep out the light. I do get impatient when I can’t find a setting I need though so usability is also important. Never tried an adapter though, do they work well?

[@victorlim5077]

@@davepeckphotography For manual lenses, I think the dumb adaptors are fine. But when you come to the electronic adaptors to use autofocus lenses from other mounts, better check with the adaptor manufacturers themselves.

[@colintraveller]

Imagine if YT was filled with videos of car owners giving opinions on there cars ..

[@davepeckphotography]

It would collapse under the weight! But in my defence I was looking at this kind of review before I spent £4k. I hope by adding images it’s a bit more bearable