Nikon Z6 II Review for Wedding Photography

Intro

The Nikon Z6 II was released at the beginning of November in 2020 and I pre-ordered it as soon as it was available. The upgrades it offered were much needed and necessary being a full time wedding photographer. In this article, I plan to list out all my favorite updates and how those updates have helped me to create even more amazing product and experience for my clients.

Now, before we get into my review of the Nikon Z6 II for wedding photography, let me give you some quick background information about myself and my experience with Nikon’s systems thus far. My name is Zach Nichols, I am a wedding and travel photographer living in Spokane Washington. I have been a full-time professional for the last six years and have had the opportunity to photograph over a hundred and fifty weddings to date across the U.S.. I am one of the top professionals in my area and am a Nikon photographer I have owned (or currently own) a Nikon D5300, D750, D850, Z6, Z6 II, and Z7 II. So, with that out of the way, here is my brief story when it comes to my experience with Nikon’s mirrorless systems.

In the fall of 2018, the Nikon Z6 was released. It was Nikon’s first step into the mirrorless camera scene. Being a wedding photographer and seeing the power of mirrorless cameras through Sony with their eye-tracking and face detect, I was very excited to hear about this update but also a little skeptical of how good this camera would be compared to the ones Sony was releasing. I was also hesitant because of the major weak point to the camera; it only had one card slot. For many people this would not be an issue and, though I knew it used a QXD which is VERY reliable, I still wanted a backup card slot just in case. Losing a client’s photos as a wedding photographer can be an instant game-over for your career. At the time of the announcement, I was actually preparing myself to sell out of my Nikon gear and move into Sony mirrorless cameras. I was hesitant to do so as I have always loved my Nikon gear and had A LOT of glass.

When Nikon released the Z6, I talked a friend into buying the camera because he wanted to get into video while still taking great photos and I knew it would be the best Nikon had to offer in that regard. During a wedding we both shot, I got to try his Z6 and knew within minutes that I needed one as well. The eye tracking DID NOT MISS. I had a D850 and D750 before I owned a Z6 and though the D850 was regarded as the best DSLR on the market, the upgrade I saw in the Z6 in regard to autofocus alone was enough for me to want to switch over to Nikon mirrorless. With the Z6, I only missed maybe 10% of all photos, even in low light (often shooting up to 4000 ISO); and with the D850, that number was more in the realm of 20-30% even in good lighting.

I owned my Z6’s for just over a year and photographed nearly 50 weddings with them. I never regretted my purchase but I did know that my Z6’s were just a stepping stone to the Z6 II. In the following paragraphs, I want to share with you my experience with the Z6 II in the 50+ weddings, countless portrait sessions, and many corporate shoots I have used them for thus far. I will be going through all the major updates that this system offers and how it is specifically beneficial to wedding and portrait photography.

Two Memory Card Slots

Probably the largest upgrade in my mind with the new Z6 II is that it has two card slots. The Z6 II supports SD, UHS-II, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards in the first slot and CFexpress (Type B) or XQD memory cards in the other memory card slot.

As stated previously, my largest issue with the original Nikon Z6 was that it only had one card slot. As a wedding photographer, having two card slots backing each other up is a must because if photos are lost, it can be an instant “game-over” for your business. The new Nikon Z6 II fixed that issue that I had with the previous system. In my opinion, this is something that should have been done in the first iteration but it was not. Regardless of whether this was an oversight (doubtful) or just a sales scheme, I am glad that the cameras finally have two card slots.

Processor Update

The next upgrade Nikon made was to install Dual Expeed 6 processors. These processors improved autofocus speed, the read and write speeds, and allowed for a larger buffer when shooting photos rapid-fire. I can say that, though the Nikon Z6 was an incredible camera in regard to the autofocus, the Nikon Z6 II is noticeably better. The autofocus is much more snappy and accurate. I have never needed to use much buffer in the past with wedding photos as I am not really one to “spray and pray” but I can say that the buffer is huge. when using high speed memory cards, I don't think you would ever run out of buffer room at a wedding.

Other Updates

A few other updates were made to this camera system as well. The first one is that they implemented the use of a new battery that has improved battery life. Though this is not a significant improvement per say, it is certainly nice and allows for me to use 2-3 batteries per wedding. The original Z6 would work its way through 4-5 on average with the older version of batteries.

Adding on to this, they also allowed for the camera to be charged while using it through the use of a USB C cable and external power bank. Though I do not know if I will ever use this at weddings, it is certainly nice if you are in a bind or choose to implement this feature.

Nikon also introduced new autofocus modes that can be VERY handy. One of the most useful modes for dancing photos is with wide area autofocus with face-detect that allows for you to set a certain area where the auto eye autofocus will search for eyes. This is in contrast to the normal face-detect option that will search for faces and eyes across the entire sensor. It can be useful when photographing large groups of people or when you simply do not want the autofocus to lock on to a person or object in the background of a photo. Though it is very nice for dancing photos in particular, I do not use this feature outside of that. I personally find myself using the face-detect and eye tracking with the “lock on” option most of the time followed by single point autofocus when I need to be more “precise”.

Nikon also cleaned up the menus and made certain settings more accessible in camera. The changes aren't anything crazy, but it is certainly nice that they took the time to do this.

Lastly, Nikon did add the option to buy and install a usable battery grip that comes complete with buttons. I personally have never felt the need for a battery grip when photographing weddings and have never missed a shot because of a battery dying. I do know that some people love battery grips though and so I'm sure that they are excited about this option.

Any Downsides?

Okay, so we have already gone through all of the ways in which the Nikon Z6 II has improved over the previous system; but what are the downsides? If I'm being completely honest, I do not have any complaints in the slightest. I will say that these upgrades are things that I feel should have been included in the previous iteration. I have listened to and read a lot of articles that include downsides that are simply personal opinion and not something that bothers me. I am thankful that Nikon is supporting these cameras with constant firmware updates and that they are diving into the mirrorless market much more. I have had the opportunity to try and use the top mirrorless cameras from Canon and Sony and, in my opinion, they are all just about the same at this point (though Canon admittedly is not as good at recovering shadows even still). Some brands may offer settings and options that others don't but at the end of the day, cameras are just tools and I believe that a great photographer should be able to achieve the same results no matter the camera system.

Conclusion

To conclude this article, I do want to say that I have loved my Nikon Z6II’s. In fact, I love them so much that I have bought four of them thus far for me and my wife who is also a full time professional. I also own a Z7 II which is great for landscapes and outdoor travel photography but the Z6 II is definitely the best when used for weddings. I have no particular brand loyalty and when people ask me what camera system to buy, I always offer my advice based on many factors and never simply say “go with Nikon”. If I thought that another brand would give me and my clients significantly better results and images than what Nikon does, I would switch. However, this is simply not the case at this point.

If you choose to purchase a Nikon Z6 II to photograph weddings and portraits, you will not be disappointed. The original iteration was amazing and this one takes care of all the major downfalls found in that first generation system. Thank you for reading along and feel free to reach out and contact me if you have any questions. If you would like to see you what other gear I use when photographing weddings, make sure to check out my article on What's in My Bag - A Complete List of the Wedding Photography Gear That I Use.

This article contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you make a purchase via one of these links, I will receive commission at no additional cost to you. As always, thank you for your support!

Nikon Z6 II Review for Wedding Photography

Written by: Zach Nichols

Updated September 20, 2021

Zach NicholsNovember 25, 20207 Comments