Learn more: 10 surefire ways to get yours . I use U1 for places and things, U2 for people and U3 for action, and yours will be for whatever you prefer to shoot. If you press this button, you can rotate the real dial to toggle between different release modes such as Single, Continuous Low (1 to 5 fps using the front dial), Continuous High, Continuous High (extended) and Self Timer (2, 5 and 10s using the front dial). Dont forget to set up Image comment and Copyright information. Video shooters also prefer the Z6 that oversamples 4K video at full sensor width, while the Z7 is forced to skip lines, producing inferior results. Once again, these are settings that work for me and they might not necessarily suit your needs. tkr, isofix, abs, asr, esp, bi xenon, kdlmpa, gyri alufelni vjrat: 2006 . Basically, these settings add text information that gets embedded into each photograph. I wont go into Bracketing/flash sections, because thats a big topic on its own. Below we have collected a series of speradsheets (cheat sheets) for several Nikon cameras where members are including well-tried settings for various types of shoots. LEICA's lenses for the LEICA M3 with goggles work great, too! Also, pick the right AF-area mode depending on the subject. Best ISO setting on the Z6 and Z6ii. Although one can use the i button to switch between autofocus modes, it simply takes longer. If the EVF does not detect an object at proximity, it goes blank, while the LCD will not do anything until I fire up the camera menu or playback an image. It charges from completely dead to 100% in about 2 hours in-camera with just about any USB-C cord and USB-C source. Books The big menu setting that I frequently change is ISO sensitivity settings. The camera adjusts focus continuously while the shutter-release button is pressed halfway or the AF-ON button is pressed. When using in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which is referred to as Vibration Reduction in the camera menu, the Auto setting should work quite well, although you can often safely push it to Slower. However, if focus accuracy is more important to you than FPS, then the Focus option is going to be the way to go. For erratic subjects that move in and out of the frame, Auto-area AF might work the best, while for subjects you can easily track, Dynamic-area AF might be a better choice. This is very handy when doing things like panoramas I only press the Fn1 on the front of the camera once, then once I complete my panorama, I release the button to disable exposure lock. Basically, we are turning off Auto ISO with ISO set to 100, disabling things that are not needed for landscapes and turning on things like EFCS and Exposure Delay Mode to eliminate camera shake. The box will now stay on top of your subject and keep it in focus as it moves in and out, up and down and left and right. I havent touched this menu on the Nikon Z6 II, since I dont care about doing any in-camera post-processing. Has it been removed or is it called something else? Since the video recording button does not do anything useful in stills mode, I kept the default setting of this button, which is to clear the screen of any information (a new feature on the Z6 II that sadly does not exist on the Z6). This shot looks ugly as I had the Z6's midrange sharpening set to +5, which is way too much because it overemphasizes some contrasts in nasty ways. There's an easy work around: be sure to set MENU > CUSTOM (pencil) > dShooting/display > d8 Apply settings to live view > Disable and you'll always see a finder image so you can focus and compose but it won't show you your exposure or picture controls until you play back. For this reason, I now go back to the default joystick behavior. Although the Nikon Z6 is practically identical in its build, button layout / design and ergonomics to the Z7, there are some important differences between the two cameras worth going over. The most important setting for the Action user setting is the minimum shutter speed under ISO sensitivity settings. ISO 100 is sharpest. In the old DSLR, I used to get a black dot on the bottom left of my viewfinder and also a little sound that I have setup when using AE-L/AF-L for AF-ON. It seems I dont have to do that any more. Let me provide you an example. Plus, you are writing data into RAW files, so if you ever needed to prove that you are the author of a photograph, the RAW file along with your contact info could make for great evidence. Lets go through some of the important settings. The SB-400 is much better for mirrorless than today's bigger, crummier and more expensive SB-300 and SB-500. The nice thing is, you can specify up to 3 seconds of delay, which can completely eliminate camera shake originating from touching the cameras shutter release button. I wont go into too much detail about each focus mode, since it is all explained in detail in this article. Face recognition is awful because while it finds faces well, the Z6 focuses on random faces, rarely the one you need. Weird but true! Nikon is tops here: you can leave your Z6 ON and it's always ready to shoot with a second's notice. Experiment with this one, but go easy on it until you master it. nikon z6 settings spreadsheet. Viewfinder only: This mode enables only the EVF and turns off the LCD completely. Remember to do it for each user setting separately. Here is a quick recap: Other menu items such as Multiple exposure, HDR, Interval timer shooting, Time-lapse movie and Focus shift shooting are all used to engage specific tools and effects. This makes this feature mostly worthless if you use it as I do to provision my fleet of Nikon Z6 and if you choose to use my settings file here. In my case, since I own CFexpress and XQD memory cards, I kept the default selection to write to that media first. I do not like when my focus points roll over to the other side of the screen when I am in the corners and I like to shoot with all focus points enabled, so my Focus point wrap-around is turned off and Focus points used are kept at their default settings. White Balance is Auto and all other settings like Picture Controls, Active D-Lighting, HDR, etc. I did not bother changing the lens buttons and control ring the defaults work just fine. Apertures smaller than f/8 dull the image due to diffraction unless you really need more depth-of-field; and you won't need that much depth of field if you set up your shot properly. For the first time in 15 years since we all went DSLRs we now have to learn new tricks with completely different kinds of cameras, and this is one of them. As of firmware version 2.1 in December 2019 my Z7 still has this same flaw: while you can save and recall the entire camera setup (custom settings, image settings, copyright data & etc. I set +1 to get slightly more colorful shots of people in the STANDARD setting. You can use Nikon software utility and check if you can save your images in any other format. These settings work across the board for all Nikon Z cameras from the Z6II to the new Zfc! When you press the playback button on the back of the camera, you can press up/down buttons and you will be able to see different types of information. Although the Nikon Z6 is practically identical in its build, button layout / design and ergonomics to the Z7, there are some important differences between the two cameras worth going over. This will add all the recommended settings from this article. When shooting landscapes I can use the EVF for hand-held shooting, and when I am shooting from a tripod, the LCD is automatically turned on. I leave it ON; the default is OFF. 1/500 to 1/1,000 stops sports and easily freezes fast-moving water. It is a neat feature that I always use by default on all of my cameras. If you shoot sports or wildlife, the Z6 has a couple of menu settings to limit the number of focusing options. Use the FTZ adapter only with Nikon's newest lenses with a built-in AF motor (AF-S and AF-P). Press it and the finder only turns on when your eye is on it. Basically, once you switch the autofocus function from your shutter release (half-press) to the AF-ON button on the back of the camera, your camera will no longer autofocus through the shutter release button and will only respond to depressing the rear AF-ON button. The other two important buttons are on the right side of the LCD. How-To I would also skip the whole Timers/AE lock sub-section, aside from perhaps the Self-timer option, which I normally set to either 2 or 5 seconds. NEF (RAW) recording is always set on mine to 14-bit Lossless Compressed. Unfortunately, the Nikon Z-series cameras do not have the AE / AF lock button, another button can be used to compensate. Recently I have been using a Nikon 50 mm f1.4 D with an FTZ adapter. The camera will then use EFCS at shutter speeds of 1/250 and slower, while switching to mechanical shutter at faster shutter speeds. Focus mode by default is set to AF-S (Single AF). Home This is great, unless you're shooting with manual exposure by studio strobes or regular flash at a fast sync speed indoors where the final exposure is only lit by flash, and not by ambient light. If you're too cheap to buy an XQD reader, on Mac, connect the Z6 via USB. Links When it comes to camera metering, Matrix metering works really well in most environments and thats what I use most of the time, but sometimes other metering modes can come in handy. The Nikon Z6 II has a lot of menu options, but there are some things that you can only control via specific buttons and controls. It is best that you explore your camera and learn about each setting as much as you can in order to take advantage of all the available features and customizations! This will copy the settings over to your camera. 2.) Thanks! I do not like the default settings that Nikon provides on the Z6, since there are things like Picture Controls and Image Quality that I never touch. In addition, the Z6 has a better low-light sensitivity range of -3.5 to 19 EV vs -2 to 19 EV. Tap the touch panel's (-)/? If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. I have it turned off in the menu above so that those who dont read this section or download the settings file do not end up panicking when their camera doesnt focus using the shutter release button. If you are going to be shooting hand-held, I recommend turning on VR and disabling Exposure Delay Mode. This is where a lot of people get lost since there are so many different settings. Remember to turn off the camera when you're done, otherwise the battery will be dead tomorrow as the camera doesn't turn off automatically when connected this way. Lastly, make sure to set USB power delivery to ON. To do this, set AF-C and All-Area AF [] as shown above, then tap the rear OK button. Basically, we are turning off Auto ISO with ISO set to 10, disabling things that are not needed for landscapes and turning on things like EFCS and Exposure Delay Mode to eliminate camera shake. If you have not read our articles on the Focus and Recompose technique and Back-Button Focusing, now is a good time to do it, because it explains this feature in detail. All the other buttons are fairly standard, similar to those you can find on many other Nikon DSLRs. When switching to shoot portraits, some of the settings such as Auto ISO and face recognition should be turned on. If you want to completely eliminate Shutter Shock, you will need to make sure that the camera can automatically switch between Electronic Front-Curtain Shutter (EFCS) and mechanical shutter. Ive set up my Z6 using your recommendations. We recommend that, where available, an optional remote control be used in place of Exposure delay mode. I load the second slot with an SD memory card, and for the Secondary slot function menu option I normally pick Overflow. This is known as Limit AF-area mode selection. I set my Fn1 button to AF-Mode and my Fn2 button to (Depth of Field) Preview, and you may do whatever you like. This is very handy when doing things like panoramas I only press the Fn1 on the front of the camera once, then once I complete my panorama, I release the button to disable exposure lock. bigger. The Street & Travel settings are the choice you make when you want to configure your Nikon Z6/Z7/D850 for fastest response time. To keep the clutter out, I have three things turned on: Focus point, which allows me to see where I focused, Highlights to show overexposure in shots (a.k.a. It is a very good sensor concerning dynamic range and of course being full frame, it allows you to play a lot with shallow depth of field when using fast aperture lenses. I set +3 for the most saturated colors of places and things. Ken. Everything else is turned off. In this case the finder image is black, because the ambient light isn't contributing anything at, say, 1/200 at f/22 indoors. Here are the settings that I personally use: Once again, I wont go into details about each setting, so let me just go over the most important ones that you should know about. I use my U3 mode for sports or maybe for manual-focus lenses. Thank you / Ahmed. Of course it does take a second to wake up so you need to remember to tap the shutter as you're bringing the camera to your eye, and otherwise it sleeps properly as you carry it around all day shooting. The most important setting for the Action user setting is the minimum shutter speed under ISO sensitivity settings. I personally send my gear into Nikon each year to be serviced. Now that the Z6 II has dual memory card slots, you get to choose which card slot the camera will write to first. I never set a manual ISO. Nasim Mansurov is the author and founder of Photography Life, based out of Denver, Colorado. Instead of going through the whole menu again, let me show you the settings that differ for each user setting on my Nikon Z6. Be sure to set your own personal EXIF information in your camera if you choose to use my settings. If you are planning to use the focus peaking feature in Live View, I would recommend to set your desired color and sensitivity. I got my Z6 at Adorama. Reviews The second important menu item under Controls is Custom controls. One other idiosyncrasy, when in aperture priority mode, and using exposure compensation, after the first shot, the exposure doesnt stay locked in. Aside from the standard Program Mode, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes, the camera also offers an Auto mode, as well as U1, U2 and U3 user settings that you can save your settings to (more on that below). Settings for lenses with on-board vibration reduction vary with the lens ( see this section ). The options shown on the screen are customizable, which is great (more on how I customize this screen below). Since this button does not do anything useful in stills mode, I re-programmed my video recording button to change autofocus modes (more on that below), so that I can quickly toggle between AF-S (Single Servo), AF-C (Continuous) and Manual Focus. Amateurs too often use too high an ISO, too high a shutter speed and too small a lens aperture, all three of which lead to softer pictures: 1.) The lens is gorgeous and gives images that can knock my socks off when they first come up as previews in Photomechanic. EXPEED 6. Nikon Z6 Best Settings, Initial set up Menu Walkthrough. The optional charger is clumsy, requires you slip the battery into the hole instead of popping it in from the top like most good chargers, and is useless unless you also bring a cord or plug with you traveling. in the finder as you shoot. Nikon Z6 II: -4.5 to +19EV In its default settings, the Z6 II's autofocus system is 1EV more sensitive in low light than the original Z6, which gives it an advantage in dim or variable conditions. OM-1 Settings Spreadsheet for Excel OM-1 Settings Spreadsheet for Mac Numbers -- hide signature -- hide signature -- Bob Even more than it was on DSLRs, it's tiny as you want on mirrorless, and it's powerful and recycles fast and the Z6 balances it for fill perfectly. Don't get the FTZ for use with traditional AF-D, AF or manual-focus lenses. The Autofocus section is pretty important because it controls the way your camera autofocus is configured. As for color, the Red color typically works the best, but it all depends on the color of the subject you are photographing, so make sure to select the appropriate color from this menu. I use the little 20W USB-C charger that came with my iPad or iPhone. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. I've programmed my Z6 U1 mode for nature, landscapes and all photos of things. These are the only lenses that autofocus with this adapter. Also Image Capture gets very slow if you have thousands of images on your card as it has to read them all before it lets you start working with any of them. This is also the best option if your subject is likely to move closer or further away from your camera in the time it takes you to focus and recompose. has the ability to save focus position, so that your camera does not reset its focus when you turn the camera off and back on. How do I do? In addition, the Z6 has a better low-light sensitivity range of -3.5 to 19 EV vs -2 to 19 EV. They were invented by Sony for video recording. The OK button is now set by default to zoom into the image at 1:1 when you press it in playback mode, which is nice! Weird. My menu settings are very different I start off with more critical things like Focus Mode, AF-area mode, Metering, and Bracketing. However, if you need to do a quick edit of your images or videos, you can do it from here. When shooting fast action, I tend to reduce that setting to short delays, because I want autofocus to re-engage even with smaller changes. Why my Z6 shutter count, counts the clicks when set on electronic shutter mode. This kind of setting guide allows users to learn and experiment with images. The palm tree is blowing all over in the wind; don't expect it to be museum-sharp. When photographing landscapes or architecture with the camera mounted on a tripod, you should turn Auto ISO off and use base ISO 100 to get the highest dynamic range and lowest noise levels. The following are the recommended settings for shots of sporting events and other scenes that feature motion: Focus Mode: Choose "Continuous AF" (AF-C)! In addition to my Nikon Z 7 / Z 6 Experience user guide, I also offer a Z7 / Z6 Menu Setup Guide, with suggested settings and starting points for most all of the camera menu settings and Custom Settings. The nice thing about the Nikon Z-series cameras is that you can set them up with different profiles such as landscape, portrait and action, then depending on what you are shooting, simply rotate the PASM dial to one of the user settings and all the menu items will switch accordingly. Once you do that, pressing the Fn2 button and rotating the front dial will not toggle through that option, which is neat! Thanks, This is my fist digital camera. Mid-range sharpening: Leave this at its default of +2. 2 tips straight up, shoot manual exposure and NEF Raw. Posted by. Below the Menu button, you will also find the Release Mode button. There's a column for the defaults, a column for modes A,S,M and a column for each of the Custom modes. This setting controls how quickly your autofocus will re-engage when it detects focus errors. When using in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which is referred to as Vibration Reduction in the camera menu, the Auto setting should work quite well, although you can often safely push it to Slower. Can you provide settings also for newest firmware version 1.40? As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. You may prefer to set the finder brightness manually. WARNING: At least as of the current (as of this writing) firmware 1.01, the complete camera settings backup and restore to the card function is defective. The Fringer EF-NZ Adapter adapts Canon EF lenses with often better results on my Nikon Z cameras than Nikon's own lenses give on the crappy FTZ adapter! The Nikon Z6 II has a lot of menu options, but there are some things that you can only control via specific buttons and controls. Shutter shock is not an issue at such fast shutter speeds, so it is safe to use Auto in most cases. Settings such as white balance and contrast can be adjusted after shooting. Merci bonne journe. Your reviews are always great, useful and more importantly I like your style of photography which is important as this helps to translate into the the types of images I also enjoy creating , Were you able to Load the settings from the file on root directory or the card. 273 AF points. When you're done changing those settings, just press the Menu button (Done) to save and exit out of that menu. The two I use most consistently are image playback (fn2) and af setting (record). However, if you need to do a quick edit of your images or videos, you can do it from here. However, there are a few important new settings that have been added to the Z6 II, which you should set up. Storing focus points for vertical and horizontal shooting separately is also a cool feature, which is why Store by orientation is set to Yes. Monitor only: This mode enables only the LCD screen and the EVF is turned off completely. The big menu setting that I frequently change is ISO sensitivity settings.