What you see above are 2 cameras hooked with 2 lenses. The left one is latest Nikon mirrorless which is Nikon Z6 which offer Nikon new Z-mount which is widest among any current camera manufacturers. The Z6 is coupled with new Nikon S-Line lens which is made specifically for Z-mount cameras and the lens attached to it is 35mm f/1.8S. Nikon Z system is the Nikon first mirrorless system. Lately, Nikon introduced the firmware upgrade for both Z6 & Z7 (47MP elder brother) which make both mirrorless cameras to do the Eye-AF and better face tracking which was first introduced by Sony and now almost becomes a benchmark for superior AF tracking.
On the right-hand side, we have Son of a Gun, The Legend, The Myth, The toughest DSLR out there, many Photographers souls, a DSLR with no video functionality dedicated made for soul photography …. Nikon D700 which was introduced to the world back in 2008 as a Mini D3. D3 was so expensive that many people bought D700 just to experience the D3 taste as both D3 & D700 got the same sensor. Only SNR firmware was different. That lens on D700 is 20mm f/3.5 AI-S which was introduced back in 1977. That lens 20mm f/3.5 AI-S is the all in one best wide-angle lens by Nikon.
Now you all be thinking, why I write all these intro type stuff for both cameras which are already available on the internet? Why all these praises & specs like this is something new? What’s so much new we all will be learning from this blog? & the answer is YOU. But let’s compare both cameras side by side a little to make some quantifiable differences. BTW, the bold letters are the winners.
| Features | Nikon D700 | Nikon Z6 |
|---|---|---|
| Year Released | 2008 | 2018 |
| Megapixels | 12 | 24 |
| AF Points | 51 | 273 |
| Max ISO | 6400 | 51,200 |
| Supported Card | Single CF Card | Single XQD Card |
| Viewfinder | OVF | EVF |
| IBIS | No | Yes |
| Max FPS | 8 FPS | 12 FPS |
| Supported RAW file | 14-bit | 14-bit |
| Picture Control | Almost the same with no major difference | |
| Video | No Video | Full 4K Video support |
| Electronic Front Curtain Support | No | Yes |
| Flash Sync Speed | Same as 1/200 | |
| Built-in POP-UP Flash | Yes | No |
| Battery Grip Support | Yes | No |
| WiFi/Bluetooth Support | No | Yes |
| Weight | Heavy | Light |
| Rated max. Shutter Actuation | 150,000 | 200,000 |
| Number of Shots per Battery | Above 1000 | Around 250 |
Now for sure most of you must be thinking, where is Nikon D750? Why not compare it with Z6 or put that into the battle of other 2 to make it Triple Threat (this is a wrestling term BTW) and my answer is NO. D750 is 4-5 years old machine, and I intend to show the quantum leap of technology advancement that occurred during the last decade or more and the hardware that I have in my disposal is D700 and Z6 which fits on the very idea of this blog.
So, by looking at the above comparison that I showed, it is evident that Nikon Z6 is a clear winner. A decade of technological advancement happened in the world of photography really pushed the limits of these photography gears and let them do the things which were not possible a decade ago. From EVF to 4K video, to in-camera HDR and lot more to offer in tiny form factor with the lightweight package we have in the form of Z6. But at some cost. Everything in life cost us in every domain. In order to get this technological advancement, we have sacrificed the battery grip, POP up Flash (used for famous Nikon CLS system), longer battery life and single card slot (in compared to other Nikon Pro bodies), so sacrificed all these features in order to get all these features which were not possible before in a single camera machine. And all these new features are there for who? And the answer is right below …
From these 11-12 years of technological advancement, everything is changed in photography. But does this change the ethics and basics of taking photos? NOOO…. it doesn’t. It is still the SAME. How come? Let’s find out ….
It really does not matter what brand you are associated with or what gears you are using, what DOESN’T change is.
- You STILL have to look into the viewfinder regardless it’s OVF or EVF
- You STILL have to do the best composition from the given framing of your lens
- You Still Have to look for the light and shadows
- You STILL have to get the best poses from your models
- You STILL have to click at the RIGHT MOMENT to capture that iconic moment which if you missed, you are gone
- You STILL have to drag yourself to the remote places in the pitch dark to get the first ray of sunlight at the top of the mountain
- You STILL have to look for the best angle to make the ordinary into extraordinary
- You STILL have to drag the shutter to capture the motion effect in a still image
- You STILL have to take multiple shots for Panorama regardless PS stitches them for you
- And besides so many other STILL’s …… YOU STILL HAVE TO PRESS the shutter release button.
Now it is abundantly clear that regardless of technological advancement, the most important thing which is STILL constant for more than 100 years of photography … is YOU. Everything boils down on you. You are the main difference-maker. You are the main showrunner. The world is Canvas. Like it is written in one of the famous photography books that
“The photography frame requires you to have absolute confidence. This is your opportunity to show us what you find most important. Convince us with your cut.”
When I read above lines from the book, it quickly spawn the idea on me that no matter how much advance gears I have or I will have, if I am not able to use them efficiently to make the image which made viewers eyes stop on my image more than 7 seconds then it’s my fault, not equipment’s fault. I own both D700 & Z6, and they both have their own significance in my photography career. Both offer me something in a way or another which others can’t, and I use them both for a reason. I took hundreds of frames from both machines, which were equally praised by my photography peers who are using the latest and greatest. My most famous shots are from Nikon D700. Does this mean that Nikon Z6 is somehow kind an inferior? No. First off, it is a new machine so by over the period, and it’s more usage, I will able to furnish something more out from out which will be presentable. My most used machine is Nikon D700 which I found my soul mate because whenever I am using it, it pushes me to do tricky stuff which is easy by using other gears (like Z6 or D850). I love photography challenges, and D700 helps me to overcomes those challenges because of its limited features which made me think more about taking the shot rather than just pressing the shutter release.
Remember another important fact, gears cannot and will not define the light no matter how much advance they going to be. Its photographer’s job to find or create light and then use it. Maybe in future, actually for sure it will happen when Artificial Intelligence becomes so strong that you just point the camera towards one direction and camera will automatically going to capture the scene, will edit the best composition out from it for your and save the edited part of it not only in your camera but also uploading into the cloud storage services for you. This means that evident camera will do all the work and heavy lifting for you, all you need to do is just press the shutter button. May be by “just thinking” or using the voice command feature your device able to capture the image. Note that Google is already working on such algorithm for their app name “Photos” where it basically searching the web or by sneaking from the internally stored data on your phone or from the internet cloud, and then just quickly suggesting you the best composition or edit the best frame for you. Apple iPhone Photo album creation feature does the same automatically by creating an album for you from your recent holiday trip. But again, you need to realize that basic hardcore fact, that particular google photo software or Apple software still using your images, your compositions to train itself. Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) still rely on humans, and his/her created arts as a source for a code to decide or to answer your query.
In the world of photography, everything revolves around YOU. It starts by pressing the shutter release button (by YOU), to the viewing of it (by YOU) all the way up to be an iconic image which lasts for decades as an inspiration to the future (for the upcoming YOU). No matter how much technology is going to advance, we as Humans were, are and always will be the center of Photography. Now people who know for a long time for sure must be thinking, how come today I am talking about ethics, art, and soul of photography? I am the same person who always talks about gears and stuff. And my reply to those friends is simple. We all are in a journey of learning photography which includes me one way or another. I literally dove down all the way to the depth of the technical learning of photography, and now I am on my way journey to the other side of the coin which is learning the soul of photography. In case if you think why I made the comparison table of D700 vs Z6, well …. We need to create contrast between machine and a photographer to highlight the significance of YOU. D700 and Z6 are the best examples that I found which not only shows the both old and new extreme of photography gear limits as we speak, the only constant thing is behind these machines.
Life will end one day, Learning must not.
Happy learning, guys!
