Street Photography with Nikon Z6II in New York

No video

Street Photography with Nikon Z6II in New York | Is It Worth It In 2023?

Рет қаралды 12,794

Күн бұрын

This video covers my experience using Nikon Z6 II for street photography (and videography) on streets of New York City.
Affiliate Links to Photo and Video Gear That I Use
CAMERAS
Main Camera (Nikon Z9) amzn.to/3CzKiEQ
B-Camera (Nikon Z6II) amzn.to/3CyRbX7
LENSES
Most Versatile Lens (Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 S Lens) amzn.to/3XfNoWp
Best on-the-go Portrait Lens (Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8 S Lens) amzn.to/3QsURzb
Favorite Z-mount Lens (Nikkor 85 mm f/1.8 S Lens): amzn.to/3XehZno
Favorite F-mount Lens (Nikkor 85 mm f/1.8 G Lens): amzn.to/3ZgYRqN
AUDIO
Main Shotgun Mic (Synco Mic-D2): amzn.to/3WWWdVD
On Location Mic (Rode Wireless GOII) amzn.to/3k4rpDJ
Audio Recorder (Zoom H5 4-Track Portable Recorder) amzn.to/3ICMNdC
LIGHTING
Portable Strobe (Godox AD200 Pro) amzn.to/3WZwfAA
Wireless Flash Trigger (Godox X2T-N) amzn.to/3X8Mqvg
C-Stand (Flashpoint 10' C Light Stand on Turtle Base Kit w/40 Grip Arm & 2 GOBO Heads and Baby Pin) amzn.to/3k5epO0
Video Light (Godox SL-60W) amzn.to/3WVPaMF
OTHER
2022 Apple 11-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi, 512GB) amzn.to/3GSRkay
Best Travel Camera Bag (Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW II Black Pro Modular Backpack) amzn.to/3Xdq7EI
Peak Design Camera Strap amzn.to/3ix3RXw
CFexpress Card (SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B) amzn.to/3W2rrcu
CFexpress Card (SanDisk 512GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B) amzn.to/3QypbZy
HDMI Cable (iBirdie 8K HDMI 2.1 Cable 3 Feet) amzn.to/3is91US
Teleprompter (Glide Gear TMP100) amzn.to/3IB8Q4k
Wireless Transmitter (Hollyland Mars 4K) amzn.to/3W2t5Lc
Nikon EN-EL18d Battery for Nikon Z9 Camera amzn.to/3vRl692
For product reviews:
TouchLifeStudio@gmail.com

Пікірлер: 57

@rf.photographs 9 ай бұрын

L😍VE my Z6II! Been shooting street photography with it for over a year now. L😍VE pairing my Z 28-75mm f2.8 utility lens (video/photo). But my Z 28mm f2.8 lives on it. Compact and ready to-go.

@TouchLifeStudio 9 ай бұрын

I know I love the Z6II camera. Glad to hear that your 28-75 lens is working out well for you. In the process of getting the Z 28 mm.

@ZhaVioRxGFX Жыл бұрын

Love my z6Ii

@fabianaantunes8149 10 ай бұрын

Olá, amigo. eu quero entregar as fotos na hora do evento. Fazer as fotos do batizado e entregar umas 50/70 fotos pra cliente ainda na igreja. Entende? Sem edição. Sem computador. Usando o nfc ou wi fi para transferir pro celular. Um amigo tem a Sony a7 e faz isso muito bem. Consigo fazer esse processo bem e rapidamente com a z6ii?

@PASquared Жыл бұрын

Great video! Seems like you had some fun in NYC! Definitely no visit to Manhattan is complete without going to B&H. My 70-200 has been my favorite lens since I got it (the FL E version) in 2019. I've considered adding a telephoto prime like a 85 1.8 or 105 1.4 but i find it hard to justify over the versatility of the 70-200. I do shoot mainly vehicles and wildlife though.

@leep5113 9 ай бұрын

I love mine. I have a 14-30mm f4; 24-70mm f2.8; the three pancakes (26/28/40); 35/50/85mm and I love all of these lenses with the Z6ii. It’s a great, versatile camera. The only fault it has is the AF system is slow but for street, architecture, landscape, travel photography it’s great.

@TouchLifeStudio 9 ай бұрын

Wow… big lens selection! Glad to hear that your enjoy your Z6II. I love that camera.

@leep5113 9 ай бұрын

@@TouchLifeStudio yeah…trying to get as many lenses and Nikon bodies before I retire. Won’t be able to afford new glass then :(

@JUSKOOLKREATIONS1 9 ай бұрын

great video I'm watching this video on 4th November 2023, I had a similar black smudge that showed up on my Nikon D750 images some years ago and my camera technician cleared it up it no time at all. it was an oil smudge, that some how leaked from the camera from somewhere and got on the sensor, I think , it as so long, but it was an oil smudge, don't know if that will help anyone now, I myself was just in NY in September 2023, and bought the Nikon 50mm 1.8 G lens for my D750 at Adorama,

@TouchLifeStudio 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip. I still haven't figured out what the deal with this little spot on my LCD screen. Sensor is totally fine, it is just the screen. Enjoy your 50 mm. This is a great focal length.

@PaulQuinones Жыл бұрын

I have the z9 and I use the 105mm 1.4 f mount as part of my kit and I have no complaints. I work with dancers and the focusing is pretty quick and reliable with my z9. Z6ii which I also have… it can be a bit slow

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

Thanks Paul. Like I mentioned in my video, I’m highly considering 105mm 1.4.

@Vahagraphy Жыл бұрын

Vitali is BACK!!! Good to see you again brother. watching now.

@Vahagraphy Жыл бұрын

Love the lighting in the talking segment.

@Vahagraphy Жыл бұрын

Love the shots and video man. good job.

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

Thanks Vahagn. Creating these videos helps me learn more about the lighting. Much appreciated the kind words.

@ScriptureToday Жыл бұрын

The Nikon 105mm f/1.4 is a bit of a niche lens. You buy it to create shallow depth-of-field portraits with smooth falloff that a 70-200 cannot match (though with the latest post-processing tools you can probably mimic very closely). If portraits is your main thing, the 105mm f/1.4 is worth test driving, at least. For weddings and events, you cannot beat the 70-200. If I had to chose between them, I'd go with the 70-200, no question.

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

Yeah, that’s what I ended up doing. 105 mm is going to be one of those specialty lenses which can makes your work stand out.

@randallbrander8157 Жыл бұрын

I love the Nikkor S line. I have all of the lenses that cost less than $1500 USD. Love the new pancake 26mm F/2.8 and the 28mm F/2.8 & the 40mm F/2. I have another hand grip it is not as loose as your Peak but you can attach it to a tripod with the connection at the bottom also. I live in Texas which is hot and started recording the videos to the SD card instead of the CFExpress card because of overheating issues. Love the speed of transfer but in this warm climate. The lenses I will be getting are the Primes 1.2 (35, 50 & 85) and the 180-600mm. Cheers!

@Ben_Stewart Жыл бұрын

I upgraded my Z6ii to the Z8 but I loved it so much I modified it to Astro. Still usable indoors though.

@Kamukix 11 ай бұрын

The portrait tilting screen style you mention has been available on the Fujifilm X series since the X-T2, it's also available on the Panasonic S1/S1R bodies. It's extremely useful and I agree with you that I wish the Z cameras had it as well. The Z6/Z7 series do have excellent screens and EVF though. They are really really great cameras to use. 👌

@randallbrander8157 Жыл бұрын

My two favorite lenses are the 105mm macro and 85mm F/1.8. For lens quality you can't go wrong any choice. At least Nikon allows third party glass.

@Fujifilm2021 Жыл бұрын

I always use Z6ii with Voigtlander 21mm F4 LTM for street photography. It is very amazing.

@fabianaantunes8149 10 ай бұрын

@Emulives Жыл бұрын

of course. I use to shoot kids .Most in school events. I use a 24-200 6.3 Z and and I have a 40 mm f/2 and a 85mm 1.8 G with FTZ adapter. So far so good. Great focus. At first, you find her focus strange, but then you get used to it

@thodorisi.2889 Жыл бұрын

Great video!You are making me want to upgrade to Z6ii now with the summer sales!

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

Oh, yeah. Great little camera. I love it. It is small enough to be used for street photography comfortably but it is also the right size for professional work.

@ozozzoo3840 8 ай бұрын

70-200 .... rocks.... buy the 105 when you win the lottery.

@TouchLifeStudio 8 ай бұрын

Ha-ha, yeah the 105 is a niche lens, to an extent.

@HarlemsFinest85 11 ай бұрын

Earlier this year I upgraded from the Z50 to Z6II and I love it so far. I live in NYC and do some amateur street photography, and find it's perfect for what I am looking for in a camera. I use the NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S and NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S. I had a 50mm..not sure if I'll go back to it after using the 35mm. Also, as a Native New Yorker. Grand Central is not on 9th Ave. B&H is on the corner of 34th & 9th. Saw you mention that at 3:31 😅..but you can take the train over from Grand Central to B&H.

@TouchLifeStudio 11 ай бұрын

Yes, the 35 1.8 Z is a fantastic lens. Glad to hear that you enjoy it. I misspoke about the Grand Central, I know that it’s at the 42nd, I don’t know why I said on the 9th, probably because I was heading towards the B&H. Good catch my friend. Enjoy your Z6II.

@fabianaantunes8149 10 ай бұрын

@intrinsicimagery Жыл бұрын

Great content as usual, but there is a serious video quality issue with this upload. I checked both on my TV and iMac, and the image quality is awful.

@thodorisi.2889 Жыл бұрын

just wait some minutes. its because youtube compressing the video to different resolutions

@keithbender9602 Жыл бұрын

Agreed!!

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

Yes, I must have just upload and KZfaq was doing its magic with frame rates. It’s good now.

@photographydiscourse1185 Жыл бұрын

Hi Touch Life - I love your idea to use the Peak Design Leash on the center of the camera and not on the side - I have the leash and never use it as I constantly just hold the camera in my hand and find that the leash is in the way of the controls, but trying it this way I see that it is now just a safety just in case of a slip or the camera getting bumped or something so I think I too will use the leash going forward in the manner you suggest when just walking around. At weddings and events, I will likely still not use it is as I use two Peak Design clips and switch between camera bodies on the fly - there is no time to unhook the leash - but when carrying one camera, I think what you suggest is the way to go. With respect to the 70-200 2.8 S vs a 105 1.4 - I have been shooting with both of these lenses for years. For portraiture the 105 1.4 is the more impressive lens but if I had to have only one it would be the 70-200 for its obvious versatility. It is useful in so many situations. At weddings, I typically shoot two bodies - one with a 35mm 1.8 S and that other with the 85mm 1.8 S - occasionally, I might use a 28mm and 50mm combo - but for the ceremony specifically, I stand at the back of the church and shoot up the aisle and use the 70-200mm 2.8 S - for this it is outstanding and you can switch to DX to get really tight close ups on things like ring exchange and first kiss etc. This all said, and in spite of how great this lens is (the 70-200 2.8 S), it is larger and heavier - the weight doesn't bother me much but the size poses problems in a small bag and for this reason I have been considering the new 70-180 2.8 Nikon (white labeled Tamron), It is 40% lighter and more importantly smaller and has the added bonus of being a 1:2 macro. This means it would be much easier to carry around to use in the ceremony and could also be used for detail shots as well further adding to its wedding utility. I know that it is not 'as good' as the 70-200 2.8 S but I doubt there will be many (if any) clients that can tell the difference. I will not (never) get rid of my 70-200 2.8 S as it has other use cases for me, but I may retire it from weddings for these reasons - we shall see. On a separate note, I am not sure why you are favoring the Sigma 105 1.4 over the Nikon. The Nikon is the better choice for several reasons: first it is a native (more native anyway) lens for the system. More importantly, it is smaller and lighter than the Sigma by quite a bit. It uses 82mm filters as opposed to the whopping 105mm filters (I believe this is from memory) on the Sigma. Simply put, it fits in the bad much better than the Sigma and won't limit what else you can bring nearly as much as the Sigma. In fact, this is the reason that I find myself still bringing the 105 1.4 E lens when I travel over the new 85mm 1.2 S lens - the 85mm is simply so big that it limits what else I can bring in the bag much more than the Nikon 105 1.4 and the image output is very similar. I love them both and use them both, but I still find that the 105 1.4 E has a place and I will not be getting rid of it. Also, it works natively with the FTZ adapter - better than it did on the DSLR as it now has the added benefits of 3 axis image stabilization and of course focus points across the screen - works like a charm. It will also continue to work with new cameras and firmware iterations because it is a Nikon lens - the Sigma will inevitably need firmware updates to keep up. Furthermore, the Sigma is somewhat of a soulless lens - it is very clinical - very sharp but lacking character. The Nikon is less sharp (but only by a hair when pixel peeping) by f/4 there is no difference - but as I say the sharpness difference is so minute that it is barely worth mentioning, but the Nikon has so much character. It has that "je ne said quoi" aspect to it that is undefinable but you know it when you see it - the Sigma just doesn't have the same 'look'. All of this with the fact that it travels so much better than the Sigma and I think it is literally a no brainer. Of course, nothing compares to the 200mm f/2 but that is crazy big and heavy and a different animal (not good for traveling at all - obviously). Just thought I would give you my 2 cents. -PD

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

Thanks PD for sharing your experience on Sigma and Nikon 105 1.2. I’m really on a fence between the two lenses. I have noticed from many reviewers that sigma is/was a better alternative to image quality but, I agree with you, weight can be a factor. And if lens is not used much it doesn’t add much value to my work. So I have to think about that. As far as the peak design strap, yeah, I don’t know why it wasn’t advertised that attachment at the bottom is much more convenient to hold and carry the camera is it does not obstruct your ability to hold the camera. The 70-200 is a beautiful lens. It is too early for me to do my review on it as I want to have it used under different circumstances. And yes, it is on a heavy side especially paired with the Z9.

@photographydiscourse1185 Жыл бұрын

@@TouchLifeStudio Hi again, agreed to all you say. To reiterate my thoughts on the lenses, the Sigma's IQ is not really better than the Nikon's (comparing the two 105 1.4's). To clarify, when pixel peeping the Sigma may have a slight edge in sharpness, but this is VERY slight - and likely irrelevant to real world application. Also we are talking about sharpness at very fast apertures like 1.4-2 or so, by 2.8 they are probably the same and by f/4 there are going to be indistinguishable. This 'softness' at fast aperture, which isn't soft at all is likely preferable for a portrait lens and is what likely contributes to the much better character of the lens versus the Sigma. The Sigma is a bit sterile and the Nikon renders beautiful images that are somewhat unique. This on top of the fact that the Nikon fits much more easily in the bag (it is much more pleasant and fun to shoot with than the Sigma). The additional fact that it is (for all intents and purposes) a native lens - meaning it is a Nikon lens so firmware is guaranteed to jibe with it going forward - makes the Nikon the 'no-brainer' option between these two for users of the Z system. Also, if price is the issue as the Nikon is like $600 more than the Sigma new, you can get the Nikon in nice condition used these days for a price closer to the Sigma. I think you would be making a mistake to get the Sigma over the Nikon - I think you would end up using the Sigma much less than you would use the Nikon if for no other reason than the Sigma is so big and hard to travel with - this alone is reason enough to get the Nikon. That said, I guarantee you that the Nikon will not disappoint you and that you will find yourself reaching for it often. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best lenses Nikon has produced and remains so even today against the outstanding Z S line series of lenses. Simply put, you will not regret getting the Nikon 105 1.4 E lens, but I would bet that you would ultimately regret getting the Sigma 105 1.4 as you would find yourself shying away from its use due to its unfortunate form factor. More food for thought... -PD

@TouchLifeStudio Жыл бұрын

@@photographydiscourse1185, you are killing me!!! Now I feel convinced that I need to go for Nikon version. My camera bag is already heavy enough, so whatever is going to help me lessen the weight and reach for the right tool is what I need. Although, I have to correct myself, I’m in a position to capture good images and content, at this point it’s more of a want, not so much a need. Again, thanks for sharing. I learned a lot from you.

@photographydiscourse1185 Жыл бұрын

@@TouchLifeStudio My pleasure. I can guarantee that you will not regret going with the Nikon should you decide to get a 105 1.4 portrait lens. I'll be interested to know what you decide if you go forward :)