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Nikon D6 · Nikon USA press photograph with AF-S 24–70mm VR lens; lens is not part of body specifications

Nikon D6
Photo 1 of 22

Nikon D6 · Nikon USA press photograph with AF-S 24–70mm VR lens; lens is not part of body specifications

Nikon · Nikon DSLR

D6

Released June 2020

A 20.8-megapixel full-frame professional DSLR with 105 cross-type autofocus points, 14 fps tracking and integrated networking.

Model history · 4 models, 2012–2020
  1. 2012D4Compare
  2. 2014D4SCompare
  3. 2016D5Compare
  4. 2020D6
Type
DSLR
Sensor
Full frame
Megapixels
20.8
Lens
Nikon F mount
Video
3840 × 2160 at 30 fps
Body weight
1270 g

What reviewers say

Both praise fast viewfinder autofocus, low-light image quality, durable handling and improved connectivity, while criticising bulk and weak live-view focusing. Photography Blog sees a dependable evolution and its working photographer questions upgrading from D5. Digital Camera World finds excellent action stills but poor video autofocus, restricted AF coverage and stronger competing systems for buyers without existing Nikon equipment.

From photographyblog.com and digitalcameraworld.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Image and sensor

Camera type
DSLR
Sensor format
Full frame
Sensor type
CMOS
Sensor dimensions
35.9 × 23.9 mm
Effective resolution
20.8 MP
Largest image
5568 × 3712
RAW recording
Yes
Standard ISO range
100–102400
Sensor detail
Japan specifies 20.82 million effective and 21.33 million total pixels, rounded to 20.8 million effective globally; sensor-cleaning system. FX, 1.2×, DX, 5:4, 1:1 and 16:9 image areas
Image formats
Large NEF RAW at 12 or 14 bits with lossless compression, compression or no compression; medium and small RAW fixed to 12-bit lossless compression. JPEG and RAW plus JPEG; separate JPEG plus JPEG recording with different size/quality settings; Flat and Creative Picture Controls
ISO detail
Expanded equivalents ISO 50–3280000; Auto ISO
Image processor
EXPEED 6; Advanced Scene Recognition System

Lens and shooting

Lens mount
Nikon F mount
Stabilisation
Optical lens stabilisation
Maximum continuous burst
14 fps
Lens detail
Compatible G/E/D AF NIKKOR lenses, subject to PC lens restrictions; body autofocus motor for compatible screw-drive lenses. Non-CPU AI lenses support aperture-priority/manual; non-AI, IX and F3AF lenses unsupported; DX lenses use the DX image area
Autofocus
Multi-CAM 37K; 105 selectable cross-type points, including 15 f/8-compatible points. Centre sensitivity -4.5 EV and other points -4 EV at ISO 100, 20°C. Single-point, dynamic 9/25/49/105, 3D tracking, Group-area and auto-area; 17 custom Group-area patterns; eye-priority focusing in auto-area and 3D tracking. Live view uses contrast detection with AF-S/AF-F
Shutter
1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; manual exposures extend to 900 seconds; flash sync 1/250 second; electronic front-curtain and electronic shutter options
Burst detail
Approximately 14 fps mechanical with full AF/AE tracking under Nikon's AF-C, S/M, 1/250-second-or-faster test conditions. Silent full-resolution live-view shooting up to 10.5 fps; separate reduced-resolution live-view modes approximately 30 fps at 8 megapixels or 60 fps at 2 megapixels
Stabilisation detail
Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation; electronic movie vibration reduction available
Flash
No built-in flash; hot shoe and threaded PC sync terminal; optical/radio Nikon CLS with compatible external Speedlights and required accessories
Exposure controls
P/S/A/M; 180000-pixel RGB viewfinder metering with Colour Matrix Metering III, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted modes; ±5 EV stills or ±3 EV video compensation; Active D-Lighting

Video

Highest video resolution
3840 × 2160 at 30 fps
Video detail
H.264 MOV/MP4 at 4K 30p/25p/24p, Full HD 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p and 720p 60p/50p; actual NTSC rates 59.94/29.97/23.976. Nikon identifies 4K as 1.5× crop and native 1920 × 1080 crop as 3.0×; the latter supports 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p. Maximum recording 29 minutes 59 seconds; 4K up to 144 Mbps; timecode and in-camera time-lapse movies. Cards over 32 GB formatted in-camera allow files over 4 GB without splitting
Audio
Built-in stereo microphone; 3.5 mm stereo microphone input and headphone output; adjustable sensitivity and attenuator; linear PCM for MOV or AAC for MP4; photograph voice memos

Screen and viewfinder

Viewfinder
Optical
Screen size
3.2″
Screen dots
2,359,000
Touchscreen
Yes
Display detail
Fixed touch TFT with 170° viewing angle, approximately 100% coverage, 11-level manual brightness and colour adjustment; touch priority image transfer with Ethernet or optional WT-6 connection. Global specifies 2359000 dots, Japan rounds to 2360000; dots count subpixels
Viewfinder detail
Pentaprism; approximately 100% FX coverage; 0.72× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity; 17 mm eyepoint; grid overlay

Connections and design

Wi-Fi
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Battery life (maker's claim)
3580 photographs
Body weight
1270 g
Release detail
Nikon Japan records sale on 5 June 2020 after postponements from March to May and then June; the original US announcement's April plan is not an actual retail date. Nikon's Japanese announcement explicitly identifies D5 as the previous model
Recording media
Two slots each accepting CFexpress Type B or XQD; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG, separate JPEG/JPEG and card copying
Ports
USB Type-C with SuperSpeed USB, mini-HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone/headphone sockets, RJ-45 Ethernet with 10/100/1000BASE-T support, ten-pin accessory terminal, PC sync and WT-6 expansion connector; Kensington security lock compatibility
Wireless connections
Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and SnapBridge; 5 GHz availability depends on region and station mode. Integrated GPS/GLONASS/QZSS positioning, unavailable in some regions; optional WT-6 transmitter for network transfer
Battery life detail
EN-EL18c; approximately 3580 CIPA single-frame photographs, 8670 continuous photographs under Nikon's separate test and 105 minutes of CIPA movie battery life. EN-EL18b/18a/18 also supported, with lower endurance using original EN-EL18
Charging
External MH-26a charger; optional EH-6c adapter with EP-6 power connector
Dimensions
Approximately 160 × 163 × 92 mm
Weight detail
Approximately 1270 g body only; 1450 g with battery and two CFexpress cards, excluding body cap and shoe cover
Materials
Magnesium-alloy body; dust/drip-resistant construction; illuminated controls
In the box
EN-EL18c battery, MH-26a charger, UC-E24 USB cable, AN-DC22 strap, DK-27 eyepiece adapter, DK-17F eyepiece, BF-1B body cap, BS-3 shoe cover, BL-6 battery cover and HDMI/USB cable clip

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Full-resolution 14 fps shooting with autofocus and exposure tracking
  • All 105 autofocus points are selectable and cross-type
  • Integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, positioning and Gigabit Ethernet

Cons

  • Fixed screen and contrast-detection live-view autofocus
  • 4K video limited to 30p with a crop
  • Large body weighing 1270 g before battery and cards

Closest rivals

Model
TypeSensorMegapixelsLensVideoBody weightReleased
CanonEOS-1D X Mark III
DSLRFull frame20.1Canon EF5472 × 2886 at 59.94 fps1250 gFeb 2020
NikonD780
DSLRFull frame24.5Nikon F mount3840 × 2160 at 29.97 fps755 gJan 2020
PENTAXK-1 Mark II
DSLRFull frame36.4PENTAX KAF2 bayonet mount1920 × 1080 at 30 fps925 gApr 2018

Previous model: D5.

Sources

  1. nij.nikon.com/products/lineup/slr/d6/spec.html
  2. nij.nikon.com/products/lineup/slr/d6
  3. imaging.nikon.com/imaging/lineup/dslr/d6
  4. nikonusa.com/p/d6/1624/overview
  5. jp.nikon.com/company/news/2020/0212_d6_01
  6. nikonusa.com/press-room/nikon-d6

Photo: Nikon USA press photograph with AF-S 24–70mm VR lens; lens is not part of body specifications

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