Nikon Z6 II vs Nikon Z30

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z6 II and the Nikon Z30, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z6 II was introduced in October 2020 and Nikon Z30 was introduced in June 2022. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z6 II over Nikon Z30.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z30 over Nikon Z6 II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z6 II has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 2,100k dot resolution and Nikon Z30 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,040k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Nikon Z6 II very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Fully articulated screen makes Nikon Z30 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Electronic Viewfinder on Nikon Z6 II

Nikon Z6 II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.80x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Nikon Z30.

Nikon Z6 II features a 24.5 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Nikon Z30 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode.

Nikon Z6 II has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon Z6 II is equipped with Dual EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 6048 x 4024 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2624 (DX crop), 4016 x 4016 (1:1), 6048 x 3400 (16:9) with 1:1, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Nikon Z30 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Nikon Z lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Nikon Z6 II its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon Z30 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon Z30

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z30. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Nikon Z6 II

Nikon Z6 II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Nikon Z6 II and Nikon Z30 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 on Nikon Z30) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Nikon Z6 II has a Mini HDMI and Nikon Z30 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z6 II comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 410 shots and Nikon Z30 comes with EN-EL25 battery pack with battery life of 330 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z6 II has two card slots - one for CFexpress Type B / XQD and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II). Nikon Z30 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z6 II and Nikon Z30 have Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z6 II, and up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon Z30. Nikon Z6 II can shoot continuously up to 14.0 fps. Nikon Z30 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z6 II has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 273 focusing points and Nikon Z30 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 209 focusing points. Nikon Z6 II has detection range from -6 to +19 EV and Nikon Z30 has detection range from -4.5 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Both cameras' exposure metering ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z6 II and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z30.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on both cameras.

Nikon Z6 II body has dimensions of 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76") and Nikon Z30 body has dimensions of 128 x 74 x 60 mm (5.04 x 2.91 x 2.36"). Nikon Z6 II weighs 705 g (1.55 lb / 24.87 oz) and Nikon Z30 weighs 405 g (0.89 lb / 14.29 oz).

Nikon Z6 II

Nikon Z30

134 mm

101 mm

128 mm

74 mm

101 mm

74 mm

70 mm

60 mm