Nikon Z6 II vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z6 II and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2, 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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 was introduced in January 2012. 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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has a 2.70" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Nikon Z6 II very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Nikon Z6 II also features 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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2.

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. Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 features a 14.1 megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor with dimensions of 6.08 x 4.56 mm and a total area of 20.8 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400.

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.

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. Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 can take pictures up to 4320 x 3240 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4320 x 2880, 4320 x 2432, 3648 x 2736, 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (5 stops of compensation in Nikon Z6 II). On Nikon Z6 II it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it 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 on Nikon Z6 II

Nikon Z6 II has a 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 on Nikon Z6 II

Nikon Z6 II has a built-in Bluetooth 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 inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z6 II comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 410 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). Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z6 II has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z6 II, and up to 1/1600 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2. Nikon Z6 II can shoot continuously up to 14.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 can shoot continuously up to 1.5 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z6 II has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 273 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has 23 focusing points. Nikon Z6 II has detection range from -6 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z6 II ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z6 II and ±2 range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z6 II and exposure bracketing on Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 3.30 m. Nikon Z6 II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z6 II.

Nikon Z6 II body has dimensions of 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 body has dimensions of 98 x 57 x 21 mm (3.86 x 2.24 x 0.83"). Nikon Z6 II weighs 705 g (1.55 lb / 24.87 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 weighs 112 g (0.25 lb / 3.95 oz).

Nikon Z6 II

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2

134 mm

101 mm

98 mm

57 mm

101 mm

57 mm

70 mm

21 mm