Nikon introduced on Wednesday its next generation of mirrorless cameras with the announcement of the Z6 II and Z7 II. The models are identical in terms of body and sizing, but they improve some key features that many were concerned about with the first generation, we’ll dive into the details. The announcement comes on the news that a sports/wildlife-oriented Z9 is on the horizon too.

The question is whether or not the improvements warrant an upgrade for current Z6 and Z7 users, and what this means for Nikon DSLR users looking to make the transition to mirrorless?

The new announcement increases the competition between Nikon, Sony, and Canon. All have released exciting new cameras this year and more are in store for the future. Nikon and Canon, especially, have some very exciting lenses in the pipeline too. I have noted this in previous articles, but the mount sizing used by Nikon and Canon allows for innovative lens engineering and it gives them an edge moving forward.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost two years since the Z6 and Z7 were released, representing Nikon’s first foray into the mirrorless market. As with any first-gen product, the two cameras had shortcomings, but they are both remarkably good cameras. The Z6 has turned into one of the best hybrid cameras on the market and the Z7 is a D850 mirrorless clone.

The biggest gripes with the models were autofocus performance, lack of dual card slots and a few other minor features. The mark II models address those issues. The new cameras are priced competitively too, as many thought that they would be considerably more expensive than the mark I cameras, but they are actually in the same price range as the current cameras.