The Best Event Photography Cameras By Nikon

If you're looking for the best event photography cameras by Nikon then you've come to the right place. As an event photographer with 20 plus years experience I rely on my Nikons to get the shot every time. In my experience my Nikon cameras have always delivered incredible event photography results.

The Best Nikon Cameras For Events

I do a wide variety of events and the best event photography cameras by Nikon, in my opinion are the D850 and the Z6, Z7, and Z9 series of cameras. While I've not gotten a chance to try the Z9 the fact that it was put through it's paces at the Olympics tells me enough.

Event Photography With The Nikon D850

I've had my Nikon D850 for a number of years and doing event photography with this camera is a dream. Here are the things I believe set the D850 apart from the competition:

1. Amazing dynamic range
2. Great high-ISO performance
3. A solid frame rate and write speed
4. Incredible auto-focus tracking
5. So many programable function buttons

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Nikon D850 Event Pros

As I've said there are so many pros to the Nikon D850 when it comes to event photography. The dynamic range means that I rarely worry about blown shadows or highlights. The high ISO performance means I can rely on the D850 even in low light or high action settings. Too, the frame rate and write speed always deliver enough shots that I don't worry about missing fast action.

Read my guide to back button focus.

I rarely miss focus with the great auto-focus tracking in the D850. When you add in the number of programable buttons that I've set up for different focus settings it's really an unbeatable DSLR. This is the best event photography DSLR that I've ever shot with.

D850 Cons

About the only cons I can give the D850 for event photography relate to it being a DSLR and not a mirrorless camera. The clunk of the mirror, lack of focus peeking, and other advantages of mirrorless bodies are the only cons I can think of. I can't wait for a proper mirrorless replacement for the D850. I know the Z9 is close but there are still a few things missing.

Nikon Z Series For Event Photography

Nikon's Z series cameras do a great job when it comes to event photography. Specifically I'm talking about the second series of the Z6II and Z7II along with the Z9. I haven't shot with a Z9 so I'm not going to talk about it in depth. I have used both a Z6II and Z7II so I will talk about them.

Pros of Mirrorless Cameras For Events

Mirrorless cameras have a lot of pros when it comes to event photography. The biggest benefit is the ability to use a silent shutter while still using the viewfinder. Some DSLRs come with a silent shutter but you can't use the viewfinder (for somewhat obvious reasons).

Another great benefit of mirrorless cameras is focus peaking. During events you'll often need to ensure that you're getting two subjects in focus. With a DSLR you can often check your depth of field. To do this, you need to close down your aperture. If it's dark, closing your aperture down may make it too dark to see anything let alone if your subjects are both in focus.

Cons of Mirrorless Cameras For Event Photography

The biggest con of mirrorless cameras when it comes to events is that they still struggle is low-light. This isn't an issue of poor ISO performance as much as it is the ability to process and show the scene in low light. No matter if you're using your viewfinder or the screen in low-light situations the ability to resolve the scene is difficult.

Beyond this low light issue mirrorless cameras like the Z6II and Z7II stand up well when it comes to event photography.