Let’s face it; in the pro and not-so-pro camera world, it is like Holden v Ford, Coke v Pepsi or Apple v PC. In cameras it’s pretty much Canon v Nikon, and I think I am safe in saying that if you are a Canon person, then you have little or no interest in what Nikon might bring out – and vice versa for that matter.
Of course I could be wrong, and if so, I am sure I will be told by readers and very loudly.
Moving right along though, Nikon fans will know that the top-of-the-range model is the Z9, a $10K beast of a camera, and just below that is the $7.5K Z8, which I have seen described “a mini Z9” as it contains all the best bits of the Z9 but in a smaller body. It has also been said this new Z6 III is a mini-Z8, and I can see where they are coming from. It has many of the Z8 features, again in a smaller body, and again, at a lower price. Around $3900 in fact.
Stand Out
There are some stand out features to me. Possibly the most important is the Auto Focus 3D system where an object moving towards you will stay in focus automatically. For example, in my shooting of motorsport, when using a burst mode, if the car is coming towards you as is common, then all the frames in the burst will stay in focus.
Additionally, using the LCD touch screen, while shooting you can drag your finger over the LCD to change the autofocus sensor point.
The Z6 III has a new sensor too and apparently this has removed an annoyance some folks had with the viewfinder in earlier models. It seems that when using high frame rates there was a “stuttering” effect, and this is now minimised. I’ve not seen it myself, but I’ll take their word for it.
Considering my interest in astrophotography, one feature did catch my eye, and I hope to use it in the near future (the day the Z6 III arrived the clouds rolled in). This feature is called “Starlight View” and allows you to set the exposure time all the way up to 15-minutes. This makes it ideal for using on a device like the Move, Shoot, Move star tracker, and once I have a clear night, I’ll publish some shots.
I am still not a huge proponent of this style of camera for video work – but that’s maybe just me – but if that is your thing, you’ll be pleased to know Nikon has added separate mic and headphone ports.
The networking capability has been beefed up too as you can send images from the camera to a local Wi-fi system.
Ergonomics
All camera manufacturers have had ample time to iron out any creases they may have had in the ergonomics of their models, so any changes these days are quite minor.
The Z6 III feels quite meaty and the grip for the right hand is generous. To me, the balance did seem a little left side heavy, but this would be something you’d get used to.
The physical controls – dials, knobs switches etc – are all where you would expect them to be, fall easily under the hand to make changes and are clearly marked. One nice feature is a small button to the right of the top mounted LCD panel to turn on intertnal illumination.
Storage is to either CF or SD card, and these are accessed through a side hatch thankfully, meaning you can stay on a tripod to change cards. The battery is bottom mounted but far enough away from the mounting point to be accessible if you are on a tripod or monopod.
The headphone and mic ports are on the left side of the camera under rubber covers and alongside these are ports for HDMI, USB-C and external shutter release.
Both the LCD screen – which tilts and swivels – and the viewfinder and crackers, being clear and bright. In super bright sunlight however, the LCD did wash out quite markedly.
Conclusion
As I said, I don’t think any amount of coaxing or coercion would get say, a Canon owner to buy the Nikon Z6 III. But, if you currently just use a smartphone, or perhaps a GoPro and want to jump up to mirrorless land with a decent camera, the Z6 might be just the perfect fit.
NIKKOR lenses are legendary and there are lots of options there to choose from letting you get brilliant imagery for sport, wildlife, landscape or portrait photography Likewise, if you have an older Nikon and want to get hold of the latest and greatest technology in a mirrorless, again the Z6 III is a great choice.
I particularly liked the layout of the Z6 III, and a non-mirrorless user would quite quickly pick up the best way to use this camera under their specific circumstances.
As always though, I suggest you go and see the camera physically and try and have a play. Nothing beats actually pressing the shutter release, seeing if the controls are to your placement preference and you like the way the menus are laid out among other factors.
I cannot really fault the Nikon Z6 III, but I also understand the smallest things can turn you off a camera (or anything else for that matter), and you only discover this by picking the camera up.
