Nikon Z6 III real life review: autofocus, high ISO, useability and video performance

Download some of the RAW photos here:

[OkwyUgonweze]

You can already do the autofocus style you are asking.Just assign your back button to your most instinctive and trusted af mode and then assign your shutter to 3D or customize C1 or C2 the size you felt appropriate and assign to the shutter button or the af on button.
Though I will love nikon to bring the "switch af" that is found in the Z8 and 9 to the Z6iii.

[photographydiscourse]

Nice video - a few comments though:

With respect to your criticism that the eye track should take over one you put the box on the person there is a reason that this does NOT happen. That is because the point of the box is to be able to quicly select different targets - if the box disappeared and the eye tracking took over you would not be able to switch to another target easily.

What you are looking for is the use of subject detect with 3D tracking mode as you do later in the video. In 3D tracking with subject eye detect turned on you can select a target with the box and then the eye detect will take over until you let off the AF/shutter button - in this way you can select a target and then let the eye detect track around the frame.

What you have described is not a bug - it is a feature and a good one.

Also, you can set function buttons all over the camera to activate any AF focus mode including 3D - so if you want 3D to activate when you hit OK you can - it is much better to do this with the AF ON button however - then the shutter button can be ALL Area which you can immediately override with the AF ON button.
-PD

[patrickmcmahon]

Very good review hitting a lot of the new features and how to apply them. I bought my Z6III the first day it came out to replace the original Z6 due to the frustrating auto focus. This camera backs up my Z9 and I’m so happy I can just about set up both cameras the same so it’s seamless to go from one to another during an event. I really hope Nikon is listening to some of your suggestions cause you’re spot on. Gonna check some of your other videos now.

[cameraz]

Great video. I have a Z6 II, but I purchased a Z6 III because I shoot a lot of events in poor lighting. The III can lock on focus where the II can't.

[Blitz_Shorts]

Really can't decide between Z8 and Z6iii for my next camera. I really need high MPs for wildlife, but Z6iii has some cool features that I'd love to have(except for the screen, I love the Z8 screen more). My Z5 will become backup and travel camera. BTW at 14:30 your shots are less in focus because of the lens. That's why there is 70-200 F2.8 S lens it has better AF motor. 70-180 has slower AF motor from the tests.

[CofFDnSnaps]

It is shocking to me how hard it has been to find a video that explains and shows how the 3D tracking actually works. Thank you for this

[yervandpapazyan]

Hello Sir. Please if it is possible can you make a full review of the Nikon FTZ Mark II adapter, on YouTube no one has a real informative review of this product. it will be interesting to see how F-mount lenses from any brand can perform on a Nikon Z mount Camera, how accurate the autofocus is how fast is it, and so on. I think it will be interesting for a lot of people because right now a lot of people are considering buying a Nikon mirrorless camera but Nikon does not offer affordable Z-mount lenses and also there are no real good alternative lenses from other brands like Sigma or Tamron. for example, you can find a lot of perfect lenses for Sony E mount like the latest Sigma24-70mm f/2.8 mark II lens. to make a long story short You know better than me that you can find a lot of good half-price lenses for E mount but not for R mount or Z mount and there are a lot of people including myself want to know if we can buy Nikon Mirrorless camera and adapt F mount lenses without any problem with FTZ adapter and be happy.

[Adrian_Ward]

Could we have a Z6 iii setup guide please

[wilkbor]

This is a good review. I have the Z50 and, for my needs, the autofocus works well enough in most cases. I don't generally focus on fast moving subjects, so my needs are pretty basic. The Z50 autofocus struggles, however, in low light. (I switch to manual focus and it works OK here). I'm happy to see the Z6 iii is more capable in this area.

[mrbadventures]

The 3d traking you can set to use the display button and then use the af on button to normal focus. And I then also use the fn1 button to single point auto focus. So I have 3 different buttons to autofocus. No need to go into any menu to change autofocus modes.

[stigfloberghagenphotography]

Nice. Thinking of this now as my Nikon Z6 1 has done its part

[bobabout]

I reassign the front F1 button to playback solving the problem of top left on older versions. Agree this better, “out of the box” but can the playback on Z6 iii playback be customised?
Still has the non locked card slot door I notice.

[LOLAifyable]

After working with a rental Z6 III, I am not sure Nikon chose wisely going without mechanical shutter for the Z8 / Z9, it proved very useful when working on terrible fluorescent ligting, something my Z9 struggles no matter what setting.
The AF was good, but it did strigle in some situations that I think the Z9 would find focus.
Overall great camera, I may add one at the begining of next year.

[AlistairOwensgooglePlus]

With the small dog running that you had problems with AF, you were not using animal AF. You had it on auto.

[nigerian-nightmare]

What is the point of tracking the eye inside a box and then moving the box? The eye tracking without the box is already doing the job.

[doogieham]

Nice overview, Miklos. I really like how the screen information shifts to vertical display when shooting in portrait mode.

[maxmalinen]

Thank you for the excellent review. I was blown away by the Z8's ability to track the border collie's face in your other video. I was expecting (hoping) close to same performance by the Nikon Z6III, but was somewhat taken aback by what you were able to show from your video, as the autofocus seemed a bit erratic / was initially slow to find the dog's face. The fact that the dog's eyes are not as clearly visible as in the Z8 video may impact this.

Have you had the chance to do any more testing or gain additional experience in this regard? I am looking to upgrade from Nikon Z6, and taking pictures of dogs running (usually straight towards the camera) is one of my favorite sort of pictures to take. And this is an absolute chore with the Z6, which required single point focusing with unreliable results. It seems the Z8 is well capable of this, but I am just wondering how short the Z6 III will fall from the Z8s performance. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[klongloff]

I'm still a bit confused about all of the autofocus options, and maybe there is an idea for another video or two here.

One question I have is if it's faster and easier to use User Profiles settings instead of custom buttons to switch focus modes?

I'd love to hear the pros and cons of doing that, if it's possible to do that.

For me, I mostly shoot street photography (people, sometimes 1-3 in frame, sometimes more) and then landscapes and architecture.

Would it make sense to just have one User Profile for single-point autofocus, where not much is moving in the frame and where I pick the focus point and then re-compose, and then to have U2 be "I need to track a moving object" that has 3D tracking on, with human-face recognition?

Also, would love to see a video about using the camera display to select a focus point. Isn't that faster in some cases?

Would also like to see a discussion of when or if to use the joystick vs locking focus by pressing shutter halfway down. When do you use the joystick?

[Buhis]

Thanks for the good review! How did you calculate the IBIS stops though? With 70mm if you compare to 1/80 shutter speed, the 0.4s is about 5 stops (not 8).

[sibasishmohanty]

Great in-depth video. Which is good new z6iii or at same price used z8 for all types of photography.