Nikon Z6 III Review: A Little Rough Around the Edges!

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Thanks to Westcott, PetaPixel's preferred lighting partner! Product featured:

L60B Constant Light:
NP-F Battery Grip:

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The Nikon Z6 III with its partially stacked full frame sensor is easily one of the most exciting cameras in years! We finally got our hands on a full production model to do some extensive tests of image quality, autofocus, video quality, and more!

0:00 - Intro
1:50 - Sample Images
2:25 - Image Quality
6:16 - Shutter Modes
7:38 - Autofocus
9:55 - Video Performance
14:32 - How does it compare?

[robert_may]

I think my first comment might have gotten clobbered by the filters 😅 I just wanted to say thank you again for taking the time to actually do your own testing and respond to my report of the flickering issue - you weren't the only larger channel/publication I contacted but you were the only ones to reply, and I respect that a lot. Here's hoping Nikon can figure out a fix or workaround for it 🤞

[alandyer]

I’ve been testing the Z6III for Astro work and it’s performed very well. It less forgiving of under exposure than its predecessors, so no more than about -3EV under exposure in the shadows. Any more and lifting the shadows produces quite a bit of noise. The Z6 could tolerate -4EV under exposure. The features for night use - Starlight View and the red menu option - are great. And it’ll autofocus on stars. So expose well and the lower dynamic range isn’t an issue.

[steventhomas]

Im hoping they bring out a z5 ii with the same spec as the zf. I dont want a faster shooting camera like the z6iii, camera just better af.

[salamanca]

The lighting does make for superb footage in this video. Excellent job, Chris and Jordan!!

[matthieuzglurg]

Now you guys need to make a comparison with the Zf, especially on the video and dynamic range fronts

[testcams]

@12:42, The Z6 III video flicker issue that Robert May discovered and reported is not unique to High ISO. It occurs at base N-Log ISO of 800 and is visible on Resolve's scopes without any shadow pushing. It starts to become visible in the shadows at approximately +2EV of boosting, and gets progressively worse from there. It's not a noise issue - it's an issue with slight variations in the black level between frames, which manifests as random brightness changes, which we perceive as flickering. I do a technical analysis of this in my Z6 III vs Z8 N-RAW Noise comparison video, where I demonstrate how the Z8 never exhibits the issue even with extreme levels of shadow adjustment. This problem is new and unique to the Z6 III's sensor.

[mwaithephoto]

I just got my Z6III a few days ago. and Ive genuinely enjoyed it. Love the video Ive gotten out of it and the images are very clean even SOOC jpgs. I havent taken it out for every condition ill find myself in but i see myself sunsetting my z7II and getting a second z6III despite the HDR not being as good but realistically im not pushing my shadows or highlights anything crazy so noise hasnt been a issue at all

[Zacheldridge]

I think this is a great camera as an upgrade for Z6ii.

That said I chose to get a 2nd z8 instead of waiting for z6iii. I’d highly recommend waiting til z8 hits a good sale and go that way instead.

[bk]

Sandisks are known to run hot. You Delkin Black is a known cool running card.

There’s a lot of other new cards on the market (eg all the PcieG4 stuff) that I don’t know if people have tested temps while recording video, so that might be interesting to look at.

[aldiosmio]

About damn time! With people upgrading to the Z6iii, I can finally get a used Z6ii/7ii with its 900s extended interval for my astroshoot.

[livejames]

Pro Tip: If you’re worried or having issues with about blocked shots, get out of 3D tracking. The blocked refocus settings (delayed) don’t take affect in 3d tracking.

Oh and don’t use sandisk cards.

[vlcheish]

5:30 LMAO the westcott add inserted into the middle of the video reminds me of waynes world with the add reads

[jbtubman]

Great review; the comparisons to the Canon and Sony competitors seemed fair and balanced to me. (BTW I saw Jordan at the Calgary Folk Music Festival and was hoping to see some more video from that event; I guess there was a couple of seconds of The Roots that looked good.)

[supergearland]

I would love a direct comparison to the original Z6, I think many people like me skipped the second gen and are considering a potential upgrade now that this one is out

[garykinard]

Cha Ching, you guys have evolved into the best. Enjoy your success. Cannot wait until the Canon R5II review is ready.

[audamus]

Nikon Z6 iii in Germany is priced at 3000€. Z8 was 3900€ at that time. Buying the Z8 instead of the Z6 iii was a nobrainer for me.

[NotAnotherChannel_Channel]

Still seems like a pretty amazing camera. I am seriously considering the Z8 but this one seems to tick a lot of the same boxes for my use. But I do love cropping though.

Great review.

[noenken]

11:45 The Sandisk cards get extremely hot, yes. I don't buy those anymore, I have 1TB and 512GB Sabrent cards in use and they hardly get hand warm. Something is wrong with the sandisks, I think.

[bill]

It’s about time there was a “buy me a coffee” option to reward you two (and now three) for all your great work over the years

[vincentbach]

I’ve upgraded my z6ii one month ago, and am happy. The viewfinder is very nice, and the autofocus definitely worth the switch, for street photo, and for bird photography with the 3D tracking. I’ve not seen much difference in image quality