Nikon made many waves this summer with the announcement of the Nikon Z6III, a full-frame camera that acts as the successor in the Z6 line of cameras. Through our ongoing review series, we conducted a full review (linked here) discussing the many technical advancements in this camera, including video samples. This article, however, will discuss my experiences with the Nikon Z6III.
Earlier this year, I similarly reviewed the Nikon Zf, which reportedly was one of the best selling cameras in the 2023 fiscal year, causing massive order backups. I eventually made a purchase of the Zf, and it has quickly become a massive part of my daily life. When I received the Nikon Z6III, I spent a few days as I would with the Zf, taking it with me to work, to my friend’s house, to the park, to the railway tracks, and other places I frequently photograph at. I wanted to see in what ways the Z6III was similar to my Zf, but also what key differences there were. In particular, Nikon, in their reveal, made a point of emphasis on subject detection improvements with this camera.
Nikon Z6III in my hands
To start off, let me talk about how it felt to hold the Z6III. I am used to holding the retro Zf, which, honestly, is not the easiest to hold. However, I own 2 analog film cameras which are similar to the Zf in shape, so I am quite used to the Zf retro-style camera body. However, immediately holding the Z6III, I feel they built the camera with the user in mind. The CFexpress card slot is immediately behind the grip area. Though it may get caught on the strap, its positioning made it accessible too. The weight was roughly the same as my Zf, maybe a little lighter. It fit right into my hands.
For the review, Nikon leant me their vaunted 24-120/4 zoom lens from the S line, their top line. The lens itself is pretty heavy, but when I paired the Z6 with the 40mm f/2 prime I own, the weight of the whole setup was much lighter.
Controllability is pretty straightforward too. The back knob was set for shutter speeds and the front reel was set to the aperture. It took a little time for me to get used to controlling the ISO from a front button, but that was not a big issue. I liked having 2 buttons for functions as well. The knob which controls the camera mode was pretty much set to manual when I went about my day, but setting it up for custom shooting was pretty easy too.
Nikon Z6III Autofocus Functions
I take a huge variety of photos for work. One day, I will be photographing portraits, the next day, I will be doing wide shots, maybe pets, maybe vehicles. Having a camera that is able to capture every single different subject I am liable to photograph is hugely important for me. The Z6III covered everything I shot pretty well. Let’s look at some of the different subject settings and see some sample images, and I will discuss how these photos were taken.
Pets Photos
Where I live in Shonan, pretty much everyone has a pet. My friend graciously brought out her dog, Joe, for me to photograph to test out the animal detection AF function. Dogs really put to the test the AF subject detection function because of their rapid movements. The Z6III was up to the task, and then some. Even from a significant distance away, the Z6III could detect my friend’s dog. The detection level worked both in wide angle shots, prime shots, and zoomed in shots.
Low-Light AF Detection
Initially, I was slightly underwhelmed by the animal subject detection in low light. However, there’s a good reason for that: I did not use the right settings. I figured out later which settings work best with this camera in low light.
The last night I had the Z6III before returning it to Nikon, I took it to a nearby beach park with my frined’s dog again. It was about 9pm, and very dark there. I set the ISO to a good performing 16,000, and the exposure at 1/160. Solely backlit from the beach huts, I was able to capture this photo Joe the dog.
The higher ISO made the grainy sand a bit more pronounced, but from a macro-blurry focus to capturing Joe’s eye as the AF is set to do, the whole process was quick. This photo was actually shown to a Nikon rep before writing this photo, and he expressed his amazement at the shot. Honestly, out of all the photos of Joe the dog, this is my favorite capture. It truly shows how versatile the animal detection autofocus can be.
Vehicle Subject Detection AF Mode in the Nikon Z6III
Like the Nikon Z8, the Z6III inherits advanced vehicle tracking abilities. The easiest subjects to track in this mode are cars, but it does track trains, too. Railspotters will enjoy the ability for this camera to hold focus on fast-moving trains at close or long range.
Just like with pets, it is highly suggested that you set the AF mode to continuous AF when you shoot vehicular videos with the Z6III. Those who are crossing over from other brands or from Nikon-based photography may neglect to set the AF appropriately, like I did, and come out with a highly out-of-focus train video.
Half-pressing the shutter button lets you pre-shoot and maintain focus on a passing vehicle. With Continuous L release mode, you can then take multiple panning photos of passing vehicles while maintaining focus. You won’t miss a shot as long as you stay locked in!
Accurately capture in any part of the frame
Capturing your subject in a Nikon camera is pretty straightforward with advanced subject detection. Indeed, the Z6III captured these cars above in the lower part of the frame with ease, even in low light.
The Z6III, like other Nikon cameras, has airplane detection AF mode for those of you into planespotting. Sadly, for the avgeeks reading this article, I was unable to take the camera to Haneda to test it out. Maybe a further test down the line specifically targeting Nikon cameras photographing planes might be a good idea.
People Detection has been enhanced
Most Nikon users I know come from a portrait photography background. Indeed, Nikon seems to be unparalleled when it comes to photographers at weddings, sporting events, or professional settings. Some of my colleagues at portrait photography events would express surprise at the high number of Nikon users.
Well, for my friends reading this who do use Nikon, let me just say the Z6III is the most affordable professional camera for portraiture. The stacked CMOS sensor as well works to quickly process high-speed photos and high-res N-RAW videos, so this camera is the practical sports camera, for all uses.
I was not able to take this camera to a sporting event to test it there, because of time commitment constraints. However, I had plenty of time to photograph my friends and colleagues with the Z6III. Here are some of the photos I took focusing on maximizing the human subject detection AF mode.
Similar to the above photos of Joe, the AF detector will hold the focal lock on the subject’s eye. At a significant distance, the AF detection will be set to a figure of a human.
I spent a lot of time photographing with my colleague Ita, an experienced model here in Japan, from Indonesia. She was quite impressed in how the camera can detect people, as well as its portraiture depictabilitty. When I sent her the numerous photos from our session, she said the following photo was her absolute favorite:
Final Thoughts about the Nikon Z6III – and other sample photos
Overall, the Nikon Z6III and its photographic abilities are second to none, especially for its price point of $2500. Compared to my Zf, which I still swear by and use daily, it does have a bit more finite controllability for shutter speed, along with low-light performance in video shooting. Think of the Z6III as a Zf camera in terms of photography abilities, with imported Z8 and Z9 videography technology, although with a 24mp sensor. However, the advances in the sensor technology allow for 6K recording along with N-raw. This is definitely the Nikon camera for those entering videography.
I appreciate everyone reading this to the end! Now enjoy some of my favorite shots that I took randomly during my time with the Nikon Z6III.
Written by Zach Kuhn – profile
Zach is the web editor and gear tester for PRONEWS Global. His work in social media content creation stretches back to the early days of social networking sites. His instagram can be found here.
