As new DSLR cameras continue to be released at a frenetic pace, Nikon is taking full advantage with the release of it’s new Nikon Z6III into the competitive full frame mirrorless camera CMOS sensor camera market. The Nikon Z6III offers tremendous specs and some upgrades in it’s already impressive lineup of cameras including the Nikon ZF, and Nikon Z6II. It is competing with the Sony A7IV and the Canon EOS series. When Nikon designed the Z6III, they wanted this new camera to have a premium design feel to. The Nikon Z6III has the patented Nikon Z-mount system for lenses, however it is an interchangeable lens camera and with an FTZ adapter you can mount not just Z lenses from Nikkor Z by Nikon but also lenses from manufacturers like Sony, Sigma, Fujifilm, Canon, Panasonic and others. You will find many identical features and specs found in other Nikon cameras like the Nikon Z6II, the Nikon Z7II, the professional Nikon Z8, but this new camera is designed to upgrade the previous Z6II.
The Nikon Z6III DSLR Full Frame Mirrorless camera comes with a 24.5 million megapixel partially stacked CMOS Expeed 7 processor (found on the Z6 II). This fantastic processor gives the camera the availability to shoot 4K UHD videos and 6K 60 FPS internal RAW video or N-RAW and Full HD at 240 FPS (an unbelievable frame rate) captured for 10X slow motion. When not shooting in N-RAW and instead shooting in ProRes RAW you will top out at 30 FPS. So as a user of the Nikon Z6III, you will get high image quality from every pixel in their new digital camera.
The Nikon Z6III’s design and ergonomic DSLR styling and weight of approximately 23.7 oz. gives this DSLR camera the versatility for portability and storage. This camera is a fantastic addition to any vloggers or content creators camera staple. In addition to it’s ergonomics, you get long battery life which can offer up to 410 high resolution photos (depending on the photo mode that you choose), ample storage with 2 memory card slots, for a SD card rated for UHS II memory cards and a CfExpress card, and great connectivity via Wi-FI and Bluetooth. Therefore, running a long Vlog session and uploading your creative content to a social media site of your choice has never been easier. In addition when using the Nikon Cloud service, you can share photos and videos, and cloud picture control to edit your exposures from a plethora of presets downloaded to your camera. This app also allows for firmware updates to be downloaded to your camera as well.
Let’s take a first look at some of the configurations and first impressions of this new camera. Please remember you can purchase the camera body only as well and as previously mentioned attach a lens of your choosing. Therefore the model that we will examine comes equipped with a NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S Lens, and the specs will apply to the camera body model as well without committing to the included lens. If you already have lenses that meet your needs or are looking at camera lenses from other manufacturers than we would recommend going with the camera body model only.
Top Configuration and Specs
So as we look at the newly announced Nikon Z6III Mirrorless Camera Full Frame FX Body + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm and how it’s tremendous specs and features will serve your everyday purposes. As we previously mentioned this new camera is an upgrade over the Nikon Z6II and will have some of the same specs with other upgraded features. Let’s get hands on with this new camera and review:
The new sensor on the Nikon Z6III’s Full-Frame camera is the partially stacked CMOS Expeed 7 stacked sensor which gets a whopping effective pixel count of 24.5 million, so the camera has the necessary processing power you need to get the perfect image quality. Thanks to it’s included Expeed 7 sensor you get impressive “3D tracking” as well as enhanced subject recognition ability. This includes animals such as dogs, cats, birds etc. This processor also provides 3.5 times faster readout speed than the Z6II.
You can also now get 120FPS max frame rate when taking JPEG photos. So your images should appear blur free even in fast action scenes. When shooting in RAW you can expect a max of 20 FPS. Add the fantastic built in 5 axis stabilization with up to 8 stops of vibration reduction and you can rest even more assured that your images should be blur and shake free which are commonly found with handheld shooting. You will be left with wonderfully developed raw files which as mentioned previously can be uploaded to the Nikon Cloud app which can be found in the Apple app store and the Google Play Store on Android devices. Shooters can also take advantage of the HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) formats. The HEIF option which is commonly utilized by an Apple iPhone allows for data to be compressed for file storage purposes without loosing image quality. You can convert an HEIF file into a jpeg if you want to with the proper software.
With the Nikon Z6III, you also get “Enhanced Subject tracking” when the camera is set in autofocus mode. The Nikon Z6III recognizes a variety of subjects with it’s subject detection capability such as people, animals, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, aircraft and trains. When using it’s Deep Learning technology you will get the right focus point for every environment and scene. This also includes enhanced eye detection a great feature for shooters.
If you like to use the camera in a continuous shooting setting, and need fast shutter speeds, you are in luck thanks to the rolling shutter being an electronic shutter and mechanical shutter on the Nikon Z6III. The mechanical shutter is better for slower shutter speeds.
Having the ability to take video footage in 6K internal RAW is great. The Nikon Z6III’s powerful processor will provide amazing clarity, sharp detail and exceptional color vibrancy from the sensor’s 6K image data. You can also use the video camera to take slow motion shoots as well in Full HD or 1080p recording in 240 FPS. Worried about shooting in up close environments? Not to fret as this new camera offers up to 2X digital zoom during HD recording, and 1.4 times zoom during 4K recording, without loosing any of the high quality that you can expect from images and videos on this camera.
Low light performance on this new camera is fantastic thanks to the improved image quality at high ISO sensitivities, and it’s low-light autofocus detection of subjects and objects. Use the Starlight mode to get shots even in near complete darkness.
Additional benefits of the Nikon Z6II’s in camera Deep Learning autofocus technology, analyzes your shooting situation and automatically adjusts aperture settings, ISO and shutter speed to match the lighting environments of your scene.
Expounding on the 8.0 stops of 5-axis VR image stabilization, the Nikon ZF6III’s IBIS is fantastic. Therefore, you can slow your shutter speed by an amazing 8.0 stops slower than would otherwise be possible without causing image blur. This focus-point stabilization camera, the Nikon Z6III focuses it’s image stabilization directly to the area around the active focus point, wherever it is in the frame, providing accurate and precise correction right where you need it.
The Nikon Z6III also has a large ISO range of 100-64000, with extended range up to Hi 1.7 (equivalent to ISO 204800) It’s 100-64,000 ISO range for stills with low noise across the entire range and ISO 100-51,200 for video recordings.
As an interchangeable lens camera, you can get the camera in a body only option. The Nikon Z6III will have the availability to let you choose a lens that suits your needs. Or if desired, have multiple lenses such as a Wide Angle, Zoom or Telephoto lens attached to the camera body as well. The included 24-70 mm lens on our top pick is a nice all round lens that we highly recommend.
As this new camera is mounted on the Nikon Z mount system, this camera will allow you to choose from Nikon Nikkor lenses or by using an FTZ adapter to mount lenses from other manufacturers, allows the Nikon Z6III to be able to be paired with over 360 different lenses.
The built in touch sensitive LCD screen with a 170 degree viewing angle and the touchscreen Vari-Angle EVF (electronic viewfinder) with a brightness of 4,000 nits, allows the user to adjust settings without worrying about being distracted and having to look away from the exposure scene. The LCD and EVF offer great playback options to view your exposure or video and prepare for any post processing editing you may want.
With the Magnesium alloy and Sereebo body, rated to operate down to 10°C or 14°F, this new camera offers similar levels of dust and drip-resistance as Nikon’s professional Z8 DSLR camera. Meaning this camera is ready for extreme temperatures and gives the user the peace of mind of knowing it has a top notch durability.
With it’s dedicated Black and White modes available just adds to the retro feel of the camera. The Flat and Deep Tone Monochrome Picture Controls give you additional controls for video recordings and stills images. You can even upload your custom picture control to the camera via a memory card rated for this new camera.
There are included dual memory card slots with one slot rated for cards such as SD (Secure Digital), UHS-1 and UHS-II compliant SDHC and SDXC memory cards, microSD cards (UHS-1 compliant microSDHC and microSDXC memory cards), and the second slot for a CfExpress super speed memory stick. So storage should not be an issue for you when using the Nikon Z6II. However, we do recommend having spare memory cards. You never know when you might need more storage or a backup if there is a failure with one of your existing memory cards. Memory cards from manufacturers like Lexar and Sandisk as an example offer high end memory cards that are just perfect for this camera.
Taking stills and video recordings in manual focus mode versus autofocus can be helpful to a photographer for more detailed in camera settings. The tactile dials on the camera make for easy adjustment of settings such as the aperture via the aperture ring and ISO.
Connectivity is plentiful on the Nikon Z6III. Starting with the USB-C connector port (SuperSpeed USB) a Type A HDMI connector and 3.5” stereo microphone or headphone jack is also included. Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi AC is also present offering the user to access the faster 5ghz wireless spectrum for faster speeds uploading content to a social media platform of your choice. This is great if you are a Vlogger or Content Creator and need your content uploaded at a fast rate to your social media site.
Bluetooth 5.0 allowing for a decent distance between the camera and the device you are connecting to. GPS locating using the SnapBridge App can also be activated on the Nikon Z6III allowing you to transfer files from your new camera to a compatible device.
You can easily charge this camera with the ease of in-camera battery charging via the charging port and USB power for extended shooting. The included EN-EL15c rechargeable Li-ion battery is included rated at the following: Viewfinder only selected for monitor mode up to 410 still shots. These may change if you choose energy saving mode on or off. For Video Recording (Viewfinder only) the battery can provide up to 100 minutes of shooting time. Please note if you it is always a good idea to purchase a spare battery, especially if you are going on lengthy photography or videography sessions.
Finally the included Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 S Lens is a great prime lens, and you can choose to go with this included lens option or the camera body only. Prices will vary.
Availability and Conclusion
The new Nikon Z6III camera was recently announced and made available for purchase in late June. It will come in the competitive $2,500 range of the DSLR market making this a great mid-tier camera buy.
With it’s upgrades over the previous model the Z6II including things such as better autofocus, the availability to run without interruption via the USB charger, upgraded HDR and 6K capturing, which are just a few of the new features of this amazing DSLR camera. This is a nice upgrade and purchase to get amazing image quality and improve your photography skills with it’s enormous feature set.
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