Big test
PERFORMANCE: EXPOSURE LATITUDE
SPECS › Prices £2699 body only, £3249 with Z 24-70mm f/4 kit, £3539 with Z 24-120mm f/4 kit › In the box Z 6III, body cap, EN- EL15c li-ion battery, strap, USB-C cable, DK-29 viewfinder eyepiece › Resolution 24.5 megapixels › Sensor CMOS, 35.9x23.9mm FX full-frame, 6048x4032 pixels (3:2) › Image processor Expeed 7 › Image formats 14-bit Raw, JPEG, HEIF in HLG mode › Storage media Dual slots: 1x CFexpress Type B/XQD, 1x SD › ISO range 100-64,000, expanded to 50 and up to 204,800. In HLG tone mode: 400-64,000 › In-body image stabilisation Five-axis image sensor shift with 8EV benefit › Shutter Mechanical: 30secs to 1/8000sec, extendable to 900secs in M mode, B, T, flash sync 1/200sec or slower. Electronic: up to 1/16,000sec, flash sync 1/60sec or slower › Exposure system PASM, matrix, centre-weighted, spot, highlight- weighted › Exposure compensation +/-5EV in 0.3EV steps › Monitor 3.2in vari-angle touch panel, 2.1m dots › Viewfinder 0.5in OLED, 5.76k dots › Focusing Hybrid phase detection/ contrast AF with AF assist, works down to -10EV. 273 focus points in single point AF, 299 in auto area AF. Pinpoint AF, single point, dynamic area, wide area and auto area AF, 3D tracking (photo only), subject tracking AF (video only) › Drive modes Continuous high speed (extended) 14fps, 20fps with electronic shutter. 30fps, 60fps (JPEGs only), 120fps (10-megapixel JPEGs) › Pre-Release Capture Works at 30fps, 60fps (JPEGs only) and 120fps (10-megapixel JPEGs). Electronic shutter with three pre- release options of 0.3, 0.5, 1sec and none. Post-release bursts of 1, 2, 3secs plus max › Video NEV, MOV and MP4 formats. 5.4K 5376x3024:
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To assess Raw exposure latitude, exposure brackets were taken across various scenes; the image was exposure-corrected in Adobe Lightroom and NX Studio. This set – taken in the early evening – showed the metered exposure was 1/40sec at f/8 and ISO 400. The camera’s Raws handled exposure abuse effectively. Even the +3EV shot here recovered well, preserving intense highlight regions without the grey veiled appearance that can occur. The +2EV and +1EV shots recovered to look identical to the correctly exposed frame. Underexposure was also dealt with very well by the Z 6III’s Raws.
The recovered -3EV shot did show an increase in noise compared to the -2EV and -1EV shots but nothing unduly concerning, which sums up this aspect of the Z 6III’s performance nicely.
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“THERE IS PLENTY OF CUSTOMISATION POTENTIAL WITH THE Z 6III’S BUTTONS AND VARIOUS LENS CONTROLS”
the kit wet on a couple of occasions during a damp testing week, but the camera proved reliable. It’s worth noting that, while the Z 6III has both mechanical and electronic shutters, the mechanical shutter was greyed out in the d6 Shutter Type menu because it’s not available with these two lenses. When using the electronic front- curtain shutter, the top speed is limited to 1/2000sec. The auto option is needed to access the full shutter speed range. The electronic shutter gives a top 1/16,000sec, while fast sensor readout allows flash sync at 1/60sec; it’s 1/200sec with the mechanical shutter. A key benefit of the sensor’s readout – said to be 3.5x faster than the Z 6II – reveals itself in the camera’s AF system. It’s claimed to work down to -10EV with an f/1.2 lens, but with two modest- aperture zooms I couldn’t check it out. However, shooting in poorly lit interiors, the AF proved capable but still needed a sharp edge, contrast or detail to latch onto. Its subject detection skills were generally good with people, although I had a couple of instances in video and still shooting where the focus box stayed on the subject’s eye. But
checking the shots later revealed that focus wasn’t quite there. With feeding garden birds, the AF could hold focus as they leapt around. Occasionally, it would jump onto something in the background, resulting in lost focus on the subject. Overall, the Z 6III impressed with its focusing speed, sensitivity and accuracy, with subject detection working well, including the auto selection option. The camera has three still image quality options. There’s 14-bit Raw and JPEG as well as HEIF. In most
60p/50p/30p/25p/24p 4K UHD 3840x2160:
120p/100p/60p/50p/30p/25p/24p 1920x1080: 240p/200p/120p/100p
/60p/50p/30p/25p/24p 1920x1080 (slow motion): 30p(x4)/25p(x4)/24p(x5) › Raw video 6048x3402: 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p
THE RED SIDE OF MANCHESTER This image was taken on a grey evening, so the dynamic range was limited but the Raw responded well in editing with the shadows boosted and highlights recovered in Adobe Lightroom
4032x2268: 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p NRAW (12 bit), Apple ProRes Raw HQ (12 bit), Apple ProRes 422 HQ (10 bit), H.265/HEVC (8 bit/10 bit), H.264/AVC (8 bit) › Battery EN-EL15c. Optional MB-N14 battery pack takes two cells › Connectivity HDMI Type A, USB Type C, 3.5mm mic and headphone sockets, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth › Dimensions (wxhxd) 138.5x101.5x74mm › Body weight 760g (with card and battery) › Contact nikon.co.uk
Put simply, if you need to shoot many frames rapidly, the Z 6III won’t let you down – even a fast SD card does pretty well for burst shooting. Control your shutter finger, and there’s no reason why you should run into buffering problems. While we’re talking shutter, there’s the option of five shutter sounds and five volume levels. I went for type B at level one. So the Z 6III has plenty to offer, but how did it perform on test? The short answer is very well indeed. I tested the camera with two zooms – the Z 24-120mm f/4 S and Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S – and managed to get
I got 200 (the default max frame limit, although there’s an infinity option) lossless compressed Raws at 21fps with the electronic shutter and 15fps with the electronic front shutter. Shooting Raw and fine JPEG at maximum quality, I managed 176 shots at the same shooting rate before the buffer counter hit zero. Using the SD card with the electronic shutter, I captured 88 Raws and 67 Raw+JPEGs at 21fps until the camera paused and the green write LED blinked for 12 seconds before extinguishing. With the electronic front shutter, I managed 110 Raws and 71 Raw+JPEGs at 14fps.
Issue 117 | Photography News 33
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