Nikon Z6 III review: A hybrid camera for the masses

Nikon's latest Z6 The camera brings the camera manufacturer's top-end autofocus to a more reasonably priced mainstream camera. In almost every respect, the new Z6 III matches or outperforms the company's more expensive, top-end flagships. NIKON Z8,

Although it is not perfect, the Z6 III is one of the Best full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market, and it is capable of handling almost any photographic situation that most of us encounter. Landscape and wildlife professionals will probably stick with their Z8s for the higher-resolution sensor, but for everyone else, it's Nikon.

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Nikon's new Z6 III is a huge upgrade over the previous version. It brings most of the key features of Nikon's far more expensive Z8 and Z9 to the Z6 series.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The body design has been changed, although it is not too different from the Z6 II. The camera weighs 1.7 pounds, which is well balanced even with the larger lens, and the Nikon grip is the largest I've used, making it comfortable and easy to carry. Against of Retro-inspired Nikon ZfThere aren't a lot of external controls here. There's a dial for changing shooting modes, as well as a number of other dials, buttons, and a scroll wheel, giving you plenty of customization options that you can set as you wish, but it lacks the film-inspired feel of the ZF. Is.

Key features in the Z6 III are the new, partially stacked sensor (more on that below), an updated, very fast and accurate 3D subject-tracking system, and ProRes encoding for video. There are also a number of small updates that make everyday shooting a better and smoother experience.

The Z6 III features a new 24-megapixel CMOS sensor, which Nikon calls a “partially stacked” sensor, meaning you get some of the performance benefits of a stacked CMOS sensor, like those found in the Nikon Z8 and Z9. But not the downside, or at least less downside. Stacked sensors, ahem, stack the processing circuitry right on top of the sensor (technically it's behind the sensor), which means RAM is tied directly into the sensor, leading to incredibly fast readouts. This is what allows high-end cameras to shoot up to 12 RAW images per second without blacking out the viewfinder.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson