Nikon Z6III Announcement and Opinions
Finally, the Z6III is now officially announced.
The official press release and specifications of the camera can be viewed here:
With the embargo finally lifted, the first impression or review articles and videos are all released now, and it seems like most of them are positive about the camera - with regards to both the camera’s new hardware capabilities and image quality. This release also shows the general direction the Z6 line is moving in - that is a more video-oriented hybrid line with a wide range of video recording features.
As I am a primarily stills shooter, I guess most of the newer video specs would not affect me directly, though most of the improvements made in the video space would have some form of improvement impact indirectly on the stills side.
Take for example the partially stacked sensor - to get the sensor fast enough for 6k/60p, it also helps with offloading data to the CPU faster for AF calculations.
Personally, what I find interesting and useful to me with the new Z6III are these features:
Bright EVF that can be used in harsh sunlight
Increased sensitivity in low-light situations
Improved subject detection in backlit situations
Focus point IBIS (similar to that of the Zf)
Improved AF over the Z6II (and seems close enough to Z8’s AF performance)
The biggest drawback of the Z6II in my use case is the AF system - in controlled studio environments I tend to have a bit more misfocused shots than I would like; slightly remedied by using AF-S Pinpoint, but still not 100% foolproof.
The AF improvements alone could justify replacing my Z6II as the main workhorse camera. Truth be told I did ponder quite a bit on whether to get a Zf as my main workhorse, but I just could not get used to its ergonomics with longer and heavier lenses.
Interestingly, there were a few other details that I had noticed, which I think might be good to keep a lookout for.
The Z6III does not come with a battery charger, but only a USB cable. (Similar to the Z30/Zf)
The new battery pack (MB-N14) would work on Z6II/Z7II too, which suggests that perhaps the Z-GR1 could fit as well? But the presence of the articulating screen should affect the Z-VP1 plate though.
The top plate has a new illumination button - I wonder if that button is programmable to other functions?
The situation with the weak Japanese yen has not been entirely friendly to us living here, and an effect of that is a huge jump in the launch price of the Z6III (street price estimated around JPY 390,000) as compared to the launch price of the Z6II (street price roughly JPY 245,000).
While I do want the AF improvements, which can certainly be helpful in my workflow, the steep price increase does not seem very justifiable even as a business cost - especially when a used Z8 may cost just a little bit more than this. Furthermore as I had mentioned in my previous post, Japan usually does not provide much pre-order incentives or benefits, so I guess I would sit out the pre-order phase this time round and ponder about my upgrade paths to replace my aging Z6II workhorse.
**Update: Initial impressions upon trying the camera out and more about flexible color picture control.