How to Set Up the Nikon Z6III for Birds in Flight

A detailed guide to how I configured the new Nikon Z6III for birds in flight photography. These settings are largely based off my Z9 setup which I've been using for about a year, and overall the Z6III performs very capably with a similar setup. I took it out shooting solely birds in flight for an entire day and really enjoyed the experience, and this configuration worked well.
This is a long video so feel free to use the chapter markers below to skip about.
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00:00 - Intro
00:29 - Some quick thoughts on the Z6III
00:45 - Clunking
01:46 - Suitability for Birds in Flight & value for money, compared to the Z8
03:10 - The Sensor & Rolling Shutter
04:05 - Mechanical Shutter & Release Mode
05:22 - Electronic Shutter
06:19 - Memory Cards
07:07 - Note about corrupted images
07:33 - Buffer Performance
08:25 - Setting up the Camera
08:31 - Exposure Settings
10:01 - RAW
10:28 - Release Mode/Drive Mode
11:14 - Setting the shutter type
12:09 - Photo Shooting Menu
12:39 - RAW recording
13:23 - ISO sensitivity settings
13:28 - White balance
13:34 - Various JPEG settings
14:11 - Metering
14:55 - Focus mode and AF-area mode
16:03 - Subject detection
16:37 - Vibration reduction
17:07 - Custom Settings Menu
17:22 - AF-C priority selection
17:47 - Focus tracking with lock-on
18:28 - Focus points used
18:34 - AF activation
19:17 - Pre-release
19:27 - Shutter type
19:34 - View mode (photo Lv)
20:39 - High fps viewfinder display
20:54 - Custom controls (shooting) and function buttons
22:00 - Fn1 & Fn2
22:24 - AF-On
23:38 - Recording button, lens fn button, and focus recall
25:45 - Setup Menu
25:58 - Silent mode
26:13 - Camera sounds
26:42 - Custom Menu
26:52 - Monitor & Viewfinder Brightness
27:30 - My Custom Menu
28:24 - Summary & my use-case
29:44 - Your thoughts
30:30 - Outro

[@robert_may]

Just as an extra note on the CFExpress card: that Angelbird card isn't currently on the official compatibility list for the Z6III (www.nikonproductsupport.com/s/article/Z6III-Memory-card-compatibility?language=en_US). However it's also not on the Z9 compatibility list and I've used it for quite a while without any problems, and Angelbird themselves say it's compatible with the Z9 so 🤷 My primary Z9 card from Delkin also isn't on the list, and from what I can tell the Nikon lists are missing quite a few manufacturers.

[@karamveersingh3417]

That 512GB Angelbird card is provided free (as part of the kit) by Nikon itself with extra battery and charger, in India. I checked that compatibility list and was surprised to see that it is not there and Nikon is providing it WITH Z6 iii in India.

[@robert_may]

@@karamveersingh3417 Oh that's really interesting 🤔 Nice thing to have included anyway!

[@vzshadow1]

I love those camera strap loops, thanks Nikon!

[@SWillow-]

Thank you so much, just got my z6iii and your settings are very helpful ❤

[@Gary-o4t]

Love this video! I'm waiting to get my Z6iii on backorder, so I'm pre-studying.... thanks for getting me warmed up!

[@robert_may]

I think you'll really like it! I've been very impressed with it so far, and it feels really satisfying to use 😀

[@juliettemansour]

wow Robert... I blinked and you got over 2k subscribers! Congratulations! Thank you for this video. I was interested in trading some gear for this one. It seems to answer all the needs I have for wildlife and events.

[@robert_may]

Thanks very much! 😄 Yeah it's a really nicely specced camera for me too - covers a lot of things I was looking for. I'm looking forward to shooting more with it over the next few months!

[@rolandrickphotography]

The Z6 III has no sensor shield but a true shutter and they are not intended to get touched because they are very damageable. The slightest touch can destroy them and that's a pretty expensive repair. The Z9's sensor shield is also more intended to protect the sensor from dust entry rather than physically protecting the sensor. The sensor itself has a protective glass layer which is very much more resistant as shutter blades.

[@BejayCleary]

Liked the little tips on your settings and why, things like pre-burst and not using it because of raw, and hotkeying the shutter type

[@robert_may]

Thanks! It'd be nice if Nikon would someday add RAW support for pre-burst - I think they're the only company that weirdly don't support it now and I've never been able to figure out why 😅

[@scotttucker9613]

The clunk is the IBIS. Set it to SL silent mode and see the difference.

[@robert_may]

Finally got around to testing this properly and yeah it’s the IBIS: silent mode or disabling IBIS stops the clunk. I assume it’s locking off the IBIS to protect the sensor, although the question then is why it doesn’t feel the need to do that in silent mode 🤔

[@scotttucker9613]

@@robert_mayit’s “parking” the IBIS for maximum stability while not in use outside of silent mode. Silent mode kills this behavior because it makes it more…silent

[@robert_may]

@@scotttucker9613 Well, yes 😛 Curiously Panasonic don’t park the IBIS at all in the S5II, and you can feel it shifting about when the camera’s off. It’s interesting that Nikon tied that functionality to different options rather than giving it a separate menu option. Also kinda curious about why it doesn’t happen without a lens attached 🤔

[@musiqueetmontagne]

I think the noise is the locking of the new focus point IBIS.. I'd be interested in what Nikon actually say about it.

[@robert_may]

I might have a poke about and see if I can find any settings that change it 🤔 It does stop happening if you enable Silent Mode, so it seems to be something the camera is supposed to do, but what it is I still have no idea 😆

[@ThalesofMiletus-el8ty]

Thanks!

[@palpacher1968]

Hi Robert, nice overview, thanks. How the autofocus compares to OM-1? I am really torn to switch from Olympus to Nikon, like you did, but I find the Z8/Z9 a bit too large for travel. I really like the Z6III based on what I seen about it, but concerned about rolling shutter and that I would wish a larger sensor, which I often do with the OM-1. What are your thoughts after now using Nikon for a while? I primarily shoot birds. thanks

[@robert_may]

Ooh great question. Autofocus-wise; I'd say they're about equal for birds in flight, and the Z6III is better in other situations, like birds in bushes. The OM-1 I found was either super twitchy or super lethargic, with nowhere in between. I haven't used the OM-1 II yet though so I'm not sure if that made any improvements in that area, but I remember that being a pain point for me as it got easily distracted by twigs a lot or never moving off the twigs in the first place. Worked fantastically for BIF though. The Z6III does inherit some of the foibles of the Z8/Z9 like eyelash-focusing and sometimes misfocusing on dark birds in certain situations, but overall so far I've been impressed by it. It's effectively the same as the Z9 but very slightly slower, due to slower sensor readout. It's still very quick by comparison to other cameras though. Rolling shutter is really interesting on the Z6III, as it's certainly worse than the OM-1's stacked sensor, but it's really only noticeable with faster panning and the mechanical shutter is an option in those situations. I didn't feel like it was causing me any real trouble personally. Overall I've been very happy with the Z9, despite it being a huge brick 😅 There are a few quirks, but surprisingly few compared to my previous systems. I don't love most of the Z mount zoom lens designs hugely (weird choices like the lack of proper focus rings etc), but the primes are really nice, and that's probably just me. The 180-600 is solid (and the 24-120 has been nice when I've tried it), and there's a bunch of lightweight prime options for birds like the 400mm f/4.5 and 600mm f/6.3 too. The Z6III looks like it's going to be a firm favourite of mine as it takes most of the things I like about the Z9 and chucks them in a compact everyday camera. The size of the Z6III is just right for me and it feels good in the hands - I really like the ergonomics of the Nikon cameras in particular. The OM-1 is a great camera for birds and travel though, so I don't think there's necessarily a wrong decision. If there's a shop or a trade show near you then it could be worth trying out the Z6III first to see how it feels in terms of size and weight etc. Hope that helps! 😀

[@palpacher1968]

Thanks, I have really been impressed by some reviews of the Nikon 600 mm f6.3 which is about the same size like the Olympus 300 mm f4, which is also a brilliant lens. Have you ever tried that? Z6iii with that lens looks like a very good travel birding setup. I also have the OM1 m2 and the difference in autofocus is negligible, if any, quite disappointingly. What I really like about the Olympus is the reliability and quality of the lenses, but I am quite disappointed about the direction OM system is moving to…

[@robert_may]

@@palpacher1968 Ooh yes I used to own the 300mm f/4 and that really is a great piece of glass. And yeah I really liked the lenses available on that system, they were very good. Nikon have been putting out some great glass too at least, albeit bigger, and their telephoto range is by far the most fleshed-out now, which is nice. I have had a go on that 600mm f/6.3 and it's really nice to use, and might be something I look to upgrade to in the future 😀

[@battleofthewillwhatilikela4650]

I'm assuming that the half press AF mode is overridden when the back button is pushed for AF mode. Is that correct?

[@robert_may]

I usually use the half-pressed shutter with area AF for flying birds and then the AF-On button with 3D tracking for more static subjects, like birds in bushes etc. This is useful because if the area AF loses the subject it will often refocus to whatever is closest in the box, which is great for flying birds but annoying when a twig wafts in front of the bird. The 3D tracking mode tends to be stickier even with the same tracking sensitivity options 😀 It's also handy that it defaults to a single AF point when it can't find a subject, as that makes it easier to force the camera to focus on something very far out of focus. I find being able to use both really quickly to work well for basically all situations and I very, very rarely swap out of AF-C on my Nikon cameras because of it. I think I probably shoot in AF-C 99% of the time and for all subjects these days. I actually use the 3D tracking option for focus + reframe instead of swapping to AF-S.

[@dieseldavey]

Does it lock the image stabilization. Regards the noise?

[@robert_may]

Not really sure 🤔 Haven't been able to figure it out so far. Hopefully Nikon tell me what's actually happening!

[@craiginthemud7086]

My z7ii makes a similar noise, turning on and off and when pressing the menu button. Always thought it was the aperture blades in the lens?

[@robert_may]

That is happening too, but the noise of the blades moving is quite quiet and the louder clunk is coming from the body itself 🤔

[@morbidblu]

I’ve had a similar issue with a 3 raw files from the Angelbird card. They can be read on Lightroom, but both AfterShoot and Imagen AI cannot process them. In AfterShoot, the preview of the image looks like TV static. While imagen cannot upload the files and produced and error - concerning!

[@robert_may]

Oh that's good to know! The two shots I had were largely visible but had a band of garbled static across a section of the image. I might get in touch with Angelbird and see if they know of any issues.

[@apprenti45]

Does IT take so much time to turn on as the Nikon z6 II ?

[@robert_may]

I'd say it starts up basically instantly. I never owned the Z6II though so I'm not sure how it compares 🤔

[@firegoat73]

it's the lens moving the aperture blades to whatever position they were in before. you can look in the front of the lens and see them move when you turn it on or off.

[@robert_may]

Yeah it does do that as well, but the aperture blades make more of a "swish" sound when opening and closing and the loud clunk is coming from the body itself. I did also get it to perform the clunk without it changing the aperture too.

[@kaawe100]

Are you claiming that one cannot use high effiency * on a mac and in LR? I use it daily in the second year.......maybe I'm misunderstanding something?

[@robert_may]

Ah it works fine in Lightroom and other RAW processing software on Mac, but Apple's own Camera RAW software which underpins a lot of MacOS doesn't support it properly. It can't preview the files properly in the Finder/Preview/Photos etc, and third-party apps that use Camera RAW (like Darkroom) can't read those files either. As I don't use Lightroom to manage my photos any more it causes me problems, annoyingly 😅

[@terohamalainen8868]

Here In Finland z6iii cost 2990€ and z8 cost 4300€, its A huge cap the price

[@robert_may]

I'm not familiar with the Finnish camera stores but yeah that sounds like the standard retail price. There's currently an offer on in the UK/EU that drops it to about €3700, e.g. www.foto-erhardt.com/cameras/full-frame-cameras/nikon-z8-housing-single-piece.html?keywords=nikon%20z8, but it might not be in every country. I'm a bit out-of-date with EU laws (sigh, brexit), so I'm not sure if there are any warranty issues if bought from another EU country, but that might be an option. Otherwise yes, if both cameras are at their RRP, the Z8 is notably more expensive 🙁