Nikon Z6 III - Dynamic Range Test [real-world example]

[@JasonLorette]

Had my Z6III about a week, haven't had any real issues with the DR at this point...loving this camera.

[@itscinemasam]

Nice! Same here!!

[@longrider9551]

I don't use Nikon but c'mon these cameras today are so damn good, if you cant get it done its you✌✌

[@itscinemasam]

FACTS!!!!!

[@Arieeeee]

That's been true for the last 12 years, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't mention that a new camera is actually worse in a certain area than cameras that came out a decade ago.

[@visionz_n_media]

Nice video ✊🏽. It amazes me how ppl will complain about these issues, and the majority will never push their cameras to the extremes or fully utilize all of its features 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@itscinemasam]

@@visionz_n_media thank you and you are preaching 💯💯💯💯! This is exactly why I did this test. 1. To seriously see how I can use the cam and 2. Prove the “KZbinrs wrong”

[@visionz_n_media]

@@itscinemasam 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@felm.974]

Thank you for providing some positivity during a time when some KZbinrs are choosing to be super negative about the camera. Just discovered your channel, great work.

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you!!!

[@LKN1TRO]

OMG! the image quality looks so great! What program did you use to edit? And if you can share the parameters for exporting to KZbin.

[@LKN1TRO]

New Subscriber, thanks a lot!

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you!! I use premiere pro! And I just uploaded a short showing my export settings! Check it out!

[@SJSquarePhotos]

another good video!!!! keep working bro! you putting that z6iii to work!

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you! Bro!! And oh yea send me your email!

[@marcuspersley]

I agree with you Sj... This is a great video showing the best use case for the Z6iii.

[@MuphovieArts]

The dynamic range is enough for most situation.

[@itscinemasam]

Exactly!! I’m glad you see it!

[@Photomeike]

well done!

[@itscinemasam]

@@Photomeike Thank you 🙌🏾 S/O to the algorithm! You’ve been one of my fav KZbinrs for a while bro!

[@gurpreetsandhar]

Great video Sam!.. I preordered mine. Bestbuy says still on back order. Hopefully get my soon.. while id love to see more videos like these or latitude test of N-raw in real world..

[@itscinemasam]

@@gurpreetsandhar super excited for you!! I’ll be doing an n raw test soon! Thank you for watching

[@andrewphillips2520]

great real world test, thank you!

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you!

[@TEN21Portraits]

Another crispy video. Super dope.

[@itscinemasam]

Appreciate it! 🙏🏾

[@patfish3291]

If you light and expose a scene proper it does not matter ...der peoblem is if you dont have the time or fast chaning situations. I wos buying a 24mpx sensor because of low noise and dynamic range and now i have a cam thats not as good in this points than the 45Mpx sisters of the camera. :-( .. im not sure if i should return it and get the (for me too big) z8

[@itscinemasam]

Which camera do you have??

[@enshongmiranda]

I shoot weddings in the Philippines. Fast changing situations and stupid reception lighting is our daily challenge here. Yet despite that, I don't feel any problem the old sensor of my Nikon Z5 in quick lighting changes. Not much difference to my Nikon Zf. Of course, my GFX 50R spanks both when it comes to highlight recovery but noise performance is better even on the old Z5. I'm not convinced barely a stop of difference in dynamic range and noise performance on test charts matter in real life situations. If you have a Z6 III, you already have one of the best cameras out there. It's up to you to bring out the best of your photography.

[@danielvilliers612]

I am all about dynamic range, but until now I did not see a definitive test about DR. But the Z6iii still sees to be very good even if it is a tad lower than the z6ii.

[@ambiaphotography553]

Been using mine for my architectural work and I work with lots of shadows, no problem here

[@itscinemasam]

🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@camilo8cheryl]

The only people that says DR on the Z6-3 is bad is the newbies who doesn’t know how to expose😂 selling my Z6ii and 2-z6’s the Z6-3 auto focusing is Godsend🙏 finally a capable Budget friendly nikon Z with lots of bells and whistles👍 still learning the pre release shutter 😂

[@itscinemasam]

💯💯💯💯

[@markamarkam]

Not sure what all the fuss is all about. The Photons to Photons site that Toneh points to shows that the Z6III matches the dynamic range of the z8 & z9 up to ISO 400, between 400 and 650ish the Z8 and Z9 have slightly more dynamic range, but by ISO 800 and onward they all match up again. But I don't hear anyone complaining about the dynamic range in the z8 or z9. Only z6II and Zf seem to have consistently higher dynamic range but, again, by ISO 800 the z6II, z6III, z8, z9, zf ALL have roughly the same DR. And as many folks on KZbin are now demonstrating the real world differences in DR at these ISO's are negligible.

[@nutricionistabruno]

Thank you for the video. Are you using the Mystic filter? By the way, have you tested the camera with ISO 100? It seems to have 1 stop more than with ISO 800.

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you for watching and no I’m use a black diffusion filter by neewer. Also I have tested iso 100 just not with video! That’s something I’ll have to test on my upcoming shoot. However when filming in NLog the camera won’t let you go under iso 800.

[@Telly26]

Great video and thank you for this test!

[@itscinemasam]

Glad you liked it! And no problem 🙏🏾

[@Arieeeee]

I've been a Nikon shooter since the D40 came out and a Minolta film shooter before that so I get that if you're a good photographer, you'll make the best of what you have, but with the Z6iii, I've noticed that any criticism of it is taken personally by the other Nikon faithful. Yeah I get it's a great camera, but when someone even brings up the fact that it's ~1.5 EVs worse in dynamic range than the D600 which came out 12 years ago, they get attacked by generic statements like "If you can't take a good picture with this, it's you" and completely lose their mind at the audacity of someone criticizing the corporate brand they have attached their identity to. So let's get that out of the way, this IS a great camera, but it's a great camera that has a potential deal breaker for someone who already has a camera that is higher in DR and it's something that makes a difference in their photography. It may not matter 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time when you have a great photo where the subject is in the light but the background is too bright, that extra 1.5EV can really change a photo from good to great. If it doesn't affect you, then great, congrats, but to say it doesn't matter at all is just copium. Everything else in cameras have gotten better but looking at all the cameras in the last 5 years, DR has either been stagnant or getting worse. That's worth a discussion at least.

[@itscinemasam]

@@Arieeeee I was referring to the dynamic range for video. Because the bit depth is only up to 12 for video and I’ll be using 10 most of the time. But the dynamic range is great for photo and a bit depth is 16 so this is not a dealbreaker I took it out and shot and broad daylight, and I had people in shadow with a bright background and when I edit it perfectly. I understand how you feel but at the same time if you don’t have the camera, you should not have much to say. I have actually used it in the field so I know it is capable of. Dynamic range does matter don’t get me wrong. It’s just that if it’s over10 or 11 you have plenty

[@BigfootRunning]

This is more a reflection on the social media /YT algorithm than any camera… unfortunately negativity and outrage strokes the algorithm. Feels as though many KZbinrs simply exploit this by looking for controversy and negative angles. I just bought the Z6iii after years of tentative shopping around and being put off by reviews. I ended up waiting for the next big thing to fix everything but ended up never buying a camera and almost losing interest… until now. I’m loving the camera so far. Cameras are damn expensive (Australia)! Don’t need any buyers remorse that’s for sure.

[@itscinemasam]

Glad you found a camera that works for you man! Thank you for watching 🙏🏾

[@automatisatorpeace5453]

Can you please make the original ProRes video files available for download?

[@nigerian-nightmare]

It would be best if you tried to balance the image in the third scenario by lifting the shadows of the foreground to match the background and seeing how noisy it gets. Also, the third scenario is moderate in terms of dynamic range. If you ask me, the scene in the kitchen with the lamps is more extreme. The DR is the only thing stopping me from getting this camera. Still waiting for more tests.

[@petersuvara]

Looks good to me. Shadows look great.

[@itscinemasam]

I think so too! Thanks!

[@danielvilliers612]

I don't know about the z6iii, but with a z8/z9 you would easily get 1.5 to 2 stop more DR with Raw. If you can test it , it would be nice.

[@itscinemasam]

Yes, I know there is a little more dynamic range when shooting in raw. However, I wanted to see how it would hold up using a Codec that I would use for majority of my shoots.

[@peterra2532]

@@itscinemasamIf you shoot 6k raw in normal quality, not high quality, the size should be same as all-i codec that you will see from other manufacturers.

[@itscinemasam]

@@peterra2532 I use premiere pro for 90% of my edits so a raw workflow doesn’t work for me at the moment. The project has to be very special in order for me to hop in davinci.

[@bluemystic7501]

Anyone who thinks the DR is an issue clearly doesn't earn a living with their camera.

[@itscinemasam]

@@bluemystic7501 😂😂 you might be right!!

[@jklbd4815]

DAMN! that looks great. That's more than enough DR I guess.

[@itscinemasam]

Thanks and yes it is!

[@MrKeith57]

That was interesting. I'm using the Z6ii and pretty happy with it. On the fence about the Z6iii. Looking at the Z7

[@itscinemasam]

Definitely worth the upgrade!

[@videoeventjakarta]

Hi, Thank you for the test. Did you added grain effect to these test shots or Is it Nikon's normal noise? Because I see the noise on you shirt on the 3rd scene (by the stair) Thank you.

[@itscinemasam]

No grain was added! And yes that’s the noise from being severely under exposed then raising the shadows in post.

[@videoeventjakarta]

@@itscinemasam Thanks for the reply. Pretty concerning since I expect the images to be cleaner.

[@itscinemasam]

@@videoeventjakarta it can be concerning. But I never plan to push this camera that far, 99% of the time I will make sure I am in better lighting conditions. However, because of the many other SDR color profiles this camera has I will be fine in any condition the SDR camera profiles have built in noise reduction.

[@raredreamfootage]

I think overheating is the main concern for these hybrid cameras over dynamic range.

[@itscinemasam]

This camera won’t overheat unless the sun is beaming down on it for 5 hours on a day over 90 degrees.

[@StevenBoz]

Great video! Thanks for sharing

[@itscinemasam]

Thanks for watching!

[@giannagiavelli5098]

My camera has 15 stops of dynamic range and it was made in 2005 can you guess what it is by the way it isn't just ratio it's also the number of clear steps between brightness and darkness

[@itscinemasam]

Let me see some footage and I can guess

[@hkhanpour]

3:45 very nice. Waiting for Nikon to release an NLOG2, as the current isn't great for dynamic range. Gerald got 2 more stops of dynamic range using VLOG on NRAW. Play around with different LOGs, I noticed improved DR using other logs vs NLOG on teh Z6 III

[@itscinemasam]

Yea they definitely need to improve NLog to succeed in more situations. I definitely agree! But if you shoot in ProRes Raw on the z63 you can easily convert to VLog in Adobe premiere. I should do a video on that!

[@ronaldgriffin6457]

Great video Sam

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@trackster11230]

Great video! Keep up the good work!

[@itscinemasam]

@@trackster11230 thank you! Will do 🙏🏾

[@briancarlisle2534]

Good stuff!! Though I’m not a video kind of guy, was wondering about landscapes. Like; I wonder if I’d really be able to tell the difference between a Z7ii and the Z6iii if I printed a 24x24 picture of a mountain and hung it on a wall. Could both be totally different looking?

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you!! And I believe if you use a high quality printer then you will see the difference in sharpness. I don’t think it will be drastic though! Personally I think high megapixels are for cropping and reframing. With high megapixels you can physically do more with the image and still maintain quality.

[@marcuspersley]

Great video!!! Keep them coming. You are making a Sony guy consider the Z6iii for video...

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you bro I will! And shoot 3 more videos and you might make the switch 😏😏. I use the Fx3 and a7siii at my job for photo and video and tbh the Nikon’s egernomics is way better. Image quality is subjective sometimes but you can’t beat the flexibility of internal 12 bit pro res raw that the z6iii offers. I’d take 12 bit over 10 bit any day.

[@livejames9374]

Looks good to me!

[@creamynessification]

looks dope

[@jpdemora]

Bro video looks 🔥What lens did you use ? How does the z6iii compare to the black magic ?

[@itscinemasam]

Hey thank you!!! I used the 35 mm f1.8 S lens. And honestly the image looks similar to the black magic, I owned a 6k pro for about 2 years btw. There is a slight difference in the highlights though since the Bmpcc has a bit more dynamic range.

[@jpdemora]

@@itscinemasam I see thank you, I'm currently trying to upgrade and it's between this and the FX3. I just saw one of your other videos and you mention that you work with the FX3 at work, now that you own the z6 iii, do you still think the z6iii is better than the fx3 as far as image quality?

[@itscinemasam]

@@jpdemora I am so glad you asked this question. It could all boil down to preference. But after using pro Res raw the image quality of the Z6iii is definitely better than the highest internal quality of the FX3. I love the FX3 because I am a fan of SLog and Scinetone at 10 bit. But now the Nikon can do up to 12 bit with its flat profile that competes with SCinetone and also Nlog that competes with S log3. But as far as image quality is concerned, I think Nikon wins and also there’s a plethora of codecs to choose from.

[@m0nztam0nk]

superb image!

[@itscinemasam]

Glad you like it! 🙏🏾

[@m0nztam0nk]

@@itscinemasam and i meant it. People be keyboardwarriorin‘ about thery specs all day, but the images i get in 6kraw or NLOG on this camera absolutely destroy what i got from 4years of A7s3. The Nikon Colour and Contrast Rendering together with their amazing glass just hits different. Ive shot a7s3 for 4 years professionally, it works amazing, but the colours are always a fight…sire i get it done, but its always a timeconsuming struggle… nikon and Fuji are the only Companies where the base files are so good in contrast ratio and colour, thats its not „how do i get it to look decent“ but more like a creative Paintbrush…no matter which direction i push the image (moody, bright, warm, cool) it somehow always looks absolutely gorgeous. Only ever experienced that with blackmagic or fuji, but Nikon is ballin here. Not only an absolute filmmaking MONSTER (6k60 RAW INTERNAL) but also a near flawless Photo camera…a dream come true

[@Deik__]

What lens did you use?

[@itscinemasam]

35mm

[@enricojakobsoriano]

Some great scenes. I don't mean to laugh at your misfortunes, but you hitting your hand on the railing made me lol. Would have loved to see how shooting in raw handled those scenes. Thanks for the vid, bruh.

[@itscinemasam]

lol it’s ok to laugh 😂 and I will be doing some raw video test soon!!

[@enricojakobsoriano]

@@itscinemasam It was definitely a choice leaving that scene in. Thanks for the laugh. 😆 Your color grading in real nice, btw. 👌

[@enshongmiranda]

IMO, it's a non-issue at all. With my tin-foil hat on, I think it was just an amplified issue by people who have no plans to buy the camera (or any Nikon) just because the Z6 III is almost perfect and the features to price ratio is just unbeatable. Gotta nitpick at something. Pull straws from a golden haystack. I shoot weddings and in our country, it's a messy affair with rapid pace and plenty of uncontrollable lighting situations. Granted I shoot photos so the editing latitude is much higher with photo raws compared to video files. But still, my old Z5's files are plenty good even compared to my GFX files when I have to push or pull under or overexposed shots. If I had to push/pull exposure by more than 4-5 stops and the image looks like shit, then that's not the camera's fault. It's my fault for not being able to anticipate and adjust either the shutter, aperture, or ISO to a good setting. I'm looking forward to Nikon trickling down the partially-stacked sensor to a Zf II or maybe a rangefinder-style Z in the future. I just hope they replace the screen with a 2-way tilt instead of the flippy one right now. I understand it on the hybrid bodies like the Z6/Z7 but on the Zf, it's a body that's much more suited for photography.

[@itscinemasam]

I couldn’t have said that better bro! Nikon is one of the big 3 when it comes to mirrorless bodies! I think some people see more dynamic range as an opportunity to see how lazy they can be with exposing lol!

[@williambuford6136]

@@itscinemasam I agree with you. Hey there is a reason why there are so many lighting options available. Bring lighting with you to help control exposure. Even people shooting with Arri and Red cameras use Flags and lights to get the exposure they want.

[@itscinemasam]

@@williambuford6136 yes most definitely!! Cameras need light to expose properly point blank period!

[@kalpeshruparell8419]

Also wouldn’t ND filters help?

[@itscinemasam]

Most definitely! I had a variable ND on, I forgot to mention

[@marthajones7748]

First shot looks crisp

[@itscinemasam]

Thank you 😉

[@starbase218]

I’d comment, but I’d feel a little bit exposed.

[@itscinemasam]

@@starbase218 lol what do you mean by that?

[@LorenzoFrausto]

@@itscinemasamphotography joke I think? 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@ilyavli]

What lens did you use ?

[@itscinemasam]

Nikon 35mm z mount