Nikon Z6 III Review & Sample Images by Ken Rockwell

[@warthog123]

z6 with latest firmware with AF does a decent job at picking up eyes.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Decent, but still not consistent enough overall for me. Thanks!

[@refuztosay9454]

As usual - reading your reports since D3 days - one of the few honest, accurate, professional, and detailed reviews available.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thank you!!!

[@victorlim5077]

With the 180-600, the Z6iii is a fantastic birding combo. Electronic shutter is usable with mid to bigger sized birds with regards to rolling shutter distortion.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Ideally Nikon would make a modern APS-C camera; the z50 camera out last decade and they have no modern fast APS-C cam. Try the Canon R10 and 200-800mm. Thanks!

[@victorlim5077]

@@KenRockwellTV No way I'm going back to a extending zoom lens. The Nikon 180-600 is much better ergonomically. Agree with you on the Z50 replacement. Rumors it's coming soon. Hoping they put a partially stacked sensor on that with sub 7ms rolling shutter capability. That would cover all rolling shutter issues down to most small birds as well.

[@trombonetortoise3406]

Ken, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! I love your efficient and down to earth approach towards camera technology and towards seeing/taking pictures - not as a documentation of reality but the genuine form of art it is. The pictures in your gallery are awsome! I have already learned a lot and will continue to do so. Big, big thank you!

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thank you, Mr. Low Brass!

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

It is easy to tell who gets equipment free and who has to pay for it when you read or watch their reviews, that's all I'll say about the topic of Ken's reviews vs. anyone else's.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Amen!!!! If every review always only says what’s great, what’s the point? Thanks!!!!!!

[@KenRockwellTV]

Hint: any review that comes out before the product is shipping to paying customers clearly comes from people who didn’t pay for it!!!

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

@@KenRockwellTV and just because a reviewer doesn't care for a piece of equipment that you own, doesn't mean they've kicked your dog...

[@spritual_enlightenment]

U are the only one who mentioned all those errors.

[@KenRockwellTV]

I’m the only one who 1.) actually shoots every day rather than just talking about it (www.kenrockwell.com/tech/2-kinds-of-photographers.htm) and 2.) look at the dates any other reviews came out. Nikon just started shipping these; all the earlier reviews come from people in Nikon’s pocket who got samples early as a favor from Nikon - and those samples come with expectations, and 3.) no camera companies pay me anything. Most of the good words come from Nikons factory spokesmodels. Thanks!

[@destinyangel5]

Thank you Ken true unbiased review many things mentioned that many reviewers seem to miss or won't talk about. One more disappointing thing is the how Nikon has over priced this Z6III camera outside the USA. It's crazy expensive in Australia, Canada ,New Zealand and UK.

[@KenRockwellTV]

That’s why I buy from New York City (links in description). In all my world travels, never found cameras any less anywhere other than right here in NYC. Thanks!

[@ivereadthesequel]

I always appreciate seeing your detail oriented nature in-person in your videos! Like when you do unboxings and you zero in on the materials, ergonomics, feel, quality of a product and at a level I don't see anyone else do! Like you have all these nitpicks about usability - but they're _good_ nitpicks. You just seem to pick up on the faults, large and small, really quickly! Then you present it really ordered and organized in your reviews that makes it easy to compare stuff (your in-depth lens reviews' format is a godsend and better than almost anyone else's, the comparison tables have made getting a high level idea of differences in size/cost/performance a piece of cake). Always appreciate that about your work!! Despite that, I feel like some of the really tiny ones might come down to you vs someone else's preference, like you mention the different card slots not being your preference but someone else might like it. Even then, it's good that you mention all this stuff because it's informative! Thanks for being the best photography equipment reviewer!!

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thanks! It comes down to having decades and decades and decades of experience shooting every day. I see the things that hobbyists and people who only shoot a few times a week miss.

[@Skidoo22]

You can't beat Nikon colours! Even their b&w is the best, though before fuji annihilated their film stock, Acros was right up there.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thanks!

[@MrBoombastic379]

Thank You very much, Ken. Great thoughts as always! Kindly appreciate what you're doing!!

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thank YOU!!!

[@angeloplayforone]

Ken, I read your review on your website and my questions was why you say the Nikon Z6 III is the same as Nikon 6 II. Now I understand as you explain in the video. It is the AF.

[@KenRockwellTV]

All the differences between II and III are tabulated at kenrockwell.com/nikon/z/z6-iii.htm#new Thanks!

[@user-sd3ik9rt6d]

Hi Ken, I think I will keep my D810 a while longer

[@KenRockwellTV]

Do it!!! I love my manual focus AI-s lenses on the D810; set the apertures on the lens as God intends. Thanks!

[@Mixer000999]

Thom Hogan wrote a very positive review on Z6iii, "highly recommended". In this video Ken mentioned only one really serious issue: frequent AF failures. But Ken did not provide statistics. What is the AF failure rate compared to Canon or Sony similarly positioned cameras? It is hard to evaluate a very important function based only on gut feeling without any numbers.. So it's Thom's word against Ken's one.

[@KenRockwellTV]

My written review (link in description) lists about 1% failure for Z6 III (one in a hundred bad shots) versus less than 0.01% error rate for Sony and Canon. 1% seems low, until you shoot every day and it’s just too much. Thanks!

[@Mixer000999]

@@KenRockwellTV Ken thank you for the clarification!

[@KenRockwellTV]

@@Mixer000999 Thanks for asking! I can only get into little detail in a video; always see my written reviews for everything.

[@seaeagles6025]

Hi Ken, you have a real steady hand producing great photos. I loved the Porsche. If course it's also the lens and the Nikon Z6 III. Love your work Ken 👍

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thank you!!!!

[@seaeagles6025]

@@KenRockwellTV Your welcome Ken 👍

[@borlach321]

If you don't need the speed of this sensor, would you not be better off with a Z7II? Most of what you shot doesn't move. I agree with you on Nikon autofocus.

[@KenRockwellTV]

I prefer Canon R6 II. Thanks!

[@mikelyon5595]

Thank you for your honest assessment, as usual!

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thank you! It’s tough to be honest, but easy when I don’t take favors from camera companies.

[@stanobert3475]

I shoot Fuji for indoor events and Nikon for Landscaoes and Nature. I like Fuji's subtle colors for indoor lighting.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thanks!!!

[@billtotolo]

I downloaded some images from your website, the images look very clean at higher ISO's (3200 is high to me). Did you have any NR enabled in-camera? Thanks for your reviews, Ken.

[@KenRockwellTV]

I leave NR at the default settings, JPG BASIC * or maybe NORMAL *. I also crank the saturation to +3 in VIVID and set sharpening to 9. THANKS!!

[@mikafoxx2717]

​@@KenRockwellTVDo you use auto white balance or manual white balance? Your images often have strong color tones and I feel like auto white balance often messes up the color of sunsets, usually I just run at 5500k and change it if I'm indoors or such, I love when you can see the greenish fluorescents or orange incandescent in the buildings and the blue of blue hour without auto white balance trying to guess what's correct.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Since I set sharpening and saturation to the maximum, it emphasizes noise. I ways use the same settings in all my nikons and all my Canon’s so you can compare different cameras to each other on my site. Thanks!

[@KenRockwellTV]

@@mikafoxx2717 Always AUTO except tin very rare cases where it's messing up. On Nikon, I use Natural Light Auto for sunsets. See all this explained at www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/z/z6-iii-users-guide.htm#useawb

[@johnrivito1663]

Upgrading from the D750 to the Z6iii for Wedding Photography: What's your vote, Ken?

[@KenRockwellTV]

Don’t do it. I’d keep the 750, or if you want Mirrorless, this is the time to move to Canon. www.kenrockwell.com/canon/eos-r/index.htm What makes you think the Z6 III is an “upgrade?” Thanks!

[@johnrivito1663]

Ken Rockwell I hear that the autofocus and eye or face tracking is much better on the Z6iii compared to the D750.

[@mikafoxx2717]

​@@johnrivito1663Maybe just get a second hand older model mirrorless, until they come out with something more worth it for a reasonable price. Maybe someone makes an active adapter from Nikon F to RF as well. Canon's lens lineup for RF is the least good part so far, Sony and Nikon have more lens selection and for cheaper, but you can pick up cheap EF lenses that are great.

[@arberdemiri]

Yes, but no where as nice as sony or canon. ​@@johnrivito1663

[@OkwyUgonweze]

Prefer SD to cfexpress and preferring jpeg over raw tells me everything I need to know about this photographer .

[@KenRockwellTV]

That’s right! I’m all about getting the job shot and delivered and wasting as little time as possible, as compared to a hobbyist who might enjoy piddling with images for their own sake. Thanks!

[@MartinVanBoven]

Hey! Spotted another insignificant gear clown!

[@jamesmgreen15]

Thanks as ever.

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thank you!

Ken spoiling us with the Romanian captions 💪🏻

[@KenRockwellTV]

Mulţumesc! I was always afraid to try to learn Romanian, but when my brother married a gal from Sibiu and explained it’s very similar to Latin and easy to learn - with none of the crazy upside-down letters of Russian or other languages from that region, I’ve been intrigued.

@@KenRockwellTV Best of luck, Ken!

[@stevei3471]

BTW where is your webpage for booking photo shoot?

[@KenRockwellTV]

My contact page at KenRockwell.com Thanks!

[@NC_Studio-NikosC]

why prefer canon?? and what about video abilties?

[@KenRockwellTV]

It took forever to tabulate all the pros and cons, and here they are www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/nikon-vs-canon-vs-sony-full-frame.htm

[@KenRockwellTV]

I don'y use cameras like this for video; I use my iPhone for casual shots like everything you see at KenRockwell.TV, and dedicated camcorders or pro gear like Panavision or Arri for serious work. Physics of these large sensors make it nearly impossible for autofocus to work well; that's why in Hollywood everything has been shot in manual focus. Thanks!

[@NC_Studio-NikosC]

@@KenRockwellTV thank you

[@joudi_pics]

Thank to you Rick I gave up on Nikon, I will get myself that greatR6II, I found out that after a year of shooting, it’s not about having the sharpest or the best color but it’s about making the process of creating your art easier, so you don’t have to fight with the camera and Canon is excellent at that

[@KenRockwellTV]

Hey, I gave up on Nikon in 2012, but my Canons give up nothing technically compared to my Nikons. Thanks!

[@bluemystic7501]

What kind of shooting are you doing that you need to switch camera systems to get your shots?

[@KenRockwellTV]

@@bluemystic7501 Everything! Thanks!

[@bluemystic7501]

@@KenRockwellTV Not you, the OP.

[@rjpg]

Doesn't shoot RAW and prefers SD?!? really?

[@KenRockwellTV]

Really! I have no problem licensing my basic JPG images to major clients for thousands of dollars per. It’s all about what’s in the picture; all the settings look great and the smaller files help me get more done and sell more faster. Thanks!🎉

[@KenRockwellTV]

With a PhD in math you can learn about discrete cosine transforms and quantization matrices and all the other crazy stuff that makes JPGs able to be visually lossless - and man, the time they save me is invaluable. Thanks for asking. See also www.kenrockwell.com/tech/raw.htm

[@PharaohMan007]

Yeah!!! You don’t need raw for everything.

[@MartinVanBoven]

I'm sure if some marketeer came up with and "Ultra-RAW" format and some "Ultra-Card" storage medium, you'd immediately label it as indispensable, and everyone not using it as amateurs.

[@EmitOcean20]

Good video

[@KenRockwellTV]

Thanks!

[@l.m2517]

1:25 Mulțumesc! Ai observat că și culoarea lor se schimbă uneori în funcție de lumină?

[@KenRockwellTV]

Înțeleg vreo trei cuvinte de română și recunoscute Mulțumesc! Nu, nu am văzut niciun Porsche care să-și schimbe culoarea. Am văzut o mulțime de vopsea personalizată nebună care își schimbă culoarea. MULTUMESC!!!!!

[@MadManTnT]

I did not expect romanina language.

[@KenRockwellTV]

No one expected the Spanish Inquisition, either. Mulţumesc!

[@MadManTnT]

@@KenRockwellTV cu drag !

[@airjaff]

It's not Canon so it's pathetic

[@KenRockwellTV]

it is what is is. Thanks!

[@mikafoxx2717]

Hey, people used to call him a Nikon shill. But he's just not the kind of reviewer to call everything the best to sell more of them.

[@KenRockwellTV]

@@mikafoxx2717 Everyone calls me everything. No camera companies pay me anything; I say it like it is. Thanks!

[@vo4wb]

Why make a complete video and start with the comment you do not like the camera. Maybe better find a product to review that you like.

[@KenRockwellTV]

You people want my opinion, so as the only guy who both shoots every day and isn’t sponsored by or getting favors from camera companies, it is my calling to say it like it is for serious shooters rather than for hobbyists who simply read press releases about the camera. Thanks!

[@CINENIMUS]

I take better shots with my iPhone 👀🔥

[@KenRockwellTV]

ME TOO! Thanks! My real work is at www.kenrockwell.com/gallery.htm; the review samples are just snapshots. Thanks!