Z50ii or Z6iii?

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In addition to Photography Life, these articles may help your decision(s). The more pixels/duck the better for birds and smaller mammals, which ideally is 800mm field of view on FX

https://www.zsystemuser.com/nikon-z-system-news-and/the-z9-generation-key-diffe.html

https://www.zsystemuser.com/z-mount-cameras/z-camera-database/

Sensor Read Speeds matter depending on how much, and how, one uses the electronic shutter

https://www.zsystemuser.com/z-mount-cameras/z-camera-articles/sensor-read-out-speeds.html
 
mostly shoot birds and other small/medium mammals. I enjoy shooting photos AND video of wildlife. My choice is

Nikon z50ii with 180-600mm

Or

Nikon z6iii with the Tamron 150-500mm for z mount

Any advice would be much appreciated.
If you want 4k 120p - or anything with high throughput - the Z6iii is your option. The Z6iii is outstanding for video. It uses both CFExpress and SD cards. CFE allows high data throughput - a key enabler of 60p and 120p video as well as virtually endless burst length for stills. The partial stacked sensor provides a fast readout for AF, the EVF, and minimal rolling shutter. I worry a lot less than others about cropping a Z6iii image. What it loses in terms of pixels on subject it makes up for with less noise and larger photosites, so it is largely a wash if you have 1200 pixels or more on the cropped image. My rule of thumb for prints is I want 200 pixels per linear inch, but that's probably a little lower around 150 pixels per inch with the Z6iii.

The Z50ii is excellent for general video, has excellent subject detection AF, and has a high degree of capability for customization. The biggest disadvantage of the Z50ii is that it uses SD cards rather than CFExpress. That limits the write speed to 150 MB/s, and accordingly limits video at high frame rates without cropping. The use of SD cards also limits frame rate and burst length for stills. The sensor readout of the Z50ii is a little slow leading to a slightly delayed slideshow effect with silent shutter at higher frame rates. In practice I had no problem with the mechanical shutter for subjects with predictable flight - like large wading birds. It's much tougher for small songbirds where any delay could be problematic.

It's always a matter of tradeoffs. I own the Z8, Z6iii, and Z50ii. I have not found any of the cameras to have limitations that you can't work around. I can use any of these cameras to make excellent, professional quality photos.

As to lenses, the 180-600 is a clear choice if you can swing it. It's an excellent lens for birds. The 150-600 is good, but a little short - especially on a full frame body.
 
If you want 4k 120p - or anything with high throughput - the Z6iii is your option. The Z6iii is outstanding for video. It uses both CFExpress and SD cards. CFE allows high data throughput - a key enabler of 60p and 120p video as well as virtually endless burst length for stills. The partial stacked sensor provides a fast readout for AF, the EVF, and minimal rolling shutter. I worry a lot less than others about cropping a Z6iii image. What it loses in terms of pixels on subject it makes up for with less noise and larger photosites, so it is largely a wash if you have 1200 pixels or more on the cropped image. My rule of thumb for prints is I want 200 pixels per linear inch, but that's probably a little lower around 150 pixels per inch with the Z6iii.

The Z50ii is excellent for general video, has excellent subject detection AF, and has a high degree of capability for customization. The biggest disadvantage of the Z50ii is that it uses SD cards rather than CFExpress. That limits the write speed to 150 MB/s, and accordingly limits video at high frame rates without cropping. The use of SD cards also limits frame rate and burst length for stills. The sensor readout of the Z50ii is a little slow leading to a slightly delayed slideshow effect with silent shutter at higher frame rates. In practice I had no problem with the mechanical shutter for subjects with predictable flight - like large wading birds. It's much tougher for small songbirds where any delay could be problematic.

It's always a matter of tradeoffs. I own the Z8, Z6iii, and Z50ii. I have not found any of the cameras to have limitations that you can't work around. I can use any of these cameras to make excellent, professional quality photos.

As to lenses, the 180-600 is a clear choice if you can swing it. It's an excellent lens for birds. The 150-600 is good, but a little short - especially on a full frame body.
Greetings Eric, I currently have the D500 with the 300mm f4 + 1.4 & 200-500. I am thinking about mirrorless. I really appreciate being able to photograph fast flying birds - kingfishers - swifts - peregrine falcons etc. I am considering the 180-600 with either of the 3 bodies you own. It sounds like the Z6 iii would be better than the Z50ii based on your comments. Folk always argue for the pixels on the bird for dx but do not consider, as you have done, the size of the pixels and low light issues. Also the Z6iii starts with about 3million more pixels than the Z50II to start cropping back from. Ideally I should probably go with the Z8 but it sounds like the Z6iii might be a good option. Does the fact that the Z6iii only have animal detect and not birds separately detract in any way from the other 2 cameras that have it included? Any comments most welcome.
 
Greetings Eric, I currently have the D500 with the 300mm f4 + 1.4 & 200-500. I am thinking about mirrorless. I really appreciate being able to photograph fast flying birds - kingfishers - swifts - peregrine falcons etc. I am considering the 180-600 with either of the 3 bodies you own. It sounds like the Z6 iii would be better than the Z50ii based on your comments. Folk always argue for the pixels on the bird for dx but do not consider, as you have done, the size of the pixels and low light issues. Also the Z6iii starts with about 3million more pixels than the Z50II to start cropping back from. Ideally I should probably go with the Z8 but it sounds like the Z6iii might be a good option. Does the fact that the Z6iii only have animal detect and not birds separately detract in any way from the other 2 cameras that have it included? Any comments most welcome.
The one thing to consider is the Z6iii needs a firmware update right now to add Bird Detection AF. It's not as good with animal detect as the Z8 and Z50ii if you need bird detection. But you can still get good images and I feel sure the firmware update is coming.
 
mostly shoot birds and other small/medium mammals. I enjoy shooting photos AND video of wildlife. My choice is

Nikon z50ii with 180-600mm

Or

Nikon z6iii with the Tamron 150-500mm for z mount

Any advice would be much appreciated.
I would go with the crop sensor. You won’t regret it. Gives you much more reach with great pixel density.
 
I'll add another thought if it isn't too late. What will your future photography budget look like? While I imagine that many arguments can be made that the Z6iii is a superior camera body in many respects, FX glass for it will be more expensive than the DX lenses for the Z50ii. In fact, there are lots of good, low-cost options for APS-C cameras. Meanwhile, you can use most FX lenses with a cropped sensor, but the reverse isn't as true. Accumulating a collection of useful lenses will probably be more expensive for the Z6iii than the Z50ii. Will your future resources be adequate? Are they sufficient now? What you decide now will have an impact down the road.
 
I'll add another thought if it isn't too late. What will your future photography budget look like? While I imagine that many arguments can be made that the Z6iii is a superior camera body in many respects, FX glass for it will be more expensive than the DX lenses for the Z50ii. In fact, there are lots of good, low-cost options for APS-C cameras. Meanwhile, you can use most FX lenses with a cropped sensor, but the reverse isn't as true. Accumulating a collection of useful lenses will probably be more expensive for the Z6iii than the Z50ii. Will your future resources be adequate? Are they sufficient now? What you decide now will have an impact down the road.
What an excellent thought. You are correct I need to evaluate carefully. Weighing up also the the trade in value of some of my existing equipment.
 
Bird-AF works well on it, it is integrated with the Animal-detection mode. From the limited testing I did on a loan-body, it is not significantly worse off vs the Z8/Z9, and on-par with the Z50ii, IMHO.
My experience is such that I would encourage the OP to see if he can try the two cameras. I can definitely tell a difference between my Z6iii on animal detection and the Z9 on bird detection. Does it make a difference? Maybe? For small birds, more likely to find the bird, and for larger birds or in flight, more likely to catch the eye.

Also with the Z9 on Auto Capture which only had bird detection, I feel like I miss more eyes in focus than I should.

Now this isn't to say it's a deal killer. I have Single point programmed to a button on the body or lens and can usually make up for it, unless it's a BIF.
 
I commented on this earlier without reading carefully. The original options included the Z6III with the Tamron 150-500mm and that is my exact set up. I've been very happy with it.

To shave off weight for travel, I bought the Nikon 28-400mm, which I'm lukewarm about. I don't feel like it brings out the best in the Z6III.

It's too late to return the lens, but if I had to do it all again, I'd just continue using my Z6III and the 150-500mm as I do locally but for travel, buy the Z50II with the kit lenses for and call it a day.
 
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