Z6iii - not a body for wildlife/BIF?

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Kenny88

Kenny88

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I was really hoping that the Z6iii would not have 24.5 megapixel sensor, and something higher like in the 4xMP range as this would make it an able body for a wildlife photographer on a budget who can't afford a Z8 or Z9 - the Z8 would fit the bill, but at 24.5M sensor having to crop would degrade the image too much. I have the 180-600mm, and it helps with the longer reach, but at 600mm I don't think it has a reach long enough?

Would have love to see a Z7iii announcement, but don't see that happening, so I might just pick up a new Z7ii at the insane sale price as it is - I don't do much BIF, and was thinking it'll be good to have a camera body capable of that while serving the landscape realm as well.

I don't know how many folks here do wildlife with a 24.x MP sensor, and with a 500mm or 600mm lens, but is it enough reach for wildlife without having to crop.
 
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Unlike Steve, I usually only get "one chance" for my wildlife shots. So getting closer is always a great idea but at least for me, not really practical. So a 24MP camera, no RAW pre-capture, and no dedicated bird eye detection indicates it is not suitable for my wildlife photography. For those of you who think it works great for them, that is fine, cheaper than a Z8 and slightly lighter. I will wait for the next Z8 iteration.
 
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I think expecting a ~45MP sensor in the Z6iii was never realistic unless you also expected them to raise the price point significantly more than they did. Unless they sacrificed something else that would absolutely cannibalize the Z8's target demographic.

I also think the missing bird eye AF is mildly unfortunate but not a deal breaker at all; I didn't complain about the performance of the animal eye AF in my Z8 for birds before they added the bird-specific mode via a firmware update, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Z6iii gets the bird eye AF in a future firmware release too.
 
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Kenny88 said:
I was really hoping that the Z6iii would not have 24.5 megapixel sensor, and something higher like in the 4xMP range as this would make it an able body for a wildlife photographer on a budget who can't afford a Z8 or Z9 - the Z8 would fit the bill, but at 24.5M sensor having to crop would degrade the image too much. I have the 180-600mm, and it helps with the longer reach, but at 600mm I don't think it has a reach long enough?

Would have love to see a Z7iii announcement, but don't see that happening, so I might just pick up a new Z7ii at the insane sale price as it is - I don't do much BIF, and was thinking it'll be good to have a camera body capable of that while serving the landscape realm as well.

I don't know how many folks here do wildlife with a 24.x MP sensor, and with a 500mm or 600mm lens, but is it enough reach for wildlife without having to crop.
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I think you're assuming small photosites /pixels and large photosites / pixels are the same - and they are not. Noise is more of a factor with higher resolution cameras, so there is a tradeoff between more resolution and image quality if you are cropping heavily.

Nigel Dawson tested the Z6iii and compared it to a Z8 image with an A2 print of the same scene and same lens. He could not tell the difference in an A2 print at close inspection. That's roughly a 16x24 inch print. Even at larger sizes, he could use the Lightroom Enhanced Resolution function to address upsizing to at least double that print. I don't think the difference is going to be material between a 46 MP image and a 24.5 MP image at equivalent cropping or normal viewing distance. Your technique and specific editing skills are going to be much more important.

As far as a 500-600mm lens, it really depends on your field craft, the specific subject, and your technical skills. I find 500-600mm is borderline for small songbirds, and often crop those subjects. But for wading birds and mammals, it's plenty of reach. I usually go to locations where I can photograph subjects and have enough reach with 500-600mm.
 
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ricardo00 said:
Unlike Steve, I usually only get "one chance" for my wildlife shots. So getting closer is always a great idea but at least for me, not really practical. So a 24MP camera, no RAW pre-capture, and no dedicated bird eye detection indicates it is not suitable for my wildlife photography. For those of you who think it works great for them, that is fine, cheaper than a Z8 and slightly lighter. I will wait for the next Z8 iteration.
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well, no raw precapture leaves nearly everything out anyway, so that alone wasn't very realistic.
 
It's strange that the idea that large photosites having less noise isnt always a rule anymore, once the two outputs are normalized. For example the Canon R5 and R6 are pretty much identical except for pixel resolution and there is not a dramatic difference in noise. Same with the z9 vs the z6ii, very similar noise.
 
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Cameron T said:
well, no raw precapture leaves nearly everything out anyway, so that alone wasn't very realistic.
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? Not sure what you mean? The Sony A9iii has RAW pre-capture? The OM-1 has RAW pre-capture? Yep no Nikon has RAW pre-capture. If the Z6iii fits your needs, great. Just expressing my opinion. Yep, for the price maybe unrealistic to have RAW pre-capture? Makes it unlikely (again IMO) that RAW precapture will come to the Z9 via a firmware upgrade. But would be very happy to be proven wrong.
 
Start naming some full frame cameras with raw precapture, there are a few. How about full frame with 45 or more megapixels? How about full frame less than $3000? I too would buy an acre of land between the sea foam and the sea sand.
 
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bleirer said:
Start naming some full frame cameras with raw precapture, there are a few. How about full frame with 45 or more megapixels? How about full frame less than $3000? I too would buy an acre of land between the sea foam and the sea sand.
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The Z6iii is the newest full frame out there. And only 24 MP, not 45. So one had hope? (Indeed, saw several people predicting it would hav e RAW pre-capture). But if no, then little reason for me to buy.
 
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What I got from the initial videos with the Z6 III is that it's a great body for widlife and especially BiF, with solid AF, 20 fps, nearly infinite buffer and a fast refreshing EVF.

But here in EU it seems to come in at about 3200$ at launch and I feel that it is poor value for money as a birding camera that really needs a 600mm lens to work as such.
 
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StefanSC said:
What I got from the initial videos with the Z6 III is that it's a great body for widlife and especially BiF, with solid AF, 20 fps, nearly infinite buffer and a fast refreshing EVF.

But here in EU it seems to come in at about 3200$ at launch and I feel that it is poor value for money as a birding camera that really needs a 600mm lens to work as such.
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For comparison, how much is a Z8 where you live?
 
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Thanks, but I went for an OM-1 and 300mm f4 for 3900$ 6 moths back and couldn't be happier that I did :) .
Had the Z6 III been a 33-36Mpx camera and the Sigma 500mm f5.6 lens available in Z-Mount, I may have had a bit of buyers remorse right now...

But as it stands, I can gather nearly as much light as a Z6 III with any "affordable" 600mm option ( for reference, a 600mm PF f6.3 around here is usually around 6000$... cheapest I've seen it was 5200$). I have nearly the same amount of MPX.

And I can shoot RAW pre-capture, 50fps and have a true black-out free EVF.
 
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Cameron T said:
Then don't buy it. But it's still a good wildlife body for a lot of people.
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It’s an excellent backup body for a Z8 or Z9…and a great travel/walking around camera, and pretty darned good for a travel photo but not bucket list enough to demand a whole backpack of gear. Is it a Z8/9…no…but at 2500 bucks it’s not supposed to be either.
 
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Personally I feel this may be a rather compelling wildlife shooting partner to a Z8/9. It has advantages WRT to VF, even better VR, size, low light shooting. Especially if you shoot the 800pf or can otherwise fill the frame. At higher ISO's I do not feel the Z8/9 offers real resolution advantages over the Z6.
 
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ricardo00 said:
Unlike Steve, I usually only get "one chance" for my wildlife shots. So getting closer is always a great idea but at least for me, not really practical. So a 24MP camera, no RAW pre-capture, and no dedicated bird eye detection indicates it is not suitable for my wildlife photography. For those of you who think it works great for them, that is fine, cheaper than a Z8 and slightly lighter. I will wait for the next Z8 iteration.
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While I absolutely support your thought process, I have to chuckle when I see posts like this and other posts dissing various AF mode failures.

It is not so long that we were all in awe of Steve's skills in keeping the focus point on the bird in flight's eye using dSLRs and eye detect wasn't even a thing! IIRC he also had a few videos on his techniques.
 
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I could imagine buying the Z6III as a backup camera. But the price difference to the Z8 speaks against it.
In Switzerland there is a promotion for certain cameras and lenses running until the end of July (including tax and 3-year guarantee as always with Nikon:
Z8 CHF 3390, 600 PF CHF 4390.
In comparison, the introductory price for the Z6III is CHF 2999.
I'll have to think twice about that.
 
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dabhand16 said:
While I absolutely support your thought process, I have to chuckle when I see posts like this and other posts dissing various AF mode failures.

It is not so long that we were all in awe of Steve's skills in keeping the focus point on the bird in flight's eye using dSLRs and eye detect wasn't even a thing! IIRC he also had a few videos on his techniques.
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Yeah, I have to chuckle about this as well. Just how did we take pictures in the days of 12 MP D3 cameras? Or, dare I say it, film?

I don't miss nor need top notch subject detection and tracking, falls in the same category as the Auto mode most people dread. Just use the smallest AF area you can manage to keep on target. And by the way, I don't think measuring "success" in photography by the number of "keepers" is helpfull. Just what do you do with 50 images of the same bird doing his thing? I'd take one or two great ones of 50 good ones any time.
 
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Helo48 said:
I could imagine buying the Z6III as a backup camera. But the price difference to the Z8 speaks against it.
In Switzerland there is a promotion for certain cameras and lenses running until the end of July (including tax and 3-year guarantee as always with Nikon:
Z8 CHF 3390, 600 PF CHF 4390.
In comparison, the introductory price for the Z6III is CHF 2999.
I'll have to think twice about that.
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Sure…nobody's going to claim that the Z6III is better than a second Z8…but remember that better is the enemy of good enough and consider all situations. If one wants a smaller lighter body that can both be a "not as good as a Z8 but pretty darned close" backup to either a Z8 or Z9 and a "camera I can take on travel with a single lens and still have decent capabilities for whatever wildlife we happen to see"…then this body makes a lot of sense…especially if their current travel body is an earlier Z7 or Z7 of either I or II variety because those are pretty lousy replacements for either a Z8 or z9 as a backup camera…believe me, I tried and the step down in capabilities there is so large that while the backup camera would be better than no camera at all it's really limited in what you are going to come home with if you're forced to the backup camera for whatever reason…and I think it's pretty obvious that a Z6III is a far better backup body than anything except another Z8 or Z9.

And personally…we may see a Z7III but there's so little room in the price sheet for the inevitable price increase all the new goodies will bring along between it and the Z8 that I doubt whatever the Z7III is (assuming it ever comes at all) it won't be aimed at wildlife photographers because it's replacement already exists (the Z8). My guess is that it will be a higher than 45MP landscape oriented body or it won't exist…which means that they'll announce it tomorrow of course:)
 
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