Z6iii - not a body for wildlife/BIF?

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

Member's gallery
Member's gallery
I definitely enjoyed the viewfinder yesterday on a cloudy day at La Jolla cove. The image below is a Snapbridge transfer at 2mp. Doesn’t do it justice; maybe the 8k would but wouldn’t be able to post directly here. I’ll post some after I’m home Hit rate isn’t Z9 for BIF but what a joy to carry with 600PF. For perched and other mammals it was great. I also thought reviewing was easier in camera. For my use as a travel camera with a possible wildlife encounter it’s great.
_Z630731.jpeg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Member's gallery
Neil H. said:
Just to rub it in! Then - here in Australia there are the birds that frequent my garden, like Rainbow and Musk Lorikeets, Eastern Rosellas, Galahs, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and the endangered Swift Parrot. Then the day we saw eight different birds of prey in one morning. Oh! - AND when I visit a nearby Ramsar site I often do not see another person all day. I shudder when I hear how many photographers turn up at sites throughout the world. Aussi! Aussi! Aussi! Oi! Oi! Oi!
Click to expand...
We have one pesky rainbow lorikeet that perches on lens hood then leans over to look at front of lens…..he’s no pet, just doesn’t feel threatened
 
Member's gallery
fcotterill said:
Brad Hill's brief commentary about the Z6 III as a wildlife camera : in field notes under

Common Nighthawk - Chillin' @ Sunrise. Findlay Creek, British Columbia, Canada. July 3, 2024.
Click to expand...
Because Brad's Field notes aren't easy to find here you go everyone - you might all be surprised.

I captured this image shortly after acquiring a Nikon Z 6III and beginning to field test it. To be honest I had quite low expectations for the Z 6III, largely owing to how much of an advance the Z 9 was over the Z 6III's precursor (the Z 6II). Boy, was I ever wrong! I REALLY like the Z 6III as a wildlife camera and for me it occupies almost the same performance niche in still photography as the D6. And, in some ways it's considerably BETTER than the D6.

I know some will think I'm a bit nuts in comparing the Z 6III to the D6 (from a pure "performance in the field" perspective) and claiming they occupy a similar niche for still wildlife photographers. But when you stop and think about it I think the comparison is valid. Based on my own testing it appears that the ISO performance of the Z 6III is very similar to that of the D6 (and from a noise perspective it's about 1.3 to 1.5 stops "better" than a Z 9 or Z 8). And the Z 6III is as responsive and fast as a D6 (and certainly faster in frame rate).

Just how does the Z 6III BEAT the D6? Well...the AF is excellent and, at least IMHO, considerably better than that of the D6. The Z 6III also has a faster frame rate (along with virtually no shutter lag), and is MUCH smaller and lighter than the D6 (those wanting to ADD weight to the Z 6III to better balance super-telephoto lenses - and add vertical controls and longer battery life - can add the MB-N14 battery grip to the Z 6III). And then, of course, there are all the advantages inherent with the Z 6III being a mirrorless camera, including a much more information-loaded viewfinder, dramatically better video, more accurate AF with WAY BETTER tracking, better teleconverter performance (even when shooting adapted F-mount lenses), dramatically better VR, yada, yada, yada. Additionally, the Z 6III is a whole lot cheaper than the D6.

Of course, no one in their right mind would argue that the Z 6III is as durable or robust as a D6...I have no doubt that some of the things you could put a D6 successfully through (like shooting at -30C) would be beyond the capabilities of a Z 6III - if you do that kind of shooting a D6 (or possibly a Z 9) would very likely work better for you.

If we return to this shot for a second it's easy to see how the Z 6III would outperform a D6 in this instance. This image was hand-held and captured at 1/40s (using a 600mm lens). I don't know about you, but successfully hand-holding a D6 with a 600mm VR lens while shooting at 1/40s (and getting a tack-sharp shot) just never happened for me. For wildlife photographers hand-holding big lenses...well...the VR of the Z 6III makes it dramatically more "usable" than a D6 for many.

Anyway...I readily admit I'm already a big fan of the Z 6III and I look forward to taking it with me during even my most "serious" wildlife shoots and expeditions.
Click to expand...
 
Member's gallery
I didn't have a chance to shoot my Z6 at -30 ° C so far, I did so with a D700, D200 and have first hand experience doing so with a D750. And I shot the Z6 in rain, snow and freezing temps.

From that, I have full convidence in shooting a Z6 in all of those conditions, including the +55° C and dust storms the D700 and D750 went through with some sensor dust. Now, I have not held a D6, the Z6 so is from feel and what drawings I have seen on par with every other body I held.

Can you hammer in a nail or drive over it in a car, or drop it out of a driving car without much damage? No idea. Could you do that with a D6? Maybe, people claimed the nail bit about the F4 so, which I'd say is not built to the same standard as a Z6.
 
Member's gallery
The D6 is an extremely tough act to match. Even as a loyal D850 shooter, I find the D6 is Nikon's best DSLR.
In practice, ''out there" in the outdoors all these Enthusiast and Pro Nikon MILCs and DSLRs endure considerable abuse from the elements. The flagships receive the most investment in weather sealing with torture testing R&D. A D6 will likely to be the last to stop taking photos in vile weather

Water Resistance Expectations for Professional Camera Equipment

I was wondering what realistic expectations folk have of professional grade camera equipment used in wet conditions. I was photographing and videoing rugby games last week in persistent rain. I was out in the rain for 3-4 hours. I would not call it torrential, as one might expect in the tropics...
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com
 
Member's gallery
ricardo00 said:
? 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.
Click to expand...
The OM-1 does, in fact, have RAW pre-capture. They were the first company to implement it.
 
Member's gallery
geoawelch said:
The OM-1 does, in fact, have RAW pre-capture. They were the first company to implement it.
Click to expand...
Yes that is what I said. Maybe you misread it? And so does the Sony A9 miii. I was responding to a post that implied nothing has RAW pre-capture. The OM-1 has a sensor 1/2 the size of the Sony. So the amount of info needed to transfer a RAW pre-capture on the OM-1 is substantially less than for a full size sensor. I am very happy that Olympus pioneered the RAW pre-capture. But it is no longer unique to them.
PS. And now the Canon R1 and R5 mii have RAW pre-capture as well.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top