What does the Nikon Z6iii have for a landscape photographer ??

[jeremyrh]

From looking at the specs it seems like an interesting new piece of kit for video, but as a landscape photographer what is the interest for me? Specifically, if I am looking for a smaller body to use as backup for my Z8, or for when my shoulder is tired from dragging it around, should I be looking at the Z6iii? Or stick to the Z7ii ??

[langier]

IMO, you'd be better with a Z7 II over the 6Z series for landscapes. The Z6 & Z7 bodies are similar in most aspects for each iteration other than the higher resolution of the latter.

One thing that's appealing to me on the Z6 III, though, is the sensor-shift imaging to get you the nearly 100-megapixel image. But the caveat is that you must use the Nikon software to do this.

Over the past 20 years, many of my largest prints (30x20 to 60x40 inches) were not taken with high-resolution cameras but usually with 6-12 mp and later with 16 mp M43 cameras. A recent 60x40 I delivered a couple of weeks ago was taken with the M43 at its native resolution and cropped before I made the print. It was stunning from such a small file and the client was very pleased.

For the several years I was shooting with M43, my favorite camera was the Olympus M5 Mk. II because of its in-camera pixel shift which allowed me to shoot tripod-mounted high-resolution images that were raw files combined in-camera using the great M43 lenses. But the big drawback for me was that the bodies were just too fragile for the work I continued to do and in low light were not quite to the task.

I evolved to the Nikon Z6 & Z7 series about five years ago and combined with the new series of lenses, even the large prints from the 24 mp Z6 are steller. The Z7 series is even better for image quality.

The bottom line is that a Z7 II, now discounted to about $2k would probably be more practical for your landscape work with your Z8 but in a smaller package.

The sensor differences will be quite minimal and the controls will be a little different but the final result should be about the same with either camera.

I'm using the first and second generation of Z bodies and I prefer the second generation with the better autofocus and extended manual shutter speed range into hours for night-time shooting. Today with each update, it isn't much about overall image quality but more tweaking for the better. It seems that the features and useability are getting the updates for the good.

I like the march forward but I won't jump onto the boat until I wear out what I already have or the new features are so overwhelming that it will actually make things easier as I can create compelling, competent and outstanding work with even the outdated iPhone I now have that's generations in the dust.

[jeremyrh]

Thanks for your comment Larry. I'm thinking you are right and a Z7ii is a better fit for my needs. Unless a Z7iii is on the way :-)   I have tried out the Z8 pixel shift functionality and so far not seen a compelling case for using it. I'll give it another chance but it's not clear it's a factor for me right now.

[langier]

You buy as you have a need. Don't wait for vaporware as sometimes you'll wait forever.

The Z8 is compelling in many ways, but it's larger and although the back display is a great improvement over the older Z II series, it's not enough to spark my interest with what I have and use. There's nothing that will make my final image any better.

I like some of the new features of the Z 6 III, especially the new articulated display, it's another iteration.

I just sold another bunch of images for a commercial installation, mostly larger prints, and not one file from a camera with more than 12-16 mp. Last month, one of the images was a 60x40 gallery-wrap canvas from an m43 camera.

Bottom line, with good craft, nearly any camera made in the past 10-15 years is fine for 95-99% of all photography. And even newer-model iPhones and similar are quite adequate for much of today's work.

If your work is heading to social media, a smartphone is plenty. If you are printing to hang on the wall, most digital cameras are fine, even in the 10-24 mp range. I even have a few pix from my iPhone hanging in my studio. It was the right camera for the occasion.

IMO coming from the days of film, even digital cameras from 20 years ago were an improvement and since that time continue to improve though not as quickly today.

[fdisilvestro]

According to the tests by the site photons to photos, the Z6III has almost 1 stop lower dynamic range than the Z6II at lower ISO. This might be a compromise they made to achieve the speed performance of the Z6III. After the dual gain kiks in, then it matches the Z6II. So It would look like it is great for action / sports, but not so much for landscape.

https://www.photonstophotos.net///Charts/PDR.htm#Nikon%20Z%206II,Nikon%20Z%206III

[jeremyrh]

Thanks for the link, Frank. Some interesting data there !!