Get insider access
Preferred store
Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
We've recently released our Test Bench 0.13 update! Read the Video Dynamic Range R&D Article to learn more.
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Portability
    2. Build Quality
    3. Body
    4. In The Box
    5. Ergonomics & Comfort
    6. Viewfinder
    7. Screen
    8. Menu System
    9. Built-In Lens
    10. Sensor
    11. Battery
  5. Photo General
    1. Photo Shooting Speed
    2. Photo AF-C Tracking
    3. Photo AF-C Center Point
    4. Photo Image Stabilization
  6. Photo Image Quality
    1. Photo RAW Dynamic Range
    2. Photo RAW Sharpness
    3. Photo RAW Noise
  7. Pictures Sample Gallery
    1. The Skate Park Picture
    2. The Polish Church Picture
    3. The Studio Picture
    4. The Stairway Picture
  8. Video General
    1. Video Features
    2. Audio
    3. Video File Format And Compression
  9. 4k Video
    1. 4k Video Frame Rate
    2. 4k Video Internal Recording
    3. 4k Video Autofocus Performance
    4. 4k Video Quality
    5. 4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
  10. Full HD Video
    1. FHD Video Frame Rate
    2. FHD Video Internal Recording
    3. FHD Video Autofocus Performance
    4. FHD Video Quality
    5. FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
  11. Storage And Connectivity
    1. Storage
    2. Inputs / Outputs
  12. Comments

Nikon Z 6 vs Nikon Z 6III

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Nikon Z 6
Nikon Z 6III

Tested using Methodology v0.12.1

Updated May 01, 2024 07:30 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.12.1

Updated Jan 10, 2025 02:32 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Nikon Z 6 Picture
Nikon Z 6III Picture

Variants

  • Z 6 (Body Only)
  • Z 6 (w/ NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens)
  • Z 6III (Black (Body Only))
  • Z 6III (Black W/ 24-70mm lens)

Our Verdict

Nikon Z 6

Nikon Z 6III

If you're looking to upgrade from the Nikon Z 6, the Nikon Z 6III is well worth considering, particularly if you're a hybrid or video shooter. It has substantial improvements over the older model, including a new partially stacked sensor, a better processor, as well as an updated autofocus system and IBIS system. It significantly outclasses the Z 6 in video features, with internal Log recording and internal RAW video in 6k at up to 60p. However, if you're primarily interested in photography, you'll likely still be satisfied with the Z 6, unless you need the faster burst rates offered by the Z 6III.

0

Check Price

Black (Body Only)
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
w/ NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens
Z 6
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black W/ 24-70mm lens
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Travel Photography 

7.9
7.8
No major differences between these cameras for travel photography. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Portability 
 

3.7
3.1

Portability Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Portability Picture
Nikon Z 6III Portability Picture

Height 
 

4.0" (10.2 cm)
4.0" (10.2 cm)

Width 
 

5.6" (14.1 cm)
5.8" (14.8 cm)

Depth 
 

3.3" (8.5 cm)
3.4" (8.7 cm)

Volume 
 

74.6 in³ (1,222.5 cm³)
79.7 in³ (1,305.3 cm³)

Weight 
 

1.50 lbs (0.68 kg)
1.65 lbs (0.75 kg)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.5
8.5

Build Quality Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Build Quality Picture
Nikon Z 6III Build Quality Picture

Show text

Body  

Body Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Body Picture
Nikon Z 6III Body Picture

Body Type 
 

SLR-Style
SLR-Style

Water Resistance 
 

Weather-Sealed
Weather-Sealed

Mirrorless 
 

Yes
Yes

Rugged 
 

No
No

Hot Shoe 
 

Yes
Yes

Customizable Button 
 

Yes
Yes

Command Dial 
 

2
2

Tripod Mount 
 

Yes
Yes

Lens Mount 
 

Z Mount
Z Mount

Built-In Flash 
 

No
No

Fastest Shutter Speed 
 

1/8,000 s
1/8,000 s

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Nikon Z 6 In The Box Picture
Nikon Z 6III In The Box Picture

Show text

Ergonomics & Comfort 
 

9.0
9.0

Hand Grip Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Hand Grip Picture
Nikon Z 6III Hand Grip Picture

Hand Grip: Small Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Medium Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Large Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Viewfinder 
 

EVF Menu Picture  

Nikon Z 6 EVF Menu Picture
Nikon Z 6III EVF Menu Picture

Viewfinder Type 
 

Electronic
Electronic

Advertised Coverage 
 

100%
100%

Advertised Resolution 
 

3.69 million dots
5.76 million dots

Advertised Magnification 
 

0.8
0.8

Show text

Screen 
 

7.8
9.5

Screen Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Screen Picture
Nikon Z 6III Screen Picture

Screen Articulation Type 
 

Tilting
Fully-Articulated

Screen Max Brightness 
 

770 cd/m²
760 cd/m²

Advertised Resolution 
 

2.10 million dots
2.10 million dots

Size 
 

3.2" (8.1 cm)
3.1" (8.0 cm)

Touchscreen 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Menu System 
 

9.0
9.0

Screen Menu Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Screen Menu Picture
Nikon Z 6III Screen Menu Picture

Guide Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

App Name 
 

Nikon SnapBridge
Nikon SnapBridge

Show text

Built-In Lens 
 

0.0
0.0

Aperture Vs Focal Length  

Nikon Z 6 Aperture Vs Focal Length
Nikon Z 6III Aperture Vs Focal Length

Maximum Aperture 
 

No built-in lens
No built-in lens

Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent) 
 

N/A
N/A

Minimum Focal Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Maximum Focal Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent) 
 

N/A
N/A

Optical Image Stabilization 
 

No
No

Light Falloff Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Light Falloff Picture
Nikon Z 6III Light Falloff Picture

Luminance 
 

N/A
N/A

Light Falloff 
 

N/A
N/A

Sensor 
 

Sensor Type 
 

BSI CMOS
Partially Stacked CMOS

Advertised Effective Pixels 
 

24.5 MP
24.5 MP

Processor 
 

EXPEED 6
EXPEED 7

Sensor Size 
 

Full Frame
Full Frame

Extended ISO Minimum 
 

50
50

Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO) 
 

100
100

Native ISO Maximum 
 

51,200
64,000

Tested Firmware 
 

3.20
1.00

Show text

Battery 
 

7.4
8.3

Battery Type 
 

Nikon EN-EL15b
Nikon EN-EL15C

USB Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Power Delivery While Recording 
 

Yes
Yes

Advertised Battery Life In Photo 
 

310 photos
360 photos

Tested Battery Life In Video 
 

98 min
124 min

Show text

Photo General

Photo Shooting Speed 
 

7.2
8.9

Low Speed Continuous 
 

1 fps
1 fps

High Speed Continuous 
 

8 fps
14 fps

Silent Shooting Continuous 
 

8 fps
120 fps

Raw Buffer Size 
 

36 Photos
200 Photos

JPEG Buffer Size 
 

200 Photos
200 Photos

Buffer Empty Time 
 

2 s
0 s

Show text

Photo AF-C Tracking 
 

7.7
8.2

Autofocus Tracking Shots  

tracking-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
tracking-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01

Perfect Focus Hit Rate 
 

66%
69%

Usable Focus Hit Rate 
 

81%
95%

Show text

Photo AF-C Center Point 
 

10
9.2

Autofocus Center Point Shots  

center-point-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
center-point-run-01-01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01

Perfect Focus Hit Rate 
 

100%
90%

Usable Focus Hit Rate 
 

100%
98%

Show text

Photo Image Stabilization 
 

8.3
8.8

Stabilization Slideshow  

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved 
 

1/8 s
1/6 s

In-Body Image Stabilization 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Photo Image Quality

Photo RAW Dynamic Range 
 

8.9
8.6

Dynamic Range Scene  

Nikon Z 6 Dynamic Range Scene
Nikon Z 6III Dynamic Range Scene

Dynamic Range At Base ISO 
 

11.1 f-stops
10.7 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time 
 

9.8 f-stops
9.2 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time 
 

8.0 f-stops
8.2 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time 
 

7.4 f-stops
7.5 f-stops

Show text

Photo RAW Sharpness 
 

8.7
8.9

Sharpness Scene Crop  

Nikon Z 6 Sharpness Scene Crop
Nikon Z 6III Sharpness Scene Crop

MTF Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 
 

2,389 LW/PH
2,511 LW/PH

Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO 
 

1,926 LW/PH
2,065 LW/PH

Show text

Photo RAW Noise 
 

8.1
7.9

Noise Scene Crop  

Nikon Z 6 Noise Scene Crop
Nikon Z 6III Noise Scene Crop

Noise Vs Exposure Time  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms) 
 

35.3dB
34.6dB

SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms) 
 

33.1 dB
32.6 dB

SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms) 
 

29.0 dB
28.6 dB

SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms) 
 

24.0dB
23.4dB

Show text

Pictures Sample Gallery

The Skate Park Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Skate Park   

Nikon Z 6 Sample Gallery - Skate Park
Nikon Z 6III Sample Gallery - Skate Park

JPEG Skate Park Picture  

RAW Skate Park Picture  

The Polish Church Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Church  

Nikon Z 6 Sample Gallery - Church
Nikon Z 6III Sample Gallery - Church

JPEG Polish Church Picture  

RAW Polish Church Picture  

The Studio Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Studio  

Nikon Z 6 Sample Gallery - Studio
Nikon Z 6III Sample Gallery - Studio

JPEG Studio Picture  

RAW Studio Picture  

The Stairway Picture 
 

Sample Gallery - Stairway  

Nikon Z 6 Sample Gallery - Stairway
Nikon Z 6III Sample Gallery - Stairway

JPEG Stairway Picture  

RAW Stairway Picture  

Video General

Video Features  

Full HD Video 
 

Yes
Yes

4k Video 
 

Yes
Yes

6k Video 
 

No
Yes

Clean HDMI Output 
 

Yes
Yes

Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI 
 

Not Advertised
Not Advertised

Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI 
 

10 bits
10 bits

Log Picture Profile 
 

Yes
Yes

Recording Light  
 

No
No

Show text

Audio  

Audio Test Sample 
 

Audio Recording 
 

Stereo
Stereo

Microphone Level Display 
 

Yes
Yes

Video File Format And Compression  

MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

Yes
Yes

MP4 H.265 / HEVC 
 

No
No

MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

Yes
No

MOV H.265 / HEVC 
 

No
Yes

AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC 
 

No
No

All-I Compression 
 

No
No

Show text

4k Video

4k Video Frame Rate 
 

8.5
9.7

240 fps In 4k 
 

No
No

120 fps In 4k 
 

No
Yes, with a Crop

60 fps In 4k 
 

No
Yes

30 fps In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes

24 fps In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes

4k Crop At Max Available fps 
 

1 x
1.5 x

Show text

4k Video Internal Recording 
 

7.8
10

Bitrate Maximum In 4k 
 

120 Mbps
1,822 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In 4k 
 

120 Mbps
147 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In 4k 
 

4:2:0
4:2:2

Bit Depth In 4k 
 

8 Bit
10 Bit

Record Time Limit In 4k 
 

30 min
125 min

Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k 
 

0
0

Show text

4k Video Autofocus Performance 
 

6.9
9.2

4k Object Tracking Video  

Object Tracking In 4k 
 

5.3
9.5

4k Face Tracking Video  

Face Tracking In 4k 
 

9.2
8.5

Face Detection In 4k 
 

Yes
Yes

Eye Detection In 4k 
 

No
Yes

Show text

4k Video Quality 
 

8.8
8.8

4k Sample Low Light Video  

Low Light Capability In 4k  

8.5
8.5

4k Test Scene Extract  

Nikon Z 6 4k Test Scene Extract
Nikon Z 6III 4k Test Scene Extract

Test Scene Extract In 4k  

9.0
9.0

Show text

4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect 
 

6.1
7.5

Rolling Shutter Video in 4k  

4k Rolling Shutter 
 

6.3°
3.0°

Show text

Full HD Video

FHD Video Frame Rate 
 

9.5
10

240 fps In FHD 
 

No
Yes, with a Crop

120 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

60 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

30 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

24 fps In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

FHD Crop At Max Available fps 
 

1 x
1.05 x

Show text

FHD Video Internal Recording 
 

7.8
10

Bitrate Maximum In FHD 
 

124 Mbps
900 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In FHD 
 

24 Mbps
22 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In FHD 
 

4:2:0
4:2:2

Bit Depth In FHD 
 

8 Bit
10 Bit

Record Time Limit in FHD 
 

30 min
125 min

Show text

FHD Video Autofocus Performance 
 

7.3
9.2

Object Tracking Video  

Object Tracking In FHD 
 

6.3
9.5

FHD Face Tracking Video  

Face Tracking In FHD 
 

9.1
8.5

Face Detection In FHD 
 

Yes
Yes

Eye Detection In FHD 
 

No
Yes

Show text

FHD Video Quality 
 

7.8
8.0

FHD Sample Low Light Video  

Low Light Capability In FHD  

7.5
7.5

FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD  

Nikon Z 6 FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD
Nikon Z 6III FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD

Test Scene Extract In FHD  

8.0
8.5

Show text

FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect 
 

8.2
8.8

Rolling Shutter Video in FHD  

FHD Rolling Shutter 
 

2.0°
1.3°

Show text

Storage And Connectivity

Storage  

Card Slot Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Card Slot Picture
Nikon Z 6III Card Slot Picture

Card 1 Slot 
 

CFexpress
CFexpress

Card 2 Slot 
 

No 2nd Card Slot
SD Card UHS-II

Show text

Inputs / Outputs 
 

9.5
10

Input Picture  

Nikon Z 6 Input Picture
Nikon Z 6III Input Picture

USB 
 

USB-C
USB-C

HDMI 
 

Mini (Type C)
Full Size (Type A)

Headphones 
 

Yes
Yes

Microphone 
 

Stereo
Stereo

Wi-Fi 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Check Price

Black (Body Only)
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
w/ NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens
Z 6
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black W/ 24-70mm lens
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Nikon Z 6

Nikon Z 6III

Comments

  1. Comparison

Nikon Z 6 vs Nikon Z 6III: Main Discussion

What do you think of these products? Let us know below.


Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.

PreviewBack to editorFormat guide
No comments yet, refresh to see new ones