Shootout The Nikon Z6 vs the Sony A7III - Unbiased Comparison!

[AlwaysOnAuto]

All this talk about ergonomics got me thinking about when I 'went digital' at the insistence of my wife (something about not enough pictures of the kids growing up).
At the time I was using my Nikon FE. I insisted on getting a camera that could do everything it could do, only digitally. My search ended up at the CoolPix 995. Talk about ergo horror! All those tiny little buttons on such a small camera! Not that I have fat fingers or anything like that...but really?
It taught me to become adaptable to the camera. I'm not sure what the shutter count is on that camera (still have it), but I'd be willing to bet I haven't taken as many shots with all my other digitals combined as I did using it.
So don't complain about ergonomics not being 'ideal'. Every time I look at an old Nikon F my shutter finger starts to cramp.

 

[acnomad]

I know this an old thread, and hope all will forgive me for reviving it (I'm new to this forum). If anyone still has the energy for this discussion...

My biggest complaint about the Z is perhaps the least talked about or flatly ignored and that's the way the Z camera handles magnify view. For my particular niche of adapting manual lenses, to me it's completely unusable.

I actually have found the Z6 to be very usable with MF lenses - quite similar in capability to the Olympus E-M1. Do you still find the A7III to be superior in smoothness for magnified view?

That allows for an upcoming Z8 to be the Nikon most were expecting. D850-class AF, 70+MP, dual card slots, round eyepiece and a potential grip with functionality

Long after you posted this, the new announcements from Nikon are a crop sensor mirrorless (Z50) and a new pro DSLR (D6). If the Z8 you're hoping for comes, a lot of people loyal to Nikon will gain a pro option for mirrorless.

a stable of 15-20fps af-c capable lenses

I had not realized this was a consideration. Does this mean there are lenses whose focusing mechanisms fail to keep pace with higher frame rates in a noticeable way? If so, what is their limit?

 

[JonathanF2]

I know this an old thread, and hope all will forgive me for reviving it (I'm new to this forum). If anyone still has the energy for this discussion...


I actually have found the Z6 to be very usable with MF lenses - quite similar in capability to the Olympus E-M1. Do you still find the A7III to be superior in smoothness for magnified view?

I had not realized this was a consideration. Does this mean there are lenses whose focusing mechanisms fail to keep pace with higher frame rates in a noticeable way? If so, what is their limit?

I find the A7III better with magnified view, which maintains the same frame rate/smoothness as the regular view. The Nikon Z6 I tried at the time, dropped the frame rate in magnify view making it harder to gauge manual focus compared to the A7III. Sony works best when it comes to adapting older lenses mainly due to how their focusing aides are implemented. On paper though, the Z mount is potentially better due to the larger Z mount, in fact some of my Nikon MF glass slightly vignettes when paired with adapters on the Sony E-mount. I also think it's just how Nikon did things with the Z bodies, because (for example) live view on the Nikon Df is buttery smooth.

Regarding lenses, Nikon had to switch to the E aperture for their newer lenses in order to increase camera frame rate. I believe all E lenses should be capable of a faster 15-20 fps shutter mechanism. The older G style lenses are most likely capped at 12 fps.

 

[Ziggy99]

Sony says the A9 measures AE and AF up to 60x a second. Obviously to get the most benefit out of that you need a lens diaphragm and focus drive that will keep up. Maybe that explains the Sony premium attached to its better lenses.

 

[Dan Euritt]

I had not realized this was a consideration. Does this mean there are lenses whose focusing mechanisms fail to keep pace with higher frame rates in a noticeable way? If so, what is their limit?

See the DPR review of the Z50/1.8: "Autofocus actuation from the stepping motor isn't as fast as Nikon's snappiest F-mount zooms with more powerful ring-type AF motors, but it's at least as fast as most of the company's older primes and good enough for rapid acquisition of most subjects. The Z 50mm F1.8 S focuses slightly faster than the Z 35mm F1.8 S but there's not much to choose between them." https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-z-50mm-f1point8-s-lens-review

Nikon apparently chose to use the slower stepper motors on most if not all of the z-mount lenses so far: https://photographylife.com/everyth...n-z-lenses#nikon-z-lenses-have-stepping-motor

Here is the Sony progression through at least six different focus motor designs: https://www.sony.com/electronics/alpha-lens-technology

We don't know what the highest FPS rate is for other companies lenses, because they don't test and publish the specs, like Sony does.

I would expect z-mount to lock the aperture when doing fast af-c shooting, like Sony does.