Loving my Nikon Z6iii and 180-600 zoom.

Killdeer photographed in Red Deer, Leva Avenue Natural Area.  July 16, 2026.

I have been shooting with my new lens and camera for two months now.  I have taken over 1600 photos with it on a variety of settings, although mostly in manual exposure mode.  The camera has performed well, and the 180-600 lens is reasonably sharp.

On the upside, the 24 mp full-frame sensor produces low noise at modest ISO settings (an ISO of 800 produces images with little noise).  Although it lacks the resolution of the Z7, Z8, and Z9 series, I find the reach of the zoom at 600 mm adequate.  In the event that more magnification is needed, I can use a1.4x teleconverter.  Image quality takes a bit of a hit, and my minimum aperture turns to f/9 when using the TC.  Using a higher ISO to compensate for the light loss does not seem to affect the images.

The downside of the Z6iii's sensor is that it lacks the dynamic range of other Nikon cameras.  Having said that, it has not been a problem for me thus far.  If I require more latitude, I can always bracket several images and join them using HDR software.

The camera can take 20 frames per second, much faster than my D500 (10) or even my now-sold Panasonic FTZ2500 (12).  I have it set to 15 fps when needed, which works well when shooting in 3D-tracking focus mode.

I don't care for the short battery life; more than once my battery has died in the middle of a shoot.  I may get 200 images before changing it; my D500 seems to go on forever before needing to swap the battery out.  Nikon says you can get over 350 images, but I keep my Nikon powered up and ready to shoot when out photographing critters.  The wake time is better than my Z7ii, but still a little long for my liking.

I like the 180-600 mm lens; it produces reasonably sharp images at all focal lengths.  I love the fact that I can zoom out to get closer to a subject, although the reproduction ratio takes a hit (see my blog on the changing reproduction ratio through focal lengths here).  I find that shooting at f/8 improves sharpness.  My 500 mm PF f/5.6 lens is sharper but lacks the zoom capacity.  I hope one day to get my hands on the 800 mm f/6.3.

Overall, I am pleased with the performance of the system.  I am using higher ISO than usual, changing my battery more often, and having to check on the zoom position frequently (there seems to be some zoom creep, even though it is an internal zoom).  These are small concessions for a great setup.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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