Products
Nikon Z 6III
Nikon D850
Tested using Methodology v0.13
Updated Feb 10, 2025 07:39 PM
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B&H
Tested using Methodology v0.13
Updated Feb 20, 2025 12:19 PM
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B&H
Body Type
SLR-Style
Mirrorless
Yes
Sensor Size
Full Frame
Body Type
DSLR
Mirrorless
No
Sensor Size
Full Frame
Our Verdict
Nikon Z 6III
Nikon D850
While one is mirrorless and the other is a DSLR, the Nikon Z 6III is a better overall camera than the Nikon D850—it's newer, which means it has all the benefits of newer camera tech, including a better processor, a faster readout speed, better high ISO performance, and more advanced autofocus and, especially, video features. It's also significantly more portable. Having said that, the D850 is one of the best cameras of its time, and its sensor has a higher dynamic range as well as a higher resolution, so if you don't mind a bulkier camera and don't need video features, it may offer better value, depending on the type of photography you do.
Variants
- Z 6III (Black (Body Only))
- Z 6III (Black W/ 24-70mm lens)
- D850 (Black (Body Only))
Check Price
Black (Body Only)
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
B&H
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
B&H
Black W/ 24-70mm lens
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
B&H
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Main Differences for
Travel Photography
Travel Photography
Threshold
Travel Photography
7.9
7.5
Portability
3.1
1.7
Full Comparison
Design
Portability
3.1
1.7
Portability Picture
Height
4.0" (10.2 cm)
5.1" (12.9 cm)
Width
5.8" (14.8 cm)
6.1" (15.4 cm)
Depth
3.4" (8.7 cm)
3.1" (7.9 cm)
Volume
79.7 in³ (1,305.3 cm³)
95.6 in³ (1,565.8 cm³)
Weight
1.65 lbs (0.75 kg)
2.19 lbs (0.99 kg)
Build Quality
8.5
8.5
Build Quality Picture
Body
Body Picture
Body Type
SLR-Style
DSLR
Water Resistance
Weather-Sealed
Weather-Sealed
Mirrorless
Yes
No
Rugged
No
No
Hot Shoe
Yes
Yes
Customizable Button
Yes
Yes
Command Dial
2
2
Tripod Mount
Yes
Yes
Lens Mount
Z Mount
F Mount
Built-In Flash
No
No
Fastest Shutter Speed
1/8,000 s
1/8,000 s
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Ergonomics & Comfort
9.0
8.5
Hand Grip Picture
Hand Grip: Small Hand
Yes
No
Hand Grip: Medium Hand
Yes
Yes
Hand Grip: Large Hand
Yes
Yes
Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand
Yes
Yes
Viewfinder
EVF Menu Picture
Viewfinder Type
Electronic
Optical
Advertised Coverage
100%
100%
Advertised Resolution
5.76 million dots
N/A
Advertised Magnification
0.8
0.75
Screen
9.5
8.0
Screen Picture
Screen Articulation Type
Fully-Articulated
Tilting
Screen Max Brightness
760 cd/m²
1,070 cd/m²
Advertised Resolution
2.10 million dots
2.40 million dots
Size
3.1" (8.0 cm)
3.1" (8.0 cm)
Touchscreen
Yes
Yes
Menu System
9.0
9.0
Screen Menu Picture
Guide Mode
Yes
Yes
App Name
Nikon SnapBridge
Nikon SnapBridge
Built-In Lens
0.0
0.0
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
Luminance
N/A
N/A
Light Falloff
N/A
N/A
Sensor
Sensor Type
Partially Stacked CMOS
BSI CMOS
Advertised Effective Pixels
24.5 MP
45.7 MP
Processor
EXPEED 7
EXPEED 5
Sensor Size
Full Frame
Full Frame
Extended ISO Minimum
50
32
Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)
100
64
Native ISO Maximum
64,000
25,600
Tested Firmware
1.00
1.31
Battery
8.3
7.2
Battery Type
Nikon EN-EL15C
Nikon EN-EL15C
USB Charging
Yes
No
Power Delivery While Recording
Yes
No
Advertised Battery Life In Photo
360 photos
1,840 photos
Tested Battery Life In Video
124 min
92 min
Photo General
Photo Shooting Speed
8.9
6.7
Low Speed Continuous
1 fps
1 fps
High Speed Continuous
14 fps
7 fps
Silent Shooting Continuous
120 fps
6 fps
Raw Buffer Size
200 Photos
65 Photos
JPEG Buffer Size
200 Photos
200 Photos
Buffer Empty Time
0 s
2.81 s
Photo AF-C Tracking
8.2
8.0
Autofocus Tracking Shots
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
69%
68%
Usable Focus Hit Rate
95%
86%
Photo AF-C Center Point
9.2
10
Autofocus Center Point Shots
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
90%
100%
Usable Focus Hit Rate
98%
100%
Photo Image Stabilization
8.8
8.3
Stabilization Slideshow
Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved
1/6 s
1/8 s
In-Body Image Stabilization
Yes
No
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Dynamic Range
8.6
9.1
Dynamic Range Scene
Dynamic Range At Base ISO
10.7 f-stops
11.5 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time
9.2 f-stops
9.9 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time
8.2 f-stops
8.1 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time
7.5 f-stops
7.3 f-stops
Photo RAW Sharpness
8.9
8.6
Sharpness Scene Crop
MTF Graph
Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
2,511 LW/PH
2,047 LW/PH
Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
2,065 LW/PH
2,014 LW/PH
Photo RAW Noise
7.9
7.5
Noise Scene Crop
Noise Vs Exposure Time
SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms)
34.6 dB
33.6 dB
SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms)
32.6 dB
31.5 dB
SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms)
28.6 dB
27.4 dB
SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms)
23.4 dB
22.0 dB
Pictures Sample Gallery
Video General
Video Features
Full HD Video
Yes
Yes
4k Video
Yes
Yes
6k Video
Yes
No
Clean HDMI Output
Yes
Yes
Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI
Not Advertised
4:2:2
Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI
10 bits
8 bits
Log Picture Profile
Yes
No
Recording Light
No
No
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
No
Yes
MOV H.265 / HEVC
Yes
No
AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
No
All-I Compression
No
No
4k Video
4k Video Frame Rate
9.7
8.5
240 fps In 4k
No
No
120 fps In 4k
Yes, with a Crop
No
60 fps In 4k
Yes
No
30 fps In 4k
Yes
Yes
24 fps In 4k
Yes
Yes
4k Crop At Max Available fps
1.5 x
1 x
4k Video Internal Recording
10
7.8
Bitrate Maximum In 4k
1,822 Mbps
117 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In 4k
147 Mbps
114 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In 4k
4:2:2
4:2:0
Bit Depth In 4k
10 Bit
8 Bit
Record Time Limit In 4k
125 min
30 min
Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k
0
0
4k Video Autofocus Performance
9.2
5.4
4k Object Tracking Video
Object Tracking In 4k
9.5
6.0
4k Face Tracking Video
Face Tracking In 4k
8.5
5.0
Face Detection In 4k
Yes
Yes
Eye Detection In 4k
Yes
No
4k Video Quality
8.8
8.3
4k Sample Low Light Video
Low Light Capability In 4k
8.5
7.5
4k Test Scene Extract
Test Scene Extract In 4k
9.0
9.0
4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
7.5
5.3
Rolling Shutter Video in 4k
4k Rolling Shutter
3.0°
7.7°
Full HD Video
FHD Video Frame Rate
10
9.2
240 fps In FHD
Yes, with a Crop
No
120 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes, with a Crop
60 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
30 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
24 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
FHD Crop At Max Available fps
1.05 x
1.5 x
FHD Video Internal Recording
10
7.5
Bitrate Maximum In FHD
900 Mbps
43 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In FHD
22 Mbps
21 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In FHD
4:2:2
4:2:0
Bit Depth In FHD
10 Bit
8 Bit
Record Time Limit in FHD
125 min
30 min
FHD Video Autofocus Performance
9.2
5.4
Object Tracking Video
Object Tracking In FHD
9.5
6.0
FHD Face Tracking Video
Face Tracking In FHD
8.5
5.0
Face Detection In FHD
Yes
Yes
Eye Detection In FHD
Yes
No
FHD Video Quality
8.0
7.5
FHD Sample Low Light Video
Low Light Capability In FHD
7.5
7.0
FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD
Test Scene Extract In FHD
8.5
8.0
FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
8.8
6.8
Rolling Shutter Video in FHD
FHD Rolling Shutter
1.3°
4.7°
Video Image Quality
Video Dynamic Range
8.5
6.4
Video Dynamic Range Waveform
Video Dynamic Range Slideshow
Strict SNR Max Dynamic Range
9.33 stops
9.33 stops
Lenient SNR Max Dynamic Range
11.01 stops
9.33 stops
Background Floor Max Dynamic Range
13.05 stops
9.33 stops
Luminosity Patch Detection
7.7
6.9
Luminosity Patch Detection Chart
Above Middle Gray
5.17 stops
6.49 stops
Below Middle Gray
8.87 stops
6.88 stops
Storage And Connectivity
Storage
Card Slot Picture
Card 1 Slot
CFexpress
CFexpress
Card 2 Slot
SD Card UHS-II
SD Card UHS-II
Inputs / Outputs
10
8.3
Input Picture
USB
USB-C
Micro-B USB 3.0
HDMI
Full Size (Type A)
Mini (Type C)
Headphones
Yes
Yes
Microphone
Stereo
Stereo
Wi-Fi
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Yes
Check Price
Black (Body Only)
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
B&H
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
B&H
Black W/ 24-70mm lens
Z 6III
SEE PRICE
B&H
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black (Body Only)
D850
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
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Nikon Z 6III
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Nikon Z 6III vs Nikon D850: Main Discussion
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