Nikon Z 6III vs Z 5II: Which Camera Is Better?

Tested using Methodology v0.13.1

Updated Oct 01, 2026 05:19 PM

Body Type SLR-Style

Mirrorless Yes

Sensor Size Full Frame

Body Type SLR-Style

Mirrorless Yes

Sensor Size Full Frame

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Our Verdict

Nikon Z 6III

Nikon Z 5II

Despite being a lower-end model, the Nikon Z 5II matches the Nikon Z 6III in several respects: both cameras use the same EXPEED 7 processor and a 24.5 MP sensor, with similar autofocus capabilities. The Z 5II even takes the edge when it comes to photo dynamic range. Where the Z 6III pulls ahead is overall speed. Its partially stacked sensor enables blackout-free shooting, and burst rates climb much higher, up to 120 fps with the e-shutter, compared to the Z 5II's 30 fps. It's also a more capable video camera, as it can capture up to 6k video or even 4k/120.

Variants

Z 6III (Black (Body Only))
Z 6III (Black W/ 24-70mm lens)

Z 5II (Black (Body Only))
Z 5II (Black W/ 24-105mm lens)

Review

See Nikon Z 6III Review

See Nikon Z 5II Review

Check Price

Black (Body Only)

Z 6III

Black (Body Only)

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 6III

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-105mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-200mm lens

Z 5II

BestBuy.com

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5II

Main Differences for

Travel Photography

Threshold

0.10

Travel Photography

7.9

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

Full Comparison

Travel Photography

7.9

Landscape Photography

8.3

8.5

Sports & Wildlife Photography

8.8

Vlogging

7.6

7.2

Studio Video

9.4

9.2

Action Video

6.8

4.8

Raw Photo

8.5

8.8

Design

Portability

3.1

3.4

Portability Picture

Compare High-Res

Height

4.0" (10.2 cm)

4.0" (10.1 cm)

Width

5.8" (14.8 cm)

5.7" (14.5 cm)

Depth

3.4" (8.7 cm)

3.3" (8.5 cm)

Volume

79.7 in³ (1,305.3 cm³)

76.0 in³ (1,246.0 cm³)

Weight

1.65 lbs (0.75 kg)

1.57 lbs (0.71 kg)

Build Quality

8.5

Build Quality Picture

Compare High-Res

Body

Body Picture

Compare High-Res

Body Type

SLR-Style

Water Resistance

Weather-Sealed

Mirrorless

Yes

Rugged

Hot Shoe

Yes

Customizable Button

Yes

Command Dial

Tripod Mount

Yes

Lens Mount

Z Mount

Built-In Flash

Fastest Shutter Speed

1/8,000 s

In The Box

In The Box Picture

Compare High-Res

Ergonomics & Comfort

9.0

Hand Grip Picture

Compare High-Res

Hand Grip: Small Hand

Yes

Hand Grip: Medium Hand

Yes

Hand Grip: Large Hand

Yes

Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand

Yes

Viewfinder

EVF Menu Picture

Compare High-Res

Viewfinder Type

Electronic

Advertised Coverage

100%

Advertised Resolution

5.76 million dots

3.69 million dots

Advertised Magnification

0.8

Screen

9.5

9.7

Screen Picture

Compare High-Res

Screen Articulation Type

Fully-Articulated

Screen Max Brightness

760 cd/m²

876 cd/m²

Advertised Resolution

2.10 million dots

Size

3.1" (8.0 cm)

Touchscreen

Yes

Menu System

9.0

Screen Menu Picture

Compare High-Res

Guide Mode

Yes

App Name

Nikon SnapBridge

Built-In Lens

0.0

Aperture Vs Focal Length

Maximum Aperture

No built-in lens

Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent)

N/A

Minimum Focal Length

N/A

Maximum Focal Length

N/A

Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent)

N/A

Optical Image Stabilization

Light Falloff Picture

Compare High-Res

Luminance

N/A

Light Falloff

N/A

Sensor

Sensor Type

Partially Stacked CMOS

BSI CMOS

Advertised Effective Pixels

24.5 MP

Processor

EXPEED 7

Sensor Size

Full Frame

Extended ISO Minimum

Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)

100

Native ISO Maximum

64,000

Tested Firmware

1.00

1.20

Battery

8.3

8.1

Battery Type

Nikon EN-EL15C

USB Charging

Yes

Power Delivery While Recording

Yes

Advertised Battery Life In Photo

360 photos

330 photos

Tested Battery Life In Video

124 min

120 min

Photo General

Photo Shooting Speed

8.9

Low Speed Continuous

1 fps

High Speed Continuous

14 fps

Silent Shooting Continuous

120 fps

30 fps

Raw Buffer Size

200 Photos

JPEG Buffer Size

200 Photos

Buffer Empty Time

0 s

Photo AF-C Tracking

8.2

7.6

Autofocus Tracking Shots

Run 01

AF-C Tracking 01

Cycle through frames

Run 01

AF-C Tracking 01

Cycle through frames

Perfect Focus Hit Rate

69%

61%

Usable Focus Hit Rate

95%

93%

Photo AF-C Center Point

9.2

8.9

Autofocus Center Point Shots

Run 01

AF-C Center Point 01

Cycle through frames

Run 01

AF-C Center Point 01

Cycle through frames

Perfect Focus Hit Rate

90%

86%

Usable Focus Hit Rate

98%

96%

Photo Image Stabilization

8.8

Stabilization Slideshow

Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved

1/6 s

In-Body Image Stabilization

Yes

Photo Image Quality

Photo RAW Dynamic Range

8.6

9.5

Dynamic Range Scene

Compare High-Res

Dynamic Range At Base ISO

10.7 f-stops

11.9 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time

9.2 f-stops

10.2 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time

8.2 f-stops

8.9 f-stops

Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time

7.5 f-stops

8.1 f-stops

Photo RAW Sharpness

8.9

8.8

Sharpness Scene Crop

Compare High-Res

MTF Graph

Preview Graph

Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO

2,511 LW/PH

2,410 LW/PH

Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO

2,065 LW/PH

1,955 LW/PH

Photo RAW Noise

7.9

8.2

Noise Scene Crop

Compare High-Res

Noise Vs Exposure Time

Preview Graph

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

34.6 dB

34.7 dB

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

32.6 dB

33.1 dB

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

28.6 dB

29.7 dB

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

23.4 dB

24.0 dB

Video General

Video Features

Full HD Video

Yes

4k Video

Yes

6k Video

Yes

Clean HDMI Output

Yes

Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI

Not Advertised

Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI

10 bits

N/A

Log Picture Profile

Yes

Recording Light

Audio

Audio Test Sample

Audio Recording

Stereo

Microphone Level Display

Yes

Video File Format And Compression

MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Yes

MP4 H.265 / HEVC

MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

Yes

MOV H.265 / HEVC

Yes

AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC

All-I Compression

4k Video

4k Video Frame Rate

9.7

9.0

240 fps In 4k

120 fps In 4k

Yes, with a Crop

60 fps In 4k

Yes

Yes, with a Crop

30 fps In 4k

Yes

24 fps In 4k

Yes

4k Crop At Max Available fps

1.5 x

4k Video Internal Recording

8.8

Bitrate Maximum In 4k

1,822 Mbps

326 Mbps

Bitrate Minimum In 4k

147 Mbps

146 Mbps

Chroma Sampling In 4k

4:2:2

4:2:0

Bit Depth In 4k

10 Bit

Record Time Limit In 4k

125 min

Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k

4k Video Autofocus Performance

9.2

9.8

4k Object Tracking Video

Object Tracking In 4k

9.5

4k Face Tracking Video

Face Tracking In 4k

8.5

9.5

Face Detection In 4k

Yes

Eye Detection In 4k

Yes

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

9.5

240 fps In FHD

Yes, with a Crop

120 fps In FHD

Yes

60 fps In FHD

Yes

30 fps In FHD

Yes

24 fps In FHD

Yes

FHD Crop At Max Available fps

1.05 x

1 x

FHD Video Internal Recording

9.4

Bitrate Maximum In FHD

900 Mbps

188 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

Record Time Limit in FHD

125 min

FHD Video Autofocus Performance

9.2

9.8

Object Tracking Video

Object Tracking In FHD

9.5

FHD Face Tracking Video

Face Tracking In FHD

8.5

9.5

Face Detection In FHD

Yes

Eye Detection In FHD

Yes

FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect

8.8

7.7

Rolling Shutter Video in FHD

FHD Rolling Shutter

1.3°

2.7°

Video Image Quality

Video Dynamic Range

8.6

8.8

Base ISO Video Dynamic Range Waveform

Strict SNR Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

9.46 stops

11.02 stops

Lenient SNR Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

11.42 stops

12.14 stops

Background Floor Video Dynamic Range At Base ISO

13.03 stops

13.06 stops

Storage And Connectivity

Storage

Card Slot Picture

Compare High-Res

Card 1 Slot

CFexpress

SD Card UHS-II

Card 2 Slot

SD Card UHS-II

Inputs / Outputs

9.5

Input Picture

Compare High-Res

USB

USB-C

HDMI

Full Size (Type A)

Micro (Type D)

Headphones

Yes

Microphone

Stereo

Wi-Fi

Yes

Bluetooth

Yes

Check Price

Black (Body Only)

Z 6III

Black (Body Only)

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 6III

Black W/ 24-70mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-105mm lens

Z 5II

Black W/ 24-200mm lens

Z 5II

BestBuy.com

Black W/ 24-50mm lens

Z 5II