p.2 #1 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
MikeEvangelist wrote:
I went with the Z6iii, as the price for the refurb from Nikon was the same as the Z5ii.
Do you have different Sony bodies? I'd be interested to hear how you rate the viewfinder on the Z6iii compared to the 3.6MP Sony viewfinders or the one on the A7rV. I read a lot of contradictory reviews about it. On the one hand, people praise it for its fineness and brightness, while on the other, they also say it has too much contrast and oversaturation, resulting in a less than lifelike image.
p.2 #2 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
Nifty Fifty wrote:
Do you have different Sony bodies? I'd be interested to hear how you rate the viewfinder on the Z6iii compared to the 3.6MP Sony viewfinders or the one on the A7rV. I read a lot of contradictory reviews about it. On the one hand, people praise it for its fineness and brightness, while on the other, they also say it has too much contrast and oversaturation, resulting in a less than lifelike image.
I have an a7CR and an a7Rv, so I'm familiar with the full range of Sony's viewfinders. I'm anxious to see the Nikon viewfinder, as I too have read conflicting reports.
p.2 #3 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
MikeEvangelist wrote:
I have an a7CR and an a7Rv, so I'm familiar with the full range of Sony's viewfinders. I'm anxious to see the Nikon viewfinder, as I too have read conflicting reports.
Too bad, I would have been most interested in the comparison with the A7iv (or A7r III). But it will still be interesting to hear your assessment.
p.2 #5 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
I had a Zf in addition to my other sony cameras (and considering an Z8 vs getting an A1II). I think I had some hard time getting used to Nikon's menu and button placement. Otherwise, they are great cameras.
p.2 #6 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
If the Z5/6 had the Z8's (in my opinion) brilliant display, I'd probably switch to Nikon for that reason alone. I think it's great that both portrait and horizontal formats require just one pan.
Unfortunately, the Z8 would be far too bulky and heavy for me.
p.2 #7 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
The Zf has the “old” and vastly worse button layout. We still love that little stinker, though.
architekt wrote:
I had a Zf in addition to my other sony cameras (and considering an Z8 vs getting an A1II). I think I had some hard time getting used to Nikon's menu and button placement. Otherwise, they are great cameras.
p.2 #9 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
Have fun with it Mike, and definitely check back in to tell us what you think. Nikon did a great job with the Z6III. If they release a Z7III in same form factor with 60+ mp’s before Sony updates the A7RV I will likely grab one just for fun. Their newly updated 24-70/2.8 has my mouth watering (all-time lightest and first ever internal zoom among other things). You really can’t go wrong with Sony and Nikon gear these days.
p.2 #10 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
MikeEvangelist wrote:
Since trying an a9iii last year, I've -really- wanted a camera with pre-capture. I'm a novice at shooting birds and my grandkids' soccer games, but it was clear to me that feature would greatly increase my keeper rate for both. (Especially given my 70-year-old reaction times.) However, as Sony guy, the only options are the A1ii or the A9iii; neither of which I can afford, even used.
So I resigned myself to waiting two or three years for the used prices to align.
That is, until I read about the Nikon Z5ii, which surprisingly has pre-capture and is only $1700 new. Wow, I thought, maybe this (along with the latest Megadap adapter) could work for me while I wait for a Sony solution.
The Nikon doesn't have RAW pre-capture, so I'll need to get used to JPEGs, but I think I could deal with that.
Pushing the idea further, I started comparing the Z5ii to other Nikon bodies and decided maybe the Z6iii would be a better choice, since it's only a little more money. Then...I came across a killer deal on a refurbished Z6iii, which pushed me over the edge.
So now, after 13 years of only Sony bodies, I'll soon be packing a Nikon Z6iii as well.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out....Show more →
Very nice, Mike! I was looking at that exact camera to use primarily with my manual focus lenses since it has the new eye detect manual focus aid. Question - could you compare using manual focus on your A7R5 and the z6iii? I’m curious how much better the viewfinder is in the A7R5 and if the eye detect feature is accurate in manual focus mode in the z6iii. If you could compare them that would be great!
p.2 #12 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
mudlake wrote:
Question - could you compare using manual focus on your A7R5 and the z6iii? I’m curious how much better the viewfinder is in the A7R5 and if the eye detect feature is accurate in manual focus mode in the z6iii. If you could compare them that would be great!
I don't have any manual-focus lenses ATM. Will a comparison of using just manual focus (on AF lenses) be of any help?
Aug 26, 2025 at 07:28 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.2 #13 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
mudlake wrote:
Very nice, Mike! I was looking at that exact camera to use primarily with my manual focus lenses since it has the new eye detect manual focus aid. Question - could you compare using manual focus on your A7R5 and the z6iii? I’m curious how much better the viewfinder is in the A7R5 and if the eye detect feature is accurate in manual focus mode in the z6iii. If you could compare them that would be great!
I haven't used the Z6 III, but I have used the Z7 pretty extensively for manual focus and it has a fairly similar viewfinder and similar MF aids (although they should work better if anything in the Z6 III as it has much better AF than the Z7). I also use MF a ton with the A7r V. I liked the Z7 for manual focus. The 3.7 M dot viewfinder I found big enough (and I don't find smaller viewfinders big enough) and the optics on the viewfinder are excellent. It is noticeably smaller than the A7r V, however. I also found the MF aids on the Nikon to be excellent and many people find them useful. What I did is just put the little focus box over where I want to focus with the joystick and with the Nikon you can focus until the box turns green. There is even a little indicator about which way to turn the focus ring for that spot to come into focus. When the box is green every time in my experience the shot was in focus (so in a way I can't see how the Z6 III could be better and I think the box uses AF-S AF which is excellent even with the Z7, but maybe it uses whatever AF settings you have selected and I often left my A7 in AF-S because AF-C was pretty primitive on that camera). This MF focus aid means that you really can focus on what you want to focus on without magnifying. That said, I still preferred to magnify the area under the box and see with my eyes it was in focus and I did that 90% of the time. Maybe it is just me being compulsive, but part of what I like about MF is seeing the spot I want in focus come into focus. I really like that visual feedback.
Since I like to magnify the area in which I am focussing, I actually prefer the A7r V for manual focus even though it doesn't have that green box focus aid. The big clear detailed viewfinder with 9.4 M dots makes it easy to see (and easier than in the Z7 even though that experience is good) that the area I want in focus actually is in focus. So, I prefer the A7r V for manual focus, but I found the Z7 totally useable and I can see why some people would even prefer it to the A7r V.
p.2 #16 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
Steve Spencer wrote:
I haven't used the Z6 III, but I have used the Z7 pretty extensively for manual focus and it has a fairly similar viewfinder and similar MF aids (although they should work better if anything in the Z6 III as it has much better AF than the Z7). I also use MF a ton with the A7r V. I liked the Z7 for manual focus. The 3.7 M dot viewfinder I found big enough (and I don't find smaller viewfinders big enough) and the optics on the viewfinder are excellent. It is noticeably smaller than the A7r V, however. I also found the MF aids on the Nikon to be excellent and many people find them useful. What I did is just put the little focus box over where I want to focus with the joystick and with the Nikon you can focus until the box turns green. There is even a little indicator about which way to turn the focus ring for that spot to come into focus. When the box is green every time in my experience the shot was in focus (so in a way I can't see how the Z6 III could be better and I think the box uses AF-S AF which is excellent even with the Z7, but maybe it uses whatever AF settings you have selected and I often left my A7 in AF-S because AF-C was pretty primitive on that camera). This MF focus aid means that you really can focus on what you want to focus on without magnifying. That said, I still preferred to magnify the area under the box and see with my eyes it was in focus and I did that 90% of the time. Maybe it is just me being compulsive, but part of what I like about MF is seeing the spot I want in focus come into focus. I really like that visual feedback.
Since I like to magnify the area in which I am focussing, I actually prefer the A7r V for manual focus even though it doesn't have that green box focus aid. The big clear detailed viewfinder with 9.4 M dots makes it easy to see (and easier than in the Z7 even though that experience is good) that the area I want in focus actually is in focus. So, I prefer the A7r V for manual focus, but I found the Z7 totally useable and I can see why some people would even prefer it to the A7r V....Show more →
Thank you for that info, Steve. That is very helpful. 👍
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RoamingScott wrote:
I've never found a compelling reason to "fact-check" the green MF box on a Nikon. It just works.
Combining subject/eye detection with MF confirmation is a huge step up from the simple "move the box around manually" experience of the Z7.
p.2 #19 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
Mike: how did the precapture help you to take a better picture in this example (or any example ... )
I am not a sports photographer but I do like to take candid photos and often find that AF responds a fraction late. This is compared to my previous Leica M, which if pre-focused was very quick to capture once the button was pressed. There is always a degree of anticipation when trying to capture facial expressions, but the rangefinder seemed to do the process better. Subject movement after the initial MF could make the image slightly OOF when shot, of course. So I am wondering now whether pre-capture could make all the difference?
p.2 #20 · After 13 years of all Sony, I'm trying Nikon
I do wish Sony would add the green box option to their cameras too. Sometimes you need to be watching the whole scene while focusing and choosing the moment, and that is disrupted by magnification. The green box would mean you can get it approximately right by eye, then have the accuracy confirmed by the AF sensors.
