Field Note: The Z6III vs. The Paradise Flycatcher (Focus Stress Test)

The cull to deliver on my Nikon Z6iii review is a stressful experience. The shoot was very enjoyable, but once I got to the cull, I realised the auto focus settings that seemed to work so well in the field did not work so well in this highly challenging situation. The camera ended up focusing on the nest rather than the male paradise flycatcher in most images. This resulted in most of my images of the male paradise flycatcher being soft. This photo was good, but the pose was not as good as some of the missed opportunities. 

I have to stress that this was a torture test for any autofocus system. Under normal circumstances, with a subject this dark against a high-contrast nest, I would have switched to Manual Focus with Peaking to guarantee the shot. But to test the autofocus and the low-light ISO handling, I kept this on auto. The image was shot with the Nikkor Z 180-600 at 600mm zoom. Shutter 1/640, f 6.3, ISO 9000. The image is slightly cropped. As you can see, the camera handled the high ISO well in this image. The images of the female paradise flycatcher were more successful. I will post them in the next post. 

Adriaan Buys, PhD

Founder & Editor-in-Chief

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A research consultant, environmentalist, and photographer dedicated to wildlife preservation. As the founder of Conservation Mag, he leads the publication’s mission to bridge the gap between rigorous science and public awareness.

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