Results published by Bill Claff and forum regular Horshack both point to the Nikon Z6 III having appreciably lower dynamic range than the previous generation of 24MP sensors.

Faster sensor readout is often associated with higher levels of read noise, and this appears to be the case with what Nikon is calling the “Partially Stacked” sensor in the Z6III. Bill Claff’s photons to photos site reports a maximum dynamic range of 10.4EV, using his own “photographic DR” metric. This compares to a figure of 11.3EV for the Z6 II.

It’s important to stress that dynamic range is not the same thing as image quality: two cameras can demonstrate the same dynamic range cut-off even while one exhibits much better tonal quality across much of the brightness range of its images. So it’s not safe to make assumptions about the Z6III’s overall image quality in relation to other cameras’ DR numbers.

However, after a long period in which most cameras showed extremely low levels of read noise, allowing the deep shadows of images to be brightened and incorporated into images, it’s definitely noteworthy that the Z6III will have noisier shadows than its predecessor and the Nikon Zf. The trade-off for this reduction in shadow performance is the high-speed shooting modes, the improved rolling shutter in both video and e-shutter stills, and any AF performance advantage shown over the Zf.

The Z6III’s sensor has a dual conversion gain design, and the higher gain step is sufficient to overcome the read noise difference seen at lower ISOs, bringing the Z6III back into line with the Z6 II, but it’s the peak dynamic range figures (typically for base ISO) that are most meaningful.

We have not yet received a testable camera so cannot corroborate the results, but the findings of lower dynamic range by experienced and knowledgeable users makes us feel confident enough to report them. We’ll be testing the Z6 III and showing how photographically meaningful these differences are or aren’t, as soon as we receive a camera.

Panasonic has released the Lumix DC-FZ80D, an updated version of its 60x superzoom from 2017. It will be sold as the FZ82D in Europe and the FZ85D in Japan.

The ‘D’ variants get a USB-C socket (with charging) to bring them into line with European regulations, and see the panels in both the rear screen and viewfinder brought up to more modern specifications. The fixed rear screen moves from 1.04M dots to 1.84M, meaning a resolution jump from 720 x 480px to 960 x 640px.

More intriguingly, the viewfinder moves from a 1.17M dot equivalent field sequential panel with 0.46x magnification to a 2.36M dot OLED display with 0.74x magnification. That’s much larger, much higher resolution and won’t exhibit the rainbow effect that field-sequential displays are prone to. The thing that makes it interesting is that those are the same specs as the finder that’s been added to the new Leica D-Lux 8. We haven’t been able to find an eyepoint figure for the Panasonic but the resolution, magnification and degree of dioptre adjustment are all match, strongly suggesting it’s the same unit.

The FZ80D is still built around the same 18MP Type 1/2.3 (6.2 x 4.6 mm) sensor and 3.58-215mm F2.8-5.9 zoom, giving 20-1200mm equivalent angles of view. It will be available at a recommended price of $479, up from the $399 of its predecessor.