Nikon Z6III Best Settings: The 15 I Changed Straight Away

By Kieran Hayes · Professional photographer with 15+ years of hands-on experience

Updated 10 November 2026

The Nikon Z6III is a brilliant camera straight out of the box, but a lot of its settings are made for the average user rather than for someone who wants the camera to get out of the way and let them shoot.

These are the 15 settings I changed straight away on my Z6III, plus a bonus one. I’ve owned mine since the end of December 2024 and I still use every one of them today. They cover how your files are recorded, a big chunk of autofocus setup, exposure, flash and the user settings that tie it all together. Together they take a lot of the pressure off you when you’re out shooting.

You might not agree with every one of them, because we all use our cameras differently. For each setting I’ll tell you what it does, why I change it and the exact menu path, so you can follow along with your camera in hand. I also walk you through every one of them in my video below.

If you’re still deciding on the camera itself, my Nikon Z6III review covers 22 months of using it for real work.

Files and Cards

1. Shoot RAW

We’re starting with the basics and moving on rapidly from there. The first setting I always change is from the default JPEG to RAW. A RAW file holds far more detail than a JPEG, which gives you much more tolerance to work with when you’re editing your photographs afterwards.

Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → Image Quality Settings → Image Quality → RAW

2. Make the Second Card a Backup

The Z6III has two card slots, one CFexpress Type B and one SD. By default the second card only catches the overflow when the first one fills up. I set mine to Backup, so every image is written to both cards at the same time.

This is vital for me in commercial and professional work, because cards can fail and they actually have on me. Having a backup really is close to compulsory now for insurance purposes. Trust me, you’ll thank me later for this one.

Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → Secondary Slot Function → Backup

Focus Settings

The next seven settings are all about focus. They’ll get you up and running smoothly and I go much deeper on focus in my dedicated Nikon Z6III autofocus settings guide.

3. Back Button Focus

Back button focus is fantastic. It disconnects focusing from the shutter button and moves it to the AF-ON button on the back of the camera, so you can focus once, recompose and fire as many frames as you like without the camera refocusing every time you press the shutter.

There are two changes to make. First set AF activation to AF-ON only. The camera then asks whether you want out-of-focus release enabled or disabled, so you choose whether the shutter will still fire when nothing is in focus.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → a Focus → a6 AF Activation → AF-ON Only, then choose your Out-of-Focus Release option

4. Green Focus Confirmation in AF-C

I use AF-C, continuous autofocus, a lot. In AF-S the focus box turns from red to green when focus is locked on, but in AF-C that green confirmation is switched off by default.

Turning it on for AF-C is hugely important to my photography. It confirms that my focus is locked on and takes the guesswork out of it.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → a Focus → a10 Focus Points Display → AF-C In-Focus Display → On

5. Store Focus Points by Orientation

This is one of those features I never knew I needed until I turned it on. The camera remembers a separate focus point and AF-area mode for landscape and portrait orientation and swaps between them as you turn the camera. Put your focus point on a subject’s eye in portrait orientation, turn back to landscape and the point jumps back to where you left it there. It sounds complicated, but in practice it just saves you moving the focus point every time you rotate the camera.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → a Focus → a5 Store Points by Orientation → Focus Point and AF-Area Mode

6. Press the Joystick to Centre the Focus Point

If you shoot with a single focus point a lot, like I tend to do, this brings your focus point straight back to the centre of the frame with one press of the joystick. The OK button will also do it, but for speed and ease of use I prefer the joystick.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → f2 Custom Controls (Shooting) → Sub-Selector Centre → Select Centre Focus Point

7. Hold Fn1 for 3D-Tracking

I set the Fn1 button so that while I’m holding it down the camera switches to 3D-tracking. It’s very handy for split-second shots you need to capture quickly. It’s like single-point focus on steroids, so you never miss the moment. I explain exactly how I use it, a technique called focus handoff, in my Z6III autofocus settings guide.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → f2 Custom Controls (Shooting) → Fn1 Button → AF-Area Mode → 3D-Tracking

8. Focus Peaking for Manual Focus

If you focus manually, focus peaking highlights the in-focus parts of the frame so you can see at a glance what’s sharp and what isn’t.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → a Focus → a12 Focus Peaking → Peaking Display → On

9. Focus Point Wrap-Around

This is handy if you use single-point focus. Move the focus box all the way to the right edge and keep going and it pops out on the left-hand side of the frame instead of stopping. It makes getting from one side of the frame to the other much quicker.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → a Focus → a9 Focus Point Wrap-Around → Wrap

Exposure, Flash and Shortcuts

10. Set Your Maximum Auto ISO

This one is very personal. We all have different tolerances to noise and it depends a lot on the type of photography you shoot. In photo mode I have mine set to ISO 3,200 and yes, I know that’s low. I do go up to ISO 6,400, but my clients are demanding and rightly so. They don’t want noise in their images and some photographs are used for large print media, so I need to take that into account.

The best way to find your own limit is to sit down, take the same shot at different ISOs and see where the noise stops being acceptable to you.

Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → ISO Sensitivity Settings → Auto ISO Sensitivity Control → On → Maximum Sensitivity

11. Extended Shutter Speeds

This is amazing if you shoot long exposures. Instead of stopping at 30 seconds, you can set exposures of up to 15 minutes in manual mode, all in camera, with no external triggers or remotes.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → d5 Extended Shutter Speeds (M) → On

12. Starlight View

Starlight View is a game changer for shooting in the dark. It brightens the live view so you can see to compose and focus in very low light. Most people don’t understand it or use it, so I have it assigned to the Fn button on my lens to switch it on and off quickly.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → d10 Starlight View (Photo Lv) → On

13. Flash Sync Speed with Auto FP

Setting the flash sync speed to 1/200 s (Auto FP) lets you use high-speed sync, so you can shoot faster than 1/200 of a second with flash. Just make sure your flash supports HSS and works with the Z6III. I use the Neewer Z2 speedlight and the Neewer Q3, Q200 and Neewer Q4 strobes and they all work perfectly with the Z6III.

Choosing a flash? I’ve reviewed several others that work with Nikon Z cameras: the Godox V1 Mid, Godox V480, Godox IT32, Viltrox Z2, Neewer Z2 Pro and Neewer Z3. Before you buy, check my Godox and Neewer discount code pages.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → e1 Flash Sync Speed → 1/200 s (Auto FP)

14. Customise the i Menu

This is more of a shortcut creator. I arrange the i menu so my most-used settings are always one press of the i button away. Again it’s very personal, but it means the settings you reach for most are right in front of you.

Menu path: Menu → Custom Settings Menu → f1 Customise i Menu

User Settings and a Bonus

15. Save It All as a User Setting

Finally, save all of this as a user setting. The Z6III has three user settings, U1, U2 and U3 on the mode dial, which work a bit like the memory banks on the Z8 and Z9. You can set up completely different settings for each type of photography you shoot.

I have two different setups programmed in. U3 is my default setting without back button focus, set to Auto, so I can hand the camera to friends and family and they can use it straight away.

Menu path: Menu → Setup Menu → Save User Settings → U1, U2 or U3

Bonus: Clean the Sensor at Shutdown

Switch on automatic sensor cleaning every time you turn the camera off. It helps reduce those dust bunnies and tiny specks of dirt in your images.

Menu path: Menu → Setup Menu → Clean Image Sensor → Automatic Cleaning → Clean at Shutdown

Final Thoughts on My Nikon Z6III Settings

None of these settings are complicated, but together they change how the Z6III feels to use. Your files are safe, focus goes where you want it and one turn of the mode dial switches the whole camera to a different setup. Set them up once and you’ll stop thinking about the camera and start thinking about the photograph.

If you’ve found a setting that has really helped you, let me know in the comments on the video so others can learn from it too.

If you’d like every other setting explained the same way, my Nikon Z6III app covers every button, every menu item and every fix, with my own recommended settings. And if you’re still deciding on the camera, my Nikon Z6III review covers 22 months of real-world use and my Nikon Z5II vs Z7II vs Z6III vs Z8 comparison shows how it stacks up against the rest of the range.

Shoot a Z8 as well? Here are the 15 settings I changed on my Nikon Z8.

Nikon Z6III Settings FAQ

Should I shoot RAW or JPEG on the Nikon Z6III?

Shoot RAW if you edit your photographs. It holds far more detail and gives you much more room to recover highlights, lift shadows and fix white balance than a JPEG.

How do I set up back button focus on the Z6III?

Go to the Custom Settings Menu, open AF Activation in the focus settings and choose AF-ON Only. Then pick whether out-of-focus release is enabled or disabled. From then on the AF-ON button focuses and the shutter button only takes the picture.

What’s the best maximum Auto ISO for the Z6III?

It depends on your tolerance to noise and what you shoot. I use ISO 3,200 for client work where images may be printed large and go up to ISO 6,400 when I need to. Test the same shot at different ISOs to find your own limit.

How many user settings does the Z6III have?

Three: U1, U2 and U3 on the mode dial. You can save a complete camera setup to each one and switch between them in a second.

See you out there,
Kieran