(Editor’s Note: We’d like to welcome Jeremy Gray to the Photofocus team. Located in Maine, Jeremy has been a fine art landscape and nature photographer since 2006, and has received numerous awards as a part of art and photography-specific contests, exhibitions and shows. You can follow him online at jeremypgrayphotography.com.)
In the fall of 2018, Nikon took its first steps into full-frame mirrorless photography with the release of the Nikon Z6 and Z7 cameras. For the new Nikon Z mirrorless system, Nikon also developed a new lens mount, the Z mount, replacing the venerable Nikon F mount. The Z mount has a wider diameter and a shallower flange distance than the F mount, which has allowed for Nikon Z lenses to offer impressive performance while being smaller and lighter than their Nikon F mount counterparts.
The Z6 and Z7 launched alongside a trio of lenses, the Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S, Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S and Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 S. Importantly, through the use of the Nikon FTZ adapter, you can attach many Nikon F lenses to the Z series cameras with full compatibility. I will look at the full lineup of Nikkor Z lenses in a subsequent article. But first, let’s look at the cameras: The Z6, Z7 and new Z50 to see what they offer.
Lead photo: Captured using the Nikon Z6 with an adapted Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E lens at 500mm. Settings: f/5.6, 1/640s, ISO 500.
Nikon Z cameras: The Z6, Z7 and Z50
Nikon Z6 ($2,000 USD suggested retail price with a street price around $1,800)
- 24.5-megapixel FX-format backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor
- Native ISO range of 100-51,200
- EXPEED 6 image processing engine
- Up to 12 frames per second continuous shooting
- 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization
- 273-point phase-detect autofocus system
- 4K UHD video at up to 30 frames per second
- Built-in electronic OLED viewfinder with 3.69 million dots
- 3.2-inch tilting touch screen display
- Single CFExpress Type B/XQD card slot
- Weather-resistant construction
- Built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
The Nikon Z6 is the Z system’s most versatile camera overall. Despite its lower megapixel sensor when compared to the Z7, the Z6 continues to deliver excellent image quality, especially in low light, while offering a faster overall shooting experience. The Z6 and Z7 feature an identical camera design, which proves to be customizable and very comfortable to use. The new OLED electronic viewfinder is a highlight due to its fantastic resolution and high magnification.
Having spent a lot of time using Nikon DSLR cameras over the years, the smaller and more streamlined Z6/Z7 camera body felt immediately familiar, while also more modern. The camera body features a robust build quality and weather-resistant construction. The camera’s rear tilting touch screen works well, and the control layout is very well-designed. However, the much-lamented lack of a second card slot is unfortunate.
Moving to a mirrorless design inspired the introduction of a new phase-detect autofocus system. While the Z6 and Z7 share a lot of features and the same overall autofocus technology, due to fewer pixels on the Z6’s sensor, the Z6 does have fewer autofocus points than the Z7, 273 versus 493.
The Rundown: The Nikon Z6 is the fastest and most well-rounded Nikon Z camera available. It does nearly everything well and it does so at a competitive price.
Nikon Z7 ($3,400 USD suggested retail price with a street price around $2,800)
- 45.7-megapixel FX-format backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor
- Native ISO range of 64-25,600
- EXPEED 6 image processing engine
- Up to 9 frames per second continuous shooting
- 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization
- 493-point phase-detect autofocus system
- 4K UHD video at up to 30 frames per second
- Built-in electronic OLED viewfinder with 3.69 million dots
- 3.2-inch tilting touch screen display
- Single CFExpress Type B/XQD card slot
- Weather-resistant construction
- Built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
The Nikon Z7 is to the Z6 what the Sony A7R series is to the Sony A7 series. This means that the Z7 trades away some speed and low-light performance in exchange for higher-resolution images. With its 45.7-megapixel image sensor, the Z7 has the most megapixels of any Nikon Z camera and boasts the highest number of autofocus points with 493.
Like the Z6, the autofocus points cover a very large area of the image sensor (much larger of an area than any Nikon DSLR). Both cameras deliver fast and accurate autofocus for both stationary and moving subjects, although the Z7’s fastest continuous shooting speeds are not quite as quick as the Z6’s.
Both the Z6 and Z7 also include 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization, which works very well and delivers highly detailed images, even when shooting in lower light and with slower shutter speeds. As mentioned earlier, the Z7’s camera body is identical to the Z6, at least externally. In addition to the different image sensor inside, the Z7 also lacks an optical low-pass filter in front of its image sensor, which results in a sharper image than the Z6, megapixel difference aside.
Further, the Z6 and Z7 both record 4K UHD video at up to 30 frames per second, but the Z6 is the more capable video camera overall. Both cameras record with the full width of the FX image area, although the Z7 utilizes line skipping whereas the Z6 does not, which results in the Z6 producing better overall 4K video.
The Rundown: The Nikon Z7 is the ideal Z camera for capturing the most detail in a scene, making it a great choice for landscape photography and other types of photography where extra resolution helps.
Nikon Z50 ($860 USD suggested retail price)
- 20.9-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor
- Native ISO range of 100-51,200
- EXPEED 6 image processing engine
- Up to 11 frames per second continuous shooting
- 209-point hybrid autofocus system
- 4K UHD video at up to 30 frames per second
- Built-in electronic OLED viewfinder with 2.36 million dots
- 3.2-inch rear touch screen display
- Single SD card slot
- Weather-resistant construction
- Built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
It’s worth noting that unlike the Z6 and Z7, I have not had extensive hands-on experience with the Nikon Z50 camera. With that said, we can still take a general look at the camera’s features. It is the only APS-C (or as Nikon calls it, DX) format camera in the Z system. With its DX sensor, the Z50 is also a slightly smaller and lighter camera when compared to its full-frame (FX) counterparts. However, it retains the large new Z mount for its lenses, meaning that the Z50 hasn’t shrunk down as much as one might have expected.
The image sensor is a revised version of the 20.9-megapixel image sensor found in Nikon’s excellent D500 DSLR camera. An area of differentiation is with respect to the on-sensor phase detect autofocus system, which includes 209 points. The Z50, which is powered by the same EXPEED 6 image processing engine as is found in the Z6 and Z7 cameras, can shoot continuously at up to 11 frames per second, making it a speedy camera. It’s not going to offer quite the same level of performance as the D500, however, due to its reliance on a single SD card slot rather than the faster XQD card slot found in the D500.
Like the Z6 and Z7, the Z50 includes 4K UHD video recording at up to 30 frames per second. It also includes the same general user interface, a twin dial control system and wireless connectivity. However, unlike its FX-format siblings, the Z50 does not include in-body image stabilization.
The Rundown: While familiar to the Z6 and Z7 in many ways, the Z50 loses a few features but costs a lot less.
Final thoughts
The Nikon Z6 and Z7 offer a very impressive set of features and deliver excellent overall performance. The two cameras are similar in many ways, but each have their own relative strengths and weaknesses.
For photographing action and events in low light, the Z6 is likely the better choice. It is also the better option for photographers who anticipate heavy video use. The Z7, on the other hand, is a superior choice for photographing detailed scenes, such as when making landscape images or doing dedicated portraiture. However, the extra resolving power does come at a steep price. When considering an APS-C camera, the Z50 promises solid all-around performance, although it is not quite the enthusiast-oriented camera that the D500 DSLR is in Nikon’s F-mount lineup.
In the next part of this series, I will be evaluating the current lineup of Nikon Z mount lenses.
I don’t use my Z7 for video, but I was pretty sure off the top of my head that it doesn’t crop for 4K. I looked up the manual and one of the options in video mode is to select image area. You can select “FX-based” or “DX-based” movie format. In FX, it crops to 35.9 x 20.2 mm as opposed to 36 x 24 because it’s shooting 16:9, but 35.9 mm is essentially full sensor readout. You can also select DX for 4K and it will use 23.5 x 13.2 mm. That said, I agree that overall the Z6… Read more »
Hi Cab, you’re absolutely right. I’ve edited the article to reflect that both cameras can record 4K video with the full width of the image sensor, but the Z6 records 4K without line skipping whereas the Z7 does utilize line skipping. Thank you for the heads up.
Out of curiosity, what are your favorite and least favorite aspects of the Z bodies so far? Also, do you have a favorite native Z lens?
Glad to help. I came to the Z7 (and Z6 for my wife) from the D300/D90, so the jump for me was a huge leap (DX->FX, 12->45MP, ~2007->2018 tech, etc). I’m sure I would be just as blown away with many other current camera bodies. My favorite aspect is image quality, plain and simple. I have a photo from the Quiraing in Scotland that I’m planning to print at 45″ wide for my wall and I know my old 12MP bodies would struggle with that a bit. :) I appreciate the smallish body size and the collapsible lenses for carrying… Read more »