Nikon Z50

amazon Nikon Z50 reviews

Some cameras are for photographers; others are for photographers first. The Nikon Z 50 falls mostly into the latter category. This small DX camera-the smallest-ever from Nikon and the head of APS-C sensor mirrorless cameras-is supposed to benefit Instagram users wanting to upgrade from smartphone pictures. It allows in-camera video-editing and can wirelessly stream the videos broadcast out, while all of this has been built in the silhouette of an entry-level DSLR.

That is a built-in crowd for the Z 50: Nikon’s present F-mount cameras, paired with lenses that can quickly adapt to the new mirrorless Z-mount. Without the in-body stabilization of full-framers Z 6 and Z 7, the Z 50 makes a short list of features against the lightweight, 14-ounce body and small kit lens.

It’s good to see some serious effort applied to a mirrorless camera, addressing the casual photographer, especially after Nikon’s much-hyped but failed Nikon 1 series of cameras. Probably would not get all the ducks in a row, but the Z 50 has most of the things going right.

Design: The Old Meets the New

At just 3.7 inches tall, Nikon’s smallest crop sensor interchangeable lens camera unsurprisingly beats even the compact D3500 DSLR.

Though Nikon isn’t willing to make the same claim about weight. At 14 ounces, the Z 50 is about 6 ounces lighter than its full-frame versions, but it, thanks to the magnesium alloy and weather-sealed exterior, is heavier than the budget D3500, albeit only by an ounce. That ounce can be redeemed in favor of superior construction rather than having the nagging feeling of a cheap DSLR.

The 16-50mm kit lens is just stunningly small, measuring 1.26 inches long and weighing in at less than five ounces. Never mind the wallet-almost impossible to take anywhere-and it’s so little that you might misplace the control ring. There’s no room for a focus scale or an AF/MF switch, which means that to use manual focus, you’ll need to enable it through the camera’s quick menu. Judging by the Z 50’s target audience, we don’t think many customers will care about that extra step since they’ll be more than willing to let the camera do the focusing.

While small cameras always made real sacrifices for ergonomics, Z 50 is somehow well balanced. The grip is solid, and that makes it feel nice in the hand for extended use. Fingers don’t wrap around the controls perfectly, however, since it’s shallower than a DSLR, meaning that the camera has to sit higher in the palm to easily access top controls. But, for such a small camera, it is very comfortable to hold.

It has enough controls not to confuse new photographers, but will still be left open for growth. There is also a pop-up flash and hot shoe, alongside micro, USB, and HDMI ports, plus Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

The absence of a secondary display on the camera’s top plate allows for greater space to fit in the usual set of mode dial, dual control dials, and shortcuts for ISO, exposure compensation, and video. While the record button works to activate video recording in any mode, a small switch allows toggling between stills and video modes; thus making it easy for the photographer to set a set of settings for stills and a completely different set for video and seamlessly switch between those two modes.

On the front side are a couple of customizable function buttons. The back continues with the minimalist theme with a few menu controls and playback options consisting of three buttons that are integrated into the LCD. Too bad there is no autofocus joystick built into the design.

The 3.2-inch LCD is hinged so that it flips all the way front but underneath the camera, not to the side. This design is robust and works for hand-held selfies, but that means the screen will be blocked when working on a tripod, which may pose a problem for vloggers and YouTubers. When the screen flips, the camera automatically enters Selfie Mode, and quite a few controls on the camera are locked in order to avert random collisions.

Like its LCD, the 2.36-million-dot viewfinder is all clear and precise. While the lower resolution may not be as unique as the viewfinders of Z 6 and Z 7, it is average for this type of camera. On the negative side, it blacks out, like most, but not all electronic viewfinders, at the instant of shooting, causing some inconvenience while shooting.

Z 50 can be a forerunner of a new line of DX digital mirrorless cameras, but the camera has a true Nikon feel about it. Although we miss the bigger joystick and grip from the Z 6, Nikon has efficiently employed the Z 50’s real estate to produce an easy-to-use yet flexible camera.

Good performance, but not without its flaws

The Series 1 seems to be a memory Nikon would rather forget, and with good performance comes inexcusable problems. The Z 50 shares a somewhat similar flair, but it is not considered as fast truly for a professional sports camera-a claim that can be made for the Sony A9.

Shooting at an extremely fast rate of 11 fps was good for the handling of RAW files. (That speed will, however, not work with the flash). The buffer fills after 3 seconds of RAW shots and then takes about 15 seconds to recover completely. In case of JPEGs, the camera continues shooting for 8 seconds, recovering after just 4; the slowdown has helped the Z 50 maintain its speed for substantially longer.

But Z 50 has got its autofocus capabilities similar to those of Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras. In good light, the camera behaves normally, focusing fast, but missing a few images in continuous mode.

209-point autofocus system; indoors or outdoors during the night, the camera hunts longer than usual, creates a delay in the image, or never finds focus sometimes. However, that doesn’t indicate that all low-light shots are completely out of focus; the camera does have a lower shooting rate compared to Nikon DSLRs and some competing mirror-less cameras in such pathetic conditions.

The Z 50 has a similar feature when it comes to AF eye tracking, but it doesn’t really excel in it. Works well while the subject is static and close to the camera (away from it, the camera locks to face). However, it doesn’t do well with some major action and, many times, it just catches the face of an inflatable snowman instead of someone farther away.

Same with AF tracking, works fantastic in certain instances but in others, the box holding the focus indicator wanders away from the chosen subject.

It may not offer as high-performance autofocus as a DSLR Nikon, but Z 50 would shoot silently-the way a DSLR would not. Its silent mode is faithful to its moniker- it has an autofocusing motor sound, but little else. There is no way to indicate that a picture was taken without seeing the screen off.

Generally, most cameras have some in-camera editing options. But the Z 50 goes even further by giving consumers an option to crop and save the video. This saves time and battery life during use with the newly introduced Snapbridge, which enables wireless transmission of video. Connecting a wireless device with the Z 50 is as easy as it has always been with Nikons. This improves considerably remote photography tools and remote transfer of prior photos.

Image Quality

At first glance, Nikon seems to have fallen behind with the Z 50. It is only set to offer a rather low 20.9 megapixels, four less than the $400 D3500 itself. Most manufacturers do seem to favor between 24 megapixels for their enthusiast models, whilst even the new Canon EOS M6 Mark II boasts 32.

But megapixel counts are superficial and inaccurate ways of judging image quality-the Z 50 sensor obviously measures 5,568 pixels wide, whereas the 24-megapixel camera goes up to 6,000 pixels. That accounts well for a print size of just over 1.8 more inches. It is only slightly less than what most people will recognize-the audiences that would target themselves with a camera like the Z 50 usually for its Instagram hitting potential.

In that respect, though, image quality differs among the masses when it comes to noise. More pixels one cram into a sensor, the more sensitive that sensor becomes to noise. Low in megapixels and equipped with the new EXPEED 6 processor, the Z 50 performs high ISO magic. ISO 3,200 doesn’t even sound as high as it is with a little work on the RAW file. Without postprocessing, the noise is still not annoying. Photographers can shoot confidently even at ISO 6400; above that, the quality merely drops from excellent to good.

At and below ISO 6400, sharpness is excellent from the Z 50, a trend that we have seen with all of Nikon’s Z cameras and which is due at least in part to the new lens mount. While instead of the Z 50’s cheap kit lens the more expensive Z 24-70mm f/4 Z mounts, this does have a bit more sharpness, to an extent that’s just not going to matter in the real world.

Video quality is much the same: outstanding sharpness and color. Autofocus appears to work smoothly, but it doesn’t always change as quickly as we would like. 4K is far sharper than Full HD, which offers a greater range of frame rates.

The body lacks Stability while the 16-50mm kit lens offers it. We could shoot sharp photos as low as 1/25 of a second, and handheld video wasn’t sickening. Right now, there are only two Z DX lenses, the second of which is the 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3, which is also stabilized. To use any other focal length, you will have to buy full frame Z glasses or attach Nikon’s adaptive DSLR lenses, both of which wouldn’t preserve the thin profile of Z 50.

Impressive ‘firsts’ by the Nikon Z 50 – the first APS-C in the Z family. Tough, takes great photos, and is very fast. A simple connectivity, in-camera video cropping is also what makes it perfect for influencers who just want to shoot and share without needing to connect to a computer. On the downside, autofocus is not quite at par with some competitive DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, especially in dim-light shooting conditions.

Starting around $850, the Z 50 also comes at a fairly inexpensive price point and is in good company when compared with other cameras of this ilk.

where can you get a Nikon Z50 online

Nikon Z50 + Z DX 16-50mm Mirrorless Camera Kit (209-point Hybrid AF, High Speed Image Processing, 4K UHD Movies, High Resolution LCD Monitor) VOA050K001: Buy it now

Nikon Z50 Compact Mirrorless Digital Camera with Flip Under Selfie/Vlogger LCD, Body: Buy it now