Nikon Unveils the Z5, Its Entry-Level Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera
Nikon has officially announced the Z5, a new full-frame mirrorless camera that’s designed to be the perfect tool for “emerging creators” and those jumping into mirrorless cameras for the first time.
At the heart of the Z5 is a 24.3-megapixel CMOS sensor with a maximum ISO of 51200 (expandable to 102400). Powered by an EXPEED 6 image processor, the Z5 has a continuous shooting speed of 4.5 fps with full AF/AE.
The Z5 features in-body 5-axis VR (Vibration Reduction) that opens the door to having image stabilization while shooting with Nikon’s entire history of F-mount lenses (when paired with the Mount Adapter FTZ.
For photographers who need extra peace of mind on their shoots, the Z5 offers dual SD (UHS-II) card slots. You can either record to both to have one of the cards serve as a backup (in case the other fails), have RAW and JPEG captured separately to the two cards, or have double capacity by having one card serve as overflow.
On the back of the Z5 is a 3.2-inch tilting LCD that’s sensitive to touch, tap, swipe, and pinch inputs.
Above the screen is a 3.6-million-dot Quad-VGA electronic viewfinder that shows what your resulting photo will look like as you adjust exposure, ISO, white balance, and creative controls.
Autofocusing by the camera is done using 273 on-sensor AF points that can track moving subjects throughout nearly the entire frame.
There’s also Eye-Detection AF to help ensure that the eyes of your subjects (both human and animal) are tack-sharp.
On the video side, the Z5 offers 4K/30p (1.7x crop) and 1080/60p (full-frame). There’s also focus peaking, fast phase-detection autofocus, a combination of in-body and electronic image stabilization, and image capture during video recording.
If you need to stay powered for long periods of time, the Z5 is the first Nikon camera that can be constantly powered through its USB port, even with a USB power bank.
Build-wise, Nikon says the Z5 has the same robustness as the Z6 and Z7. It features a magnesium alloy shell and weather-sealing with dust and drip resistance.
Other features and specs include a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000s, silent photography mode, automatic creative modes, 20 Creative Picture Controls, Focus Shift Shooting, multiple exposure mode (with an in-camera image overlay), an interval timer, in-camera time-lapse mode, a hot shoe, webcam abilities, SnapBridge compatibility for wireless transfer/sharing, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity.
Here are some official sample photos captured with the Z5:
Here’s a lengthy first look at the Z5 by Adorama:
The new Nikon Z5 will be available in August 2020 with a body-only price tag of $1,400. It’ll also be available bundled with a new NIKKOR Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 for $1,700 or a NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR for $2,200.
