After years of falling behind, Nikon is pushing new boundaries in the region when it comes to video capture (and then suddenly buying movie camera maker red). Its latest Salvo is the $1,699 24-megapixel all-brand Z5 II, perhaps the cheapest mirrorless camera to date for supporting original videos in-house. It also features new AI power, cleaner images and enhanced image stabilization, providing improved autofocus.
The Z5 II is a wholesale remake of the original Z5, starting with the video. While still limited to 4K 30 fps and cropping 4k 60 fps, these formats can now be captured internally using the company’s 12-bit N-RAW format, as well as 10-bit H.265 and 8-bit H.264. Interestingly, since the camera lacks a high-speed CFExpress slot, it will record to the SDXC UHS-II card in N-RAW. This may mean you need to buy very fast (and expensive) cards and N-RAW video will be highly compressed. Still, there is no other camera feature in this price range.
Nikon also has the hope of getting the highly respected autofocus, and new image processing engines and technology borrowed from its high-end Z9 and Z8 models have been enhanced. Now, the Z5 II can lock subjects faster, especially the human eye, face and body, with low light reduced to -10 eV compared to the previous -3 eV. Meanwhile, the AI system can detect up to nine subject types, from animals (including bird detection modes) to bicycles. When working in the automatic area AF, these subjects can be automatically detected, focused and tracked.
The ISO of the machine has been increased to 100-64000 (50-204,800 in extended mode), from up to 51,200. This will improve noise levels in the ISO range, the company said. However, the resolution is still limited to 24 megapixels.
At five stops on the Z5, the amount of stability inside the inner body has been increased to 7.5 seconds through the support lens. This is paired with electronic stability and is designed to keep handheld video stable.
The Z5 II’s viewfinder still offers 369,000 dots resolution, but its brightness has risen to 3,000 columns and has 13 brightness control levels. Now, it comes with a 1.7 million dot Vari-Angle display, which is a big improvement over the previous model’s tilt-only screen. The body now has a deeper grip for improved handling and comes with a single-touch picture control button that previews and switches color profiles in real time, matching the latest trends initiated by Fujifilm’s X100 VI.
Other features, including dual SD UHS-II card slots, 3.5mm headphones and microphone jacks, a camera connected via Nikon’s imaging cloud-to-cloud, and a new weatherproof build for the Z6 III,” Nikon said.
The Z5 II seems to be an impressive hybrid full-frame camera that competes with Sony and Canon competitors, and doesn’t really have anything in the same price range. However, it’s also priced at $300 more than the price on the Z5. Still, it could still attract filmmakers and others to stay away from similarly priced crop cameras like Fuji and Sony. The Z5 II is now pre-ordered for $1,699 (body only) or $1,999, with its 24-50mm f/4-6.3 kit lens.
