Nikon Z 50

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1 NEW GLASS Nikon has released a 16 -55mm and 50-250mm ki t lens combo designed ex clusively for t he A PSdes ign, while t he Z m ou al lows you to u se e xist S l ine l enses se amles

2 OLD F AMILIA Ni kon i nclude new ly designed 2 0.9 se nsor to mirror t he re solution found i n t h D5 00 and D7500 c am from its DSLR r ange APS -C offerings.

3 LOOK AT M E A flip-down L C Eye A F and beefed-u vid eo capabilities c o wi th a microphone i n an d portrait mode t o in crease appeal t o t h growing vlogger m ar

NIKON Z 5 0

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KIT PRICE £989

VIDEO 4K

IMAGE RESOLUTION 20.9MP

A mo untain in a m olehill

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NIKON ON LY entered t he mi rrorless party in late 2018, but its full-frame Z mounts gained instant critical acclaim, and have set the template for this latest entry into the APS-C sector. The only question is, can it stand out in such a saturated mirrorless market?

Main features Sitting perfectly alongside the D500 and D7500, the Z 50 h as a 2 0.9MP r esolution, wh ich N ikon s ays is a n ew de sign. Focusing is by way of 209 points of phase detection, and you’ll find similar algorithms to the full-frame offerings, such as Eye-AF. The ISO boasts a huge range of 100-51,200, and slimmed-down controls retain the excellent Nikon ergonomic charm, albeit with a few alterations.

Sadly, there’s no image stabilisation at play, though two new lenses – designed specifically for the system – aim t o a lleviate shake. This is e ssential to the prowess of the Z 50 as a vlogging cam, evidenced by a microphone input, front-facing flip-down touchscreen and both 4K and slow motion 120fps Full HD 1080p video.

Handling & build Little, small, wee and teeny would be a great place to st art when describing the fe el of the Z 50. It’s built ar ound the body-dominating Z mo unt, and keeps the deep gr ip of previous Nikon CSCs.

4 FL ICK OF A SWITCH The Z 50 allows you to switch easily between stills and video by flicking the mode dial-mounted switch.

CAMERA TEST

IMAGE QUALITY

Tonal tops and tails

Nikon’s higher level models are known for their impressive dynamic range ability, and the Z 50 offers a solid result. As you can see, when shooting into the sun t he shadows retain bags t ion. We increased c ks to test the range found plenty of om for manoeuvre. While it’s not quite p to the standards of its more mature stablemates, we o und it to be a solid o ntender in its class st rong draw for sca pe enthusiasts.

Despite t his, a p air o f function bu ttons s it b y t he lens m ount, an d t he top-plate h as s pace for an I SO button and a switch to quickly move between stills and video modes.

The body offers a chassis crafted from magnesium alloy, as well as weather sealing, and it feels reassuringly solid. The rear is given over to the 3.2in 1040k-dot LCD, which carries three virtual touch buttons on the right-hand side, allowing the rest of the controls to slot into the remaining free space. Unfortunately, this doesn’t in clude a joystick, though yo u’re able to easily navigate th e focus points with the fo ur-way D-pad. It feels good to h old, though this may not be t he view of those with lar ger hands. Performance Despite the feeling that Nikon is looking to appeal to the vlogging market with the Z 5 0, it ’s a solid stills camera in the same vein as previous enthusiast models. At 450g it’s a lightweight option, though in- hand it feels b oth d ense an d s turdy. T he c ontrols a re wel l-placed, a nd o ne-handed op eration is the order of the day. A switch by the mode dial lets you change from stills to video, with both remembering their settings.

Shooting with the Z 50 feels good. The images are sharp with solid dynamic range. In high-contrast situations, we were impressed by the amount of detail captured. Likewise, when shooting in low light, the ISO performance was more than c apable. T hanks to t he la rge p hotosites, w e found im ages looked v ery c lean, e ven up to ISO 1600. At ISO 3200, no ise was visible, but the shots th emselves were more than us able, and this was even the ca se at ISO 6400. At 12,800 an d beyond, noise was far more prevalent, though still on e of the best controlled we’ve seen in this class.

Packing in less resolution th an the majority of 24MP ch ips in its competitors might lead you to believe it is s omehow weaker, but this co uldn’t be further from the tr uth, and files are crammed with detail that’s almost impossible to fault compared to its rivals. Zooming in to 100% will quickly put your IT’S A L IGHTWEIGHT O PTION, TH OUGH IN-HAND IT STILL FEELS BOTH DENSE AND REASSURINGLY STURDY The j ump to A PS-C m irrorless a lso b rings t wo n ew l enses. Th e Z D X 1 6-55mm f /2.5-6.3 V R o ffers a w alkabout focal r ange in a n ear p ancake-like b ody, w hile t he Z D X 5 0-250mm f /4.5-6.3 VR is a lightweight telephoto. Both boast optical stabilisation to c ombat the lack of it in the Z 50, with the 50-250mm giving 5 stops, and the 16-55mm offering up 4.5 stops. However, in an at tempt to keep weight and price down to a minimum, neither of fers a particularly wide aperture, and the optical clarity isn’t as fine as the S-line lenses, which generally don’t offer stabilisation. The Z mount means you can switch between any le nses in the range seamlessly, while the FTZ adapter allows yo u to use existing DSLR glass with the Z 50. L ens Focus Do the kit lenses cut it?

Above The rear c ontrol s cheme is l aid o ut for o ne-handed sho oting – ideal for shooting on the go.

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5 THE ‘I’ HAS IT The controls are si mple, and easy to use w ith one hand. The ‘i’ function i s fu lly customisable, and a cts as a quick menu, letting y ou ac cess your most used fe atures and settings, a nd ch ange them to suit y our ne eds as you shoot.

6 NE W BAT CITY Departing from tradition, Nikon is now us ing a new battery design. The EN-EL25 is a lightweight take on t he conventional battery packs. It offers up to 320 shots.

7 FLASH OF INSPIRATION While many cameras drop t he p op-up fla sh in favour of decreased w eight, t he Z 5 0 ma nages to include one –p erfect for a dding a la yer of fill into night-time s hots.

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mind at e ase, a s t he fi ne d etail is p icked up with great clarity. Although you may not want to make many sweeping crops to your images, a little leeway is definitely available.

We look to Nikon to deliver when it comes to its colour science and, happily, you can

see t he tones at play here. We did notice it favouring towards cyan tints in shots when using Auto WB, though this can be corrected in an instant if it’s not to your liking. In most situations, auto white balance will give a good result, and if you’re uncertain of colour or settings, you can flip the mode dial to SCN. This lets you scroll through a choice of different scenes, such as Landscape, Portrait, Food and even Indoor Party. Once you select your shot, the Z 50 will apply what it thinks is the best setting to get the shot. It’s a

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Packing a higher resolution 26.1MP APS-C X-Trans 4 sensor, the X-T30 is our pick for th e ultimate travel camera. It can belt out up to 30fps, comes with a 425-point phase detection focusing system and includes st unning 4K 30fps, as well as Fujifilm’s F ilm Si mulation modes. fujifilm-x.com

Olympus OM-D EM-5 MkIII £1099

This 20.4MP Micro Four Thirds gives you a 121-point phase detection system, a fully articulated vari-angle 1040k-dot LCD and an outstanding 6.5-stop image stabilisation system. It pairs a light weight with 4K video capability, and should appeal to vloggers. olympus.co.uk

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helpful feature, and allows you to learn from its choices – especially handy when you’re starting out. If, on the other hand, you’re more experienced, you can take advantage of the two user settings, U1 and U2. These are custom profiles, which means you can program different settings, and call upon them on the fly.

On paper, 209 AF points doesn’t sound overwhelming compared to the competition. However, it covers up to 90% of the frame, and feels snappy. Even in low light, the system works well, and impressed us every time. If you’re shooting portraits, the Eye-AF will be your best friend. Although it’s the same as the capability in full-frame offerings, it feels even stickier – in test, it was picking up eyes in profiles. Switching from the face to the eye recognition was also a seamless transition.

The control system is well laid out, though you’ll notice it does feel a touch compact. We felt our thumbs had to double-back on occasion to

CAMERA TEST

IMAGE QUALITY

As sharp as the first frost

Despite having a modest sensor resolution, the Z 50 delivers files packed with detail that easily rival the onslaught of 24MP offerings. You can see, even at 100%, that the detail w ell. In real-world y ou would have o k very hard to tice the difference e tween these and many other 24MP

shots. The colours and contrast all chip n to create defined m ages that can s ily do your creative u stice.

r each t he D -pad o r m enu bu ttons. I t w asn’t too m uch of a p roblem for u s, b ut w e’re aw are that users with larger hands may find it more cumbersome. The virtual screen buttons were nicely placed, though, with zoom in and out, and a display option. The 2360k-dot EVF may not win any prizes in the high-resolution stakes, but the 1.02x magnification makes it a joy to use. Similarly, the 3.2in LCD gives a standard 1040k dots of resolving power, and does a grand job. The touch controls work perfectly, and you can even navigate the menu by touch alone – a welcome inclusion. The screen tilts down to 180 ° for s e lfies or vlogging. This locks the dual control dials and menu buttons in place, meaning you have to rely on th e touch controls to change se ttings. Thankfully these a re sp ot on, and it’s reassuring to kn ow you won’t accidentally ch ange your aperture on the fly. In video, this also stops yo u from setting a slower shutter s peed t han y our frame rate. I t’s a g reat idea, t hough wo uld h ave b een e ven b etter if it locked the minimum shutter at 180 °, following the rule-of-thumb for video. Although a tilting screen is long overdue, and a key consideration for many, it’s not without its flaws. While it doesn’t block the hotshoe, and does allow for a more pronounced EVF, it will be hindered by tripod or gimbal setups. It’s a common trade-off at this price point, so you’ll have to decide what that means for you and your style. We found the video output to be impressive. The 4K looks crisp, and 120fps in 1080p offers solid footage, free from artefacts. Both perform well in low light, a nd t he focus s ystem do es a g ood j ob o f t racking su bjects, t hough w e’ve a lso se en better. A log p icture pr ofile and higher b it r ate wou ld’ve been welcome ad ditions, but at t he p rice, we c an understand wh y t hey wer e omitted. Verdict The Z 50 is a solid e ntry to t he ra nge, and sows t he s eeds for fut ure expansion. T he t ilting sc reen, dynamic r ange a nd im age quality are a ll p luspoints. So, too, are t he m ic in put and video features. With such interest i n v ideo us ers, we would h ave liked to se e stabilisation, s ince S -line le nses don’t have it, a nd u sers will want to step u p from k it glass for wider apertures. Wh ile this is perfect for a ny en thusiast, it’s also p itted ag ainst Fujifilm’s X -T30, with its wider lens r ange, higher resolution a nd m ore ad vanced video s pecs. TECH S PEC Camera: Nikon Z 50 Kit price: £989 Effective resolution: 20.9MP Sensor: 23.5x15.7mm LCD: 3.2in 1040k-dot tilting flip-down touchscreen Shutter: Bulb, 30sec – 1/4000sec Autofocus: 209-point phase detection AF ISO: 100-51,200 Shooting speed: 11fps for 20 RAWs Video: 4K at 30fps, Full HD at 120fps Other features: In-camera 4K time-lapse, Peaking focus assist, Zebra stripes, Microphone input, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, 1:1 and 16:9 aspect ratios, Intelligent SCN mode, Picture effects, Picture Control System, Portrait mode, Battery life: 320 shots Card type: SD, SDXC, SDHC UHS-I Size (WxHxD): 127x94x60mm Weight: 450g Web: nikon.co.uk FEATURES HANDLING OVERALL S CORE IMAGE QUA LITY VALUE FOR MONEY PROS Nippy 1 1fps Comp act d esign We ather se aling Vi deo s pecs Lo w-light p erformance G reat E ye-AF focusing s ystem Flip -down L CD CONS No image s tabilisation Flip -down s creen obstructed b y tripods La rger hands may struggle THE VERDICT NIKON Z 50 THE Z 50 IS A SOLID ENTRY TO THE RANGE, SOWING THE SE EDS FOR FUTURE NIKON APS-C MIRRORLESS BODIES