In images taken by the Z7, the focus is mild and consistent: at ISO 64 along high-contrast edges, the Z7 produces 9.7 percent overburn and 10.3 percent underburn. Along low-contrast edges, sharpening is more pronounced, with 13.2 percent overshoot and 15.7 percent undershoot. In the ISO n comparison, the D850 produced slightly milder sharpening at the lowest ISO, with 9.3 percent overburn and 6.8 percent underburn along high-contrast edges, along with 13.4 percent overburn and 8.3 percent underburn along low-contrast edges.
The Z7 is consistent in adding slight sharpening as ISO increases, for example with 6.5 percent overburn and 5.8 percent underburn at high-contrast interfaces at ISO 6400, along with 6.1 percent overburn and 5.6 percent underburn along low-contrast edges. by contrast. At its highest native ISO, the Z7 produces 4.5 percent overshoot and 2.8 percent undershoot along high-contrast edges, and 3.5 percent overshoot and 3.0 percent undershoot along low-contrast edges. The Z7 produces somewhat noisy photos at all ISOs – for pixel peepers. Visual noise would range from observable to distracting in images from the Z7 viewed at 100 percent (display condition 1, VN1). Scores in VN1 range from 1.0 (ISO 64) to 2.0 (ISO 3200) to a very poor 4.2 for images taken at ISO 25,600.
Tested Features of Nikon Z7
- slow-mo
- 4k video
- iso
- grains
- color tone
- W.B
- picture style
- blur
- bokeh
- low light
- picture quality
- touch screen
- auto light optimization
- burst shoot
- autofocus
- Sharpness
Nikon Z7 features a rating in Photography
- iso range: 10\10
- color tone: 9\10
- white balance: 9\10
- background blur: 10\10
- bokeh effect: 10\10
- grains coverage: 10\10
- highlights & shadows detail: 10\10
- autofocus: 10\10
- jpeg quality: 9\10
- continuous shooting speed: 10\10
- depth of field: 10\10
- live view photography: 9\10
- eye tracking: 10\10
- flashlight photography: 10\10
- HDR mode: 10\10
- Touch Screen Focus: 9\10
- sharpness: 10\10
- image stabilization: 9\10
Key features of Nikon z7
- Sensor: 45.7 MP FX BSI Sensor, 4.35µ pixel size
- Sensor Size: 35.9 x 23.9mm
- Resolution: 8256 x 5504
- Native ISO Sensitivity: 64-25,600
- Boost ISO Sensitivity: 32, 51,200-102,400
- In-Body Image Stabilization: 5-Axis
- RAW Formats: 45.7 MP (RAW), 25.6 MP (mRAW), 11.4 MP (sRAW)
- Processor: EXPEED 6
- Dust Reduction: Yes
- Weather Sealing/Protection: Yes
- Body Build: Full Magnesium Alloy
- Shutter: 1/8000 – 30 seconds
- Shutter Durability: 200,000 cycles, self-diagnostic shutter
- Storage: 1x XQD slot
- Viewfinder: 3.69 Million Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Coverage: 100%
- Viewfinder Magnification: 0.8x
- Speed: 9 FPS (JPEG or 12-bit compressed RAW), 8 FPS (14-bit RAW)
- Built-in Flash: No
- Autofocus System: Hybrid PDAF, 493 Focus Points
- AF Sensitivity Range: -1 to +19 EV (-4 to +19 EV with low-light AF)
- LCD Screen: Touch-enabled 3.2″ Tilting LCD with 2.1 Million Dots
- Slow Motion HD Video: Yes
- Movie Modes: 4K UHD @ 30 fps max
- Movie Output: MOV, MP4
- Movie Video Compression: H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding
- HDMI Output: 10-bit 4:2:2 N-Log
- Silent Photography Mode: Yes
- Intervalometer: Yes
- Focus Stacking: Yes
- In-Camera HDR Capability: Yes
- GPS: No
- WiFi: Built-in
- Bluetooth: Built-in
- Battery Type: EN-EN15b
- Battery Life: 330 shots (CIPA)
- USB Standard: Type-C 3.1
- Weather Sealing: Yes
- Weight: 675 g (1.49 lbs) with battery and card5
- 134 x 100.5 x 67.5mm (5.3 x 4.0 x 2.7″)
- Price: $3,399.95
However, when viewing photos from the Z7 as small print or on a mobile screen (Viewing Condition 2, VN2), visual noise would not be noticeable at almost all ISOs. In VN2 at ISO 64, the noise score would be 0.4, for images taken at ISO 1600 it increased to 0.6. The noise would be noticeable in an image taken at ISO 12800 displayed on a small screen (score 1.0). The same applies to images viewed as a large print (display condition 3, VN3). In the VN3, the noise score is 0.5 at ISO 64 and 400; noise would be noticeable in an image taken at ISO 6400 (score 1.0) and higher (eg ISO 12800, score 1.2). Noise occurs mainly in the darker part of the midrange.
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Dynamic range tests performed in accordance with the ISO 15739 standard show that the dynamic range of the Nikon Z7 is better than that of the D850. Dynamic range at ISO 64 is 9.3 f-stops; at ISO 1600 it's almost as good at 8.9 f-stops. At a higher ISO of 12800, the dynamic range is 7.5 f-stops, dropping to 7.0 f-stops at ISO 25600. In the ISO n comparison, the Nikon D850 showed a dynamic range of between 8.6 and 8.9 f-stops at ISOs in from ISO 64 to ISO 3200.
The Z7 reproduces colors very well, with only four colors – all bright red – significantly different from the original. ∆E is very consistent across almost the entire ISO range with scores between 11.4 and 11.7 across the board. Only at the highest native ISO 25600 does ∆E differ (12.3). That's slightly worse than the D850, which had ∆E ranging from 9.9 to 10.4 at ISOs from ISO 64 to ISO 6400.
Auto white balance delivers excellent and consistent results (0.6 to 0.8) at ISO up to ISO 12800.
The Z7 doesn't seem to boot up extremely quickly, but the boot time is 1.1 seconds, which is actually quite fast. The time lag between pressing the button and releasing the shutter is a very short 0.1 seconds. Autofocus is very fast in both bright light and low light, at 0.10 seconds. That's faster than the D850's 0.20-second autofocus and 0.27-second shutter time.
Burst shooting is slightly slower with the Nikon Z7, which captured 8.7 JPEGs per second until the card was full and 7.1 RAW frames per second, slowing down after 19 frames.[1] The D850 was able to shoot 9.2 JPEGs per second, up to 70, and 9.1 RAW frames, for a total of 19, before slowing down.
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Image quality in video mode is consistently good at both low and high ISO. The Z7 can shoot video in 4K, and the resolution in images captured from video shot at low ISO is 1042 LP/PH (96 percent of theoretical maximum) and 972 LP/PH at high ISO (90 percent). Detail capture is decent for videos shot with the Z7, with only a slight loss of texture: in high-contrast areas shot at low ISO, the MTF50 is 816 LP/PH with 34.9 percent artifacts, along with 737 LP/PH and 28.9 percent artifacts at low - contrast area. Videos recorded at high ISO aren't bad either, with an MTF50 of 660 LP/PH and 37.7 percent artifacts in high-contrast scenes and 617 LP/PH and 42.1 percent artifacts in low-contrast scenes.
Video sharpening is also moderate: 8.5 percent overshoot and 8.3 percent undershoot along high-contrast edges is noted when using low ISO, and 7.4 percent overshoot and 6.6 percent undershot for the same edge shot at high ISO. Low-contrast edges captured on video show more sharpening: 14.3 percent overburn and 14.5 percent underburn are added at low ISO film, and 11.3 percent overburn and 12.0 percent underburn at high ISO.
Videos shot at high ISOs would show barely noticeable noise when viewed as large prints or on a mobile screen (VN3 and VN2, score 1.0), although noise would be noticeable when viewed at 100 percent 1.4. That's slightly worse than the D850, which could also produce 4K video and had a score of 1.0 in VN1. The dynamic range in the video is 10.0 (low ISO) and 9.7 (high ISO). Auto white balance performs reasonably well at both high and low ISO, with scores of 1.2 at low ISO and 0.9 at high ISO. Color reproduction is not bad for video, with ∆E measured at 10.9 at low ISO and 10.4 at high ISO.
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[1] High-speed burst shooting is faster when shooting in Dx format, like the D850. At https://www.nikon.co.uk/en_GB/product/digital-cameras/mirrorless/professional/z-7#tech_specs, Nikon states the burst speed is “Up to 9 frames per second. … High-speed continuous (extended): 9 fps (14-bit NEF/RAW: 8 fps). (measured under test conditions specified by Nikon)”.
