Before the launch of the Z7, we would never have thought that people could work themselves up to a lather about card slots. Clearly, we underestimated the internet. Depending on your worldview, Nikon's entry into the full-frame mirrorless category put Sony on notice, or it's too little, too late. We gave the camera to an N.J. commercial photographer
The flagship of the new mirrorless Z series boasts a 45-megapixel back-illuminated sensor without an optical low-pass filter and an ISO range of 64-25600 (extended 32-102400). It has 493 hybrid phase/contrast-detection AF points. The hybrid system automatically switches between focal plane phase detection and contrast detection AF.
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
The Z7 tops out with a burst speed of 9 frames per second. It can create 4K time-lapse movies in camera and 8K time-lapse movies post. It can measure in low light down to -3EV and focus down to -1EV, although a dedicated low-light AF mode can reduce this to -4EV.
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As for the video, Nikon has finally killed cropping in 4K recording. If you choose DX crop when recording in 4K, you'll enjoy full pixel display (3840x2160/30p) when shooting in 4K. It is the first Nikon camera to support the output of a 10-bit video signal from the HDMI output as well as the N-Log color profile for 12 EV of dynamic range. Both 4K and full HD focusing and timecode are also supported. HD video can be recorded in a resolution of up to 120p.
The Z7 offers an electronic shutter and built-in Wi-Fi for transferring images to phones and, for the first time, computers.Nikon DSLR accessories such as the EN-EL15/a/b batteries and the WT-7/A/B/C wireless transmitter will work with the Z7.
Design-wise, the Z7 is pretty much a home run (perhaps inside the park). Thanks to the generous front grip, we found it more comfortable to hold than the Sony a7 models. At 23.8 ounces, it's essentially the same weight as the a7R III but enjoys the D850's robust seal. Unlike the a7R III, it has a handy display on the top panel for reading camera settings.
Patiño says that while he "hates the EVF," the one on the Z7 "was really, really good—the most faithful display I've ever seen." 3,690,000-dot OLED EVF provides 100% image coverage and 0.8x magnification. The viewfinder eyepiece has a fluorine coating for easier cleaning. Several menu options are also visible through the EVF.
The 3-inch touchscreen can be tilted up and down, and touch is fully implemented through the menu system, which is nice. What's also nice is how customizable the Z7 is - you can remap a number of external controls to new settings, and there's a pair of programmable buttons on the front of the camera within easy reach of your fingers to pull up controls on the fly. . Additionally, Patiño says he really appreciated the three programmable user modes on the mode dial.
Stop us if you've heard this before: the Z7 only has one XQD slot. Please start foaming. (For the record, he should have had two.)
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The Z7's dynamic range was particularly solid, he says. After shooting a large group portrait outdoors with around 200 people (some in the shade, some in the sun), he was able to pull back the lights and bring out a lot of shadow detail in the Z7's RAW file.
In the studio, the Z7 performed well, although it has a slightly slower flash sync speed than the D850 (1/200 vs. 1/250). Patiño used it for several model shoots and videos and had no complaints in any scenario.
He tells us he found AF-C to be slower in low light, but still "acceptable." In good light, the Z7's AF system was fast enough. What he wasn't a fan of was the decision to use a focus-by-wire system for the new lenses, which can impair your ability to return to a focus point when you turn the camera off or affect smooth focus in video.
Nikon uses internal image stabilization along five axes for up to five stops of correction. When using the FTZ mounting adapter, stabilization is done along 3 axes. Stabilization using native lenses worked well for us, allowing us to shoot handheld at up to 1/13 second. without motion blur.
At 9fps, the Z7 is almost on par with the A7R III's burst mode, but it has a shallower buffer depth, so you can't let it rip off more than 25 frames before it slows down. Autofocus tracking during the continuous shooting was quite aggressive - the Z7 should do well.
The Nikon Z7 is a new mirrorless camera from Nikon. It boasts a 45.7-megapixel full-frame sensor, the same resolution, and sensor size as the recent Nikon D850. Lab tests confirm that the Z7 produces images with excellent resolution: for example, at ISO 64, 2,822 line pairs per image height (LP/PH), 103 percent of the theoretical maximum. In the n ISO comparison, the Nikon D850 captured 2591 LP/PH captured at ISO 64 – 94 percent of the theoretical maximum.
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The native ISO range of the Nikon Z7 is impressively wide, from ISO 64 to ISO 25600. At ISO 400, the resolution of images taken by the Z7 is almost as good as at ISO 64: 2812 LP/PH, reaching 102 percent of the theoretical maximum; ISO 800 hits 97 percent with 2681 LP/PH. At the top end of the ISO range, however, the resolution is less good: at the highest native ISO of 25600, the Z7 records 2163 LP/PH, which is 79 percent of the theoretical maximum. Higher ISOs can still be said to produce finely detailed photos, with 2336 LP/PH (85 percent of theoretical maximum) at ISO 6400, for example.
Texture reproduction is also very good: at ISO 64, the MTF50 is 1924 LP/PH with 20.6 percent artifacts. High-contrast areas are reproduced with an MTF50 of 1487 LP/PH (28.4 percent artifacts) at ISO 3200, along with 1308 LP/PH and 36.3 percent artifacts in low-contrast parts of the scene.
The Z7's texture reproduction is better than the D850's. In high-contrast areas, MTF50 on images from the Z7 (1470 LP/PH) is better than the D850 at, for example, ISO 3200. However, it is in low-contrast areas that the difference between the Z7 and the D850 is particularly noticeable: the Z7 does slightly better than the D850, with better MTF50 values at ISO up to and including ISO 3200 (eg 1308 LP/ PH).
The Z7 does less well at higher ISOs than at lower ISOs. For example, at ISO 6400, the MTF50 is 1075 LP/PH in high-contrast areas with 34.1 percent artifacts, and 590 LP/PH in low-contrast areas (51.3 percent artifacts). At the highest native ISO of 25600, the Z7 records just 572 LP/PH with 48.1 percent artifacts (high contrast) and 295 LP/PH in low contrast areas with 75.2 percent artifacts. However, these results are still better than those from the D850.
