The kit lens that comes with it may not be very exotic, but overall the camera itself is a delight to use, and a powerful, versatile camera. Unlike many other entry-level cameras, the Z50 doesn’t compromise much on controls and customizability. Nikon is legendary for making cameras that just work great and feel great, and pack a lot of value into their price point. If you have shaky hands, you can change the Minimum shutter speed Auto to be one step closer to “Faster”, which basically doubles the minimum shutter speed. The nice thing is, you can specify up to 3 seconds of delay, which can completely eliminate camera shake originating from touching the camera’s shutter release button. Where To Buy: Adorama | B&H | Amazon, Viva la #CES2020! Autofocus: On-sensor hybrid AF, face & eye-detection, 209 AF points Nikon Z50 has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 60 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.36″) and weighs 397 g (0.88 lb / 14.00 oz) (including batteries). Nikon Z50 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Despite its diminutive size and relatively affordable price, it still offers that thing we said Nikon does so well- a great balance of quality, value, features, and performance. (With the 16-50 lens.) It’s sharper than the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 VR at all focal lengths, and that’s saying a lot – the F-mount lens is no slouch at all. Aside from Program Mode, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes, the camera also offers an “Auto” mode, “Effect” mode, “Scene” mode, as well as U1 and U2 user settings that you can save your settings to: The “Effect” mode allows switching between the following pre-defined effects: Personally, I would discourage using the above effects for several reasons. AVERAGE. You’ll have to go with FX Z-mount lenses if you want some more exotic options, or you’ll have to use an FTZ adapter with your Nikon F-mount DX or FX lenses. First and foremost, Nikon always gets one thing right- the Z50 is just a delight to handle overall, it’s ergonomics and interface are just some of the best around. Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100, The competition in this APS-C realm is truly all over the place, from limited, entry-level beginner options to high-end flagships. The Z50 lacks sensor-based stabilization, however, it’s likely that most DX Z-mount lenses will have VR. Coupled with a fast EXPEED 6 processor, … Thanks for being there. Basically, with “Exposure delay mode” turned on, the camera waits a specified amount of time and only then opens up the shutter to capture the image. With that said, once you depart from the physical user experience and start to look at some of the other specific features related to performance or image quality, the Z50’s competition, collectively, starts to offer some tempting alternatives. I know that you really not answer that, but I couldn’t find any good articles on Z50 and taking long exposure with it. If you’re coming from an entry-level or mid-level Nikon DX DSLR, you’ll likely love everything about the Z50’s autofocus system. Perhaps you are doing something wrong? Nikon Z50, Nikkor 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 100. When I tried focusing and recomposing, the shutter would release if the center was still approximately focused. Everything else is turned off. “White Balance” is Auto and all other settings like Picture Controls, Active D-Lighting, HDR, etc. Thus, my number one wish for the Nikon Z50 isn’t about the body at all- I’d really love to see a DX Z-mount lens like the DSLR 16-80mm f/2.8-4; such a lens might be pricey, indeed brand-new it could run about $1000, but it would be totally worth the investment because it would make the camera itself significantly more capable and versatile. Awaiting Z50, as was not happy with Sony. I find your work to be thoughtful and thorough. Thanks again for all your work. Connectivity: Wifi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0 charging, (while camera is off) & microphone port. High ISO capability is … Hopefully, Nikon will improve the power management options of their mirrorless cameras in the future. Since I don’t care about doing any in-camera post-processing, I don’t touch this menu. Its secondary function is to bring up help, so if you are not sure about a menu setting and you want to look it up, you can press this button as well. The Z50 is a consumer-grade body with matching kit lenses with plastic mounts. This gives me the best results of any Nikon lens I have ever owned and I still have a few highly rated F lenses. I rarely ever touch anything in the Playback menu, since that’s only used for displaying pictures on the rear LCD or the EVF. New to z_50. Nikon Z6 Review – Does Sony Have Serious Competition? Try setting the Mode Dial to P, A, S, or M; set the Picture Control to, say, Standard; set the Mode Dial back to AUTO then, hopefully, you will have solved your problem. The Nikon Z50 is the latest mirrorless camera featuring an APS-C that was launched with a pair of DX zoom lenses. Personally, I add a few menu options here such as “ISO sensitivity settings”, “Interval timer shooting” and “Time-lapse movie” but that’s all a matter of preference. First of all, you can simulate all of the above with much more control in post-processing software, and second, many of them end up creating JPEG images, even if you explicitly chose to shoot in RAW. For example, if you have a 50mm lens mounted on the camera, your minimum shutter speed will go from 1/50 to 1/100 of a second with one step up. The only two settings that I ever mess with are “Playback display options” and “Rotate tall”. Follow his personal wilderness adventures: Login to access your dashboard, watch tutorials, submit photos for critiques and and get recognized for awards. But perhaps more than in any other genre of photography, a camera for landscapes is only as good as the optics that sit on the front of it. On those cameras (Fuji and Sony) that do offer this feature, you can get through an entire day of shooting, or even a multi-day trip, by just plugging in your camera to USB and charging it up even while the camera is on. The Nikon Z50 has many menu options, but there are some things that you can only control via specific buttons and controls on the camera. It’s built around Nikon’s Z-mount, a new contender in the mirrorless world. When switching to shoot portraits, some of the settings such as Auto ISO and face recognition should be turned on. It is much, much better than the relatively unreliable DSLR autofocus in entry-level cameras, with respect to both overall reliability, and the lack of proneness to getting “out of calibration” with one lens or another, and requiring the dreaded Autofocus Micro-Adjustment. The best thing you can do is choose a camera based on how your mind jives with its controls, interface, and customization. Indicators on – shows camera mode, exposure information, as well as other relevant information, Simplified display – only shows metering, exposure information, number of shots remaining, and battery level on the bottom of the camera, Information display – displays the same information as the “Info” button on DSLRs (not available in EVF), Virtual horizon – displays a virtual horizon in the center of the viewfinder / LCD, White balance: AUTO (AUTO1 Keep overall atmosphere), Set Picture Control: SD (Standard), Default values, HDR (high dynamic range): OFF (grayed out), Frame size / frame rate: 2160 p24 (3840×2160); 24p, White Balance: Auto1 (same as photo settings), Set Picture Control: same as photo settings, Auto-area AF face/eye detection: Face and eye detection on, Peaking highlights: Peaking Level -> 1 (low sensitivity), Peaking highlight color: Red, Auto ISO sensitivity control: Subject and background, #12 Bottom – Monitor/viewfinder brightness, Movie record button: Focus mode/AF-area mode, Shutter type: Electronic front-curtain shutter. You are my Bible. Zigman, everyone is different, so I would say that if you feel more comfortable with the D7500, there is nothing wrong with going with a larger camera! The Nikon Z50 manual indicates buffer capacity of 30 images when shooting in 14-bit RAW. Let’s go through some of the important settings. With AF-A mode, and back-button focusing, the recomposing after focusing doesn’t work for me. I might like to see a 16-80mm f/2.8-4 DX lens that is also weather-sealed, though; that would make the Z50 body an even better all-weather choice. In a smaller body, it represents a well-balanced mix of ease of use, durability, and quick action. I have it turned off in the menu above, so that those who don’t read this section or download the settings file do not end up panicking when their camera doesn’t focus using the shutter release button. “NEF (RAW) recording” is always set on mine to 14-bit – I choose 14-bit to get the best image quality the camera can deliver. Remember, RAW files contain non-manipulated data and require post-processing, so the above settings only impact images displayed by your camera’s LCD screen (each RAW file contains a full-size JPEG image, which is what is used to display images on the LCD) and if you use Nikon’s proprietary software like Capture NX-D, those settings can be applied to RAW images automatically. In as many ways as we can quantify, the Nikon Z50 is an incredible camera. The last menu item is “Silent photography”. Nikon included almost all of the features that you might want at such a price point, except maybe in-body stabilization, but that is often left out of other APS-C cameras that fall well below the $1K mark. I just tried focus and recomposing on the Z50 with AF-A mode. I am not going to go through these settings since they go over the scope of this article. I was able to focus, recompose, then take a shot and it worked without any issues. It is a neat feature that I always use by default on all of my cameras. Not much to go over here, because this is the area that you will only use for particular tasks like setting time/date, adding image comments, adjusting LCD brightness, formatting memory card, etc. The main reason was for low light setting and long exposure. When Nikon announced that they were going to use the positively enormous Z-mount for an APS-C (DX) body, I was skeptical at first. We’ll see what future battery technology can do. Sharpness isn’t everything, of course. By checking this box I consent to the use of my information, as detailed in the Privacy Policy. Program Mode, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes, Recommended Camera Menu Settings for Landscape Photography, Pre-Order Links: Nikon Z50, New Lenses, Battery Pack, Z6 II vs. Z7 II – advice on which one better for enthusiast level, To watermark or not to watermark on prints. Nikon Z50 has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 60 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.36″) and weighs 397 g (0.88 lb / 14.00 oz) (including batteries). Louis, a couple of things. Other than that, there’s not much to complain about, or to say that Nikon has dropped the ball in any major way. The options shown on the screen are customizable, which is great (more on how I customize this screen further down below). (Dear Nikon, I’d love to see the traditional horizontal-articulating LCD screen, like the D5x00.). In short, the Z50 is for serious photographers, or those who are becoming pretty serious, but who want a lightweight, portable, and still capable, advanced camera system. I use those grids all the time when composing my shots – they are great for aligning the horizon horizontally or vertically and having a better visual look at my framing / composition. Both casual and serious portrait photographers of all types will really enjoy the Z50 if they can afford to pair it with one of the amazing new Nikon Z-mount S-series primes, such as the Z 35mm f/1.8 S, Z 50mm f/1.8 S, and/or Z 85mm f/1.8 S. These mirrorless lenses are a whole new level of impressive image quality and aesthetic, in a relatively affordable and portable package compared to any flagship options. I did not bother changing the lens buttons and control ring – the defaults work just fine. I would also skip the whole “Timers/AE lock” sub-section, aside from perhaps the “Self-timer” option, which I normally set to either 2 or 5 seconds. The only thing I would do is set up “Image comment” and “Copyright information”. When you press the playback button on the back of the camera, you can press up/down buttons and you will be able to see different types of information. Enter your username or email address to receive a link to set your password. Nikon Z50, Sigma 105 mm f/1.4 | 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, Landscapes and travel photographers will really enjoy the Z50 with a lens like the DX 10-20mm AF-P VR, on the FTZ adapter, and casual wildlife or action sports photography with a lens like the Z 50-250mm DX, or the 70-300mm AF-P DX on the FTZ adapter. (Yes, a more serious wildlife/sports shooter might still prefer a D500 DSLR, though.). I use my Nikon Z6 as a vlogging camera for this episode. Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/640 sec, f/8,  ISO 100, Roswell, New Mexico Jump links to contents below. I would happily take the Z50 on any demanding wilderness adventure, that’s for sure. This is where a lot of people get lost since there are so many different settings. Being able to quickly access critical camera settings is very important for me, so I chose the ones above for that reason. With that said, the Z50 makes for one of the best choices around. Basically, once you switch the autofocus function from your shutter release (half-press) to the AE-L/AF-L button on the back of the camera, your camera will no longer autofocus through the shutter release button and will only respond to depressing the rear AE-L/AF-L button. It cannot be understated just how incredible Nikon’s collective lens lineup is, though. However, if you want to compare the Z50 against its current mirrorless competition, you’ll find that its autofocus implementation is still a bit lacking. The “Auto” minimum shutter speed setting is great, because it reads the focal length of the attached lens and automatically adjusts the minimum shutter speed to the focal length of the lens. If the answer is “no” to both questions, then quit worrying about megapixels and enjoy how many extra raw photos you’ll fit on a memory card in the Z50. Im probably not going to upgrade for 3-5 years untill i save up again, I tend to not like buying new gear every time something comes out. Delaware’s top photographer for Landscapes, Sunrises/sets, and Wildlife. Landscape photographers often prize resolution and dynamic range in a camera above pretty much all other features and specs. The “AF activation” setting on my Nikon Z50 is always set to “OFF” (AF-ON only) to allow me to use the AE-L/AF-L button on the back for focusing. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park Many beginner photographers struggle with basic camera settings and don’t know how to take advantage of all the buttons, features and menu settings of the camera, so I hope the below information will be useful for them. [Related Reading: Nikon Z7 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Review], Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 100, Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/40 sec, f/4, ISO 6400, 100% Crop, ISO 6400, minor noise reduction & sharpening applied. The button cycles through the following modes: I would recommend leaving it to “Automatic display switch”, but if you want to save battery life, the “Viewfinder only” mode is the way to go, because it keeps the LCD turned off and only engages the EVF when it detects your eye. Gets too expensive. Okay, so, who is the Nikon Z50 made for? After refocusing at the closer distance, the shutter released fine. The rest of the buttons on the back of the camera are pretty much self-explanatory. The first setting “AF-C priority selection” is there to assist in shooting in Continuous mode. …I can’t wait to see if Nikon makes something crazy like a DX 8-16mm f/4, or at least a 9mm or 10mm ultra-wide zoom, that accepts 77mm or 82mm filters and barely takes up much space in a camera bag. Really wanted to try that 200-600, but could not get past the horrible Menus. The “Playback display options” can be useful when reviewing images. To date, the only two dedicated lenses available are the Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR and Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR. I will first provide my values, then talk about the most important settings: While there are a lot of different settings here, do not worry – you won’t be changing many settings very often. The Nikon Z50 comes with hybrid (phase and contrast detection) autofocus (AF) with 209 AF points. First, let’s briefly mention each of the different brands that have APS-C sensor systems. Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/40 sec, f/8, ISO 100, hand-held, single exposure, Orange County, California Everything else is default. Basically, we are turning off Auto ISO with ISO set to 100, disabling things that are not needed for landscapes and turning on things like EFCS and Exposure Delay Mode to eliminate camera shake. If you move it all the way to the end (Faster), it will double the shutter speed again to 1/200 of a second. You can plug in a microphone, but not headphones. Sensor Format & Type: APS-C, (1.5x crop, 23.5×15.7mm) CMOS First, if you compare it to the previous Nikon DX DSLR bodies, particularly the D3x00 series and D5x00 series or even the D7x00 series, you’ll find that the Z50’s autofocus is an incredible improvement. Now that we have gone through the whole menu and set up some defaults, let’s go ahead and set up the U1 and U2 user settings. Read more about Nasim here. At around $850 for the body only, or $1000 for the kit with the 16-50 or $1200 for the kit with both the 16-50mm and 50-250mm, the investment in the Z50 isn’t dirt-cheap, but it also isn’t nearly as much as a decent full-frame setup. To keep the clutter out, I have three things turned on: “Focus point”, which allows me to see where I focused, “Highlights” to show overexposure in shots (a.k.a. Its body is 11mm narrower, 6mm shorter and 1mm thinner than Nikon Z50. The 20.9 MP sensor has similar performance as what we have seen from the Nikon D7500, with excellent high-ISO and dynamic range performance for an APS-C size sensor. How do you feel about it in the long term, the only real option is the XT-30 as far as alternatives. The nice thing about the Nikon Z50 is that you can set them up with different profiles such as landscape and portrait, then depending on what you are shooting, simply rotate the PASM dial to one of the user settings and all the menu items will switch accordingly. The image quality of the Z50, for both photo and video, makes it a strong contender against literally every other APS-C camera ever made. Nikon Z50 has a 21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed 6 processor. Weight: 450g (0.99 lb) The “Autofocus” section is pretty important, because it controls the way your camera autofocus is configured. The “Movie record” button is also programmed to change Focus mode / AF-area mode, so that I can toggle between AF-A, AF-S, AF-C, MF and different focus options using the movie record button + front and rear dials. Powerful yet small and lightweight, the Nikon Z series of full frame and APS-C format camera bodies present an excellent solution for shooting landscape photography. For me, the key button is Fn1, which I set to AE lock (Hold), so that I can easily lock my exposure with a single press of a button. x 5.2 in. Instead of specifying ISO for every shot, I just have it set on Auto, with its base ISO set to 100, Maximum sensitivity set to 6400 (my personal limit for “acceptable” noise levels on the Z50) and Minimum shutter speed set to “Auto”. Please keep in mind that you will need to remember the name of each user setting: Once you set all the settings below, make sure to visit “Menu” -> “Setup Menu” -> “Save user settings” and set which user setting number you want to save it in. That is, just as long as they’re OK with using an EF adapter for DSLR lenses, since there are no EF-M L lenses. I won’t go into too much detail about each focus mode, since it is all explained in detail in this article. The 50-250mm will be the longest lens available for Nikon’s mirrorless line (granted it’s DX-format). Similarly, you can also use the Self-timer feature, although Self-timer does not have such short delays as 0.2 seconds (the minimum is 2 seconds). On the grip of the camera, you will find three buttons: video recording button (with a red dot), “ISO” for changing camera ISO and Exposure Compensation button. On the top left side of the camera, you will find the standard “PASM” dial. The Z50 differentiates itself from current Nikon DSLRs with … Avoid the Z dx lenses, I have the Z 14-30 which is a useful lens on a crop but the star is the Z 50 1.8. AVERAGE. My default sensitivity level is 1 (Low), but if you don’t have good vision, you might want to increase it to standard or high. Summary. I also like using Capture NX-D to edit my raw images as I can apply all the camera settings, such as Vivid Picture Control in post. That is, the camera won’t take the picture when I recompose because it’s not in focus. The Sony A6600 finally added a flagship-size battery, but all other APS-C mirrorless bodies (including the Z50) still have relatively mediocre battery life, across all other Sonys plus the Fuji and Canon options. day Free Trial. I always turn the “Rotate tall” setting off, because I do not want my camera to rotate vertical images to horizontal when I review them – it is much easier to rotate the camera to see a vertical image, rather than having to zoom in every single time. The Nikon Z50’s autofocus is no slouch, though, in fact if you’re coming from almost any of the Nikon DX DSLRs, especially those in the D3x00 and D5x00 series, you’ll enjoy the Z50’s autofocus capability. Even in AF-C mode if priority selection is “Focus”, the shutter won’t release after recomposing. Matthew Saville is a full-time wedding photographer at Lin & Jirsa Photography, and a senior editor & writer at SLR Lounge. For beginners, I would recommend leaving the AF-C priority selection at the default “Focus” option, so that the camera only takes pictures when the subject is in focus. Let’s first go over the LCD buttons, which can only be activated when the camera is on. Lastly, although the Nikon Z50’s battery life is about on par with, or better than, the similar APS-C competition, I still wish Nikon had been able to design a better battery for their DX system. (Source: Nikon.) Its overall image quality beats even full-frame sensors from 12-15 years ago, and competes incredibly well against any current-generation APS-C option. I’m also hoping the ASIAIR will get an update to work with the Z cameras soon. It’s that simple. Dimensions: 127x94x60 cm (5×3.7×2.36 in) Your assistance is always on point, and extremely helpful, as opposed to other sites I could name. As for the Z50, I use it with Backyard Nikon and I love it, although I’d still like to find an intervalometer for times when I go somewhere with a light rig and don’t want to take a PC. When touching this button, the camera will cycle between the following: Here is the graphical representation of all this: Personally, I prefer to use an uncluttered view with minimal information when composing my images, so I use the “Simplified display”. The first button is the zoom-in button, which you can use to zoom in when shooting stills or zoom in when reviewing images on the LCD or the EVF. Here are the settings that I personally use: Once again, I won’t go into details about each setting, so let me just go over the most important ones that you should know about. Also, if you do landscape photography, can you recommend any good lens that won't break my piggy bank? When shooting hand-held, I mostly use Auto ISO, because it is a great feature that saves me a lot of time. The perfect feel of the grip, the ample controls, (especially for such an entry-level body) …it all comes together to deliver a great experience for the photographer. Physical Construction: weather-sealed durable construction, rubberized grip Specifically for Landscape & Astrophotography Photography: Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. This behavior is expected from the instructions. Price: $849 body-only, $998 w/ 16-50mm kit lens, $1199 w/ 16-50mm & 50-250mm kit lenses The Nikon Z50 isn’t a beginner camera, nor is it a top-end flagship. The Z 50 isn’t just another compact mirrorless camera: it delivers superb image quality. are turned off, since none of them (with the exception of “Long Exposure NR”) affect RAW images. Canon’s APS-C “EF-M” mount was created quite a while ago and is a pretty great system, to be fair, but doesn’t exactly offer any show-stopping features or performance. The Z50 is wonderful, but the star of the current Nikon DX mirrorless gear is that little 16-50 pancake zoom. “blinkies”) and “Overview”, which gives me a summary of my exposure (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, etc). As I just mentioned in the Value section, it’s going to be hard to come up with many “cons” for the Z50, when comparing it against the similarly priced competition. To a great extent, the Nikon Z50 looks like a very good camera.The very good camera in question being the D5600. SLR Lounge helps over 1.5 million photographers master their craft. Wide landscape & astro: Z 14-24, or combo of Z 14-30 and prime for astro? Since the AE-L / AF-L button is reprogrammed to do focusing, this is a good way to compensate the loss. The other main drawback of the Z50 is not really the body’s fault. All Rights Reserved, By clicking "Continue" I agree to SLR Lounge's. The “i” button is there for accessing some menu options, and it can be useful for doing quick adjustments to the camera. If you are planning to use the focus peaking feature in Live View, I would recommend to set your desired color and sensitivity. Announced on October 10, 2019, together with two compact DX lenses specifically designed for the camera, the Nikon Z50 packs many attractive features, putting it above entry-level DSLRs like Nikon D3500 and D5600. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35 F/3.5-4.5 G ED - (= approx 27 - 52mm equiv FOV on DX) Nikon AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 E VR FX (= approx 105-450mm equiv FOV on DX) Personally I usually prefer primes wherever possible but the above lenses are all capable of really excellent results. But when I focused at 10 ft or so and recomposed with the center at 3 or 4 ft, the shutter did not release. Nikon has done a great job making its first mirrorless DX camera, the Nikon Z50. The rest of the Z-mount lenses are FX full-frame, and most are quite a bit more expensive than an entry-level shopper might want to spend. Our review of the Z50 is based on a few months of in-depth use, from casual daily point-and-shoot use and family outings, to big vacations, serious landscape work, and a bit of wildlife and other types of general photography. However, if you are planning to shoot JPEG with the Z50, I would just keep it at the default sRGB setting. In both of those respects, the same Z 24-70mm f/4 is a big success. You’re far more likely to miss a shot completely because your camera is complex or confusing to operate, than you are likely to see a difference in any of the minor comparisons in objective measurements. Thank you for the excellent article. Remember to do it for each user setting separately. Nikon has shown that it is committed to this new way of offering value to camera buyers, like Fuji, Sony, and Canon have also done in 2019. Maybe it depends how out of focus the image is at the center. Revolutionary Z mount. If you have not read our articles on the Focus and Recompose technique and Back-Button Focusing, now is a good time to do it, because it explains this feature in detail. I ran my own tests with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 32 GB UHS-I 95 MB/sec card inserted, and I was able to squeeze between 30 and 35 14-bit RAW images into the buffer before it filled up. The setting that is responsible for that is “Apply settings to live view” and that’s the one I recommend to keep turned on. While the mount and system itself still have, shall we say, “room to grow”, the Z50 already offers a lot of bang-for-your-buck which many different types of photographers will appreciate. Nikon Z50, 4K video frame, “Neutral” Picture Control, The Z50 makes a fantastic video camera, as well as a decent vlogging and selfie camera, with its flip-down LCD screen. Monitor only: This mode enables only the LCD screen and the EVF is turned off completely. Megapixels: 21 (5568×3712) | AA filter: Yes | Pixel-Shift: No The first one is “Customize i menu”, which is the menu that pops up when you press the “i” button on the back of the camera. I can not set my Z-50 to shoot in black and white. To compare any two or three cameras against each other and find a difference, we really have to nit-pick and pixel-peep in ways that aren’t very realistic. Indeed, it falls perfectly into that category of cameras that Nikon seems to do better than anyone else- the mid-range of cameras that pack in as many features and value as possible. Here, you can pick your favorite selections for each assignable button. In fact, Sony’s E-mount was originally started as an APS-C mount, with the NEX series, so their support of APS-C lenses goes way back. The “Framing grid display” is a neat feature that creates vertical and horizontal lines on the EVF and the LCD. The Nikon Z50 is the first-generation Z-mount DX mirrorless camera with an APS-C sensor. …but it’s definitely a no-nonsense body. If you’re looking to really “kill” a background with blur, you’d better also purchase a 50mm prime lens, or at least switch to the 50-250mm kit lens and utilize the much longer focal lengths to help combat such tight apertures. The only other drawback compared to the competition is not the fault of the Z50: there are currently only two native DX Z-mount lenses. Add a credit card now and it will be charged for an Annual Premium Membership ($499) at the end of your trial. It’s $1000 with the kit lens, so it’s an investment you’d want to make wisely. The second important menu item under “Controls” is “Custom control assignment”. However, anyone who is either first getting into photography, or upgrading from a Nikon DX DSLR, will find far more to like than dislike about the Z50. Can the Z50 take on the likes of the well established Sony A6000-series and Canon EOS-M range, not to mention Fujifilm with its line-up of excellent APS-C bodies and lenses? I purchased the D7500 over Z50. Here is a quick recap: Other menu items such as Multiple exposure, HDR, Interval timer shooting and Time-lapse movie are all used to engage specific tools and effects. Before we dive deep into the camera menu, we will first go through the exterior controls. Sony, of course, has an incredibly diverse E-mount lineup, because they’re the only major player besides Nikon to offer both full-frame and APS-C options for the same mirrorless mount. Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/250 sec, f/9, ISO 100, 100% Crop, f/9, ISO 100 | fine-radius sharpening applied. The only thing that I usually change here is Bracketing order – I like to have my frames underexposed, normal, then overexposed, so I set “Bracketing order” to “Under > MTR > over”. Yes, you can move the focus point, but I find that far more difficult than back-button focusing with recompose. (Yes, a more serious wildlife/sports shooter might still prefer a D500 DSLR, though.) My Z50 is a great carry camera, a nice size, but the key, as so often, is the lens. It is also unfortunate that the kit lens for the Z50, the 16-50mm DX, is an f/3.5-6.3 aperture lens. Actually, it stacks up incredibly well in some regards, although it does fall a bit short in others. Nikon’s latest generation 20-megapixel sensor is just incredible, with a balance of great image quality at both the lowest native ISO of 100, and at much higher ISOs. Battery: EN-EL25, ranges from 320 shots worst-case scenario, but up to 1000-2,000 shots for timelapse/action PL provides various digital photography news, reviews, articles, tips, tutorials and guides to photographers of all levels, By Nasim Mansurov 15 CommentsLast Updated On March 25, 2020. Since the video recording button does not do anything useful in stills mode, I re-programmed it to change autofocus modes (more on that below), so that I can quickly toggle between AF-A, AF-S (Single Servo), AF-C (Continuous) and Manual Focus. It feels like a real high-end camera, not a toy. You concentrate first on the instrument (camera, lens, whatever) and then you give your own preferences but realize that your likes might not be best for everyone. Under “Shooting/display”, the two main settings to note are “Exposure delay mode” and “Apply settings to live view”. Nikon Z50, Nikon 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 | 1/250 sec, f/10, ISO 100. Canon M50 II is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Use Nikon D7200, D500, and D850 with several lenses, many you suggested. Menu>Autofocus>a1 AF-C Priority Selection>Release. There’s a lot to like, and not much to be disappointed by. The first option is very important as it allows one to set a delay before each time an image is captured, which can help completely eliminate camera shake. In this guide, I will provide detailed information on how to quickly set up the Nikon Z50, as well as go through some of the camera buttons and controls. FaceBook has one group that is exclusively for Z50 users: Nikon Z50 Shooters, and there are a couple of additional groups for all Nikon Z users, Z6, Z7, and Z50. The mirror has gone, but not a lot else seems to have been changed: most of the specifications and much of the experience has been ported over directly from what is a very capable mid-market camera. Much like how we’ve never seen a Canon “L” lens for either EF-S or EF-M, we’ve never seen a Sony GM “E” lens; all GM (G-Master) lenses are “FE”, meaning full-frame. If you ever happen to lose your memory card somewhere (which I personally have in the past) and someone finds it (let’s just assume that you have no labels on the card with your info) leaving your Copyright and/or Name could help big time in finding/locating you. Specifically for Portrait & Fashion Photography: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED With AF-A mode, the camera automatically switches between AF-S and AF-C (that’s what AF-A is). I won’t go into Bracketing/flash sections, because that’s a big topic on its own. Nikon Z50, Three New Lenses, And A Controversial Battery Grip Announced Today! Although color space does not matter for RAW files, I use AdobeRGB because it gives a slightly more accurate histogram (since the camera shows histograms based on camera-rendered JPEG images, even if you shoot exclusively in RAW). I do not like when my focus points roll over to the other side of the screen when I am in the corners and I like to shoot with all focus points enabled, so my “Focus point wrap-around” is turned off and “Focus points used” are kept at their default settings. Because it’s a DX camera that joins the full-frame Nikon Z mount, which although still comparatively new, is already shaping up to be a very impressive mirrorless system. From dual card slots in their flagship body and an abundance of weather-sealed lenses and bodies, to ultra-lightweight portable options that are pretty affordable, Fuji seems to have something for everyone. Finally I added a 46-52mm stepping ring, partly to make use of my 52mm filters but more importantly to allow the use of my Lee Filter system. Thank you George, appreciate the feedback! Also, there isn’t really much need to focus and recompose anymore, since you can just move the focus point where you need it. Before going on, here’s a look at the basic specs of the two cameras, with the major differences highlighted in green where one camera has an obvious advantage. Nikon have introduced their first APS-C, cropped-sensor mirrorless camera with the launch of the Z50, accompanied by two kit zoom lenses. The “Controls” section is something I always change on my Nikon cameras because there are some time-saving features there. I never mess with any of the “Metering/exposure” settings, so I would just recommend leaving them at default values. (Don’t let that fool you, though; it’s a solid camera that feels anything but “entry-level”!). Fuji’s APS-C “X mount” has likely the strongest native support and diversity of both bodies and lenses, and a huge fan base among both professionals and hobbyists alike. If you turn it off, your camera will boost the LCD and the EVF to the same brightness each time, no matter what camera settings you have chosen. Just about the only thing lacking from Nikon’s DX lineup would be fast, wide-angle primes such as 16mm f/1.4. In short, it’s a great system, and anyone who is already used to the Canon interface, and who appreciates Canon’s optical prowess, won’t be disappointed by an EF-M setup. Review of Nikon Z50 for landscape photography. Indeed, the Z50 struggles to match up to those other AF systems that are now quite a few generations old. I do landscape photography with a D5600 for 3 years and am actually think of switching to mirrorless for a couple of reasons. Maybe we’ll see a Nikon Z70 or Z80 in the next year or two, with pricier features like “IBVR” and dual card slots. Heck, even if you spend the most money on any APS-C body, and get the Fuji X-T3, you’ll still find that the grip, in particular, doesn’t feel as good as the Z50 for long days of hand-holding. From ‘photo shooting menu’. Aside from the standard buttons such as Playback, Trash and Menu, the Nikon Z50 has a couple of extra buttons on the back of the camera, as well as on the LCD that are worth going over. But back-button focusing is still quite useful and I use it all the time. If you are planning to use the connectivity features of the camera to send images to a smartphone, a tablet or a PC, you will find all the available menu options here, as well as other options such as enabling touch controls on the LCD. One of the advantages of having such a tiny kit lens is, you can fit it through a chain-link fence! After the eye-catching releases of the Nikon Z7 and Z6 full-frame mirrorless cameras last year, Nikon has continued to expand its Z mount system with the new Nikon Z50 - an APS-C sensor camera focused on being small, light, affordable, and great for vlogging and social media. Landscapes and travel photographers will really enjoy the Z50 with a lens like the DX 10-20mm AF-P VR, on the FTZ adapter, and casual wildlife or action sports photography with a lens like the Z 50-250mm DX, or the 70-300mm AF-P DX on the FTZ adapter. You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook. If you are going to be shooting hand-held, I recommend turning on Optical VR and disabling Exposure Delay Mode. I could only make it work in AF-C mode with priority selection set to release. (I would much rather have this great image quality than a few extra megapixels, that’s for sure!). In the meantime, there’s not much to dislike about the Z50. When shooting landscapes, I assume that you are going to be using a tripod. Let’s now go through the Shooting Menu, which is the first place that I usually go to when checking my settings. However, if you need to do a quick edit of your images or videos, you can do it from here. [Related Reading: Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S Review | Is this Nifty Fifty Worth $600?]. With that said, for both casual and serious photography and video, the Z50 is a great choice. Especially for recording 4K video; just leaving the camera connected to USB power 100% of the time is a fantastic option. Indeed, whether you need flagship bodies and lenses that match the spec sheets (and even the light-gathering ability) of full-frame systems, Fuji has got you (almost completely) covered. This was my big concern when jumping ship from Nikon to Fuji. It’s just not as easy to control your AF points compared to other cameras, for example with most Sonys and Canons you can use the touchscreen to move the AF point even when your eye is up to the viewfinder and the rear LCD is off. If you want stabilization, you’ll have to spend a bit more than $1K. The “i” button brings up different camera options that you can change, while the AE-L / AF-L button by default locks exposure and focus. This is very handy when doing things like panoramas – I only press the Fn1 on the front of the camera once, then once I complete my panorama, I release the button to disable exposure lock. Keep up the good work! Again, I would recommend learning how to do basic exposure and camera adjustments, so that you don’t have to always depend on these settings, because they might not be available if you decide to change your camera brand, or move up to a more serious camera in the future. I have discovered many useful tips, and reasons for why certain settings are used. Thus, all in all, the Nikon Z50 isn’t going to feel “held back” for most types of photography, or compared to its alternatives. Let’s go through the differences for portraiture: I hope you found this article useful. In particular, Sony’s autofocus on their latest APS-C bodies is incredible; their subject tracking technology in particular is definitely better than any other option. Below you can see the front view size comparison of Canon M50 II and Nikon Z50. Nikon Z7's sensor provides 25MP more than Nikon Z50's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. 11 **This week with your Z camera, Nov 28-Dec 4 2020** 9: Z 6ii general chat plus AF woes: 8: Should I get CFexpress for Z7? iPhone Photography Tutorials (And Other Smartphones), Autofocus is better than Nikon DX DSLRs, but behind some competing mirrorless options, Battery life & in-camera charging leaves something to be desired, Native DX Z-mount lens selection is limited. When paired with its 11 frames-per-second continuous shooting mode, this makes for a decent portrait and sports photography camera, in theory. Nikon Z50, Irix 150 mm f/2.8 | 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100, Orange County, California The last LCD button has the “DISP” label on it, which is used for switching between different display modes in the viewfinder and the rear LCD. This great video takes a look at one such camera, the Nikon Z … If you are focusing and recomposing then the subject is not moving, so it will use AF-S mode. You can still upgrade to premium anytime. Why? Unlike most other APS-C camera bodies that are meant to be portable, the Z50 does not skimp on a durable overall feel. The First Three Prime Lenses Beginners Should Buy For Nikon DSLR. Honestly, going into 2020, almost every camera in production is “more camera than you’ll ever need”. Copyright 2019 SLR Lounge. Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon Z5 and Nikon Z50. (98 mm x 131 mm) Weight: 2.14 lbs. Somehow My camera shooting setting is on black and white and if I try to select ‘set picture control’. The nice thing about the Nikon Z50 is that you can set them up with different profiles such as landscape and portrait, then depending on what you are shooting, simply rotate the PASM dial to one of the user settings and all the menu items will switch accordingly. Indeed, the Fuji X-T30, Canon M6 mk2, and Sony A6400 all lack sensor-based stabilization, so I’m not even going to give “No IBIS” its own category in the Z50’s cons. So if you do not have a camera remote (remote cable release) with you, you can use this feature to reduce camera shake and it works really well. The electronic viewfinder (EVF) mode button sits to the left side of the viewfinder at an angle. Also, for autofocus point control, all of the Fuji bodies have a relatively tiny, potentially slippery AF point control joystick, for those who still prefer a physical control “joystick” for AF point control, instead of using the touchscreen. We shouldn't expect high-end features like dual card slots or IBVR in a camera this far under the $1,000 mark, although we do hope that Nikon improves battery charging options and speed in all future mirrorless cameras. Although, even if Nikon never makes such a lens, Sigma is likely working hard to reverse-engineer the Z-mount, and their 16mm f/1.4 DC DN is pretty good on Canon EF-M and Sony E-mount. I assign the second Fn2 button to “Metering” so that I can quickly switch between different metering modes. Not that I am a big guy, but the Z50 seem small in my hands. Focus mode by default is set to AF-A (AF mode auto-switch). Nikon Z7 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Review. (Unfortunately, the next DX Z-mount lens is an 18-140mm lens, which is an understandably popular focal range; in the meantime I’ll settle for using the existing 16-80mm f/2.8-4 DX on an FTZ adapter, espeically since the lens can now be found for about $600 used.).