Nikon Z5

24MP 4½ FPS Full-Frame Stabilized Mirrorless, 4K/29.97

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance  

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

Z9   Z8   Z7 II   Z6 II   Zf   Z7   Z6   Z5   Z fc   Z50   Z30

Z System   Z Lenses   All Nikon Lenses   Flash

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 (23.6 oz./670g with battery and SD card, two card slots, $997) and Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3. bigger. I got mine at B&H. I'd also get mine at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or get it used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, gray-market, store demo or used Z5 — and all of my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new Z5. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new Z5 before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

 

April 2023   Nikon   Mirrorless   Mirrorless Lenses   All Nikon Lenses   Nikon Flash   All Reviews

Sony vs. Nikon vs. Canon Full-Frame

 

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 and Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3. bigger.

 

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5. bigger.

Sample Images       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

More at High ISOs.

These are just snapshots; my real work is in my Gallery.

These are all shot as BASIC ★ JPGs; no tripods, NORMAL or FINE JPGs or RAW files were used or needed.

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Iron Christmas, 3:20 PM, 29 November 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon SB-400 flash, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 24mm at f/10 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, -0.7 stops exposure compensation (LV 14.3), Perfectly Clear, perspective correction in Photoshop CS6. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

Brilliant, sharp colorful images. For what more could you ask? Nikon's perfect-for-mirrorless SB-400 flash helps emphasize the foreground wreath, which otherwise would have been in shadow. Of course any compatible (made in the past 10 or 15 years ) Nikon flash gives the same result.

 

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Red 1961 Corvette, 3:51 PM, 30 November 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon SB-400 flash, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 50mm at f/11 at 1/50 at Auto ISO 200 (LV 11.6), as shot. bigger or full resolution.

Nikon's perfect-for-mirrorless SB-400 flash emphasizes the front of the Corvette (which otherwise was in shadow) and suggests a flaming comet fireball.

 

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Moonrise, Seven Palms Oasis, 6:23 PM, 30 November 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 24mm at f/4 for 30 seconds at ISO 125 (LV -1¼), 3,200K white balance, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

You can see the moonlight glinting off the palm fronds! For what better low-light performance could you possibly ask? Autofocus is almost worthless in light this low, while the images are great.

 

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Desert Turquoise, 12:22 PM, 01 December 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 30mm at f/11 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 15.9), as shot. bigger or full resolution.

Even with my colors amped-up (VIVID Picture Control with +3 Saturation) I get accurate, meaningful renditions of difficult and subtle colors as in this turquoise building.

 

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Bougainvillea Gone Wild, 12:24 PM, 01 December 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 31.5mm at f/9 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 14⅔), as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

I love what comes right out of my Nikons as JPGs, no need to "fix" or fiddle afterwards. I need my images to be client-deliverable right out of my camera.

 

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Twin Arches, 12:37 PM, 01 December 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 33mm at f/10 at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 15.3), Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Railing, Light and Shadow, 12:41 PM, 01 December 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 35mm at f/8 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 14.0), perspective correction and other artistic interpretation in Photoshop CS6. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

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Introduction       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

New   Good   Bad   Missing

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

Crutchfield

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

The Nikon Z5 is a great little camera. I prefer its controls and ergonomics to those of the Z6 II and Z7 II, and its image quality is the same (megapixels are only for marketing purposes 97% of the time).

So long as you're not shooting sports or action, this is Nikon's best mirrorless camera.

Because it's slower, it's also quieter and has less vibration than the Z6 II, Z7 II, Z6 and Z7, also making it better if you're not trying to shoot action.

The Z5's finder is brilliant and sharp, even in direct desert sunlight.

The Z5 adds a second card slot and an improved mode dial to the old Z6 and Z7.

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

New since the Z6 and Z7       intro       top

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Dual SD card slots.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Much lower price.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Much better mode dial. It's unlocked and on the correct side, therefore usable while shooting with one hand which can't be done with the Z6 or Z7.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com People and animal eye-detection autofocus.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com New Nikon EN-EL15c battery. (Also works with older EN-EL15b, EN-EL15a and EN-EL15 batteries.)

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Can be powered continuously with any USB C charger that meets the PD ("Power Delivery") standard, and charges with any generic non-PD USB source.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com New ability to work as a webcam over USB-C, given the right software (windows only).

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com 20, up from 10, Non-CPU Lens Data settings for use with manual-focus or other adapted lenses.

 

Good       intro       top

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Unbeaten Nikon image quality.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Low price.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Super-bright and sharp finder; works great in the blinding desert sun.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Dual card slots.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Excellent top mode-control dial for one-handed shooting like the Z50; better than the wrong-side, two-hands-required dials of the old Z6 and Z7.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Full-frame autofocus.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com BULB and TIME exposure modes.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Wi-Fi.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Bluetooth.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com In-camera Image Stabilization rated 5 stops improvement.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Weather-sealed:

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 Weather Sealing. bigger.

Bad       intro       top

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Longest video length is still only 29:59 (half an hour).

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com The auto finder/LCD sensor sees your body while carried around your neck and confuses it with actual usage, so it won't automatically shut off. Therefore you have to remember to turn off your Z5 after each shot since it won't go to sleep automatically carried this way.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Menus and finder data don't rotate with the camera held vertically.

 

Missing       intro       top

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No built-in flash.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No automatic brightness control for rear LCD (EVF has automatic brightness control).

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Menus and finder data don't rotate with the camera held vertically.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No 4:3 or 4:5 "Ideal Format" crops (1:1 square and 16:9 only).

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No timed manual exposures longer than 30 seconds. You have to use Bulb or Time, an external timer and possibly a remote release instead.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No tally light during long exposures; there's nothing lit to tell you if you're still exposing.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No full-stop ISO option, so you have to make three times as many clicks to change ISO. (I only shoot at full-stop settings like ISO 100, 200, 400, 800 etc.).

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No illuminated buttons.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Can't use a standard threaded cable release; use the app or Nikon MC-DC2 remote cord instead.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Only Bluetooth 4.2, not yet 5.0. (so?)

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No GPS.

Nikon Z5, Sensor and lens mount

Nikon Z5. bigger.

 

Lens Compatibility       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

Nikon Z5 Lens Mount and Sensor

Nikon Z5. bigger.

The Z5 uses the Nikon Z mount optimized for Nikon's Z-mount mirrorless S lenses. It has a 55mm inner diameter, larger than the old F mount, and has a flange focal distance of only 16.00mm.

This is the shortest distance between flange and sensor of any pro camera: Sony E is 18.00mm, Fuji X is 17.70mm. Canon RF is 20.00mm, LEICA M is 27.80mm, Contax G is 29.00mm, Nikon's 1950s rangefinder S-mount is 34.85mm. Canon EF is 44.00mm and Nikon F is 46.5mm, so there is always enough room for someone to machine an adapter ring to go between anything and this new Nikon Z mount.

 

DX Z Lenses

Ideally only use FX lenses on this FX camera.

The DX Z 16-50 and DX Z 50-250mm are superb lenses, and the Z5 automatically crops its sensor to DX, but by doing this you're throwing away more than half your sensor area and getting less resolution than by shooting these lenses on a Z50.

 

FTZ Adapter

I have an entire page on what works and doesn't work with Nikon's FTZ adapter, which lets Nikon's F-Mount lenses mount on a Z camera.

In short, all the newest AF-I, AF-S and AF-P lenses work fine with Nikon's FTZ adapter, while there is no autofocus with any other lenses, and especially no autofocus with older AF and AF‑D lenses, many of which Nikon still sells new today.

Manual-Focus F, AI converted, AI and AI‑s don't work very well, with no communication or control of aperture. Manual-focus lenses work much better on any FX DSLR than on the FTZ.

See all the details at Nikon FTZ Compatibility & Review.

 

Fringer Canon EF-to-Nikon Z Adapter

Adapts Canon EF lenses with often better results on my Nikon Z cameras than Nikon's own lenses give on this crappy FTZ adapter! It also works with other brands of lenses in Canon EF mount, adapting them to Nikon Z.

 

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses

Nikon Z7 with 1950s Rangefinder Lens

Nikon Z7 with W-NIKKOR•C 3.5cm f/1.8 (1956~1964). bigger.

You don't need and can't use the FTZ Adapter with rangefinder lenses. These lenses have to get closer to the sensor, and are the original mirrorless lenses. This is good, because we can get basic adapters cheap direct from China over eBay for just about any kind of lens.

In fact, we now can use even Nikon's original 1940s-1960s rangefinder lenses on the Z6!

LEICA's lenses for the LEICA M3 with goggles work great, too! Hint: to avoid interference, first mount goggled lenses to the adapter, and then mount the mated adapter and lens combination to the camera.

See Use with Adapted Rangefinder Lenses for more.

Palm and Storm, 29 November 2018

Palms and Storm, 6:21 PM, 29 November 2018. 2018 Nikon Z7 with 1956 W-NIKKOR•C 3.5cm f/1.8 (see Adapting Rangefinder Lenses to Nikon Mirrorless), f/4 at 10 seconds at ISO 64, shown exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original ©  file. The palm tree is blowing all over in the wind; don't expect it to be museum-sharp.

 

Specifications       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

Image Sensor       specifications       top

Nikon Z5, Lens Mount and Sensor

Nikon Z5. bigger.

23.9 × 35.9 mm CMOS.

6,016 × 4,016 pixels (24.1 MP).

3:2 aspect ratio.

1.0× crop factor.

Ultrasonic cleaner.

 

ISO       specifications       top

ISO 100 ~ 51,200.

Also ISO 50 (L-1), 64 (L-0.7), 80 (L-0.3) and ISO 64,000 (H+0.3), 80,000 (H+0.7) and 102,400 (H+1).

 

Image Sizes       specifications       top

6,016 × 4,016 pixels native (Large, 24.16 MP or 24,160,256 pixels).

4,512 × 3,008 (Medium, 13.5 MP).

3,008 × 2,008 (Small, 6 MP).

 

Cropped Aspect Ratios

Square 1:1 (24 x 24mm)

4,016 × 4,016 (Large, 16 MP).

3,008 × 3,008 (Medium, 9 MP).

2,008 × 2,008 (Small, 4 MP).

 

16:9 (36 x 20mm)

6,016 × 3,384  (Large, 20 MP).

4,512 × 2,536  (Medium, 11 MP).

3,008 × 1,688 (Small, 5 MP).

 

DX APS-C (16 × 24mm)

3,936 × 2,624  (Large, 10 MP).

2,944 × 1,968  (Medium, 4.9 MP).

1,968 × 1,312 (Small, 2.6 MP)

 

Video       specifications       top

File Formats

.MOV or .MP4 files holding H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding video.

 

Frame Sizes and Rates

4K (3,840 × 2,160) at 23.976, 25 or 29.97p.

1,920 × 1,080 at 23.976, 25, 29.97, 50 or 50.97p.

 

Audio       specifications       top

Recorded only along with video.

Linear Pulse-Code Modulation (uncompressed LPCM) in MOV files or Advanced Audio Coding (compressed AAC) with MP4 files.

S - t - e - r - e - O microphone built in.

Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.

Headphone jack.

 

Autofocus       specifications       top

273 points.

Covers 90% horizontally and 90% vertically.

Works from LV -3 ~ +19 with Low-light AF ON;LV -2 ~ +19 with Low light AF OFF.

 

Light Meter       specifications       top

Matrix, center-weighted, spot or highlight-weighted.

LV -3 ~ +17.

 

Finder       specifications       top

0.5" OLED.

3,690,000 dots.

0.8× magnification with 50mm lens.

Auto brightness control.

-4 ~ +2 diopters.

21 mm eyepoint.

 

Shutter       specifications       top

Quiet mechanical and silent electronic shutters.

1/8,000 ~ 30 seconds, BULB and TIME modes.

1/200 flash sync speed.

 

Remote Releases       specifications       top

Socket for Nikon MC-DC2 remote cord.

Wirelessly via Nikon's App.

 

Frame Rates       specifications       top

To 4½ FPS, Continuous High.

1 ~ 4 FPS in Continuous Low.

 

Flash       specifications       top

1/200 sync speed.

 

Built-in Flash

NONE.

 

External Flash

i-TTL control, both optical and via radio.

Focal-Plane High-Speed Sync (FP HSS).

 

LCD Monitor       specifications       top

Nikon Z5 flipping rear LCD

Nikon Z5 Flipping Rear LCD. bigger.

3.2" (80 mm) diagonal touch screen.

1,040,000 dots.

Swivels up and down, but not left or right.

 

Connectors       specifications       top

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 and Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3. bigger.

 

Nikon Z5 Connectors

Nikon Z5 Connectors. bigger.

Top left to bottom right:

3.5mm headphone jack.

3.5mm Mic-in jack.

USB-C.

Type-C HDMI.

Connector for use with Nikon MC-DC2 remote cord.

 

Wi-Fi       specifications       top

IEEE 802.11b/g/n/a/ac

2.412–2.462 GHz (channel 11) and 5.180–5.825 GHz (U. S. A., Canada and sunny México).

2.412–2.462 GHz (channel 11) and 5.180–5.805 GHz (the rest of Central and South America).

Maximum Effective Isotropic Radiated Output Power: 2.4 GHz band: +7.4 dBm; 5 GHz band: +12.2 dBm.

Authentication: Open system, WPA2-PSK.

 

NFC       specifications       top

None.

 

Bluetooth       specifications       top

Version 4.2 Low Energy.

2.402–2.480 GHz

 

GPS       specifications       top

None.

 

Storage       specifications       top

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5. bigger.

Two SD card slots.

Takes SD (up to 2GB), SDHC (up to 32GB) and SDXC (up to 512GB) cards.

UHS-II compatible.

 

Body       specifications       top

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5. bigger.

 

Weather sealed:

Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 Weather Sealing. bigger.

 

Power & Battery       specifications       top

Battery

Nikon EN-EL15c

Nikon EN-EL15c. bigger.

 

Nikon EN-EL15c

Nikon EN-EL15c. bigger.

New Nikon EN-EL15c rated for 390 shots with viewfinder, or 470 with rear LCD

— or —

2 hours of video.

Also works with older EN-EL15b, EN-EL15a and EN-EL15.

 

Charging

Charges via USB, or included external MH-25a battery charger:

Nikon MH-25a charger

Nikon MH-25a charger, included. enlarge.

 

Nikon MH-25a charger

Bottom, Nikon MH-25a charger. enlarge.

 

AC Adapters     (also at)

You can shoot continuously with any USB C charger that meets the PD ("Power Delivery") standard.

You also can use the old, expensive EH-5d, EH-5c or EH-5b AC Adapters, any of which require the EP-5B Fake Battery Connector to poke in the battery bay.

Regular non-PD USB cords and power sources work great for charging and will extend the run time, but might not have enough power to run indefinitely as a PD charger will.

 

Size       specifications       top

4.0 × 5.3 × 2.8 inches HWD.

100.5 × 134 × 69.5 millimeters HWD.

 

Weight       specifications       top

23.623 oz. (669.7g) with battery and one card, actual measured weight.

Rated 23.8 oz. (675 g) with battery and card.

Rated 20.8 oz. (590g) stripped.

 

Operating Environment       specifications       top

0º ~ 40º C (32º ~ 104º F).

0 to 85% RH.

 

Nikon's Model Number       specifications       top

N1933.

 

Included       specifications       top

Z5 body with BF-N1 Body Cap, DK-29 eyecup and BS-1 hot-shoe cover.

EN-EL15c battery.

MH-25a battery charger.

$30 UC-E24 USB-A to USB-C Cable.

AN-DC19 Strap.

 

Announced       specifications       top

9:31 AM, Tuesday, 21 July 2020, NYC time.

 

Promised for       specifications       top

August, 2020.

 

Price, U. S. A.       specifications       top

April 2023 ($300 ~ $400 less than January 2023!)

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

January 2023 (same as July 2021, except kit with 24-70mm became much more expensive)

Z5 body: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,597 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $2,097 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $2,294 (a high price) at Adorama and at B&H. ($1,894 at Amazon throgh a third party).

 

July 2021 (price went up $100 from before, or $100 off introductory price)

Z5 body: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,597 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,897 at Adorama, at Amazon and at B&H.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $2,097 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

 

November~December 2020 (price drops $200)

Z5 body: $1,197 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,497 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

 

July ~ September 2020 (introduction)

Z5 body: $1,397 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $2,197 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

 

Accessories       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

Included

EN-EL15c battery.

MH-25a battery charger.

DK-29 eyecup.

BF-N1 Body Cap.

UC-E24 USB-A to USB-C Cable.

AN-DC19 Strap.

BS-1 hot-shoe cover.

 

Optional

Nikon MC-DC2 remote cord.

Nikon Z Lenses.

Nikon DSLR Lenses, used with Nikon FTZ Lens Adapter.

Nikon Flash.

USB C chargers that meet the PD ("Power Delivery") standard.

EH-5d, EH-5c or EH-5b AC Adapters, any of which requires the EP-5B Fake Battery Connector to poke in the battery bay.

 

Performance       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Overall    Autofocus   Manual Focus   Auto ISO  

Auto White Balance   Color Rendition   Ergonomics  

Finder   Flash   High ISOs   Lens Corrections   

Long Exposures   Mechanics   Menus   Top OLED  

Rear LCD   Playback   Data   Power & Battery

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

Overall       performance       top

The Z5 is a winner, with great autofocus and ergonomics, quiet operation, a brilliant, sharp finder, and has superb high ISO and technical image quality — all at a low price.

The only thing the Z5 doesn't do well is shoot at high frame rates or in pitch black. While pictures taken in very low light, like moonlight, are great, the finder and autofocus work poorly in extremely low light — but even a nut like me rarely works in light this low, and if I do, I still get great pictures.

 

Autofocus       performance       top

Overall

It autofocuses and tracks well, a huge improvement from the awful old Z6 and Z7.

 

All-Area AF Intelligence

It's much improved over the old Z6 and Z7. It usually finds the correct area on which to focus and just does it. Bravo!

 

Autofocus Tracking

Tracking is surprisingly good, greatly improved over the old Z6 and Z7. Of course your choice of lens will affect this, but otherwise I'm impressed at how well it tracks moving things.

The only bad thing is that the AF areas turn RED while they're tracking, exactly the opposite of GREEN as they should be when working properly.

If you're photographing sports and action most of the time, the Z6 II or Z7 II are probably better ideas, but honestly as I'm writing this during the 2020 lockdown I haven't gotten to see what happens shooting sports with my Z5. Autofocus seems to be pretty good!

 

Absolute Autofocus Accuracy

Autofocus is supremely accurate because the AF sensors are directly on the image sensor, eliminating all the mechanical and optical errors we've taken for granted in large-format, rangefinder, 35mm SLR and DSLR cameras for the past 100 years. These old cameras had their focus sensors separate from the image sensor, connected by mirrors or other 19th and 20th century techniques, and mechanical errors led to errors no longer in mirrorless cameras.

 

Low Light Autofocus

Nikon Z5 Sample Image File

Moonrise, Seven Palms Oasis, 6:23 PM, 30 November 2020. Nikon Z5, Nikon Z 24-50mm at 24mm at f/4 for 30 seconds at ISO 125 (LV -1¼), 3,200K white balance, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

Z5 autofocus is awful in very low light. It was painful trying to get this shot in focus. The finder gets very noisy and blurry as it tries to cope, and focus slows to a crawl. What happens is that the live, noisy finder updates stop and the finder frame rate slows down to give a much clearer image - but it only updates once every few seconds as it slowly tries to focus based on those few slow frames as the system strains to see.

Low light means light so dim that it's hard to read a book or restaurant menu or dimmer. The shot above was much darker and I had to use a flashlight to illuminate the subject to focus in AF-S mode, lock focus by switching to Manual Focus, then turning off the flashlight and taking my picture!

This is with the "Low Light AF" option at MENU > Custom (pencil) > a10 Low-light A set to ON (the default is OFF). God only knows how bad it is in regular mode.

The AF illuminator is an obnoxious vivid green light. I avoid using it; people complain loudly when it shines in their face. I tried it with the above photo, it was of no help as the palms were too far away. I had to use my German 900-Lumen Lupine Piko superflashlight.

 

Manual Focus       performance       top

Assuming you have good light, Manual Focus is excellent. While only one focus area can work at a time, it turns from red to green instantly as you achieve perfect focus.

Even better, there is another three-way "▶●◀" focus aid in the bottom left corner that tells you which way to turn the focus ring, and shows the dot when you're dead-on.

Manual focus works better than on other mirrorless brands because Nikon is the only mirrorless brand where instant manual-focus override works in all modes.

Of course you can magnify the live image in the finder or rear LCD, and add focus peaking at MENU > CUSTOM (pencil) > Shooting/display > d9 (or d10) peaking highlights > Peaking level.

 

Auto ISO       performance       top

Auto ISO is up to modern standards, with flexible manual and automatic selection of slowest shutter speeds.

 

Auto White Balance       performance       top

Auto White Balance works fine.

 

Color Rendition       performance       top

As you can see at my Sample Images, the Z5's color rendition is the same great look we've had since Nikon's second generation of 2007. The Z5 is the same and I love it: I can get client-deliverable images directly from my Z5 shot as JPGs.

I've never shot a digital camera with better color rendition for all subjects.

Color rendition is more critical to picture quality than resolution or dynamic range or any of the other pedagogical but invisible measures of performance; color rendition is how the picture actually looks and the Z5 is first class.

Color rendition is how pictures look in the real world. Real-world color rendition has nothing to do with color accuracy measured in a lab. Color rendition is dependant on how a maker programs all the color matrices, curves, and look-up tables to generate image color from the data read from the sensor, and varies widely between makers once you set a camera away from its defaults.

I never shoot at defaults; I usually shoot at VIVID picture control with +3 saturation if there are no people in my image.

Like all my modern Nikon digital cameras, I love the images I get right out of my Z5 as JPGs, no processing or "fixing" needed.

If you shoot raw then your colors and tones aren't created until you process the raw data later in software, and your choice of software will have as much effect on your images as the camera itself.

I'm a seasoned working artist, not some online tweaker, YouTuber or tech blogger. COLOR is my life and work. I'm pickier about color than almost anyone; I see things most people don't.

It's like pianos: anyone can talk forever about how pianos are made, but to most ordinary players the subtle variations between different samples of a Steinway Model D are eclipsed by their own limitations in playing, but when you're a virtuoso even subtle differences become obvious to the seasoned master. That's why when you buy, or choose a Steinway for your tour as a Steinway Artist, you go to Steinway's Astoria factory and pick from among several samples of the same model which suits your style best. To a master, the subtle details are everything, just like subtle differences in color rendition between different brands of camera. Art is not the duplication of reality; art is the expression of imagination.

That's just me; your preferences and results will vary.

 

Ergonomics       performance       top

Ergonomics are better than any of the Z7 II, Z6 II, Z7 or Z6 because the Z5's mode dial is where you can reach it with your shooting hand, and you don't need a second hand to unlock it. It has no lock, but perfect detents and it's far enough away from the front or back so it's not going to get knocked by accident — but it is easy to change with your shooting hand without taking the Z5 from your eye. I love it!

The PLAY and DELETE buttons are on the wrong (left) side. They takes a second hand to press.

Menus and finder data don't rotate with the camera held vertically.

There's no full-stop ISO option, so you have to make three times as many clicks to change ISO. (I only shoot at full-stop settings like ISO 100, 200, 400, 800 etc.).

The rubber flaps covering the connectors are crummy. You have to pay close attention to get them sealed after using any of the connectors. You'll see that many of my product photos in this review show them not-quite sealed, which is the way they usually are after charging!

 

Better than most Nikon DSLRs

It's good that there are U1, U2 and U3 programmable preset recall modes on the top dial, but bad is that they only save and recall about 2/3 of what you need. Many things, like advance mode, display brightness and crop modes still need to be reset manually as you change these modes. The U1, U2 and U3 presets ignore the SETUP menu options. U1, U2 and U3 do recall the Shooting menu settings and more: exposure mode, AF settings, image size and format, Picture Controls, ISO settings, and white balance.

Of course we can see and magnify and playback and set menus in the finder, something no DSLR does.

 

Worse than most Nikon DSLRs

Front and rear dials are harder and less grippy. They feel more like — gasp — Sony's nasty cameras than Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed Nikons.

The Z5 takes a moment to wake when you bring it to your eye. We need to learn to tap the shutter before we raise the camera so that it's completely ready when we want to shoot.

 

Electronic Viewfinder       performance       top

The finder has automatic brightness control, which is good, but the automatic brightness control isn't perfect, especially for playback, where it changes depending on the direction you're pointing the camera.

It varies wildly when using adapted manual focus lenses, even Nikon's own manual-focus lenses on the FTZ. You may prefer just to set it manually.

The EVF is the same as Sony's, except that Sony has much better automatic brightness control.

It's sharp and color-accurate.

Menus and finder data don't rotate with the camera held vertically.

There's a three-way "▶●◀" focus aid in the bottom left corner for manual focus.

The flash ready bolt is ORANGE.

Nikon Z7 electronic viewfinder image

Actual electronic finder image as seen through the eyepiece (Z7 shown). bigger.

The electronic level display (shown below) is huge, covering too much of the display. Therefore we can't use it all the time as we can't see the subject behind it.

Common in Nikon DSLRs and also in the Z5's LCD and finder is that there is banding in blue-skies during full frame or zoomed-out playback. It's fine zoomed-in or while shooting. This isn't a finder problem; it's an artifact of the thumbnail images used inside Nikon's file structures.

 

Low-Light Finder Performance

While all mirrorless camera finders strain in very dim light, the Z5's finder is nearly useless in extremely low-light. Here's a still shot through the finder optics of what I saw when trying to set up my Moonrise, Seven Palms Oasis shot:

Nikon Z5 Finder in Low Light

Actual view through Z5 finder under moonlight. (looks much sharper in person.) fuzzier.

In actual use in the dark, the finder is a very noisy live video feed similar to what you see in the still photo above, and the noise blobs are running all over the place. It does clean up when you hold the shutter halfway to autofocus because the frame rate drops to one frame every few seconds.

Of course it's only this bad out shooting under moonlight. It's much better in better light, but still nowhere near as good as in any Canon mirrorless, even the least expensive Canon EOS RP.

 

Flash       performance       top

Sync speed is 1/200.

Flash uses the same system as Nikon's modern DSLRs, which is state of the art. Flash exposures are very good, and the biggest limitation is your skill at lighting.

Daylight fill flash works great so long as you have enough flash power, and indoor flash fill is usually limited by your ability to gel (color-balance) your flash to match the ambient light and set the best exposure ratio. No Nikon or Canon flash system works that well balancing flash with indoor light; the Fujifilm X100V is much better — but you still have to gel the flash to match the ambient light.

The flash ready bolt in the finder is ORANGE.

 

High ISO Performance       performance       top

Complete Images       details   dark detail   performance   top

As seen at normal image sizes below, the Z5 makes the same images from about ISO 50 to ISO 25,600.

ISO 50 (L) is a "pull" ISO, and thus has more highlight contrast. This usually increases perceived highlight detail, and can lead to clipped highlights if you have too much subject contrast as in the window reflection in the mirror.

ISO 51,200 gets a little blotchier or noisier, and ISO 102,400 (H) gets blotchier and grainier, but still quite usable if I need it for normal-sized images like these below.

This is magnificent performance, and on par with every other full-frame camera today, even those far more expensive like the $6,500 Canon 1DX Mark III. While marketing departments and internal processing power determine how far the the ISO can go, at the same ISO most current full-frame cameras perform about the same.

Click any for the camera-original © LARGE FINE JPG files:

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Click any for the camera-original © JPG files (about xx MB each).

 

600 × 450 Pixel Crops (10× magnification)       High ISOs     performance       top

Below are 600 × 450 pixel crops of the clock that vary in size to fit your browser window.

If these are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 20 × 30" (50 × 75 cm) at this same high magnification.

If these are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters) at this same extreme magnification.

If these are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 80 × 120" (2 × 3 meters) at this same insanely high magnification.

What we see at the high magnifications below is that fine details go away as the ISO increases. This happens with all cameras and our own eyes and is an artifact of the noise reduction working harder as the ISO increases.

ISO 50 (L) is a "pull" ISO, and thus has more highlight contrast. This usually increases perceived highlight detail, and can lead to clipped highlights if you have too much subject contrast, as in the case of the window reflection in the glass of the clock face.

In the Z5, the most detail is at ISO 50 (L), and becomes softer at every higher ISO. This is normal and how noise reduction works in every camera. It's laudable that the detail is almost unchanged up to ISO 800.

By ISO 1,600 most of the detailed scrollwork between the clock numbers is gone.

By ISO 25,600 the minute marks and all the detail is gone from the clock face, leaving only the numbers.

At ISO 102,400 (H) even the numbers and hands are starting to disappear.

Click any for the camera-original © JPG files:

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Click any for the camera-original © JPG files (about xx MB each).

 

Dark-Area 600 × 450 Pixel Crops (10× magnification)       High ISOs     performance       top

Below are 600 × 450 pixel crops showing the dark grillwork of the fireplace that vary in size to fit your browser window.

If these are about 3" (7.5cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 20 × 30" (50 × 75 cm) at this same high magnification.

If these are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters) at this same extreme magnification.

If these are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 80 × 120" (2 × 3 meters) at this same insanely high magnification.

Note how the most detail in the fine screen is at ISO 50 (L).

The bricks behind the grill go away by ISO 1,600.

At ISO 102,400 (H2) there isn't much left!

Again, this is normal for all digital cameras. The differences are how much detail is left at each ISO.

Click any for the camera-original © JPG files:

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Nikon Z5 High ISO Performance Sample Image File

Click any for the camera-original © JPG files.

 

Lens Corrections       performance       top

The Z5 corrects for any or all of distortion ("Auto distortion control"), diffraction ("Diffraction compensation) and falloff ("Vignette control"), any of which you may turn ON or OFF, depending on lens (some basic lenses like the 24-50mm won't let you turn off the distortion correction).

The Z5 always corrects for lateral color fringes (chromatic aberration); this is part of Nikon's secret sauce and never appears in any menu.

 

Long Exposures       performance       top

Time exposures stop at the usual 30 seconds.

There is the usual BULB setting, as well as a TIME setting.

As I covered at Low-Light Autofocus and Low-Light Finder Performance, both are awful in low light, even though the resulting pictures look great.

 

Mechanical Quality       performance       top

Metal

Strap lugs and triangular rings, top cover, central viewfinder tower cover, hot shoe, LCD hinges, lens mount and lock pin, card door pivot, small pad around tripod socket and the tripod socket itself.

 

Plastic

All buttons, dials, switches, levers, knobs and nubbins, rear section of viewfinder, card door, rear cover, LCD frame and cover, bottom cover and battery door.

 

Rubberized

Eyecup, grip material, connector covers.

 

Serial Number

Sticker on back of body, hidden behind flipping LCD.

 

Date Code

None found.

 

Noises When Shaken

Moderate clunking when ON or OFF.

 

Made in

Made in Thailand.

 

Menu System       performance       top

Nikon's menu system is pretty good. It's not well color coded as everything always highlights in the same yellow, but it is well organized so it's reasonably easy to find things again.

There are color-coded tabs for menu groups as shown below, but every item in every menu is highlighted the same yellow. Good luck trying to remember where any given item was.

Sadly each menu runs-on, and you have to click up or down through each individual line to get around inside each of Nikon's menu categories.

Nikon Z7 Menu System
Nikon Z7 Menu System
Nikon Z7 Menu System
Nikon Z7 Menu System
Nikon Z7 Menu System Nikon Z7 Menu System

Everything looks the same.

Compare this to Sony's menu system, where everything also looks the same, but it's completely disorganized. We never can find anything in Sony's menu system, but Nikon's is well enough organized that it's not too difficult.

Canon's menu system is the best in the business, with expert color-coding and organization and one-click navigation.

 

Rear LCD Monitor       performance       top

The rear LCD is like every other digital camera today.

It flips up 120º and down 45º so it's good for horizontal shots above or below you, but it can't flip side to side and it can't flip 180º for self-portraits.

It's bright and sharp, but it does have a slight delay responding to touch screen text entry.

 

Playback          performance       top

Playback is like other Nikons, with the new twist that we can see exactly the same things through the electronic finder as we can see on the rear LCD. Forget the old LCD loupes; just look through the finder and you can see everything big and clear even in direct sunlight — including magnification!

There's a rear 8-way way controller for scrolling around zoomed images and the touch screen works fine for zooming and scrolling.

Typical to Nikon is playback banding in blue skies. It looks the same in the finder or on the rear LCD:

Nikon Z7 blue sky playback banding

Actual Z7 electronic finder image as seen through the eyepiece (Z5 is exactly the same). Note banding in the sky. bigger.

It's an in-camera defect only; the images themselves are fine.

It's visible with full-size and reduced playback; it's not visible when zoomed-in and not in the actual images. I suspect it's Nikon playing-back a very data-reduced thumbnail inside each image file for the sake of speed.

 

Data       performance       top

Cards are correctly formatted as "NIKON Z 5."

JPGs are tagged as 300 DPI.

Vertical images are merely flagged, not actually rotated.

There's an 82 kB junk file called "NC_FLLST.DAT" in each image folder.

Save/Load Settings (MENU > SETUP MENU 🔧 (wrench icon) > Save/load menu settings (near the bottom of all the Setup menu item) works properly. It recalls all of the U123 settings, Custom menu settings and copyright text data as it should. I haven't noticed anything forgotten.

Sadly it's defective in that it does not recall the contents of your My Menu menu. Oh well.

 

Power & Battery       performance       top

Battery

Battery life is very good; I was never able to run the battery down in a day so I can't say how many shots I'd get running it all the way down.

Power management is inferior to the other Nikon mirrorless because if you leave the power ON and walk around with your Z5 around your neck with the usual AUTO finder/LCD selector active, it sees your body and incorrectly thinks you're still shooting — so it never turns off the power by itself like most other Nikons. Rats; I have to turn the power switch off each time I put it down after a shot while I'm walking around, but the good news is the battery life is still so good I never came close to running it down.

 

Charging

The Z5 charges from any regular 5V USB port with any random 99¢ USB-C cable. You don't need a fancy PD charger or cable just to charge as you do with Canon.

Better than the old Z6, the new Z5 includes an MH-25A external battery charger, but you don't need it since you can charge via USB in-camera. This MH-25A external charger lets you charge a second battery while you're charging your first one in the camera.

 

AC Adapter

While Z5 charges from any USB-C source, you'll want to use a USB-C PD charger for enough power for continuous operation.

 

Clock Accuracy       performance       top

Every sample is different, but my Z5 is superb. Even after two weeks I can't see any error. Most cameras gain or lose several seconds every week or so.

This matters when you shoot multiple cameras (or this camera and an iPhone) and then sort all the images based on capture time to compare similar views of each scene.

 

Compared       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance  

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

Versus the Z6 II

The Z6 II is more expensive and runs at higher frame rates, while the pictures look the same.

I strongly prefer the mode dial of the Z5 to the Z6 II because I can change exposure modes while shooting with one hand on the Z5, but it takes two hands on the Z6 II.

The longest timed exposure on the Z5 is 30 seconds, beyond which you need to use your own timer and the BULB or TIME modes, but the Z6 II and Z7 II can set manual shutter speeds as long as 15 minutes (900 seconds) if you enable it in their menu system at MENU > CUSTOM SETTING MENU (pencil icon> Shooting/display > d6 Extended shutter speeds (M) > ON.

I may be imagining this, but I find my Z6 II shuts off automatically when carried around my neck as it should, while my Z5 erroneously confuses my body with my face and fails to turn off automatically when carried around my neck in its default AUTO finder/LCD switching mode.

Therefore I try to turn off my Z5 after each shot, while I can just leave my Z6 II turned on all day.

I can chose to have my ISOs set in full stops on my Z6 II, while my Z5 only sets them in thirds.

While I'm sure there are other minor differences, I don't notice any in actual shooting. I grab my Z6 II or Z7 II for action, and prefer my Z5 for everything else that doesn't move that fast.

 

Versus Canon

I greatly prefer Canon mirrorless over Nikon mirrorless. For me, Canon does more better, has superior ergonomics, has a much better range of lenses and all my existing Canon EF lenses work flawlessly with an EF to RF adapter.

I prefer my Canon R5 or R6 for action, and prefer my Canon EOS RP for low price, low weight and low light.

See also Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared.

 

Versus Sony

I hate Sony mirrorless.

Sony cameras are uncomfortable to hold due to numerous sharp edges, all the buttons feel the same so I have to look at them to see what they do, Sony's menu system is awful and the pictures don't look as good because Sony's color rendition, when set to the high saturation I prefer, doesn't have the oomph Nikon does.

See also Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared.

 

Versus Canon and Sony

See Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared.

 

Versus Fuji

Fuji makes no full-frame cameras.

Both Fuji's APS-C and medium-format cameras also suffer from an awful menu system and their color rendition, while superb for people photos, is too dull and muted for my style of photography.

 

User's Guide       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance  

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

Charging

I use any USB-C cord from the 99¢ store and it charges from any generic USB source.

I suppose a USB-C PD charger would charge faster, and will also work for continuous power.

I never use the included MH-25a battery charger. I'd only use that if I needed to charge a second battery at the same time as I'm charging the one in my Z5.

 

Power Control

By default the camera automatically switches between the rear LCD or the viewfinder depending on where you hold the camera.

Sadly the auto power-off programming is defective such if you carry your camera around your neck the system thinks you're using the camera (since it sees your body against the finder) and won't shut off automatically, even if no buttons are pressed.

Therefore, unlike other cameras, you may want to turn off the power switch while you're carrying it around your neck. In better-programed cameras they're smart enough to turn themselves off automatically while unused around your neck, which the Z5 often does not.

 

Manual Focus Aids

Of course you can magnify the live image in the finder or rear LCD. There are lots of ways to set or program that. I like to program my AF-ON button to be a MAGNIFY button.

You can add focus peaking at MENU > CUSTOM (pencil) > Shooting/display > d9 (or d10) peaking highlights > Peaking level.

 

U1, U2 and U3

I live by these. These let us save and recall many camera settings like ISO, Exposure mode, Auto ISO settings and Picture Controls in a click.

Sadly a design defect prevents these from saving and recalling other things we also need to change with these, like advance mode or screen brightnesses. Canon does this much better than Nikon because Canon cameras recall everything in their C1, C2 and C3 modes.

I program my U1 for general photography, U2 for people and U3 for general photography on a tripod. I set them as:

 
U1
U2
U3
Used for
Nature, Landscapes, Architecture, Interiors, Animals, Places, Things & etc.
People
Same as U1, but on a tripod for things that don't move.
Picture Control
VIVID
Standard
VIVID
Sharpening (Under Quick Sharp, which I leave alone at 4)
+9
+9
+9
Saturation
+3
0
+3
ISO
Auto
Auto
ISO 100
Highest Auto ISO
ISO 51,200
ISO 51,200
n/a
Minimum shutter speed in Auto ISO
Auto (varies with focal length)
1/125
n/a
Exposure mode
P
P
A

To program yours, set your camera as you like, then MENU > SETUP MENU 🔧 (wrench icon) > Save user settings (the second item from the top) > (select the location at which you'd like to save these settings) > OK.

To recall the settings, just turn the dial to U1, U2 or U3.

To change or edit a setting, call it up by turning the dial to it, make your changes, and save these again into that location. Always be sure to resave into the same location if you don't want to write over another.

To copy settings from one U setting to another, recall one, then save it into the other.

 

Save/Load Settings

You can save everything about your Z5, including all three of the U modes above, to or from Card 1 (only) at:

MENU > SETUP MENU 🔧 (wrench icon) > Save/load menu settings (near the bottom of all the Setup menu items) > Save menu settings.

Now you can put this card in Slot 1 of another Z5 and restore all your settings into another camera, or save the NCSET006.BIN file to your computer to use again by copying it to a card.

To load these settings into your camera, copy or have a NCSET006.BIN file in the top level (not in any folder) of a card and put that card in Slot 1, and:

MENU > SETUP MENU 🔧 (wrench icon) > Save/load menu settings (near the bottom of all the Setup menu items) > Load menu settings.

This only works in Slot 1; the Z5 won't save or recall these files to or from Slot 2.

 

My Personal Settings File

Want your Z5 set just like mine? Download my 82 kB NCSET006.BIN file to your computer and copy it to the top level of a memory card (don't put it in any folder). This file won't do anything here in your browser or on your computer; all you're doing here is downloading this 82kB file so you can copy it to a card.

Be sure to save your own settings on a different card or copy to your computer first in case you hate mine. Also know to change the copyright information or your images will have my data in them, just like my camera does.

Be sure to use Slot 1 when you put the card in your camera; it won't see the file in Slot 2.

In case you can't just reset your camera if you hate my settings, here's my NCSET006.BIN setup file from when my camera was brand new and unset.

 

Long Exposures

Use the TIME manual shutter speed for exposures longer than 30 seconds.

You don't need a remote cord or control. Set the self timer, press the shutter and it opens a moment later. Use an external stopwatch or timer and cover the lens with your hand or a hat at the end of the exposure. Keeping the lens covered, press the shutter again to close it — all with no vibration or remote control needed!

Sometimes the rear LCD backlight stays on while it's trying to show nothing but black on long exposures, instead of just turning off as it should in that case. I don't know what's up with that; all that does it run down the battery.

There is no tally light (indicator) lit during long exposures so you'll have no idea if the camera is still exposing or not.

There is no counting or timer for long exposures. You're on your own.

 

Recommendations       top

Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Specifications   Accessories   Performance

Compared   User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

The Z5 is my favorite Nikon full-frame mirrorless because it handles better and the pictures are just as good as the more expensive cameras. The Z5 has much better autofocus than the awful autofocus of the old Z6 or Z7.

I love the handling of this new Z5 over any of the Z6 II, Z7 II, Z6 or Z7 for my style of photography. There is very little to no visible difference between 45MP and 24MP; it just helps sell cameras, so I won't miss my Z7 II's resolution and I certainly prefer the Z50-like handing of the Z5.

The Z5 focuses fast, but its frame rate isn't great for sports. For sports you want the Canon EOS R6 or EOS R5, either of which easily runs at over four times the still-image frame rate. If the 4½ FPS frame rate is fast enough for you, the Z5's autofocus is surprisingly good for action.

I prefer Canon over Nikon or Sony for anything mirrorless. If you want a small, light well-handing full-frame mirrorless, I prefer the less expensive, smaller and lighter Canon EOS RP over this Nikon Z5. If you're addicted to Nikon then the Z5 is my favorite, but if you're open-minded and not stuck on Nikon, I much prefer anything from the Canon EOS-R system — and I've been shooting Nikon every day since 1983. It's not 1983 any more.

 

Lens Suggestions

recommendations     top

The new Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 works very well, but it's not much of a zoom range and it's very expensive for an all-plastic made-in-China lens. You're much better off with a Canon EOS RP and far superior and more useful metal-mount Canon RF 24-105mm STM lens which sell as a package for about the same (depending on deals) as the Z5 body alone!

Far better than the Z 24-50mm is the Z 24-70mm f/4 if you want compact performance, or if you want great pictures from an even smaller Nikon mirrorless, I prefer the superb Z50 with its even smaller Z 16-50mm DX. Sadly as of Janaury 2023 the kit with the 24-70/4 is overpriced.

Personally I very much prefer the Nikon Z 24-200mm, which works as a normal telephoto lens, and needs just a flick of the wrist to get to telephoto with no need to change lenses. Even better, you can get a kit with the Z5 and 24-200mm at a bargain price. I'd get this combo with the 24-200mm.

Z5 body: $997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield, or about $875 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-50mm: $1,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4: $1,597 at B&H and $1,994 at Adorama.

Z5 body and Nikon Z 24-200mm: $1,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H and at Crutchfield. (my favorite combo.)

 

This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally approved sources I've used myself for way over 100 combined years when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, gray-market, store demo or used Z5 — and all of my personally approved sources allow for 100% cash-back returns for at least 30 days if you don't love your new Z5. I've used many of these sources since the 1970s because I can try it in my own hands and return it if I don't love it, and because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new Z5 before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I've used myself for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken Rockwell.

 

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21 Apr 2023 prices, 03 January 2023, 09 July 2021, 02-06 December 2020, 22 November 2020, 01 September 2020, 21 July 2020