Nikon Z7

45MP FX, 9 FPS, Silent, IBIS, ISO 32~102,400

NEW: Nikon Z7 II

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Nikon Z7

Nikon Z7 (23.5 oz./667g with battery and XQD card, about $1,400 used if you know How to Win at eBay; also available used at Amazon and new at Amazon) and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S. bigger.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.

 

April 2023, December 2020   Nikon   Mirrorless   Mirrorless Lenses   All Nikon Lenses   Nikon Flash   All Reviews

Nikon Z7 Plain-English User's Guide

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Sample Images

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

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

All my product photos of the Nikon Z6 are shot on the Nikon Z7 with FTZ and Nikon ED Micro-NIKKOR 200mm f/4 AF-D.

Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 Sample image file

Seven Palms Oasis by Moonlight, 7:47 PM, 09 November 2019. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 wide-open at f/1.8 at 30 seconds at ISO 64 (LV -2.6), Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file. Remember that at f/1.8 there is no depth of field.

 

Christmas Lights

Christmas Lights, 14 December 2018, 7:30 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 500, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file. Remember that shot wide-open at f/4 that only some things are in focus. In-camera stabilization works great hand-held at 1/8!

 

Santa Truck

Santa and His Truck, 14 December 2018, 7:01 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 33mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 320, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file. Remember that shot wide-open at f/4 that only some things are in focus. In-camera stabilization works great hand-held at 1/8!

 

Desert Moonrise

Desert Moonrise, 21 November 2018, 7:30 P.M. Insanely overprocessed image from Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 28mm, f/4.5 at 30 seconds at ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or full-resolution.

 

Red and Blue Window

Red and Blue Window, October 2018, 6:29 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 37mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/40 at Auto ISO 1,100, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Bridgeport Inn at Night

Bridgeport Inn at Night, October 2018, 7:59 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 at 1/25 hand-held at Auto ISO 1,250, Snapseed and Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Bridgeport Hotel at Night

Bridgeport Hotel at Night, October 2018, 8:01 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/25 at Auto ISO 2,500, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Room 14 and 15 at night

Rooms 14 and 15, October 2018, 8:04 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/25 at Auto ISO 800, Perfectly Clear v3.6. split-toned print. bigger.

 

Dark Church

Dark Church, October 2018, 2:16 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/25 at Auto ISO 140, Perfectly Clear v3.6. split-toned print. bigger.

 

Death's Workshop, Bodie Calif.

Death's Workshop, October 2018, 2:42 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/8 hand-held at 1/4 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Antique Firefighting Gear, Bodie California.

Antique Firefighting Gear, 2:51 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/8 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 200, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Inside a very scary house

Inside the Scary House, October 2018, 3:01 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/16 hand-held at 1 second at ISO 200, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Weird Wood

Weird Wood, October 2018, 3:21 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 41mm, f/8 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or full-resolution.

 

Silver Maple Motel, Brigeport CA

Silver Maple Motel, October 2018, 6:34 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/6 at Auto ISO 200, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Silver Maple Motel, Brigeport CA

Silver Maple Motel Office, October 2018, 6:35 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 48mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/13 at Auto ISO 200, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Silver Maple Motel, Brigeport CA

Red Neon Roof, October 2018, 6:41 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 44mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at ISO 200, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Backlit Tree with Sunstar in Stoneman Meadow, Yosemite Valley

Backlit Tree with Sunstar in Stoneman Meadow, Yosemite Valley, October 2018, 11:36 A.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 30mm, f/14 hand-held at 1/13 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or full-resolution.

 

Red Maple, Yosemite Valley

Red Maple, Yosemite Valley, October 2018, 12:19 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 70mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/200 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or full-resolution.

 

Face of El Capitan, Yosemite Valley

El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, October 2018, 2:32 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 28mm, f/8 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6.bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Top of a Fence Post, Happy Isles, Yosemite Valley

Top of a Fence Post, Happy Isles, Yosemite Valley, October 2018, 12:26 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 30mm, f/6.3 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 400, Perfectly Clear v3.6. split-toned print. bigger.

 

The Great Room at The Ahwahnee

The Great Room at The Ahwahnee, October 2018, 1:15 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/2 second at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or full-resolution.

Orange Triangle

Orange Triangle, October 2018, 4:03 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 70mm, f/5.6 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 64, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Introduction

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

New   Good   Bad   Missing

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The Nikon Z7 has the world's highest technical image quality in a mirrorless camera simply because it has all of the highest resolution and sharpness and, most importantly, unbeaten color rendition. No digital camera takes better pictures than the Z7.

Canon has color just as good, but the EOS R stops at 30 MP. While Sony has good color accuracy, Sony's artistic color rendition falls behind, and no Sony has 45MP (the Sony A7R III stops at 42MP). Panasonic's S1R claims 47MP, but it's not available yet, not part of a complete pro system and has unknown color rendition. Fujifilm has inferior color rendition for anything but people, and doesn't even make a full-frame camera, so this is an easy win for the Z7 if you actually care how your pictures look.

Technical image quality doesn't matter unless you're shooting test charts in your mom's basement. Some people go on and on about the superior dynamic range of this Nikon, but only bad photographers don't know how to light their subjects properly and have to fall back on their camera to rescue poorly-lit photos worry about it.

What does matter is the Z7's superior color rendition, which is obvious in my Sample Images. The superior sharpness only matters if you're genuinely making prints 30 feet wide; for all normal uses, including making 40 x 60" (1 x 1.5 meter) prints, all today's cameras are the same — but Nikon's colors are unbeaten regardless of picture size.

The Nikon Z7, along with its faster and less expensive sister the Nikon Z6, has the same great Nikon feel and handling we've all come to love — except now in mirrorless form! They have all the usual Nikon controls in the usual places.

The Z7 has a full-frame sensor in a camera that weighs less than a DX D7500, and is built to the same standards as the D850.

It has hybrid phase & contrast autofocus over the entire frame, or over at least 90% of the frame, which is the same as the entire frame since you never put a point of interest on a frame line.

There is a new series of lenses for it, and of course there is an FTZ lens mount adapter so we can use all our F-mount lenses with varying degrees of performance (many lenses won't autofocus with this adapter).

The short flange focal distance means we can use Nikon, LEICA and other rangefinder lenses from the 1920s through today. We can use Nikon's original S-mount Nikon rangefinder lenses as well as LEICA M lenses, and the Z7 takes much better pictures with better color and features than any LEICA M digital camera. We can't do this with DSLRs because their mounts are too deep, but with the short mount of cameras without mirrors make it easy.

This is huge milestone for Nikon that happens only once every couple of decades. Nikon's first 35mm camera was its Nikon S rangefinder system of 1946, the world's first hugely popular SLR system was the Nikon F of 1959, and the world's first real DSLR was the Nikon D1 of 1999. This is the biggest thing Nikon has done in this millennium. Collectors: be sure to get yours first for a low serial number!

Now with Nikon making mirrorless cameras that handle like real cameras, feel good in our hands, work like they're supposed to and offer Nikon's superior color rendition, Fuji can return to focusing on their core film and paper businesses and Sony can get back to innovating again in TVs and stereos. It might be time to sell your Sonys on eBay while they still get top dollar.

Katie and Hula Hoop

Katie at Hula Camp, 02 November 2018. Nikon Z7 held at knee height with flippy screen, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 at 24mm, Nikon SB-400 flash, f/11 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100, shade white balance to make it warm and orange, as shot. bigger.

The flippy screen is great for shooting events as seen like the Hula camp, something that never worked well with balky live-view shutters on DSLRs. I held the camera at my knees and looked up, which puts little Katie's head up in the clouds and pulls it out of the mess of other kids and the ground where it would be if I was shooting with a DSLR held to my face.

More good news: shooting an event like this, I get about 1,500 shots on a charge on my Z7. At an event like this I'm shooting all the time and spending little time setting menus or looking at playback.

A beauty of the Z7 is that the rear LCD/EVF switch is magic; the rear LCD pops on when I pull my Z7 from my face and just works. Unlike a DSLR in Live View, the Z7 works fast, with no time wasted swapping modes.

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

 

New

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Nikon's first full-frame mirrorless, along with the Nikon Z6.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Full-Frame Autofocus. You have sensors all over the entire frame!

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Electronic finder shows what you're shooting, and it also can show all the menus and playback and magnified images!

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Perfect focus accuracy every time, especially at f/1.4! Focus is read directly from the sensor, so there is never any potential error (other than your own ineptitude) and never any need for AF fine tuning. DSLR and SLR systems always have some small error because the focus is read from AF sensors coupled with mirrors, which always have some mechanical error needing adjustment. For the first time we can shoot our f/1.4 and f/0.95 lenses with perfect accuracy.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Completely silent operation if you set it.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com In-camera five-axis image stabilization adds 5-stop VR to Nikkor Z lenses, and adds VR (to a lesser extent) to all our old non-VR lenses!

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com 3,686,400 dot OLED finder: 100% coverage, 0.80× magnification, 37º apparent angle of view.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com No need for the rear LCD or top OLED; you can see everything through the finder.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Crud-resistant fluorine-coated finder eyepiece.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com New "Z" lens mount with ultra-short 16.00mm flange-sensor distance which uses a new BF-N1 body cap.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Larger 55mm diameter lens mount allows crazy-fast lenses, like a new f/0.95, to be designed and used.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com New FTZ lens mount adapter for traditional F mount SLR and DSLR lenses.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com New EN-EL15b battery now can charge in-camera via USB.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Picture Controls now offer 20 options, add a "mid-range" sharpening option and now allow settings adjustable from 0 to 100.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com 4K UHD (3,840 × 2,160/29.97p) 10-bit N-log video with timecode.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com 1,920 × 1,080 at 120 FPS.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Takes an XQD card, not SD and not CF.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com MB-N10 multi-battery grip for two EN-EL15b is under development.

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Now has 20 Non-CPU lens memories, up from 10 in DSLRs.

 

Good

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Full Frame Autofocus. You have sensors all over the entire frame!

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com In-camera sensor-shift image-stabilization.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Completely silent operation if you set it.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Three user presets on the top dial: U1, U2 and U3. Hallelujah!

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Optional 4:5, square 1:1 and 16:9 crops as-shot. I usually shoot in 4:5 or 1:1 since the native 3:2 is usually to long and skinny.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com The Z7 tracks autofocus at its 9 FPS "extended" frame rate, but exposure is locked. Many other mirrorless can't track AF at this rate.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Ultra-short 16mm Flange Focal Distance (FFD) allows all other brands of DSLR, SLR and rangefinder lenses to be adapted to it.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com HDR.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Flicker shoot-through, possibly the first mirrorless camera to be able to do this.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Superior Nikon image quality for colors and dynamic range. No longer do we have to settle for inferior Sony or Fuji color rendition just to get mirrorless!

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com TIME exposure mode right between X200 and BULB modes in manual exposure mode. Oddly the top OLED stays on the whole time but doesn't show elapsed time, just the set aperture and ISO.

Nikon Z7 Time Exposure

California Desert Home, 22 June 2019, 8:50-8:52 PM. Nikon Z7, Nikon 14-30mm at 14mm at f/11, 104 second time exposure, Perfectly Clear v3.7 "landscapes" mode. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Crud-resistant fluorine-coated finder eyepiece.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Aspherical eyepiece elements.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Multiple exposures.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Uses standard EN-EL15 and EN-EL15a batteries from Nikon's DSLRs, as well as its included newer EN-EL15b that can charge in0-camera via USB.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Uses standard WT-7/A/B/C wireless transmitters.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Flash system fully compatible with Nikon's existing DSLR flashes, with both optical and radio remote control.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com In-camera sensor-shift VR actually works with all our ancient F, AI , AI'd and AI-s and adapted rangefinder lenses.

 

Bad

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com The new FTZ adapter autofocuses only with Nikon's newest lenses with a built-in AF motor (AF-S and AF-P). It does not autofocus with any other lenses. The FTZ is a dud for those of us with a large collection of Nikon lenses because it only works (autofocuses or indexes properly) with about half of them. Nikon likes to forget to mention that all traditional AF and AF-D (screw-type) lenses will not autofocus. The FTZ works very poorly with manual-focus F, AI , AI'd and AI-s lenses, having no diaphragm control meaning you have to open and close the diaphragm manually for precise focus before and after each shot, has no exposure or EXIF data so you have no in-finder indication of aperture and have no EXIF aperture data, and there is no Matrix metering, Program or Shutter-priority automation with manual-focus lenses — which offer all these functions and more if used on 1984's Nikon FA! Worse, the Z7's automatic viewfinder brightness varies all over the place as you change the aperture on a manual lens. F, AI , AI'd, AI-s, AF and AF-D lenses, many of which Nikon still sells new today, work much better on any FX DSLR like a D750. Poo!

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Face-recognition works poorly, making this a bad camera for photographing groups of people. While it recognizes faces well, what it can't do is identify which of many faces is the correct face on which to focus. Therefore it usually picks a random face in the background, giving an out-of-focus picture. Yes, you can click the rear controller left and right to select among the faces manually, but as anyone who shoots for a living can tell you, we don't have to time to select among ten faces when other cameras like Sony and Canon and Fuji and especially my iPhone all just find the correct face automatically. I usually get better shots of groups of fast-moving kids at school on my iPhone Xs Max.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Auto AF-Area Select works poorly; this and the Z6 are the only cameras I've used with AF intelligence so bad that they will ignore a big, closer, subject in the middle of the frame and deliberately and consistently prefer to focus on random background items in the corners unless I grab the manual focus ring and bring the subject into focus myself first. Other cameras or an iPhone is much better at this important item.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Very low-light autofocus isn't very good, sort of like the D610, and the viewfinder gets much noisier than Canon or Sony in very low light (very low light means light so dark you can't read a printed page easily).

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com No AF MODE (M, AFC, AFS) switch; you have to assign a button and use dials to set this.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com AF zones turn RED when in-focus and ready to shoot in continuous AF (AF-C) mode, not Green as they should and as they do in single (AF-S) mode.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com U1, U2 & U3 user preset modes only store and recall 2/3 of what you need; most of the SETUP menu options like display brightness, advance mode and image crop are not saved or recalled.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com The complete camera settings backup and restore to the card function is defective. While you can save and recall the entire camera setup (custom settings, image settings, copyright data & etc.), paradoxically U1, U2 & U3 user preset modes and the contents of the My Menu menu are not saved or recalled! In other words, the complete camera-state backup to card function is defective in that it does not restore all the camera settings as every other Nikon with this feature does, except also the sister Z6. This makes this feature mostly worthless if you use it as I do to provision my fleet of Nikon Z7. This is inexcusable and could be fixed in firmware —  but only if Nikon bothers.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Like most or all regular cameras, does a crummy job of capturing stills while rolling video. Again my iPhone Xs Max does a much better job here.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Adds a junk file named "NC_FLLST.DAT" to each image folder.

 

Missing

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com The Z7 tracks autofocus at its 9 FPS "extended" frame rate, but exposure is locked.

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

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Finder data doesn't rotate when held vertically.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com Nikon specifies no battery life figure.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No auto brightness control for the rear LCD; heck, even my iPhone does this. (the finder does have auto brightness control).

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No AF-A mode (automatic selection between single AF-S and continuous AF-C modes).

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No SD card slot; takes only XQD cards.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No second card slot.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No GPS, but you might be able to tag images using your phone over an app.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com No voice notes like the D5; wait for the Z9 next year.

gray ball icon © KenRockwell.com MB-N10 multi-battery grip for two EN-EL15b is still under development.

 

Nikon Z7 and 24-70mm

Nikon Z7 and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S. bigger.

 

Lens Compatibility

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

 

Lens Mount

Nikon Z7 Lens Mount

Nikon Z7 lens mount. bigger.

The Z7 uses a brand-new Nikon Z mount optimized for Nikon's new 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

The DX 16-50 and DX 50-250mm are superb lenses, and the Z7 automatically crops its sensor to DX, but by doing this you're throwing away more than half your sensor area.

Be sure to update your Z7 firmware to at least v2.1 to get optical VR with these lenses.

 

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 Z7!

LEICA's lenses for the LEICA M3 with goggles work great, too!

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

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

 

Autofocus

493 AF points.

Phase and contrast detection.

90% linear frame coverage.

Range: LV -1 ~ +19 (no lens specified); LV -4 ~ +19 with "low light AF" (again no lens specified).

 

Distance-Axis AF Modes

AF-S (single and lock), AF-S (continuous tracking) with predictive tracking.

"Full-time" AF-F in movie mode only.

Manual focus.

Electronic rangefinder.

 

AF-Area Selection Modes (X & Y axes)

Auto area selection.

Pinpoint (still photo mode only).

Single-point.

Dynamic area AF (still photo mode only).

Wide-area AF (S or L).

 

Image Sensor

Nikon Z7

Nikon Z7. bigger.

23.9 × 35.9 mm backside-illuminated CMOS with phase-detection AF pixels.

45.44 MP.

Ultrasonic cleaner.

Image Dust Off reference data (requires Capture NX-D).

 

ISO

ISO 64 ~ 25,600.

Pullable to ISO 32 and pushable to ISO 102,400.

 

Image Stabilization

5-axis in-camera sensor-shift.

Works great with VR lenses, too.

Additional electronic stabilization for video.

Rated 5 stops with Nikon Z mount lenses, 3-stops with non-VR F-mount lenses.

With F-mount VR lenses the camera corrects roll while the lens corrects pitch and yaw.

With F-mount non-VR lenses the camera corrects roll, pitch and yaw.

 

Auto ISO

Programmable for high and low limits from ISO 64 to ISO 104,800.

 

Still Image Sizes

Full-Frame

8,256 × 5,504 pixels native (Large, 45.44 MP)

6,192 × 4,128 (Medium, 25.6 MP)

4,128 × 2,752 (Small, 11.4 MP)

 

Cropped

4:5 (24 × 30mm)

6,880 × 5,504 (Large, 37.9 MP)

5,152 × 4,120 (Medium, 21.2 MP)

3,440 × 2,752 (Small, 9.5 MP)

 

Square 1:1 (24 × 24mm)

5,504 × 5,504 (Large, 30.3 MP)

4,128 × 4,128 (Medium, 17 MP)

2,752 × 2,752 (Small, 7.6 MP)

 

16:9 (20 × 36mm)

8,256 × 4,640 (Large, 38.3 MP)

6,192 × 3,480 (Medium, 21.5 MP)

4,128 × 2,320 (Small, 9.6 MP)

 

DX (16 × 24mm)

5,408 × 3,600 (Large, 19.5 MP)

4,048 × 2,696 (Medium, 10.9 MP)

2,704 × 1,800 (Small, 4.9 MP)

 

Stills grabbed while rolling in 4K

3,840 × 2,160

 

Stills grabbed while rolling video in any other size

1,920 × 1,080

 

Frame Rates (Still images)

Same rates in Silent and regular.

9 FPS, continuous high "extended" (H+) (only 8 FPS in 14-bit raw or in silent mode). In this "extended" mode it can't track exposure between frames and instead locks and uses the same exposure for every frame in the sequence, but it does track autofocus at this highest rate. Oddly it only runs at this rate for a few seconds before rolling back to about 5 FPS.

5.5 FPS, continuous high (5 FPS in 14-bit raw) with tracking exposure for each frame. It works; I really do get 5.5 FPS with tracking AF and auto exposure, however it will slow down if it has to like every other camera.

1~5 FPS (adjustable) Continuous Low.

 

Still Formats

TIFF, JPG and/or raw.

JPG saved as LARGE, MEDIUM or SMALL resolution in FINE, NORMAL or BASIC compression.

Raw saved as 12- or 14-bit uncompressed, lossy or losslessly compressed at full LARGE resolution.

Raw also may be saved at MEDIUM or SMALL resolutions, but at only 12-bit lossless compressed.

sRGB and Adobe RGB.

 

Picture Controls

Auto, Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape and Flat.

Gimmick Picture Controls: Dream, Morning, Pop, Sunday, Somber, Dramatic, Silence, Bleached, Melancholic, Pure, Denim, Toy, Sepia, Blue, Red, Pink, Charcoal, Graphite, Binary and Carbon.

Of course these each can be adjusted and saved, and apply to both still images and video.

 

Video

Video Frame Sizes and Rates

3,840 × 2,160 (4K UHD 10-bit); 29.97p (progressive), 25p, 23.976p.

1,920 × 1,080; 119.88p, 100p, 59.94p, 50p, 29.97p, 25p, 23.976p.

1,920 × 1,080 (slow-mo); 29.97p ×4, 25p ×4, 23.976p ×5.

Different compression ratios (quality settings) selectable at all sizes except 3,840 × 2,160, 1,920 × 1,080 119.88p/100p, and 1,920 × 1,080 slow-mo, where quality is fixed at high.

 

Video File Formats & Coding

MOV and MP4.

H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding.

AAC and LPCM audio coding.

 

Video Features

Uses the same Picture Controls as still images.

Active D-Lighting, electronic vibration reduction, and focus peaking can be used with 4K UHD and 1,080 movie recording.

The N-Log color profile can also be used with 10-bit HDMI output. The N-Log setting utilizes extensive color depth and twelve-stop, 1,300% dynamic range to record a wealth of tone information from highlights and shadows for more effective color grading.

Timecode.

Time-lapse.

Electronic vibration reduction.

29:59 (a half hour) maximum take length.

 

Audio

Recorded only along with video.

Stereo microphones built in.

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

Headphone jack.

Linear PCM or AAC coding.

 

Metering Modes

Matrix.

75% center-weighted in center 12mm.

Full-frame unweighted average.

4mm spot on selected AF point.

Highlight-weighed.

 

Metering Range

LV -3 ~ +17 with an f/1.4 lens at 20º C.

 

Finder

Crud-resistant fluorine-coated finder eyepiece.

Aspherical eyepiece elements.

0.5" (12.7mm) 1,280 × 960 pixel OLED.

3,686,400 dots.

4:3 aspect ratio.

Auto (or manual) brightness control.

0.80× magnification with 50mm lens.

-4 to +2 diopters.

21 mm eyepoint.

Auto eye sensor selects read LCD or finder.

 

Shutter

Vertical Metal Focal Plane and silent electronic shutter.

The shutter does not close with the power off.

1/8,000 ~ 32 seconds, BULB, TIME and X200 (flash sync).

1/200 flash sync speed.

Self Timer.

Multiple Exposures (standard, average, lighten or darken modes).

Tested to 200,000 cycles.

 

Remote Releases

Nikon MC-DC 2 and similar.

 

Flash

1/200 flash sync speed.

Auto FP High Speed Sync.

Standard i-TTL system.

Balanced fill-flash in matrix, center-weighted, and highlight-weighted metering modes. The flash level balances with ambient light.

Standard i-TTL fill-flash in spot metering. The flash exposure takes precedence over ambient light.

Front-curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction with slow sync and slow rear-curtain sync modes.

i-TTL flash control, radio-controlled Advanced Wireless Lighting, optical Advanced Wireless Lighting, modeling illumination, FV lock, Color Information Communication, Auto FP High-Speed Sync and unified flash control.

 

Built-in Flash

NONE.

 

External Flash

Dedicated ISO-518 hot shoe.

 

LCD Monitor

Nikon Z7 flipping LCD

Nikon Z7 flipping 3.2" LCD. bigger.

3.2" (8 cm) diagonal.

Touch screen.

2,100,000 dots.

170º  viewing.

Manual brightness control only.

It flips up and down, but doesn't flip 180º so you can't use it for self-portraits.

 

Top OLED Display

Yes, monochrome.

 

Connectors

Nikon Z7 connectors

Nikon Z7. bigger.

All these connectors are covered by crappy plastic covers that flop around while you're using the connectors, and have to be snapped-in carefully when you're done so they stay down.

 

Left Side, from top

3.5mm stereo headphone jack.

3.5mm stereo mic-in jack.

 

Right Side, from top

USB C.

HDMI C.

Special rectangular remote-control connector.

 

Wi-Fi

IEEE 802.11b/g/n/a/ac

2.412 ~ 2.462 GHz (channel 11) at up to 7 dBm EIRP (effective isotropic radiated power).

5.180 to 5.320 GHz at up to 12.1 dBm EIRP (effective isotropic radiated power).

Open system, WPA2-PSK authentication.

10m (30 foot) range on a good day.

 

Bluetooth

Version 4.2.

Low energy.

2.402 to 2.480 GHz.

 

GPS

NONE.

 

Storage

Nikon Z7 Card door

Nikon Z7. bigger.

One XQD card, only.

No SD and no CF slot.

No second card slot.

 

Power & Battery

Battery

New EN-EL15b has a little more capacity than the older EN-EL15 and EN-EL15a batteries, and now can charge in-camera over USB.

Nikon EN-EL15B Battery

Nikon EN-EL15b battery. bigger.

 

Nikon EN-EL15B Battery

Nikon EN-EL15b battery. bigger.

The Z7 also works with the older EN-EL15 and EN-EL15a batteries from Nikon's DSLRs, but they can't charge in-camera.

 

Charging

An EH-7P Charging AC Adapter is included, which can power the camera directly or charge the newest EN-EL15b in-camera:

Nikon Z7 EH 7P AC Adapter

Included Folding-Plug EH-7P Charging AC Adapter for Nikon Z7. bigger.

The older EN-EL15 and EN-EL15a batteries can't charge in camera; use the extra included MH-25A external charger:

Nikon MH-25a charger

Nikon MH-25a charger, included. enlarge.

 

Nikon MH-25a charger

Bottom, Nikon MH-25a charger. enlarge.

The extra MH-25A external battery charger charges any of the EN-EL15, EN-EL15a and EN-EL15b Li-Ion batteries.

The MH-25a charger has been used for years. It has a bizarre flipping socket which requires either an awkward short US plug, or a standard "figure-8" charger cord.

The charger is clumsy, requires you slip the battery into the hole instead of popping it in from the top like most good chargers, and is useless unless you also bring a cord or plug.

The charge light is Nikon's standard. It blinks slowly while charging and goes solid when done. There is no indication of charge percentage while charging.

 

Size

4 × 5.3× 2.7 inches HWD.

100.5 × 134 × 67.5 millimeters HWD.

 

Weight

23.530 oz. (667.0 g) actual measured weight with battery and XQD card.

41.055 oz. (1,163.9g) actual measured weight with 24-70/4, battery and XQD card.

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

Rated 20.7 oz. (585g) stripped naked.

 

Environment

Operating

0 ~ 40º C (32 ~ 104º F).

0 to 85% RH, no condensation.

 

Menu Languages

Japanese, English, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Marathi, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.

 

Included

Pictures at Unboxing:

 

On top of box

1-Year USA Warranty paperwork

Two printed manuals, one in English and on in Spanish

 

Camera shipped on left side of box attached to each other

Nikon Z7 Body

BS-1 Hot-Shoe Cover

BF-N1 Body Cap

DK-29 Rubber Eyecup

 

Accessories shipped on right side of box

AN-DC19 Strap

EN-EL15b Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery with terminal cover

MH-25A Battery Charger to charge EN-EL15/A/B Li-Ion Batteries

EH-7P Charging AC Adapter to charge EN-EL15b (only) in-camera.

UC-E24 USB-C Cable

HDMI/USB Cable Clip (strain relief for tethered shooting).

 

Announced

12:09 AM, Thursday, 23 August 2018, NYC time.

 

Promised for

27 September 2018.

 

Shipping Since

27 September 2018.

 

Nikon's Model Number

N1710 (1591, Nikon USA).

 

Quality

Nikon Z7

Nikon Z7. bigger.

Made in Japan.

 

Price, USA

21 April 2023

$3,397 new w/lens at Amazon.

About $1,400 used if you know How to Win at eBay or $1,550 used at Amazon.

 

07 December 2020 ($900 off and the FTZ adds just $47 as a kit!)

Z7 body-only: $2,497 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $2,544 at Adorama and at Amazon.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,097 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,144 at Adorama and at Amazon.

 

30 September ~ 06 December 2020 ($800 off and the FTZ adds just $47 as a kit!)

Z7 body-only: $2,597 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $2,644 at Adorama and at Amazon.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,197 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,244 at Adorama and at Amazon.

 

12 January 2020 ($600 off and the FTZ adds just $47 as a kit!)

Z7 body-only: $2,797 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $2,844 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,397 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,444 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

 

28 November 2019 ($700 off and the FTZ is free)

Z7 body-only: $2,697 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $2,697 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,297 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

 

15 August 2019 ($400 off)

Z7 body-only: $2,997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $3,244 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,597 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,844 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

 

24 June 2019 ($600 off and the FTZ is free)

Z7 body-only: $2,797 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $2,797 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,397 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,397 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

 

28 April 2019 ($600 off)

Z7 body-only: $2,797 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with FTZ adapter: $2,947 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

Z7 with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,397 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Z7 with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter: $3,547 at Adorama, at Amazon or at B&H.

 

09~27 April 2019 (free FTZ adapter and discounted 24-70/4 promotion)

Body-only: $3,397 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Body with free FTZ adapter: $3,397 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield (you have to add the adapter to your cart at Crutchfield to get it free).

Body with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S: $3,997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

Body with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and free FTZ adapter: $3,997 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield (you have to add the adapter to your cart at Crutchfield to get it free).

 

02 April 2019 (introductory promotions expired)

$3,397, body-only.

$3,644, body with FTZ adapter.

$3,997, kit with discounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S.

$4,244, kit with discounted 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter.

 

August 2018 ~ March 2019 (introductory promotions)

$3,397, body-only.

$3,547, body with FTZ adapter (promotional introductory rate).

$3,997, kit with 24-70mm f/4.

$4,147, kit with 24-70mm f/4 and FTZ adapter (promotional introductory rate).

 

Unboxing

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

The box and lens are completely unsealed. There is no way to know if anyone else has been fiddling with your camera, swapping parts and accessories, or even if it's a used camera.

That's why it's critical only to buy from an approved online source, since they ship from automated warehouses where no shifty salesmen or customers ever get to touch your new camera before it ships. While new CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays and bottles of milk and drinking water are sealed and quite obvious if anyone's opened them, paradoxically Nikon doesn't bother sealing anything, so your only insurance is to buy only from a trusted online dealer.

I bought the kit version with lens at Adorama, and here's how they come packaged:

Nikon Z7 kit box

Box, Nikon Z7 kit with 24-70. bigger.

 

Nikon Z7 kit box

Open box, Nikon Z7 kit with 24-70. bigger.

Z7 white box on left, 24-70 white box on right.

Nikon uses white boxes when you order these as a kit to discourage shady dealers from ordering these as kits and then splitting them. If you order just the lens or just the body alone, it comes in a regular box. If you ordered one individually and get a white box, you got ripped off. Notice how each white box also says [Kit] on it.

 

Inside Nikon Z7 box

Inside the Nikon Z7 box. bigger.

On top of the Z7 box is the US warranty card, on top of two printed manuals in a clear envelope. The clear envelope has a white "US" sticker on the left, and holds a manual in English (shown on left) y uno en español (a la derecha).

Flip down the cardboard flap tray holding the paperwork and you see this:

 

Inside Nikon Z7 box

Inside the box, Nikon Z7. bigger.

Pull out the cardboard on the left and flip up the cover on the right and you see this:

 

Inside Nikon Z7 box

Box, Nikon Z7 kit with 24-70. bigger.

The Nikon Z7 Body, BS-1 Hot-Shoe Cover, BF-N1 Body Cap and DK-29 Rubber Eyecup are assembled in the foam bag on the left, and all the other goodies are under a cardboard door on the right. Here are all the extra included goodies spread out:What's included with the Nikon Z7

What's in the box with the Nikon Z7. bigger.

Roughly clockwise from top left: UC-E24 USB-C cord, Nikon Z AN-DC19 strap, EN-EL15b battery, screw-in cable strain relief for tethered shooting, bizarre power plug stub, EH-7P Charging AC Adapter with folding plug and MH-25A Battery Charger to use with the (stub included) or a cord (not included).

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Getting a Legal USA Version

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

This section applies in the USA only.

A legal USA version has a warranty card from Nikon USA. The serial number on the card must match the serial number on your camera (look at the sticker behind the flipping LCD screen), or you have no warranty.

This warranty card should be the first thing you see as you open your new camera box:

Nikon Z7 USA Warranty Card

Nikon Z7 USA Warranty Slip. bigger.

If you don't have this card or the serial number doesn't match perfectly, you got ripped off with a gray market version from another country. This is why I never buy anyplace other than from my personally approved sources. You just can't take the chance of buying elsewhere, especially at any retail store, because non-USA versions have no warranty in the USA, and you won't even be able to get firmware or service for it — even if you're willing to pay out-of-pocket for it when you need it!

The serial number on the box should match the serial number on your camera, but isn't required. However if it doesn't match, it means you bought from a shady dealer who took cameras out of boxes and then resold them as new.

Nikon USA enforces its trademarks strictly. It's unlikely, but possible that US customs won't let your camera back in the country if you bought a gray-market version in the USA, carried it overseas, and try to bring it back in. (If you take the chance of buying one overseas, be sure you have a receipt to prove you bought it overseas and be prepared to pay duty on it.)

If a gray market version saves you $1,000 it may be worth it, but for $200 or less I wouldn't risk having no warranty or support.

Always be sure to check your serial numbers while you can still return it, or just don't buy from unapproved sources or at retail so you'll be able to have your camera serviced and get free updated firmware as needed.

US versions include two printed manuals, one in English and uno en español. There is also a white "US" sticker on the outside of the clear envelope which holds the manuals. See photo.

Get yours from the same places I do and you won't have a problem, but if you take the risk of getting yours elsewhere, be sure to check everything while you still can return it.

 

Performance

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

Overall   Autofocus   Manual Focus   Color Rendition

Ergonomics   Exposure   Finder   Flash   Frame Rates

High ISOs   Auto ISO   Auto White Balance

Lens Corrections   Mechanics   Menu System

Sharpness   Silent Mode   Stabilization (VR)

Video   Top OLED   Rear LCD   Playback

Data   Power & Battery   Clock Accuracy

 

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

 

Overall

Performance          top

The Z7 offers the best possible technical image quality of any mirrorless camera today, making it superb for nature and landscape photography in the field. Its autofocus is extremely accurate, however face recognition is poor making the Z7 a bad choice choice for group photography.

See also Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared for more details.

 

Autofocus

Performance          top

The Z7's autofocus performance is poor because it's slow to identify targets, often locks-on to the wrong target (like a face in the background), and can't move very fast even if it does find the correct target by itself. My iPhone 11 Pro Max is far better at identifying subjects.

Maddening is that the system often will lock on something in the background and ignore the subject right in the center in front of the camera, forcing me to have to revert to manual focus to get the camera roughly to the same distance as the intended subject, or to have to revert to manual AF-area selection — hardly what I'd call "autofocus."

It's been poor for over 2 years. As of fall 2020 with firmware v3.11, it still can't auto-identify and place AF zones well.

 

Low Light

The Z7 isn't very good in very low light, and the finder gets noisy and blurry as it tries to cope. Very low light means light so dim that it's hard to read a book or restaurant menu.

Sadly there has to be a "Low Light AF" option at MENU > Custom (pencil) > a11 Low-light AF. I leave it ON (the default is OFF), and that doesn't help.

The AF illuminator is an obnoxious vivid green. I avoid using it; people complain loudly when it shines in their face.

 

Face Recognition

Face Recognition is poor.

While it finds faces well, it's not as smart as other brands of camera like Sony, Fuji and iPhone and can't figure out which of the many faces it's found to use. Therefore it often focuses on a random face in the background, leading to out-of-focus pictures.

You can tell the Z7 which face to use by clicking the rear controller left and right, but when I'm photographing a group of people I don't have to time to tell the camera which face to use when my other cameras just figure it out by themselves. Maybe new firmware will fix this, maybe not.

I wouldn't use or buy this camera if groups of people were something I photographed often.

This was with v1 firmware — but v2 isn't any better. The problem isn't recognizing faces, which even v1 does well; the problem is not having the intelligence that even my iPhone 11 Pro Max has to figure out which is the right face of many on which to focus.

 

Autofocus Tracking

Tracking is slow; don't expect great results with moving things close to you.

 

Overall Intelligence

Even with v2 firmware (2019-2020) it's not very smart in knowing which AF sensors to use. If you select them manually it works great, but manual AF-area selection went out in the 1990s.

Almost all of today's cameras do a great job of automatically selecting which AF sensors to use so you can pay attention to your picture rather than to your camera settings, but the Z7 and Z6 don't.

Another problem specific to the Z7 and Z6, even with v2 firmware, is that if the lens is focused at about the distance of a background, the Z7 and Z6 will insist on focusing on that background and ignore the actual subject in the center of the frame! The way to work around this is to grab the excellent manual-focus ring and override it to focus at about the distance of the subject, after which the Z7 and Z6 will finally figure it out. This is bad; the Z7 and Z6 aren't smart enough to see a subject right in the middle of the frame in auto AF-area select mode.

 

Absolute Accuracy

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

 

Manual Focus

performance          top

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 >

You can set a peaking manual focus aid at Set MENU > CUSTOM (pencil) > Shooting/display > d10 peaking highlights > Peaking level.

 

Color Rendition

Performance          top

Orange and blue

Orange and Blue, 16 December 2018, 12:16 PM. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z set to 70mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 100, as shot. bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

As you can see above and at my Sample Images, the Z7's color rendition is the same great look we've had since Nikon's second generation of 2007.

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 Z7 is first class.

 

Ergonomics

Performance          top

Ergonomics are generally like Nikon's DSLRs, with the usual goods and bads.

The PLAY button is on the wrong (left) side. It takes a second hand to press.

 

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.

The metal mode dial is on the wrong (left) side and has a center lock button, so it takes a second (left) hand and two fingers to change.

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 Z7 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.

 

Exposure

Performance          top

Like most mirrorless cameras, exposure is even better than it was with DSLRs. Unless you have a small subject against a black background which will often require negative exposure compensation, exposure is usually dead-on.

The only potential gotcha is that Matrix metering is different from SLRs and DSLRs in that it's no longer smart enough to keep white items white in direct sunlight. Large white areas like sand or snow will tend towards middle gray and need a stop or two of positive exposure compensation. SLRs and DSLR Matrix metering was smart enough to keep white white and sand light, but no more on mirrorless. Be careful outdoors or shooting high-key subjects or those against large white or black cycloramas.

 

Electronic Viewfinder

Performance          top

The EVF is the same as Sony's, except that this Nikon has poor automatic brightness control inferior to Sony. Sony claims that they make this finder for Nikon, and Nikon isn't saying. The brightness control is of Nikon's design external to the finder.

It's sharp and color-accurate, but unlike Sony, the 7's automatic brightness control is awful. It sets the brightness based only on how much light is coming through the lens, which means if you point it down for playback or if shooting a stopped-down manual lens the finder gets very dark. The image quality is the same as Sony, but getting the brightness takes some work while Sony's finders are always at the perfect brightness.

Worse, the finder brightness varies all over the place as you vary the apertures if you're using adapted manual-focus lenses.

You may prefer to set the finder brightness manually.

The flash ready bolt is ORANGE.

Nikon Z7 electronic viewfinder image

Actual electronic finder image as seen through the eyepiece. bigger.

The electronic level display (not shown above) 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 Z7'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 structure.

The finder has automatic brightness control, which is good, but the automatic brightness control doesn't work very well. It bases the finder brightness only on the light hitting the sensor, so it changes depending on the direction you're pointing the camera (even on playback), and 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 system is poor at night. The finder image is very soft, noisy and grainy because the system lacks low light sensitivity. Here's an actual view through the finder. Know that when you actually try to use the finder at night that even if the image is still, the image you see has all sorts of active video noise all over it:

Nikon Z7 electronic viewfinder image

Actual electronic finder image as seen through the eyepiece. bigger.

The level is too big and annoying to use at the same time as composing an image, and the data doesn't rotate for vertical shots.

Even though the finder image is poor at night, the resulting photos are great:

Nikon Z 20mm f1.8 sample image file

Seven Palms Oasis, 7:22 PM, 30 September 2020. Nikon Z7, Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 wide-open at f/1.8 for 25 seconds at ISO 64 (LV -2.3), Perfectly Clear. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

Only some of the palms are in perfect focus at f/1.8. The close stonework and the distant parts are out of focus.

 

Flash

Performance          top

Sync speed is 1/200.

Flash uses the same system as Nikon's 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 X100F 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.

 

Frame Rates

Performance          top

H+

It really does run at 9 FPS in continuous high "extended" mode with tracking autofocus (only 8 FPS in 14-bit raw or in silent mode).

In this "extended" mode it locks exposure, but it does track autofocus Oddly it only runs at this rate for a few seconds before rolling back to about 5 FPS, but hey, if you want to run for minutes at a time, shoot video which the Z7 also does brilliantly.

 

H

It will run at 5.5 FPS, continuous high (5 FPS in 14-bit raw) with tracking exposure and focus for each frame all day.

It really works; I get 5.5 FPS with tracking AF and auto exposure, however it will slow down if it has to like every other camera.

While the Z7 tracks exposure and focus, it does so only very slowly. Even though the camera is running at 5.5 FPS it may take several seconds for the image to get in focus or correct exposure if things have changed. This is not an action or sports camera.

 

L

1~5 FPS is settable in Continuous Low.

 

High ISO Performance

Performance          top

Bridgeport Shop Window at Night

Bridgeport Shop Window at Night, October 2018, 8:01 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 32mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 18,000, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Eastern Sierra Trading Co., Bridgeport, CA

Eastern Sierra Trading Co., October 2018, 8:00 P.M. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/25 at Auto ISO 9,000, Perfectly Clear v3.6. bigger.

 

Complete Images

High ISO performance is typically excellent. For most normal uses at the sizes we actually use as shown below, the images look the same from ISO 32 ~ 12,800 or so, and get a little rougher or mottled at ISO 25,600 and 51,200 (Hi1). ISO 102,400 (Hi2) looks awful, with shifted colors all over.

These were shot with the 24-70Z at 50mm at f/8 at Auto White Balance, VIVID Picture Control with +3 Saturation, +9 Sharpening, +5 Mid-range sharpening and +1 Clarity with exposure times from 3 seconds (ISO 32) to 1/800 (ISO 102,400 Hi2). I left VR ON because Nikon provides no switch on the lens, and I was too lazy to look for it at MENU > Camera, and no worries, VR is smart enough to turn itself off on a tripod.

Click any for the camera-original © LARGE FINE JPG files to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly):

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

 

600 × 450 pixel crops from the above images

The 600 × 450 pixel crops shown below will vary in size to fit your browser window. If they are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at a huge 55 × 82½″ (5 x 7 feet or 1.4 × 2.1 meters) at this same high magnification. If they are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at a mammoth 110 × 165″ (9 × 14 feet or 2.8 × 4.2 meters) at this same extremely high magnification!

At these insanely high magnifications you'll see that detail is best at ISO 32, and the image gets progressively softer at every ISO from ISO 64 and up. At ISO 32 all the details of the clock face decorations are shown clearly, half gone by ISO 1,600 and gone by ISO 6,400. As ISO climbs even higher, even more details are simply erased by the noise reduction. This is normal, every camera does this.

Click any for the camera-original © files to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly):

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Nikon Z7 High ISO Sample Image File

Click any for the same camera-original © files as above to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly).

 

Auto ISO

Performance          top

Auto ISO is state of the art. It's completely flexible with assignable high and low limits and manual and automatic setting of slowest shutter speeds, with two stops of shift to the automatic slowest speed settings. Bravo!

 

Auto White Balance

Performance          top

Auto White Balance is excellent, as mirrorless cameras tend to be. Colors usually look good under any sort of artificial light.

There are now four Auto White Balance modes: AUTO0, AUTO1, AUTO2 and AUTO ☀(Natural Light Auto).You select these depending on the light under which you're shooting. These first appeared in the Nikon D850, and I have complete descriptions of how to use the D850's Auto White Balance modes.

 

Lens Corrections

Performance          top

The Z7 can be set to correct for diffraction, distortion and vignetting. It works expertly with native Z lenses.

Like all Nikons introduced since 2007, lateral color is corrected automatically from all lenses, both native and adapted. You can't turn this off; it's always active and works great.

Distortion correction with native lenses like the Z 24-70mm f/4 S is excellent, with complete correction of all distortion.

Distortion correction with lenses on the FTZ Adapter is only partial, and only for AF lenses. For instance, only about half the distortion of the 28-300mm VR is removed, while the odd distortion of the 14mm f/2.8 AF-D is well corrected. (The 14mm f/2.8 AF-D can't autofocus on the FTZ because Nikon chose not to include an autofocus motor.)

Distortion correction is never visible in the finder while shooting. It's only in the saved files. By comparison the Canon EOS R and Canon EOS RP both show correction in the finder live as you shoot.

 

Mechanical Quality

Performance          top

Nikon Z7 Battery Door

Nikon Z7. bigger.

Nikon Z7 bottom

Nikon Z7. bigger.

The Z7 is a mix of metal and plastic. It's built just about as tough as the D850.

Metal: Top plate, strap lugs, MODE dial and lock button, hot shoe, main control dial, lens mount flange and trim, LCD pivots, body internal frame, rear cover, tripod socket and surrounding plate.

Rubber-Clad: where you see leather grain.

Plastic: Shutter button, power switch, all other buttons, front control dial, OLED cover, connector covers and bays, LCD frame, card door, bottom cover, battery door and hinge.

Mushy Plastic: Left-side connectors have soft plastic covers that tend to flop open unless you really pay attention to snapping them all the way in carefully.

Made in: Japan (marked on sticker on body behind flippy LCD.

Serial number: printed on sticker on body behind flippy LCD.

Markings: mostly engraved (mode dial) or molded-in everywhere else. Only Fn1 and Fn2 are just paint.

 

Menu System

Performance          top

Nikon's menu system is pretty good. It's not well color coded, 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 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.

 

Sharpness

Performance          top

Sharpness is the best in the mirrorless world. The Z7 has the highest pixel count, has no anti-alias filter, and its internal JPG processing gives the sharpest in-0camera JPGs in the industry. Sony works as well, but their top camera has slightly fewer pixels, and Canon's cameras have stronger anti-alias filters.

You'll never see this in actual pictures due to Pixel Dumping, but if you look at everything at 200% on your computer monitor you'll appreciate the extra sharpness.

 

Silent Mode

Performance          top

The regular shutter mode is pretty quiet, and the Silent Mode, turned on at the bottom of MENU > Shooting (camera), really is completely silent.

While the camera is silent, there can still be lens-focussing or diaphragm or in-camera sensor-shift stabilization sounds not audible beyond a couple of inches away.

Like all cameras, you can't use flash, flicker reduction or HDR while in silent mode, and like all cameras other than the Sony A9 you can expect some occasional weird effects under flickering light or with objects moving across the frame due to the rolling shutter.

The ISO range in Silent is limited to ISO 25,600 maximum. There's no limit to the minimum, shoot at ISO 32 if you like, but for ISO 51,200 (H+1) or 102,400 (H+2) you'll have to use the regular shutter.

It works at all frame rates up to 8 FPS.

 

Image Stabilization

Performance          top

The Z7 has in-camera sensor-shift stabilization, and it works great with everything from the latest Z lenses to ancient manual-focus lenses on adapters. Nikon rates it for five stops improvement with native Z lenses and three stops for everything else.

I easily get sharp 45MP images hand-held at all focal lengths at 1/8 of a second with the unstabilized Z 24-70mm f/4 S.

Bravo, Nikon!

 

In-Camera VR ON with Z 24-70mm f/4 S

"Percent Perfectly Sharp Shots" are the percentage of frames with 100% perfect tripod-equivalent sharpness. Hand tremor is a random occurrence, so at marginal speeds some frames will be perfectly sharp with others in various stages of blur — all at the same shutter speed. This rates how many shots are perfectly sharp, not how sharp all the frames are.

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
2 sec
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
24mm
0
33
70
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
43mm
0
0
0
60
70
100
100
100
100
100
70mm
0
10
10
50
100
100
100
100
100
100

 

In-Camera VR OFF with Z 24-70mm f/4 S

% Perfectly Sharp Shots
2 sec
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/15
1/30
1/60
1/125
1/250
24mm
0
0
0
15
60
70
100
100
100
100
43mm
0
0
0
0
0
20
80
100
100
100
70mm
0
0
0
5
17
45
70
100
90
100

Thus I get a two to three real-world stops of improvement (difference between VR ON and VR OFF), or about four stops of marketing stops (over 1/focal length) improvement.

Mercedes AMG GLE 63S Coupe

Mercedes AMG GLE 63S Coupe, 14 December 2018, 4:51 PM. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z set to 49mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 250, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution file or camera-original unprocessed © JPG file.

 

Mercedes AMG GLE 63S Coupe

Mercedes AMG GLE 63S Coupe, 14 December 2018, 4:52 PM. Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm f/4 Z set to 52mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 280, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution file or camera-original unprocessed © JPG file.

The brightness range was enormous from the lit ultragon headlights to the reflections on the car and all the way down to the shadows under the car, shot 10 minutes after sunset. Look at the dark muck in the original JPGs and you'll see how I was able to get the details I wanted out of the shadows.

No need for raw or HDR; I shot as JPG as always. I exposed on the dark side to protect the highlights, which is exactly how the Z7 shot it automatically. I used the Perfectly Clear plug-in in Photoshop CS6 on my Mac Pro to bring up all the dark areas later. Perfectly Clear does the best job of bringing up the shadows without blowing the highlights, and usually does it in one click. For me, time is money.

JPG files usually have essentially the same shadow dynamic range as raw files since JPG files use more advanced logarithmic and gamma-corrected Z-axis data while raw needs extra bits to do the same thing as raw uses only simpler linear Z-axis data.

In English, so long as you don't blow your highlights, you usually can pull everything you need out of shadows from JPGs and save yourself the hassle of raw. I never shoot raw.

 

Video

Performance          top

Video works great. AF tracks and works magically, and the Z7 is perfectly happy shooting 25 continuous minutes or more at 4K without overheating or running down batteries as happens with the Fuji X-T30.

Here are two 4K @ 23.976 films shot on my Z7 with my Canon 100-400mm L IS II on the Fringer EF-NZ Adapter. The video is as-shot (but of course at much lower bandwidth over YouTube; it was 12GB as-shot (600mB/minute), but the audio is coming from a different system:

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Top OLED Display

Performance          top

So long as you're not in direct sunlight, it has automatic brightness control and is superbly legible in any light from daytime outdoors down to starlight:

Nikon Z7 top OLED

Top OLED. bigger.

It's almost invisible in direct sunlight because it can't get bright enough. You have to shield it from the sun to read it.

Unlike LCD displays, the top OLED is off whenever the camera is sleeping.

I consider top displays a throwback to 35mm film days, so I don't take these that seriously.

 

Rear LCD Monitor

Performance          top

The rear LCD is like every other digital camera today.

It flips up 90º or more 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.

 

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 only a 4-way controller for scrolling around, not an 8-way controller and no nubbin, either. No worries; it's a touch screen so use that 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 electronic finder image as seen through the eyepiece. 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 7."

 

Power & Battery

Performance          top

 

Battery

Battery life is very good, and power management is the best in mirrorless. You can leave the power switch ON and just go about your shooting day; the Z7 will sleep and wake automatically as it needs to.

I get about 450 shots per charge poking around in menus and playing back each shot.

I'll get 1,000 ~ 1,500 shots or more per charge if I just shoot and don't spend much time playing or setting menus.

 

Charging

Nikon includes both a plug-in-the-wall external battery charger as well as a USB-C wall charger for charging the battery in-camera.

It also charges from any regular USB port with a USB C cable. You don't need a fancy charger or cable as you do with Canon, and Nikon includes them free anyway.

The external charger is pretty dorky. It needs either a power cord or a foolish included power stub. I prefer to charge via USB from my usual USB sources; I've never even unwrapped Nikon's chargers.

It draws 478mA charging over USB.

 

Clock Accuracy

Performance          top

Every sample is different, but mine gains 7.4 seconds per month (a quarter second a day), which is about average.

 

Video Version of this Review

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Compared

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

 

NEW: Medium-Format vs. Full-Frame Image-Quality Comparison!!!

Now under $4,000 with the Spring Sales, the Fujifilm GFX 50R is awesome. It handles just like Fujifilm's APS-C cameras and outperforms full-frame at the same time. (I'm still working on its detailed review.)

03 May 2019

 

Nikon Z6 versus Z7

 

Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared

 

Nikon vs. Sony Mirrorless

(much more at Nikon vs Canon vs Sony Full Frame Mirrorless Compared)

Huge advantages of Nikon mirrorless over Sony are:

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Handles like a real camera, not a VCR. Sonys have awful menu systems and controls!

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Superior Nikon color rendition. While mirrorless is fun, I get better colors on my Canons and Nikons than I get from Fuji or Sony.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Full time instant manual focus override. A core incompetancy of Sony's system is that only one lens I've used does this. The rest of the system only can do this part time, only if you set the camera in certain modes, and often the Sony lenses use electronic manual focus which doesn't respond instantly.

 

User's Guides

See my Nikon Z7 Written User's Guide or the video version:

Subscribe for more videos.

 

Recommendations

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

Also consider the Nikon Z6, which is the same thing, except faster and sells for less. No one needs the extra resolution of the Z7; 24 MP is more than enough for anything, unless you really are printing 30 feet (10 meters) wide or more. If you're printing at less than 40x60" (1 x 1.5 meters), 24MP is more than enough, especially due to Pixel Dumping for all reasonable uses today.

The Z7 is marvelous for nature, landscapes, posed portraits, science, architecture and just about everything except groups of moving people. The Z7 is poor for fast-moving group photos because its face recognition can't identify the correct face. For pro sports the D5 is still a king, and for everything else the Z7 gives great results with much less weight.

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

Since it only uses XQD cards, be sure to get at least one XQD card, and get an XQD card reader unless you plan on connecting your camera to download — which is probably a good idea seeing the prices of XQD readers.

 

Lenses

Get the excellent Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S for day-to-day use. It's super sharp, small and compact.

Use the FTZ adapter for your other Nikon lenses, for instance the excellent 28-300mm VR or the 16-35mm VR and/or your choice of telephoto (I use the 28-300mm VR as my telephoto).

Use the FTZ adapter only with Nikon's newest lenses with a built-in AF motor (AF-S and AF-P). These are the only lenses that autofocus with this adapter.

Don't get the FTZ for use with traditional AF-D, AF or manual-focus lenses. Traditional AF-D and AF lenses do not autofocus on the FTZ. Nikon still sells many of these lenses new today, and they work much better on any FX DSLR like a D750. Poo!

Manual-focus F, AI , AI'd, AI-s and adapted rangefinder lenses works poorly on the FTZ with no automatic diaphragm control, poor exposure control, poor finder brightness control and no EXIF or in-finder aperture data — and you have to open-and-close the diaphragm manually for precise focus for each shot!

 

XQD Cards & Readers

You need an XQD card. This is the only kind of card that works. I've resisted buying one until this camera came out because they start at about $90 each. They were invented by Sony for video recording.

Guys who shoot a lot of video love XQD, as it was invented by innovative Sony to replace solid state and hard drives in video cameras used in professional teleproduction. XQDs move a lot of video around fast. Most of the D5s sold are bought in the two XQD-card slot version. I'm a still-shooter and prefer SD, but tough.

When buying XQD cards, I'd stick with Sony, who invented them and controls the technology.

You'll also need to buy an XQD reader, since no computer has an XQD slot. I bought this cheap one and it works fine.

 

Flash

The SB-400 is the ultimate mirrorless flash. It works flawlessly with the Z7, even turning on and off with the Z7's power switch.

Even more than it was on DSLRs, it's tiny as you want on mirrorless, and it's powerful and recycles fast and the Z7 balances it for fill perfectly.

The SB-400 was discontinued; no worry, you can get them on eBay for under $100 (see How to Win at eBay).

The SB-400 is much better for mirrorless than today's bigger, crummier and more expensive SB-300 and SB-500. The SB300 is bigger, junkier, lower powered and takes too long to recycle from it's pathetic AAA cells, and the SB500 is too darn big and costs more than twice as much for about the same performance as the tiny SB400.

 

More at Nikon Z7 User's Guide.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources 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, non-USA, store demo or used camera. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken Rockwell.

 

More Information

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Lens Compatibility

Adapted Rangefinder Lenses   Specifications

Unboxing   USA Version   Performance

Compared   User's Guide

Recommendations   More

 

I'd get my Z7 used at eBay (How to Win at eBay) or used at Amazon or new at Amazon.

 

Nikon's Z7 page.

Nikon's Z7 Press Release.

 

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