| 45.70 Megapixels | Nikon Z | 35mm size sensor |
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| Basic Specifications | |
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| Full model name: | Nikon Z7 |
| Resolution: | 45.70 Megapixels |
| Sensor size: | 35mm (35.9mm x 23.9mm) |
| Kit Lens: | 2.92x zoom 24-70mm (24-70mm eq.) |
| Viewfinder: | EVF / LCD |
| Native ISO: | 64 - 25,600 |
| Extended ISO: | 32 - 102,400 |
| Shutter: | 1/8000 - 30 sec |
| Max Aperture: | 4.0 (kit lens) |
| Dimensions: | 5.3 x 4.0 x 2.7 in. (134 x 101 x 68 mm) |
| Weight: | 41.4 oz (1,175 g) includes batteries, kit lens |
| Availability: | 09/2018 |
| Manufacturer: | Nikon |
| Full specs: | Nikon Z7 specifications |
Looking back at the 1-series and decade one of the mirrorless revolution
By coincidence, mirrorless cameras themselves are also celebrating an anniversary this year. It's been a full decade now since Olympus and Panasonic made waves in mid-2008 by announcing their Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera standard. Nikon responded some three years later in mid-2011, launching its own Nikon 1 mirrorless lineup. The 1-series cameras were groundbreaking in some respects, with the world's first hybrid autofocus system in an ILC thanks to on-chip phase detection pixels, and capable of almost legendary burst-shooting and video-capture performance. They also took good advantage of the size and weight advantages possible with mirrorless designs, being far sleeker and more compact than their DSLR brethren.
Where the Nikon 1-series stumbled, though, was in the very place which allowed most of these other advantages: The sensor used in Nikon's early mirrorless models, while still huge in comparison to the compact cameras which were then just reaching their sales peak, was nevertheless relatively tiny when compared even to the APS-C sensors typically used in DSLRs at the time. While that sensor size allowed the small cameras and lenses for which the 1-series was known, as well as their incredible performance and autofocus, it also translated to a noticeable reduction in image quality versus larger-sensored rivals. Nikon put its heart and soul into the 1-series, but it still faded into the history books, underappreciated and unloved by most.
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The impressive Z7 and Z6 mark the start of Nikon's brand-new mirrorless strategy
Now, Nikon has gone back to the drawing board and reinvented its mirrorless strategy from the ground up. With the simultaneously-launched Nikon Z6 and Z7, the company aims to achieve the same success within the compact system camera market that it's managing in the DSLR market with cameras like the D850. In doing so, it has switched to a full-frame sensor size much like that used in many of Sony's popular Alpha-series mirrorless cameras, setting up a head-to-head battle which has us salivating.
[Ed. Note: For the sake of accuracy, we should note that the official naming for these newly-launched cameras is actually "Nikon Z 6" and "Nikon Z 7". However, we'll be referring to them as the Z6 and Z7 throughout this article, as the extra space makes things harder to read, but we can't really abbreviate to just 'Z' or '6'/'7' either.]
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Key features of the Nikon Z7
We'll get down to all of the finer details in a moment, but right now we're sure you're itching to learn what the Nikon Z7 has to bring to the party. Let's quickly hit the high points:
- Nikon's familiar DSLR ergonomics in a mirrorless form factor
- Comprehensively dust/weather-sealed body (D850 class of protection)
- 45.7-megapixel, full-frame Nikon FX-format BSI CMOS image sensor with on-chip focus pixels
- ISO 64 - 25,600, expandable to ISO 32 - 102,400
- Up to nine fps full-res burst capture with autofocus
- Nikkor Z lens mount supports three S-Line lenses at launch and over a dozen by end of 2020
- Supports Nikon F-mount lenses with Mount Adapter FTZ
- Roomy and extremely high-res 3,690k-dot OLED electronic viewfinder with Nikkor optics
- Generous 3.2-inch, 2,100k-dot tilting LCD touch-screen
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- Top-deck status OLED display
- 493-point autofocus system works as low as -4 EV (ISO 100, f/2.0 lens, AF-S mode)
- Five-stop, five-axis in-camera vibration reduction for both Z-mount and all adapted F-mount lenses. Lens-based VR also supported.
- Shutter speeds from 1/8,000 to 30 plus bulb; x-sync at 1/200
- Full-width 4Kp30 and 1080p120 movie capture, timecode, 10-bit HDMI and Log color profile
- Also shoots 8K timelapse movies in-camera
- Built-in SnapBridge Bluetooth/Wi-Fi communications
- SuperSpeed USB Type-C connector and Type-C Mini HDMI connector, plus accessory terminal and 3.5mm mic/headphone jacks
- Supports existing DSLR accessories like Advanced Wireless Lighting, WT-7 series wireless transmitters and EN-EL15 series batteries. New EN-EL15b can recharge in-camera
- Dedicated, weather-sealed multi-power battery pack is in development
- Available late September 2018 for US$3,400 body-only or US$4,000 with 24-70 f/4 lens
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The Nikon Z6 and Z7 compared
And now that we've got the basics covered, let's see what differs between the Nikon Z7 and its simultaneously-announced, more-affordable sibling. We should note that we're still awaiting clarification of some specs, so it's possible that this list may expand later. Watch this space:
- The Nikon Z7 has a 45.7-megapixel sensor; the Z6 is 24.5-megapixel. (Total pixel counts are 46.89 mpix for Z7, and 25.28 mpix for Z6.)
- The Z7 supports ISO 64 - 25,600 by default; the Z6 is ISO 100 - 51,200.
- The Z7 can be expanded to ISO 32 - 102,400; the Z6 expands to 50 - 204,800.
- The Z7 has 493 focus points; the Z6 has 273.
- The Z7 shoots at nine fps full-res; the Z6 can manage 12 fps. If you enable 14-bit raw, the Z7 falls to 8 fps, while the Z6 can still manage 9 fps.
- The Z7 meters down to -3 EV and focuses down to -1 EV ordinarily, while the Z6 can meter to -4 EV and focus to -2 EV. (However, in low-light AF mode, both cameras can focus down to -4 EV.)
- Curiously, the Z6 has more powerful Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios than does the Z7. (7.4 vs 7.0 dBm for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, 12.2/9.2 vs. 12.1/9.1 dBm for 5GHz Wi-Fi, 1.9 vs 1.5 dBm for Bluetooth and 0.4 vs 0 dBm for Bluetooth LE.)
- The Z7 costs US$3,400 body-only at launch; the Z6 is US$2,000.
- The Z7 comes bundled with the EH-7P charging AC adapter to charge batteries in-camera; the Z6 doesn't include this accessory in the standard package.
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Let's roll up our sleeves and talk details
But enough of the bullet points. As the Z6 and Z7 are brand-new cameras, we've a lot more to discuss here than usual. Now that you have a sense for where the Z7 sits compared to its sibling, let's get right down to the specifics and see what you can expect from Nikon's flagship full-frame mirrorless camera.
The first thing you're going to notice on picking up the Z7 is that it's very obviously a high-end Nikon camera. For one thing, it's no shelf queen: the Z7's body is designed to the same level of strength, durability and dust / drip resistance as the D850. And although the number and placement of controls does of necessity vary a fair bit to accommodate a smaller mirrorless form factor, a lot of the individual controls will be immediately familiar to a photographer shooting that same camera.
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A brand-new body that nevertheless feels like an old friend
The cluster of controls around the shutter button, for example, is identical to the D850 almost right down to the individual button placements. You'll also find twin control dials front and rear, plus on the rear, a joystick control and an eight-way directional pad with central OK button. And nearby, you'll also find AF-ON and 'i' buttons. Delete and Play buttons can be found top left of the rear deck where you'd expect, and they're even separated by a little ridge as in the D850.
Really, the biggest UI differences are that four of the buttons which would have lined the left of the LCD on the D850 have instead jumped to the bottom right of the rear deck, and there's a traditional Mode dial with central lock button on the top deck in place of the wedding cake-style release mode dial topped by buttons which you'd on the D850. Getting familiarized with the Z7's controls should not take Nikonians long at all.
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A brand-new, very high-res sensor and EXPEED 6 processor
Let's return to the image sensor, next of all. As we said at the outset, it's a full-frame (or in Nikon parlance, FX-format) CMOS chip with an effective resolution of 45.7 megapixels from a total count of 46.89 megapixels and it does not include an Optical Low Pass Filter. The chip has dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9mm, and maximum image dimensions are 8,256 x 5,504 pixels. If using an APS-C sensor crop for a DX-format lens, the maximum image dimensions fall to 5,408 x 3,600 pixels, for an effective resolution of 19.5 megapixels.
As well as the ability to shoot a Dust Off reference photo to remove dust from your images using Nikon's Capture NX-D software, an image sensor cleaning function is included. (We don't currently have details on the specific system being used, however.)
The sensor is paired to a latest-generation version of Nikon's in-house image processor, dubbed EXPEED 6 in this incarnation. Nikon tells us that this latest variant of EXPEED allows for crisper rendering of subjects and lower noise levels than did past versions. To help you make the most of the Z7's detail-gathering capabilities, EXPEED 6 also brings with it a new mid-range sharpening function that can be used alongside of the existing sharpening and clarity functions seen in other recent Nikon cameras.
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A sensitivity range that's unusually generous at the bottom end, too
Together, the Nikon Z7's sensor and processor pairing allow a sensitivity range of ISO 64 to 25,600 equivalents, expandable to encompass everything from ISO 32 to 102,400 equivalents. That's a pretty broad range, and while we've certainly seen higher at the top end of the scale, it's at the bottom end where the Nikon Z7 really impresses. It's not often we see a camera which allows anything below ISO 100 by default!
And the burst capture rate of nine frames per second with autofocus at full resolution is pretty swift, too, especially when you bear in mind the Z7's high resolution of 45.7 megapixels. Do note that it's set with exposure locked from the first frame, however. Also, enabling 14-bit raw capture will strip another frame off the maximum rate, dropping it to 8 fps max. If you enable exposure adjustments between frames, the maximum capture rate plunges to a more modest 5.5 frames per second at full resolution, or 5 fps with 14-bit raw capture. And if you need a lower burst rate, options from 1 to 5 fps are also available.
Digital Cameras - Nikon Z7 Test Images
Not sure which camera to buy? Let your eyes be the ultimate judge! Visit our Comparometer(tm)to compare images from the Nikon Z7 with those from other cameras you may be considering. The proof is in the pictures, so let your own eyes decide which you like best!
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All images copyright © 2018 by The Imaging Resource. All rights reserved.
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