A extremely succesful cinema digital camera at an inexpensive value

Video was an afterthought for Nikon, however because the firm purchased RED final 12 months, content material creators are actually excessive on its precedence record. An ideal instance of that’s Nikon’s new $2,200 ZR: a full-frame mirrorless mannequin that stands up in opposition to devoted cinema cameras for a fraction of the value.

It’s the primary shopper digital camera to seize video utilizing RED’s 12-bit RAW format, however in contrast to RED’s Hollywood cameras, it has a quick and correct autofocus system. It additionally comes with an enormous show, professional video monitoring instruments, in-body stabilization and 32-bit float inside audio recording. After taking pictures a brief movie that examined its capabilities, I can verify that the Nikon ZR provides unbelievable video high quality at this value.

Physique and dealing with

Whereas a bit lighter than Nikon’s Z6 III, the 1.19-pound (540-gram) ZR feels strong. It has a boxy design like Sony’s FX2 however a a lot smaller grip as a result of it’s designed to be rigged up for cinema taking pictures with cages and handles. Nevertheless, in contrast to the FX2 which has a number of 1/4-inch mounting threads to do such rigging, the ZR sadly has solely a type of on the underside.

The ZR additionally lacks an digital viewfinder just like the FX2, however it greater than makes up for that with its big 4-inch show — the biggest I’ve ever seen on a mirrorless digital camera. At 1,000 nits, it’s vibrant sufficient to shoot on sunny days, extraordinarily sharp (3.07 million dots) and flips out for vloggers. All of that makes it an ideal main show for checking the picture and controlling the digital camera.

Nikon has nailed the ZR’s dealing with, too. Whereas it’s not coated with buttons and dials like some fashions, it does have two taking pictures dials to regulate publicity and a joystick for autofocus. There’s additionally a digital camera/video swap, two document buttons, an influence swap and 5 customizable buttons. A lot of Nikon’s lenses include management rings as nicely, so additional guide management is accessible.

The menu button is uncommon: you press as soon as for the short menu and maintain to see the total menu. Given the massive variety of settings, I might advise anybody shopping for this digital camera to be taught all of the essential changes, then customise the controls to keep away from wading via dense menus whereas taking pictures.

One other distinctive characteristic is within the battery compartment. There’s a single quick CFexpress slot to deal with RAW video, plus a microSD slot for proxies. The shortage of a second CFexpress slot or quick SD card slot for backup isn’t splendid for an expert digital camera, although.

Lastly, the ZR runs on the identical N‑EL15c batteries as different Nikon mirrorless cameras. They permit 90 minutes of HD taking pictures on a cost, or 390 pictures per CIPA requirements. That’s mediocre, so if you happen to’re planning lengthy shoots, top off on batteries.

Video

The Nikon ZR has the biggest choice of RAW video settings I’ve seen. The centerpiece is RED’s RAW R3D NE mild codec (designed by RED for Nikon) with RED’s Log3G10 log format. It additionally helps Nikon’s N-RAW, ProRes/ProRes RAW and H.265 with decision that ranges from 6K at as much as 60 fps to 4K 120 fps and 1080p at 240 fps. Regardless of the smallish physique, it could actually seize 6K RAW video repeatedly for 125 minutes with out overheating.

The 24MP sensor makes use of a twin ISO system with native 800 and 6,400 ISOs, offering a pleasant vary for indoor and out of doors taking pictures. The corporate claims 15+ stops of dynamic vary, which is extra than simply about every other mirrorless digital camera. Different key video options embody five-axis in-body stabilization with seven stops of shake discount, waveform and vectorscope monitoring and a false shade show for guide focus.

To check the digital camera’s options and video high quality, I shot a brief movie in a mixture of indoor low mild, out of doors daytime and a combination between the 2. I additionally shot handheld (together with working with it) to check the stabilization. I primarily captured in R3D RAW, in addition to Nikon’s N-RAW on the native 800 and 6,400 ISOs to maximise dynamic vary. (You’ll be able to take 24MP pictures with this digital camera, however I’m specializing in video because it’s primarily designed for that.)

With a view to not see a flat log profile when taking pictures, you’ll want to use a look-up desk (LUT) designed for RED cameras, like “Achromic,” “Bleach” or “Caustic.” These are just for in-camera previews and never baked into the video, however you possibly can apply these LUTs later in Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve to get the identical look.

With such a excessive native ISO, I used to be in a position to shoot inside with a single studio mild. Video high quality was excellent with little noise in shadow areas, even after boosting black ranges in submit. In the meantime, the RED R3D codec and Log3G10 gave me additional latitude to disclose shadow element and dial down highlights after I shot the topic in opposition to a vibrant window.

While you use the R3D codec, publicity is strictly guide with no means to set auto shutter velocity (shutter angle) or f-stop. So, for a scene with various mild, I used Nikon’s N-RAW to see if it could give me the proper publicity initially and finish of the scene. It did a very good job, with no noticeable jumps throughout the shot.

Video in daylight at ISO 800 was additionally sharp with correct colours after downscaling to 4K from 6K in DaVinci Resolve. ISO 800 is a comparatively excessive native setting, although, and the ZR doesn’t have a built-in ND filter to cut back publicity. Which means you’ll want to purchase ND filters for out of doors taking pictures or the excessive shutter speeds will lead to uneven video.

Cinema cameras from Blackmagic Design, Arri or RED are manual-focus solely. However the ZR is a Nikon digital camera, and it has the perfect AF system I’ve seen on any of the corporate’s fashions, constantly nailing focus even with transferring topics. You can too robotically monitor automobiles, birds and different animals. On the identical time, the ZR handles guide focus nicely. That’s because of a built-in show that’s sufficiently big to verify focus precisely and Nikon’s focus peaking setting with three ranges of sensitivity.

In-body stabilization on the ZR wasn’t as much as par with Panasonic’s S1 II, nonetheless. Video was clean for handheld taking pictures if I panned the digital camera gently, however all my working and strolling photographs confirmed noticeable digital camera shake. That mentioned, the ZR at the very least has in-body stabilization, in contrast to most cinema cameras, and most filmmakers will use a gimbal for working photographs, no matter which digital camera they use. (Notice that the rattling you hear when the ZR is turned off is the sensor, which floats by design.)

Lastly, I used to be in a position to seize good audio high quality through an exterior microphone with none clipping worries because of the Nikon ZR’s 32-bit float inside audio seize. The corporate additionally touts directional seize utilizing its built-in mics, however as with all such system, audio high quality isn’t excessive sufficient for manufacturing use.

Wrap-up

With the ZR, Nikon has proven that it’s lastly catching as much as and even surpassing its rivals for content material creation. Whether or not you’re doing social media, YouTube, documentaries and even movie manufacturing, this digital camera is flexible and highly effective with few compromises. Video high quality and ease of use even beats fashions which are double or triple the value.

The ZR’s main competitors is within the low-end cinema cameras, significantly Sony’s $2,998 FX2 and the $3,899 Canon R5C. Whereas dearer, each include an digital viewfinder that the ZR lacks, and the R5C can shoot as much as 8K video. An alternative choice is Blackmagic Design’s Pyxis 6K digital camera, however it solely provides fundamental autofocus capabilities and lacks in-body stabilization.

In comparison with these choices, Nikon’s ZR delivers higher dynamic vary because of the inclusion of RED’s R3D RAW codec. It additionally comes with a wonderful autofocus system and respectable in-body stabilization. If you happen to’re a creator trying to get the perfect video high quality for the cash with out shedding these niceties, I’d extremely advocate the ZR.