A extremely succesful cinema digital camera at an inexpensive worth

Video was once an afterthought for Nikon, however because the firm bought RED final yr, content material creators at the moment are 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 towards devoted cinema cameras for a fraction of the worth.

It’s the primary shopper digital camera to seize video utilizing RED’s 12-bit RAW format, however not like 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 inner audio recording. After taking pictures a brief movie that examined its capabilities, I can affirm that the Nikon ZR gives unbelievable video high quality at this worth.

Physique and dealing with

Whereas a bit lighter than Nikon’s Z6 III, the 1.19-pound (540-gram) ZR feels stable. 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. Nonetheless, not like 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, but it surely 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 manage 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 properly, so additional handbook management is obtainable.

The menu button is uncommon: you press as soon as for the fast menu and maintain to see the total menu. Given the massive variety of settings, I’d advise anybody shopping for this digital camera to study 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 dearth of a second CFexpress slot or quick SD card slot for backup isn’t superb 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, fill up on batteries.

Video

The Nikon ZR has the biggest collection 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 may possibly 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 outside 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 coloration show for handbook focus.

To check the digital camera’s options and video high quality, I shot a brief movie in a mixture of indoor low mild, outside daytime and a combination between the 2. I additionally shot handheld (together with operating 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 possibly can take 24MP pictures with this digital camera, however I’m specializing in video because it’s primarily designed for that.)

In an effort 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’ll be able to 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 capable of 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 once I shot the topic towards a vibrant window.

While you use the R3D codec, publicity is strictly handbook 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 might give me the proper publicity at the start and finish of the scene. It did an excellent 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 scale back publicity. Meaning you’ll want to purchase ND filters for out of doors taking pictures or the excessive shutter speeds will end in 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 shifting topics. You too can mechanically monitor autos, birds and different animals. On the identical time, the ZR handles handbook focus properly. That’s because of a built-in show that’s sufficiently big to test 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 operating and strolling pictures confirmed noticeable digital camera shake. That mentioned, the ZR at the very least has in-body stabilization, not like most cinema cameras, and most filmmakers will use a gimbal for operating pictures, no matter which digital camera they use. (Word that the rattling you hear when the ZR is turned off is the sensor, which floats by design.)

Lastly, I used to be capable of seize good audio high quality through an exterior microphone with none clipping worries because of the Nikon ZR’s 32-bit float inner audio seize. The corporate additionally touts directional seize utilizing its built-in mics, however as with every 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 might be double or triple the worth.

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 costlier, each include an digital viewfinder that the ZR lacks, and the R5C can shoot as much as 8K video. Another choice is Blackmagic Design’s Pyxis 6K digital camera, but it surely solely gives 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. For those who’re a creator trying to get the perfect video high quality for the cash with out dropping these niceties, I’d extremely suggest the ZR.