Z50 II Reviews - dramatic overall performance increase?

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Ricci's longer 24 minute YouTube https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4783014?page=2

Thanks - I'm curious to see how the AF really works for moving objects such as BIF - not a Z8/Z9, but curious to see how accurate and effective 'Bird' mode is on this little guy.

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

The Expeed7 platform is where the big increase in performance is otherwise it's the same sensor. The AF looks awesome in it and quite surprisingly includes dedicated Bird mode! This is what's going to make this camera great. Would have been nice if it were 24mp though.

For video they did manage to get 4k/60 out of it albeit with a 1.5x crop so that's cool. The Mic + Headphone jack and tally light are also excellent to have.

The major thing is 10bit Nlog internal recording + flippy screen. This will be huge for those wanting to do video. Same sensor means readout speed and rolling shutter are still the same which are notable.

Overall it's a much more capable body for being entry level.

Lack of IBIS seems normal a this price point.

Has viewfinder blackout been reduced at the higher frame rates?

Kenny08 said:

Thanks - I'm curious to see how the AF really works for moving objects such as BIF - not a Z8/Z9, but curious to see how accurate and effective 'Bird' mode is on this little guy.

Click to expand...

In Ricci's video - he has had a pre final production camera for almost 2 months - he has included some BIF shots.

On the one hand it is not a Z9 and on the other hand it is about 20% of a UK Z9 body street price.

Ricci makes the point the mechanical shutter is best used for BIF and other action photography as the electronic shutter is often not fast enough to avoid a distinct rolling shutter effect for action photography.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is similar to learning to play a piano - it takes practice to develop skill in either activity.

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

I'll look through it but based on what I'm not seeing, it kind of looks like it may be a fail on Nkon's part. No IBIS, no second card slot and more or less a tweaked Z50 with a new processor. If all you're after is video and faster AF, this will work, but if they wanted to make something for a "pro" I think it needed at least the dual card slots and maybe IBIS.

The sad part is I think that this is probably (at best) the same as an R7 is today, but Canon will likely release an R7 Mark II next year that will again, put them ahead in terms of APSC (ahead of Nikon).

A lot of people were hoping for at least an Expeed 7 and IBIS but it seems Nikon has let them down on at least one of those, granted most long lenses have VR anyway, but for the shorter lenses, it will still be a struggle or if someone uses FX lenses like the 24-120 or 24-70 on their Z DX body.

I mean in the end, they did what they did with the Zf: Take a Z6 II and add a new processor and called it a day so good update for AF, but incremental for everything else. However, and not to toot my own horn, this is what I figured they would do for an updated Z APSC body from the start... upgrade the processor and maybe the body and call it a day, although I had though maybe they'd use the Z5 body and include IBIS but this is pretty much what I had predicted.

--
PLEASE NOTE: I usually unsubscribe from forums and comments after a period of time, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. Feel free to PM me if you have a questions or need clarification about a comment I made.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

I'll look through it but based on what I'm not seeing, it kind of looks like it may be a fail on Nkon's part. No IBIS, no second card slot and more or less a tweaked Z50 with a new processor. If all you're after is video and faster AF, this will work, but if they wanted to make something for a "pro" I think it needed at least the dual card slots and maybe IBIS.

The sad part is I think that this is probably (at best) the same as an R7 is today, but Canon will likely release an R7 Mark II next year that will again, put them ahead in terms of APSC (ahead of Nikon).

A lot of people were hoping for at least an Expeed 7 and IBIS but it seems Nikon has let them down on at least one of those, granted most long lenses have VR anyway, but for the shorter lenses, it will still be a struggle or if someone uses FX lenses like the 24-120 or 24-70 on their Z DX body.

I mean in the end, they did what they did with the Zf: Take a Z6 II and add a new processor and called it a day so good update for AF, but incremental for everything else. However, and not to toot my own horn, this is what I figured they would do for an updated Z APSC body from the start... upgrade the processor and maybe the body and call it a day, although I had though maybe they'd use the Z5 body and include IBIS but this is pretty much what I had predicted.

Click to expand...

Wrong market. Yes, I was hoping for an R7 rival too (which would be a near-D500 successor), but it's listed well below the R7's MSRP of $1500. I have no idea what market exists for a $1500 DX Z (why didn't Nikon just call it DZ?) body when there are other FF bodies there and lower. I don't think Nikon wants to find out, either.

This is aimed at the R10 (no IBIS there either) and the a6400 (nope, no IBIS). https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-r10-in-depth-review

I find it underwhelming using that same ancient sensor. But the Expeed 7 and UHS-II means it's not a bad camera. Just underwhelming vs what I'd want. Particularly with the numerous Viltrox primes that make DZ so appealing to me, but all lack VR. However, I'm going to give Nikon the benefit to the doubt and realize that it's competitive for its market.

Just ignore the Fuji X-S10, but then the Fuji's AF is poor to bad compared to Expeed 7 anyway.

--
"Our young men should spend more time considering the composition and merit of their images, and less time with magnifying glasses counting how many bricks and shingles they can resolve." - from a Paris newspaper article on Daguerrotype photography, from 1841. (and https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/05/1839-and-the-frenzy-that-followed)

FuhTeng said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

I'll look through it but based on what I'm not seeing, it kind of looks like it may be a fail on Nkon's part. No IBIS, no second card slot and more or less a tweaked Z50 with a new processor. If all you're after is video and faster AF, this will work, but if they wanted to make something for a "pro" I think it needed at least the dual card slots and maybe IBIS.

The sad part is I think that this is probably (at best) the same as an R7 is today, but Canon will likely release an R7 Mark II next year that will again, put them ahead in terms of APSC (ahead of Nikon).

A lot of people were hoping for at least an Expeed 7 and IBIS but it seems Nikon has let them down on at least one of those, granted most long lenses have VR anyway, but for the shorter lenses, it will still be a struggle or if someone uses FX lenses like the 24-120 or 24-70 on their Z DX body.

I mean in the end, they did what they did with the Zf: Take a Z6 II and add a new processor and called it a day so good update for AF, but incremental for everything else. However, and not to toot my own horn, this is what I figured they would do for an updated Z APSC body from the start... upgrade the processor and maybe the body and call it a day, although I had though maybe they'd use the Z5 body and include IBIS but this is pretty much what I had predicted.

Click to expand...

Wrong market. Yes, I was hoping for an R7 rival too (which would be a near-D500 successor), but it's listed well below the R7's MSRP of $1500. I have no idea what market exists for a $1500 DX Z (why didn't Nikon just call it DZ?) body when there are other FF bodies there and lower. I don't think Nikon wants to find out, either.

This is aimed at the R10 (no IBIS there either) and the a6400 (nope, no IBIS). https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-r10-in-depth-review

I find it underwhelming using that same ancient sensor. But the Expeed 7 and UHS-II means it's not a bad camera. Just underwhelming vs what I'd want. Particularly with the numerous Viltrox primes that make DZ so appealing to me, but all lack VR. However, I'm going to give Nikon the benefit to the doubt and realize that it's competitive for its market.

Just ignore the Fuji X-S10, but then the Fuji's AF is poor to bad compared to Expeed 7 anyway.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying it's a bad camera, it's just kind of a let down I think. People were expecting an R7-level / A6700 level camera but Nkon omitted a few things.

I mean it's still possible a "Z80" is coming at some point but this is probably Nikon's message to tell people the DX line isn't dead (yet) and perhaps to buy them more time to carefully develop something more substantial for DX. This kind of looks like a bit of a "filler" if you will more than a major release (kind of how the Zf was a bit of a filler for the Z6 III which bought Nikon another 9 months of time to get a Z6 III done, although the Zf was also meant to cater to the retro market too, so it took care of two issues at once).

--
PLEASE NOTE: I usually unsubscribe from forums and comments after a period of time, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. Feel free to PM me if you have a questions or need clarification about a comment I made.

looking at the price point this camera is not aimed at a “pro” of any kind. It is a more capable camera than the one it replaces and should do ok to good on the market.
It will be a wonderful camera for the moms and dads with young kids who are on a budget. I don’t do video enough to guess how it will be received by vloggers though. Finally for a lot of folks that see the Z50 as a second camera it is a good upgrade.
I wish Nikon would have followed the same basic path with a Z7iii.
I do believe that there is a place in for a more capable DX camera. One with a body comparable to the D100/200/300/500, ibis, ENEL15 battery and Z8 level features. But it looks like Nikon doesn’t see the business case for such a camera. Note such a camera would require a more modern sensor with much the ability to move data much faster.

Very pleased to see that the major shortcomings that put me off buying the Z50, namely the stupid flip-down screen and the lack of i-TTL flash control, seem to have been addressed. This is excellent. Plus it appears that it may have better low light capability. Another bonus. 20.9Mp is fine; less is more for high ISO use.

I probably going to buy one; the Zfc I had was an excellent little travel camera, together with the 12-28mm zoom and the 24mm f1.7. Where it fell down was ergonomics, and in spite of having the better articulated screen, it lacked an ISO button (I need to switch quickly between auto and manual ISO selection), and the retro style controls were gimmicky imo. If the Z50ii improves on the already surprisingly good low light capability then that's fantastic. AF performance improvement will also be another bonus.

One thing I'm not bothered about is the Picture Control button; I don't use such gimmicks, so I'm hoping that can be remapped to something more useful.

But overall, Nikon seemed to have created a winner here.

Hal Wilson said:

Very pleased to see that the major shortcomings that put me off buying the Z50, namely the stupid flip-down screen and the lack of i-TTL flash control, seem to have been addressed. This is excellent. Plus it appears that it may have better low light capability. Another bonus. 20.9Mp is fine; less is more for high ISO use.

I probably going to buy one; the Zfc I had was an excellent little travel camera, together with the 12-28mm zoom and the 24mm f1.7. Where it fell down was ergonomics, and in spite of having the better articulated screen, it lacked an ISO button (I need to switch quickly between auto and manual ISO selection), and the retro style controls were gimmicky imo. If the Z50ii improves on the already surprisingly good low light capability then that's fantastic. AF performance improvement will also be another bonus.

One thing I'm not bothered about is the Picture Control button; I don't use such gimmicks, so I'm hoping that can be remapped to something more useful.

But overall, Nikon seemed to have created a winner here.

Click to expand...

Yeah I mean this one is not a bad camera by any means, and I had toyed with the idea of getting a Z50 or Zfc as a backup/small travel camera too. But I think I'll personally wait for the Z50 (gen 1) to drop in price as I don't really need the faster AF and other features of this new one, even though it's only slightly more than a new Z50 currently. But I also have the other two cameras as my primary kit, any DX camera would just be an extra camera for casual use.

For beginners buying their first camera, yes the Z50 II makes the most sense, I 'm just feeling that it has omitted some things that even the $1200 cameras like the a6700 have. I'm sure that if NIkon included IBIS it would have been a $1200 camera and maybe that's why they omitted it -- to keep the price down. The battery life though is really kind of an eye catcher when you compare it to the others (250/230) is low, but then again, even the Z8 was reated at only 370 but you can get well over that in cases of high-speed burst shooting so the CIPA ratings are not the bible, but it does mean that people will probably need to buy at least one spare battery which is a minor inconvenience.

sirhawkeye64 said:

FuhTeng said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

I'll look through it but based on what I'm not seeing, it kind of looks like it may be a fail on Nkon's part. No IBIS, no second card slot and more or less a tweaked Z50 with a new processor. If all you're after is video and faster AF, this will work, but if they wanted to make something for a "pro" I think it needed at least the dual card slots and maybe IBIS.

The sad part is I think that this is probably (at best) the same as an R7 is today, but Canon will likely release an R7 Mark II next year that will again, put them ahead in terms of APSC (ahead of Nikon).

A lot of people were hoping for at least an Expeed 7 and IBIS but it seems Nikon has let them down on at least one of those, granted most long lenses have VR anyway, but for the shorter lenses, it will still be a struggle or if someone uses FX lenses like the 24-120 or 24-70 on their Z DX body.

I mean in the end, they did what they did with the Zf: Take a Z6 II and add a new processor and called it a day so good update for AF, but incremental for everything else. However, and not to toot my own horn, this is what I figured they would do for an updated Z APSC body from the start... upgrade the processor and maybe the body and call it a day, although I had though maybe they'd use the Z5 body and include IBIS but this is pretty much what I had predicted.

Click to expand...

Wrong market. Yes, I was hoping for an R7 rival too (which would be a near-D500 successor), but it's listed well below the R7's MSRP of $1500. I have no idea what market exists for a $1500 DX Z (why didn't Nikon just call it DZ?) body when there are other FF bodies there and lower. I don't think Nikon wants to find out, either.

This is aimed at the R10 (no IBIS there either) and the a6400 (nope, no IBIS). https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-r10-in-depth-review

I find it underwhelming using that same ancient sensor. But the Expeed 7 and UHS-II means it's not a bad camera. Just underwhelming vs what I'd want. Particularly with the numerous Viltrox primes that make DZ so appealing to me, but all lack VR. However, I'm going to give Nikon the benefit to the doubt and realize that it's competitive for its market.

Just ignore the Fuji X-S10, but then the Fuji's AF is poor to bad compared to Expeed 7 anyway.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying it's a bad camera, it's just kind of a let down I think. People were expecting an R7-level / A6700 level camera but Nkon omitted a few things.

I mean it's still possible a "Z80" is coming at some point but this is probably Nikon's message to tell people the DX line isn't dead (yet) and perhaps to buy them more time to carefully develop something more substantial for DX. This kind of looks like a bit of a "filler" if you will more than a major release (kind of how the Zf was a bit of a filler for the Z6 III which bought Nikon another 9 months of time to get a Z6 III done, although the Zf was also meant to cater to the retro market too, so it took care of two issues at once).

Click to expand...

Some people wanted what you want. Others just wanted a smaller form-factor body with better AF, which might rule out IBIS. Two different things, obviously. I never had IBIS in the D7200. The only time I might have liked it was to overcome the VR shortcomings of the 300PF, which might still be an issue with this Z50II

labalaba said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

FuhTeng said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

I'll look through it but based on what I'm not seeing, it kind of looks like it may be a fail on Nkon's part. No IBIS, no second card slot and more or less a tweaked Z50 with a new processor. If all you're after is video and faster AF, this will work, but if they wanted to make something for a "pro" I think it needed at least the dual card slots and maybe IBIS.

The sad part is I think that this is probably (at best) the same as an R7 is today, but Canon will likely release an R7 Mark II next year that will again, put them ahead in terms of APSC (ahead of Nikon).

A lot of people were hoping for at least an Expeed 7 and IBIS but it seems Nikon has let them down on at least one of those, granted most long lenses have VR anyway, but for the shorter lenses, it will still be a struggle or if someone uses FX lenses like the 24-120 or 24-70 on their Z DX body.

I mean in the end, they did what they did with the Zf: Take a Z6 II and add a new processor and called it a day so good update for AF, but incremental for everything else. However, and not to toot my own horn, this is what I figured they would do for an updated Z APSC body from the start... upgrade the processor and maybe the body and call it a day, although I had though maybe they'd use the Z5 body and include IBIS but this is pretty much what I had predicted.

Click to expand...

Wrong market. Yes, I was hoping for an R7 rival too (which would be a near-D500 successor), but it's listed well below the R7's MSRP of $1500. I have no idea what market exists for a $1500 DX Z (why didn't Nikon just call it DZ?) body when there are other FF bodies there and lower. I don't think Nikon wants to find out, either.

This is aimed at the R10 (no IBIS there either) and the a6400 (nope, no IBIS). https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-r10-in-depth-review

I find it underwhelming using that same ancient sensor. But the Expeed 7 and UHS-II means it's not a bad camera. Just underwhelming vs what I'd want. Particularly with the numerous Viltrox primes that make DZ so appealing to me, but all lack VR. However, I'm going to give Nikon the benefit to the doubt and realize that it's competitive for its market.

Just ignore the Fuji X-S10, but then the Fuji's AF is poor to bad compared to Expeed 7 anyway.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying it's a bad camera, it's just kind of a let down I think. People were expecting an R7-level / A6700 level camera but Nkon omitted a few things.

I mean it's still possible a "Z80" is coming at some point but this is probably Nikon's message to tell people the DX line isn't dead (yet) and perhaps to buy them more time to carefully develop something more substantial for DX. This kind of looks like a bit of a "filler" if you will more than a major release (kind of how the Zf was a bit of a filler for the Z6 III which bought Nikon another 9 months of time to get a Z6 III done, although the Zf was also meant to cater to the retro market too, so it took care of two issues at once).

Click to expand...

Some people wanted what you want. Others just wanted a smaller form-factor body with better AF, which might rule out IBIS. Two different things, obviously. I never had IBIS in the D7200. The only time I might have liked it was to overcome the VR shortcomings of the 300PF, which might still be an issue with this Z50II

Click to expand...

Yes it was a give and take I guess. But I think many (myself included) were using the a6600/6700 series and R7 series as examples of what Nikon really needed to do. But then again, the z50 II camera doesn't fall within the same price point so it's clearly not competing in those categories (high-end DX). But I would say a good number of people were hoping for a bit more too like a D500 replacement, and this might tick off many of the boxes for that, but it also omits a few. But then again, there is the price thing too. The D500 was about $2k+ when it was released. This is ~$900.

I'm just saying that probably half of the people are a bit disappointed in Nikon now.

--
PLEASE NOTE: I usually unsubscribe from forums and comments after a period of time, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. Feel free to PM me if you have a questions or need clarification about a comment I made.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Hal Wilson said:

Very pleased to see that the major shortcomings that put me off buying the Z50, namely the stupid flip-down screen and the lack of i-TTL flash control, seem to have been addressed. This is excellent. Plus it appears that it may have better low light capability. Another bonus. 20.9Mp is fine; less is more for high ISO use.

I probably going to buy one; the Zfc I had was an excellent little travel camera, together with the 12-28mm zoom and the 24mm f1.7. Where it fell down was ergonomics, and in spite of having the better articulated screen, it lacked an ISO button (I need to switch quickly between auto and manual ISO selection), and the retro style controls were gimmicky imo. If the Z50ii improves on the already surprisingly good low light capability then that's fantastic. AF performance improvement will also be another bonus.

One thing I'm not bothered about is the Picture Control button; I don't use such gimmicks, so I'm hoping that can be remapped to something more useful.

But overall, Nikon seemed to have created a winner here.

Click to expand...

Yeah I mean this one is not a bad camera by any means, and I had toyed with the idea of getting a Z50 or Zfc as a backup/small travel camera too. But I think I'll personally wait for the Z50 (gen 1) to drop in price as I don't really need the faster AF and other features of this new one, even though it's only slightly more than a new Z50 currently. But I also have the other two cameras as my primary kit, any DX camera would just be an extra camera for casual use.

For beginners buying their first camera, yes the Z50 II makes the most sense, I 'm just feeling that it has omitted some things that even the $1200 cameras like the a6700 have. I'm sure that if NIkon included IBIS it would have been a $1200 camera and maybe that's why they omitted it -- to keep the price down. The battery life though is really kind of an eye catcher when you compare it to the others (250/230) is low, but then again, even the Z8 was reated at only 370 but you can get well over that in cases of high-speed burst shooting so the CIPA ratings are not the bible, but it does mean that people will probably need to buy at least one spare battery which is a minor inconvenience.

Click to expand...

One spare battery is not much inconvenience. If, on the other hand, you are expected a week of intense shooting off the grid, you need 20 batteries instead of 10. That starts to be an issue.

sirhawkeye64 said:

labalaba said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

FuhTeng said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Leonard Shepherd said:

My aim in this thread is to start a source of information on the specs - and perhaps more important to see what it can do that has not been done before.

For starters this 7.5 minute video

clarifies a very significant upgrade from the original body.

At £850 in the UK for the body with a free camera bag and the 2 DX lenses with in lens VR at decent package prices I anticipate it is going to stir up the content creators and lower price market - and that it will attract many new photographers to the Nikon system.

Click to expand...

I'll look through it but based on what I'm not seeing, it kind of looks like it may be a fail on Nkon's part. No IBIS, no second card slot and more or less a tweaked Z50 with a new processor. If all you're after is video and faster AF, this will work, but if they wanted to make something for a "pro" I think it needed at least the dual card slots and maybe IBIS.

The sad part is I think that this is probably (at best) the same as an R7 is today, but Canon will likely release an R7 Mark II next year that will again, put them ahead in terms of APSC (ahead of Nikon).

A lot of people were hoping for at least an Expeed 7 and IBIS but it seems Nikon has let them down on at least one of those, granted most long lenses have VR anyway, but for the shorter lenses, it will still be a struggle or if someone uses FX lenses like the 24-120 or 24-70 on their Z DX body.

I mean in the end, they did what they did with the Zf: Take a Z6 II and add a new processor and called it a day so good update for AF, but incremental for everything else. However, and not to toot my own horn, this is what I figured they would do for an updated Z APSC body from the start... upgrade the processor and maybe the body and call it a day, although I had though maybe they'd use the Z5 body and include IBIS but this is pretty much what I had predicted.

Click to expand...

Wrong market. Yes, I was hoping for an R7 rival too (which would be a near-D500 successor), but it's listed well below the R7's MSRP of $1500. I have no idea what market exists for a $1500 DX Z (why didn't Nikon just call it DZ?) body when there are other FF bodies there and lower. I don't think Nikon wants to find out, either.

This is aimed at the R10 (no IBIS there either) and the a6400 (nope, no IBIS). https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-r10-in-depth-review

I find it underwhelming using that same ancient sensor. But the Expeed 7 and UHS-II means it's not a bad camera. Just underwhelming vs what I'd want. Particularly with the numerous Viltrox primes that make DZ so appealing to me, but all lack VR. However, I'm going to give Nikon the benefit to the doubt and realize that it's competitive for its market.

Just ignore the Fuji X-S10, but then the Fuji's AF is poor to bad compared to Expeed 7 anyway.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying it's a bad camera, it's just kind of a let down I think. People were expecting an R7-level / A6700 level camera but Nkon omitted a few things.

I mean it's still possible a "Z80" is coming at some point but this is probably Nikon's message to tell people the DX line isn't dead (yet) and perhaps to buy them more time to carefully develop something more substantial for DX. This kind of looks like a bit of a "filler" if you will more than a major release (kind of how the Zf was a bit of a filler for the Z6 III which bought Nikon another 9 months of time to get a Z6 III done, although the Zf was also meant to cater to the retro market too, so it took care of two issues at once).

Click to expand...

Some people wanted what you want. Others just wanted a smaller form-factor body with better AF, which might rule out IBIS. Two different things, obviously. I never had IBIS in the D7200. The only time I might have liked it was to overcome the VR shortcomings of the 300PF, which might still be an issue with this Z50II

Click to expand...

Yes it was a give and take I guess. But I think many (myself included) were using the a6600/6700 series and R7 series as examples of what Nikon really needed to do. But then again, the z50 II camera doesn't fall within the same price point so it's clearly not competing in those categories (high-end DX). But I would say a good number of people were hoping for a bit more too like a D500 replacement, and this might tick off many of the boxes for that, but it also omits a few. But then again, there is the price thing too. The D500 was about $2k+ when it was released. This is ~$900.

I'm just saying that probably half of the people are a bit disappointed in Nikon now.

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The D500 also was not much smaller than the D850.

sirhawkeye64 said:

it's just kind of a let down I think. People were expecting an R7-level / A6700 level camera but Nkon omitted a few things.

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Which people were expecting a higher spec DX "pro" camera at possible double this launch price?

I agree there is some demand for a D500 near pro body - and this camera does not fit this bill.

What it does seem to do to a good standard is meet the demands of the mainly age under 30 vlogging segment of the market. This is an expanding market - whereas the "started with film" market is shrinking as many in this age group either get too old to carry heavier cameras or even cease to live.

Back to no IBIS - for video there is electronic VR which on several recent Z bodies I find works well.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is similar to learning to play a piano - it takes practice to develop skill in either activity.

labalaba said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Hal Wilson said:

Very pleased to see that the major shortcomings that put me off buying the Z50, namely the stupid flip-down screen and the lack of i-TTL flash control, seem to have been addressed. This is excellent. Plus it appears that it may have better low light capability. Another bonus. 20.9Mp is fine; less is more for high ISO use.

I probably going to buy one; the Zfc I had was an excellent little travel camera, together with the 12-28mm zoom and the 24mm f1.7. Where it fell down was ergonomics, and in spite of having the better articulated screen, it lacked an ISO button (I need to switch quickly between auto and manual ISO selection), and the retro style controls were gimmicky imo. If the Z50ii improves on the already surprisingly good low light capability then that's fantastic. AF performance improvement will also be another bonus.

One thing I'm not bothered about is the Picture Control button; I don't use such gimmicks, so I'm hoping that can be remapped to something more useful.

But overall, Nikon seemed to have created a winner here.

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Yeah I mean this one is not a bad camera by any means, and I had toyed with the idea of getting a Z50 or Zfc as a backup/small travel camera too. But I think I'll personally wait for the Z50 (gen 1) to drop in price as I don't really need the faster AF and other features of this new one, even though it's only slightly more than a new Z50 currently. But I also have the other two cameras as my primary kit, any DX camera would just be an extra camera for casual use.

For beginners buying their first camera, yes the Z50 II makes the most sense, I 'm just feeling that it has omitted some things that even the $1200 cameras like the a6700 have. I'm sure that if NIkon included IBIS it would have been a $1200 camera and maybe that's why they omitted it -- to keep the price down. The battery life though is really kind of an eye catcher when you compare it to the others (250/230) is low, but then again, even the Z8 was reated at only 370 but you can get well over that in cases of high-speed burst shooting so the CIPA ratings are not the bible, but it does mean that people will probably need to buy at least one spare battery which is a minor inconvenience.

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One spare battery is not much inconvenience. If, on the other hand, you are expected a week of intense shooting off the grid, you need 20 batteries instead of 10. That starts to be an issue.

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Yeah one or two is not a huge deal. I was more focusing on the decreased battery life though as 250 shots is considered quite low regardless of the camera or battery, and everyone criticized the Z6/Z7's for their poor battery life with the 15B/C batteries.

Leonard Shepherd said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

it's just kind of a let down I think. People were expecting an R7-level / A6700 level camera but Nkon omitted a few things.

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Which people were expecting a higher spec DX "pro" camera at possible double this launch price?

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At this price point, I don't think people would have had high expectations to be honest, but then again, we didn't have any clue as to a price point to begin with. Many I think assumed a higher-priced body like $1200 or so. but also more features. For $900 it does fit that price point though, but again, we didn't know that until today.

Leonard Shepherd said:

I agree there is some demand for a D500 near pro body - and this camera does not fit this bill.

What it does seem to do to a good standard is meet the demands of the mainly age under 30 vlogging segment of the market. This is an expanding market - whereas the "started with film" market is shrinking as many in this age group either get too old to carry heavier cameras or even cease to live.

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Moosenice said:

Has viewfinder blackout been reduced at the higher frame rates?

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Since it's the same sensor as in the Z50, and blackout is related to sensor readout speed, I'd be very surprised if it has been improved. This is still an entry level tool with Nikon's current (and excellent AF), but it's not a sports/action camera like the Z6, 8, or 9.