Nikon steps into full frame mirrorless with new Z6 and Z7 cameras

Comments Comments

After teaser videos, more teaser videos, and finally a leak yesterday that revealed the new products almost in their entirety, Nikon have announced their new full frame mirrorless Z6 and Z7 cameras.

Respectively the two cameras offer 24.5MP and 45MP full frame sensors, a new Z-mount compatible with three newly announced 'S' line lenses, compact weather sealed bodies, 5-axis in-body image stabilisation, 11 and 9fps, 4K video, 2.1m touchscreens, 3.6 million dot EVFs, and hybrid PDAF.

However in news that may be disappointing to some users, both cameras only feature one XQD memory card slot.

Nikon Z6

The Nikon Z6 features a 24.5MP sensor and offers a faster 11fps drive speed compared to the 9fps Z7. However the AF system offers less focus points, 273, than the 493 in the Z7.

The Z6 shoots the same 4K video at 30fps with an N-LOG profile (4: 2: 2 10-bit HDMI output) as the Z7, but it loses out on the 8K timelapse feature included in the Z7. Other specs appear similar to the Z7, WiFi, bluetooth, the same EN-EL15b battery and a weather sealed body.

It will be available at the end of November for 270,000Y, $3,300AUD, although local pricing has not been confirmed.

Z6 Specs 
  • 24.5MP
  • 273 AF points
  • 11 fps
  • EVF: 3.6M QVGA
  • 2.1M touchscreen
  • 5-axis stabilization
  • Hybrid PDAF
  • FullHD 120p, 4K UHD 30p Video, N-LOG profile (4: 2: 2 10-bit HDMI output), focus peaking, Zebra
  • EN-EL15b battery
  • Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
  • Weather sealed body

Nikon Z7 

The flagship Nikon Z7 shares much of the same features as the Z6, but gets a higher megapixel 45.7MP sensor and 493 point AF system. It's also slightly slower, offering a 9fps maximum drive speed. Other specifications, including the IBIS, touchscreen, battery, bluetooth, WiFi and weather sealed body are the same as the Z6. 

Z7 Specs
  • 9 fps
  • EVF: 3.6M QVGA
  • 2.1M touchscreen
  • 5-axis stabilization
  • Hybrid PDAF
  • FullHD 120p, 4K UHD 30p Video, 8K time lapse, N-LOG profile (4: 2: 2 10-bit HDMI output), focus peaking, Zebra
  • EN-EL15b battery
  • Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
  • Weather sealed body

The Nikon Z7 will be available from the end of September for 444,000Y ($5,500AUD), although local pricing has not been confirmed.

The lenses

Three 'Z-mount' lenses will be available initially: a 35mm F1.8, a 50mm F1.8 and a 24-70mm F4. Nikon has also announced it is developing a 58mm F0.95 'Noct' lens and also announced the AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR today which will be able to be used with the FTZ adapter.

Nikon has also published a roadmap to show how it plans to expand the system. A battery grip will also be available at some point in the future too, but a release date hasn't yet been set.

Where do they fit?

The most obvious rivals of the new Nikon Z6 and Z7 are Sony's full frame A7 III and A7R III. You can see a table of the comparable specs below.

Specs: Nikon Z6 vs Sony a7 III
 

Nikon Z6

Sony a7 III

Camera Format Mirrorless Mirrorless
Effective megapixels 24.5MP 24.2MP
Image Resolution 6048 x 4024 6000 x 4000
Sensor Size Full-frame Full-frame
Sensor Dimensions 35.9 x 23.9mm 35.6mm x 23.8mm
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Aspect Ratio 3:2 3:2
Lens Mount Z-mount E-Mount
Anti Aliasing Filter Not specified Yes
Rear monitor type Articulating touchscreen Articulating touchscreen
Rear monitor size 3.2in 3in
Rear monitor resolution 2,100,000 dots 921,600 dots
Top deck display Yes No
EVF size 0.5in 0.5in
EVF Resolution (dots) 3,690,000 dots 2,359,296 dots
Viewfinder Magnification 0.8x 0.78x
ISO (native) 100-51,200 100-51,200
ISO (extended) 50-204,800 50-204,800
Shutter Speed Max 1/8000s 1/8000s
Shutter Speed Min 30s 30s
Image Format RAW (14bit), JPEG RAW (14bit), JPEG
Stabilisation 5-axis 5-axis
Exp Compensation -5 to +5EV -5 to +5EV

AUTOFOCUS

   
AF Face Detection Yes Yes
AF Live View Yes Yes
Focus Points - Total 273 AF points 693 AF points
Focus point coverage Not specified 93%

CONTINUOUS SHOOTING

   
RAW burst FPS speed 9fps 10fps
RAW buffer size Not specified 40 Images
JPEG burst FPS speed 12fps 10 FPS
JPEG buffer size Not specified 163 Images

VIDEO

   
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD)
Color Depth 10-bit (HDMI) 8-bit (internal) 8-bit
Max Bitrate (MBps) 100Mbps 100 MBps
Video Codecs MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4; H.264
Video Formats MOV, MP4 XAVC S, AVCHD, MP4
Log N-Log S-Log
Tools - Focus Peaking Yes Yes
Tools - Zebra Yes Yes
Max FPS - UHD 2160p 30fps 30fps
Max FPS - FHD 1080p 120fps 120fps

BODY

   
Card slots 1 2
Weather Sealing Yes Yes
Dimensions 5.3 x 4 x 2.7 in 5.0 x 3.8 x 2.9 in.
Weight 675 g 650 g

LENSES

   
Native lenses 3 25

PRICE

Australian pricing not announced A$3099

 

Specs: Nikon Z7 vs Sony a7R III
 

Nikon Z7

Sony a7R III

Camera Format Mirrorless Mirrorless
Effective megapixels 45.7MP 42.4 MP
Image Resolution 8256 x 5504 7952 x 5304
Sensor Size Full-frame Full-frame
Sensor Dimensions 35.9 x 23.9mm 35.9mm x 24.0mm
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Aspect Ratio 3:2 3:2
Lens Mount Z-mount E-Mount
Anti Aliasing Filter Not specified No
Rear monitor type Articulating touchscreen Articulating touchscreen
Rear monitor size 3.2in 3in
Rear monitor resolution 2,100,000 1,440,000 dots
Top deck display Yes No
EVF size 0.5in 0.5in
EVF Resolution (dots) 3,690,000 dots 3,686,400 dots
Viewfinder Magnification 0.8x 0.78x
ISO (native) 64-25,600 100-32,000
ISO (extended) 32-102,400 50-102,400
Shutter Speed Max 1/8000s 1/8000s
Shutter Speed Min 30s 30s
Image Format RAW (14bit), JPEG RAW (14bit), JPEG
Stabilisation 5-axis 5-axis
Exp Compensation -5 to +5EV -5 to +5 EV

AUTOFOCUS

   
AF Face Detection Yes Yes
AF Live View Yes Yes
Focus Points - Total 493 AF points 425 AF Points
Focus point coverage 90% 68%

CONTINUOUS SHOOTING

   
RAW burst FPS speed 9fps 9.25fps
RAW buffer size Not specified 30 Images
JPEG burst FPS speed 9fps 10 FPS
JPEG buffer size Not specified 82 Images

VIDEO

   
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p (4K UHD)
Color Depth 10-bit 10-bit (HDMI) 8-bit (internal)
Max Bitrate (MBps) 100Mbps 100 MBps
Video Codecs MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4; H.264
Video Formats MOV, MP4 XAVC S, AVCHD, MP4
Log N-Log S-Log
Tools - Focus Peaking Yes Yes
Tools - Zebra Yes Yes
Max FPS - UHD 2160p 30fps 30fps
Max FPS - FHD 1080p 120fps 120fps

BODY

   
Card slots 1 2
Weather Sealing Yes Yes
Dimensions 5.3 x 4 x 2.7 in 5.0 x 3.8 x 2.9 in.
Weight 675g 657 g

LENSES

Nikon Z7 Sony a7R III
Native lenses 3 25

PRICE

Australian pricing not announced A$4,999

 

comments powered by Disqus