Table of Contents
Nikon Z50
Reader Interactions
Reader Comments
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Thanks for the great review! I got the Z50 as my first “real” camera a few weeks ago and have absolutely loved it! After reading a lot about lenses, I was expecting to feel the need to buy some faster prime lenses right away, but have been very impressed by the two kit lenses, especially the 16-50. Although I will eventually want a faster prime or two, these have been really good, and great value.
Adam, congratulations with this purchase! Just curious, what made you pick the Z50 as your first real camera? It is pretty awesome to hear that you are happy with it, it sure is an amazing camera!
In regards to future lenses, consider the 35mm and 50mm Z primes. They are both exceptionally good for things like portraiture.
In doing research (largely on PL), I knew I wanted a mirrorless, a friend has and loves his Z6, and it was in the right price range for me.
Thanks for the lens recommendations. I’d actually be more looking for a great landscape lens, was considering the 20mm Z when it comes out. Let me know if you’d suggest something different to consider. Want to be able to do lots of sunrise, some beach, and the occasional milky way shot (understanding that it won’t be ideal for that).
Thanks!
Adam, the 20mm f/1.8 is going to be an amazing lens, without any doubt. However, with the 1.5x crop factor, it will behave like a 30mm lens on your Z50, which is not an ideal focal length for wide-angle photography.
Thanks for the advice! My only hesitation with the Z 14-30mm f/4 is: will it be different enough from the Z DX 18-50mm f/3.5-6.3? I certainly understand that the 14-30 will be better, but I’m not sure if the difference will be substantial to make that my first lease purchase, especially with the similar maximum aperture (I am also planning on getting the Z 50mm prime for other photography types, as I’ve found I really enjoy using the 75mm equivalent for many things.
Thanks again for your advice. I also just started PL’s Level 1 course – what a fantastic and well thought out resource!
Adam, sorry, my brain was fried I guess when I was responding to your comment – scrap the 14-30mm comment, the 16-55mm is plenty enough for your needs. At this time, I would probably wait until a wide-angle prime is released for DX. Something like a 14mm or 16mm f/2.8 would be great for you.
He’ll be waiting an appalling long time.
I recommend the FTZ with the AFP 10-20.
I’m also eager for Nikon to come out with DX primes. In the meantime I’ve been using my 35mm f/1.8 DX F-mount lens with the FTZ adapter. It works great! I’d like to add that I’m really having fun with this little camera, and I’ve also found the two Z DX lenses to be quite impressive! Much better than F DX kit lenses of the past.
Totally agree with this review. I got the Z50 in November and I have found it to be a truely great allround body, especially with the 16-50mm. Having said that, it also powers an Af-S 300mm/2.8 with no problems as well. This is a ‘sleeper’ body in my opinion: you’re getting 20-years of Nikon excellence and the latest quick processor in a seriously compact and good value body. Also love the multiple-exposure view overlay mode! If the next level up Nikon DX MILC has a commander flash and they continue to improve the AF-C, it is hard to see a D500 replacement being a DSLR.
Burghclerebilly, I haven’t tried the Z50 with Nikkor F lenses, but I don’t see why it would be a problem, since they work just fine with the FTZ adapter on the Z6/Z7.
And yes, years of Nikon experience is shown on the first-generation Nikon Z bodies. I just hope Nikon figures out a way to turn off the darn overlay information on the LCD screen – that’s definitely not good Nikon engineering! It is a small issue for many, but a critical one for me and Spencer, since we use the LCD a lot for composing shots.
Yes, I’ve tried the Z50 with all my 8 f-mount lenses and it works just as well if not better than D500/D4S, i.e. excellently. The ergonomics are what amazes me. I can do virtually everything one-handed. Even things like having the i-button as well as the i-icon on the screen makes life easier in gloves etc. situations. Hope the spare En-El25 batteries make it to retail soon.
Just had my spare En-el25 batteries delivered today. Arrived at the camera store here in the UK (wex) two days ago, so they’ve started to ship out finally. (Had it on pre order since January 31st)
Great news, thanks Jerry.
In contrast to the popular refrain about Playboy, I sometimes look at these articles just for the pictures.
Me too! The ones in this review are especially nice.
Agreed. Nasim, hats off to you, man. You can flat shoot.
Thank you Vusi, that’s too kind!
Thank you Gary, we always appreciate the feedback!
Nasim, I did read the review, even though I will probably never buy a Z50 — I’m happy with my Z7. Jason’s comment just made me laugh out loud and I can use all of those I can get. But I always appreciate the photos you add and appreciate that it’s hard work. I did study the reviews that you and Spencer wrote before buying my Z7 and two lenses, so thank you for those reviews. I think the reviews would be great even without the photos, but please don’t stop including them. And please pass my thanks along to Spencer.
Thank you Gary, it means a lot to both Spencer and I.
Jason, thank you for your kind words :) Glad you enjoyed the pictures – we always work hard on putting real images from the field in our reviews.
I always wonder how you manage to get time to work and travel for your test shots which are excellent. No other site’s gear review posts such shots.
I have the Z50 and the two kit lenses. I use them more than my Z6. It sits out all day, where I can grab it and take photos. I like my Z6 when I am doing more “serious” work, but for everyday grab and go, it more than does the job. This camera does what it is supposed to do, and I think it does it well. The colour, the quality of the jpegs, so many things done well.
Since I have been spending more time at home, as most are, I use the camera often for shooting and uploading pictures to Instagram. The SnapBridge app works reasonably well, but Nikon could do more work there too.
Thank you for your fair, factual and level-headed assessment. I agree with what you point out are the shortcomings, and the inexplicable decisions that Nikon makes sometimes. The standard of you reviews is one reason I keep coming back, and refer others to your site.
George, thank you for the feedback! Glad you like the camera, looks like our experiences are very similar with the camera.
I hope Nikon addresses some of the issues pointed out in the review. I would love to see more firmware updates that fix small things, and Nikon has been pretty good about that so far. I think in the global state of camera industry and the overall health of the world economy, Nikon needs to do that more than ever.
I was on the verge of buying this kit for a hiking trip out to Big Bend this spring, but that has all be cancelled. I am still considering this when things get back closer to normal. Lugging around a D750 and equivalent lenses is a lot more work. I started by looking at point and shoots and then this seemed to be better than those in nearly every way for a little bit more. I held one in the camera store and was impressed with how compact it is.
Glad to see such positive reviews.
Hi! I’m an amateur and i have a dx camera, a nikon d90 with 2 dx lenses. I’m watching either z6 and z50. My only doubt is about high iso for Z50 and the sensor not stabilized, what do you think about it?
If i buy z6 i want to use either my dx lenses in fx mode on z6, do you think that could be a problem? (my lenses are Sigma 16-50 and nikkor 16-85 and a full frame lens 70-300 VRII. Thanks in advance and sorry for my english
Great review and agrees with my experiences so far.
Minor point – in the table comparing the Nikon cameras, in the AF lens support row, you show the D7500 supporting IX lenses. Surely it would be impossible to mount an IX lens on a D7500.
Ross, I took that information from Nikon imaging:
imaging.nikon.com/lineu…0/spec.htm
Please see the section “Compatible Lenses”.
Please check the punctuation. Nikon states “… non-CPU AI lenses (M mode only); IX-NIKKOR lenses, lenses for the F3AF, and non-AI lenses can not be used”.
The semi-colon before IX means that they have ended one grouping of lenses and are starting another grouping – they are saying IX lenses, lenses for the F3AF and non-AI lenses cannot be used. I appreciate that English may not be your first language.
Hi Nasim, great review, thanks! Makes me thinking about getting a Z50 and replace the D3200.
Not any of Nikon’s DSLRs should be mounted with IX lenses since the IX lens barrel extends into the mirror box. That said it is maybe possible with mirror lockup, but I wouldn’t suggest it. What Ross stated for the Z50 is also valid for the D7500: onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com/d7500…es_02.html -> “….; IX-NIKKOR lenses, lenses for the F3AF, and non-AI lenses can not be used”
As always Nasim, a really good and very balanced review of this interesting camera.
I just used my Z50 kit for my above water images on a scuba diving trip to PNG and was very pleased with the results. I normally wait to read your reviews before buying anything… but my trip was booked and there was a really good offer on the Z50 kit, so I went ahead!
I agree completely with your review and (if Nikon surprises everybody) small, fast primes are released for it, the Z50 and subsequent DX Z bodies should do really well.
What I really liked though was the overall potential from using my other Z lenses and legacy F mount ones on the Z50.
Thanks again for what you guys do at PL – it is the best photography site in my personal opinion!
Don
Thank you Nasim for the excellent review, I would also like to see the reviews of the two lenses z16-50 and z50-250 I hope to allocate from your precious time for these. I would like to buy the z50 along with the two native lenses for travel and the FTZ adapter, so you can use Sigma A 18-35 mm f1.8, Sigma A 50-100 mm f1.8, Nikor 50mm f1.8 and Sigma A 24-35mm both FX. Now I own D7200 and D750 but I think the Z50 will be very good for photographing my two grandchildren and for traveling. Probably in the future I would like to buy the Z50mm f1.8 or Z85mm f1.8 lens for portraits. Which do you recommend? (Sigma A50-100mm f1.8 lens is excellent for portraits but too difficult for travelers)
It would be nice, as you say, to see Nikon develop their DX line of lenses – there were some very decent ones for the F mount. I converted to Fuji though for their wonderful lens lineup and lack of interesting options in Nikon’s. Do you think there would be some problem in designing DX lenses for the Z mount, it being so large and the crop sensor comparatively small?
Hi – Great review.
Was this review conducted with the new firmware released by Nikon in FEB 2020 ? Has there been any noticeable improvement after the firmware update?
Sparx, I shot with the camera before and after updating firmware. I did not notice any changes after the firmware update that improve the camera.
A great review as always. PL (and bythom to some extent) has become the ultimate source of balanced and impartial reviews for me. I have barely purchased anything recently (the Z lens 85 1/f.8 being the only exception) without consulting PL first. Most other sites that I have trusted before have really disappointed me as they have become fan sites of some brand (DPR comes as clear number one here).
I have considered Z50 as a travel camera for quite a while, to complement my Z6 and make use of several Z lenses I already have. Great choice by Nikon to have the same Z mount for FF and DX. I really don’t get it why Canon decided to go with two different mounts.
That said, I am a bit disappointed by the comments of the autofocus performance of Z50, which appears to be beyond the pack. How would you, Nasim, compare Z50 to Z6 in this respect? Don’t they use the same algorithms? I am quite happy with the AF of my Z6 (with FW3.0), but if Z50 is far behind I will stay on the sidelines for a while.
Niko, thank you for your feedback!
Yes, the Z50 has very similar AF performance as the Z6, so if you are happy with it, you will likely be happy with the Z50. I provided similar type of feedback on both Z6 and Z7 reviews back when we published them (and afterwards updated) for photographing fast action. Your mileage might vary :)
I got a Z50 and 2 lens kit in November, and have used it extensively since. It is a great, lightweight travel camera for casual photography. But the slow lenses cripple its ability to be used for serious work, and Nikon is only planning one more DX lens, as 18-140 of unspecified aperture. Sure you can use the expensive Z FX lenses or the FTX adapter, but that defeats the purpose of a small DX mirrorless. And apparently Nikon is aggressively protecting its Z mount patent, so it is unlikely there will be any 3rd party lenses developed for the Z DX.
So it’s a nice camera for snapshots, but I’ll keep using my D500, D850 and F mount lenses for any serious or creative work.
‘But the slow lenses cripple its ability to be used for serious work’. Except for landscapes, street-scapes etc. as Nasim has demonstrated of course.
‘I’ll keep using my D500, D850 and F mount lenses for any serious or creative work.’ Except that you can use the same F-mount lenses on the Z50, which has the same sensor as the D500, and use it for any serious or creative work that utilises a tripod/monopod, if balance on a small body is your concern.
This is the problem for me. Nikon continues not to make mirror-less cameras that can replace D5 / D500 users. Even with the latest firmware the Z6 simply can’t keep up for action. When Nikon? Sony has delivered this level and more with the A9 and the A6600. You had the best AF system for DSLR’s, so why can’t you make a mirror-less with similar capability? I am not buying that you are rookies with mirror-less (remember the V series?). I think you rushed these cameras instead of taking a few more months to get it right. I am also thinking you wanted to freeze the market so you could still continue to profit from your excellent DSLR’s and lenses.
For now, you have me trapped but upgrading to Nikon mirror-less is not a sure thing. If my existing cameras were at end of life, I would switch to something else. I won’t like switching because I like Nikon’s ergonomics, but that is a nicety. I need better AF and would never consider going backwards.
Yes, Nikon is certainly not attempting to replace the D500 or D5 with the Z50 (!), but they are clearly showing the way forward. Currently, the fact is that the 4-year old D500’s AF is still as good as anything Canon and Sony make for sports/wildlife stills work. Eye-detect doesn’t help when shooting real wildlife (not in a zoo) since at such distances the whole animal body at minimum will be in focus. Moreover an OVF will always be superior for fast moving action, hence the D6 came out. But the question is will Nikon create a D500S or a Z70 for the next semi-pro DX body? I strongly suspect it will be a Z70 since the Z50 has been a relative success, whilst the D780 hasn’t been so well received. A D500S could have 11-12fps, all the Expeed 6 benefits, and the D780’s OSPDAF in LV. On the other hand, a Z70 could be the first Z with dual card slots, and the next level of C-AF should be nearly DSLR level. It’s a difficult call for Nikon, but I suspect the future is Z!
I’m sort of with Mick. I didn’t get the two kit lenses because I just didn’t want to invest in 6.3 glass, even for travel. I know it’s only 1/3 stop slower than 5.6, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Let’s just say it’s not the best for giving you a lot of depth of field options. I got a Z50 and the FTZ during the brief time that B&H was offering the FTZ for an extra $46 with the basic body (much more in line with what it is worth). I have not had problems personally with the balance of the Z50/FTZ/F mount lenses that I have used, and that includes some of the heavier DX glass–17-55/2.8, 18-300/3.5-5.6, 12-24/4, and even the FX 80-200/2.8 S, etc. I guess I’m a little weird, but it’s just another camera body with some nice, unique characteristics–just like the all other bodies I have.
I’ve learned a lot over the years from this site, which pointed me to Fast Raw Viewer, among other things. So I really enjoy it. Sincere question: Are you guys affiliated with Nikon in some way?
Kalea, no we are not affiliated in any way with Nikon. Spencer and I both shoot Nikon, so we naturally cover a lot of Nikon gear. I’m currently working on the review of the Fuji X-T30 and will be posting more Fuji lens reviews later this month.
Appreciate the response, thanks.
Which just goes to show what a great camera the Z50 is! Even Snapbridge seems to work better!
Nasim, this is a really excellent review of the Z50 and a very insightful list of its strengths and weaknesses. (Your separate settings article is also very helpful.) I have two Nikon Z 7s which I use for most of my shooting, most of the available Z mount lenses, plus the adapter. I love the system, though readily admit that the auto focus system is not ideal for nature/sports type of shooting. As an event/theater/performance/studio shooter, I find that it works well enough for me. When the the Z 50 was announced, I bought the kit which included the body and lightweight Z mount lenses. It’s really designed as a consumer-oriented light-weight kit–most useful in auto ISO mode. To emphasize or add to your list, I wish that the body size allowed for more buttons. I don’t love having to make choices using the touch screen (which stays pretty cluttered). I also wish the design would have allowed for the same (and more powerful) battery found in the Z 7 and D850. The battery for the Z 50 is not very very powerful so you need to carry an extra one or two — which happen to be expensive. Also, I can understand why Nikon opted for the fast SD cards, but it’s too bad they can’t use the XQD or CFExpress cards. (I realize that this may not be a popular sentiment.) It’s great that other Z mount lenses can be used with the camera. I rarely use the kit lenses, opting instead for Z 24 – 70mm f/4 (36 – 105mm equiv) and the 14 – 30mm. Both better glass than the Z 50 kit lenses — although you give up the long telephoto distances. The only problem is that the heavier lenses do change the weight distributions. Also, I do wish that the sensor was more than 20 megapixels. Overall my own thinking is that size or weight or cost a deciding factor, I think that the Z 6 (or of course the much more expensive Z 7) is a better bet. As for myself, I’m glad that I have this as an extra camera to keep in my car, but I find that when I use it, I find myself wishing that I was shooting with a Z 6 or Z 7.
Dear Nasim,
I have two older Nikon DX cameras ( D7000 and D5500) with several lenses. I would like to buy a Nikon Z50 with its 16-50 mm kit lens. I would also like to have a tele lens for Z50.
I would like to ask for your advice for the following tele zoom options :
1- Should I buy the 50-250 mm Z lens for the Z50, or
2- Should I buy an adapter and use my existing Nikon 70-300 4.5-5.6 IF-ED AF-S VR instead
Which of these two lenses has a better image quality considering the adapter which I then would have to use on 70-300mm.
I thank you very much for your kind advice,
Shahnam
Shahnam, you want the 50-250mm Z mount lens. It is optimized for the Z50 and it is great. The 70-300mm is bigger, heavier, and its image quality is not as good in comparison.
Great review as usual Nasim! I picked up the Z50 and the two kit lenses. Very pleased. I am also pleased with how well the Z50 works with the FTZ and Nikkor lenses, especially the AF-P lenses, which are smaller and lighter that AF-S lenses. The Nikkor 10mm-20mm AF-P lens is great to use as a wide angle lens.
I have a D7100 which I use as my primary camera and a D90 for backup. My go-to lens is the Nikon 18-200 VR. I’m thinking of trying the Z50 with the two lens option but I’m wondering if having to switch back and forth from the Z 16-50mm and the Z 50-250mm will be a problem. I’ve gotten used to the range of the 18-200 which I bought to replace the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses. What it is like to carry two lenses? It’s my only hesitation for not getting the Z50.
First of all, thank you for the review, I love the “field based” reviews of your site, more appealing than the only technical reviews you can find elsewhere
I am a Nikon FX DSLR user (Nikon D750)…I am very happy with it and really do not have in plan to change it in the short term
I have also a second “light” camera for travel. I had Nikon 1, then I moved to Oly m4/3 (ome10 Mk1) and then I came back to Nikon DX DSLR with a D5500, my current second camera. One important issue for me is the tracking AF. I have two small children and I saw, not every camera can cope with it. Nikon 1 was pretty ok but after Nikon decided to abandon the system and due the lack of some native lenses important for me (f/1,8 35 & 85 equivalent) I changed to Oly. Tough the camera and IQ were nice, the continues AF performance was pretty poor and I had really few keepers when my children moved around. With the D5500 I am happier, specially with day light, when the 9 central points are very effective in AFC (best results with AF-C and Dynamic 39). But with low light and specially incandescent light the AF system finds its limits and shows a tendency to backfocus with fast primes. I observed this behaviour also with my previous D610, using a similar AF system.
After reading your review, it seems the AF-C system struggles with erratic movement as birds. One sentence, regarding problems to track when birds are coming directly to your camera, makes me having some doubts. Do you think the camera would have also problems to track children moving erratically around? In this case, how would it compare with the AF of the D5500 in good light?
KR
Appreciate the in-depth review. It confirms my decision to buy the Z50 with FTZ adapter, when it came out. I have two questions:
1. Since I have an old 70-300/5.6 AF-S VR lens (and your negative comments on it re size, weight and image quality), would the newer 70-300/5.6E AF-P lens be a better choice? Any views regarding its performance with the Z50?
2. Would you recommend using a glass screen protector on the LCD screen? Would it affect the touch screen feature?
Thanks and Best Regards,
Vasantha
Thanks for the great review and awesome photos!
Last fall I had decided to trade in my aging D7000 and D5100 on a newer camera body when the Z50 was introduced. I considered the Z50 but in the end decided on the D7500 + 16-80mm f2.8-4 kit instead, mainly because of lenses. I already owned 8 F-mount lenses, two of which need the in-body AF motor which the Z50 and FTZ adapter lack but the D7500 DSLR has.
The Z50 and its 2 collapsible lenses are compact, light and excellent in many ways but f6.3 at the long end is disappointing. Since Nikon never produced a basic set of small, fast, light f2 DX primes (equivalent to 24, 35, 50, 85 for FX) for its crop sensor DSLRs, I have little confidence that they will ever do so for DX mirrorless. If I had been starting from scratch to shop for a crop sensor mirrorless, I would have been strongly tempted to choose one of the Fujifilm XT bodies with all the lens options available to it. My 2nd choice would have been m4/3 mirrorless from Olympus for the same reason, lenses.
I should say some nice things about the Z50 (in the order they matter to me): 1) Eye AF and focus peaking. 2) uses the same lens mount as the FF bodies, and so can utilize the FF Z-mount lenses. 3) Standard zoom begins at 16mm instead of 18mm. 4) Smaller, lighter and less expensive than my D7500 kit. 5) Excellent compact travel camera that exceeds what my smartphone can do. I expect that the DX DSLRs will soon disappear and the Z50 will be joined by a more basic Z30 and more advanced Z70. I’d probably prefer a Z70 with IBIS as my primary camera.
Nasim: the real world photos you and Spencer include with your articles demonstrate what a skilled, creative photographer can do with any camera! Keep up the good work.
On the Z6 and Z7, you can map out hot pixel by automatically cleaning the sensor twice, consecutively. I don’t know whether that works on the Z6.
On the Z6 and Z7, you can map out hot pixel by automatically cleaning the sensor twice, consecutively. I don’t know whether that works on the Z50.
Thank you Nasim, excellent and informative read.
I am really interested in the z50. I recently went travelling for a long trip around east Africa and felt that my two 7000 bodies (7100/7500) were just taking up too much space in my rucksack. I really want something small and compact but capable and the z50 seems perfect. But one thing is holding me back currently. Until we see more details about the pancake lenses there isn’t really much lens choice for this camera. Yes I can buy s lenses but they are large and relatively very expspenive compared to a DX offering. I’m hoping the new pancake lenses can offer soemthing more affordable whilst still being excellent. The 40mm could be an excellent travel portrait lens. Yes I can adapt my current f mount lenses but it would be amazing to be able to have a small travel kit. I guess time will tell if Nikon will release more DX lenses and/or pancakes.
Thanks for this, Nasim. I got a Z50 sometime before Christmas, and it’s the best camera I’ve ever owned (I have never owned a professional level camera, just good point and shoots and midlevel DSLRs). Having a lot of fun using it. Even three more dedicated lenses down the line would be a boon.
I think your reviews are the best in the business, and really apreciate your recommended settings pieces, too.
And your photos are out of this world. I especially love your desert sands/ camel pictures here. Just stunning.