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.
Mark Allen
March 31, 2020 11:08 am
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.
Tim Kant
March 28, 2020 9:35 am
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.
Nice commentary and fully agree with your assessment of how Nikon did not fully develop their DX line of lenses for F mount. I moved from Nikon DX to Fuji for that reason (I wasn’t as invested in the system as you seem to be). But, still some great options in DX F mount and the zoom you just got with your new kit is a huge highlight. Would have gone to 7000 series if I had stayed with Nikon. Happy shooting!
How have you enjoyed the fuji colors versus Nikon? I am torn between the Z50 and XT-3 right now….
Ruben GB
March 26, 2020 3:52 am
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
Michael Karchmer
March 25, 2020 10:23 am
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.
Don Silcock
March 24, 2020 6:58 pm
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
Adam S
March 24, 2020 8:45 am
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).
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.
If you want wide I’d say best bet for now is to get the DX 10-20 af-p f mount lens. It would need an adaptor obviously. But it’s compact and relatively affordable. That’s my current blocker with getting a z50 I think Nikon needs to at a minimum release an ultra wide and maybe one prime for it.
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.
Gene Paull
October 18, 2020 10:16 am
A little late to the party, but I do have a question. I’m “old school” – FE2, 3 fast primes and slide film the holy grail. But I’m also 75 yrs. old. If/when COVID ever abates I want to to one more “La Ruta Maya” photography trip to the Peten of Guatemala, and have posted everywhere re. “what to take”? I have D700/24-120 – great camera but big, heavy and requires a tripod to match. Z50/kit lenses up to the job? Or Z5/24-200? IQ vs. less is more. Would be very enjoyable and liberating traveling with Z50 in jacket pocket re. lugging a 40 lb backpack and assorted lenses. I am a retired archaeologist and want to photograph the sites of Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxha etc. to make some gallery wrap prints, say up to 16 x 24.” Thanks. Gene
Rudolf Zimmerer
October 12, 2020 11:12 am
The pictures and videos are good. The autofocus system should is not good at all… For instance, if you chose continuously AF-c then there is no indicator that the autofocus is accurate… Why? You cannot unblock shutter release when the picture is not in focus for all the other Autofocus modes… For instance, you want to focus on a specific detail and you focus the camera on this detail, get the focus correct and then you direct the camera as you want… YOU can not release the shutter… And then you have the live view (to get what you want) and you want to make flashlights pictures in darker environments … The camera cannot focus or release the shutter nor can you see a picture until you go into the Menu (it is not possible in the menu and to change that behavior so that you always see the best view of your motive)… What else, the Auto Focus for face and eye and animal detection you can only change in the menu… Also, it is well hidden as so with the live view change to see always the best/ or to see what you get… Find it … Then the autofocus is very slow if you compare it with the Nikon d7200… For fast action it is too slow. And the sensor is truly a dust magnet ….
Joel
September 9, 2020 3:52 pm
Nasim, these images are amazing! What a treat to have such beautiful photos taken with this little DX camera for us to enjoy!
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.
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 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.
Nice commentary and fully agree with your assessment of how Nikon did not fully develop their DX line of lenses for F mount. I moved from Nikon DX to Fuji for that reason (I wasn’t as invested in the system as you seem to be). But, still some great options in DX F mount and the zoom you just got with your new kit is a huge highlight. Would have gone to 7000 series if I had stayed with Nikon. Happy shooting!
How have you enjoyed the fuji colors versus Nikon? I am torn between the Z50 and XT-3 right now….
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
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.
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
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.
If you want wide I’d say best bet for now is to get the DX 10-20 af-p f mount lens. It would need an adaptor obviously. But it’s compact and relatively affordable.
That’s my current blocker with getting a z50 I think Nikon needs to at a minimum release an ultra wide and maybe one prime for it.
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.
A little late to the party, but I do have a question. I’m “old school” – FE2, 3 fast primes and slide film the holy grail. But I’m also 75 yrs. old. If/when COVID ever abates I want to to one more “La Ruta Maya” photography trip to the Peten of Guatemala, and have posted everywhere re. “what to take”? I have D700/24-120 – great camera but big, heavy and requires a tripod to match. Z50/kit lenses up to the job? Or Z5/24-200? IQ vs. less is more. Would be very enjoyable and liberating traveling with Z50 in jacket pocket re. lugging a 40 lb backpack and assorted lenses. I am a retired archaeologist and want to photograph the sites of Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxha etc. to make some gallery wrap prints, say up to 16 x 24.” Thanks. Gene
The pictures and videos are good. The autofocus system should is not good at all… For instance, if you chose continuously AF-c then there is no indicator that the autofocus is accurate… Why? You cannot unblock shutter release when the picture is not in focus for all the other Autofocus modes… For instance, you want to focus on a specific detail and you focus the camera on this detail, get the focus correct and then you direct the camera as you want… YOU can not release the shutter… And then you have the live view (to get what you want) and you want to make flashlights pictures in darker environments … The camera cannot focus or release the shutter nor can you see a picture until you go into the Menu (it is not possible in the menu and to change that behavior so that you always see the best view of your motive)… What else, the Auto Focus for face and eye and animal detection you can only change in the menu… Also, it is well hidden as so with the live view change to see always the best/ or to see what you get… Find it … Then the autofocus is very slow if you compare it with the Nikon d7200… For fast action it is too slow. And the sensor is truly a dust magnet ….
Nasim, these images are amazing! What a treat to have such beautiful photos taken with this little DX camera for us to enjoy!