120 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY
GetIntoGear
N
IKONHAS
unveiled
itspre-
production
Z 50, thefirst
APS-Cin the
Z mountrange,andwe’ve
had ourhandson it. It’sa
li ghtweightcamerawith
hybridcapabilitydesigned
toappealto vloggersand
traditionalphotographers.
Mainfeatures
Nikonsaysthe20.9MPis
a newlyengineeredaddition,
and packs 209 pointsof
on-sensorphasedetection,
a meatyISOrangeof
10 0-51,200andsomeof the
featuresfoundin Nikon’s
braceof full-frameCSCs.
There’sEyeAF,whichwas
a firmwareupdate,as wellas
a rangeof improvedvideo
modesanda deephandgrip.
Handling& build
Witha newgenerationof
socialmedia-obsessed
contentcreatorsand
vl oggersfirmlyin its sights,
the Z50 featuresa 3.2in
10 40k-dottouchLCDthat
can tiltdownwardsto 180°
forfront-facingcomposition.
Thebodyeschewsthe
extraphysicalcontrolsof
itsbiggersiblingsin order
tokeepthesizedown,but
there’stheadditionof three
virtualbuttonsto theLCD
tocompensateforthis.It’s
well built,andadheresto
Nikon’sergonomicethos
whilebeingsmallandlight
for anyonelookingto shoot
onthego.
NIKON Z 50
1
STURDY SENSOR
With 20.9MP of resolution,
the newly-designed APS-C sensor
should return similar image quality
and low-light results to the
excellent D500 and D7500
Nikonbodies.
2
EASY MOUNTING
Built around the Z
mount, you can use all of
the latest additions to the
Z lens line-up, or invest in
an FTZ adapter (£269) to
us e any older F mount lenses
withfullautofocuscapabilities.
3
NEGATING THE NOISE
A high ISO range of
100-51,200, as found in the Z 6,
paired with the smaller 20.9MP
resolution means that the Z 50 has
the theory behind it to achieve
solid low-light performance in
both stills and video.
5 SWITCH IT UP
A handy level beside
the mode dial allows you
to switch between stills
and videos on the go.
Z mount
in miniature
PRICE
£989
IMAGE RESOLUTION
20.9MP
VIDEO
4K
4
ON THE FLIP SIDE
In order to court
the new wave of content
creators, the Z 50 includes
a 3.2in 180° downward
tilting LCD. This means the
hotshoe remains available
for microphone mounting.
The zoom in and out
buttons, as well as the
display toggle, are
now located on the
touchscreen.
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4
5
2
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