46 18 April 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Testbench IN THE FIELD
bokeh produced by the Nikkor 50-
250mm f/4.5-6.3 lens, which again
punches well above its featherlike weight and
relatively low £379 price-tag.
Camera compromises
Of course, no set-up is without its niggles and
there are a few areas for Nikon to work on
before it releases a Mark II version of this
camera. The filter thread difference between
the two kit lenses is vast (46mm and 62mm)
meaning that you’ll have to buy two polariser/
UV filters. The ‘extending barrel’ action of the
50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 lens made this optic
especially vulnerable to sand particles, which
many travel photographers are likely to
encounter. On the body itself, the battery
compartment mechanism (which also holds
the single SD card) is a little too plasticky for
my liking but overall, the Z 50’s build quality is
hard to find fault with. Many may fear that the
battery (with an average CIPA rating of 320)
may be on the short side for travel
photography, but in reality, when you shoot a
few frames, move around and shoot a few
more, the battery should be enough to last
stills shooters a full day. Shooting video, or
using the Z 50’s Wi-Fi connectivity drains
power faster, so I used my power bank at times
to charge up the Z 50 on the move. This works
fine, but I wish Nikon would drop the Micro
USB connection in favour of a more modern
USB-C connection.Pleasing performance
The Z 50 is built around a 20.9-megapixel
APS-C (DX) sensor, and shoots 12 or 14-bit
raw files, producing a max image file size of
5568x3712 pixels. This means you can easily
make prints up to A3 in size and I have to say
that Nikon is on to a winner with this sensor.
The image quality, even when used with either
of the kit lenses that are mid-weight optics
featuring fairly slow maximum apertures isimpressive and punches well above its weight
as to how you’d expect a camera in this sector
to perform. The dynamic range from the raw
files is good, affording the photographer – who
may not always get the exposure bang on in
rushed conditions – the ability to reveal
shadows and rescue highlights to a high
tolerance without compromising the overall
quality of the image. Nikon’s colour science is
well established and widely admired so there’s
no surprises there and the native ISO range of
ISO 100 to 51,200 will certainly enable
photographers to shoot in low-light conditions.
If you prefer to get creative in-camera, there’s
plenty of ‘Effect’ modes to select from – just
turn the mode dial to EFCT and use the
command wheel to cycle through the options,
which include Toy Camera, Pop, Photo
Illustration, Miniature Effect, High/Low Key and
Selective Colour. Should you want to share
imagery when out and about with the camera,
the Z 50 includes both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It
is compatible with Nikon’s Snapbridge app,
which can be downloaded for free to iOS and
Android devices, enabling users to not only
transfer images (including raw files), but also
to control the camera remotely from their
mobile devices.While not a megapixel
monster, the 20.9MP
resolution still produces
prints of a decent size
Nikon Z 50, Nikkor Z DX
16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR,
1/1000sec at f/5, ISO 100The Z 50 can be charged on the go, which is
perfect when out for the day, but it doesn’t
feature the more universal USB-C connection
Nikon Z 50, Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR,
1/640sec at f/6.3, ISO 100The small body allows you to be discreet in cities Nikon Z 50, Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR, 1/200sec at f/6.3, ISO 100