PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JULY 2019
which saves additional weight and space.
As a result, the Z 7 is half a pound lighter
and substantially shorter and thinner than
Nikon’s other 45.7-megapixel camera, the
D850. The slim body makes the contoured
handgrip substantial, and being able to
curl your ngers around the grip is part of
the reason the Z 7 is so comfortable to use.
Even if you have small hands you feel a se-
cure grasp on the body.
The grip houses the camera’s battery and
the single CFexpress/XQD slot. My experi-
ence with XQD media is that it’s extremely
robust, but I prefer having two media cards
to use the second one as an in-camera
backup or for over ow when the primary
storage device is full.
Nineteen of the camera’s 23 physical con-
trols are easily reachable on the right side
of the body, with only four on the left. By
comparison, the D850 has 16 physicals on
the left and 15 on the right. Roger Cicala
and Aaron Closz of Lensrentals did a com-
prehensive teardown of the Z 7 and found it
solidly built and as robustly weather sealed
as they’d ever disassembled.
A large, high-res touch-sensitive display
takes up much of the back and functions as
a control device that uses nger gestures
and swipes. The monitor tilts in a 170-
degree range, making overhead and down
low compositions easy to master.AUTOFOCUS
AF sensors are limited in the area they
can cover in SLR cameras, but mirrorless
systems mostly remove that limitation. The
CMOS sensor in the Z 7 incorporates a grid
of 493 phase detection autofocus sensors
covering 90 percent of the chip’s imaging
area. The camera’s autofocus computer au-
tomatically switches between phase detec-
tion and contrast detection depending on
what’s being photographed. The hybrid
system worked reliably in studio lighting
and in low-level ambient light. A recent
signi cant rmware update promises to
boost low-light autofocus performance and
introduce eye detection autofocus in both
AF-Continuous and AF-Single modes. Nikon
says the eye detection mode recognizes
multiple eyes in a scene and allows the
photographer to select which one to track.IMAGE STABILIZ ATION
The Z camera’s CMOS sensor is mounted
in a multi-axis gimbal, providing up to ve
stops of image stabilization. Stops, in this
context, refer to the capacity of a camera
or lens to use longer than normal shutter
speeds for a given lens. In-body image sta-
bilization (IBIS), the system Nikon uses in
the Z 7, compensates for camera motion
in ve directions: pitch (up/down tilt), roll
(side-to-side tilt), yaw (horizontal panning
motion), X (up/down), and Y (side-to-side).
Nikkor Z lenses can make full use of the
IBIS system, while F mount lenses used
with the FTZ adapter use only the pitch,
roll, and yaw axes. In real-world use I’m
getting more keepers when handholding
the camera in modest- to low-light levels.SENSOR
In conjunction with Nikon’s Expeed 6 pro-
cessor, the backside illuminated (BSI) CMOS
sensor used in the Z 7 delivers a maximum
dynamic range of 11.56 stops at base ISO
(64) to 5.9 stops at ISO 6400 (according to
photonstophotos.net). The signal-to-noise
ratio is related to but different from dy-
namic range, and ISO 3200 was my limit
before noise started being objectionable for
full-scale images. For small reproduction,
on screen, or prints, you’ll have to decide
what your upper limit is or what noise re-
duction strategy to employ.ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER
The electronic view nder (EVF) is bright and
clear with a multi-element optical path. It
incorporates a -4.0 to +2.0 diopter adjust-
ment. The EVF shows 100 percent of the
imaging area at 0.8X magni cation, but
it’s easier to see into the corners of the
screen if you don’t wear glasses. Using an EVF
is most advantageous in low-light situations
where its brighter view allows you to see
more than your eyes alone could. You can
magnify the picture to check focus or bring
up the camera settings menu. There are also
options for the display to show a luminance
histogram or an electronic level. In some
circumstances there can be a slight delay
as subjects move, but my brain quickly ad-
justed, and I came to feel like I was missing
fewer shots than I have been with DSLRs.
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